Update on Tim's allergies, diagnosis FPIES.

So, we saw an allergist for Tim earlier this month. All the scratch tests came back negative, but after conversing with the allergist we were given a diagnosis of FPIES. The link provided gives a very good explanation but to simplify things dramatically it's a digestive allergy.

We are not to try to introduce any reactive foods until at least 15 months of age. If for whatever reason I were to decide to wean (not happening) we would need to give him hypoallergenic formula, to the tune of around $200/month. His reactions to any trigger foods could be severe and even life threatening due to complications such as dehydration. I feel happily justified in not having just accepted that my child had reflux, drugging him up, and moving on with my life. Best case scenario had I done so Tim would have been failure to thrive due to his constantly irritated digestive tract being unable to absorb nutrients. Worst case, we would have ended up hospitalized with dozens or even hundreds of tests before an answer could be found.

Just another case of mama knows best. I urge moms everywhere to trust your instincts first and foremost, especially when it comes to something that can't hurt your child to do. Me avoiding foods that I believed were triggers for him had no potential of hurting my child, it put me out certainly, it still does but it had no chance of hurting him. I got lots and lots of well meaning advice to just "take the meds and be done with it". But I refused, if there was a way for me to help my child avoid meds and avoid pain I saw no reason not to take that path.

Sometimes as parents in order to do the best thing for our child we need to trust our instincts, and often take the difficult path. Sometimes the "easy" route isn't as easy as it seems. A "quick fix" now may cause a buildup of issues and problems later on. All things to keep in mind.