First Appointment!
We had our second visit a week ago and it was…a lot. As much as I anticipated this appointment and was anxious to see the results, there was so much information to process. Technically speaking this is also the first visit with all the food introduction and challenges.
Travel
We had 4 appointments across 3 days. It was just Musa and myself so I condensed the appointments as much as I could. We flew in Monday morning at 12:30pm and had the patch placement at 3:15pm. It was a quick appointment. The next day we had the patch removal, went over the plan and challenged macadamia nuts. On Wednesday, we had an early morning appointment to challenge more foods and then an afternoon appointment to introduce foods. We planned to fly out late at night since the office recommended a 5 hour gap before flying out. So definitely make sure to check with them if you have any specific travel questions. Each child is different and as much as I wanted to fly out the same day I would have waited until the next day if I had to for Musa’s safety.
Patch Placement
The patch placement appointment was super quick. We were in and out in 10 minutes. It would have been less if Musa didn’t get panicked before the placement. He was still upset from the skin prick test appointment back in October. Prior to the appointment I showed him pictures of the patch from other Instagram accounts and we went over the idea of it being a sticker. I told the nurse when we got in to be quick and she was. As soon as Musa started to get upset she stuck the first grid on and he realized it was nothing. The rest were placed and we were good to go for 24 hours.
The rest of the day for us was pretty uneventful. I needed to grab duck eggs from Whole Foods along with some groceries for the rest of trip so we did that. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a skate park since Musa is so into skateboarding these days. Once back at the hotel, we relaxed, watched some tv and called it a night. The next morning we took a walk on Seal Beach and played in the park for a few minutes. We then headed to Huntington Beach where I rented a bike and Musa was able to sit in the kid seat. It was starting to get hot so the bike was a good way to get him to sit and be unbothered. I, on the other hand, got a good workout in. Ha!
Overall, Musa didn’t complain about the patch itching or bothering him but he kept tugging at the taped portion in the bottom left side of his back. He said the tape was pulling on his skin. I didn’t need to give him any Benadryl during the patch test.
Patch Removal
Turns out Musa was right about the patch being uncomfortable on the bottom left side. That portion was unreadable because it had bunched up on the bottom. It wouldn’t hinder us from the going forward with the challenges or introductions but we do need to get that portion redone at the next visit. This means another 3 day visit. I’m not ecstatic about it but everything is in place for his safety.
After the patch removal, cashew was the only food that showed a significant amount of irritation on his skin. So much that it left a burned looking scab on his back for a few days. This means that we will need to be on alert for abdominal pain when we begin that food. Again, Musa didn’t complain about it but he was visibly itching it so I applied Benadryl lotion as needed.
The Challenges
We challenged macadamia nut, pine nut, pumpkin seeds and soymilk. I think I could have better prepared for these by brining in foods to mix the challenge foods into. For instance, the office gives kids a choice of allergy free melted chocolate, apple sauce or rice to mix in the challenge foods. Musa was okay with chocolate for the pine nuts and macadamia nut but not a huge fan. For the pumpkin seeds he asked for rice and that took SO long for him to eat. Definitely keep this in mind as you know how what your child will best respond to.
The Introductions
We introduced duck egg yolk, chestnut and buckwheat later the same day. I was better prepared with some hash browns from Dunkin’. Musa didn’t even notice the egg yolk or buckwheat and the chestnuts were in gummy form so he happily ate those as well. He even asked if he could have more gummies!
At the conclusion of this appointment I was given a bag of foods to take home to help with dosing buckwheat and chestnuts for the first few weeks. This may or may not be the case for you. I did make sure to have a little extra room in my luggage for it or at least make sure you have an extra hand to carry it if you’re flying back home. I also asked the nurse to show me how to extract the yolk for a duck egg. I took a video of this so I was able to watch (and rewatch) when I got back home.
The Plan
I will write a separate blog post about our plan but here is an overview. We are looking at 20 visits while dosing 2 to 3 foods at home at a time. This means about 2.5ish years. It seems like a lot but I am taking it one appointment at a time…it doesn’t feel as overwhelming this way. We have 16 foods in the anaphylactic category with milk and peanut being the worst and taking the most time to overcome. But we will do it… I know it!
