To begin with challenge days are hard because we have to get Max up at 5:30am to eat breakfast because he can't eat for three hours before the challenge. So by the time we got to the doctor's office at 9:00 am he was hungry and cranky already.
After the first dose (approx. a teaspoon) he immediately started complaining that his tongue itched, his throat hurt, he felt sick. But...there were no hives, his tongue and throat were not red and irritated. There were no visible signs of a reaction. So the question became whether this was anxiety. It is partly my fault. I did not prepare him well for this. I asked a couple times if he would be disappointed if he didn't pass the challenge and I can imagine, for a six year old, telling him to avoid something his whole life and then asking him to eat it can be anxiety inducing.
In any case, he didn't want to continue with the challenge. We let him make that call. The doctor gave him Benedryl and about an hour and a half after arriving we left. However, because his numbers are so low we are going to approach the challenge a different way. A couple times a week I am to give him baked goods that contain milk product. Milk baked into things breaks down the proteins. We will do this for three months and re-do the blood test. If the RAST number spikes he will need to go back to strict avoidance.
Bad news? Good news? I don't know. I do know that no matter how much I prepare MYSELF for the disappointment I always still am. I feel like hanging my head and sobbing. Even though I went in soooooo pessimistic I still wished deep deep down that it would work. That I would have one less allergy to worry about.
4 comments:
HUGS! These challenges are hard on everyone and I worry how it effects the kids. Of course I know we have to do them! Go luck with the baked dairy and keep us updated.
Couldn't you just let him sleep late and have breakfast afterwards?
Ya know, sleeping late might just have been the way to go this time. However, the "end" of a food challenge, ideally is 4 hours after you arrive as the allergist will keep giving increased doses of the allergen till you are up to like a half a cup. By then it's called lunch.
oh, interesting - we've just enrolled the Eldest in a study where they'll give him heated dairy. Muffin first, then a slice of pizza, etc. It'll be like a food challenge - we'll sit in the clinic/hospital for a few hours, bored silly (and usually hungry) until either the kid does something exciting or we go home.
I do hate food challenges. But the teaser of maybe maybe maybe a good result is just so irresistable...
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