MSPI & other allergies

Most of you know that our pediatrician thought that Logan may be suffering from MSPI which is an intolerance to milk and soy proteins. We never had him officially tested but he seemed to be happier once I changed my diet. I've been doing some more research on this condition and am startled at what I read. Some children have such extreme reactions that they have feeding tubes placed in their stomachs and the mom's are forced to immediately switch to formula. (They can continue to 'pump & dump' their milk and go on a strict milk & soy free diet, once it is out of their system they can then resume breastfeeding.) Luckily, Logan's sensitivity seems to lie in just cow's & goat's milk, not soy. Which is a relief because honestly I'm not sure how the other mother's do it, I have a hard time just eliminating milk. Take for instance something I just read that I had never thought to check up until this point- Trident gum has casein in it its ingredients which is a milk derivative. Now that's another thing I'll be checking for...my gum ingredients.
After Logan is six months old I am planning on going back to work part time. I need to talk with his pediatrician on a safe way to re-introduce milk into his diet or put him on a milk-free formula. I am so fortunate that he tolerates soy because to find a milk & soy free formula is expensive. Some parents have had to pay for their child's formula with credit cards because insurance doesn't cover their cost. The cheapest options are Nutramigen, Alimentum & Pregestimil and they are $22-$29 per can. Neocate & Elecare are pricier $28-$40 per can. Babies typically go through 3 cans a week so a year's supply can run up to $4,368!!!
Luckily 95% of children outgrow MSPI by age 1. I'm hoping Logan beats his SPI by 6 months, it may be wishful thinking. If he doesn't its just another thing to consider in the pros & cons of returning to work and the balancing act of our finance's.
We have learned of a few other MSPI cases throughout our network of friends & family and have found it to be more common than we originally thought. A lot of times people will assume their child has "colic" and is just fussy.
"Babies with MSPI often wail constantly, 18 hours or more a day. Normal methods of soothing them to sleep - rocking, swaying, pushing them in a stroller, even driving them in a car - don't work. They retch repeatedly and projectile vomit. They may have chronic congestion and diarrhea, blood or mucus in their diapers. They may refuse feedings because their stomachs hurt or, conversely, want to eat all the time because they feel temporarily better just after feeding. Though most babies outgrow it by the age of 1, the condition poses serious health risks. Babies with severe cases can lose weight, develop more slowly, suffer internal bleeding and extensive inflammation in their intestinal tract, or have to wear a feeding tube and pump for several months of their first year of life. They even may be hospitalized for intravenous feeding, which could cause other complications.The constant cries also can cause parents fatigue and emotional stress. Some doctors and parents speculate the condition may lead to shaken-baby syndrome, as frazzled parents without support lose control." (Taken from http://www.mspiguide.org/)
There are a lot of reference guides and support networks out there to draw information from. Everything from mom's networks, recipe guides, restaurant references, books, websites, etc.
Some of my favorites are:
http://www.mspimama.blogspot.com/
http://www.mspiguide.org/
http://www.actagainstallergy.com/
So if your child has been diagnosed with this or you are wondering if they might be suffering, check these out.
The more I read online, the more I question... (keep in mind I'm a borderline hypochondriac, especially when it comes to my kids.) Like take Hunter, our oldest son. He has had problems the last couple of years with allergies & eczema. I am reading more articles that are linking diet to these disorders. Perhaps Hunter has been allergic to milk all along and we have missed it. I remember as a baby he did fuss a lot! He also did a lot of grunting & rooting around. Two years ago he got extremely sick this time of year with a lot of sinus problems he also suffered from ear infections. Every day that he had milk before bed he would cough so bad he would throw up and this went on for months at a time. We just thought it was from the "cold" or "sinus infection" or "allergies" that caused the phlegm, that in combination with milk was a trigger for vomiting. Then this past year his skin started to get rashy, dry and itchy. I took him to a dermatologist who said it was mild eczema and to lotion him constantly. The Dr.'s also said that eczema and allergies are closely related. But now I am having this aha moment... maybe its the cow's milk. I just assumed the "allergies" were airborne not food. For the next few weeks I am going to take Hunter off Milk & Soy as well to see if things change. We have given him Zyrtec & Singulair every day for a year and I would LOVE to stop medicating him.
This is definitely the LONGEST post I have ever blogged! I hope you get something out of this monologue. If not, thanks for taking the time to listen to my rambling thoughts on this subject. More importantly if you have anything to add to this discussion I'd love to hear it!