Yep, I know… it’s been two years since my last post. I’m not sure how that’s possible, but I do know that facebook has taken over most things that I would have blogged about. At the same time, I’m sad that I haven’t blogged many of the events of the last few years.
This will not be one of those massive “catching up” posts, though. For today, I just want to throw out there the cheat sheet we’re putting together to go with Brandon when he goes to a friend’s house. His food allergies have been much more pronounced and serious than anything I’ve dealt with before, and it’s been a learning experience. I hope to write out our journey so far soon.
In the meantime, here it is:
Brandon is allergic to five foods: Cantaloupe, Sugar, Yeast, Soy, and Tomato
Cantaloupe will make him sick immediately. Best not to give him fruit that has been mixed with cantaloupe.
Sugar causes swings from hyperactivity to lethargy and crankiness, but no severe reaction.
Limit: Anything with sugar, brown sugar, cane juice
Yeast, when consumed in quantity, causes Brandon to be virtually unwakable the next morning.
Avoid: Breads, cakes, pita chips
Soy causes extreme stomach pain, headache, nausea, slurred speech, and has caused Brandon to lose mobility. His reactions to soy do not begin immediately and can take 12+ hours to manifest. If you see him eating something with soy, please stop him.
Please do check labels, many chips and most tortillas use soybean oil.
NO Chinese food, tofu, foods cooked in soybean oil, edamame, foods with “soy protein”
Ok: “Soy lecithin”
Tomato caused a very strong reaction in the clinical setting. He has not had tomato since, so we do not know how he would react. An epi-pen was issued in case of anaphylactic shock, where the airway closes up. If you do not know how to use an epi-pen, please ask and he would be happy to show it to you and explain how to use it. In an emergency, please don’t hesitate to use it and call 911.
NO tomato sauce, pizza or pasta with red sauce or tomatoes, barbeque sauce, ketchup
So what DOES he eat?
Meats, salad, vegetables, and fruits are good. He likes sugar-free jello. Popcorn is probably fine. 100% fruit juice or water are good. We do try to keep some sugar-free snack foods in his emergency kit (which contains his inhaler and his epi-pen).
It’s a journey, and we’re still discovering ways to keep Brandon healthy and feeling well. When he’s well, Brandon is a joy to be around. He is helpful and kind, funny and thoughtful. When he is not well, he can be inattentive, angry, very easily frustrated, seemingly deliberately disobedient, hyper or lethargic. We continue to pray for wisdom and patience on this journey.
