While I was in the US, I took Yirmiyahu for alternative allergy testing, and we got some interesting results.
Very strong allergies: cows milk (including organic and raw), goats milk (including organic and raw), sugar, all nuts, and corn.
I had figured out most of the list through my experimental trials of different things except the sugar and corn. Corn didn’t seem to be immediately relevant, until I looked at the two surprises that showed up as not allergens that I expected to be problematic: soy and gluten.
The results that soy was not an allergen for Yirmiyahu shocked me, since he reacted so much worse to soy than dairy formula. It was for that reason that after trying the many possibilities that we decided to keep Yirmiyahu on dairy formula – it was the least problematic. So how could he not be allergic to soy if he was reacting so badly to soy formulas?
The answer is, soy formulas are much higher in corn syrup than dairy formulas, so the allergen he was having a problem with in the soy formula was actually the corn, not the soy!
We muscle tested Yirmiyahu on every single formula available in Target the night before we left the US to see what he could best tolerate (a soy toddler version tested best but wasn’t suitable based on his age), and then I bought all they had left. However, we didn’t end up using much of this before his hospitalization.
At the hospital, they asked about allergies and they then put him on a lactose free, soy free formula. I had been wanting to get this for him for ages but was told that I needed a referral from a pediatric allergist to be allowed to buy it. There was a seven week waiting period to see the allergist, and the long awaited appointment coincided with the day that we returned from our US trip. But finally, finally, after so many months of trying to get a formula that won’t make Yirmiyahu sick, we received a prescription for this formula from the hospital.
The wheezing that has been an integral part of his breathing ever since he started formula has dramatically been cut down! It might even be totally gone but we’ll need a little more time to be sure of that.
Before Pesach dh went to the pharmacy to buy some of this formula, but they didn’t have any. The only formula available was in the city of Akko (Acre) or in an Arab village a fifteen minute drive away. Dh asked a friend with a car to give him a lift to the village, so this is this is where they were a few hours before the Pesach seder.
The formula is quite expensive and I don’t know why they make it so hard to buy it; I wish we could have gotten this sooner for him. I believe that after the first 620 shekels a month (for a reference point, regular formula is 200 shekels a month), that the rest (about another fourth) is subsidized by health insurance, but we have to clarify that. The main thing is that Yirmiyahu is finally getting something that his body can digest properly!
Avivah
How wonderful for your baby! Where does one find an alternative allergist in Israel?
This particular testing was done in the US, so I can’t share info on somewhere in Israel, sorry!
That is wonderful!! So glad to hear you have found something that works for him… How do you muscle test on a baby? I am just learning about muscle testing and didn’t realize you could do this on a baby 🙂
Thanks!
There are different ways to do it. Our naturopath here did an IPEC treatment on Yirmiyahu a couple of months ago, and I was the surrogate for him, meaning that I held him and she tested me.
Our chiropractor in the US who did this testing has a different way of testing, and I can’t remember what it’s called (I asked her about it a few years ago and I think it’s NET but if you don’t know what that stands for it’s basically impossible to look up!). She put each can of formula on him as he sat in the car seat, then does something in which she silently asks the body different questions. This particular method is only taught to chiropractors and other trained medical professionals.
Hopefully my friend Rena will see this question and give a better answer.
I think you mean NAET. There’s tons about it on Google.
I don’t see any way to edit my post, but I just read the link I posted and saw how negative it is. This one is from a different perspective: http://www.naet.com/Patients/whatsnaet.aspx
I deleted it for you. 🙂
Kayla, I’m familiar with NAET but that’s not what I was referring to. I meant NET; here’s info on it:http://www.chiroaccess.com/Articles/Chiropractic-Technique-Summary-Neuro-Emotional-Technique-NET.aspx?id=0000185
BTW, there are organizations that make connections between people who have unopened formula to give away and people who need them. If you share the name of the formula, I can check on of them that I have access to. It’s only for medical and hypoallergenic formulas.
That’s such a thoughtful offer, thank you! The one he is using now is Progestimil.
There’s none listed now, but I will bli neder check periodically.
By the way, are you aware that the first ingredient in Pregestimil is corn syrup? It’s actually 42% of the formula.
http://www.enfamil.com/app/iwp/hcp2/content2.do?dm=enf&id=/HCP_Home2/ProductInformation/hcpProducts/hcpInfants/hcpPregestimil&iwpst=HCP&ls=0&csred=1&r=3542563727
Click on “composition.”
Isn’t it horrible that even in a hypoallergenic formula for the most sensitive babies that corn syrup is still at the top of the ingredient list? The doctors and hospital nutritionist knew about his corn allergy before prescribing this but this is the best we can find for now. Our next step is to work on getting him eating solids so that we can minimize his need for formula.
been busy here, thank G-d, and just getting to see your posts now. The question was about how to do muscle testing or muscle monitoring on a baby. One way is surrogate, mom holds the baby and the practitioner monitors using mom’s arm. This can be also be done if a substance is held over the baby’s solar plexus while the baby is being held by mom and mom’s arm is monitored/tested. So really, what was written above is 2 ways of saying the same thing. There ARE other ways which involve the practitioner being the surrogate for the baby to some extent (“feeling” the energy, using finger modes or mudras, dowsing with a pendulum, etc). but those ways are best left in the hands of experienced practitioners, especially for allergy testing since the stakes are high if someone highly allergic ingests something that is not good for them, based on amateur/inaccurate muscle testing. Hope that helps!
Hi, I just have a question. Can a one year old in Israel who is allergic to milk and soy and refusing goat’s milk be eligible for Progestamil? And is there a hechsher on the formula?