Nevermind....

Perhaps. But most have no idea regarding Leaky Gut, Gut Dysbiosis, or SIBO, so I think we are better off with the Integrative Drs. she sees.

No - she was nice, but useless. Prescribed an anti-spasmodic and that was it. Acacia powder is one of those things that works for some, does nothing for some, and is terrible for some. We're not sure where dd falls on the spectrum yet. We thought that the dose of 3tsp twice/day upset her stomach, but I think it was the bingeing. She is not on any meds for anxiety; once her thyroid numbers improved, her anxiety decreased markedly. She refused to see anyone about it until now, or to do yoga or any mindfulness training that was recommended by her drs. Yes, full panel. She definitely has Hashi's. She no longer sees an endocrinologist, as the endo refused to do RT3 testing and also didn't think that the G-I issues were related to her Hashi's

Yes, her previous PCP was ok with her being on the AIP diet and yes, we do know one is not supposed to be on it longterm, but it seemed that every time she tried to re-introduce something there would be flare up. Her current PCPs (she sees 2 in the same office) are both 'actual' drs, not naturopaths. One is a PA, the other a full dr. Both realized that integrative medicine is more helpful than the standard method of treatment. The dr. tested her for Lyme (negative) and he believes it a leaky gut issue more than SIBO, so has her on VisBiome and Acacia powder to try to alleviate that. Dd is supposed to be taking bone broth and l-glutamine as well, but hasn't been keeping up with that lately. And to your last point, I am beginning to wonder that as well.... Her calprotectin levels have always been fine. I can ask about the capsule test next week.

Yes, she is sensitive to some things, but only a couple things were at a high level. The others were minor - I can't find those test results right now. Her latest Comprehensive G-I Stool Test through Genova came back with elevated inflammation markers, despite the AIP diet. One of her main things is stress - her adrenal results follow the correct path, but are above normal. The catch-22 there is that the herbs used to bring cortisol levels down are contraindicted for Hashimoto's. As for all the little fires - yup! Little ones popping up all over. We do seem to have her Thyroid numbers at a good level for her now - she is no longer freezing cold and lethargic all the time. And her hair stopped falling out - that was a big one!

Her G-I issues are diarrhea and constipation, bloating, acid reflux, and a general feeling of tummy discomfort. She never feels well. She gets up 2-4 hours before she needs to be somewhere so that she can eat and give her stomach time to settle down. Nausea is occasional, but I believe she now says it happens only after bingeing (but I could be wrong about that). I'm sorry to hear of your daughter's struggles.

Not at this point - she does not like yams, but she loves rice and potatoes but is not allowed them on the AIP diet that she is following for her Hashimoto's and G-I issues She can have cooked carrots, but she doesn't like them. She isn't supposed to have raw veggies. She could eat applesauce, but she worries that it has too much natural sugar and will bother her. Trust me, I have tried to expand her diet with the 'safe' AIP options, but she is extremely picky. She is also worried that one slice of watermelon or cup of applesauce will cause her to want it all the time. Hmmm, I just realized that she is intentionally restricting herself there! Interesting..... She refuses to eat a food she likes, even though it is healthy, because she worries about being unable to control herself when eating it.....What does that mean?

I just checked the fridge and it looks like her meal of a salmon fillet and green beans is less than 400 cal - certainly not enough, especially since she went to work for a 5 hour shift this afternoon. She did eat that twice today, once at 9 and then again at 12:30, but still not enough. I made a pork roast for dinner that she likes, and I'll get some cauliflower rice to cook along with some broccoli or beans (whichever she prefers). As a mom, we all want to fix our kids. I am no different; I have watched her struggle for years and it hurts my mama heart so much! I will certainly look into the book. Thank you.

She is 20, but as I said, has a pretty sedentary lifestyle. 1500cal/day is likely too low. I've never been a calorie counter - no one in my family is. We just eat healthy and are just ourselves. I just pulled 1500 out of the air, with no reason behind it.

Like I said above, she is only restricted in what she eats due to her G-I issues, and she shops for herself and prepares most of her own food. I could totally be missing it though, and I'm willing to look into it. Whenever I cook, I make sure that it is something she can eat and I always put 1-2 servings on her shelf in the fridge. My sons and husband know not to take food from that shelf. And, when I say servings, I don't weigh it or anything, I just divide up the food pretty equally and she eats however much she wants (all at once or in a couple of meals). She cooks a pound of ground beef and eats it over the course of 2 meals or all at once, depending if she had time to eat at work during the day or not. She'll have green beans or broccoli with it, and a cassava wrap or chips. There is a chance she is not getting enough calories, but I don't think it is intentional; more a by-product of her dietary limitations. I know what she eats most days because I'm usually home. I am going to put her food intake into my account on MFP to see how many calories she is eating, and I'll get back to you about it.

She eats green beans and broccoli and they don't bother her. Cassava and plantain chips and coconut only bother her when she eats too much - like everyday for 4-5 days in a row, or if she eats the entire bag in one day. She has done that before and we laughed about how hard it is to stop nibbling - can't have just a handful! But now I see that it was much more than that. I have no idea if she is over the calories on binge days. I am just finding out about it. I would think so, considering she told me she at 3 pork chops, 2 salmon fillets and a big bowl of green beans one afternoon/evening. But I don't know what else she ate that day. She leads a very sedentary lifestyle so no need for more than 1500 or so calories/day (just a guess, may not be accurate). She kept a food diary for nearly 6 months when doing Nutritional Response Testing, but it never showed much correlation with any of her G-I issues. I don't know if she was bingeing at that time though. She has always been reluctant to keep one unfortunately.

Thank you. I do ask her what she wants to do and let her take the lead. She asked me to drive her to work today, so I did, and we talked about how it doesn't resolve the actual issue; it's just a coping mechanism for now. It may turn out that it needs to be longterm, but that's what we'll figure out with the drs. As for keeping busy - I was very honest with her about it and why I thought it would help. It ended up being a moot point since she had to go to work, but she does have lots of plans for the weekend with her friends, so I think she acknowledges that it helps. It's not so much that she restricts food, it's that she cannot eat much variety due to her G-I issues and she gets tired of eating the same things repeatedly. So I wonder about nutritional deficiencies from that perspective. As for your concern about barging in and taking away the candy bars, my questions were more from the perspective of what to do with a binge eater - if that was a helpful strategy or not. As I said above, she is only restricted due to her G-I issues, but not in the amount to eat. I don't know if I am explaining it well enough, but honestly, there is zero concern that she is restricting/starving herself and then bingeing. I could be wrong, but I don't see it. She has Hashimoto's and is going for blood work tomorrow morning. I just sent a note to her dr asking to check the things you mentioned above. Her dr will do pretty much whatever I ask, so no problem there. No meds for mental health issues, but it is a possibility....

I have wondered about her calorie intake. She eats a lot of green beans and broccoli, as well as cassava and plantain chips. But somedays she eats only meat or fish. She really needs a dietician again. That's what I thought, but loving herself has never been her easy for her and I don't know why....partly typical teenage girl body image issues, I suppose, but there are mental health issues at play as well, I am realizing.

Thank you so much. Thank you, I have and will continue to do so. Regarding the policing - it is so hard for me not to worry about why she is in the bathroom for so long, why is she in her room with the door closed, why isn't she home from work...My mind immediately goes to bingeing now and I hate it. I forgot that she has to work from 1-5 today, so I had all sorts of stuff planned to keep her busy - cleaning, movie, gardening, etc. I am not very subtle, and she's not stupid, so she would know what I am up to. I will go over your points with her. I think she knows that on one level, but the feelings of shame and disgust are overpowering her rationale side. We will definitely be seeing a therapist and a nutritionist/dietician who specializes in eating disorders. Hopefully we can find one who also knows about her G-I issues I will share the podcast with her, or perhaps we will listen together. They were gluten free oats, but she doesn't eat any grains anymore. She has been dairy, sugar, gluten, and grain free for 2 or 3 years now. A specific question - she says she often stops and buys the chocolate bars and chips to eat in her car or later in her room. The grocery store she shops at (Mom's Market) is right next to her work place. She says when she is shopping for regular things she picks up the extras. We talked about ways to avoid that - I could drive her to work (but she doesn't want to inconvenience me), I could do all the shopping, or she could leave her debit/credit card/cash at home. I feel like those things are too controlling on my part. They obviously do not address the underlying problem, but are they viable solutions for now? Or harmful to her and just forcing it more underground?

Dd and I talked late into the night and into the early hours this morning. She found it difficult to start, but I was able to ask the 'right' questions and guess some answers, kind of like a version of 20 questions that works with her when she wants/needs to talk but cannot start on her own. She said she has an unhealthy relationship with food, that she thinks about it constantly, and all the things she cannot have, and how it is hard not to when everything is connected to food. She lost a lot of weight when she went away to university in 2017, and felt like she wasn't getting enough calories (feeling light headed and weak), and then she would binge on oatmeal or GF pasta and crackers. I'm not sure if that is when the bingeing started or not. She ended up having to come home because she was so sick. She is disgusted by her behaviour and feels ashamed of her inability to stop. She binges on stuff she shouldn't have, like chocolate (but it's all dairy free - kind of an lol there), but also regular food She said one afternoon/evening when she was home alone that she at 3 pork chops, 2 salmon fillets, and a bag of green beans. She was so full that she threw up later that evening. She showed me an empty bag that had wrappers from the thing she had eaten a few hours earlier - a bag of plantain chips and 6 chocolate bars/Justin's nut butter cups. She knew she would feel awful, but she couldn't help herself. She doesn't know how to control it - she can always stop on her way home from work and buy things. She binges while in the car, in her room, or in her bathroom. I offered to keep her CC and Debit card, but she wasn't sure about that because she needs gas. I offered to get gas for her. We'll see what she says. She is not looking forward to seeing her PCP next week, so I will go in with her and will help her say what she can't; we'll all cry - including the dr! My friend who is a sport's psychologist asked if I thought she needed an inpatient treatment program, but I think taking her away from her job at the vet's office would be too hard on her, but we'll look at all the options. She doesn't want her dad to know (ashamed), or for me to miss work or fun stuff (guilt), but I think I need to tell dh at some point. I am not going to make it obvious that I am skipping things, but I have already found someone to take my shifts at work this afternoon and tomorrow. I don't think she knew I was scheduled so that's ok. Thank you all for your understanding and kind words. It means a lot to me to be able to get advice from people who have been through this. I am able to talk to one of my sisters, but she doesn't have any experience with it - she's a shoulder to cry on and a non-judgmental sounding board for me.