For those of you on a GFCF diet...

[Jennefer@SSA]

how long before you began seeing results? We started OmegaBrites in Nov and are up to a therapeutic dose (2/3 tsp.) daily and are in week 4 of GFCF life. How long before I should expect to see any changes? We are still weeding out tiny bits of gluten from our diet (vanilla extract and baking powder were surprises to me) but 98% is gone. I only have the hidden gluten to find in everyday products.

 

Thanks for your help in advance.

Jennefer

[8filltheheart]

Jennefer,

 

When we made dietary changes, I remember reading that many experienced dramatic results within a couple of weeks and others had minor behavior changes that took months to appear.

 

We were apparently in the last group or in the no change anyway group b/c we gave up after a few months with no change.

 

The 2 most dramatic changes we have seen have been eliminating electronic stimulation (takes about 3 weeks to see results.....there was huge behavioral changes) and now, enrolling him in school. I personally haven't seen him since he started school, but have talked to him everyday. He sounds totally different and happy. Dh says it is almost like seeing a different person b/c he is so much calmer and content.

 

Hope you find something that helps. (((hugs))) :)

[Kathy in MD]

I don't remember how long it can take the wheat/gluten piece to take effect, but I think that that can take several months.

 

We didn't do the whole GFCF diet. Ds's dev ped just had us remove cassien. If that hadn't worked, we would have tried wheat next.

[chiguirre]

We did GFCF for 6 months. We strictly followed the diet, but it didn't work for us with either boy. Our DAN doctor had us on the diet for 6 months. If you see no difference starting the diet OR starting to add gluten and casein back in, you can safely say that those are not triggers for your dc.

 

We've never found a magic bullet for either ds, although Risperdal helps our oldest be less impulsive and aggressive. Both boys have gotten much better with ABA and growing up:D.

[JamBerry]

We saw results within 2 weeks of removing casein, and continued improvements with removing gluten, though that was far more subtle.

We would also see regressions when 'infractions' happened (like when ds would eat one bite of pizza and for the next 3-5 days people who knew him well would ask us what on earth was wrong and did he eat pizza again!). Over time, however, his reactions to infractions became MUCH less dramatic.

After, oh, maybe 4 years on the diet, we added gluten back in (well, rather HE did). No problems at first, but after 2-3 weeks he started having some bowel issues, and after another 2-3 weeks it was clear to everyone that we had to go back to full gfcf.

We also saw gradual improvements with the SCD diet on top of the gfcf diet. We are no longer SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet), but he still does better with a higher protein diet and less gfcf substitute kind of junky stuff. (That, btw, is my 2nd biggest warning to folks wanting to do gfcf. First, is make sure you're REALLY gfcf before you discount it. I've known folks who THOUGHT they were gfcf, and then I turned the margarine tub around, read the ingredients list to them, and pointed out that whey is a problem, for example. But the other thing is that lots of times folks go gfcf and start trying to find gfcf substitute foods their kids will eat, and the result is that they're eating a lot of gfcf cookies and snacks and breads and pancakes and brownies and chips and junk food, and junk food is still junk food, even if it's gfcf. We found the best results with eating a HEALTHY diet that is also gfcf rather than 'just' gfcf but still very junky.)

HTH

Pam

<><

[at the beach]

You know, for us, we saw results almost immediately. I have heard that there is a period of withdrawal, so that can cause even more troublesome behavior.

 

Over the last almost 3 months, my dd's piano teacher has noticed a difference of dd being more focused and calmer. We see it. She's not as fixated, doesn't have as many meltdowns. When she has a meltdown, she's easier to redirect. She interacts better. It's like her issues are not as obvious if that makes sense. Oh, and one thing I have noticed as I think about it, she used to be addicted to sweet drinks--if she could get a hold of Sprite, she'd guzzle a 20 ounce bottle in record time. That has definitely subsided with her.

 

All that said, I agree it's really important to not substitute gfcf junk food. We certainly did some of that initially just to get her off the other stuff. But I think my child reacts to dyes, for example. So, I'm trying to slowly get that stuff out as well. I also am giving her a supplement called Behavior Balance, which someone on here mentioned. I also think you could look into adding in probiotics.

 

I have heard you need to stick with this for 6 months to know if it really works. I've read great things about SCD as well.

 

The way I looked at it, for her, it couldn't hurt because her diet was so restricted anyhow. She definitely eats more variety now than she did before going gfcf.

 

Best,

Anita

[CactusPair]

We started shortly after ds turned three. We noticed changes within a few days. We had to eliminate soy, too, though, before we saw dramatic changes in behavior and physical symptoms.

 

A couple of times I tried a few foods with gluten/cheese, but ds went wild. There was a huge difference in the way he acted and felt.

 

He us now able to tolerate small amounts a soy a few times a week, but we keep it limited.

 

Best wishes