Children's Allergies

Hello Ladies,

I had discussed with you earlier the up coming food challenge for DS (Wheat). He is 2 yr old and we have had confusing test results and reactions with wheat. Well, yesterday we had the challenge. So, I took DS without giving him his usual breakfast (since the appoiintment was at 9 am and they wanted to bring him in hungry). Luckily we started on time and he did not have to go hungry for long. I gave him 1/2 slice of bread (without corn or milk in it) with a jelly of his choice.. He gobbled it up.

We waited another 20 minutes. Doctor checked his eyes, ears, mouth etc. They listened to his chest and belly. And then gave him another full slice.
Like this we have him 4 slices of wheat bread by 12 Noon. And he did not have any reaction (accept that I noticed he was a little hyper, which  doctor said could be due to too much grape jelly). So they declared he was grown out of allergy to wheat. Our allergist said we should wait for 5 days and then give him wheat on regular basis..if we don't notice anything in 5 days that is.

When we came back home, I put him down for his nap. And he woke up at 4 PM crying. He was inconsolable. I rubbed his belly and that probably made him feel better. So I am guessing it was belly ache. He cried for 45 minutes before calming down. I felt that he was a little hyper in evening as well. He was screaming at smallest pretext and was getting upset easily.

Have any of you had same experience ? I Mean belly ache even when a food is safe to eat ? I and DH talked and we think we are not too keen on giving wheat to him yet.. What do you ladies think? Should we start with a small quantity and see how that goes? Is this something I should tell our allergist ( the tantrums and the belly ache?)

Thanks!

I do not have any experiences with food challenges yet, so I'm hoping that you'll get some good advice from someone who has.

However, based on your post, I would say that it didn't surprise me that your DS had a bellyache. He went from eating no wheat to eating four slices of wheat-filled bread within hours. My opinion (just an opinion-- I am not a medical professional) is that any one of us would probably get a bellyache after eating a substantial amount of one type of food after not eating it for a long time. Four slices of wheat bread is probably a lot of food for a two-year-old as it is, but a two-year-old who has been avoiding wheat? One non-allergy example this reminds me of is that a relative of mine does not really eat much red meat. So, every time she has a meal that makes use of a lot of red meat (like a slice or two of meatloaf, for example), she gets a serious case of indigestion. Her system is not used to processing that much red meat, so much like your son with wheat, she has a hard time digesting it.

My instinct would be to call the doctor and ask if a bellyache (with no other symptoms-- no skin reaction of any kind or diarrhea, right?) would be reason enough to continue avoiding wheat. If the doc doesn't think so, then I would start him on the wheat very slowly-- a few Cheerios/pretzels/small graham crackers per day or something like that. I think he probably needs time to get used to digesting something that hasn't been in his diet for some time. I hope I'm right-- getting wheat back is a big one. HTH, and GL!