Today was a big jump for the little guy! He has been eating 1/50th of a peanut and now he will go to 1/25th! He is very into learning about the United States right now, so I told him it was like going from eating 1 state a day, to eating 2 states a day. That got a really big grin out of him. He told me he wanted to eat Virginia and North Carolina.
Our pattern has been eating lunch each day immediately followed by eating his dose. To keep with that safe pattern, I packed a picnic lunch today so that we could eat at the clinic and try not to mess up our routine. He was very excited and chatty on the way so I hoped he wasn't worried. He has done well for the last 10 days, so hopefully any thoughts of bringing the peanut "back up" weren't in his mind. I brought our trusty little pink basin just in case. He went in and greeted the allergist, had his vital signs taken and took down 12 mg of peanut protein. I have found that if he stands up for a little while after eating his dose he seems to do better. Could just be coincidence but he is a good sport and plays along. He played his games on the ipad and was very chatty the whole time. He always seems to get a little itchy, rubbing is nose and such, but otherwise the dose went great today with no belly pain at all. Plus, we had a great ride home this week! Yay!
We did get to see another participant today doing his final food challenge and that was really encouraging. According to his mom, his peanut allergy numbers were "off the chart" when they started the study! He had to stay on the 0.1mg dose for three weeks he developed hives so badly. He started the study last June and today was able to eat the total of 14 peanuts! Wow! He ate 2, then 30 min later ate 4, then 8! And he did great with no side effects. His mom said they did have to deal with hives, belly pain, and diarrhea off and on through the study but seemed like his symptoms had no rhyme or reason. Kind of like how the little guy is experiencing them.
For now the allergist wants the little guy to stay on both stomach medicines and maybe try taking one away in early July if all is going well. Here's to better living through pharmacology! He did have the lab work back which checked for 5 different allergen components in a peanut. The little guy was positive for 2 of the 5--the rAra h 1 and rAra h 2. Basically that means that he does have a "true" peanut allergy. He was negative to the part that causes only oral itching and also negative to the part that cross reacts with other foods in the legume family such as peas and Lima beans. It is hard for me to describe these tests very well, so have attached a link that gives a description of the Ara h 2 test and it's importance in peanut allergy. But basically what this tells us is that the clinical trial probably won't go smoothly since he is truly highly allergic to peanut. The allergist said that if he was not allergic to these certain components he would more likely be able to breeze through the study with no problems. At least we know we are helping him tackle a serious, life threatening problem. Other good news is he tested for some seasonal allergies and he is allergic to oak, but does not appear to be allergic to any major grasses or weeds. Also no allergy to wheat or macadamia nuts! He should be able to eat a delicious chocolate covered macadamia nut candy my mother's cousin sends us from Hawaii one day!
I am very thankful he had such a good day. I pray the next 2 weeks will go just as well.
to be continued...
Great news!
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