Riley was only a few days old when he started experiencing severe diarrhea and spitting up. His parents Michele and John switched him almost immediately from Good Start to soy formula since they had experienced similar symptoms with their two older daughters who had done well on the soy.

Unfortunately Riley’s symptoms persisted and he developed a rash on his face. Doctors diagnosed him with reflux and “normal” infant facial rash.

“My husband and I were beside ourselves wondering what the problem was,” says Michele, Riley’s mom. “I knew something wasn’t right and was determined to put my finger on it.”

Riley Before Neocate

Over the course of two and a half months, Michele went back and forth with the pediatrician, making numerous visits, emails, and phone calls trying to figure out what was wrong with Riley. They introduced Zantac to try and control Riley’s reflux and tried thickening his formula with rice cereal – which just made things worse. Riley also switched formulas multiple times, from soy to Nutramigen and then Alimentum, both hydrolysate formulas.

“Nothing helped,” says Michele. “He spit up almost everything he ate and everything else came out the other end!”

Finally, when Riley was three months old, both blood and mucous were found in a stool sample, indicating an allergy. A pediatric allergist and pediatric gastroenterologist both confirmed the diagnosis of milk and soy allergies, allergy-related eosinophilic esophagitis and allergy-related gastroesophageal reflux.

Riley’s pediatrician recommended Neocate Infant, a hypoallergenic, amino acid-based formula. Because Neocate is made up of individual amino acids (the building blocks of protein), it was easier for Riley to digest than the hydrolysate formulas he originally tried which contain protein chains that have only been partially broken down.

Within 36 hours of starting on Neocate, Riley’s diarrhea stopped, his reflux decreased significantly and his facial rash cleared up. “Neocate was and is LITERALLY a lifesaver for our son,” says Michele.

Riley After Neocate

It took three long months and lots of trial and error to diagnose and treat Riley. Since starting on Neocate he is finally getting all the nutrients he needs to grow and thrive.

“I don’t throw the word around much…but every time I tell people about Neocate the word “MIRACLE” seems to follow!” says Michele.

 If you want to share your before and after photos, we’d love to see them! Send us an email at FoodAllergyLiving@shsna.com.

When Makenzie was 18 months old, she suffered a serious global brain injury after choking on a cracker. After five and a half weeks in the pediatric intensive care unit and intensive rehabilitation, she was released with a feeding tube in her stomach and a prescription for a hydrolysate formula called Peptamen Jr.

For 11 months Mackenzie would throw up after every feeding. Her mother, Pam, took Makenzie for allergy tests, which revealed that she was allergic to a long list of foods including casein, lactose, gluten and soy. With the Peptamen Jr. not working, Makenzie began trying other types of formula, including COMPLETE Pediatric, Nutren Jr., Vivonex and blended food.

“We tried everything, short of having a chemist make a formula just for Makenzie, with no success!” says Pam.

As a result, Makenzie did not gain any weight and was diagnosed with failure to thrive when she was two years old.

Finally, doctors switched Makenzie to Neocate, a hypoallergenic formula made up of individual amino acids (the building blocks of protein) instead of the full or partial protein chains in the other formulas that Makenzie tried. Almost immediately, she was able to keep the formula down. Within a month, she gained six pounds.

At age four Makenzie began to show signs that she wanted to eat orally. Pam tried feeding her jarred baby food and cheesecake, but the baby food did not contain enough calories to cut back her tube feeding and the cheesecake caused her allergic reactions to flare.

“All of the higher calorie food products are very dense milk products,” says Pam.

One day, Pam received a flyer about Neocate Nutra — a semi-solid amino acid-based medical food. She researched the nutritional information and requested a sample.

“I received my sample on a Friday and Makenzie LOVED it! I had orders for six cans placed by Monday afternoon!” says Pam.

Pam consulted with her dietitian and discovered that by supplementing Neocate Nutra with a few other foods she was able to meet Makenzie’s full nutritional needs.

Makenzie after Neocate Nutra

 Within ten days of starting on Neocate Nutra, Makenzie went from being 100% tube-fed and formula dependent, to about 300 calories per day shy of not needing her tube at all.

Pam says, “She is gaining weight and looks GREAT! Neocate Nutra changed my daughter’s life! Thank You!”

If you want to share your before and after photos, we’d love to see them! Send us an email at FoodAllergyLiving@shsna.com.  

When Zoe was just a week old she began extreme vomiting, and started having bloody diarrhea, gas pains and eczema. She was dehydrated, refused to eat and suffering from severe weight loss.

“She was so sick we thought we were going to lose her at any moment,” says Amanda, Zoe’s mom.

When Zoe was 3 weeks old, she was rushed to the emergency room for severe dehydration. From there she was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.

Zoe before Neocate

Zoe stayed at the hospital for a week as doctors performed numerous tests including, blood work, cultures, CT scans and x-rays. She was also treated with antibiotics.

By process of elimination, the doctors finally diagnosed Zoe with a severe milk protein allergy and told Amanda that her reaction was 1 in a million.

To treat the milk protein allergy, at four weeks old Zoe was put on Pregestimil, a hydrolysate formula. While the Pregestimil made her symptoms milder so that she was able to eat, Zoe still suffered from diarrhea, vomiting and gas pains which made her extremely colicky.

Finally, at 4 months old, Zoe’s GI Specialist  recommended she try Neocate Infant — a  hypoallergenic formula, made up of individual amino acids (the building blocks of protein) that Zoe could digest, instead of the partial protein chains found in hydrolysate formulas like the Pregistimil that cause her to have an allergic reaction.

By the time she was five months old Zoe had made a complete turnaround. “She was a totally different baby,” says Amanda.

Zoe (right) with her big sister after Neocate

Since starting on Neocate, Zoe is a happy, healthy normal baby girl. Her parents no longer have to worry about her survival.

“She is now 11 months old and finally happy and starting to get caught up in her weight. She does nothing but laugh and smile,” says Amanda.