Back to the Allergist

Fletcher stopped taking his medicated formula in about May as the prescription we had didn't specify vanilla and the new chemist took that to the letter of the law and wouldn't give us vanilla. Despite the allergist, paediatrician and GP all stating it was okay.. he refused. And so Fletcher refused to drink the plain old Elecare LCP - and to be honest, I don't blame him... it's awful!!

So... being 6mths over due for his 2 year check up at Allergy Medical I booked him in to see the Professor. 

Wow - what a whirlwind and amazing visit. The Professor diagnosed Fletcher and I almost on site,but proceeded to complete the skin prick testing to confirm.

Drumroll....

We both have a severe chemical sensitivity.

Now this is upsetting but not at all surprising. What's a severe chemical sensitivity you ask? Well, it's what causes those dark and/or red  circles under your eyes... the blotchiness on fair skin, the tickle in your ears, nose and throat at night (particularly around 8pm). It's having to blow your nose in the morning so that you can speak without sounding like Fran Drescher. It's those strange red marks you get around your mouth after eating pineapple, strawberries and other acidic fruits. It's the reason people do the Elimination Diet and, it's what my Mum was diagnosed with years ago.

What does this mean?

Foods vary greatly in natural chemical composition. The substances most likely to upset sensitive people are salicylates (family of plant chemicals - think bright in colour high in salicylates), amines (proteins found within foods that increase as foods age, mature or ripen) and glutamate (an amino acid building block of all proteins - it enhances the flavour of foods). There's of course also food additives to keep in mind! As severely chemically sensitive people, Fletcher and I need to be careful with our foods and complete the Elimination Diet (either moderate or severe) to work out exactly what chemicals we react to. It might be food or environment based, it might be salycilates, amines, glutamates or all three! Who know, until you get your body back to base line and introduce things slowly and see what you react to.

So this is where we are at in our journey.

I was seeing a wonderful naturopath, Sharon Wilford a few years ago and I am looking forward to asking her advice on how we proceed with this.

I will keep you posted!