Allergies Suck

Yes, yes they do.  Our poor Savannah can tell you all about it.

Yesterday she had an appointment in Duluth with her allergy doctor to test for a milk and nut allergy.  She's had some pretty bad reactions lately to almonds, and she has had signs of a milk allergy as well.

The good news is that she is NOT allergic to milk or dairy.  Praise God for that!  Doc thinks a lactose intolerance is causing those problems.  She does, however, have an allergy to peanuts and tree nuts; mainly almonds, pecans, cashews, and walnuts.  In addition, Dr. Munson tested her for soy, and she's allergic to that as well.

You may be wondering why I'm putting this on the blog.  The answer is simple:  this was an answered prayer.  And I love to praise God in times like these!

Not that we wanted her to have food allergies.  Heavens, no!  I'd prefer that she not have any; but, unfortunately, that's just how she's made.  Fearfully and wonderfully made, I might add.

Lately, Savvy has been praying at night for a better appetite and that she would want to eat.  She hasn't felt good at all for a very long time, and I will admit to not believing it to be genuine and thinking she was just avoiding foods she didn't want to eat.  But I think all along she's been feeling pretty yucky, and I am in line for Worse Mother of the Year Decade.

That said, the hives and itchy throat reaction to milk and to almonds is what spurred us to have her further tested.  And the test indicated that she is allergic to soy and peanuts, two things that she has a lot of in her diet.  She ate peanut butter every single day, and I know soy is in a lot of processed snacks, cereals and breads.

Could it be possible that her chronic headaches and sore throat are directly related to food allergies?  Her doctor said, emphatically, "YES!"  Prayer answered.  Could it be that eating peanut butter every day is making her sick and not want to eat.  Pretty sure that's a yes too.  And maybe, just maybe, knowing this new information will allow her to eat the foods that are good for her and make her feel well will increase her appetite and desire to eat more.

God does answer prayer, but not always in the way we think it should happen.  I wasn't looking for allergies, but now that we know about them, we'll deal with them and help our little girl eat healthier and get better.