Bf'g, Food Allergies and Supplementing with Formula

Updated on August 13, 2011
G.T. asks from Canton, MA
10 answers

Hi there. I have a 7.5 mos old who has numerous food allergies, and I am still BF'g - doing a lot of eliminating foods. I work, so my supply is not as much as I need it to be (and working on it with a LC) so I have to supplement with formula - only 1/2 to 1 bottle a day.
She has a milk allergy and a CORN allergy - so all formulas I have tried she spits up - including Alimentum. I can't seem to find a formula without CORN.
Help!

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M.M.

answers from Tampa on

I really wish I could help you other than advise you look at the Health Food store's organic lines of formula...

America has been pushing Americans to eat soy, corn and cow's milk for over 50 years... it won't be changing anytime soon.

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J.K.

answers from Phoenix on

All 5 of mine has food allergies. I didn't supplement but I had to watch what I ate while breastfeeding. My first weaned himself when he was 9 months old and I never gave him formula and he was allergic to milk. His pediatrician gave me vitamin drops for him. Maybe you can talk to your pedi about a different kind of supplements. Good luck!!

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A.C.

answers from Columbus on

Contact your pediatrician and ask him/her. There are prescription formulas that the doctor can write a prescription for, or they may know other specialty formulas (by brand name) for you to try.

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K.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

I don't have a specific formula to recommend, but I do have a tip for you. My friend recently got her daughter's Nutramigen 100% covered by insurance because it was medically necessary for her to have that particular formula. So, when you do find one that works, contact your insurance and see if they will cover it.

UPDATE: I googled corn-free formula and found this: http://naturesonedirect.com/orsoyfo.html
(soy based, no corn)

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S.I.

answers from Boston on

I have a son with an extensive list of allergies. As others have posted, try to go the prescription and insurance route because Neocate and other appropriate formulas are $50+ a can that lasts less than a week. Keep in mind that although there are ingredients your child is allergic to in the formula, the expensive prescription formulas have been hydrolyzed and way way waaaay broken down specifically to remove their allergen qualities. My son was allergic to milk, soy (and a ba-zillion other things); Neocate has soy in the ingredients, but it is so broken down, he did very well on it. Talk to your pedi or an allergist about it. We love Dr. Schneider at Childrens.

I breastfed for six months, three of which were eliminating everything he was allergic to. My pediatrician finally told me to switch to formula because I was not getting enough nutrition (craziest diet I've ever been on... lost almost 50 lbs!). And what was incredible was he was a thousand times better when I switched to the right formula. No more screaming on the boob because the milk burned his throat. No more open wound diaper rash. I know breastfeeding is extremely important and it sounds like you have done a very good job. But some kids need to be on formula and will actually have a better chance of thriving. Mine did. I am sure this statement will raise the shackles on several mom readers.

Take all the allergy medical advice with a grain of salt. It is the single most unknown branch of western medicine. Tons of false positives, and false negatives (why we love Dr. Schneider... she admits upfront what is really known and what is theory, or best medical guess). You will figure most of it our by trial and error.

All the best.
S.

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H.P.

answers from Houston on

What about soy? I use that for mine since the dairy ones aren't friendly to his tummy. (I don't recall if I've seen corn on them.) We use Gerber Good Start for sensitive tummies.

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S.G.

answers from Boston on

You might want to look at Vance's Dairyfree. www.vancesfoods.com. The only problem is it does not contain any fat so you will need to provide fat from another source.

In health,
S. L. G., Jr.
Exec. Director
Active Healing, Inc.
www.activehealing.org

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J.D.

answers from Phoenix on

Have you tried Elecare by Similac? It is the only thing that worked for my friends dairy and egg sensitive daughter. She wasn't able to use Nutrimigen or Alimentum either. Just a heads up, Elecare is very expensive and has to be purchased in kind of large quantities. Also, have you read the older posts on formulas? Link below.

http://www.mamapedia.com/n/allergies/similac

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K.L.

answers from Boston on

Unfortunately there are no formulas that don't have corn, but there are two that don't contain the corn protein which is the part she is likely reacting to. They are called neocate infant and elecare infant. They are the only formulas that my food allergy patients can tolerate. Since they are very expensive I would recommend your pediatrician or allergist writing a prescription for it to try to get it covered. Good luck!

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M.M.

answers from Oklahoma City on

nearly everything has corn in it! literally down to the way meats are processed. I have a friend who grew up with a family and there little one had a corn allergy they had to grow veggies fruits and butcher all that childs life. But for your ? if you want to supplement use myenburg goat milk it doesnt have corn in it. Good luck!!

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