From a young age, Isaiah K. suffered from 23 food allergies— including egg, peanut, all tree nuts, legumes, and shellfish. Along with extensive food allergies, Isaiah also manages eczema and asthma.
Today, thanks to the transformative Tolerance Induction Program® (TIP), Isaiah enjoys a life free from food restrictions. His inspiring journey not only highlights the challenges he overcame but also offers valuable advice for other teenagers considering TIP treatment.
Find out if TIP is right for your family with our brief quiz!
Growing Up With Food Allergies
Isaiah’s early years were marked by constant fear and uncertainty. With allergies to nearly all top nine allergens, Isaiah frequented the emergency room due to numerous anaphylactic reactions. His mother, Melinda, recalls the daily struggles:
"Isaiah was allergic to 8 of the top 9 allergens when he was younger and experienced multiple anaphylactic reactions with visits to the emergency room.”
Beyond the physical risks, the constant vigilance and isolation took a heavy toll on Isaiah’s social life and mental well-being. “There were many times when he went to events and found that there was nothing safe for him to eat. Life was very limiting and filled with anxiety.”
Discovering TIP Treatment
Trying Oral Immunotherapy (OIT)
Isaiah’s mother initially discovered TIP treatment through online social media groups, but felt discouraged by the Travel requirements of treatment and decided to try a local option to treat his peanut and egg allergies.
“We read about TIP on Facebook OIT [Oral Immunotherapy] groups before we tried TIP and sensed that something was different about the way Dr. Randhawa [Food Allergy Institute Founder] approached treatment. TIP patients reached higher doses, quicker, and could treat more types of foods. But flying cross country seemed crazy so we opted to find the most experienced OIT doctor on the East Coast.”
Unfortunately, Isaiah experienced many challenges through Oral Immunotherapy (OIT), ultimately leading his providers to determine it was unsafe for him to continue. “He tried peanut and baked egg OIT prior to TIP but had multiple reactions through it,” Melinda explains. “OIT doctors said it was not safe to continue and others refused to take him and his sister on as patients after they read about what happened.”
Pursuing TIP Treatment
When conventional methods fell short, Isaiah and his sister were enrolled in the Tolerance Induction Program—a food allergy treatment designed to help children and young adults (from 18 months to 25 years old) achieve complete food tolerance, rather than temporary desensitization.
“We found that Dr. Randhawa had more insight into the challenges that they faced in OIT and that treating the environmental allergies with SLIT [Sublingual Immunotherapy] and conditioning with biosimilar and sensitized foods made TIP a much smoother journey” Melinda recalls.
Even those with multiple severe allergies and underlying conditions can find success with TIP. “TIP was our last hope and we are so thankful that they were willing to help us!”
A Worthwhile Commitment
TIP isn’t a quick fix; it demands perseverance and commitment from both patients and their families. With over 90% of the treatment completed at home, strict adherence to dosing schedules and regular in-person appointments are essential.
Melinda reflects on their long but rewarding journey saying, “After 2,504 days dosed, 28 visits, and 65,212 miles flown cross country, he completed treating 23 allergens- eggs, peanuts, all tree nuts, legumes, and shellfish! It was a marathon for sure and not an easy road with ups and downs, but he made it! We are so grateful to TIP for changing the trajectory of his life and opening up his world to so many more possibilities.”
TIP graduates can eat as freely as a non-allergic person with minimal weekly maintenance which decreases over time.
A Monumental Moment
One of Isaiah’s most cherished memories as a result of TIP treatment is reclaiming a beloved Maryland high school tradition— enjoying a crab feast without restriction or fear.
“One of my favorite memories that I will forever remember was clearing crab just in time for me to participate in our school’s senior crab feast which is a Maryland tradition to kick off our senior year. Not only was the food delicious, but more importantly, I got to make this special memory with my friends. It is a blessing now to be able to go out with my friends, eat so many new foods, and not have to worry about having an allergic reaction. It is so freeing! I will be forever grateful for TIP!”
Isaiah’s Guide to Managing TIP Treatment As A Teenager
If you or your teenager are considering TIP, here are some of Isaiah’s top tips for managing treatment alongside school, sports, and social life.
Balancing School, Sports, and Treatment
Q: How do you manage school, sports, work, and treatment?
“Part of the challenges of being a teen doing TIP is balancing our activities, schoolwork, and dosing. I played varsity and travel basketball, took ten AP classes and dual enrollment classes at the community college, and participated in and led clubs, all while working. To manage my time, I often eat my dose when I do my homework, killing two birds with one stone. My practice times frequently varied from day to day. If I had a later practice or game, I tried to take my dose right after school, leaving time for a rest period*. Other times, I would go to practice, shower, and dose while eating dinner.”
*Rest periods after treatment doses are typically one hour for TIP patients, but this may vary depending on an individual’s case.
Overcoming Food Fatigue & Taste
Q: How do you get through dosing when you dislike the taste?
“When I had trouble eating some foods because I didn’t like the taste, my mom and I kept trying new recipes to try to disguise the allergen in foods with stronger flavors like chocolate, various muffins, adding savory options like sausage or taco meat, adding hot sauce or bbq sauce, or chasing my dose with a snack. My sister preferred to eat several smaller things like nut muffins and candied nuts, instead of putting all of her maintenance foods into one big pancake. Also, doing something distracting like reading or watching a show while I did my dosing helped keep my mind off dosing.”
Staying Motivated Through the Journey
Q: How do you keep going when you are feeling unmotivated?
“I started this program in February 2018, so it has been a long journey, and there have been times when I have felt exhausted with dosing. What helps me is to remember the end goal and where I came from.
Before TIP, I remember having to sit at the peanut-free table during lunch at school with just a few friends, bringing my safe foods to parties, and not being able to eat anything when going to events. It was hard to always be different. I’ve had multiple trips to the ER for anaphylactic reactions, even for foods that we thought were safe but must have been cross-contaminated.
I have now treated 23 foods. My journey has been complicated, sometimes having to only treat one food at a time as my body had a hard time focusing when I tried to treat multiple foods at a time. I’ve also dealt with asthma, eczema, and needing to add Xolair when I had anaphylactic reactions to the environment. Treatment truly has been a marathon and not a sprint.
Now I’ve enjoyed trying so many new foods and desserts through this program. I’ve been able to travel without my parents, eat out at restaurants, and have no problems. Keep in mind that when the volume of maintenance foods gets to be a lot, it won’t be like this forever. The frequency of dosing drops after your labs get to a certain level. If you keep focusing on the big picture at the end, it will help the time pass, and everything will be worthwhile.”
