"Oh... WOW!"

Well, we met with the allergist and immunologist this morning. We have been seeing him for about a year now, but this morning's appointment was to start testing for Eli's food allergies. I continue to be impressed by this doctor. He has always been very knowledgeable and I was very please to hear that he actually knew what Eosinophilic Esophagitis was!!!

So the nurse came in to get the test started, drawing a grid down Eli's back. Then he started the test.... Thank goodness Adam was there. I don't think I could have held Eli by myself... Poor guy was not happy being pricked down his back. After the nurse finished applying the allergens to Eli's back, he left the room to give the allergens a chance to react. After about 15 minutes, he came back to the room. His eyes got really big and he said, "Oh.... Wow! We've had some reactions! I was NOT expecting that!" He seemed to be pretty amazed at the reaction that Eli had to some of the allergens.

We only tested for 13 allergens today. We will plan on testing for other fruits, vegetables, proteins, etc. later on. Below is a table of the results of today's test. The Allergens tested for are listed first, followed by the Flare measurement (the size of the redness or rash), then the Wheal measurement (the size of the bump).

So basically, Eli had NO REACTION to:

• Apple
• Pecan
• Tuna
• Banana

Eli had a MILD REACTION to:

• Wheat
• Rice
• Peanut
• Soybean
• Walnut
• Cashew
• Cow's Milk

Eli had a  SEVERE REACTION to:

• Egg White
• Egg Yolk

So it's pretty obvious that Eli HAS to stay away from Eggs! He had a more severe reaction to it than the control Histamine. The doctor also said that it will be best to avoid tree nuts, as well as Cow's Milk. Even though the reaction to it was mild, Eli is also lactose intolerant. We were concerned about the Soybean because Eli drinks soy milk. After drinking it, he usually coughs a lot which is a symptom of having a "flare" or reaction. We asked the doctor about switching to rice milk since the reaction to rice was less than that of soybean; he advised against this because soy milk has a higher nutritional value than rice milk.

After this testing, we also went to have lab work done. The doctor ordered a "Pedi Food Panel" so they drew 4 vials of blood and will be testing it for allergies; they will repeat everything that the scratch test tested for, as well as a few other allergens. We should have those results in a few days!

So basically, we have a good starting point. This will give us a good place to start at Baylor once they are able to get Eli to start eating. A Gluten-free diet is probably going to be best for Eli. We are also planning to work very closely with a nutritionist to monitor Eli's diet and calorie intake.

The doctor also asked if we were doing an Elemental or Elimination diet with Eli. Unfortunately, we haven't been given much guidance in that area.... We're really hoping to get more information from Our Children's House; we're also planning to get a second opinion from a GI doctor at Cook's Children's Hospital as far as the hernia and other GI issues are involved.

But, this is definitely a step in the right direction. Now that we are beginning to find out exactly what Eli is allergic to and is causing or will cause EE reactions, we can begin to build a healthy, non-reactive diet for him once he begins to have oral intake!!!!

We're very excited to finally be getting somewhere with his health issues and have big hopes for his future!!!