BF Baby vomits all the time - Dairy Intollerance? Advice wanted from those in the know.

[BonzoDooTheyKnowItsXmas]

My DH and I have Asthma and eczema and (dust mite etc) allergies but no food allergies we know of. My nephew has a cow's milk intolerance but is happy with goat milk (may be mixed with lactose intolerance).

My DS is nearly 5 months old, exclusively BF, has eczema and vomits all the time. Vomits when he burps - a lot and then all the time as well - even up to 1 or 2 hours after his feeds .. not with wind and sometimes not a lot - I'd say 'a handful' (as I can usually catch it).
I gave up milk on cereal and in coffee for a few days and he puked a lot less (or so it seemed). When I started on the milk again it seemed he started puking again and after 2 days he had mucous in his nappy.

I've been to the Doctor who was hugely sceptical about a dairy intolerance but grudgingly sent the poo sample off for analysis. It came back borderline positive (0.5% reducing substances) so we are being referred to a paed for a RAST (?) blood test and a fresh stool sample.

Do these symptoms sound like anyone elses? What did you find? What did you do? I am BF so don't want to give up dairy and the calcium unnecesarily but will if I need to. Help ...

He's puked and puked and puked today ... about 15 times - creamy slimy stuff - not loads and he doesn't seem bothered but it is getting me down -everything stinks of sick.

Gosh and I thought I was pretty hardcore as I purchased my fifth pack of bibs- we own about 25 now. The Bug is definitely the sickiest of the four and I was wondering whether it might be the antibiotics she had in NICU. But I've also noticed that she's a lot less windy at the other end and less distressed and in pain if I steer clear of what makes me similarly windy- wheat. It's a bugger to avoid, but it seems to be helping her. I've also stopped the neat milk on cereal and am having a lot less in drinks, and she seems to be a lot better despite having a nasty cold. So I may be on to the right track.

sounds like a slighly incompetent pyloric sphincter if it happens when he burps aswell

Thanks HoHoHo - I have the hospital referral coming up. Very interesting links - thank you. And yes to the GP's knowledge of these things - my Doctor's parting comment when I'd told him all about DS was "a very interesting story"

My baby had a really bad problem with reflux and had a real problem with weight gain. Weight is one of the key things they look at.

My paediatrician said the way to tell if it was a dairy allergy was a rash across the chest, and also the pooh is a frothy consistency.

He also said that he would not recommend excluding dairy from the diet as a first point of call before he had excluded other things.

IMO, and call me old fashioned, but I think you should wait until you see your paed before you start excluding things from your diet. Unless of course you are desperate.

Well Ali the baby's poo certainly has been bubbly some days and he does get a rash across his chest quite often. I've given up having cereal as that milk load seems to trigger a big vomit session the next day. He had a big vommit day this week and I realised it was because I'd had trifle and Pavlova the day before (lots of cream and other dairy). So I'm cutting down but not completely excluding until anything is proved (although the facts sort of speak for themselves). I'm also trying to find some A2 milk that isn't goat milk (disgusting in tea).

Alypaly, I think thats exactly the problem with my newt, I'm hoping it will mature and he will effectivly grow out of it

Hows it going bonzo? >

Hey KitKat - he's had a puking day even though I've been off the milk - I'm wondering if it is something else or maybe even the beef I have eaten. Grrr. Is so complicated. Can't wait for the paed appointment.

hi bonzo! Just wanted to lend my support. my new wee DD is dairy intolerant/allergic (don't know which yet, but her sister is allergic). I've been dairy-free since boxing day and it's flipping hard, especially at this time of year. Hope your LO settled down. FWIW I think DD reacted in a major way to a tiny bit of yoghurt DH put in some curried mince without thinking this week. It almost seemed worse than she was before I gave up dairy, so maybe when the'r systems get a rest from it they react more when exposed again? I don't know... just thinking aloud. It's so hard to avoid totally.

Hi Bonzo and everyone else! Something strange is going on here, I am in the process of gutting and redecorating a house atm so newt has been there with me, on the days we are at the house he hardly voms at all! Roughly 10 bibs & 4 changes of clothes wheras when we are at home its 25-30 bibs and a whole wash load of clothes, I'm not eating / drinking any differently, sooo...

Does anyone know of any household type environmental factors that can cause this type of vommiting in babies?

We are due to move in soon and I am thinking that if there is an environmental factor I don't want to take it with me!

I think I will start a fresh thread on this one too!

Gosh Kitkat that's a tough one. Do you have a carbon monoxide detector in your home? Just wondering if low levels may be affecting him. Or high voltage power cables or mobile phone masts? Or the water filtered or something odd? Strange one. Do you have pets? Or a new carpet? Sometimes the fumes from the backing can last quite a while and can upset some people.

Hobnob Nightmare - I thought if you avoided the triggers for a good length of time then they generally reacted less to a small amount rather than more. That is a severe reaction.

Our paed appointment is tommorow. Won't get answers tomorrow I'm sure but it's a start.

Well we had the paediatrician appointment and to be honest it was a waste of time. Quite disappointed as I thought they would take blood samples and send it to be tested for allergens. What he did do was say he thought it was reflux (but reflux doesn't change with whether you drink milk or not does it??). He'd never heard of the difference between A1 and A2 milk which okay I didn't until I started researching but then I'm not a paediatric allergy speciallist!
He did a prick test for cows milk (IgE)allergy which came back negative - but then baby G's reaction is not a hystamine type instant flare-up but a next day stomach issue.
In the end we are told to do an exclusion diet (with an on off twice step) and if that works then that's the answer! FFS they could have told me that at the doctors. I could have done that myself!!! I'm a bit unimpressed really - I think I'd built this appointment up to be the start of some answers but it was nothing of the sort [not happy]

I have had similar problems and used a Kinesiologist (and have been slated on here before for recommending "unproven, dangerous and unscientific" methods but when conventional medicine does not have the answers.....) who identified wheat (including spelt) dairy and sugar as triggers for DS2's bowel and skin issues. He has been much happier and better since I excluded them from my diet as am still breastfeeding. We are not out of the woods yet but it has improved. The problem is you have to choose which things you are going to test so might not cover everything. Previously I have seen a nutritionalist who used a system called Asyra which tested tolerences to a vast range of food stuffs which I would thoroughly recommend. We are not longer living within easy travelling distance to previous nutritionist but am considering making the trip to make sure we are not missing something. Hope you find your answers soon.

Thanks - I've not heard of Kinesiology but I'll look it up.

I am not a trained Kinesiologist and again, I am not suggesting that you eschew other more conventional medicine but this DIY test has worked for me and my children to identify food intolerences. It may help you identify which foods are making things worse while you search for a better solution / qualified therapist.

Test your own reactions first so you know what a positive and negative reaction feels like: Sit comfortably with your arm stretched out from your shoulder. Get someone else (adult preferably!) to push down on your arm somewhere around the wrist - you should be easily able to resist this. Put a dishwasher tablet below your navel outside of your clothes and hold with your other hand. Get someone to push down on your extended arm and you should find you cannot easily resist this pressure.

Choose the food you want to test (can be wrapped, in a tin etc) you want to test. Check your reaction to it using the test above. If you are showing a negative reaction to it, it may be difficult to verify if your child also has an issue with it. If you are OK with the food, put your child on your lap and put the food below their navel and hold on with your hand. Get someone to push down on your arm.

I know this is not for everyone but it has helped my son enormously and has allowed us to steer clear of foods that may have been making his condition worse even if Christmas without dairy, wheat and sugar was a bit dull for me!!

Diedre it is dangerous, please stop recommendeing it. That test cannot diagnose anything at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's totally bizarre.

hana I could invent a list myself thanks

Deidre do you not think that your method is ever so slightly susceptible to influence by what you (conciously or subconciously) believe to be 'good' or 'bad' foods?

My son has a bad milk protein allergy. It started off with the symptoms that your baby has. I found it very hard to get any help from my GP, i think they thought that as it was my 1st child i was over reacting. Anyway he now has an EpiPen. It makes going out for meals intesting but on the grand scale of things it could be much worse. He is 11 now and copes very well.

Yes - logically, I think this is a risk but I've had unexpected results in both directions, food I thought was fine and food I thought was not giving the opposite results. (My own reaction to Sugar being a big disappointment!!)

Hi Bonzo, There definatley seems to be a link between where we are and the amount he vomits. At home he's as bad as usual, the more time he is at the house we are renovating the less he is sick! The new house is full of things that I would have thought would make things worse like new carpets paint laminate etc and yet - the other day he only vomitted once He had the same clothes on all day and used 2 bibs !!!! The following day at home was a normal day of vomit , frequent clothes changes etc. I'm pleased beyond belief, but what if whatever is causing the problem gets brought to the house in the move? And what the hell is it????

We have carbon monoxide monitors at both properties we have a fish tank at the old house, i'm desperatly trying to run through all the differences iyswim?

Hope you are doing ok.

Hey Kitkat - well the good thing is that you are actualy moving to the new house - I thought you may be renovating it for someone else. it is really, really strange though. Things like this would be good to write a really detailed chart of what is the same and what is different. Are they both on main roads? plants in the house? Animals? Water filtered?

Is it something as daft as - when you are in the house being renovated he is only in the car seat and sitting upright rather than lying on a rug or in a bouncer etc? Are you feeding him in the same way and the same amount? It might be a positional thing rather than an environmental thing.
Or is it colder there and he's not overheated or viceversa. Very interesting problem.... wish I could come and look and see with you what it may be.

Ds1 has lactose intolerance, was BF for 5 months and formula fed for a further 4 months before it was diagnosed. BUT, he was never once sick, not even a bit of posseting,..ever.

His symptoms were not putting on weight 9went from 50th centile at birth to 2nd centile at diagnosis, crying for long periods during the night and never ever having a solid poo (ie one that you could attempt to pick up)or being able to control his bowel until lactose was cut totally from his diet. Almost overnight the symptoms disappeared. he still has lactose intolerance but it is really relatively easy to manage(he is vegetarian also).

on the other hand, DS2 who was also BF was a really sicky baby, had the most terrifying reflux for the first six months or so of his life when I thought he would die from choking,and throwing up his milk almost every feed. Still he put weight on rapidly, despite this, and he now eats like a horse and loves his grub.

I cannot offer you any advice, just wanted to share my experience. best of luck