IgG antibody testing

I know it's been a long time since I've posted, but I knew there were several people here dealing with allergies and wasn't sure where else to go.

Megan is almost 4 years old and hovers around 28 pounds. She's never been higher than 29 pounds and goes from 26 to 28 pounds usually. She also has sensory processing disorder. Her occupational therapist has become very concerned over the last few months because her behavior is reverting in many ways. She throws less tantrums and seems to be doing very well in school and for the most part at home, but motor skills and fear of falling etc has gotten worse lately. Megan also struggles to eat anything. Unfortunately about the only things she wants to eat is sweet things. Otherwise she'll barely eat. The sitter does seem to get her to eat lunch every once in awhile, but if she eats it's usually a lunchable, nothing of great nutrition. The only thing she is consistent in drinking is milk. She likes milk.

Back to the OT, she says that almost every kid she's ever treated for SPD has food allergies. We've always wondered this from the day she was born due to her severe reflux and when I was nursing I went on a dairy protein-free diet, but I don't think I took out wheat. She has put us in contact with a laboratory that specializes in "blood prints" which is extensive testing of the IgG antibody and how it reacts to different foods. The testing is V E R Y expensive, and we hope if we go this route that insurance covers some of it. Another reason the OT and we are worried is Megan continues to have loose stools almost all the time. So I know her body isn't getting what it needs. She keeps getting taller, not much, but her weight doesn't move and she's looking more puked skinny every day. Her gymnastics teacher commented last night that Megan has absolutely N O muscle mass in her arms and she showed me and I about cried. Megan also couldn't complete class last night because her stomach has been hurting for over a week now. She just sat there and cried. She did battle a stomach bug last week and doesn't seem to be recovering. She just has horrible smelly gas as well and pretty much always has.

I guess all my rambling is just wondering if anyone has had a child with constant loose stools and if you have had this extensive testing done on your child. Megan had the RAST test done when she was under for her adenoid surgery and it came back fine. All my research shows that the RAST test is really not as effective at telling exactly what one is allergic to. After talking with the company that produces the test I've only found two doctors in our area that deal with it and one is a chiropractor, which I'm not too thrilled about doing but we are seriously considering it.

I'm also going to call her pediatric gastro doc this morning to get her into him in the meantime. I've always thought my baby had problems from the day she was born with reflux, puking, stomach problems, loose stools etc. We just can't seem to find an answer and it really seems to be taking a toll on her body. I just feel helpless and frustrated.

She also has occasions of puking for no reason. She'll just all of a sudden puke several times in one day and then it's over. Each time I think her sister is going to get sick or us and no one else ever does so I assume it's not a bug going through her but something else. Now this last time her sister did throw up hours later after Megan had a 3 puke fest, so I am assuming that time was a bug.

Ok, I'll stop rambling and appreciate any experience anyone may have with this. Thanks for reading. I know it's been a long time being here.

its nice to see you again. I am sorry I have no advice but wanted to offer some hugs. Oh I did have a question have you tried the pedi sure drinks for her to help get some nutrition into her? I hope you can find some answers for her. I know you have struggle with her health all of her life.

Karen, I was just thinking about you the other day - hope you are doing well

I don't have anything to offer, but would be interested to hear what others say. I know you have always worried about her and really hope that you can get some answers from a doctor or something.

Hey Karen!

I am so sorry you are dealing with this. I have no experience with this but I did send an email to a women with extensive knowledge of childhood food allergies. I hope to hear from her soon.

I am happy to see you here but I am sorry it is under such frustrating circumstances. I think about you often!

Hey Karen I have missed seeing you around I was thinking about you guys yesterday!!!

I'm SOOO sorry you guys are going through this how scary and crappy!!!

Hi Karen! Long time no see. Sorry Megan is going through all this, I sure hope you can get some answers soon. Good to see you though

Hi Karen! I have missed you!
sorry to hear you are still struggling with all this. When I was reading your post it made me think about when i went to see that Chiropractor about my thrush issues. He was a specialist called a kenesiologist. That may be what you would want to look into. They specialize in the body systems, and the really subtle allergies that are overlooked a lot of time. It was pretty expensive tho, I had to quit going after a few months, and I have to admit that this guy didn't help me, but it may help you guys.

Hi Karen. Sorry I have no advice on this I just wanted to offer

Humans are the only mammals on earth to continue to drink milk after being weaned off mother's milk.

There is talk among the naturalist world that we don't need milk and that EVERYONE is allergic to milk.

Given that, the first thing I'd do is take her off Cow's Milk. Substitute Rice milk, Goat's milk or Potato milk if she MUST have milk.

We had Keian's blood taken for a blood test to gauge his allergies and toxin levels. The test was $250. Not sure if that is the test you mentioned, but I can get the information if you need.

We found he had severe reactions to all the "typical" things: Wheat, wheat gluten etc. But also some odd things: Honey and Coconut oil.

Any type of meat is good, but getting him to eat them is very hard. He likes beef jerky and will occasionally have bologna.

Best of luck.

Thanks Di. I have not tried pediasure but have threatened to, lol. We do give her yogurt drinks when she'll take them and she's taking pro-biotics as well trying to help with the loose stool issue.

I tried to get an appointment with her pedi gastro doc but they will only take appts. through the pedi doc so now I have to contact them and go see them first. Frustrating!

Thanks Jen. Things have been going fairly well for us. Sickness and a few close family losses, but we are enjoying each day and thankful for that.

Hi Brenda! Thanks for contacting your friend.

There is so many good things I've read and so many bad things I've read on IgG antibody testing that I just don't know what to do. I do think seeing the pedi gastro is our best choice at this point. I'm not sure why I didn't think about it before. We've been seeing her regular doc but he wants stool samples which is entirely IMPOSSIBLE to get with her. It's what has been holding us up for months.

You don't need Pro-Biotics if she's taking yogurt... not that it'll hurt (I don't think) but yogurt has the needed "good" bacteria in it already.

But... if she is lactose intolerant, milk and any other dairy - including yogurt- will cause her symptoms.

Ok, I was quoting everyone, but I'm getting exhausted, lol. Thank you to everyone that posted. to all.

DVFlyer - we are keeping a log of what she eats, which has been difficult coordinating the school, sitter, etc, but we are getting there. What's hard is remembering to write it down, lol. My oldest had to be on Lactaid milk for several years after nursing before she could handle milk, although she never had the issues Megan does. She doesn't drink milk very often either.

We said our next step would be to put her on another milk. Originally Megan was on goats milk and LOVED it, but it spoils fairly fast than she drinks it and honestly was hard to get when she was the only one drinking it out of all of us. Then we went to pure cows milk, which we all liked, but it was spoiling faster than we drank it. It only has a good taste for a few days and then it doesn't taste as good (still not spoiled, but taste changes). I think we are going to try Lactaid milk and see what that does. Milk is about all she will drink so it would be very hard to get her to give that up. ETA that being on the different milks did not change her issues, though.

This post has been edited by coasterqueen on Jan 13 2009, 08:43 AM

You don't need Pro-Biotics if she's taking yogurt... not that it'll hurt (I don't think) but yogurt has the needed "good" bacteria in it already.

But... if she is lactose intolerant, milk and any other dairy - including yogurt- will cause her symptoms.

She only drinks yogurt every so often. I do know there is pro-biotics in it, but she is given a pro-biotic daily, the yogurt is just every so often.

Hey Karen,
I am thrilled to see you hear, though I'm sorry it's under such unfortunate circumstances. I know how scary it is to instinctively know something is just not right with your baby, but not be able to get any definitive answers. Very often with drs and traditional medical tests, you find out what it's NOT, but may never discover what it is, making a solution next to impossible. I think it's smart to investigate alternatives when you hit a dead end with regular drs, but always proceed with caution--as you know a chiropractor isn't a medical dr. Having said that, it was a chiropractor / holistic practitioner who suggesting taking Noah completely off of dairy to treat his chronic ear infections. She also put him on a pro-biotic supplement. Maybe it was coincidental, maybe not, but he got better under her care, and never had another ear infection again. So I guess what I'm saying is, keep an open mind, you never know. I'm sorry I know next to nothing about Megan's specific problems, but I would consider taking the dairy out for a few weeks and see what happens. Dairy is a tough thing to digest, and it sounds like she's got a very reactive digestive system.
Best of luck with everything, Karen! I've really missed seeing you around here.

Thanks Di. I have not tried pediasure but have threatened to, lol. We do give her yogurt drinks when she'll take them and she's taking pro-biotics as well trying to help with the loose stool issue.

I tried to get an appointment with her pedi gastro doc but they will only take appts. through the pedi doc so now I have to contact them and go see them first. Frustrating!

I woudl try it with her she might really like it an it might help with some extra calories for her. they also make some snacks. I know you have tried but does she have one food she LOVES being junk or not? I am just thinking alowed maybe if there is one thing she really loves you can add vitamin to it, I am not sure what it was called but Kaitlins first vitiman was liquid and from what I could tell had no taste I woudl add it to her drink or food. I am sure your beyond frustrated but hang in there, your a great mom.

Jeanne. Thanks. I have kept an open mind about chiropractic as I worked for a chiropractic association for over 3 years. For me it did more harm than good, but I know many it did good for. I'm just skeptical when it comes to my baby.

Cary used to have really good ideas about fattening yummy foods, but she doesn't come around here anymore, either. What about shakes with bananas and soy milk /yogurt and some supplements? Peanut butter? Avocado? I know we did a lot of avocado when Corey was little and not gaining well. A lot of kids like it.
And is sweet such a bad thing? I'm not talking candy, but what about oatmeal, french toast, or homemade cookies, things that you can make easily at home with nutritious ingredients?

Thanks Di. I have not tried pediasure but have threatened to, lol. We do give her yogurt drinks when she'll take them and she's taking pro-biotics as well trying to help with the loose stool issue.

I tried to get an appointment with her pedi gastro doc but they will only take appts. through the pedi doc so now I have to contact them and go see them first. Frustrating!

I woudl try it with her she might really like it an it might help with some extra calories for her. they also make some snacks. I know you have tried but does she have one food she LOVES being junk or not? I am just thinking alowed maybe if there is one thing she really loves you can add vitamin to it, I am not sure what it was called but Kaitlins first vitiman was liquid and from what I could tell had no taste I woudl add it to her drink or food. I am sure your beyond frustrated but hang in there, your a great mom.

I will have to see if pediasure has dairy or whey in it.

Foods? Ugh, this child just doesn't like much. Although sometimes she's very weird or starving beyond belief and she'll eat things she hates at other times.

For breakfast she'll eat a bite of poptart or ONLY the marshmellows in Lucky Charms . Sometimes she'll eat pancakes w/peanut butter and syrup. The only problem is she'll literally only eat a few bites.

Same goes with just about anything she'll actually eat.

It's like her body goes through these times when she just won't eat hardly anything at all and then others VERY RARE moments (maybe a day or two out of several months time) will eat like she's never eaten in her life. KWIM? So it's not like we can pin down foods she likes and doesn't. It's almost as if she's getting "toxic food" build up and doesn't eat for a very long time, then when that build up is gone she'll eat for a day or two. It's hard to explain but similar to things I've ready about toxic food syndrome and allergies.

No, sweet isn't such a bad thing. I'm not thinking it's really what she eats. There is something wrong because she's having loose stools no matter what she eats. So I think there is some correlation between her not eating much because of the tummy aches, loose stools and gas. Her OT said that kids with allergies will more likely eat sweets because even though their body knows it might be an allergen their mind can't resist the sweet taste. Where as if they also have allergens to other more bland foods to them they can resist them much easier.

Karen, so glad to see you back.

she does not make it easy.

rare moments like when she eat really well when we all met up? I think the look on your face was utter shock. she was adaorable happly sitting on your lap munching away

have you ever noticed if she eats better alone or in a group?

sorry for all the questions, I just keep thinking.

No, sweet isn't such a bad thing. I'm not thinking it's really what she eats. There is something wrong because she's having loose stools no matter what she eats. So I think there is some correlation between her not eating much because of the tummy aches, loose stools and gas. Her OT said that kids with allergies will more likely eat sweets because even though their body knows it might be an allergen their mind can't resist the sweet taste. Where as if they also have allergens to other more bland foods to them they can resist them much easier.

deffinalty sounds like something is giving her trouble.

You are very proactive and well-educated about your kids, Karen, and I really admire that. Unfortunately, some doctors, especially older ones, are threatened by parents who ask too many questions or have ideas of their own about their kids' health. You're going to have to push past that and find a dr who will scrutinize Megan's entire history, not just treat the most prevalent symptom. Can you find another pediatric gastro for a second opinion?