Allergy Testing

This past week, we had The Princess in for another round of allergy testing.  When she was tested last year, our insurance would only allow us to go to one doctor at a certain office that he only practiced in once or twice a month. While he did a great job with the testing and background/history, he was seriously lacking in the advice department. We left his office with a list of her allergies and a prescription for an epi-pen, but no direction as to the severity of her allergies, places to go for help, things to watch out for. He didn't even show us how to use the epi-pen. I tried to call him back a few days later, but he could not be reached at that office and I had no other way of getting in touch with him. Needless to say, we went looking for another doctor when our insurance changed this year. That along with some reactions The Princess had in the last few months that could not be attributed to her known allergies caused us to get her retested after just 1 year.

I had the greatest of intentions to take my camera with me to the allergist to document The Princess's latest round of allergy testing, but in the rush of getting ready I forgot. Pretty typical for me, but still a bummer.

Going to the allergist is a nerve-racking experience, especially with a young child. There was no way to prepare The Princess for what was to come. At least this time, her daddy and I knew what to expect and we could be more prepared. Last year, The Princess was not quite one and we had an extensive list of things to test her for. Her little back was completely covered in dots and pricks - there almost wasn't enough space. This year, we had just a few things we felt might have contributed to her latest reactions (dogs/cats and grasses) and upon my insistence, we had her retested for her known allergies (peanuts, brazil nuts, milk and eggs). I wanted our new doctor to get a feel for the severity of The Princess's allergies so he could give us the most accurate information on how to deal with them.

The Princess eating her favorite food - Nutella!. 

Because really, who doesn't love a little chocolate? 

Last year, with dots and pricks covering her back, The Princess did not seem at all bothered as we strolled around the doctors office and she sat contentedly with her daddy while waiting the required amount of time. This year, despite the small number of dots and pricks on her back, The Princess was not happy about the testing. She squirmed and cried when she was pricked and yelled about having her shirt off (she likes to be fully dressed). Thanks to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the I-pad and the promise of a sucker when she was all done, we made it through with only a small amount of crying and screaming.

When the doctor came back in, we were astonished to learn that The Princess had tested negative to milk and eggs!! What?!! While we knew that she most likely would outgrow them, I never expected it to happen so fast. After having her completely off eggs for over a year, it is weird to think that she might be able to eat them. You think I would have been overjoyed about getting that news, but I just wasn't even sure what to think. Maybe I was just in shock because it was so unexpected. I think I also (almost) liked having the egg allergy with the peanut allergy because I felt "safer" when it came to baked goods. Sometimes there can be peanuts in baked goods where you would not expect them to be (especially if they are made in someones home who didn't wash things completely or wipe the counter completely - you get the picture). With an egg allergy, we avoided those things completely and it was easy not to have to worry. Now, I will have to stress about whether to let The Princess have a home-baked item for fear it might be contaminated with peanuts. Maybe I will be the mean mom and still stay away from those things. What to do, what to do? But... back to the appointment.

Our doctor discussed how to slowly introduce milk and eggs into her diet one at a time and we also discussed her peanut and brazil nut allergies (which were still very positive). He gave us so much more direction than we received last year and was very helpful in answering all of our questions - and believe me, there were a lot.

The Princess eating one of her newest favorite foods - seaweed and (egg-less) fried rice!

Now we are 2 days out from The Princess's appointment, and we still have not tried adding either milk or eggs to her diet. When you get used to eating a certain way, it is very strange to go back. We became used to having more almond milk than cows milk around and not even having eggs in the house very often. We are looking forward to being able to take The Princess to Goofy's Kitchen at Disneyland and her being able to actually eat without fear of egg contamination (which is hard to avoid with breakfast foods). I have also been thinking about recipes that I will be able to make again that just did not work without the egg, which is a bit exciting. But there are also so many recipes that work great without eggs and (I believe) might be healthier without the eggs, that I will continue to cook just like I have been this past year (like the egg-less chocolate chip cookies).

No fear! The Peanut Allergy Princess blog will continue on despite changes being made to The Princess's diet and I will still post recipes without eggs. I am working on a new (and very yummy) one right now!!

Jana