Lab results are in.. sort of

The doctor called yesterday. She said she had good news and bad news. The bad news is the lab did not process the food allergy panel and they no longer had any blood to test. We have to go back next week to have Henry's blood drawn again. The good news is one of the three stool samples came back negative for worms and parasites/giardia, all the other tests results were within normal ranges. (the remaining stool sample results should be in at the end of the week)


I asked the doctor about the link between lactose intolerance and giardia. If you google (always dangerous!) the topic you will find articles from Georgetown University to the Mayo Clinic that state giardia may cause a period of lactose intolerance. Henry's doctor spoke with a pediatric GI at the University and did some research herself. Both doctors agree there is no research that proves the link between lactose intolerance and giardia. hmmmm... I did find a few websites that say the link between gairdia and lactose intolerance hasn't been medically proven but anecdotal evidence indicates there is a link. Many giardia fact sheets say of to 40% of people with giardia develop a temporary lactose intolerance.

My gut says go with the anecdotal evidence. We have taken Henry off dairy and we'll see what happens over the next 2 to 3 weeks. The allergy test the pediatrician is running is not for lactose intolerance but for the milk protein. Removing milk from his diet cannot hurt him. I will make sure he receives the daily recommended dose of calcium. If we see a positive difference we'll keep him on a dairy-free diet for up to 6 months. The dermatologist said Henry's pigmentation issue was a food sensitivity issue. The medication she gave us has not helped. We'll see if milk is causing his skin problems.

I made almond milk this morning. Henry loved drinking it and didn't seem to notice a difference in his oatmeal. I have two batches of almonds soaking so we will have plenty of almond milk on hand for the next day or two. Rob and Henry walked to the grocery store this morning and picked up some Silk. It's the brand my sister drinks. We'll see if we can get Henry to drink it.

I am wondering what I am going to cook for dinner each night. Igor is a vegetarian (his choice) and now Henry is off dairy. If you have some kid friendly non-dairy vegetarian foods let me know! I found a couple of non-dairy recipe websites so I will be checking them out this weekend.