OIT Complete!

I am thrilled to report that S has successfully completed her oral immunotherapy treatment for cashew, pistachio and walnus. 

The entire process took 9 months with doctor visits every two weeks to "updose". We started at 1mg of each nut, so total of 3mg. We are now at 2000mg of each nut, so 6000mg!.

Initially they gave her nut powder dissolved in water. Then we progressed to nut power, which is measured precisely on a small scale, and finally to nut pieces.

She can now eat 1-2 medium size cashews, 3-4 pistachios and 3-4 small pieces of walnut. She will need to consume this quantity daily, and we can increase if we like but very slowly. In a few months, we can do it a few times a week, but its for life. If she stops for an extended period, it will go back to the beginning.  

While she still cannot freely eat these nuts, and she will still have to carry an epi-pen, this process does two things   (1) if she does accidentally ingest an allergen, her body will be less likely to react strongly to it (2) it eliminate any worries about cross contamination. That means she can eat items that "may contain tree nuts" or "manufactured in a facility or equipment with tree nuts". 

That is HUGE!  

So many items have those labels and beng able to ignore them is life-changing. As long as an item does not actually contain cashew, pistachio or walnut, she can eat it. This means she can eat in Chinese and Thai restaurnats and as long as she is not eating the cashew chicken, she does need to worry about a spoon with cashew touching her food.

Its been a long journey, fraught with worry for me. 

Every time we incresed the dose I would worry about reactions. I played it very cool with S, to make sure that she very relaxed during the process which really helped. We were lucky and had no issues at all. We did have to stop dosing when she got a cold or fever, but then were able to build back up quickly.

I am so proud of S for having gone through it. It was a huge time commitment for us both. Each appointment was 2-3 hr appointments every two weeks and then every day after she takes her nut dose she needs to stay calm and not get her heartrate up - so no running around etc. That was a bit tough especially on days when her friends next doors would come out to play, but we managed.

It was also a huge commitment money wise, but worth every dollar. Insurance did help some, but it was still several thousands of dollars out of pocket. However, the peace of mind it comes with is priceless.

So happy that I decded to take this step. 

Next week is "Muffins with Mom" in her school. Last year I carried a home-made muffin ....this year I dont have to!