Allergies?

I haven't posted a blog entry in a ridiculously long time. Here's the problem...I have thought several times about posting, but when I think of all the blogging I have to catch up on, I am not sure where to start.  So I don't.  So here is what I am going to do...I am just not even going to try to catch up. :)  I might eventually get to it, but for now, I am just going to update about our appointment today.

We made the trip to Dallas today to see the food allergist.  Food allergies had been ruled out years ago as the cause of his major GI troubles.  You see, as a baby & young toddler, he was on an "elemental diet." This is the absolute most sensitive diet one can be on.  This is the premium for kids with severe severe food allergies (along with other issues).  And as you know, despite being on this diet for 15 months, his stomach and growth problems did not go away.  Thus, we know that food is not the culprit of his inability to digest food. However, allergies could possibly be the cause of some of the other problems he has been having.

We went to the allergist to look for a cause of some rashes that he has been getting.  He also has fairly constant drainage, sinus & ear infections, and cough. His big brother has struggled a lot with allergies since he was a little guy, so it also makes sense that Beckett could have some kind of allergy involvement. So we finally got into the allergy clinic at Children's and made the 2.5 hour trip....actually today it took me 2.75- not sure what's up with that.

Little man got pricked and checked for indoor/outdoor allergies (dust mites, cockroaches, dogs, pollens, etc) as well as tomato and shellfish. 

And would you believe this?

The child from a family of allergic people is allergic.to.NOTHING.

You may be thinking, "That's good news!" And I get it, I do.  It does sound like good news, and it really is!  However, the doctor told us we can now assume that all of his runny nose, rashes, ear/sinus issues, upper respiratory infections that have lasted the last 3 months...none of this can be chalked up to allergies.  No need for daily Zyrtec for his drainage.  Nope.  It is all caused by virus/infection/illness.  Yikes.  The child has an illness almost constantly if that is the case. So now the question is why he is always sick?  I am sure this is going to help him get a lot of playdates. :)

It is also somewhat discouraging because there are times where we want to hope that if we take wheat or tomatoes or almonds or whatever, that his tummy would feel better. Maybe it wouldn't fix everything, but it could help a little?  But alas, this is still not the case.  It is a situation of a system not working rather than something upsetting the system.

We still have to be careful of what he eats because even though the food allergies are negative, there are simply some things that his system just cannot tolerate in typical quantities/form.  We only know this by watching his reaction, his tummy, and how his flush works.  This is a lot of trial and error.

I am SOOOOO thankful that I do not have to worry about severe, very sensitive food allergies with either of my kids.  I know this can be a huge and scary struggle.  I feel blessed to not have that burden, and my heart does go out to the families that do.  I was reminded in the clinic today how careful some families have to be.  Brant is allergic to peanuts, and we do carry an epipen for him, but his is only if he ingests it. He does not react to the powder or other people having peanuts, etc. And I am so thankful for that!

God is so good, and I am so grateful for a smooth trip there and back today. Thankful that the sun came out for our trip.  Thankful for no car troubles. Thankful that we ruled some things out, and this will help point us in the right direction.  He is so good. All of the time.