Launching Theo’s journey to Food Freedom

We just spent the whole week in California at the Food allergy Institute.  They call this our Launch Visit to officially kick off his treatment. We had four separate appointments, which included another type of skin test, receiving our official treatment plan, going over all the details of his specific plan, and starting the introduction of different foods.

We often get questions about how this program works and what our visits entail, so I’ll break it all down as much as I can here! 

After our initial blood work and skin tests, the Food Allergy Institute uses biomarkers, medical professionals, and an AI system to develop a customized, highly specific treatment plan.

This treatment plan needs to be extremely precise and reviewed by physicians, so we have been patiently waiting 12 weeks for this appointment.

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Day 1: The Patch Test

This is a large patch with actual pieces of food attached to check for different types of reactions that may cause issues. The sticky patch is a little uncomfortable and had to stay on for 24 hours. They recommended having a low-key day to avoid sweating, so we surprised him by going to the movie theater to see Sonic 3.

Because of his food allergies, going to the movie theater isn’t something we do very often, so this was a fun little outing that distracted him from the patch on his back.

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Day 2: Results and Treatment Plan

This was the big day! We got all our test results and went over the entire treatment plan.

We knew the treatment would take years since it moves very slowly, safely, and effectively to achieve food freedom. However, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that our treatment plan will take approximately 3.5 years. This may seem like a long time to some people, but we’re thrilled with this timeline. In the grand scheme of things, spending 3–4 years on this is just a tiny blip in time if it means he gets to spend the rest of his life allergy-free!

After going over all the results, we got a much more specific look at what he is allergic to. The highest allergens on his list are peas, lentils, and chickpeas. Close behind those are peanuts, hazelnuts, almonds, soy, pistachios, and cashews.

Once we reviewed the details, we introduced our first food. These initial foods are easily tolerated and highly likely to be safe. They’re not foods he is allergic to, but they have similar proteins that help condition his body to prepare for eating his allergens safely. The first food we introduced was pectin, and he passed with flying colors!

We celebrated by taking him to the beach for the first time!

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Day 3: More Food Introductions

On this day, we introduced two more foods: flaxseed and alfalfa. After eating these foods, they recommended some physical activity to get his blood flowing and ensure there were no reactions.

(Fun fact: Physical activity is one of the many factors that can exacerbate a reaction, something many people don’t know!)

He passed these foods with no problem as well.

Afterwards, we enjoyed the day walking around the zoo. They didn’t have any snakes like he wanted to see, so we took him to a reptile zoo nearby. I was surrounded by probably 100 snakes, and I definitely could have done without that experience, but he loved it!

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Day 4: Starting Dosing Foods

We started with foods he has some sensitivity to, measured in extremely small increments. These doses are so precise that they’re made into gummy forms (similar to fruit snacks) to ensure exact measurements are followed.

The foods he started with were pine nuts, chia seeds, and macadamia nuts. These are given under close monitoring to ensure he has zero reactions, and again, he did great with no issues!

We left with a full supply of these gummies to take home. He will eat them every single day and slowly increase the dose over the next 10 weeks until our next visit.

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Now that we’re returning home, he will begin a whole new eating routine, which I’m sure will bring new challenges. But we are ready and excited to truly start working toward food freedom!

Thank you to everyone who has been following our journey and sending good thoughts and prayers our way. It means so much to have support from everyone at home and our family in California!

If you have any questions, leave them below, and I’ll do my best to answer them!  I will share more about all the travel, the fun, and our stay at the Ronald McDonald house soon, but for now I’m soaking up time with my other 2 kids I had to be away from for 6 full days!