THIS IS SOY MILK!!!

I'm not sure where to start. I feel like I've been punched in the stomach & could do a back flip out of sheer joy! Isla is no longer IgE allergic to soy!!! (IgE??? - Immunoglobulin E - the antibody associated with "classic" allergy.) In other words, Isla is no longer at risk of anaphylaxis from soy!!! Needless to say, more than a few tears of joy have been shed.

We had an IOFC (what's that? - In Office Food Challenge) this morning to try to introduce soy milk. Isla & I brought oodles of toys & books and a big box of chocolate soy milk to her allergist's office this morning. After a negative SPT (what's with all these acronyms? - Skin Prick Test), Isla was given a tiny bit of soy milk in an oral syringe. We waited 20 minutes, while I watched closely for signs of internal combustion, and she was given a little bigger syringe of soy milk. After 20 more minutes it was increased to a tiny medicine cup of milk, then a slightly fuller medicine cup, then a 1/4 full dixie cup, etc. etc. Hopefully you get the picture. It ended with a finale of 8 oz. of soy milk. She actually couldn't finish it all, so I'll give her 8 oz. tomorrow morning, just to be sure.

If I wasn't so anxious, it would have been an IOBC (In Office Boredom Challenge), but I was on the edge of my seat for most of the 4 hour adventure. Isla did have some cheek flushing, but no other symptoms! At one point they almost called it off when she started rubbing her face on me, but b/c she wasn't allowed to have her Zyrtec for the past few days, her EAs (environmental allergies) have been worse, and this symptom didn't worsen with more exposure to milk. The allergist grinned as wek left & joked that we should go have soy burgers for lunch. The implications haven't quite set in, but it means a whole new world of foods!

I've kept this IOFC hush hush for two reasons - 1) I really wasn't very optimistic. In December the allergist didn't want to do any food challenges for a year. Her last SPT in September was quite positive and she had a reaction from a tiny bit of exposure - cross contamination on a knife used to cut fruit and food with soy - in October. 2) Because the appointment was spur of the moment. On Tuesday we saw a pediatric Gastroenterologist (Yep, we've been earning out medical frequent flier miles) because Isla has had some on going GI issues. The GI doc officially diagnosed GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease - Not really news, but nice to know that the GI concurs with her Pedi's diagnosis), and wants to do an EGD (esophagogastroduodenoscopy) & sigmoidoscopy to get a better idea about what may or may not be going on, but in order to make sure, he wants her to be eating as many potential "trigger foods" as possible, including soy & dairy. We will introduce dairy on Monday, but because dairy is Non-IgE (no risk of anaphylaxis), we will introduce it at home and endure the side effects. The upside is that after carefully planning a soy & dairy free birthday, Isla will now be able to have regular cake & ice cream and cheese with her tacos! I'm so happy!

Just Peanuts, Dairy & Egg to go!!!