Since our last allergy test, it was confirmed that Julia is also allergic to wheat. I was amazed at the results because she has been eating wheat since she was a toddler. The Dr. said that if she eats it now and it's not bothering her at all, there's no need to exclude wheat from her diet. I was relieved yet kind of concerned. Seeing that her test results showed that she was just not slightly allergic, but enough to cause discomfort, really puzzled me. As I was leaving the Dr's office, I began to think, "was wheat really affecting Julia"? I started to think about all the random headaches she gets, the unusual stomach aches that sometimes lead to vomiting, the constant mood swings. Was this all because of wheat?
Well, I did a my wheat free challenge to see if her symptoms subsided and sure enough, no headaches, no stomach aches and no nasty attitudes! She seemed to be more happy and even seemed to have more energy! So, naturally I had to give her wheat to see if in fact she would react differently. She seemed to be fine until the evening. Her nose began to feel congested, she felt very tired, and grumpy again. Next day, even worse. She woke up with a headache and just didn't feel well all day. So there you have it, my assumption of, "is it really wheat" was confirmed. I knew it, something in my gut told me that my little girl was not happy and healthy for a reason.
What I found to be crucial in dealing with children who have food allergies, is keeping a food diary. Always writing down the food and reaction to the food is the best way to see how food is affecting your child. It's also very important to keep up your allergy testing, so that you (unlike me) don't miss something important that might have changed in your child. So here we go Milk, Egg, Peanut and now...Wheat free! Wish me luck!
