possible milk allergy?

[colleysmill]

Hi I started a thread in feeding but thought it might be more appropriate here now.

I took my 4 week old to the gp this week as I had some concerns about him (ongoing diaherra, excessive dirty nappies, severe nappy rash, excessive wind both ends, vomitting, gunky eyes, generally very unsettled) and we have been referred for a paediatric opinion as the doctor felt it could be a lactose or milk intolerance/ allergy.

We have changed formula now to a lower lactose content (but not prescribed formula) which have improved some of the symptoms (although we are getting obnoxious smelling green poo rather than watery stuff!) but I've no idea what to expect from the appointment and I know next to nothing about about allergies/intolerances tbh.

Does this sound like a milk intolerance? I'm trying not to get too anxious but I could do with some reassurance and advice. Thanks

Hello

I have a 5 yr old who has intolerance to both Cows milk protein and lactose (oh yes there's 2 things in cows milk you can be intolerant to). Now he is showing to be allergic so dairy is totally out.

As a baby we used neocate prescribed and costs a fortune so you won't be the most popular family at your local GP surgery. But it was ok for us. There's others but I think Neocate is the one totally dairy free.

Hopefully your referral will come soon and you can get underway with substitute milk experimenting etc.. once in the system it's better.

It's not fun at first but seeing your child get better and be a happy baby makes up for the worries.

And you have days when it's just not fair even though you know it could be hell of a lot worse.

A lot of children outgrow their intolerances so that's a positive.

When it comes to weaning, come back the boards on here there's lots of brilliant help.

Good luck !

Thanks pancake I was slightly relieved that the gp confirmed that I wasn't imaging it but then awful that I hadn't realised something was wrong earlier.

Ds is putting on weight which perhaps threw me slightly as I had thought he wouldn't if it was the milk - if anything he seems hungrier than my older dc did at the same age.

It's hard not to get too ahead of myself until it's definitely confirmed

Both my boys have cmpa and both are big lads. It's funny you say about the amount they drink, with ds2 when he switched to pepti, I notice pretty much straight away his stomach seemed less bloated, more settled, less wind and the new milk seemed to satisfy him more, he drank much less of it but gradually built back up.

Oh and green poo happened to us, I was told by all around me this is normal.

You have done well to know it's not right at 4 weeks.

I am embarrassed and ashamed at how long it it took us (add one year and a few months - but that included a 6month battle with our GP who said it was viral). Our DS threw up all the time and never slept.

And one reason they said it could not possibly be a milk issue was because my DS was putting on plenty of weight and growing. ...... So although common sense makes you think they will not thrive - they obviously can.

I would phone the hospital and say you are up for any cancelled appointments, we did on the advice of a doctor friend and we got seen much earlier.

Hope things improve and you find out the reason easily and quickly.

Come and join us at CMPA Support on Facebook. It is a support group run by parents for parents and they are truly wonderful. I hope the paed appointment comes through quickly for you both.

Thanks everyone. Tbh it was the nappy rash that started it all off as he's had it since about day 3 and from there we realised the number of nappies we were changing seemed to be increasing and the other having nappy free time I noticed he was going ever such a lot.

Then when I started to put everything together I really started to be concerned - on their own it didn't seem unusual but together it does seem a possibility.

I'm averaging about one wet only nappy a day now although it's been a dirty one every time for a while.

I will check out the fb group :)

And jeez the green poo smells particularly unique!!!

The only other advice is to photograph and film as many symptoms as you can, to show doctors etc. It's v hard in a short appt to explain many of the symptoms, esp being unsettled, thrashing about etc, whereas a photo of a green nappy or a video of a screaming baby can speak volumes.

Also keep a diary of every feed, puke, poo, painful cry etc. It can really help build up a picture of what's going on.

I hope your paed's appt comes through quickly but if you end up with months to wait, don't be afraid to go back to the GP armed with your evidence and ask for a hypoallergenic formula, even if for a trial period to see if symptoms improve.

Best of luck. The FB group is great.

Thank you everyone for your advice. I've started a diary now and the hv is chasing our gp as we phoned the secretary and the referral hasn't been received yet by them. We should get an appointment soon as long as they have the referral!

Good news is weight gain remains good (over a pound this week) although I'm not surprised as he's back to feeding every 2 and a half hours during the day and sinking five ounces at a time! We are still getting green nappies though about 5-7 a day.

I've had a look on fb but I got confused as there seemed a number of different groups of there - is there a particular one you'd recommend? Thanks

Update!!

It's seems ages since I started this thread but thought I'd pop back and update. We finally saw Paeds today who diagnosed cmpi although at the milder end of the scale. He suspects it's probably resolving as ds is doing well and for the moment to continue on Comfort milk rather than prescription but will review in three months. I was advised that it is more likely that there may be other intolerances so to take care when weaning and to wait until 6/7 months old.

I have to say I've not been as worried about him of late because things are getting better but I am relieved that with the diagnosis that I know that I am definitely not neurotic (as was indicated at the 6-8 week check by a different GP who said it was just reflux because ds wasn't failing to thrive).

Many thanks for your support back in March, I might be back come weaning time!