The Saga Continues
After nearly four months of eliminating 28 “allergic foods” for Brady, his symptoms did not improve. In fact, they were worse.
After a recommendation from a friend, we found a local allergist who was covered by our insurance and was said to be good with kids. Our kind of guy! Yesterday was Brady’s first appointment.
In some ways, the allergy tests were bad news, in others, GOOD news! He did a different kind of test than we’d had done last fall. (This one was an IgE, the old one was an IgG.) The doctor explained that the other kind of test wasn’t really used for determining the cause of the kinds of symptoms Brady has been having. Odd, huh? I wish I understood all that better, but I’m so happy he can eat!
The only food allergen it showed was tree nuts, so Brady can even have peanut butter again. So, for the first time in almost 4 months, Brady had peanut butter and jelly today and was downright giddy because of it! 
I’ve never been so happy to make a PBJ for anyone in my whole life. He relished every bite!
On the environmental side, we found out that Brady’s very allergic to tree pollen (which is basically just a concern in the spring) and dust mites. We ordered protective coverings for his pillow and mattress. After a moment of panic on my part, the doctor assured me that no matter how clean your house is, you have millions of dust mites. There’s no avoiding them. (WHEW!)
He’s also allergic to cats and dogs. We have a lot to consider there… Apparently there’s a lot of different kinds of dogs, so he may not be allergic to our police canine. We have to consider if we want to give him a trial period of time in which all the other allergens are eliminated and just Sirus remains, or if we should get rid of both our dogs immediately. Obviously, if it is Sirus, Sirus will have to go… but Nate hates to give him up if Brady isn’t allergic to his particular breed. It’s rough!
Doctor presribed five different meds… we get to decide which we’ll give him. We’d rather not create a dependence at this point so we’ll probably err on the side of caution when drugging him up. Right now, we’re focusing on eliminating allergens and seeing how he does!
Brady goes back in about amonth for a lung capacity test. The doc thinks he has asthma, but this test will tell for sure. Lots to consider… but we’re oddly relieved that he can eat more real food!
After the test, we were riding home in the van and Brady sweetly asked, “Mommy, does this mean I can have Pop-Tarts and mustard again?!”
You sure can, buddy… just not together!
Here’s Brady boy with Sirus last May.
February 22nd, 2009 at 12:54 am
WOW! You and Nate have allot of things to decide. Prayers.
February 22nd, 2009 at 1:00 am
Also, Brady is changing before our eyes.
February 22nd, 2009 at 11:29 am
Been there, done that. It is so hard. We had German Shepherds when I was growing up that I was dreadfully allergic to. Unfortunately, there are only a handful of hypoallergenic breeds and even then if one is allergic to the saliva rather than the dander (or both) the breed won’t make any difference.
My dad trained German Shepherds to be police dogs. After we found out about my allergies, he built them a fancy dog house outside, and they were never allowed in the house again. When we were outside, as long as I didn’t touch my face after petting the dogs, and washed my hands immediately after handling them, I was fine.
Getting rid of carpeting helps tremendously with the dust mite and animal dander issues. Also you might consider investing in a top of the line air purifier. You would be surprised how much those things help, but if it doesn’t take care of it altogether there are TONS of natural remedies to allergies out there. Medicating should be a last resort because it only masks the symptoms rather than assisting the body in healing itself to cure the problem. Herbs not only work better, but they’re cheaper, too! The last ten years I have seen first hand that God has given us in creation everything that we will ever need to cure any ailment we could possibly imagine. It’s awesom!
My kids have allergies just like I did, and implementing these things has really made a difference for us. I will continue to pray for you! You are doing a great job dealing with all this. You have my undying respect!
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:00 am
Sherri, that was so very nice of you to share your expierences with Christa. I’m thinking that she needs all the advise she can get. I must sound like one of her family but I’m just a church gal and in the family of God.
March 5th, 2009 at 10:56 am
[...] the recent discovery of Brady’s allergiesto dogs, Nathan and I have made the difficult decision to find new homes for Sirus and Dusty. It was [...]