Puzzle Pieces

Most people know that I love a good puzzle. I can literally spend hours studying the pieces before putting one into the puzzle. I like to put it exactly where it belongs and I make a goal never to put one in "just to see if it fits". Try it.. it's harder than it looks especially when so many look the same. Now that I have bored you to tears with my puzzle talk and if you are still reading ... here is the point of this post. 

My kids are a puzzle. I have to study recipes for hours trying to keep them fed and in good health. I study internet web sites and grill their doctors for information. I don't accept anything as "true" unless i feel it really fits with all their symptoms as well as the spirit telling me so. Then every once in a while something pops up and the spirit screams "That's it! The missing piece to the puzzle you were looking for!" Well a HUGE Puzzle piece fell into my lap yesterday for Tanner. 

When people ask us about my kids food allergies, then ask me about Tanner we say "He's fine! He is daddy's eating buddy!" But honestly that's isn't the whole truth. Nothing but the truth would be that we didn't know what it was!! Tanner has this amazing ability to always know when he is going to throw up, or vomit, upchuck the whole caboodle. He even always makes it the bathroom in time! The funny thing is that is happens at random times. As hard as I have tried I have never been able to connect it with any food (and we are very good at decoding food allergies here) He also randomly will get hives.. again for no reason and with no food connection i  could think of, and his allergy tests have always been negative.  In Utah the allergist told us he had chronic hives , or hives with no purpose. I knew that wasn't correct. But he is a very happy little boy who doesn't complain and is growing and thriving! You would think that the next step would be to get him checked for an Eosinophilic Disease like Brooklyn. But that didn't feel right either , like I said he is a happy growing thriving boy.. who randomly vomits and gets hives. 

Then last April or May (to lazy to look it up right now) I had given Tanner some Ibuprofen (motrin) for some leg pain he was having.  Soon he started to go down hill and not breath well so we took him to the ER. It turned out he was wheezing and they gave him a breathing treatment and an antibiotic shot "Just in case" he had no other symptoms of being sick. I noticed when they were giving him the shot that he had a few hives on his leg. I wasn't too concerned as he gets those sometimes.. randomly.  But I was glad later because then I knew he hadn't been reacting to the antibiotic. Later that evening I gave him some more Ibuprofen and he got hives EVERYWHERE!!  A small puzzle piece clicked into place and we avoided Ibuprofen. 

Yesterday during our regular allergy visit I brought up that ER visit with questions such as "Will he also react to other NSAIDS (Non Steroidal Anti inflammatory) ?" When the

 doctor said "Does he throw up once in a while even when he isn't sick?"

Me:" YES!"

DR. : "Does he get hives sometimes?"

Me: "Yes"

DR. "I know what the problem is..."

Those words are so sweet to hear. You can't have a true allergy to Ibuprofen because it isn't a protein structure.. it is a chemical. More specifically a plant chemical Salicylate that has been duplicated by scientist to put in a more concentrated form for medical purposes in Aspirin and Ibuprofin. It is also added to food perservatives, colorings, and flavors. 

Tanner is Intolerant to Salicylate's. It's a mouthful, and I am still learning and getting used to it.. but here is what we know so far. Salicytate Sensitivity is dose dependant. It will slowly build up in your system until it hits a breaking point and your body tries to get rid of it. i.e. vomiting, hives, etc... That is why his reactions seemed random.  Salicylates occur in every day food. in fact the more healthy it is.. the more salicylates it probably has. It is in most every fruit and seasoning and herb, and in a large amount of vegetables, especially anything known to be anti inflammatory like cucumbers, honey, and onions.  You find it in processed meats, corn ingredients, and anything fruit flavored. There is a LONG list of foods he should not be eating because those foods have a high amount of Salicylates in them. In short his diet should now be the exact opposite from the girls. He should be eating plenty of dairy, eggs, Fresh unseasoned meats,  wheat and other grains (not corn though) and soy. and to stay away from anything too processed and fruity.  Whoa! I may never leave my kitchen again. Oh- and he can never have Ibuprofen or aspirin or other NSAIDS. How sensitive he is, we may not know completely until we get a handle on his new regiment and see if how much and IF things change... then see where his tolerance level is.  So bear with us! I feel very overwhelmed. and yet SO grateful !!! Hopefully we can help his little tummy and itchies.