We noticed that there was a problem and that anytime our child received Milk or Soy products (by keeping a food diary and comparing ingredient listings) there was a problem. A visit to our local allergist resulted in testing (usually blood work, but pin prick testing is also common) with a negative result.Remember there are two forms of your body fighting back against an intrusion when it comes to food; a Food Allergy and a Food Intolerance. Food Intolerances typically CAN NOT be diagnosed by an Allergist. They will not show up in the blood work and in most cases will not show on a skin test.
This is due to the fact that a Food Intolerance doesn't affect the entire system and instead is a form of Gastroenterology (a disorder of the stomach, intestines, gallbladder, etc). This means that only a Gastroenterologist can diagnose these problems.
This testing usually requires an Upper or Lower GI were a die or camera is sent though the system that allows the specialist to view what is going on within the system. In the case of our son we didn't want to have these procedures ran just yet (hard to put a 2 year old though such a traumatic experience). Instead we keep a DETAILED food journal anytime we introduce something new into his diet. The overall outcome is that Chance has a sevear reaction to anything with Milk or Soy Proteins in it.
This is good enough for our local doctor, pediatrtion, and ER. The schools all recognize it, and the pre-schools are the most accepting of it. We have informed all of them of the negative results from the Allergy Test, and shown them the documentation (its all over the place, and if enough people ask I'll go track down the links and post them back up here) to backup our claims that this isn't a typical allergy that can be diagnosed via blood/skin tests.
When Chance gets older (if he wants to) or if it is challenged by the schools later in life he can have the GI performed and final validation of the problem in medical writing.
In case you are curious if we have tried whole or real milk, yes we have. We went to a local organic farm and got Milk straight from the cow (local farmers are more than willing to help families out we have found). Result, well lets just say that he could paint the barn without a brush. Similar when we went to a local farmer with organic Soy plants.
Long and short of what I'm saying, do your research and don't always believe the specialist. The problem may not be in their area of specialty.
- Jeremy
