OIT Testimonials
A Few Photos of our 37 Oral Immunotherapy Graduates
Oral Immunotherapy Testimonials
“Hailey lived in fear for 10 years after being diagnosed with a peanut allergy and experienced several visits to the emergency room for contamination or peanut ingestion. No matter how careful we were, it seemed to be near impossible to protect her from contamination. As she grew older, we had to put her in counseling for her to be able to deal with the fear of eating a peanut. It became a big deal for her. As she grew older, we went into a deep dive to find a physician that would take her into their OIT program even if it meant going to another state. Lucky us – we discovered The Allergy Group. It has been an amazing journey for us. Starting with just a small amount of peanut powder to being able to ingest peanut powder or peanuts months later, feels like a miracle for our entire family. Hailey had setbacks often, but Lori made her feel secure and confident that we had to always move forward. At this time, Hailey has graduated in the program. We still are dealing with the emotional aspect of this program. In her mind, for over 10 years she was told she could die if she ate peanuts. Even after all the work and patience of the staff, she still struggles with the emotional aspect of eating peanuts. My recommendation to any parent that has a child who has a peanut allergy, would be to start at an early age. The earlier the better – before these fears develop. What it meant to the family is hard to describe because it changed our lives. It gave us such freedom of worry and anxiety. We don’t have to worry about her spending the night with friends, eating with friends at restaurants, and just to watch her be so happy was like watching a miracle happen. Hailey will be an OIT graduate and deal with the regiment for the rest of her life because she wants to be a normal teen, go on trips with her class, and more importantly head off to college knowing that she can control the allergy and be safe. Our many thanks to every single person at The Allergy Group. We have felt special, the staff has been experienced and great to work with, and we will be glad to send you a copy of the documentary that Hailey is doing for a personal project at her school that explains her journey to success. We will be forever grateful to every one of you!”
— Karen Range Starling
“My two sons, ages 13 & 6, both have severe food allergies since they were 6-months old. They are allergic to almost everything including the topmost allergenic foods. Life is difficult ever since because it is not easy to find alternative foods that will supplement the nutrients and minerals that they are missing. We cannot eat in restaurants. Travel means bringing a luggage of foods that they can eat and making sure hotels we stay in have kitchens. Sending them to school requires a lot of preparation, not to mention the anxiety it brings every time they are away from home. We missed attending a lot of birthday parties and even their birthday celebration means no cake and only specialty foods. Fortunately, The Allergy Group introduced us to OIT. It has been a year since they have started doing it, and they have already added eggs, dairy, and peanuts in their diet. Dr. T, Dr. Lori, and the nurses are very caring and you can really see their passion and determination to help kids with food allergies. It is definitely a life-changing event for my family. It made life easier for my kids and the fear of exposure to these foods is gone. We still have a few more foods to go and I cannot wait for them to go through therapy so they can add more foods to their diet. We are so grateful to The Allergy Group!”
— Sheryll De Guzman
“Khaela was diagnosed with severe food allergies to eggs, wheat, peanuts and tree nuts at 10 months old. At age 5 we did a blood test and she would not grow out of her PN/TN allergy so we decided to do immunotherapy. It was a 22 weeks for peanuts and an additional 6 weeks for treenuts. Khaela passed her peanut and tree nut challenges and is now bite proof. As she starts kindergarten this year, this gives me peace of mind that she won’t go into anaphylaxis if accidentally exposed to PN/TN. We will be doing another oral challenge for eggs to determine if we will do immunotherapy for eggs. The nurses and doctors at the allergy group were amazing and with you every step of the way, during the good days and bad days. They always have the best interest for you and your child and come up with a plan that works best for everyone. I would highly recommend that anyone with a food allergy do OIT. It has made my life less stressful and has reduced my anxiety levels.”
— The Hunt Family
“A life-threatening food allergy is no joke. Our now 7-year-old daughter lived the first six years of her life in fear. Fear of not being able to breathe if she accidentally consumed peanut. Fear of having to be stabbed with an Epi pen. Fear of seeming different from her friends. And we, her parents, have only amplified her fear, which was driven by our own worry, and our child’s safety. She never ate out at restaurants. She never ate cake at birthday parties. She never attended play dates at friends’ houses. OIT changed all that. Our daughter’s life is completely different now, changed for the better. We cannot say enough wonderful things about the OIT program or The Allergy Group! Going into the program, we had a lot of apprehension. But we immediately felt cared for and listened to. OIT was the best decision we have ever made for our daughter. We will be forever grateful to everyone at The Allergy Group!! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!”
— Tim & Meagan McGree
“We discovered that our son had a peanut allergy when he was one. While we were devastated by the news, the Allergy Group was very reassuring and informed us of a new protocol they were developing for Oral Immunotherapy (OIT). As soon as our son had developed adequate communication skills to tell us if he experienced allergy symptoms, we enrolled him in the OIT program. We are so glad we did! He is very excited that he gets to eat peanuts every morning and he never once had an adverse reaction to the treatment. Since we started the treatment so early we even have hopes that he will outgrow his allergy as he gets older. I highly recommend OIT treatment to anyone wanting peace of mind that incidental exposure to an allergen won’t result in a severe reaction as they navigate various food environments like restaurants, schools, and parties.”
— Anonymous
“We took our son to Texas Roadhouse tonight with all the peanuts around him and he was fine!!! Although he graduated in April it's taken us a while to be really confident going out to eat with him and get out of the habit of avoiding public peanut places...in July we went to Five Guys and that was surreal too. He starts kindergarten next week and I was, I'm sure, a much calmer parent talking to the school nurse yesterday than I would have been last year!”
— Anonymous
“As this patient's mom, I just can't thank you enough for bringing OIT to Boise. Having your team by our sides during this process was a blessing. You calmed our nerves and talked us through anxious moments. The freedom from fear of food that you have given my daughter is immeasurable. Just today her friend ate a peanut butter granola bar in front of her and she didn't have to ask her not to. I can't begin to thank you enough.”
— Anonymous
“We just wanted to say thank you for everything. No words can describe how incredibly grateful we are of the Allergy Group and oralimmunotherapy. Because of you Ella can live in a stress free and safe environment. This has been momentous and life changing for all of us in so many ways. Thank you for your constant kindness and car you have Ella! Thank you for saving her life, we truly believe that.”
— The Anderton Family
“We are almost year out from her last oral immunotherapy treatment and final peanut challenge. I never thought that I would take a picture of peanuts in Karlie's room. The past year has been free of fear and stress for us both. I cannot thank you enough for providing Karlie with the opportunity to go through oral immunotherapy.”
— Anonymous