Has anyone here done a dairy elimination diet for suspected milk protein allergy in their breastfed baby?
My baby is just over 3 months old and started having mucusy and blood streaked nappies on Friday this past week, after having recovered from quite a bad cold. The paediatrician gave him an antibiotic in case it was a bacterial infection and we’ve sent a stool sample off for analysis - still waiting on results. They also think it might be a cows milk protein allergy - he also has chronic nasal congestion. I’ve set up an appointment with a different paediatrician who specialises in allergies for the end of this week (I’m not in the UK and I have access to private healthcare).
I’ve started a dairy free diet as of Friday and honestly my mental health is suffering greatly. Dairy was my main source of protein and fat - I was never a big meat eater and pregnancy turned me off meat even further. I’m now hungry all the time and finding the plant based substitutes insufficient nutrient wise and pretty disgusting too. Every meal feels like a chore now and I’m having to force myself to eat way more meat and eggs than I find palatable to get enough protein and I’m still feeling intensely hungry by the end of the day. To make matters worse I have my own food allergies and so I’m already on a gluten free and sulphite free diet. I can’t imagine keeping up this diet indefinitely.
Can anyone share their experiences? Did it work for you? How did you manage to get enough nutrients? Did your baby’s health improve? How did you cope with the mental aspects of deprivation of an entire food group?
I’m so worried about him and feeling like utter garbage from my restricted diet that I really feel like I’m not coping.