Milk Allergy or Reflux?

[isign]

My nephew just turned a year old. He was put on soy formula when he was a few months old because he had reflux. Now, he just turned a year, and SIL has put him on soy milk. My brother said that when he drinks regular milk, or eats some milk products, he throws up, not spits up, and it takes him a while to feel better. I told him that it didn't sound like reflux, it sounded like more. Their Dr has told SIL to start mixing whole milk with soy formula even though he's doing great on soy. He's eaten ice cream though, and is ok with it. When SIL gave him mashed potatoes with whole milk, he threw that up. I'm not at all familiar with food allergies, but it sounds to me like the Dr is missing something here. Anyone have any experience with this?

[isign]

anyone??

[solongtogo]

My friend has a daughter that's almost 15 months and does the same thing when she drinks milk. She can eat cheese, ice cream, etc and be just fine, but when she drinks milk she vomits. I'd say it's allergy, but I'm no expert or anything. Have her call her ped.

[Marisa]

As a mom of two dairy intolerant babies, it does sound like an allergy or intolerance to me. The fact that he can have some kinds of dairy without too much issue makes me think it's either an intolerance or a mild allergy. When foods like cheese, yogurt, or even ice cream to some extent, are processed, the proteins in the milk are partially broken down, and that's why babies can often tolerate eating small amounts of yogurt, etc. before a year where straight whole milk would be too much for their digestive systems.

He's old enough now where SIL could have him evaluated for allergies. I can see why the dr. might want him off soy as the main component of his diet, but just switching to whole milk "just because" wouldn't fly with me. I'd at least want a second opinion if not full-on allergy testing.

[ellidew]

I can see why the dr. might want him off soy as the main component of his diet

Just curious, what do you mean by this?

I agree with everything Marisa said about an intolerance. My ds can have cheese but can't have milk or yogurt. He was a Nutramigen baby b/c he couldn't tolerate soy formula either. The doctor says he'll likely outgrow it still. He's on soy milk now with no problems, which is why I'm curious about why Marisa said what she said. I took a huge list of concerns to my doctor and even printed out a study I'd read about too much soy consumption. My doc countered with a more recent study showing no effects of soy consumption. I guess it's all in perception. Too much of anything isn't good.

[Marisa]

That's pretty much what I was referring to. There have been studies showing that consumption of large amounts of soy could be harmful, and there have been studies showing no effect at all... but even a recent panel that found no ill effects (2006) recommended that there be further study. Soy formulas have only been in use since the 1960s, so we're only now seeing the first generation of adults who have been fed soy in infancy -- there haven't been real conclusive long-term studies. It's something that might make a medical professional take pause, or at least recommend consuming less soy if possible. But as you say, it all depends on that individual's interpretation of the information available.

[isign]

Thanks for the responses. I thought it odd that they were told to do soy for reflux, but the one time SIL grabbed the non-soy formula - I think he was not quite 6 months - he had a bad reaction and was throwing up so much they took him to the ER. That didn't sound like reflux to me. I just thought the mixing of soy formula and whole milk was a bit odd. I know it came from a Dr, but well I just thought it sounded off. They'll be visiting with us this next week, and I wanted to help them out a bit, as they are pretty young and don't really have much support from anyone else.

[BridalLace]

i am wondering if my son might have a milk allergy or lactose intolerance, so i am searching for other threads and bumping/subscribing to them. can babies have a milk allergy or lactose intolerance when its breast milk, do you think?

thanks,

Heather

[MrsSpencer]

yes..if you eat dairy it's in your milk. You have to cut it out, my ds is a nutrimagin baby also, so I really have to watch what I eat.

[pontmarie]

Both my sons are allergic to the proteins in milk and to soy. DS#1 was allergic even to the dairy I had in my diet so I had to stop all dairy as long as I BFd him. DS#2 tolerated dairy in my diet fine. They can both have yogurt, cheese, milk in baked goods, etc, but they can't drink cow's milk or soy milk, so they're on rice milk and have other sources of calcium as well.

[Scooter]

can babies have a milk allergy or lactose intolerance when its breast milk, do you think?Yes, they can have a milk allergy when it's in your breastmilk.

No, they can't have lactose intolerance from your breastmilk. The dairy isn't going directly into your milk, it's being processed by your own body first. The lactose they're getting in the breastmilk is an easily digestable form because it's human lactose instead of cow lactose.

DD is lactose intolerant (cheese is ok but not milk, yogurt or cream), and it took me awhile to figure out the dairy was causing her problems, because she was fine BFing when I ate dairy. But that's the difference between lactose intolerance and an allergy--you won't know until they try to eat it themselves!


ETA: here's the thread where I was talking about her symptoms and first trying to figure it out.
Dairy Problem? (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32661)
In DD's case it was definitely lactose intolerance and didn't end up being an allergy after all!

[rosa727]

I am trying to figure out if my son has a milk allergy. The gastroenterologist that we went to see told us to do a dairy elimination for several days (7-10). I did it for about 7 and didn't think there was much of a difference, so I put him back on dairy. But now, today, he had terrible gas and woke up from his nap screaming. That was right after lunch, where I gave him cheese. When he finally calmed down, he told me his stomach hurt. Anyway, I think I am going to take away the dairy again and give it another try. I have been giving him soy milk and yogurt, but I realized that I gave him milk in some baked goods without realizing it. I find it almost impossible not to, as it is in EVERYTHING! Have most people found that even when a child has an allergy, they can tolerate it in baked goods? I am really hoping that if it is an allergy, we can still give it to him in small doses. Otherwise, I don't know WHAT he will eat!! I doubt he has a serious allergy because he has no issues with his poop or his skin or other things that tend to show a severe allergy.

[krbb]

I am trying to figure out if my son has a milk allergy. The gastroenterologist that we went to see told us to do a dairy elimination for several days (7-10). I did it for about 7 and didn't think there was much of a difference, so I put him back on dairy. But now, today, he had terrible gas and woke up from his nap screaming. That was right after lunch, where I gave him cheese. When he finally calmed down, he told me his stomach hurt. Anyway, I think I am going to take away the dairy again and give it another try. I have been giving him soy milk and yogurt, but I realized that I gave him milk in some baked goods without realizing it. I find it almost impossible not to, as it is in EVERYTHING! Have most people found that even when a child has an allergy, they can tolerate it in baked goods? I am really hoping that if it is an allergy, we can still give it to him in small doses. Otherwise, I don't know WHAT he will eat!! I doubt he has a serious allergy because he has no issues with his poop or his skin or other things that tend to show a severe allergy.

Dairy can take several weeks to get out of your system. What are his symptoms? I am surprised they didn't do an allergy test for him since he is over two. Also, a lot of times those who are allergic to dairy can be to soy too. If it is an allergy you want to avoid it completely. His reaction could get worse the more he is exposed to it. There are a lot of alternatives to dairy. There is the BF/FF babies w/ allergy thread, not sure if there is one for older kids, but if you are looking for ideas stop by!

[rosa727]

krbb: I am really going to push them to do the test. I doubt his allergy is a severe one since he doesn't get hives or have poop or skin issues. When he was little he had pyloric spasms and bad reflux. The GI doc said the spasms are usually caused by an allergy. Now he tends to be very gassy and (from what I can tell with a 26-month-old) crampy. His belly hurts him a lot. He also drools excessively, which I know can be a sign of reflux - not sure about allergies. He does have the dark circles under his eyes now, but that just started, so that seems odd. I know he get plenty of rest, so that's not it. He also has had croup many times and several sinus infections. I know those can be related to reflux, but I am not sure about allergies. Basically, we went to the doctor suspecting that he just still had reflux. But the Prevacid isn't doing enough. So he told me to eliminate dairy so we could see if that was it. That's where we are at. But I really want the test because this experimenting is making me crazy! Thanks for your help!

[mkvh]

rosa--I too would push for a test. Full dairy elim is very, very difficult and can take a long time.

I do know that upper respiratory congestion can be dairy allergy related, and allergies can in fact exacerbate reflux from what I understant.

I say head to a pediatric allergist and let him sort it out!

[rosa727]

mkvh: Thanks for your input! I am calling tomorrow to ask for the testing.