Allergic to Soy-which Formula to Use? Anybody Else Have This Problem?

Hi H.,
My son has problems with soy, so the Dr. put him on Nutramigen. After a few weeks, and another reaction, they now think he is also allergic to cow's milk. He is now on a crazy expensive formula called Neocate which is an amino acid based formula for kids with multiple allergies or intolerances. If his Dr. puts him on Neocate give me a shout and I will tell you where we get it for cheaper ($50.00 per can @ pharmacy), and how we are working with insurance to pay.
Good luck, it is a tough experience! I hope the baby feels better soon!

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Hi H., I haven't had a child with this problem, but our grandson who is 12 years old has this problem as he couldn't take breast milk and they tried baby formula and found out that he couldn't take this either and tried soy milk and he couldn't take this either and had to put him on rice milk and he is still on this today. I'm not sure if you can get a formula for this or if you have to buy it in containers already made up and its sold as rice milk and of course its made from rice the same as soy milk is made from soya beans. You may have to go to a pharmacy to see what they have there or you can try a super market and see what is there, but may have to go to the pharmacy. It could be that the child is or has trouble with extra iron in the formula or some other susbtance. My wife and I are foster parents and have had several babies over the years and we have found that some can't take regular formula with extra iron and have to go to a basic formula and a lot have added extras beside iron and will need to look at this as well. We have been fostering children since 1991 and have had between 50 to 60 kids in that time some as emergency for a few days to medium term up to 2 years till mother gets her act together and we have now gone to long term as the 7 we have now will be with us from now on. We have 7 foster kids at the moment and the 2 oldest will soon be 16 on in Oct the other in Nov and the youngest is 5 and is in prep this year. I live in Australia and have been here since 1972 and not as familar with the formula's there though I grew up in the Krum area and did all my schooling there. I hope that this is helpful for you and maybe give the rice milk a go. Ed

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I would try fresh goats milk watered down a 3rd to keep the baby from constipation its the closest to a mommys milk there is. Also you can try rice milk formula. The reason I know is because we were just though this with a friend of mines baby. Hope it works for your brothers baby too.

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Hi H....I'm a mom to three and grandmother for seven (lots of experience). My third child was allergic to all formula and I couldn't bf. My pediatrician told me to get some Carnation dried milk and when I tried it, it worked. He loved it and it was very cost effective!. The dried milk contained all the vitamins and nutrients needed. I don't remember it containing soy. Hope you have success!
M. P

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My son has similar issues...he is milk soy protien intolerant. the allergy is not to the soy or milk itself but a protien present in both. my little guy has been on elecare which is an elemental formula that has all of the protien broken down. It is the same as neocate but a little less expensive. I would definetley suggest seeing a pediatric gastro doctor...my dr. has told us that 95% of babies grow out of this by their first birthday. We are going for allergy testing too. I would suggest trying similac alimenten or enfamil nutragenim while waiting for an apointment with the GI doctor...both have about 80% of the protien broken down.....if he shows improvment it is probably the milk/soy protien intolerance. Good Luck!

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As mom to a dairy protein allergy baby, I became very aware of soy ingredients as well since many times a dairy allergy and soy allergy go hand in hand. He needs to also check the ingredients label on every baby wash, shampoo, and lotion he puts on his child as soy is in many products. It sounds like the baby is breaking out in eczema. I cannot remember, but the California baby line might be soy free.
http://www.californiababy.com/eczema-sampler.html

In addition to diet, I made sure to wash my baby every night with mostly water to rid his skin of irritants and then would slater him in Eucerin. It really helped keep his eczema in check. I'm sorry to say we breastfed and I was on a strict diet to control his allergies, so I cannot offer advice on the better super hypoallergenic formulas. But, I can say that by 14 months my child grew out of his dairy allergy. Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful

Try goats milk. My son was allergic - or intolerant - to all of the baby formulas (and cows milk) (20+ years ago), so the doctor suggested goats milk. He didn't have any more problems with vomiting or rashes once we made the switch. He outgrew his allergies/intolerance to milk a little after a year.

Good Luck!
Frances

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You can try Goat's Milk, that's what I used for my boy who had soy and dairy allergies. I've also used Rice and Almond milk. You'll want to make sure he's getting all the other nutrients, so they may want to supplement his diet in other ways. If you want you could send me your mailing address privately, and I can send you a sample of supplements that should help (as soon as I get them in, they're on back order). Best wishes for your nephew and family.

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My son is allergic to soy. We gave him Enfamil. We used Dr. Browns bottles which helps with gas and spit up. However, he did have issues with the powder. So we had to buy the cans of already made which were over $4.00 a can. So it is kind of expensive but well worth it. Another thing you can try is goat's milk.

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My son is allergic to soy. He is now turning 7 this month. He was placed on Nutramigen. It was (and still is) very expensive. The pediatrician told me to be sure and ask for samples every time we came in to help out with the costs.

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Hi H.,
Skip formula altogether if there are still problems. cow's milk is not good for his tummy, unless it is organic and you get it from a farm, hence no hormones, pesticides antibiotics added to the milk like the grocery stores have. Goats milk is also very close to mothers milk and is easy on the stomach and digestive system. I nursed my son but tried nursing my daughter and was producing enough milk, so me holistic friends and great grandma had suggeswted goat's milk. And she was fine. No problems. You can get it from walmart or the other grocery stores. It does not contain the hormones etc.... hope this helps. any questions you can call me. ###-###-####.

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Hello H.,

My Godson had the same problem and was on NEOCATE for several months. He was allergic to soy, mil, wheat, nuts, ragweed. He's 5 now and only his soy and ragweed allergies are still around. they definitely need to test him for other allergies. you may be able to get neocate online cheaper. I think directly through the manufacturer. (just calculate if it's still cheaper after paying the shipping). Good luck! ~C.~

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My peditrician started my son out on cos milk at ten months he still spit up but that is just the norm for him.Most pedis say to start at one year but my son had no prob starting at 10 months

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We had the same problem and Nutramigen is what we had to use. Ask the doctor for samples and I wrote directly to Enfamil(on-line) and they sent me some great coupons specifically for Nutramigen. HTH

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H.,
Has your brother tried to put his baby back on the regular formula? I am not sure I completel understood all that you said, but if regular Infamil or other brands, that are non soy based, do not have the soy oil, I would try to put him back on those formulas to see if he is able to handle them now. If he has not tried the 'regular' formulas since the baby was 2 months old, his digestive system my be strong enough to handle it now, rather than when he was a newby. Personally I do not think that regular milk will hurt the boy, but I would talk to the pediatrician and see if you might need to by the infant vitamin drops to suppliment any of the vitamins that he may not get from the regular milk, as opposed to the formula. I hope you find a good solution for your brother and his baby.

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Soy oil typically doesn't cause much of an allergic reaction as the majority of the protein (which is the source of an allergic reaction) has been removed. It is quite likely given the past reaction to cow's milk that cow's milk is also an issue, so I don't think switching to that is an option. I think he'll have to go the route that someone else suggested to use one of the super hypoallergenic formulas where the proteins have been broken down - Similac sensitive is only intended for babies with lactose intolerance. That MIGHT resolve the issue.

Also, rashes can be due to a reaction to gluten - i.e., it might not have been the soy (particularly given that's it's soy oil) at all, but the introduction of solids that triggered the problem - e.g., something like Cheerios or the bread - it can take a while for the antibodies to gluten to reach a point that they cause the rash (this is likely a delayed food reaction and not an immediate one). The most accurate test for gluten (and they also test for soy and diary allergies) is available from enterolab: www.enterolab.com
It's a very simple stool test - no doctor's visit, no blood draw - they send the kit to your home with directions and you overnite it back to them and get results in a few weeks. Doing this test now will save LOTS of grief and doctor's visits.

Also, a quick review of the ingredients of Similac Sensitive shows that the main ingredient is corn. Corn is a very common allergen and could very well be yet another and perhaps most likely culprit since it was the primary food that child was consuming each and everyday. It is also not at all unusual to have allergies to many foods, especially when they appear at a very young age.

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both my girls were allergic to soy...try nutramigen. I'm also a NICU nurse and that is what we use if they are allergic to soy

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I think there might be some serious hypoallergenic formulas that are available by perscription only that do not contain soy. I would get your doc to write a RX for one can and see if that helps. With the soy allergy, though, start getting used to reading food labels in great detail! I just discovered I have soy intolerance over the summer, and I never realized how many foods soy is in. Dr.'s usually think it is no big deal, but painful, uncomfortable gas is a big deal!

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