Our itchy little world

We had Charlotte tested for her food allergies this past week and the results have scared us :( We were praying that they would have gone down enough to at least introduce some in a clinical trial but she is just too allergic.

I will try my best to explain her allergies and our plan of action. 

A RAST test (short for radioallergosorbent test) is a blood test used to determine to what substances a person is allergic. This is different from a skin allergy test, which determines allergy by the reaction of a person's skin to different substances
RAST are often used to test for allergies when:
• a physician advises against the discontinuation of medications that can interfere with test results or cause medical complications;
• a patient suffers from severe skin conditions such as widespread eczema or psoriasis; or
• a patient has such a high sensitivity level to suspected allergens that any administration of those allergens might result in potentially serious side effects.

The RAST test is scored on a scale from 0 to 6:

RAST rating	IgE level (IU/ml)	comment
0	< 0.35	ABSENT OR UNDETECTABLE ALLERGEN SPECIFIC IgE
1	0.35 - 0.69	LOW LEVEL OF ALLERGEN SPECIFIC IgE
2	0.70 - 3.49	MODERATE LEVEL OF ALLERGEN SPECIFIC IgE
3	3.50 - 17.49	HIGH LEVEL OF ALLERGEN SPECIFIC IgE
4	17.50 - 49.99	VERY HIGH LEVEL OF ALLERGEN SPECIFIC IgE
5	50.0 - 100.00	VERY HIGH LEVEL OF ALLERGEN SPECIFIC IgE
6	> 100.00	EXTREMELY HIGH LEVEL OF ALLERGEN SPECIFIC IgE

Now for Charlotte's score for March 2013 all of which can significantly gone up since October 2012
Pistachio  14.7 Level 3
Coconut   0.92 level 2
Walnut     20.7 level 4
Peanut     >100 level 6- they said it was so high it was off the charts
Pecan      6.28  level 3
Almond    4.11 level 3
Egg White 72.2 level 5
cashew     12.1 level 3

So what to do what to do:
There has always been the possibility of desensitizing her to certain allergies one by one but a new doctor has come out with desensitizing children to their own specific food allergies all at the same time rather one by one. In this case this sounds great to us but there are lots of pros and lots of cons so we are in the stages of figuring out what is best for Charlotte and her future.

here is the article that the today show put out last week. We are hoping and praying it will soon come to surrounding areas to make this more convenient but if California is where we need to go then California is were we need to go.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/magazine/can-a-radical-new-treatment-save-children-with-severe-allergies.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

main cons

• the doctor is in California 
• entire process would take a year at the least in and out of the hospital 5 days a week
• following up with a serving of each allergen a day for the rest of her life to keep the allergy away. For example she would need to eat a serving size of peanuts everyday at the exact same time for the rest of her life. 

main pros

• he will hopefully be food allergy free which is our goal!

So we are in the process of figuring out the next step for Charlotte and which one it will be we don't know but at least we are working towards a allergy free goal by kindergarten/elementary time frame. Whether we hit that or not at least we are moving forwards.

As a mama this is very hard for me because I only want my child to have a normal childhood and not have any restraints when it comes to certain things. I worry about her getting bullied at school ( kids are so mean these days) and not being invited to play dates, parties, sleep overs, school functions, school dances, etc., because her allergies. I don't want her to be known for her allergies.

Still lots to figure out and learn but we continue to pray that we choose the right path for her future. This blog was to share our moments and journey of having and raising our kiddos and this is just part of our journey  and we are taking you all along with us :)