I'm so happy to find this board! I can't believe I haven't found it before - a search tonight on peanut allergies brought me here. I have a lot of reading to do - but I wanted to post just to introduce myself and my family. [img]http://client.ibboards.com/peanutallergy/redface.gif[/img])
We live in Georgia, the Peanut State, and we have 3 children. Our oldest son is 32 yrs. old, our daughter is 15, and our youngest son is 9 yr. old. (Yes, he was a late in life, unexpected miracle and the light of our life) Our first two kids have no known allergies - the 9 yr. old has this terrible allergy to P'nuts and has had 2 exercise induced asthma attacks! Joshua started having problems at about 9 months old, but it was only throwing up & becoming lethargic. After months of Dr. visits without finding a cause, we were told to have a RAST test performed to find out if he had any food allergies! Peanuts were off the chart. We have had a few frightening experiences and each time seems to be worse & worse. The last one (about 2-1/2 years ago) sent us to the Emergency Room. I now carry an Epi Pen & live with constant fear that he will accidently ingest a p'nut. It is a horrible thing to go through. We also had a reaction when a kindly gentleman gave him a handful of bird food to feed the pigeons when we were visiting in Savannah a few years ago. He immediately broke out in hives and started swelling. I gave him bendryl & we made it through that one without having to use the epi-pen.
I homeschool him because we had a problem in kindergarten and again in 1st grade with a school party when he ate a p'nut butter cookie brought in by a room mother. The teacher knew he was allergic to p'nuts, but she said she wasn't paying attention. He ate a p'nut at a school play in 1st grade when he reached into a bowl of nuts, not realizing they were mixed nuts and contained p'nuts. That one sent us to the Emergency Room and scared me to death. I won't forget that reaction for the rest of my life, nor will he. I do get hysterical easily & I just can't go through having him at school all day and not knowing what he is exposed to.
I do have one question right now (then I'll go quietly and read all these other posts & try to answer other questions I have). I have an epi-pen, I leave it in the car all the time. I wonder how many epi's other people have & where they keep them. Should I get more & have one in my purse, one in the house, one in our 2nd car? How do you all handle this?
Thanks for being here!!!! I need support & this will be my favorite site! P.S. I answer to SquirrellyMom because we have big old 100 year old oak trees in our yard & lots of acorns & squirrells, plus, I'm pretty squirrelly! [img]http://client.ibboards.com/peanutallergy/redface.gif[/img])
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Hi S.M.,
My story kinda parallels yours. I have a 22 yr old and a 6 yr old daughter, neither who has any allergies, and I have a two yr old son (also the light of our lives and unexpected) who has an anyphylactic allergy to peanuts. We are holding our breath on the asthma thing as he has not yet developed it.
We live in Texas, in a big peanut growing area, so any kind of no nut campaign doesn't go over real big here.
Please stay in touch on the boards. All the members are great support, and I have learned so much here.
Stay Safe, Debbie
Hi s.m.
You said you keep an epi in the car and you live in Georgia. Two things to consult with your doctor on--First,you cannot expose the epipens to extreme temperatures. Keeping it in the car would do that. Also do you always have access to at least two? We have been told to have at least two on hand because you can readminister in 15 to 20 minutes if the symptoms are not getting better.
Keep us posted and I would love to talk to you about the homeschooling.
Thanks,
Carrie
Welcome to the boards! You will find that this is a truly wonderful place to find both info and support!
My firstborn (now 8) is the one in our family with the peanut allergy. She is in public school, but I seriously considered homeschooling her in part because of her allergy. Fortunately our schools have been WONDERFUL in dealing with it. She will start 3rd grade in the Fall and has not had a reaction since the last week of Kindergarten (my fault). We have several 'shot kits' around our home. We live in South Texas, so we don't leave them in the car due to the heat. We keep one of the kits on a hook by the back door so that as we are leaving, it won't be forgotten. During the school year several are kept at various places in her school.
It is important to carry a second epi not only in the event of a second reaction, but also in case the first shot malfunctions.
I look forward to hearing you chime in on the discussions! Stay safe.
[This message has been edited by KWest (edited June 30, 1999).]
Hi, I have a four year old son, Troy, who is allergic to nuts and peanuts. He carries one epi-pen with him always: from home to school, from the classroom to the gym or computer lab, from the church sanctuary to the Sunday school classroom. He has a fanny pack but prefers to take his backpack so that is how the pen gets around with him. His teacher, his after school daycare provider, his father and myself also have 1 epi-pen each. That way there are always 2 available and if we're out as a family then there's 3! Hope this helps. Welcome to the boards.
Thanks so much for the replies! I feel really dumb about the epi pens. I don't understand why our Dr. hasn't suggested that we should have more than one. I plan to call her & ask her to phone in a prescrip. for a couple more. I'm trying to read up on all the foods that might contain peanut ingredients. Any suggestions on other internet sites with good information will also be appreciated! Looking forward to chatting with everyone. Carrie, I'd be happy to tell you all about our homeschooling. This year will begin our 3rd year homeschooling Josh. We are pleased with the way it is going. I don't plan ahead. We just do things one day at a time and learn as we go.
Hi, I like the Calgary Allergy Network's site [[url]www.cadvision.com/allergy][/url] and the Food Allergy Network's site [[url]www.foodallergy.org][/url]. Also Chris has a page of links that are excellent--go back to the home page at this site and you'll find the reference to them. Take care.
Hello SM! I, too live in GA. I have a 15 month old dd who we discovered was allergic to peanuts a few months ago. I was wondering how the home school situation was in GA...Has it been hard? I live in the Atlanta metro area. Gosh, I never even thought about bird seed...it never ends! I have family in Savannah, too. [img]http://client.ibboards.com/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] Nice to hear from you! Shan
Hi Shan, I am enjoying homeschooling. Never thought I would - but situations alter thinking I guess. GA law is fairly friendly toward homeschooling I think. We have to file our intent with the superintendent & turn in our hours each month (must HS 180 hrs. a year) and kids must take a standarized achiev. test every 3 years. We have HS'd for 2nd & 3rd grade so far & it is working well for us. I'm pretty relaxed & I believe Josh is learning what he needs to know as he needs to know it (so to speak). I don't HS merely because of our peanut allergy, although it was a biggie on the PRO side of my final decision. He also has exercize induced asthma & had a bad experience with that in 1st grade. It was hot & a teacher was making the class run around outside & she (from his viewpoint) wouldn't let them slow down or sit when they became tired & he went into an almost full blown asthma attack & put quite a scare into the entire school. We have a "puffer" for him now. He carries it with him along with his epi & a bottle of benedryl. He looks like a walking drug store [img]http://client.ibboards.com/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
Anyway, homeschooling won't keep him totally safe, but I feel better having the control until he is old enough to question & to stand up for himself. We live on the east side of Atlanta - most of our fun time & shopping time is spent in Athens! We did go to the Braves/Marlins game last night. I ended up staying in the area up by the coke bottle because EVERYONE in the seating area were eating peanuts & throwing the hulls around the seats so we just got up & ran around for the entire game. My husband and daughter finally came down also - so they watched the game from the side rails! It really was more fun that way. [img]http://client.ibboards.com/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
Hi again SM! Thanks for the info. There is a conference coming up in Marietta I believe (that is where I live) for home schooling. I think I might check it out. It might be a possibility in the future for us (she is still a little young to think about this). You might want to post your experience at the Braves game on the main board at the post "Summer Fun almost a Tragedy!". It is all about baseball games. My husband wants to take our little girl, but I'm scared. He can get us a box so I don't know if that will be better or not. I just got in contact with someone in the Atlanta area about a support group. If you would like I can give you this info. I got her name from someone else on here. Shan [img]http://client.ibboards.com/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
[This message has been edited by Shan (edited July 06, 1999).]
Shan, I used to live in Marietta - West side of town off Powder Springs Road, then we moved to Brookstone subdiv. Now, we've moved almost 40 miles out of Atlanta to "escape" the city -- but it is just as smoggy and becoming just as crowded out here. Yes, maybe I will post about the peanuts at the game - they were everywhere. I don't think they would bother my son unless they actually touched his skin - but with the way they were throwing the hulls around and the cramped seating it very easily could happen. It's probably too soon for you to be looking into homeschooling - but you have to be so careful using a "Mothers Morning Out" or a playschool or even Vacation Bible School - we have to be aware of everything don't we. Yes, I would love information about a support group in the Atlanta area. Thanks!
[This message has been edited by SquirrellyMom (edited July 06, 1999).]
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