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Allergies and intolerances

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Original poster

Milk allergy ? Alternatives?

33 replies

Laura032004 · 25/02/2005 13:33

Hia,

Have noticed over the past few days that DS has been sicky / unhappy at night when he has had foods that contain quite a high proportion of cows milk (e.g. mashed potato with lots of milk / porridge). He's already on a gluten and wheat free diet.

He's 10m old and bf, but I don't really want to start expressing milk to use for his food. I don't find expressing particularly easy, and DS seems to be sick if I give him expressed bm which has been frozen.

Are there any alternatives to milk to use in things like mashed potato/porridge/white sauces? Would soya milk be OK?

Thanks for your help

OP posts:
chipmonkey · 25/02/2005 13:40

Soya should be OK and I found that my Ds's both did better on goats milk than on cows. I THINK goats mild is supposed to be closer to breastmilk than other animals milk but not sure

chipmonkey · 25/02/2005 13:41

PS you can alsoe get a rice milk in health food stores which I believe hardly anybody is allergic to. Can be used if probs with soya

Original poster
Laura032004 · 28/02/2005 11:57

Have now got some rice milk and soya milk. Will try soya first and see how we go.

It says for 12m+ on the packet - will it be OK for ds - 11m? He will only be having v.small amounts to make up porridge etc.

Also, now we've cut out milk, he's better, but still not quite right. Should I cut out all dairy things (cheese, are eggs dairy?).

Should I try and get the doctor to refer us to a nutritionist? Worried I'm cutting too much out, and not putting things back in IYKWIM. Thank god for bm!

Could anybody point me in the direction of a good book / website, to guide me on how to work out exactly what isn't agreeing with him. Thinking of going back to veg and just starting again one thing at a time, but don't know where to start!

Thanks

OP posts:
FIMAC1 · 02/03/2005 20:43

You would be best to get advice from a nutritionist - I saw a Kneisologist (in desperation really) to cut a long story short after an Endoscopy which showed my DD had food allergies and then three lots of blood work to find out what, we were still none the wiser - the blood work is very innacurate, and doesn't always come back with a positive result even when there are allergies present. We saw a Knesiologist (who is also a qualified nutritionist, luckily) who was able to tell me in half an hour what the hosptials had failed to find (Bovine allergy - anything coming from a cow basically!) When I chased the hospital for the results they matched the Knesiolgists which was ! She tested alternative dairy products on my DD and was able to tell me the best one that suited her. This was 5 years ago now and if she ever has any Bovine products by mistake it makes her feel ill again (stomach upset) which is but at least we know what it is now and avoid all beef gelatine and cows dairy. Lots of reading of labels but we are all used to it now
Good luck

PrettyCandles · 02/03/2005 20:52

My dd (also bf) used to vomit when she had milk foods. She seemed to be ok with yogurt and with hard cheese, but I only gave her tiny quantities of those because of her reaction to milk. She seemed to be ok with ordinary formula, so, since she weaned off bf at 23m, she has been having SMA - even though she is now over 24m. Have you tried your ds on formula? There is a goat's milk formula called Nanny which he might find more digestible.

Soya milk can be a little difficult to digest, plus people can be allergic to soya. Try Oatly, it's an oat-based 'milk'. Actually, I don't know if Oatly would be suitable for a gluten-free diet.

You don't need to put milk or butter in mashed potato, just keep back a cupful of the cooking water and add that to the mash. Also porridge can be cooked in just water and then have a little milk-substiute poured over it.

FIMAC1 · 02/03/2005 20:52

For a good book on Childrens health which covers allergy problems try

What Really Works for Kids, by Susan Clark

dabihp · 02/03/2005 21:34

Have u tried using formula milk for mashed potato etc..?

Original poster
Laura032004 · 03/03/2005 10:14

Thanks for all of your answers. I'll look out for that book FIMAC1. Made mash and porridge with water, and both seemed OK (ds ate them anyway!)

OP posts:
bundle · 03/03/2005 10:26

laura have you seen a medical person about this?

aloha · 03/03/2005 10:29

Agree, that's a lot to cut out of a child's diet without medical advice. I'd really advise seeing a specialist. If you are going to cut out ordinary milk I'd personally try formula before stuff like soya which can be just as problematic if not more so than ordinary milk.

Original poster
Laura032004 · 03/03/2005 10:32

I have spoken to the HV who referred us to the GP who referred us to a pead, who said there was nothing we could do as DS is already on a gluten free diet, and just to keep him on it until he turns 2, and then to start reintroducing things again.

I haven't spoken to anybody about the milk side of things yet though, but wasn't as worried about that as he's still having lots of bm.

Do you think I should push the GP again? I seem to have had the same response as most other people on here.

Doesn't help that dm told me that she thinks I'm overreacting. 'you all had tummy aches as children, I didn't presume you were all allergic to things' - she isn't the one who has to sit up all night with him screaming

I would like to speak to a nutritionist though, to make sure he's getting everything he needs.

OP posts:
bundle · 03/03/2005 10:43

is the gluten free diet on advice of the paediatrician? like aloha, i would be loathe to advise anyone to give up milk just on a hunch.

Original poster
Laura032004 · 03/03/2005 11:19

The gluten free diet wasn't originally on the advice of the paed, but when we said that was what we had done, he agreed, and said to continue.

Do you think I should just try normal formula milk? Are any particularly good / bad (never used formula before).

OP posts:
Chandra · 03/03/2005 11:53

Goats milk ("Nanny" in formula version)or Aptamil. It was the kinder formula on DS allegies. Knowing what I know now about soya and young children allergies I would stay clear of it if it has not been prescribed by a doctor.

bundle · 03/03/2005 11:58

they're all pretty much the same, imo,though some make claims re: fatty acids etc. we used milupa

Chandra · 03/03/2005 12:00

milupa=aptamil.

bundle · 03/03/2005 12:02

sorry, yes it was aptamil but dds have both been bfed for 2 yrs (and expressed) so didn't use much. laura, does the paediatrician think your ds has coeliac disease, or is there any in the family? just interested

chipmonkey · 03/03/2005 12:51

If you're still bf, I'd say you wouln't need to get overly worried about cutting out dairy in other foods

PrettyCandles · 04/03/2005 14:20

If you're still bf him 3 or more times a day, then he doesn't need any extra milk-foods.

PrettyCandles · 04/03/2005 14:21

Oops, meant to say that I agree with Chipmonkey.

tatt · 12/03/2005 07:14

been away so missed this before. As I have a child who is allergic to soya milk ((swollen mouth) I know its a common allergen. Best avoided, unless prescribed for you, in a child who may have allergy problems as its been linked to nut allergy. Nanny (goats milk) formula is more easily digested than cows milk formula. Giving probiotics helps problems digesting cows milk or you could try the lactose reduced milk that is available, haven't tried that personally. Cheese and live yoghurt are les likely to cause problems than milk - live yoghurt because of the probiotics and cheese because the processing changes the proteins to a less allergenic form. Your breastfed baby doesn't need more dairy but if you wanted to give some cheese and live yoghurt might be OK.

If you have any concerns about allergy or food intolerance its always best to ask to see a specialist. The average gp is not very well informed, there's very little about allergy in their training. I've learnt more from the anaphylaxis campaign and other parents of allergic children than from our gp. Our allegy consultant is even better

char77 · 15/03/2005 21:27

Neocate has been prescribed to us, it's a hypoallergenic formula for babies allergic to dairy but not very tasty! Worth a try though, he might like it.

babykirwan · 16/03/2005 12:30

my son was allergic to fomula milk because of the lactose we had to have him put on the hypoallergenic formula instead which has so far been great.just hoping he grows out of it
lisa

cp3 · 16/03/2005 12:50

We have tried all the milks even prescribed and finally settled on rice milk with added calcium.

tregenna · 18/03/2005 22:38

Hi, my 3 yr old daughter is lactose, soya, and egg intolerent, as is my 9 mth old son, i had massive difficulties getting me new GP to acknowledge my sons intolerence. My daughter grew up fine on rice milk, my son is now on rice milk with added calcium and vitamins (watrose own). Both my children also have Gastric Reflux which requires medication i would like to know if any one elses children has an intolerance and a reflux. Any advice on my son not covering me two minutes before i go out would be great Cheers