On Tue, 2 Sep 1997 21:11:06 -0700 Susan Martin
<[log in to unmask]> writes:
>First, when your allergist says, 'avoid' these foods until 9 mos, 12
mos, etc.
>is he/she referring to YOU keeping them out of YOUR diet as well since
you
>are nursing?

Sort of a combination of both.  I was never told to avoid wheat in my
diet.  I was told to avoid dairy, eggs, peanuts, and seafood/fish in my
diet while nursing since they are the most prone to cause problems.
These restrictions are obviously only needed until the items are
introduced to the baby in his own diet.  I was told that elimination was
best, but that recommendation is reserved for very high risk cases (of
which I was not one).  This is because any kind of diet restrictions
generally cause more nutrition problems than they solve allergy problems
in the general masses.  It would also serve to discourage breastfeeding
by women who would otherwise be inclined to do so.

>The other question was regarding soy formula-- why would you introduce
soy
>formula now?

My thinking was that I was not doing a good enough job eliminating
whatever allergens were in my diet thus causing all the outbreaks of
vomiting and eczema.  It was my understanding that the best chance of
outgrowing the allergy was very strict elimination and I didn't feel I
was providing that.  I considered switching to soy formula (obviously
only if she could tolerate it) to avoid the milk and egg problems coming
from my diet screw ups.  She does not seem to have any reaction to soy
from my diet, but I know that doesn't necessarily mean much.

> I have found zero reliable advice from either pediatricians, aller-
>gists (even board-certified in pediatric allergy) or from nutritional
>specialists.  They all look at one tiny piece of the pie and know
>nothing about the overall picture--very frustrating.

It's very frustrating to be inundated with all this conflicting
information as I've found.  The one thing I have done is stop panicking.
After hearing some of the stories on here and other references, I was a
total wreck.  The reality is that I did everything I knew to do to
prevent this.  Breastfeeding does not eliminate food allergies as so many
preach.  My daughter has a good chance of outgrowing the food allergies
although is pretty much doomed on inhaled allergies.  It's very hard to
take a wait and see approach in this instant gratification society.

Next time I'll know to do a better elimination of the milk and eggs (I
didn't have any problems eliminating peanuts and seafood although I've
probably had traces).  It might be that it will only postpone the
inevitable - I'll never know.

Kathy P.