OIT - Day 1!!
Oh, the anticipation, excitement, nervousness, and hope for Day 1 of OIT! We had May 22nd on our calendars for about a month, and we were excitedly watching it get closer and closer. We are thankful that Brandon was healthy that day (i.e. no illnesses to prevent him from starting OIT), because had he been sick, we would have had to wait another month (at least) to get started. Our doctor dedicates one day/month to starting kids on OIT, and we wanted to start in May so that we had all summer without school commitments to get him well on his way on this journey.
So here's more of the 'nitty gritty' about how Day 1 happened, for those of you who are contemplating OIT for your family, or for those of you who are just curious about the details of Day 1.
Our doctor told us to pack a LOT for Day 1. 😄 Snacks, games, activities, lunch, drinks, comfy chairs, etc. After all, we expected to be there for 5-6 hours, in the same room, so they wanted us to be prepared. As I normally do, I over packed 😁, but hey, better to be well-prepared than bored, right??
I was able to take Tyler to school that morning like normal, thankfully. We didn't have to be at the doctor until 9am. Michael was able to come with us that morning and stick around for the first few doses, so the three of us excitedly scurried around the house making final preparations to leave on time.
We got there a bit early, so we had a chance to snap this selfie in the van before heading in.
When we got into the office, it was literally just the three families (4 kids total) who were there for OIT Day 1. It was really nice - essentially a private doctor's office!! We got checked in first and headed back to our room to 'settle in' for the day.
First, weigh and measure, to make sure doses of any medicines needed during the process were appropriate for Brandon's size.
After that, it all started to happen pretty quickly! Our doctor and her nurse came in for the first dose. Dr. George explained how it would all work, showed Brandon what to expect, and we were off!! Eeeek!! We really like both our doctor and her nurse, Brenda. Brenda was the one in and out most of the day with us, and we love how much she puts Brandon at ease with this whole process.
So the way it works is that Brandon was set up to be able to take up to 10 doses on Day 1. Each dose is just a Kool-aid type mixture, with a minuscule amount of peanut flour mixed in. And I mean minuscule. We started with 2.5 micrograms/mL mixed into 2 mL of the solution.
After administering the dose, it was just a matter of watch, wait, and observe. The doses are timed 20 minutes apart on Day 1. Brenda would check back in with us after about 10 minutes into each dose to see if he had any symptoms, record anything we observed, and then the next dose would come. It honestly went by really, really quickly.
An important part of Day 1 is to EAT! 😃 Because an 'enemy' is being introduced into the body, having a full stomach helps decrease stomach upset or other possible GI symptoms. Telling an 11 year old boy to eat is typically not a problem, and it wasn't a problem this day either - ha! Brandon snacked on Ritz crackers and King's Hawaiian rolls before his lunch. Brenda brought him a sample size Sunbutter cup (a substitute for peanut butter that we regularly have in our house), and we made Sunbutter/Ritz sandwiches which he quickly took to.
Brandon breezed through the first 6 doses, every 20 minutes apart. After he took dose 7, I noticed him starting to clear his throat a lot, kind of like he had a tickle in his throat. I didn't say anything to him at first, but after a few minutes of it, I asked him if he felt okay. He said yes but that it felt like he had a small lump in his throat that he couldn't clear. We reported it to Brenda on her next check in with us, and she told us we'd wait another 20 minutes to see if it dissipated. In the meantime, he kept snacking and drinking, snacking and drinking. He never had trouble breathing, thankfully, just the 'lump in the throat' sensation and repeated clearing of his throat. It was still there after that next 20 minute check (40 min total since dose administration), so we waited another 20 minutes. It started to go away after that 3rd 20 minutes, so Dr. George came back in. She checked his breathing and throat, and suggested we do half of dose 7 again. We did that, and the lump in the throat and throat clearing returned, to a lesser degree than with the full dose, but they did return. With those symptoms, Dr. George decided that dose 6 was his "happy dose," and we stopped doses for that day.
Brandon was a bit disappointed in not making it all the way to Dose 10 that day (he's my 'textbook-want-to-excel-in-all-things' kid, so in making it to 6 instead of 10 felt like he 'didn't pass' that day 😉) but Brenda assured us that was NOT the case at all. I've said this before, and we are quickly learning and embracing it, that OIT is NOT a sprint, it's a marathon. We are in this for the long haul. And if they had sent him home on Dose 7, he would have struggled to let his body adapt to it at home and not seen the progress they hope for while he's away from the office.
After settling on Dose 6, Brandon took an Allegra to help get everything 'calmed down,' and we started to pack up. The goal is to be able to take a dose at home every day that does NOT require medicine to abate symptoms, and that was Dose 6 for us.
When you go home from Day 1 of OIT, you get several things to take with you.
1. Your personalized solution to take daily
2. A small syringe to administer it
3. A cooler and ice pack (the solution has to be refrigerated at all times.)
4. A calendar to keep track of your daily doses and reactions
5. A schedule of all future doses
We got our 'parting gifts,' packed up, scheduled our first updose visit for the following Thursday, and checked out. We ended up leaving a little after 1pm that day, so our Day 1 was just shy of 4 hours. We left that day feeling:
So here's more of the 'nitty gritty' about how Day 1 happened, for those of you who are contemplating OIT for your family, or for those of you who are just curious about the details of Day 1.
Our doctor told us to pack a LOT for Day 1. 😄 Snacks, games, activities, lunch, drinks, comfy chairs, etc. After all, we expected to be there for 5-6 hours, in the same room, so they wanted us to be prepared. As I normally do, I over packed 😁, but hey, better to be well-prepared than bored, right??
Here's a pic of what all we took in that day - lol!!
I was able to take Tyler to school that morning like normal, thankfully. We didn't have to be at the doctor until 9am. Michael was able to come with us that morning and stick around for the first few doses, so the three of us excitedly scurried around the house making final preparations to leave on time.
We got there a bit early, so we had a chance to snap this selfie in the van before heading in.
When we got into the office, it was literally just the three families (4 kids total) who were there for OIT Day 1. It was really nice - essentially a private doctor's office!! We got checked in first and headed back to our room to 'settle in' for the day.
First, weigh and measure, to make sure doses of any medicines needed during the process were appropriate for Brandon's size.
After that, it all started to happen pretty quickly! Our doctor and her nurse came in for the first dose. Dr. George explained how it would all work, showed Brandon what to expect, and we were off!! Eeeek!! We really like both our doctor and her nurse, Brenda. Brenda was the one in and out most of the day with us, and we love how much she puts Brandon at ease with this whole process.
Dr. George
Sour face after the first dose, administered by Brenda
So the way it works is that Brandon was set up to be able to take up to 10 doses on Day 1. Each dose is just a Kool-aid type mixture, with a minuscule amount of peanut flour mixed in. And I mean minuscule. We started with 2.5 micrograms/mL mixed into 2 mL of the solution.
After administering the dose, it was just a matter of watch, wait, and observe. The doses are timed 20 minutes apart on Day 1. Brenda would check back in with us after about 10 minutes into each dose to see if he had any symptoms, record anything we observed, and then the next dose would come. It honestly went by really, really quickly.
After the first dose, Brandon started to give himself the solution.
An important part of Day 1 is to EAT! 😃 Because an 'enemy' is being introduced into the body, having a full stomach helps decrease stomach upset or other possible GI symptoms. Telling an 11 year old boy to eat is typically not a problem, and it wasn't a problem this day either - ha! Brandon snacked on Ritz crackers and King's Hawaiian rolls before his lunch. Brenda brought him a sample size Sunbutter cup (a substitute for peanut butter that we regularly have in our house), and we made Sunbutter/Ritz sandwiches which he quickly took to.
Brandon breezed through the first 6 doses, every 20 minutes apart. After he took dose 7, I noticed him starting to clear his throat a lot, kind of like he had a tickle in his throat. I didn't say anything to him at first, but after a few minutes of it, I asked him if he felt okay. He said yes but that it felt like he had a small lump in his throat that he couldn't clear. We reported it to Brenda on her next check in with us, and she told us we'd wait another 20 minutes to see if it dissipated. In the meantime, he kept snacking and drinking, snacking and drinking. He never had trouble breathing, thankfully, just the 'lump in the throat' sensation and repeated clearing of his throat. It was still there after that next 20 minute check (40 min total since dose administration), so we waited another 20 minutes. It started to go away after that 3rd 20 minutes, so Dr. George came back in. She checked his breathing and throat, and suggested we do half of dose 7 again. We did that, and the lump in the throat and throat clearing returned, to a lesser degree than with the full dose, but they did return. With those symptoms, Dr. George decided that dose 6 was his "happy dose," and we stopped doses for that day.
Brandon was a bit disappointed in not making it all the way to Dose 10 that day (he's my 'textbook-want-to-excel-in-all-things' kid, so in making it to 6 instead of 10 felt like he 'didn't pass' that day 😉) but Brenda assured us that was NOT the case at all. I've said this before, and we are quickly learning and embracing it, that OIT is NOT a sprint, it's a marathon. We are in this for the long haul. And if they had sent him home on Dose 7, he would have struggled to let his body adapt to it at home and not seen the progress they hope for while he's away from the office.
After settling on Dose 6, Brandon took an Allegra to help get everything 'calmed down,' and we started to pack up. The goal is to be able to take a dose at home every day that does NOT require medicine to abate symptoms, and that was Dose 6 for us.
When you go home from Day 1 of OIT, you get several things to take with you.
1. Your personalized solution to take daily
2. A small syringe to administer it
3. A cooler and ice pack (the solution has to be refrigerated at all times.)
4. A calendar to keep track of your daily doses and reactions
5. A schedule of all future doses
We got our 'parting gifts,' packed up, scheduled our first updose visit for the following Thursday, and checked out. We ended up leaving a little after 1pm that day, so our Day 1 was just shy of 4 hours. We left that day feeling:
- thankful for being able to make Day 1 of OIT 💙
- thankful for only minor reactions for Brandon, and no difficulty breathing, hives, or anything more severe like anaphylaxis 💚
- relieved that Day 1 was over 💛
- uncertain about what our 'new normal' would be like with daily dosing 💜
- hopeful that we were on the path to a life free from peanut allergies 💗
We truly couldn't have asked for a better Day 1, other than making it through more doses. But again . . . it's a marathon, not a sprint. Marathon, marathon, marathon. We're in this for the long haul. This bulletin board is in the hallway of our doctor's office, and we fully intend one day to have Brandon's picture proudly displayed on it. 🙌
Next blog update will be about what week 1 of OIT at home is like.
Thanks for reading,
Momma Knows Best ⭐
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