I’ve given away the ending. But here’s the news: My son has completed his final oral food challenge (OFC) at his allergist’s office.
This comes after successful egg and baked milk challenges and one failed milk challenge. It also comes after introducing soy, peanuts and tree nuts at home after believing him to be allergic.
We began this more than six-year journey with a reaction of hives to some Greek yogurt and a few weeks later, to eggs. Skin testing and bloodwork when he was 10 months old showed he was allergic to soy, nuts, peanuts, dairy and eggs. A couple of years later, we were cleared for peanuts, soy and nuts, and the others took time. More skin tests, more blood tests. More “pokes,” we called them.
Then, one allergy remained: dairy.
My son had a GI reaction to milk two years ago, and — as you can probably understand, provided you haven’t been living under a rock — COVID-19 derailed our intentions to re-test in 2020. But this summer break, we were back at it.
Here We Go
After some starts and stops, his latest bloodwork showed he was ready to re-test. Miraculously, I was able to score an appointment before he went back to school. It did, however, mean scheduling with the office that’s the farthest from us. But my son said, “It’s OK, Mommy. I can do it.”
He was so excited for this test. He so badly wanted to try new things. To be able to have goldfish crackers, regular ice cream and cheese on his pizza.
I was nervous — not that he’d have a serious reaction, but that he’d have enough of one (like last time) that they’d stop the test. Or that we’d walk away knowing it wasn’t an allergy but that he was sensitive and should be careful. I feared ambiguity.
We brought in our whole milk and chocolate syrup (to make it more palatable). His first “dose” was given just after 1 p.m., and it was scarcely a swallow of milk.
Wait 20 minutes. A larger swallow.
Another 20 minutes. A couple of swallows.
“Are you feeling OK, buddy?”
“I’m fine. I feel great.”
“OK, I’m going to keep asking.”
“OK.”
We brought his Nintendo Switch and played Mario Kart until my old-lady eyes couldn’t handle it anymore.
Then, out of the blue: “I need to go to the bathroom.”
Darn it, I thought. We’re done.
I panicked. Texted my husband that the GI issues must be starting. But my son returned very quickly to our exam room.
“Everything OK?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said, a little annoyed. “I had to pee."
“Oh. Cool.”
The test continued, with the amount of milk he drank increasing every 20 minutes. The final amount was a small cupful.
All Clear
“You feeling OK?” I asked for the hundredth time.
“I feel great,” he answered.
I inspected his face, neck, chest and belly all afternoon, looking for signs of a reaction. There were none. No itching or rashes. No hives. No GI distress. Nothing.
Our provider came in and shared that he was all clear. He could eat whatever dairy he wanted. Butter, cheese, yogurt, milk. Any of it.
I asked about what we should do if he had GI symptoms later. It’s not an allergy, she said. If we had concerns, we could call, but between the OFC and his bloodwork, they were confident:
He’s cleared for dairy.
Now What?
You’d think we’d rush to stop at the local ice cream shop on the way home. But instead, I opted for a dairy-free night. Dairy affects people in lots of ways and with this being his first of it since the last OFC, I wanted to see if we noticed anything.
In the two weeks since, we’ve let him lead the way … What is HE comfortable with? What does HE want to try? I took him shopping with me the next night and let him explore.
He’s made it clear that he never needs to drink a glass of milk again. And he thinks noodles in cheese is weird, so we can hold off on the mac and cheese.
He’s tried some things he didn’t like. But he’s liking cheese on pizza. He also appreciates cheddar in our breakfast hashes and casseroles — as well as on enchiladas and baked tacos.
As the meal planner and preparer, I like having these new options, but I didn’t need them. What I needed to know is that if eats something with cheese, he won’t die. I didn’t think that would happen before, but now, I feel better.
And I’m excited about what’s ahead … I can introduce him to lasagna and baked ziti and previously off-limits Mexican dishes. We can do cheese boards, and he can eat whatever he wants on them (and I don’t have to feel bad eating what I want on them). He can try cheesecake and creme brulee!! I can make everything at Thanksgiving the way I’d like to without modifications, and he’ll be OK. He doesn’t have to ask me ever again, “Does this have dairy?”
Yes, the food lover in me is excited, but the bigger part of this experience is that the mom in me can breathe a gigantic sigh of relief. So many foods were a danger for so long. And now, they’re just foods. We’re done with skin tests and oral food challenges and carrying an EpiPen made by a company trying to make us go broke. To our knowledge, this is the end of our allergy journey.
He’s safe.