Allergies- They just STINK!

I really should have already posted about the "allergy drama" that Lendon has been going through, but have really not felt up to it until today.
As many of you already know, Lendon has been constantly plagued by a cold, ear infection and/or asthma for the last 7 months. During this time, he developed allergies to penicillin and Bactrim, so I really began to worry that we would run out of antibiotics that Lendon could take. In January, Lendon got tubes and we hoped that would fix many of his problems, but it did not.
So, a mommy has to do what a mommy has to do! I spent hours researching possible causes of his illnesses and talked to every doctor I call on and and every mom that had a sick child like Lendon. As I began my research I soon realized that a lot of the children who were sick like Lendon were eventually diagnosed with allergies or an auto-immune deficiency disorder. If you are wondering, very few children have an auto-immune deficiency and allergies (well, at least major allergy problems).
The week after Lendon's birthday, we went to see allergist, Dr. Kircher to get some answers. In my mind, I had already decided that Lendon probably had an allergy or two that was contributing to his problems but little did I know, he was literally allergic to everything.
The allergy testing process was so sad! Dr. Kircher had to stick his back to test him for the twenty four of the most common allergies. She explained that one area on his back was the placebo area and any area that became more swollen than that area is a sign that he has an allergy. Lets just say Lendon's back lit up like a Christmas tree!! Of the twenty four allergies he was tested for, Lendon was allergic to twenty!
Here is the list of things that Lendon is allergic to: milk, egg, soy, wheat, rice, peanuts, fish mix, shrimp, corn, pecans, cats, dogs, dust mites, cockroaches, feathers, aspergillus and grass.
Well, that test certainly gave us some answers!
From there we developed an aggressive plan of action to address his allergies- pretty much taking everything out of diet that he is allergic to and addressing the inhalant issues as much as possible. Unfortunately, we had to put Lendon back on the hypoallergenic formula, Elecare- expensive and has to be specially ordered. Needless to say, this formula is nasty. It smells and tastes horrible! To get Lendon to drink it, I have to make a large batch of banana- formula smoothies and distribute it to all of his sippy cups for the day. My blender has become my best friend! Now, to what he can eat... pretty much fruit, veggies and some meats. What I soon found out is that lunch meats, sausages, hot dogs are bound with milk proteins and ham is cooked in corn syrup. So, that leaves us with fresh chicken breast, pork loin and fresh ground beef. I also found a grocery store with a turkey breast that is not bound with any milk proteins- thank goodness! Any type of packaged foods are a complete no-no!
To address the inhalant issues, we got the air ducts in our house professionally cleaned and incorporated air filtration systems in many of the rooms in the house. Lendon also started on Singular everyday to help with his symptoms.

The GOOD NEWS: After two weeks of taking Lendon off all the foods to which he was allergic, we were able to stop his nebulizer breathing treatments, his tubes started working and Lendon has now been off antibiotics for 2 months!! He feels so much better!! We also think that he will grow out of some of these allergies. After the pollen goes away, we will begin to incorporate the foods that he is allergic to back into his diet, one at a time for a seven day stretch and see how well he can tolerate it. Also, he did not have an auto-immune deficiency disorder.

The bottom line: Allergies stink, but it could always be worse.
I will keep everyone posted!