tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41532991615073161152024-02-08T11:31:46.667-05:00Eat a Little PeanutThis is the journey of a brave little boy overcoming his peanut allergy. Here you will read about his first dose of peanut in his clinical trial to his final food challenge. Please check back often for updates!Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-56309593588053997842013-01-29T20:54:00.001-05:002013-01-30T08:36:12.591-05:00The results are in...January 29, 2013Today I received the message from the allergist about the little guy's blood work. It seems his IgE level is 22. That is not yet at the goal of 15 that is required to enter the next phase of the study. It seems like going from 29 down to 22 is not a very big drop. On the contrary, he has made a great deal of progress. The allergist said that when people start this type of allergy treatment their IgE can rise 50-100 points as the body reacts to ingesting the allergen. (hence all the fun stomach upset the little guy experienced) So if you take that into consideration, his number could have gotten as high as <br />
80-130 during the initial phase of the study. To be back down now to 22 means that his immune system is showing a good response. That's our M.O. around here, always "moving in the right direction"!<br />
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Now our plan is to hold the course for the next 3-4 months or even longer to give his number a chance to come down nicely--preferably well below 15 according to the allergist. The little guy will keep eating his 3-5 peanuts a day and we will plug along. The allergist doesn't want to torture him with too many blood draws and wants to wait long enough that the next one will hopefully be the last. It takes a lot for doctors to impress me and this guy is good.<br />
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to be continued...Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-81486230212509715352013-01-27T16:21:00.001-05:002013-01-27T16:21:04.726-05:00One Week In--January 27, 2013It has now been just a little over a week since the little guy finished his big peanut challenge day. Now he has had to get used to the taste of real peanut butter. He really is not a big fan, which is not surprising. The first day, he tried peanut butter M&M's. He ate 3 of them, but didn't really seem to enjoy doing so. He did o.k. with that dose. That is a pretty big daily dose increase, so I didn't know how he would do eating a higher daily amount. The allergist said we could go slower and build up if he seemed uncomfortable, but we are trying to shoot for around 4 peanuts a day. The only symptom I notice in him is that he starts to sound like he has some mucous in his throat he needs to clear, that isn't there before he eats his dose, but even that has improved over the course of the week. <br />
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Since he wasn't a big fan of the candy, I searched the peanut butter isle for anything that might taste a little better. We don't have too many options since the dose has to be able to be quantified. You can't be sure just how much peanut is in certain candy bars or even a Reece cup. Our options include Reece's pieces, dry roasted peanuts, Peanut or peanut butter M&M's, or peanut butter. Now they even make flavored peanut butter. I was able to find a choice from Peanut Butter and Co. called "Dark Chocolate Dreams". It is regular peanut butter mixed with dark chocolate. I picked up a jar hoping that might appeal to him. Since it is flavored, it counts for 4 peanuts per teaspoon, whereas regular peanut butter contains 5 peanuts per teaspoon. Perfect. A nice "middle of the road" dose, tasting like chocolate peanut butter candy. It has been a hit so far, or at least something he is willing to tolerate daily. I spread the teaspoon onto a half a slice of bread and make a mini sandwich.<br />
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This past Thursday was also the big day for the blood work. The allergist had given me some numbing cream I applied to his arm before we left home. I really hyped it up that "he wouldn't feel a thing". I knew that wasn't entirely true, but when you have a 15-20 minute car ride ahead of you with a innocent 6 year old who knows what is ahead for <strong>him</strong>, you just say what you need to say. He was actually very brave this time and the whole procedure was over in no time. He even watched the blood come into the tube! These lab results will tell us his IgE level to peanut and if it below the magic number of 15. His number started out at 29 last spring, so I bet as well as he is doing that it will be below that mark. If it is, he will go on to the peanut avoidance stage of the study. The allergist said we should have results as early as 1/28 or 1/29. <br />
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Even though we have reached this point, the same rules apply for his dosing that we have had all along. The peanut must still be eaten on a full stomach, no dosing while ill with a fever or other serious infection and must avoid physical activity for 2 hours after dosing. Even though his risk of reacting to the peanut is much lower now, it can still happen if we break the "rules".<br />
The little guy is very good about it all at this point. He loves to draw houses and build houses with his legos so we can always find something quiet to do. He is such a brave child to go through all he has in the last 9 months. We are all so very proud of him.<br />
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to be continued... Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-76192865883312523732013-01-20T22:07:00.000-05:002013-01-20T22:39:05.144-05:00Challenge Day--January 18, 2013Today was the day that all the little guy's hard work was put to the test. I know he has been worried about it all week in his little mind. He just hasn't been himself this week. He had to be off all antihistamine medications for a week before the challenge so a reaction to the peanut would not be masked. Coming off of his Zyrtec is always hard for him because his allergies always flare up. Each day off of it he gets a little more stuffy. This morning he woke up with a little cough, so of course I was worried he may be getting sick, but turns out it was just from his allergies. So between allergy trouble, missing school due to weather/holiday, and worrying about the challenge, the little guy has had a hard week.<br />
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We arrived at clinic this morning around 930. The goal today was to complete 5 different doses, all measured out in powder, ranging between 2-4 peanuts per dose for a grand total of ~15 peanut equivalents. The little guy already had a big breakfast so I gave him a granola bar to eat before his dose. The allergist took his vital signs, listened to his lungs and then he started his doses. He started with 2 peanut equivalents. He did seem to have a little flushing and didn't quite seem himself after the dose. He never complained of anything so we just kept close watch on him. After about 20 minutes his symptoms seemed to subside. The little guy had to wait 30 minutes inbetween doses, so he was busy drawing houses to pass the time. Thirty minutes after the first dose, it was time for another! We brought lots of snacks along, so before each dose he would eat a small snack. Each dose was a large amount of powder, so it required him to eat a lot of applesauce with each dose. The second dose was around 3 peanuts. This dose seemed to go smoother for him and I didn't notice the facial flushing. Once again, he went back to drawing and we waited out another 30 minutes. The time did seem to pass quickly, but the little guy did seem to grow weary of all the sitting. Finally dose #3 came and he ate another dose of around 3 peanuts. Once again this dose seemed to go o.k. The fourth dose he decided to mix with chocolate pudding. This dose was closer to 4 peanuts. He got a little burst of energy from the chocolate, so while we waited out that 30 minutes we used the magnet on our iPad cover to see what all he could find that was metal around the clinic. He is studying magnets right now in kindergarten, so that kept him entertained. Finally the time came to eat his final dose of around 4 peanuts that would put him at 15 total peanuts for the day. He decided to eat the last dose mixed in applesauce because the pudding gave the powder a weird taste. By the last dose you could tell that he was feeling "different" from eating all the peanut. He made it through without having a allergic reaction, but you could tell that he acted differently--sort of like how he used to act when he first started the study. After eating the last dose, we had to stay in the clinic another 2 hours so the allergist could observe him for any allergic reaction. We were there for a good 5 hours, so he was definitly wiped out by all the stress when we were done. And so was I!<br />
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The last part the allergist and I tried to sneak in on him was the blood work to check his IgE level for peanut. This is important because if his IgE to peanut is now below 15, since he passed the challenge, he would do a strict peanut avoidance for a month and then go back to clinic and re-challenge eating 15 peanuts and see if he can pass again. This would show he has achieved desensitization, and the study would be complete. If his blood level is not below the 15 mark, he would keep eating around 3-5 peanuts a day and would go back for lab work every 3-4 months until his IgE reached that level to do the peanut avoidance phase. Needless to say he started a major meltdown when he heard he was up for a blood draw so after much coaxing and pleading we were not able to convince him otherwise. Since he had been through so much already we conceded and I will take him next week after school for round two of fun. <br />
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So here we go! He made it to a point that I was never sure he would be able to get to. Another little boy was at clinic today and he was having to drop out due to severe stomach pain when eating even small amounts of peanut despite taking the stomach medicines the little guy used. That made me realize just how blessed we are that the little guy was able to continue. It is hard to believe that eating 1/300th of a peanut used to make him vomit and today he was able to eat 15 peanuts. As a mom I feel so lucky that I now have a little reassurance that he is a little safer now for reaching this point.<br />
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He still cannot eat large amounts of peanut--his daily goal is still everyday to eat 3-5 peanuts. No more powder though! He will have to get used to the taste of eating real peanut foods. Did you know that 1 tsp. of peanut butter is the equivalent of 5 peanuts?? It is no wonder people have such severe reactions to peanut butter the first time they eat it if they are allergic. It is very concentrated! His first try at the real thing will be peanut butter M&M's. It will seem so strange to give him something real like that. To avoid it like the plague for so long and then pop open a bag of candy and give him 4 or 5 M&M's will be very odd indeed!<br />
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Today was my birthday. And what a birthday it was.<br />
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to be continued...<br />
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<br />Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-74304377105427896012013-01-08T21:22:00.000-05:002013-01-08T21:22:34.067-05:00Nearing the Big DayWow. I cannot believe that it has been 12 weeks now since the little guy started maintenance dosing. The end of October was a busy time with Halloween. That was a fun holiday this year. He was able to try several new candies that he had never had before--talk about excitement for a 6 year old! Twix bars, cookies and cream Hershey bars, Kit Kat bars, and his favorite--M&MS! It was a joy to watch something so simple (and something most of us take for granted) excite him so much. The M&M frenzy continued into November and then into Christmas with baking M&M cookies with the red and green ones. Very fun holiday times.<br />
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The maintenance dosing has gone very smoothly. He was off both stomach medications by about 2 1/2 weeks into the dosing, around November 1st. I know he was ready to come off of them both sooner, but I was not going to try anything that would even remotely cause a set back. Soon after stopping the medications I became brave and let him do his dosing in the morning on the weekends with his breakfast. That went smoothly too! Yay! Now we actually freed up our weekend time so we didn't have to be home by lunch each day. You can't even tell at this point that it has any effect on him and he reports not noticing a thing when he eats it. That is good because that is the goal!<br />
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Today does mark the end of the 12 week maintenance period. The allergist already had several kids arranged to do their challenge tomorrow on the 9th, so we opted to wait another week and have him go next Friday, January 18th when he is out of school. It will be another long day of sitting in clinic for at least 4 hours while they build him up in 4-5 peanut increments every 30 minutes to a total of 15-16 peanut equivalents. He will have to eat it all in powder form so that should be interesting trying to mix all that powder! I hope he can make it all the way. If not, he will go back on daily maintenance and will get the chance to try again.<br />
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I will post more details on how the challenge will go as the allergist sends them to me. That day is also my birthday and I can't think of a better present than to watch the little guy succeed. It would be a win for us all. <br />
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To be continued...Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-37350843952487190312012-10-18T21:11:00.001-04:002012-10-18T21:11:16.554-04:0010th Cinic Visit--October 17, 2012He made it! The little guy survived all the upset stomachs and dose derailments. He made it to his maintenance dose of 306mg of peanut protein, or 1 whole peanut a day. Our journey started on May 9th and with all the protocol changes, he made it to this point a lot quicker than anticipated. I knew that even if he had trouble with the dose today that he would still get there in his own little time.<br />
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Today was a lot different than even 2 weeks ago for the little guy. Today, he didn't want me to pick him up early from school and was not happy he had to leave before recess. I think he has made some good friends and finally enjoys everything about school. He had a bit of a hard week though getting settled into a reading group. He reads really well, so the teacher is challenging him just enough that he has to really focus when he reads. How dare she make him work at school! :) He was a little out of sorts for peanut clinic because of a rough day with his reading. I just hoped his mood wouldn't put a damper on his visit. The little guy greeted the allergist for hopefully the last time for a while, had his vital signs taken, and ate down 306mg of peanut protein. Aside from being a little cranky and emotional while we were there, he had no stomach complaints or other side effects! He really truly did it.<br />
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So this marks the beginning of the "maintenance phase". The little guy was given a month supply of the 306mg peanut protein that he will continue to eat each day. We will pick up "refills" each month from the clinic and just plug along at home without having to go to clinic visits unless a problem arises. I will peel him off the rest of his stomach medications over the next 3-4 weeks and hope that it all continues to go well. After 3 months of doing our home regimen, we will go back and he will be given the powder equivalent of up to 16 peanuts. The allergist breaks the dosing up into three increments. If he can do well with that, then more blood work will follow. For now, I will just enjoy having him at 1 peanut a day, knowing that if he made it here, in time, he will make it all the way.<br />
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This all happened at a perfect time with Halloween right around the corner. I am going to buy candy this year that I haven't purchased in years. He is excited to enjoy plain M&M's for the first time on Halloween. I figured I would save giving them until then so it was a special treat. Most of all, this means there is a comfort in sending him to school that he will be safe should he come in contact with peanut products. He has made some good friends sitting near the "allergy kids" at lunch, so I'm sure he will keep sitting with them since he enjoys that so. Kindergarten has been a breath of fresh air for him in SO many ways.<br />
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I am so thankful to everyone reading this blog who has prayed for him and wished him well. I am also incredibly grateful to live so close to a wonderful institution so he could get this opportunity. He still has a ways to go, but he has made to a huge milestone. I look forward to the day when he can fully understand just what he has done and at such a young age.<br />
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Next challenge is the yearly flu shot--that will be more of a trauma to him than any peanut experience! Check back for updates!<br />
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to be continued...Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-18451616218165713802012-10-14T15:26:00.001-04:002012-10-14T15:31:03.445-04:00Almost there! October 14, 2012The little guy is almost there. Only 2 more doses until he goes back to clinic to eat his final dose getting him to one peanut a day. I just hope he can stay well to get there! He has been battling a cold for the last week. He didn't have to miss any doses but on Wednesday he did have an asthma attack with his dose since he was sick. <br />
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It is so hard to watch the little guy get sick. For most parents, having your child get a cold may not even be that noticeable, or just a minor inconvenience. When the little guy gets sick, I have to be right on top of the cold from day one, giving him 4 times the dose of his inhaled steroid daily than he usually takes. He also has to have extra inhalers to open him up so he stops coughing. Sometimes he even has to uses oral medication to help stop his asthma. He is not a wheezing asthmatic, just one that coughs and often gets very croupy with his cough. All these medications combined make him very moody and irritable. I just feel so bad for him that he has to go through all this. The little guy has more prescriptions written for him than some of the geriatric patients I take care of!<br />
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On Wednesday, he had had his cold for 4 days and seemed to be doing better. No signs after school that anything was getting worse. He had his dose of peanut and within 20 minutes he started coughing and coughing. I had to give him 4 puffs of his rescue inhaler just to get the coughing slowed down, but it never stopped it. I also started him on his Singulair (which makes his moods truly unbearable, but works like a charm). For whatever reason, this virus seemed to hit his lungs worse than the last cold he had. The allergist advised me to keep dosing his peanut through the week unless a fever surfaced.<br />
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Lo and behold the next day we had a good friend over and he did great! Not one single cough. Granted, by this time he had enough inhalers and pills floating in his system that he should be O.K.!<br />
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Still today, one week later he is still trying to get better. I just hope we can ward off the next round of Kindergarten germs until we hit the clinic doors Wednesday!<br />
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to be continued....Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-55394287261927776742012-10-05T20:52:00.003-04:002012-10-14T15:27:07.089-04:00In the Clear--October 5, 2012The little guy is now 3 days into the 200mg dose. So far so good! After the first day of having some flushing there have been no noticeable symptoms for the last 2 days. I usually like to give him 5 days before I judge if the dose is going to go well or not but I think he should be in the clear. He is having reading assessments at school this coming week so I doubt I will get the courage to stop his medication. We will just take it one day at a time!<br />
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To be continued...Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-90787989016544870542012-10-03T22:21:00.003-04:002012-10-03T22:21:26.062-04:009th Clinic Visit--October 3, 2012Today was a special day. Going to peanut clinic has never been a bright star in the little guy's day until school started. Even though he is doing well with school and really likes it, he knows that every other Wednesday he gets to leave school early and spend time with Mama. He ALWAYS reminds me to put a note in his book bag to tell the teacher he will be leaving early. When I told him that we would only have one more Wednesday to come before eating our peanut at home for a few months he said he didn't like that at all. I sorta understand how he feels. This whole process has given us a special bond in our relationship.<br />
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The little guy didn't realize what a big step today was. Today he was the 2nd person to make the big dosage jump on the new protocol. I was certainly super nervous for him. He did great the last 2 weeks. I was even able to lower his PPI stomach medication and cut it in half for the last week. No stomach troubles resurfaced at all! Today he made the dosage jump from 100mg to 200mg peanut protien (2/3 of a peanut!). For about 1/2 hour he appeared to get a bit flushed and rubbed his nose a bit, but he never had the ominous quiet period. It seemed that the dose was a success, at least for today! I asked the allergist how these big dosage jumps were tolerated in other studies at other institutions and he reiterated that the higher doses are much better tolerated than the smaller ones. Seems that the "peanut allergy receptors" are saturated by the time the higher doses are reached, so the body starts to accept more and more without having reactions. The good man hasn't led us down the wrong path yet, so I have come to trust that he knows what he is talking about!<br />
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I have found that if he can make it through the first 5 days of dosing without getting sick, then he will be fine. If he does well this next week, I may get the courage to fully stop his PPI and continue him on just the H2 blocker. The little guy's routine has worked for him for over 4 months, so I hate to rock the boat until he makes it to the end!<br />
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In 2 weeks, if all goes as planned, he will go back to eat his final maintence dose of 1 full peanut. I feel so blessed and am so thankful he has made it to this point. I am so proud of the little guy and I make sure I tell him that each and every day.<br />
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to be continued...<br />
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<br />Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-3660151923527313392012-09-20T21:12:00.001-04:002012-09-20T21:12:34.393-04:008th Clinic Visit--September 19, 2012What a busy day for the little guy. As soon as he woke up this morning he told me his throat hurt. I checked it out and it was only a little red. He had a little sneezing and sniffling before school, but he didn't have a fever so I sent him on. Thankfully, he had a good day despite his symptoms and I never received a call from the nurse. In the meantime, I called the study coordinator to tell her about the little guy's symptoms. She told me to bring him over after school and the allergist would check him out to see if he could escalate the dose. You have to be very careful with illness when dosing the peanut, and doses are always to be held if a fever is involved. <br />
When I picked him up he looked worn out. But we soldiered on in and even the allergist agreed he didn't look like he felt very good. He didn't have a fever, so the allergist felt we were OK to try. Especially since he didn't get sick on Tuesday--sometimes a reaction will happen the day BEFORE you start showing signs of illness. I set him up with his paper and pens to draw and he showed no signs of trouble the whole 2 hours! Yay! He is now up to 100mg of peanut protein, or 1/3 of a peanut!<br />
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Just when I thought my worry brain couldn't process anymore yesterday I was given new paperwork from the allergist that the study protocol is changing--right now. The original schedule had the little guy going back 5 more visits to escalate his doses--125mg, 156mg, 190mg, 250mg and then 300mg. Now, starting in 2 weeks he will go to 200 mg and then his final visit in another 2 weeks will be the 300mg! This change is based off the fact that research is showing the larger doses are tolerated better, so moving faster appears to be safe and well tolerated. The new protocol also cuts his 1 peanut a day maintenance down to 3 months from 4 months. <br />
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The major change that has me worried is that once he can pass his food challenge AND have his blood IgE to peanut below 15 he will have to intentionally avoid all peanut products for one month and then go back for another challenge to see if he actually has developed desensitization versus tolerance. They have added this step now to try to give a better assurance of patient safety after the study is over. <br />
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The little guy has a lot to overcome in the next month. We have to start weaning his stomach medications off so that he should go to maintenance dosing without them. I thought we had at least 10 weeks! We only have 4! He will be able to go slower if he doesn't tolerate the big jumps. Something tells me though given all the good days he has been having, and even being able to tolerate his dose with a bad cold, I think he is moving in the right direction.<br />
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Soooo....here we are facing the fact that in as little as 4 months he could be eating a peanut butter cup or peanut M&M. I will continue to pray we can get there. He has come so far and I have seen so many positive changes in him. Quoting a phrase I am told on a regular basis, "Just take it day by day".<br />
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to be continued...Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-30027810792829065942012-09-10T21:51:00.001-04:002012-09-10T21:51:27.452-04:00Smiles--September 10, 2012Today I was told by the little guy as soon as I picked him up from school that he had a smile on his face all day. He was just beaming and you could tell he was proud of himself. The teacher gave me the thumbs up and said it was a great day. That was so good to see. Hearing about days like that where he can turn it all around and tackle school with a smile makes wading through all the rough days worth it. <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);">That is the same way I feel about peanut dosing right now. After his rocky month of August, he has done a great job with his last 6 days of 75mg. It seems all his immune system needed was a little pep talk and going back up this time hasn't even bothered his allergies. No extra sneezing or stuffiness in the morning. He may still get sick during this dose, but if he does I am more confident that it is just due to one of those fluke circumstances and not his inability to tolerate it. Who knows what the next dose will bring but for right now, he is happy and I'm relieved we can finally enjoy a couple of tiny victories. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);">To be continued...</span>Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-45748366964855245192012-09-06T20:53:00.001-04:002012-09-06T20:57:22.271-04:007th Clinic Visit--September 5, 2012Here we go, back where the little guy started 6 weeks ago. After his one after school reaction last week, he did great the rest of the week. Of course, once I told him he would keep throwing up after school unless he drank the water I packed, his lunch box magically started to come home empty with all the liquids gone. He is a quick learner. <br />
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He did a good job at clinic yesterday. He didn't have any trouble going up on his dose, back to 75mg of peanut protein. That is 1/4 of a peanut. The allergist is hopeful that staying on the 50mg dose for a month will be the push he needed to tolerate it. I fixed a little desk area in the hallway and he just sat and drew houses for 2 hours. It really is nice having that 2 hours at clinic to spend with him. It is hard to find quiet time in the house after school when his sister is on the loose.<br />
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I did ask the question that I dreaded to ask--if he did not do well again going up on the dose, did that mean we were done? out of the study? Thankfully, the allergist said that we could continue, we would just have to go back down to 50mg again and stay there at least for another month or so if we were willing. Even though that would drag things out longer, it would be worth it. Our whole family has sacrificed so much so far to be a part of the study, I hate to stop. From talking to the allergist, I gathered that the little guy was one of the few having trouble with the study in the group he is with. Seems like participants who had even higher IgE levels are not having any trouble escalating their doses. The little guy had one of the lowest levels that was measured in this phase. The allergist said that is why he really doesn't put much stock in the lab work because it gives no real indication how people will react. <br />
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Today he took his second dose of 75mg after school. I could tell it bothered his allergies some, but he never became quiet (our doom signal) so everything went well. That is an improvement from the last time he did this. If he can make it through the weekend without getting sick, I think he will be o.k. He seems to really like school--some things he will tell us but the majority of the day I am told is a "secret". At least he is smiling when I pick him up and is non-stop energy until his head hits the pillow at night. Now that the initial stress from school is over, hopefully peanut can have some smooth sailing for a while. The little guy is certainly due.<br />
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to be continued...Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-90591687260276886922012-08-29T13:49:00.001-04:002012-08-29T13:53:02.200-04:00New Hurdles--August 29, 2012Yesterday when I posted the little guy was at school and hadn't had his dose yet for the day. It is a good thing I posted when I did or I may have been too discouraged to do it at all. He finished his third day of school yesterday and he is doing fairly well except for a few things. With all the "new" things he is being exposed to, he seems to be leaving eating and drinking much during the day until he gets home. I made sure he has money on his account to buy milk and he refuses to do so. Not a problem if he would drink the bottle of water I put in his lunchbox, but he won't. For just any kid this would not be a problem and would work itself out. For a kid who has to come home and dose his peanut, this does not make for a good afternoon. When I picked him up yesterday he was sweaty and you could tell he had been having fun on the playground. That was great to see. But in my "medical" perspective I had a bad feeling about his peanut since he was overheated and dehydrated from lack of fluid intake. He drank water in the car on the way home and I filled him up with a heavy snack at home. He is starved when he gets home and will eat anything I put in front of him. The little guy ate his peanut and went on drawing pictures of houses--his latest craze. Within 15 minutes he got up and ran to the bathroom and vomited. It even came out his nose so he was screaming from that. He then started sneezing (at least 20 times) and had excessive runny nose. I had to give him benadryl his symptoms were so bad. His poor nose closed up so badly he couldn't even blow it. No other symptoms though, thank goodness. After about an hour he was more himself and he did eat a good dinner. But as soon as dinner was over it was time for bed! Poor guy! He didn't even get a chance to have any fun after his school day. Hopefully I feel more guilty and bad about it than him. I tried to tell him how important drinking fluids at school is. I pack plenty of water bottles for him in his book bag, it is just a matter of him learning to speak up for himself and learning to take care of himself. I hope getting sick with his peanut will help him learn sooner rather than later. We have all sacrificed so much over the last 4 months to have something like this bring the study to an end. But, school is priority number one now. <br />
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I am anxious to see how he is when I pick him up today. He was still very congested this morning from his allergies. I think maybe today I will only give him half a dose of his peanut and let his immune system settle down. He does have to go back next week for a dose increase back to 75mg. I pray we can get the school routine settled and give him the best chance to succeed--on all fronts. He is a brave little kid and I am so proud of him.<br />
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to be continued...Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-42583030446273475102012-08-28T20:17:00.001-04:002012-08-28T20:17:33.961-04:00A step back and a slow creep forward--August 28, 2012Remember me? Yes, I do post here. It has been a while, too long in fact since my last post. We have had some interesting times here in the little guy's house so I just couldn't find it in me to put into words all we have been through. I believe we left off on 7/27 with the little guy getting sick from the new dose. Well, he got sick again with the 75mg dose on 7/29/12. That time it stayed down for 1 1/2 hours before coming up. Since the allergist had left to visit Mickey Mouse for the week I decided to double his H2 blocker dose to twice a day and see what happened. That next day his Nana ended up in the hospital unexpectedly for a week so I had a lot on my plate...trying to keep all the news from him as to not upset him and cause him a greater chance to react (the allergist says that stress has a higher likely hood of causing a reaction than illness), and also trying to be at the hospital as much as I could to be with my mom. Luckily the good Lord must have known I could only handle so much that week and the little guy did fine with his doses. He had a fun birthday, or as fun as we could make it with everything we had going on! Give the kid some Legos and he will never be disappointed! <br />
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All was well until 8/5/12 when he got sick again with his dose. I was hoping this was a fluke but all week, even though he kept it down, he never really looked good for the 2 hours we had to wait it out. Monday the 6th came and he got sick yet again. This time his nose became really stuffy and runny and he complained of an itchy throat after vomiting. I had to give him benadryl since it appeared his reaction was worse than it has ever been. By now, the allergist was back from vacation and I gave him a ring. His advice despite our efforts was to go back down on his dose to the 50mg daily that he had done well with. He feels he may be one of those people who needs longer at these higher doses and maybe the 75mg was the "threshold" that his immune system has to accept. So, needless to say we didn't have a clinic visit on 8/8/12 like we were supposed to. We just picked up our new bag of 50mg doses and restarted that at home. His allergies stayed flared up all that week. He has a lot more sneezing and runny nose in the morning and allergic shiners under his eyes when the peanut dose is bothering him. He did well and we cut the H2 blocker dose back to once daily from then on. <br />
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He did have one more reaction the following week. This was the day we were going to have a visit from my mother's cousin from Hawaii. The little guy had never met her and this was a special day. After dosing that day I could tell the dose was not going well and he was not himself. Of all days, it would have to be the day he got the chance to visit with a distant relative! argh! He didn't get sick by his 2 hour mark so I wasn't sure what was going on with him. We traveled back to our house and 4 1/2 hours after taking his dose he finally vomited. Of course his sister witnessed it and it scared her so badly she was shrieking and refused to try to "potty-train" for the next 2 days. <br />
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After that, all of his days went well. His next clinic visit was supposed to be 8/22/12 but after some thinking I talked with the allergist to see if we HAD to go up that week of if we could hold the course. See, the little guy started Kindergarten on 8/24, so knowing how stressed he might get from that I was scared to death to go back up right at this pivotal time in his life (and mine!). He agreed that leaving him at 50mg for another 2 weeks would be fine. So far he has been doing great and school is going better than expected. It certainly has not been without tears, but he seems happy, talks about the kids and tells me about his days. <br />
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Much has happened this month--out of many bad circumstances has come much to also be thankful for. But let's just say I'll be glad to turn my calendar to September...<br />
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to be continued...Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-75138098923591726602012-07-27T21:41:00.000-04:002012-07-27T21:44:31.544-04:00Plans Derailed--July 27, 2012I think I am giving up on making plans. I should know better now than to announce big plans and brag on the little guy. But I at least like to TRY to see the glass half full. It is hard to go through this process without being overly optimistic. You would lose your sanity if you weren't.
The little guy was fine yesterday. No problems with the new dose. Today, though, was different. We did all of our same rituals but the outcome wasn't the same. Within 15 minutes of eating his dose I could tell he was getting quiet. He hasn't been quiet in quite some time. Within 30 minutes of dosing he was on his way to the bathroom to bring the peanut back up. His little sister loves to follow us around so she got to witness the event and she began screaming and crying since it scared her. Good times. Luckily once he cleaned himself out, he was fine and said he was all better. He went back to playing and jabbering away. He did remind me in the middle of it all, "you know I don't like this". But this time he said it with more annoyance in his voice than being upset. Like it was an "inconvenience" to him. This whole process has matured him a lot.
I spoke with the allergist and we will hold the course and not try to stop any medications for now. He is hoping it was just a fluke. He said sometimes this happens and there is no rhyme or reason to it. Let's hope and pray that is the case. I was going to cut the PPI in half tomorrow, but not now! I now have a 3 month supply on order from the pharmacy. How is that for optimism!
to be continued...Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-26356745056367497402012-07-25T22:34:00.002-04:002012-07-25T22:43:49.788-04:006th Clinic Visit July 25, 2012Today was a good day for the little guy! He did really well over the last 2 weeks with 50mg of peanut. So he marched back in this morning to greet the allergist, have his vital signs taken and eat his new dose of 75mg! That is now 1/4 of a peanut. He didn't have any trouble today so hopefully that means a good week ahead. <br />
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We will be making a change in his medication regimen. The allergist would like to keep him on both stomach medications for a few more days to make sure the new dose settles well and then start taking away the proton pump inhibitor. I will cut the dose in half and see if he still does well. Hopefully then after another week or so he can stop it and he will be on one less medicine before school starts!
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The little guy received more good news today at clinic. Since his peanut dose is at a higher level, he is now able to eat foods that state they are made in a facility that processes peanuts or even foods that say they may contain peanuts! He can now eat M&Ms (not peanut of course) and any other candy or food that does not overtly contain nuts! Granted, we have certainly found our little group of foods that we like and are safe. There are plenty of ice creams and cookies that he can have, but now just going out to eat, going to a birthday party or even trick or treating at Halloween will be different for him. Eating a M&M may not seem like a big deal, but to an almost 6 year old that has never had one, this is a huge deal to him. I think he will start to see now, finally, just why we have put him through all this. He was so excited today to hear today that he could eat some new things....but chances are he will be just as happy with his chocolate Oreo ice cream!
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The little guy certainly has a big week ahead--Hopefully lowering his medications and a big birthday! I am in charge of making a large cake with the United States on it. I could "outsource" the task now to a bakery since it is safe to do so, but baking cakes for the little guy over the years has brought me such joy. It just wouldn't seem like a birthday if I didn't get to put my love into it. <br />
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My challenge for you all out there in blog land is this...next time you are at the store, scan the nutrition label and look for any mention of peanuts in the ingredients. You may be suprised how many products mention they are processed around peanuts, even though you would have never thought they would be.
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We are making small steps forward and I am thankful for each and every one.
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to be continued...Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-70268693609401057942012-07-12T21:18:00.001-04:002012-07-12T21:18:48.221-04:005th Clinic Visit--July 12, 2012Whew! What a week for the little guy. He has one more day to go of Kindergarten camp. He has definitely had some tears, but I hope they stopped once he gets past the classroom doors. Due to his allergy, he has had to sit by himself away from other children at snack time. I sure am glad we are in the study so that he will hopefully change that by the time school starts. All in all, he has fought back the tears and proved he can be a big Kindergartener this year!<br />
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The little guy also showed today that he can handle 1/6th of a peanut! He is up to 50mg of peanut protein now. I think it is possible now to actually cut a peanut into 6 equal pieces! What he is able to eat is a substantial amount of a nut! According to the allergist, this dose is a turning point for him. In looking at the data from other university trials, once the participants got past the 50mg protein dose, the incidence of reactions really declined. It seems like the immune system can fight you more up to this point and then finally begins to settle down. This doesn't mean that he won't have issues once he gets to 75mg or higher, but the odds are even more in his favor for finishing the study if he can! That was certainly good news. He will continue to stay on both stomach medications for the next 2 weeks to give him the best chance. Today we went to the allergist's patient clinic hours since we missed our actual peanut clinic yesterday. The little guy was the only peanut participant there today, so sitting in a waiting room with soap operas playing on the TV for 2 hours was a little trying. He didn't seem to have any issues with the dose and played on the iPad tirelessly the whole time--games about the United States, building virtual Lego towers, learning about money/coins. I sometimes wonder what my generation did as a child for entertainment. I did have a little pink ball I used to talk to--her name was Amy. Thank goodness Steve Jobs came along.<br />
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After clinic, I treated the little guy to a cone of chocolate ice cream on the way home. He was happy as a lark and was wound up like a top once we got home. I am so proud of all he is accomplishing. I pray he will continue to progress and that these next pivotal 2 weeks will pass smoothly for him. <br />
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He has a birthday coming up soon...we certainly will have a lot to celebrate and be thankful for this year.<br />
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to be continued...<br />
<br />Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-31909570652094996312012-07-06T21:15:00.001-04:002012-07-06T21:15:38.958-04:00Hot, Hot, Hot! July 6, 2012Can it get any hotter? It is probably hotter in Death Valley California according to the little guy--our resident geography buff. We were fortunate not to lose power for long, so we have been basking in AC all this week--until this morning. Our 1st floor AC stopped today, so I put in a stat call with hopes they could work us in to be fixed. Peanut has been going really well for the last 2 weeks. He will stay on the 25mg dose 1 extra week due to the holiday and the allergist being off. We don't go back for another dose escalation until next Thursday, the 12th. I thought today would go fine, but with the extra heat in the house, despite fans running like crazy, I was a bit concerned. One day last week while we were on vacation, he got a little overheated and dehydrated and developed stomach cramps with his dose. He never got sick, but he certainly complained of pain for a while. Today, I tried to fix lunch quickly so I could get both kids upstairs to stay cool where we did have AC. It was still stuffy up there since that unit was working overtime. He seemed fine, but as soon as I sat down in his sister's room to put her down for a nap, I heard him gagging in the hall. Fortunately, once it was all up he was fine. And then the heat pump guy showed up! Yea! He ws able to correct our problem in no time and the AC cranked back up. I guess tomorrow we will stay in and try to beat the heat. I hope that is all it was today, was a reaction to the temperatures. I know I was sweating just trying to fix lunch! Next week he will have a lot more to tackle than peanut. He has Kindergarten Camp! Five days of seeing what big kid school has in store for him. I certainly hope he can turn a new leaf and show them he can do it!
to be continued...Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-63536094450179803882012-06-20T22:48:00.001-04:002012-06-21T07:52:54.212-04:004th Clinic Visit--June 20, 2012Today was a good day. I always get nervous the morning of clinic days. The uncertainty of it all. I guess if the little guy wouldn't have had the bad reactions at first, I wouldn't get uneasy in MY tummy. The little guy, on the other hand, spent the morning busy building Legos and horse playing with his sister.
Today was a confidence builder though. Today we had to break our safe routine of eating lunch and then eating peanut. Since school is out for summer, this was our first morning clinic visit. I packed a heavy snack for the little guy and hoped that would be enough on his stomach to keep it settled. There is only so much food you can get the little guy to eat at 10:30 in the morning! He marched on in and went through our routine of vital signs and listening to his chest with the allergist. I mixed up his new dose in the cinnamon applesauce he has become quite fond of, and the 2 hour waiting game was on.
Today, he is now up to eating 25mg of peanut protien, the equivelant of 1/12th of a peanut! (or in his terms he is eating Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, and California!) Pretty amazing! He did really well today, with no complaints at all. What a blessing.
The allergist is pleased with how he is doing but is unsure himself if the positive change has been from the 2 medications or if it is his immune system showing a positive change. After the next 2 weeks he wants me to start slowly peeling off the proton pump inhibitor and see how he does.
Until then, we will try to enjoy some family time having the little guy's Daddy off from work for a week. I know the little guy will have a great time with him and I will do my best to give my worry brain a little vacation too.
To be continued....Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-31256064316992423502012-06-18T21:13:00.001-04:002012-06-18T21:25:07.329-04:00A Smooth Road--June 18, 2012So far so good. It has, thankfully, been an uneventful 2 weeks for the little guy. He was certainly due! He has not had any issues getting sick with his dose and really acts more himself the whole time after taking his dose. I can tell his allergies in general bother him a bit more the first week or so after changing doses. Guess the peanut gets his whole immune system geared up to everything a bit more. I hope that the reason these 2 weeks have been better is that his immune system is finally accepting the peanut as a "friend". He is still taking 2 different stomach medicines, and will continue to do so until at least after the next dose.
I think he actually enjoys eating it each day. He gives me instructions to get it ready for him while he is eating his lunch! It has been nice to have things a little more normal around the house after our first month. Let's pray this Wednesday will bring the same good fortune as he heads back to clinic for another dose doubling!Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-87665015126288468532012-06-06T22:20:00.002-04:002012-06-06T22:46:52.369-04:003rd clinic visit--June 6, 2012Today 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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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I am very thankful he had such a good day. I pray the next 2 weeks will go just as well.
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to be continued...Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-5036162511612740732012-06-04T21:16:00.001-04:002012-06-04T21:16:57.276-04:00Countdown--June 4, 2012One day left! Only 1 day until we go back to clinic to increase the dose of peanut for another 2 weeks. I have been afraid to post anything since he has been doing really well with the thought that I might jinx him. Certainly don't need any of that! He has been a lot more active after his last several doses and not being as quiet so I take that all as good signs. It will be interesting to see when the dose gets doubled this week from 6mg (1/50th of a peanut) to 12mg (1/25th of a peanut) if some of the stomach symptoms come back or just how he will react. He is still taking 2 different stomach medicines each day, so I will discuss the plan for those with the allergist Wednesday as well. <br />
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It seems like a lot of work for something that will not "cure" him. In no way will he be able to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or peanut butter pie when this is done. But the goal in doing all this is to keep him safe from accidental exposure. He will still have to eat small amounts of peanut items on a regular basis to keep his immune system from rejecting peanut again. Completing this would mean he could eat at any restaurant he wanted, go get ice cream treats anywhere he wanted, and most importantly (to him) not feel different from his friends by having to pack different snacks and worry about food at birthday/school parties. Most importantly to me, as Mama, I would feel safe with him leaving me to go to school or out with friends. If this works, it will be a huge step for our whole family. <br />
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I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers everyone has expressed for us. I know we will have our ups and downs, but it means a lot to know we have a cheering section!<br />
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to be continued....Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-27854121137603031092012-05-29T21:18:00.000-04:002012-05-29T21:18:55.537-04:00Sunny Days--May 29, 2012School is out, summer is here, it is time to have fun! At least that is the mindset I am trying to hold onto. This is the little guy's last summer before Kindergarten, so I want him to have as much fun as possible and have good memories despite our peanut adventure. He has done really well since Saturday, only complaining of some fleeting belly pain today. The process has become labor intensive trying to get the medications in him at the right time to try to ensure success. Probably partly because once I find success in a certain schedule I stick to it like glue, afraid that if I vary the timing of each medication or lunch that he will get sick. Hopefully as time passes and routines are forced to change, he will show me that it will be o.k. and he won't react. The little guy continues to be a good sport about it all--it is just so hard to keep him still and busy in sedentary activities for 2-3 hours when it is so nice outside. So for now, we are cramming in outdoor water fun, bike riding, digging in the yard and playground time in the mornings and late evenings trying to let a kid just be a kid. And I will continue to pray for more sunny days ahead.<br />
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to be continued....Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-86242232304139264882012-05-27T22:02:00.001-04:002012-05-27T22:02:28.930-04:00Roller Coaster--May 27, 2012This whole process is becoming quite confusing. Today, we did the same thing as yesterday--eat lunch and then eat a little peanut. I couldn't even eat lunch today I was so nervous(this study will do wonders for my waistline!). He didn't get upset when it was time to eat it. Maybe the whole getting sick process happens so fast and the nausea comes in waves. Hopefully it is not as traumatic to him as it appears to be. Today after eating it he played and talked--a lot. I can always tell when it isn't going well because the little guy gets really quiet. He never seemed like it bothered him at all today and he said his stomach was fine the whole time. Go figure. I am so thankful he did well, but I don't understand how 2 days can be so different when nothing we do changes. And who knows what tomorrow will bring. This sheds new light on the phrase "take it day by day".
To be continued...Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-58486443742826247562012-05-26T21:12:00.000-04:002012-05-27T22:02:54.420-04:00A Step Backward Again--May 26, 2012Today was a great day for the little guy overall--lots of fun on the playground, playing outside water games with his sister and picnics of breakfast, lunch and dinner on the back porch. Thank goodness for the good times. Peanut dosing, once again, was not so pleasant. He is taking 2 medications to help with acid in his stomach now, and he has each in the morning at different times before the dose. He ate a great lunch and willingly took his dose. Today it only took 15 minutes for him to say he was going to be sick. He was able to walk around and hold it off for another hour before everything came right back up. It was very upsetting to him, but then you could tell he felt remarkably better. He asked for a yogurt smoothie within 5 minutes! I talked him out of having that so soon, but then he was a bundle of energy for the rest of the day. So the million dollar question is....how much is enough? There is no answer as to when or if his body will ever accept it, so when should the decision be made to soldier on or throw in the towel? I pray each day I will know when the time is right.<br />
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to be continued...Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153299161507316115.post-27131240814078515922012-05-25T21:10:00.001-04:002012-05-25T21:10:54.668-04:00Thankful--May 25, 2012Today I am thankful the little guy did really well. He had no stomach pains at all, according to his report. He seemed more like himself as well during our 2 hour window after the peanut dosing. He even reminded me not to forget to give him his peanut. A shocking change from the greeting I received yesterday!<br />
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So today I am thankful and pray to continue to move forward.Eat a little peanuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01525499081129882059noreply@blogger.com0