Could use some encouragement
Hi all, I've been a member of this listserve for a little less than two months, and have been implimenting a GFCF diet and peanut free and soy free for two months also. While baking foods and finding acceptable foods for my 3.8 year old son has definately become easier over the last two months, I cannot honestly say that I see any improvements in my son's behavior, speech, or "connectivenss". I'm not about to abandon the diet, because I feel it must be helping him out on some level, since he has many food allergy issues. However, I would love to hear some feedback from the members that have been on this diet for a while, as to when I might possibly see some positive resuls from all this effort. All I need is a little encouragement and it would make all this work worthwhile! I just had a whole food allergy profile done on my son, and have not yet got the results. Could it be that there are more offending foods, such as corn, and eggs, that I also need to omit before I see any positive results. The only thing I've noted since starting this diet, was that for the first two weeks, my son was more cranky and irritable. I took this as a positive sign, but since then, there really is nothing more to report. Does any one have any advice or suggestions? I know two months isn't that long, but I would love to get some positive reinforcement. Thanks for listening. Sheryl
Hi Sheryl, I haven't been implimenting this diet for a terribly long time, about 6 months give or take a month. I'm probably not the ideal encourager here but I do want to share with you some of our findings during this time. We have found that milk and artificial colors are the biggest problem 'foods'. Banana's are next, then almonds. Wheat has an effect but not nearly as strong as the above four items. He can eat corn chips but he cannot eat Corn Pops. Why? I don't know... maybe the sugar, maybe the artificial color, though yellow doesn't seem to bother him like the dark colors do. Tylenol and Motrin are deadly. It would take a lot to get me to give him either. I think it may be the artificial colors, red and purple, but who knows? Yes, I do believe that your son could be having negative reactions to other types of foods or additives. Have you concidered putting him on a very, very basic diet for a few weeks? A full elimination diet should give you a good idea of what is bothering him. This is easier typed than done, I know. :-) You said that he has allergies to several different things... IMO elimination is the BEST test there is. I admire your determination. Jeannie
Jeannie Have you cosnidered that both Tylenol and Motrin contain aspartame or sorbitol (a corn derived sweetener) and possible malitol (another corn sweetener). I find that my children do not do so well with them because of the artifical sweeteners. Fortunately, they have all gotten to an age where they can swallow caplets. BL ****************************** * v'col netivotcha shalom * ******************************
Sheryl, Your son is about the same age as our son James. He has been on the diet for five months now and we have seen huge improvements. In addition to the diet we give James P5P and TMG from www.kirkmanlabs.com. We started off slowly with the P5P and then introduced the TMG. We feel that the vitamins (particularly the TMG) have helped James to calm down tremendously and his speech which started three days after dropping casein has continued to improve. If we didn't have proof enough already, I ran out of TMG a few days ago thanks to customs holding onto it for three weeks!! James reverted back to his original self and I can only say 'what a hell of a week'. So maybe if you are not already giving supplements it is something to think about ? Heather
Brenda Lee, Yes, there are a few things in Tylenol and Motrin that could be the culprit. Aspartame gives me terrible stomach cramps and sometimes migraine so I try to keep it away from all of my children. Funny, but when I told my sons Developmental Pediatrician about my his diet she got MAD! She insisted that there was NOTHING in Tylenol or Motrin that could possibly cause an allergic reaction. She suggested (get this) that if my son was waking with night terrors then perhaps all he would need is a glass of warm MILK before bed. : -< Yes, she's a smart one. *dripping sarcasm* Jeannie S. Mommy to David, Jacob, and Sean Have you cosnidered that both Tylenol and Motrin contain aspartame or sorbitol (a corn derived sweetener) and possible malitol (another corn sweetener). I find that my children do not do so well with them because of the artifical sweeteners. Fortunately, they have all gotten to an age where they can swallow caplets. BL
She sounds like she (the ped) is related to the Pediatric GI specialist we spent 3500 dollars to travel down to see last year. He decided our eldest had a chronic constipation problem which would account for his food allergies, his bloating and so on. His treatment regime? A high fibre diet with lots of whole wheat! My response: "Did you READ his chart? or use it as a paperweight?" grin Anyone still wonder why they call it "practising medicine"? BL ****************************** * v'col netivotcha shalom * ******************************
Hi Sheryl, Yes, I think I can answer these. The P5P was the latest introduction of Super Nu Thera. Basically the contents are already broken down so that the body doesn't have to do it. We started off with the basic Super Nu Thera but then after a month or so went on to the Super Nu Thera P5P. He improved even more on the P5P variety. It's a similar story with the DMG and TMG. The DMG relies on the body to break it down wheras the TMG is broken down already. I think others on this site found the DMG to have its problems but certainly for us the TMG is an absoloute must. We increased it by only 1/2 ml a day as it seems to be very strong. James now takes 8ml a day and that seems to be about his limit otherwise he becomes hyperactive. If you look into the Kirkmans website a little more there are some good descriptions of what each item is supposed to do. In our case it was certainly true, James calmed down a huge amount, much better eye contact, better concentration etc. In my own opinion it is worth trying it but do wait for a couple of weeks of use before making a decision on its usefulness as it can take a little while for them to settle down. In James' case it became apparent that he was seeing the world in a new light for want of a better description and in the beginning it scared him, but he soon got used to it. Hope the info helps Heather