Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Allergies and intolerances

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

how long for dairy/ soy to stop being in breastmilk?

32 replies

parentsvsPIL · 27/03/2017 06:38

I cut out dairy 1.5 weeks ago and soy 1 week ago. Anyone know how long it might be before EBF DS (4.5 months) stops having allergy symptoms (FPIAP: blood in his poo), assuming dairy and soy are the culprits? (obvs they may not be. Cut out wheat, tomato, potato, peanuts 3 wks ago — oats, rice, corn, egg all still possible allergens).

OP posts:
Original poster
parentsvsPIL · 27/03/2017 06:39

also have had full microbiolofical screen so it's not rotavirus or shigella or something.

OP posts:
LaPharisienne · 27/03/2017 06:43

Took less than 24 hours for the dairy to clear for us, then 3-4 days for soy.

LaPharisienne · 27/03/2017 06:52

Soy is a real cunt tho - it's in EVERYTHING and unless you cut it out completely it's useless. You basically can't eat out.

Be careful of things fried in soy bean oil (people often don't even realise that's a problem) and NEVER trust waiters/ waitresses. The allergy menu is your only friend.

Original poster
parentsvsPIL · 27/03/2017 06:52

yep. Will cut out oats... beginning to wonder if it's breastmilk Sad

OP posts:
Original poster
parentsvsPIL · 27/03/2017 06:56

I don't eat out anyway... and b/c of wheat already being out had already stopped eating processed food except chocolate. Complete pain in the bum and I am now well below pre-baby weight...

OP posts:
TheDrsDocMartens · 27/03/2017 07:03

I always found two weeks to be through both of us.

LaPharisienne · 27/03/2017 07:14

You have my deepest, deepest sympathy. It is really hard. We had dairy, soy and caffeine. Did get better after 6 months tho I think for a lot of people a year is the magic number.

Have you spoken to a specialist? The symptoms are very obvious and very clear if there is a problem. Can be helpful to get some guidance and support if there is a problem, too.

Jessicabrassica · 27/03/2017 07:15

It's pretty rare but the issue could be lactose which in in breast milk rather than cow's milk protein which you can remove from breast milk by going dairy free. We noticed an improvement in about 24hrs when I went dairy/soy free.

randomsabreuse · 27/03/2017 07:19

We had dairy, egg and soya, fairly quick to clear all of them once we got to that point. Obsessive reading of labels was the only way - bourbon biscuits are often ok, as was Sainsbury's 74% dark chocolate.

Original poster
parentsvsPIL · 27/03/2017 07:50

Thanks all

it's almost certainly FPIAP (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405595/) - waiting for appointment at local hospital paed allergy clinic, but meanwhile the blood is if anything worse in the last week, and have just realized he has eczema on his bum, too, poor little thing (I thought it was teething nappy rash but it has all cracked Sad)

OP posts:
Original poster
parentsvsPIL · 27/03/2017 08:51

... and have just realized that we introduced corn just over a week ago (trying to diversify from just eating rice/oats). The paper linked above says the typical allergens are dairy, soy, egg & corn.

So it's the corn cakes I need to cut out next, not the porridge...

OP posts:
MamaHanji · 27/03/2017 09:35

2 weeks for us for dairy to be out, and then about the same for soy and eggs. Been wheat free for 2.5 weeks now and definitely seeing the biggest improvement. It's bloody hard. I'm lighter than I was before I had my first! And my god it is expensive!

Charliezzzz · 27/03/2017 16:55

I'm also looking for answers regarding possible allergies in EBF 4 month old. MamaHanji how long after cutting wheat did things start to improve? I'm 5 weeks dairy/soy free and 5 days of also no wheat/beef/fish/eggs. I'm really struggling to know if I'm doing the right thing. GP & dietitian have been no use- as DS is not losing weight they don't see it as an issue. Keep being told to try formula or wean early but I just don't feel comfortable with that knowing his tummy is already upset. He has eczema (started since giving up dairy) and runny green poo with mucous (streak of blood couple of times) They have been up to 12 times a day but have settled to 3-5 but still very slimy and loose. The consistency is not improving no matter what I cut out! People think I mad to keep altering my diet but I don't know what else to try?? GP Stool test came back clear. Anyone offer words of wisdom please?!

8DaysAWeek · 27/03/2017 17:06

It takes 3 weeks to be out of your system and then another 3 weeks out of theirs, so you have to wait at least 6 weeks before you can consider it to be the culprit or not. Then you reintroduce it for final confirmation.

Most people will see a difference within a month, often even the first couple of weeks. Took about 2 weeks to see first improvements for my DS, about 3.5 weeks until I had a new happy baby.

There are some fab Facebook support groups out there. It's really overwhelming at first, especially as GPs don't know much about it so support is lacking.

Any other q's fire away and I'll try answer as best I can. Not an expert at all but read up loads and so far been completely dairy, soya and egg free for 2 months (DS is 8 months)

8DaysAWeek · 27/03/2017 17:12

OP you've cut out loads and all at random times. This will make working out what's the problem very difficult.

I wonder if you'd be best starting again from scratch: focus on the main allergens first. Cut out dairy and soya only for 6 weeks. If no improvement then consider cutting something else out, and so on. You'll end up eating nothing if you keep going at this rate! :(

Please search for the Facebook groups (I don't think I can name them here?), share your story and they'll help loads.

MamaHanji · 27/03/2017 17:26

I've been wheat free for 2.5 weeks and seeing a great improvement but there's still something not right. She's dropped from the 75th to the 9th centile and gets rashes around her mouth during and after feeding. Not to mention the gas! The doctor won't do anything until I wean her and actually give her bread and then see her reaction and if she has one, they will refer for celiac testing.

It's so hard because there's improvement but it's still not quite right.

Oh and look up all the names of wheat as some have funky names! and say goodbye to couscous and marmite!

Charliezzzz · 27/03/2017 17:52

8DaysAWeek it's interesting you say give it 6 weeks I was planning on trying to reintroduce dairy this weekend if still no major difference (be 6 weeks free then). I have asked to join the CMPA group on FB but not heard back yet. It's so frustrating that you can see that something isn't right with your baby but don't know how to fix it.

8DaysAWeek · 27/03/2017 18:36

Charlie good timing. I reintroduced if with a yogurt, but anything high in the milk ladder will work (you can Google milk ladder if you're not sure). I noticed symptoms return in about 36h. Hopefully you'll get accepted soon.

It is VERY tough :(

Charliezzzz · 27/03/2017 18:44

Thanks, I will check out the milk ladder and see if he reacts to it to know for sure. Can
I also ask, sorry tmi but did anyone experience terrible smelling nappies? Like fishy? Hence why I've cut out fish this week....

8DaysAWeek · 27/03/2017 20:28

Nappy issues is the one symptom we've thankfully never had to deal with!

MamaHanji · 27/03/2017 20:35

We didn't have fishy nappies but we had absolutely putrid gas that shocked people from a different room (that loud) and slimy diarrhoea nappies.

Original poster
parentsvsPIL · 27/03/2017 22:10

Sigh. Just spoke to reception at the allergy clinic, the GP's referral has gone astray... (lost count of how many times this has happened from this GP practice)

My reasoning for cutting stuff out all at once is if we can achieve resolution of the symptoms, we then do the reintroductions sooner, and it's the reintroductions that confirm the allergenicity. The tough bit is living on rice, vegies and meat - but really that's a better diet than about 50% of the world's population so it's hardly a massive problem in the grand scheme of things. Better that than him continuing to poo blood & mucus.

The question is if we don't achieve resolution of symptoms, at what point do we stop and put him on hypoallergenic formula?

OP posts:
farfallarocks · 27/03/2017 22:13

We were advised 2 weeks per person so 4 weeks total.i got very down hearted after 3 weeks as Poo still green etc but then got better at week 4. She has grown out of it now at 4 and eats dairy fine although she self selects small quantities ( so never has milk for example) and her ecsma disappeared too

farfallarocks · 27/03/2017 22:21

Dd reaction was very extreme by 8 weeks
It was obvious something was wrong she was losing weight and pooing blood. We went to a and e 3 times and were told it was normal! I went nut dairy soya wheat and shell fish free and the quickly just dairy and soya free ( he protein is very similar!) it's in everything!! It took a
Month to see any improvement. I got very slim though! The problem with neocate etc is that it tastes awful and babies often reject it. Also with allergies your breast milk is offering great protection. You should be seeing a Paed as a priority how ever and you need to get assertive with them that this is not acceptable. However if it's cmpi it won't show up any tests they just grow out of it.

farfallarocks · 27/03/2017 22:22

Just re reading and you are basically only
One week in so way too soon to see any improvement