Thanks PC.

I spoke to th pediatrician and we are going in to talk on Wednesday.  He said we will set some goals to deal with her anxiety about going to bed too.  Hopefully it will help. We will see.

I also thought as I read your post, new allergy?

My DD passed an open egg challenge only to return to that allergy in less than a year.  Also, when she added her fruit allergies I thought that might be anxiety too and it was not.

How about giving her a job.  She should still tell you when she has symptoms but buy her a little notebook and have her start her own food diary and write down not only what she ate but how she is feeling.  After a few days look for a pattern.

It's something black and white you and she can use for further discussions too.

Just a thought and a  for you!

Thanks everyone!

CM, you are right.  She knows it stresses me out.  I am not sure she knows that its to the point that I don't want to be alone with her when she starts complaining bc I get so upset.  That's why part of me thinks that she does it to me more than DH.  I have made a very conscious effort to try and just reassure her that she is ok.  We sat and talked a bit last night and she did say that the Epi incident was scary.  I told her I know it was scary but that we are so lucky to have those medications.

She has been eating things with small amounts of baked milk - English muffins, toaster cakes and the occasional Nutrigrain Bar.  She now says that Goldfish (and she LOVES them) make her mouth itch.  I am not sure if its real or psychosomatic.  I have not made milk muffins since the incident and I really need to get back to that. 

I have a call in to the pediatrician.  DH will see the allergist at Mt. Sinai tomorrow so I am going to ask him to speak to her about it.  Maybe we need to start allergy shots, maybe she does need her adenoids and tonsils removed (we re-evaluate in June).  I just don't know.

I think it would help you both to talk to a counselor. My ds went through that ptsd after a reaction and was having little ticks or nervous habits. The pediatrician talked to him and we were going to counselor if it didn't improve. He did get better eventually.

She has no idea how hard a time I am having dealing with this.



I wouldn't count on this-- not completely, anyway.  Your DD has always struck me as very in-tune with you, Mary-- and from my own experience with my own DD (who is also equally in-tune with her mom)...  it takes an enormous expenditure of energy for her to NOT pick up on anxiety from me, if I'm having emotional trouble.

Seriously, almost active Zen-meditation level effort.   



I second the recommendation to perhaps explore specific mental health resources-- but caution that this is probably only something to undertake with the help of your allergist.  I know that ours would happily brain any counselor that told DD that all of her food anxiety was "maladaptive" for sure. 


One other thought-- any chance that the huge assault to her allergy system is causing her threshold to be reduced dramatically with respect to an "outgrown" allergy?  We've seen this with DD and milk.  Her tolerance is normally almost normative at this point (at least if you didn't know her and follow her for a week to see how she modulates intake)-- but in the wake of a reaction, it drops pretty radically.

my3guys - I thought it might be, but I am pretty sure its more anxiety and the need for reassurance. MIL babysat on Saturday and DD did not complain at all.  She does it more to me than DH.  Certainly some attention seeking behavior.

spacecanada - I have thought about a therapist.  I have mentioned it to DH.  I am having a hard time finding a balance because I want DD to tell me if she is having symptoms but she tells me so much.  Sometimes with a smile.  I know she is stressed.

I really like our allergist but when I spoke to her after the incident she didn't sound convinced that it was a food reaction.  DD has a ton of seasonal and environmental allergies too.  She agreed that we did the right thing by using the Epi since we were not sure.

I may call our pediatrician and see what he says.  His DD has or had (not sure if she has outgrown) food allergies and he really understands what it is like to parent a FA child.  We always seem to end up seeing him after a food issue.  He is fantastic. 

When I had a terrible reaction in my 20s it took me a long time to recover mentally.  I was afraid to eat, I would cry just thinking about it.  Its just so hard.

Have you considered seeking the help of a counsellor or therapist for your DD?  It sounds like she may have some residual mental symptoms from the reaction/epi/situation. 

At the age of 7, some kids understand logic but many don't quite get it yet or it requires a significant amount of energy to process.  It's also at that age when some children need constant reassurance and praise from adults, which can be helpful or detrimental depending on the situation.  You want to take medical conditions seriously, and address real symptoms, but you don't want to reinforce attention-seeking or (irrational) fear-enforcing behaviours either.  Such a tough situation to be in, because you don't want to miss those real symptoms and you want her to tell you when they happen.  (Never cry wolf, kwim?) 

What does her doctor say about the frequent symptoms/complaints?  If she is still having symptoms multiple times per day, there's something else going on that needs to be addressed and brought under control.  It may make her more comfortable and reduce those symptoms down to the ones that matter most.

For what it's worth, Nasonex gives me bad side effects that mimic what your DD is complaining about, as it does to my GP's son as well.  Had to switch to the dry Rhinocort instead, which made a big difference because it was powder instead of spray. 

Mary I hate to even type this...but any chance a new allergy is brewing? Maybe OAS to fruit? Sorry you guys are still struggling. Do you like your allergist? Maybe schedule appt to review symptoms and talk about Epi?

It's been 2 months since we used the Epi.  DD still tells me multiple times a day about itchy mouth or throat or stomach ache.  I know she is fine and looking for reassure and I am trying to reassure her.  I get completely stressed out though bc it makes me so nervous.  I am at the point wher I do not want to be alone with her bc she is stressing me out so much with her complaints.  I will ask if she is ok, she will say yes and I tell her she is ok but it's wearing me down.  We are going to see a Broadway show next Staurday, jus the 2 of us and I am a nervous wreck.   I'm not sure what to do for her.  She's als afraid to go to bed alone and cals out to me multiple times to make sure I can hear her.  That's party epi and partly A scary episode is Dr. Who.  I am missing my fearless DD

Hi Mary,
I'm so sorry your DD had a reaction.  I'm happy she's ok and hope that the symptoms she's having afterward clear up.
Never beat yourself up about using the epi pen!  you can't go wrong following your Mommy Instincts and using the epi pen. 
I don't have any advice, but I will keep you in my thoughts! 

Mary, I have been in your shoes with my DD and I have no personal allergy experience to draw from.  It is so very hard.  My DD had different experiences depending on what she was exposed to and how much she ingested.

Egg & cantaloup were the mildest with most symptoms resolving in about 48 hours.  Nuts were about a week.  The longest lasting was her reaction to sesame.  From her feelings, to real symptoms to her eczema....it seems like for her it was a good 2 or 3 weeks.  Yes, she was on prednisone for 5 days, benedryl for a week and a half and albuterol every 4 hours for 2 weeks.  Her skin got so bad that we had to reintroduce Elidel, which I hate for her to use due to the skin cancer warnings...but it was that bad and everywhere.

I am not a medical person.  In my mother's opinion, I think it took that long for DD's body to rid itself of the allergen and to stop the cycle of reacting. 

That anaphylaxis was definitely biphasic and the second part was so much worse than the first.  That one scared me.

The only thing you can do is listen, take every concern seriously, and tread gently....all of which you are doing.  It is hard to be the mom, the interpreter, the one getting the complaints with no direct understanding of what you child feels like.  Simple safe food, slow down the activities (DD ended up skipping dance for 2 weeks because when she tried the first class - I think 2 days later - it made her symptoms worse.),....I don't think I slept much during that time.

Hang in there and good luck to your DD.  May her body and mind heal soon!

Quote from: SilverLining on November 03, 2014, 08:57:07 PM
It does sound like you are doing everything right. I wish, when I had my first injection of epinephrine (in hospital as I wasn't carrying ) I wish I had someone in my life I could have talked to. Nobody understood, and looking back, some of the advice I got from doctors was really bad.

I felt the same way.  Its the reason I found the old place.  I was desperate to "talk" to someone who understood and I did not know anyone who had ever had an allergic reaction or a food allergy.

Thanks everyone.  I am hoping the addition of the Nasonex will help. 

I am at peace with the decision to Epi.  I know it was the right thing to do.  I was not sure for a few days and was beating myself up about it.

What they said. Before you got to the Nasonex part, I was thinking you should try additional allergy meds--at least during the high environmentals times. The zantac is also a great idea as an H2 blocker and an antacid. I sometimes take one at night to relieve both allergy symptoms and reflux.

It was harder on me I think than DS that first time. I hope you are telling yourself that it's normal to feel anxious after the first time and you are being good to yourself. And kind to yourself.

  Mary.  My DS seemed to block out his shot of epi in the allergist's office, and appears to be doing the same when I gave him the epi, so I don't have any advice.

I'm sure it's very difficult for you too because you have food allergies and have had severe reactions.  Hopefully starting the meds will help her symptoms, and then it will fade more into the background.  We are big Nasonex users in the fall here.

All I can think of is to try to keep you both distracted, let the meds kick in, and hopefully things improve.

   No advice.  We have been fortunate.