Our daughter had just turned one when she was diagnosed with her peanut allergy. Working with our allergist, Dr. Jyothi Gadde, we learned what foods our daughter could and could not eat. During each annual allergy test, we always hoped the outcome would be different, but each year the reaction was strong and showed no sign of fading. Last year, Dr. Gadde brought forward some new advances in allergen science to us as a potential way to reduce the risk of our daughter’s peanut allergy. Dr. Gadde worked with us to make the decision to utilize a treatment called Oral Immune Therapy (OIT) to build her tolerance to peanuts. There were risks, and yes we were scared, but the science behind it showed that the results could be life changing. Ten years after her initial diagnosis, and 11 months after starting OIT…our daughter has successfully completed her treatment! She can now safely tolerate peanuts, eating about 8 peanuts a day (and even greater doses are possible, she had about 26 yesterday as her final challenge dose). No rash, no wheezing, no hives, no anaphylaxis … no reaction!
Thanks to all the staff of Allergy and Asthma Specialist of Greater Washington for their help – to all the doctors and nurses who have been with us, office staff for working with us on appointments, techs for getting all the peanut doses prepared. Our biggest thanks goes to Dr. Gadde. Dr. Gadde is amazing and was truly been a rock for us during this process. She goes above and beyond the call of any doctor we have ever experienced. Thank you for answering all of our questions – regardless of the day and time. Thanks for supporting us and guiding us on this journey. And thanks for truly caring about our daughter. We could not have done this without you!
