The idea of having a child with special needs, especially needs that revolved around a specific diet, has always terrified me. I'm not sure why it seems so very daunting, but it does. The thought of having to over analyze every bite of food my child ingests is overwhelming. As though we don't have enough to worry about as it stands.
That may very well be something we're facing. I've been reading a lot of information on Gluten Free Casein Free diets for children with SPD & related disorders. Some of the parents on the Yahoo SPD network swear by the diet. I've read of kids who've done a 180 once the dairy (Casein) & wheat (Gluten...also includes Rye & Barley) have been removed from their diets.
I have to say I'm skeptical as the jury is still out on the studies that have been done. But it might be worth a shot. My biggest concern is that BabyGirl sustains herselfs almost entirely on wheat & dairy products. I joke that my kids are on the Anti-Adkins Diet...little meat, few veggies (depending on the child), lots & lots & lots of carbs. One mother on the SPD board suggested BabyGirl's predilection for dairy & wheat may be a symtom of intolerance as though her body is craving what it cannot process correctly.
So now I have to decided just how far to go with this. Do we pull her off dairy & wheat all together? Do we phase them out gradually? Do we phase out one or both? Do I thumb my nose at the idea all together and stuff her full of milk shakes & girl scout cookies?
As Inkling would say, "Oy."
5 comments:
I say it is worth a try...find some carbs that are gluten free (welcome to my world my friend - we'll talk more later about that!), and begin to replace them for the whole family...be sneaky...and be vigilant in her behavior/reactions...the dairy may be a tad bit harder, and may require trips to far-away places for soy products...you might also look at goat's milk products...some swear that works just as well...Kefir is GREAT btw...don't be afraid...check out "The Maker's Diet" and see how close that is to the GFCF diet...hugs!!!!!
Just stumbled onto your blog (really can't remember how I got here :)
Wanted to encourage you to step out and try the new diet. Here's the thing, if these things (milk and dairy) ARE causing the problem, NOTHING else you ever try will help much and your daughter will still have problems and struggles.
If milk and dairy aren't the problems, you will know quickly enough.
People today have trouble seeing any real, life changing, health changing value in something as simple as a diet change. I know because I was one. I have a child who had several medical issues for years. The issues caused him bed wetting problems, ear infections that NEVER cleared up, hearing loss (because of 2 straight years of infected ears), and loss of speech - and then of course 2 years of speech therapy AND then immune system issues because he literally lived on antibiotics for the ear infections. I asked doctors for years what I could do other than meds, and they said "nothing". Other people told me to try the food route - eliminate some foods that are known to cause problems and see what happened. I didn't do it for 2 reasons:
1 - the doctors said there was no proof that any of that could help
2 - I had 4 other children who ate/drank the same thing as the sick child and had NO problems. That said to me that there was no validity in trying the food method.
When I was later left with no options - my son could no longer continue to take antibiotics because his body could not tolerate any more - I was "forced" to try the dumb food trial.
Within ONE week, the ear infections ended (foor the first time in his life) the bed wetting ended. He never had another ear infection again (except the normal kind that sometimes shows up with the flu or some sickness - probably only had 2-3 infections in the last 13 years compared to living with them every day of his life)
The culprit? Milk. His body had adverse reactions to the milk sugar and proteins. As soon as I removed it from his diet, everything functioned normally. I don't know why only 1 of my 5 kids had that issue. Some people have violent reactions to peanuts while others can eat pounds of the stuff. Food affects body chemistry intensely for some people. But, since doctors don't really train in anything other than treating symptoms with meds, that's all they know.
I could give you more stories about similar situations, but it comes down to giving it a try. It is definitely worth it because it's your daughter you're talking about. And, compared to the alternative of a lifetime of problems she might eliminate, it's so worth the effort. I was the biggest skeptic at first (used to roll my eyes when those tree huggers started telling me how food was causing my kid's problems :)
Sometimes we are blinded to the most simple solutions because they seem too easy. It seems that if it were that easy, a doctor should know about it. If only that were true.
Anyway - two cents from a former skeptical stranger. I wish you good luck.
Thank you Darnelle! I'm so glad to hear that things were able to change for your son, and am so thankful you were directed here!
I know that Baby Girl is precious to Farmwife and Farmboy (along with all the rest of the family!), and they'd do anything for her.
I know from my own experiences about diet...so Farmie - I'll call you later this morning to talk about the food trial and give you my 2 cents in person!
I have a copy of The Maker's Diet I'll get it to you.
Hooray for QM!!! I can't try it myself yet as my own doc says 'NO WAY while you're nursing..." and kind of gave me the why-in-the-world-would-you-want-to-do-this look...but phooey on them...seriously Farmie...I'm calling you tomorrow...today I escaped with my Mama and went to the mall to shop with the munchkins!
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