Allergist Vs. Naturopath = Conflicting Advise

[Cornell's Mom]

My son (2): Confirmed IGE allergies: Dairy, Eggs, Peanuts, Seseme. Extreme Eczema! Reactions seem delayed by 4-5 hrs (except anaphlaxis from seseme). Frustrated with 'reactive' skin tests at Allergist and trying to find what next to test. My child is itchy always- tearing up his own skin, diarrhea / cramps etc.

Visited the Naturopath- appealling approach "root cause" of problem. She gave us fish oil and gut bacteria to fix 'leaky gut'. ELISA/EIA panel for IGG only. Came back with MANY positives including gluten (and soy). Told us strict elimination diet for 6-8 weeks for gut to heal. OK. Read many article on reliability of IGG (many false positives apparently)

Phoned Allergist. Says IGG unreliable: diet to rigid to get proper nutrition- recommended to return to normal diet.

WHAT SHOULD I DO????? I want my son to be well!

[AndreaB]

Listen to the naturopath.

My doctor told me to eliminate everything that caused a reaction for two weeks and then start adding things back in every 4 days. If there is a reaction you need to wait until the reaction is gone which could take that long after the food is dropped off again.

Start out with the lows for reintroducing. I, personally, would stay away from soy and gluten permanently. My son's eczema didn't clear up until I removed both.

If he doesn't have too many highs that can't be subbed for something else to meet his nutrition then I would recommend testing them last. If he reacts drop the food for a year and try again. Sometimes it's just a matter of getting the body to forget.

Also, if you can try to avoid the top 8 allergens until he's 3. That's wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, fish, shellfish, nuts, tree nuts. Don't give him the ones he's allergic too though. Peanuts and soy are closely related so definately keep him off of that.

[Cornell's Mom]

My son (2): Confirmed IGE allergies: Dairy, Eggs, Peanuts, Seseme. Extreme Eczema! Reactions seem delayed by 4-5 hrs (except anaphlaxis from seseme). Frustrated with 'reactive' skin tests at Allergist and trying to find what next to test. My child is itchy always- tearing up his own skin, diarrhea / cramps etc.

Visited the Naturopath- appealling approach "root cause" of problem. She gave us fish oil and gut bacteria to fix 'leaky gut'. ELISA/EIA panel for IGG only. Came back with MANY positives including gluten (and soy). Told us strict elimination diet for 6-8 weeks for gut to heal. OK. Read many article on reliability of IGG (many false positives apparently)

Phoned Allergist. Says IGG unreliable: diet to rigid to get proper nutrition- recommended to return to normal diet.

WHAT SHOULD I DO????? I want my son to be well!

[Mango04]

Visited the Naturopath- appealling approach "root cause" of problem. She gave us fish oil and gut bacteria to fix 'leaky gut'. ELISA/EIA panel for IGG only. Came back with MANY positives including gluten (and soy). Told us strict elimination diet for 6-8 weeks for gut to heal. OK. Read many article on reliability of IGG (many false positives apparently)

Phoned Allergist. Says IGG unreliable: diet to rigid to get proper nutrition- recommended to return to normal diet.

WHAT SHOULD I DO????? I want my son to be well!

Fish oil, leaky gut treatment and an elimination diet can only help. You've already seen that a "normal diet" is hurting your son.... Even if the IGG is unreliable, an elimination diet might help you pinpoint the problem foods.

[chrissy]

just a stab here---maybe eliminate the confirmed IGE allergies and make an appt. with a pediatric gastroenterologist. i've scratched my own skin off for years, but i have atopic dermatitis.

[Murph]

Phoned Allergist. Says IGG unreliable: diet too rigid to get proper nutrition- recommended to return to normal diet.

"RETURN TO NORMAL DIET"???????!!

Aaaargghh!!! What a thing to say, with those symptoms!

I'd bet u can make the diet provide proper nutrition, tho it may take research.

Appalling to me that someone would say "return to normal diet" in this situation.

[Cornell's Mom]

just a stab here---maybe eliminate the confirmed IGE allergies and make an appt. with a pediatric gastroenterologist. i've scratched my own skin off for years, but i have atopic dermatitis.

Chrissy, Isn't atopic dermatitis eczema? or is this different? How do you treat it? Does anything work for you? Do you have other allergies other than gluten?

[Cheri A]

((hugs)) I've been where you are! My dd has suffered since she was a baby with eczema. You can see the list of allergies in my signature. She would scratch herself bloody and complained about her tummy hurting when she was old enough to talk. I switched allergists several times and the last one did not want to test her for anything further and told me she thought it bothered me more than my dd?! I switched again and added wheat, rice and the environmental allergies after she was tested. He also changed her antihistimine and she finally began sleeping through the night. Due to the EAs, her skin gets really bad during the summer/fall. But the rest of the year, her skin is now mostly clear.

I really think you should listen to the naturopath and Andrea's advice.

[chrissy]

i think that atopic dermatitis is a type of eczema, but not all eczema is atopic dermatitis---does that make sence? i actually do not have a problem with gluten---it is my children that have celiac disease. years ago, when my rashes were at their peak, i had skin-prick allergy testing done and was told i was not allergic to anything. now that i am older, i have developed some allergies, but they are environmental allergies. i know that some foods bother me sometimes, so i have to be very careful about how and when i eat them. dairy, for example: i usually can't eat a whole dairy queen blizzard without feeling a little nauseated, but at other times i can eat ice cream without a problem. sometimes i will just feel a little bloated for a little while after eating it. onions give me quite a bit of trouble, but if they are cooked well enough, and i eat them early enough in the day, i can be fine with them. alot of trial and error.

i have used topical steroid creams on my skin for years. i usually don't use it unless the rashes get really bad and my fingers become painful with cracks. the bad spots have migrated over my body over the years----not sure of the reason for this. i have gotten so used to having these rashes that i hardly think twice about them unless they are painful----and i am not particularly self-concious (SP?) about them. my oldest son has rashes on his hands and is mortified for people to see them.

the younger kids are, the less accurate testing can be. i think it would be a good idea to get to a ped gi since your son is having intestinal problems along with rashes.

[sneezydiva]

My son (2): Confirmed IGE allergies: Dairy, Eggs, Peanuts, Seseme. Extreme Eczema! Reactions seem delayed by 4-5 hrs (except anaphlaxis from seseme). Frustrated with 'reactive' skin tests at Allergist and trying to find what next to test. My child is itchy always- tearing up his own skin, diarrhea / cramps etc.

Visited the Naturopath- appealling approach "root cause" of problem. She gave us fish oil and gut bacteria to fix 'leaky gut'. ELISA/EIA panel for IGG only. Came back with MANY positives including gluten (and soy). Told us strict elimination diet for 6-8 weeks for gut to heal. OK. Read many article on reliability of IGG (many false positives apparently)

Phoned Allergist. Says IGG unreliable: diet to rigid to get proper nutrition- recommended to return to normal diet.

WHAT SHOULD I DO????? I want my son to be well!

Here is my 2 cents as someone with severe nasal allergies who has been allergy tested repeatedly because my husband's work causes us to move every few years:

The IgE skin tests are the most accurate tests for allergies. I have had both skin tests and blood tests, and in my expereince, the skin tests are far more accurate. The first time I was ever allergy tested, I had a skin test. The allergy shots devised from those skin tests began working within 3 months. After moving, a new doctor who was an ENT and not an allergist/immunologist ordered blood testing. The shots made from those tests didn't work at all, and the results said I was allergic to animals that I am most definitely not allergic to. Like you said, many false positives. After suffering for 6 months, I demanded a skin test. The results were very different from the blood test, and once they made my new shots from the skin test, again I improved within 3 months. I absolutely do not trust the blood tests, and from now on will always demand the skin tests.

Since your son has ezcema, it may be impossible to do the skin test at this time. So if I were in your shoes, I'd try the naturopath's advice and try the elimination diet. And if your son's ezcema disappears get him in for a skin test. Then you will know what allergies you are truly dealing with before you start trying to reintroduce foods.

[Cornell's Mom]

Thanks much everyone for your thoughtful replies. It is certainly beneficial to gain some validation for what we have chosen (i.e. work with our naturopath closely). I can see where both are coming from based on additional literature that I have read. We have a skin test later this week with allergist to test for gluten (if possible, I don't know) and soy- so we might be one step closer to figuring this out. What I do know is that the more you read about allergies, the more difficult it gets comprehending it all..... Either way what we are doing is working- our son's skin is (mostly) smooth to the touch instead of that 'sandpaper' feeling! He is healing.... but we did have a setback with sunflower oil (it was in the gluten-free rice crackers I gave him! and...in Rice Dream).

Thanks again for the support.

[AndreaB]

and...in Rice Dream).

Rice Dream milk has a barley enzyme they use so it's not gluten free unless they've already changed formulation of it. I had heard they were going to.