...and we're back LIVE from the LONE STAR state

We are back- finally!  Sorry it's taken so long to update everyone.  Unfortunately, it took 3 months to get internet service in our new home.  It was a complete nightmare, lots of tears have been shed over internet access and the lack there of- but now it's over and AT&T FINALLY came through.

Molly is doing well with updosing.   We have had only had one set back and it was actually this week.  This week we progressed to eating one whole cashew.  I'm not sure if it was nerves or if she just wasn't ready yet, but the cashew caused her to vomit.  So we tried a 2nd dose and again Molly immediately started vomiting.  After talking to Dr. Sugerman, we decided the best course of action would be to go back a dose, back to the capsules of cashew flour and not the whole nut.  Molly has taken that dose with no issue today so hopefully we are back on the upswing of OIT. 

Molly does not like the taste or texture of nuts.  There is question to what will Molly's limit of nuts be because she will have to eat a certain number of nuts EVERYDAY. EVERYDAY F-O-R-E-V-E-R everyday.  And since she is de-sensitizing to cashew, peanut, and walnut, that means it's just isn't one type of nuts, it's all three.  As of right now, it looks like 4 of each nut *might* be our magic number.  As a mom I'm not sure how I feel about this, because it will still limit what she eats.  She will have protection if she accidentally has a bite of a peanut butter cookie and won't have anaphylaxis, but she won't be able to sit down with a payday bar or eat a piece of pecan pie.  Maybe the later items were just my yearnings for her to have a "normal" life.  I'm not sure they even really matter, because she HATES nuts- the texture, the taste, the smell so she has NO desire to eat a payday bar or pecan pie.  And, at the end of the day, protection against anaphylaxis is our main goal of de-sentization/OIT.  The verdict is still out on what our final nut number will be, and ultimately it will be what Molly can tolerate AND what keeps her safe. 

Spring Break- Deep in the Heart of Texas

 

Matt, Sophia, Molly and Gabrielle at
the River Walk in San Antonia, TX

It has been so busy lately!  It seems like vacations are more work than rest, but it was totally worth it.

Molly and I flew into DFW the Thursday before spring break so she could up dose on that Friday and the Friday of spring break.  She did great the first week, but the 2nd week she had hives and an eczema outbreak so the staff at Dallas Allergy and Immunology was very cautious and decided not to increase her dose.  Molly had also had some changes in her pft (pulmonary funtion test) so they tweaked her asthma medications a little.  They also reinforced the importance of wet wrapping (a treatment used for moderate to severe eczema, this is a good description:  itchy little world: wet wrapping ) during eczema flairs on thickened skin common at the wrists, knees, elbows, and ankles.

Molly's increasing OIT dose

Even though I was slightly frustrated that Molly could not increase her dose on the 2nd visit, it was a great trip and I really appreciate the cautious and concerned staff.  I was worried that Molly would not be able to updose if her spring allergies and eczema issues continued.  I was reassured by our wonderful physician's assistant, Joanna, that since this is the first time they have seen her broken out, they needed to be cautious and she might be able to updose next time even if she is still having an outbreak.  We have a hard time with Molly's eczema and allergies in the spring.  Even with daily and sometimes twice daily Zyrtec and daily Nasonex, we have to give benadryl for break through allergies.

Dallas Allergy and Asthma waiting area for OIT.
Fun things for the kids to do while they wait.

After our first visit for OIT, the rest of the family came down for vacation.  We decided to take a trip to San Antonio.  It was AMAZING!  It may have been one of the best trips I've taken.  The River Walk was beautiful.  There was so much to do downtown and in walking distance.  We went to the River Walk, the Alamo, the Buckhorn Saloon and museums.  We ate out every night, going to the Rainforest Cafe and Toscana, both were concerned and accommodating with Molly's food allergies.  We also ate lunch at the Buckhorn Saloon with no problems.  We stayed at Hilton's Home 2 in downtown San Antonio.  It was great because it has a kitchen with full refrigerator so it was easy to store Molly's OIT solutions.  They had a continental breakfast, and were able to provide allergen information about the foods.  Molly was able to eat several items on the breakfast bar without any problems.

Matt, Molly, Sophia, and Gabrielle at the Alamo.

Molly and Sophia at the Buckhorn Saloon

We returned to Dallas early so we could go out and look at some houses.  We have decided that we are going to move to the Dallas area this summer so Molly is able to get treatment every week.  Before we went out to look at houses, we decided to go to the Fort Worth Stock Yard.  It is so much fun!  Molly and Gabi both sat on Longhorns and had their picture taken.  Sophi said, "NO WAY!"  We were able to see the morning cattle drive and do some shopping.  All three girl got cowboy hats.  We had lunch at the stock yard and took a horse drawn buggy ride and went to the Cowboy Museum.  By the end of the everyone was worn out and ready for bed!

Gabrielle riding a LONGHORN at the Fort Worth Stock Yard.

We looked at housed in the metroplex area, but couldn't find that house that just said "buy me."  Michelle, our awesome Realtor, suggested looking at some new builds in Collin County.  We had already made plans for Friday, taking Molly to updose, and then a surprise birthday party for Sophi at the American Girl Store.
However, we were able to make an evening appointment with the sales representative.

Sophia posing with her doll at the American Girl Store Salon.

Our trip to the American Girl Store was absolutely amazing.  Sophi was so surprised.  First, we went shopping.  All three girls got new dolls and a few accessories.  Then we had our birthday party at the bistro.  I have to say this is the BEST restaurant I have ever been to in regards to food allergies- there are NO NUTS or PEANUTS!   The food is also delicious.  We each ordered an appetizer and main course.  Then for dessert, they brought out a pink and white birthday cake.  It was beautiful.  We sang happy birthday to Sophi but had our cake boxed to go because the dolls the big girls brought with them (Ruthie and Julie) had appointments in the doll salon, which is very similar to a salon that you and I would go to.

We ended the day by going to look at several newly built houses and houses being built in Princeton, TX.  AND...we bought a new house!  It is close to completion and we will hopefully close by the end of April!

The new house in Texas :-)

So, for now, we have returned to Indiana.  There are lots of exciting and new events in our future, so make sure you subscribe to my blog so you can keep up with all of our progress :-)

 

 

 

SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!

I'm not even sure where to begin!  Molly, and our family, are going to be adventuring into a new world of OIT.  What is OIT, you ask?  AWESOME QUESTION!  OIT is oral immunotherapy.  For us, that means that Dr. Sugerman, of Dallas Allergy and Immunology will begin giving Molly micrograms of peanut and tree nut in a liquid solution in small doses everyday.  The long term goal is for Molly to be able to tolerate whole peanuts and tree nuts.  Molly has had past anaphylactic reactions to peanuts and carries Auvi-Q an Epinephrine auto injector (similar to Epi-pens) with her at all times.  Is this scary for us?  YES.  Will it be life changing for us?  YES!   Is is it safe!  It does have risks, however, in a controlled setting, under the supervision of an allergy doctor, the risk is minimized (DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME ON YOUR OWN!!!). For many years, allergist have done OIT with patients who are allergic to medications such as aspirin and antibiotics safely. 

Molly had her first appointment recently and it was fantastic.  Molly had a peanut component test done.  We had never had this lab before and even though we already knew that Molly had anaphylactic reactions in the past, it confirmed what we already knew.  Molly had positive results for 3 of the different components.  Most importantly, she tested positive to ara h2, the peanut component associated with anaphylactic reactions.  Although seeing this result on paper was kind of a bummer, it did not change anything and some other RAST scores indicated that Molly might be able to have a food challenge to almonds.  Molly has had low RAST scores but high skin test scores to almonds in the past (this is probably due to be amazingly atopic, love that eczema!). Molly successfully completed an almond food challenge, eating an amazing 42 almonds that day in a period of 6 hours!  HOORAY! 

Dr. Sugerman also told us he thought Molly would be a great candidate to try multiple OIT at once, taking peanut, cashew, and walnut doses all at one time!  She will be one of the first to try this at Dallas Allergy and Immunology- we are excited because that will shorten the duration of the program for us, which is normally 6 months for EACH allergy. 

We head back to Dallas on March 5th and begin the program officially on the 6th....keep following us in our adventures in OIT!