Someday Hailey may not be able to eat or drink at all and may be reliant upon an IV or feeding tube for all her nutrients. For Hailey this is unlikely, but still a possibility. Many other EG sufferers have followed that path.

Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis

Hailey was diagnosed in March 2006 with Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis (EG).  This is a “working diagnosis” not a “clinical diagnosis” - the doctors are convinced she does have EG. The clinical/pathological story is that she has 3-5 times the normal amount of eosinophils in her system, but is only at 85-95% of what the counts need to be to actually make the clinical diagnosis. The immunologists/allergists are saying it is colitis that is eosinophilic in nature. The diagnosis was made based on endoscopy and colonoscopy results from tests done in August 2004 then again in September 2006. Like many with any Eosinophilic disorder it was believed she had Celiac Disease. There were only about 300 documented cases of EG from 1937 to 2000, but the disease is being diagnosed in record numbers today. Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE) is more common and also, potentially, more serious. In the most layman terms possible; Hailey’s immune system is reacting to something (like an allergy) and attacking the inside of her small intestine and colon. This has caused chronic diarrhea, frequent, severe stomach pain and frequent vomiting since she was born. It causes mild malabsorbtion, which she self-corrects by eating everything but the kitchen sink. She has been tested for multiple food allergies and the results are usually negative or borderline. She was recently patch tested and found to be allergic to wheat and potatoes, this is probably just the first in a long line of “culprits” we will find with this disorder. Some “trial diets” have helped, some haven’t, some of them that have helped only helped for a few weeks or months and then the symptoms come back. Amazingly, the Periactin she is on for the Cold Urticaria has made her mainly asymptomatic, however that doesn’t mean damage isn’t being done. Biopsies she had in September 2006 showed her counts had switched places her high counts are now in her small intestine and her moderate counts in her colon, however it can be “patchy” so there’s no way to really know what’s going on in there.

Hailey was allergy tested through patch testing and found to be allergic to wheat, potatoes, soy, corn and rice—she is currently on a diet free of all five of these foods.

You Tube APFED Video

You Tube CURED Video