Ok, before I ask my ped. on Wed. if I can get a referral to an allergist, will they do any kind of allergy testing on babies?? Is it conclusive???
Just wondering, don't want to look stupid!:doh:

What sort of allergy are you looking for?

For food allergies, Bethy had a RAST done; however, it is not considered to be reliable in kids under 12 months (from what my GI told me. I've heard others here say their docs told them it's even older than this.)
We also did the hemocult (stool sample) that detects blood in the stool (another indication of food allergy).

Babies can also test for food intolerances. I think the only way they can do this is through biopsies taken during an endoscopy...? (Correct me if I'm wrong here!)

All of this was done by our GI, not an allergist. I have no idea if an allergist might be able to do more...? I'm sure some of the other moms will have a better answer to this. :-)

Thanks Mary. I guess I'm still wondering if he is intolerant to the small amount of milk protein that is in his formula. We know that he is MSPI, but Nutramigen is supposed to be good, since it is broken down, but I have read that some babies still can not tolerate it. I thought that this may have something to do with his refusal to eat. He did this with his regular milk formula, that how we figured out that he was MSPI. He still has red watery eyes. I will try to get a good close up tomorrow and post it, you and Dr. Leigh can tell me what you think!
thanks again!
BTW, the allergist that we have here is AWESOME! He was my primary dr. when I was little, so I trust him, I just don't know if my ped. will refer us!:banghead:

At this age, I wouldn't see an allergist. There's not much they can do and unless you're seeing reactiosn right after like selling, hives, rashes, etc, you're more than likely just dealing w/ MSPI and not a true allergy so they can't really help anyways. Most of this is trial and error even w/ an allergist and testing as it's not an exact science. Now if you start solids in a few months and you're seeing immedite reactions to foods or he's reacting to everything like Evan I would see an allergist, but they still haven't helped us much, even w/ a scope and biopsies. We're still doing most of this by ourselves. I know you know this, I think, but Evan is one of the 10% that can't tolerate the milk in Nutramigen, he has to have Neocate. AJ was fine w/ it the one weekend we tried it though.

Maybe I will suggest Neocate to my ped. and see what he says

My allergist says it is not accurate for testing until the child is about 5 years of age. Even then allergy testing results can be disputed as it is a "point in time" test. Take Curran for example. His first allergy testing via skin prick yielded such a HUGE welt for peanut and yet he had never been exposed to it before that we are aware of (he was just over 2 years old). Subsequent skin prick testing showed a HUGE welt again (or wheal as they call it) to peanut and nothing for milk. The next week he had blood RAST testing done and his milk allergy was so very low we were told to treat him as intolerant. Uh, he is not. It was so very low as he had not had any significant milk except in some foods for nearly 2 years by then. The RAST would likely be moderate to high (not anaphalactic) for milk should he be tested again now after having some.

The testing in terms of accuracy starting with the least accurate and reliable would be skin prick (most often done) then blood RAST and then the gold standard of biopsies (rarely done as it is the most invasive). Having said all that it is still a matter of interpretation based on reactions to foodstuffs and needs investigation.

I would never say not to go to an allergist as they can be of great benefit and give you a starting point and yet I do agree with Jennifer that doing it yourself is sometimes the best way to go as well. This is based on our experience of having a low milk RAST and knowing that there is a major problem via food challenges. The best way to find out allergy or intolerance is to just rotate the suspect foods in 4 day intervals. Maybe you could try neocate and give it a run exclusively for a week or two and then try nutramigen for one day to see how it goes. If you have slight problems or suspected problems then try it again 4 days later. You will get your answer. We are doing all this with Curran presently as we are unclear of soy and corn yet. Plus, I might add rice milk seemed to do a number as well. Some children react 24 hours later via intestinal problems so it may not manifest itself on that day when the food is introduced.

Allergy is when the mucous membranes and histamines are riled up. Look for increased snot production and any signs of hives, rash, etc. An intolerance is not something that can be tested for as per se to my knowledge (although I do know milk can be by some breathing test to detect lactose intolerance). An intolerance can be detected by elimination and introduction again. Either one can cause huge gastro issues.

I do not think you are nuts to ask as no harm comes from asking. The sooner you detect food problems the sooner you can get your baby on track.

Thank you all for the useful info! Hopefully I will get somewhere on Wed.
Is a "rice allergy" far fetched???? Is it possible! I am now wondering if this is the case. Who knows!

A rice allergy is not far fetched at all. I know several moms on KFA whose kids have rice allergies. Evan has problems w/ normal things like sweet potatos! Who had problems w/ those? lol What symtpoms are you seeing? Specifically after the rice.

I tried to post earlier and got bounced from the boards...:sad5:

My Dhs cousin has an allergy to rice. At first I thought she was nuts but she really can not be even in the same room when it is cooking or she has symptoms. How strange is that?! You can be allergic to just about anything these days.

The biopsies taken during Noah's scope will be sent to a lab for allergy testing. That's all I know about it. Sorry! I'm no help!

Evan's ped. wouldn't let him have allergy tests until after he turned 2, b/c any tests done before that aren't very accurate.

A rice allergy is not far fetched at all. I know several moms on KFA whose kids have rice allergies. Evan has problems w/ normal things like sweet potatos! Who had problems w/ those? lol What symtpoms are you seeing? Specifically after the rice.\
Well, Jackson has been on rice cereal since 4 weeks old, because of his reflux. It may not seem like much, but his eyes are red (the rims) and watery, and he has little pimples, not a lot, just every once in a while he will get a few. I thought that maybe this may have to do with his refusal. He is also congested, which has been since birth. Does this sound like an allergy, or just an intolerance to something???:hairpull:

You're still on the Nutramigen, right? It could just be that. The quickest way to fix things IMO is move him to Neocate, eliminate the cereal and any other solids (I don't think you're doing any though) and see what happens. If things are going well after a few wks, you can try adding cereal again, or try something like Thick It. Or you could not try the cereal and try the Nutramigen again and see what happens. It's easiest IMO to try and eliminate everything and then start over.

Thanks Jennifer! (writing Neocate on my list of things to discuss with ped on Wed.)
You have really helped me out!
Thank you again!:iconbigg:

You're welcome. Let us know how the appt goes~