A new adventure

My Mookie

  This last week we've embarked on an adventure of a different kind.  A food adventure.  Here's a little bit (ha! ok, a lot of) background.  Almost 2 years ago Mookie had a severe allergic reaction, to what we think was a type of pasta we had never had before.  Her eyes were puffing up by bedtime, and by morning her whole face was swollen.  I called the doctor and got an appointment that same day.  By that afternoon when we went, the swelling had gone down, but as a precaution the doctor prescribed an epi-pen.  We went to Sonic, grabbed a snack of cheese bites and a fruit slush and then ran some errands.  About an hour later, on our way home she broke out in hives. Since there wasn't any place to stop on the way, we waited until we got home and I gave her some Benadryl, but within 5 minutes she wasn't able to breathe and we had to use the epi-pen (I NEVER want to do that again!). 
  We went to the allergist, got tested for the obvious allergens that were in the pasta, but nothing.  So since we had no idea what was the cause at that point, we could either test for everything, or watch and see if she reacted again. As a precaution we followed a baseline of Claratin and Benadryl as needed, with our spare epi-pen in emergencies.  So we waited, fearful of everything and nothing at the same time.  Within a few months, she started breaking out in these horrible rashes.  All over her body, on her back, on her legs, arms, and legs, and face.  We went to the doctor about it, certain it had to do with the previous reaction.  The verdict - contact dermatitis (something in a plant oil, etc...).  It continued for almost a year, 2 separate episodes, but we never could find a cause.  A specialist did tell us that even the oils in grass could affect a person if they were allergic.  The question to me was always why did it just creep up after the severe reaction?
  One other thing we've been dealing with was intestinal issues.  Mookie's always had some, but it never was problematic.  I won't go into the gory details on the previous stuff, but about a year ago, she started complaining about her back hurting, increasing in intensity from occasionally to daily and then her tummy started hurting on top of it.  We would mention it to the doctor occasionally at other visits but of course it would go away and therefore forgotten.  In the fall, we went to the doctor just for the tummy and back problem.  It was decided it was constipation and so she put us on a diet of high fiber and water and a Rx.  It did not go away.  In December we went back, and were referred to a GI specialist that we waited until the end of February to get in to see.  In that waiting time, the other problems did not get better, and her head started to hurt (occasionally and then daily).  I have never been so thankful we homeschool.  Her school work has been suffering so much over the last few months due to her not being able to concentrate for the pain that a structured environment would have not worked.  The big blessing is being able to be flexible, let her be in her comfy clothes, lay in her bed and do work and do it at her own pace. 
  At our specialist appointment, they were still focusing on the constipation (which is a major thing, don't get me wrong), and they didn't look at us like we were crazy when we brought up the allergic reactions in conjunction with it - very soothing for a momma who is sad that her kiddo is feeling bad!  They tested her for Celiac's as well as other things - all came back normal.  Told us to do a "clean out" of the GI system and then continue taking the Rx and call back in 2 weeks. 
  We get home and do the "clean out", but after a couple of days, she's feeling worse instead of better:(  On her bad days I will go back to my notes and start Google-ing symptoms, etc...  It's the researcher in me and it makes me feel like I'm doing something to help her, even if I don't find anything new.  This time looking at my notes I was reminded of the time we were at the Children's Discovery Center and while we were there had some Deja Blue water and within an hour Mookie broke out in hives.  So, I restart my search with the water, looking for additives.  I find an article that says that Deja Blue has the highest concentration of TTHM (a nitrate) of all the bottled waters out there.  A place to start!  So I start Google-ing nitrates and allergies.  I don't find an exact match of symptoms, but feel I'm on the right track.  I follow bunny trails of MSG, and TBHQ and wind my way into salicylates.  This one makes me stop.  Mookie has had over 3/4 of the symptoms listed, not all at once mind you, but off and on since that first experience (and some even before).  The kicker is that salicylates are found in fruits and aspirin as well as natural preservatives.  Since our visit to the doctor in December, she's had Mookie drinking Plum Smart to help with her GI issues.  So in all actuality, if she does have this salicylate allergy, the Plum Smart was hurting not helping (which was evidenced by how she was increasingly feeling). 
  We started altering her diet during the middle of last week.  Let me tell you, it's hard to find things without salicylates!  Mookie loves fruit and that's he hardest of all.  Pears are safe, but they need to be very ripe.  Those darned things are everywhere!  I am on a new adventure to make most of our food from scratch.  I've always wanted to do that, I just have a big motivator now:)  Even cutting back on salicylates seems to be helping.  She isn't hurting with head, tummy and back all at once anymore.  We make a big deal of "only 2 out of 3", etc... :)  Her zip is coming back, feeling bad can really get you down.  Now my little huggy, smiley, and giddy girl has returned even for brief periods of time - I'll take it!  This might not be our answer, but I'm hopeful.  We're going to follow up with our allergist if it's looking like the culprit after a few weeks (I guess it can take 4-6 weeks to get the things that your body deems toxic out of your system).  Praise the Lord for doctors who listen and even the internet:)