Could this be HFI? New and really need help!

[felicity1324]

Hi everyone,

I am so glad I have found this group. I have a little girl (Zoe) who is almost 5 months old and she has had diarrhea her entire life. She has been diagnosed with cow's milk protein allergy and a wheat allergy and I have completely cut these out of my diet. I am breastfeeding as she refuses bottles (had one bottle of neocate and wouldn't take it again).

So the reason I am thinking HFI is that we have seen so many doctors for both her and me and I recently did the oral fructose test and we were both really sick (and my result was positive). Zoe's diarrhea just got progressively worse after the test which peaked around 48 hrs after the test and I almost took her to the emergency department again. I rang my gastroenterologist and he just said it couldn't be the test that made her sick and that I just had FM. I know from reading the other posts that fructose shouldn't get into the breastmilk but she gets sick every time that I do and now that I am living on just potatoes and chicken she seems to be improving... (I hope)...

Anyway we have a paediatrician's appt. and the royal children's hospital (Melbourne, Australia) on Monday and I am trying to work out how to get a diagnosis. She is only a baby so even doing blood tests on her has been really horrible.

The other thing I can't work out would be if I have HFI (or carrier) or just FM. Always had trouble with hypoglycemia symptoms but normal on glucose tolerance tests, had bad eczema as a child every summer (parents had lots of peach trees), always had problems with GI (gas, bloating, etc, etc), liver function tests randomly elevated and sugar / fruit makes me completely crazy (aggressive/ restless and then depressed and exhausted) and take days to recover.

Sorry for the really long post. There are heaps more details but I figure this gives enough of a picture and I am hoping some of this will sound familiar to someone. Any comments, suggestions etc greatly appreciated. I am doing fructose free-diet but on top of the milk (Zoe/me), wheat (Zoe) and yeast (me) allergies that doesn't leave much to eat so I need a diagnosis ASAP...

Really hope to get some replies....

Thanks... Felicity

[colormist]

Hi Felicity,
I have HFI and have never had diarrhea problems that were associated with fructose. Usually my accidental fructose ingestion tends to get flushed out via the kidneys. From what I recall (which I really don't know much on the topic) I think diarrhea is more associated with a Fructose Malabsorption diagnosis--but I'm not expert on the matter, so I can't say for sure.

It doesn't hurt to get a HFI gene test to rule out HFI, though. Makes me a little nervous that you went and took the oral fructose test. That's really dangerous and debilitating for a HFIer to take.

My only suggestion right now would be to restrict your diet immensely: white rice, plain chicken breast (make sure the chicken is not "plumped" with chicken broth or natural flavors), and maybe green beans or spinach.

[jdsmommy2009]

hey yea they made my son do that test too they call it the fructose challenge and i have quiestion DRINKS what should i give my sone as a drink like i know he can have milk but what eles...

[colormist]

water

Later maybe some teas and coffee. There isn't much else.

[julienc]

As a kid I used to make Cool Aid without the sugar. It was really sour, but I loved it.

Try not to feel bad about only giving your child milk and water.