COUNTDOWN to 1 WHOLE PEANUT. We are counting the days until Alexander eats his 1st Whole Peanut! A few weeks ago Alexander pointed this out to me. He knew exactly how many weeks until his first peanut. I must admit to not paying close attention to the "dosing schedule" so as to be aware of this fact.
Clearly this is a "big deal" to Alexander (and to our family).
We began the peanut oral immunotherapy program at Dallas Allergy Immunology on December 2, 2010. This treatment is designed to desensitize my son to peanuts so we do not have to worry about accidental ingestion and its consequences which needless to say could be dire. I have documented this process to date in earlier posts on this blog. Check them out.
For treatment #5 on December 30th, 2010 Alexander's dose was increased to 175 mg of peanut flour. Again in pill form.
We will follow the same procedures at home as our prior pill doses. We dose 1 pill twice per day.
There must be an interval of 9 to 15 hours between each dose. This is to be strictly followed.
Alexander keeps a "dosing chart" (teenage style) noting the time of day he takes each pill.
If Alexander is able to tolerate the next few dose increases he will graduate to 1 whole peanut. The schedule is as follows:
COUNTDOWN
Jan 6 - increase dose to 250 mg of peanut flour
Jan 13- increase dose to 500 mg of peanut flour
Jan 20- increase dose to 1 whole PEANUT
1 whole peanut - innocent looking but dangerous to many.
To eat a peanut is a revolutionary act for a peanut allergic child.
I decided to ask Alexander (15 years old) what he is thinking or feeling about eating 1 peanut. Here is what he said:
Q- I know you are looking forward to eating your 1st peanut. What are your thoughts?
A- "I am ready to get it over with. The sooner it gets done the safer I'll be."
Q - Are you afraid of eating a peanut?
A- "Not really. I'm not really afraid of it since I have made it this far.
Clearly Alexander feels he will have some protection from cross contamination once he is able to tolerate 1 peanut.
Dr. Wasserman's staff has said Alexander will have some protection.
The more peanuts he is able to ingest as his doses increase, the more protection he will have.
For the moment I am a little wary of allowing any exposure to peanuts with the exception of his daily peanut dose.
Another friend of mine Stacey Hanley told me she and her son Nate felt safer after he ate this 1st whole peanut.
Stay tuned!
Clearly this is a "big deal" to Alexander (and to our family).
We began the peanut oral immunotherapy program at Dallas Allergy Immunology on December 2, 2010. This treatment is designed to desensitize my son to peanuts so we do not have to worry about accidental ingestion and its consequences which needless to say could be dire. I have documented this process to date in earlier posts on this blog. Check them out.
For treatment #5 on December 30th, 2010 Alexander's dose was increased to 175 mg of peanut flour. Again in pill form.
We will follow the same procedures at home as our prior pill doses. We dose 1 pill twice per day.
There must be an interval of 9 to 15 hours between each dose. This is to be strictly followed.
Alexander keeps a "dosing chart" (teenage style) noting the time of day he takes each pill.
COUNTDOWN
Jan 6 - increase dose to 250 mg of peanut flour
Jan 13- increase dose to 500 mg of peanut flour
Jan 20- increase dose to 1 whole PEANUT
To eat a peanut is a revolutionary act for a peanut allergic child.
I decided to ask Alexander (15 years old) what he is thinking or feeling about eating 1 peanut. Here is what he said:
Q- I know you are looking forward to eating your 1st peanut. What are your thoughts?
A- "I am ready to get it over with. The sooner it gets done the safer I'll be."
Q - Are you afraid of eating a peanut?
A- "Not really. I'm not really afraid of it since I have made it this far.
Clearly Alexander feels he will have some protection from cross contamination once he is able to tolerate 1 peanut.
Dr. Wasserman's staff has said Alexander will have some protection.
The more peanuts he is able to ingest as his doses increase, the more protection he will have.
For the moment I am a little wary of allowing any exposure to peanuts with the exception of his daily peanut dose.
Another friend of mine Stacey Hanley told me she and her son Nate felt safer after he ate this 1st whole peanut.
Stay tuned!
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