Pretty certain it's intolerance now

So, after being dairy free for 23 days, my LO managed to get hold of a pancake from my older son and ate quite a bit before I could get it off him. His reflux worsened throughout the day then we had a very bad night! I thought we hadn't seen much improvement but last night was like it used to be with him constantly feeding and having to sleep upright on my chest. So, I'm pretty certain now that he has intolerances. Even though the consultant thought he was teething, I still think the rash, slightly puffy face and screaming he did for the next 4 days after eating some egg (by accident) was a reaction as his teeth are in the gum but have made no change this week. I've been keeping a close eye as its so hard to tell the difference.
I feel very tired but relieved I know what it is.
Some of his symptoms like runny nose and face running are synonymous with teething, and he has done that a lot this week since the egg. But other than that I'm sure it's intolerance. I start a gluten, soy, dairy free diet next week - hopefully with the consultants blessing. I do this because his reflux didn't get fully better going CMPI.
In your experience do you think he could be intolerant to more, or does going dairy free not clear up reflux fully?

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Permalink Reply by Jenny B on February 23, 2012 at 9:57

Just another question - ill be using spelt flour instead of normal flour, is this usually alright for babies with gluten intolerances?

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Permalink Reply by Jenny Rawling on February 23, 2012 at 13:53

For us it was dairy and soya, I cut out both at once but reintroducing either gave us symptoms similar to what you describe.

The "big four" of intolerances are milk, egg, wheat and soya, you'll see people refer to MEWS free diets. Some babies react to more than those, and there is a limit to what you can cut out. I did dairy/soya free for over a year and I don't think I could have cut out anything else longterm - that would have been my personal "swap to Neocate" trigger, but I know plenty of people do more restricted diets.

It probably makes sense to cut out all four temporarily, but do then reintroduce each seperately to confirm that they are causing a reaction, just like you have done inadvertently with the dairy. You don't want to be unnecessarily restricting your diets longterm if you don't need to.

I don't know about the spelt but I'm sure someone who is GF will be able to help soon. Jen x

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Permalink Reply by Jenny B on February 23, 2012 at 21:03

Thanks Jen, I'll be limiting my diet for me as it helps my M.E, and hopefully it will help baby, and I will introduce them to him after a time to see if he's intolerant. I'd like to be able to get him well without having to five him medication, but I don't know if this is possible. From what I've read in here, you can't ease their pain without dietary change and medication. So maybe I'll have to prepare myself for that!