Fifth Appointment
Visit 5 was another pandemic visit that required prep for the appointments while also keeping a close eye on travel restrictions.
Travel
Traveling amidst a pandemic requires a little extra prep. I follow important news outlets and pandemic related pages on instagram to keep up with changing regulation. Reconfirming car and hotel reservations a few days before you fly out is a good idea too. It seems as though things are getting under better control in California now, though.
This time around we flew American and United airlines again. United is doing a much better job at distancing and limiting contact amongst passengers and airline crew. O’Hare airport was much busier this time around and our gate was changed at the last minute so definitely keep in mind that travel isn’t as slow as it was a few months back.
I had to pack mare milk to take along for our introduction appointment. I had about 3 oz frozen in a medela bottle. TSA did question why I needed so much frozen liquid. I had a letter from the clinic that detailed the need to travel with different foods. Once I showed it to the agent, he didn’t question any further. If you don’t already have this document, it’s definitely a good one to keep on hand.
Appointments
The challenge appointments for pistachio and mare milk went smoothly. We always make a stop to grab safe ice cream from Whole Foods to help the challenges and intros. It’s how we dosed pistachios at home and what Musa is comfortable with.
We introduced 3 foods- brazil nut, barley and duck egg white. I always ask to stay in the room a little longer after introductions versus being asked to leave to right away. It gives me a few minutes to count out the doses I am taking home and Musa gets to use the restroom on the way out because we all know new allergens do not stay in their bodies very long! Keep in mind that you will need enough doses to carry you through to the next appointment if you are adding days to your cycle. For instance, the office was providing all of our doses for barley and I know I add 3-4 days to our cycles so I asked for that many more doses before leaving.
Next Visit
Our next visit will consist of an additional skin prick test to assess for SLIT. The doctor mentioned that Musa’s list of environmental allergens is pretty long as it is so we should expect to be on SLIT. I am not sure when we will start it after the next visit, but I’ll keep you updated!