Living with Food Allergies, 2013 and on

[ajasfolks2]

CM, am so jealous of upcoming travels . . .

Funny trade off I was thinking about -- 20+ years ago I was travelling the world with ballet co & suitcase full of FILM since it was expensive & not always available where we went.  (Not to mention suitcase full of pointe shoes!!)  Now I would travel with suitcase full of allergy-safe foods.

There's always something new, isn't there?  LOL!

[Janelle205]

I know it isn't going to change, but it is ridiculously irritating to spend $5 for a tiny container of soy-free margarine when there are 'regular' ones right next to it for .99.

[Gray]

Being on a small maintenance dose of an allergen comes with unique challenges.  The other day, dd opened a box of crackers with her allergen and was about to just start eating  .  She's had them before, so why not?  Hard to explain to a young child, but I think she understands now.

[CMdeux]

It's really hard to do re-restrictions that way.  We still sometimes get into trouble this way with milk protein.

Even after seven years, it's still not normal tolerance-- and I have to remind her. 

[booandbrimom]

Did the post-FAHF2 checkup with our own doc.

1) Got an Auvi-Q prescription. So cute! So small!

2) Scratch tested for milk (same), peanut (MUCH bigger than during the trial), soy (negative), green pea (negative), hazelnut (negative). I should be happier. The milk one really bummed me out though. Will check RAST and perhaps try soy and pea in the office. He failed a pea challenge already with a 0 RAST and no skin reactivity...she says it happens 2% of the time.

3) She thinks his hazelnut positive was pollen related. Wants to see the RAST, but really thinks he's not allergic. Excellent if we could cross that one off.

I don't know why this stuff is always so depressing.

[Janelle205]

I hate it when manufacturers change ingredients.  Jerks.

[TabiCat]

We had First Sunday pot-luck at our church today. We are heading in the back door near the kitchen so we can drop off our dish and DS lunch bag. Several men have set up large gas fry pits for frying fish so DH stops to ask one about their oil. He checks the container and tells dh its vegetable oil. Dh thanks him and says we just wanted to make sure its not peanut oil. One of the elders that we don't know personally (very large congregation)  comes around a cornor just in time to hear "peanut oil". HE turns to DH " oh no we can't use peanut oil it's too dangerous there's a child with an allergy in the church"

DS looks at him and says thank you I am allergic to peanuts.

[CMdeux]

    That must have made your DS feel awesome Tabi!  What a lovely gentleman to have shared this as a concern-- and not as a burden. 

[Macabre]

 Not judging a speech tourney today but volunteering in another capacity so ray I am touching the critique forms the kids will get back. Just had almonds with my lunch and made sure I washed my hands well.   Last week's judges lounge had peanuts. Ugh. I think of all those critique sheets they touched.  Yuck.

[CMdeux]

FOUND OUR RAMEN!  (Which, in a recap, we are pretty much going to be dependent upon for basic nutrition for 3-10 days while in Europe-- DD and I both, potentially)

But not before "adventures in low-caffeine struck at Store number 1."     (Typical.)

The Story of "Not all That LOOKS safe... is the same as that which actually IS"


Store number one-- called this morning.  "I need a particular brand of Ramen noodles.  Yes, <laughs> I know-- but this is because of food allergies.  Everyone else in town except (ratty store) seems to carry Nissin/Top-Ramen and not Maruchan.  Any chance that you carry the Maruchan brand?"

"Yes-- we carry both brands." 

"Great!"  (Since this is also "budget-priced" grocery store and it's next to PetCo where I need to go to get more of our only-sold-in-one-store-in-the-entire-universe cat food.)

In store, I notice the rows-and-rows of shelf space devoted to Maruchan cup-o-noodle (you know, in the foam cups?)  And then I spot it-- HURRAY!  That magical BLUE label... loose packets, not ideal.. I prefer the case/sixpacks which are tidier, but at this point I could CARE LESS, because they HAVE IT...

Hey-- 0.10 each, no less.  AWESOME.  I grab $3 worth.  Yes, this is a lot of ramen.


Get out to the car, drop that off, walk over to get cat food.  Back to car, drop THAT off, and something about the ramen catches my eye...

Hmm.  WHAT?!!!!   AUghhhhhhhh!!!!!  It's all NISSIN.  WTF??  HOW could I not have even noticed this??  HOW??  HOW??

Back into store.  Yup.  That's right.  All of the cup-of-noodle stuff is Maruchan... and all of the plain ramen is Nissin. 

So I go to the OTHER (more expensive) store after I go back to pick DD up at the end of her workshop...

At first, all I saw THERE was the Nissin stuff, too.  I was just about to throw a giant hairy cat fit when DD gently pointed out to me the smaller wire bins of the Maruchan next to it.  Well. 

It cost twice as much.  But at that point, it could have cost $1 each and I seriously wouldn't have cared.    Now, why didn't I go to this store to begin with, you ask?  Well, because the CSR there didn't seem to "with it" when I called around this morning, quite frankly.



The good news is that I can probably count this four hour adventure as community service.  LOL.  Yeah-- sure.


Because I was "buying food to donate to the food bank."   

[ajasfolks2]

Refrigerator repairman here this morning.

Asked him to don shoe covers/booties.

Then asked him to wash hands, esp since he was repairing a food storage device for 2 LTFA kids.

He was AWESOME about it.  And mentioned he had eaten PBJ this morning.

Some people are getting it.  They really, really are.   

[GingerPye]

 

[Gray]

*** poof ***

[twinturbo]

I have to say our school moms are mostly awesome. Even though I've never asked they always go out of their way to make sure their own child's bday party is nut free for DS. We always bring our own food and never ask for that accomodation but they make it about the kids first. We've been to some really fun parties this year.

[ajasfolks2]

@ Gray,

You know, if I could have just ONE wish right now WRT food allergies, it would be standardization as to diagnosis . . .

which tests, by whom, how often, and what-the-heck-ever the numbers/results correlate to?

MORE MONEY into testing and analysis and studies is likely the only way we'll get there.

It's been 13+ years since my son was officially diagnosed and had first ana reax.

Geez.  You'd think we'd be closer to SOME CONSENSUS by now.


(Vent over.)