Used Epi for 1st time last night!

Lea,

How terrible, so sorry to hear about this happening to your dd. Hope you get this figured out as to why this happened.

Kudos to you for handling this the best way possible!
Jamie's in good hands.

Take care

I'm sorry about you terrifying experience! Thanks for posting it, I am nervous about using the epi on my son. He's only 2 & I have to watch him so closely-he loves to eat anything! I know it's just a matter of when I will have to use it...it really helps to hear stories such as yours to know how quickly it works! I am awaiting my epi pen trainers-they should be here any day.

Before we knew my son was milk allergic anytime he was ill with a cold & tried to take a drink of milk he would choke & vomit. Then eventually he began coughing, choking, vomiting all the time-that's how we finally figured out that he had a milk allergy. (His skin test was neg for milk). At first he had to have something else going on in his system to have a reaction-then it just ended up being all the time. Strange how allergies affect people differently. I wouldn't expose your daughter to any milk products until you have discussed it with her allergist. Blessings to you & your family, Laura

[This message has been edited by abbylukesmom (edited October 30, 2003).]

Lea, so sorry you guys had to go through that. Luckily there is a happy ending. Give yourself a big pat on the back for doing everything right, using epi and calling 911. I hope it's not a milk allergy, but it sure sounds suspicious. I too would avoid milk (which comes in many different forms) until you are more certain. This is the part of the reactions that drives me nuts, the not knowing exactly what caused it. It's like playing detective. Good luck.

Lea, no words of wisom here, but just wanted to let you know I'm glad to hear dd is doing better. How was she with eating today?

Jamie is doing ok today. SHe is still half wired/ half sleepy. She has not ate too much, just a few bites of potatoes & eggs. She has been drinking apple juice like crazy. We are avoiding milk for now.

Jamie is 3 1/2 & we've have know about her allergy since she was 18 months. At 18 months she had a swollen lip & rash as result of trying peanut butter no-bake cookies. Fortunately we had a great pediatrician who immediately gave us info & Epi-pen prescriptions.

We have used our practice epi's with Jamie & told her that the epipen medicine will make her feel better when the "Peanuts make her sick". She wanted to feel better last night that she helped give herself the shot. She immediately tried to pull it out, but my hubby is stronger & kept it in the appropriate time length. I was so relieved at how quickly it worked.

Jamie has been talking all day when she's awake about Daddy giving her the shot & it made her feel better. She told me I was scared last night, but Daddy made it all better. I have been babying her a little today & have told her to let us know whatever she wants to eat & I will fix it! But no takers yet.

We called her pediatrician & she was out. But the one on call said they didn't need to see her. I think we will call back when her ped. is in & see about getting in & see if she things this was peanut or could it be milk allergy coming on.

So, Jamie is doing good & thanks for all your input.
Lea

You know, our son's last reaction was one where we gave epi and it worked like magic, like it did for you. now, as you said, we will never hesitate to give it again and know it works, etc. his last reaction was 2.5 years ago when he was just 3. and the thing is HE REMEMBERS IT and it helps him stay safe. he is not scared, does not worry but knows how to keep himself safe and does follow our rule that he only eats food from home. definitely do not trust baked goods anywhere though.

it is also good that the reaction happened when you and Jeff were around so you could recognize it as soon as you could and get the epi in soon. so there are a lot of positives from this. now the comfort zone changes but importantly so and it will make for less reactions in the long run.

Be strong for her. very matter of fact is good. i always tell DS that all you have to do is follow the rules and it is easy. E-A-S-Y. Just eat food from home (TNA, dairy, egg allergic) and wash your hands often and love life! just as we can die from eating the wrong food, we can die in a car accident. both are necessities in the life we live in and you need to be safe doing both.

Lea - sending hugs to all of you (Canadian Hugs no less!). Hope you are able to have a good restful sleep tonight - you & DH did such an amazing job at handling this reaction! Warmest regards [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

So sorry to hear about her reaction! You did a great job. Glad to hear that she is doing better. Have you considered that she could have an allergy to cinnamon? There are some posts on that topic somewhere on the board if you want to search for it. Take care and let us know what you find out.

What a scary evening for you guys! I'm glad to hear she's feeling better, and that her Daddy is "hero of the year".

Hope it isn't a milk allergy - let us know what happens.

Amy

So glad to hear Jaime is doing well! Sounds like y'all handled it beautifully.

My comfort zone got really small after I had to use the epi, too. At the time, ds was also allergic to eggs and I didn't know if the reaction was from eggs or pnts. I threw out and gave away lots of food, and ds would only eat food made by me, and no processed foods. We gradually loosened up a bit, but we still have a pretty tight zone. And that's okay! You will be too..you've been through a scary experience, but you came out on top- and wiser- you know how good the epi works!

Well, thank you all for your responses!!

Jamie is doing great now. She is still talking about it & is showing everyone the bear she got in the ambulance & pillow she got in the ER.

I was so sure that it was NOT a milk allery that we tried milk & she did fine. We have narrowed it down to "Pillsbury French Loaf" bread. Any one else had problems with it?

The lady who made it kept apologizing to me. I told her it was not her fault.

We are going to provide Jamie's snack for Wed. night & Sundays at church, but they are going to continue to keep nut/peanut products out of her class to minimize her contact with nuts/peanuts. They are going to provide me with Wed. night Snack list so I can fix Jamie something similar as all her friends.

Also, a good thing from all this is how my extended family is realizing how serious this is. My aunt gave Jamie money for Halloween because the peanut free treat she had were stored in the same container with peanut ones. I'm so excited my family is really getting it!! They were asking all kinds of questions. They are also now realizing how much work I have to do to keep Jamie safe!!

Thanks for all your support!!
Lea

We've just recently started using the Pillsbury bread loafs (garlic, regular, french, etc.) and for those loafs one does not use a loaf pan at all but a flat cookie sheet to cook them in. It is very possible the woman who made this frech loaf made it on a baking sheet that had previously had PB cookies made on it? It might be worth asking her if that is a possibility.

Sorry for your reaction. I am glad Jamie is better and it does not seem to be the milk. I followed this over here from your post under manufacturers since we just used a Pillsbury refrigerated dough for the first time last week(cinnamon rolls)! We were fine.

I am thinking that it might be a cross contact with the baking supplies(pan, added spices or ingredients, since you sat French loaf, but it was cinnamon bread). I worry about this at our school(they cook with supplies in the kitchen there in the church). Even at soccer, where they serve safe goldfish, they have placed them in a larger container from animal crackers I consider unsafe. If I had not seen that, I might let dd have them.

I hope you can figure out the source. becca

I talked to the mom who made the snack. She used the Pillsbury french loaf & said that is the only thing she uses that pan for. Then she put butter on it & Cinnamon sugar. She was very aware of Jamie's allergy.

I doubt we will ever know exactly what caused Jamie's reaction. I am definitely NOT blaming this other mom or any one at church. I am blaming myself mainly. I was too comfortable & wasn't vigilant enough to check everything myself & bring Jamie's snack myself. Then I didn't stay on top of her rash & give her Benedryl immediately!!

I am having a harder time today than I did the night it happened! Does it ever get easier & do you ever stop blaming yourself??

Lea

[This message has been edited by Klutzi (edited November 03, 2003).]

I am happy that your family is "getting it!" With the upcoming holidays, they will be vigilant trying to protect her! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/wink.gif[/img]

Have you considered the possibility of Jamie's reaction being from residue on someone's hand. (PB they had eaten before they came).

Hi All,
Just to update you. We called Pillsbury & they say there is no way the French Loaf bread could have been contaminated with peanuts or tree nuts.

So, now we are down to 2 theories:
1. Jamie has a new allergy to Cinnamon or one of the spices in the Pampered Chef Cinnamon mix that was used.

or the more likely thing,
2. One of the kids had peanut butter before coming to church. They touched Jamie or a common surface. Jamie, who had a runny nose, touched it & rubbed her nose/eyes introducing the protein to her system!

This scares me to death. I almost think someone had to actually touch her that had peanut residue on them. Jamie is in the same classroom on Sunday mornings & has not had a problem.

I actually had a scare tonight as we were only at church about 5 minutes when Jamie had a rash on her face. Jeff gave her Benedryl & we instructed all her teachers what to look for. Jeff checked on her several times during the evening. But I sure was a nervous wreck for the first half hour of church. She is doing fine now & the Benedryl took care of the rash.

Lea

What about the butter on the bread? Could it have been contaminated from a knife that was also used for peanut butter?

My dad used to make peanut butter toast with butter and peanut butter. If someone used the same knife for both this could cause a problem. Or someone could spread butter on nut bread and get a few crumbs in the butter.

[This message has been edited by nancy023 (edited November 06, 2003).]