Is this possible?

[meggie]

I know I'm posting a lot of new threads today. I'm sorry :blushing:

 

Soooo....I've been trying to do a gluten and dairy free diet for the boys. I was hoping it would help Pigby with his digestive issues. I was hoping it would help Digby with his eczema issues. He would often wake at night screaming and crying uncontrollably and itching like crazy. Itching all over his body, not just where his flare ups occur. My friend has eczema and did the GFCF diet and said the diet cured her.

 

We've been going for about two weeks, I think. I am not perfect about it. There were some crazy days where I just gave up completely and told Dh to pick something up for dinner. But I've noticed that any time we mess up is a night that Digby wakes and cries. Anytime we make it through the day w/o gluten or dairy, he sleeps through the night. Even without his hydrocortizone and lotion treatments.

 

Is it really possible his eczema is affected this seriously by gluten and/or dairy? Am I imagining things? Every single time. This is not how I was imagining this experiment would go; I was really hoping it would prove that they weren't sensitive and we could go back to eating cheese someday.

[LittleIzumi]

Yes. Quite possible.

[Ghee]

I'm sure it is possible. My "contact dermatitis" eczema went away completely when I went off refined sugars. I had been battling it on my hands for going on 3 years, getting progressively worse. I know now that if it resurfaces, I have probably ingested sugar unknowingly. I know my skin is a very good indicator of how toxic my diet is. Acne, rashes, all trace back to bad dietary choices.

[Dandelion]

Yes, it is possible - and no, you're not imagining things. :)

 

For many people, the sensitivity fades with time (presumably, as their gut heals and the proteins from gluten/dairy are properly absorbed), so you may not have to stick with the diet forever.

 

Glad you're seeing such a positive response!

[meggie]

Yes. Quite possible.

Crap.

[Bang!Zoom!]

Meggie, I've talked to a lot of families that use GF for the home. I would say absolutely it's a big deal depending on the degree you discover that there is a sensitivity.

 

Some of the moms in the Special Needs forum are total experts on this too. Might want to poke around in there and say hi and ask questions also; sometimes they miss posts up here in the General Forum.

 

I'm doing a slow phase in of GF in our house without any big announcement. They'll never know it even happened.

 

I've seen really good results in person with other families, and health improvements.

 

We are almost a lactose free household; and I know it's a problem around here.

[Mommyof4ks]

Yes, I fall asleep and sleep through the night as long as I do not mess up. I discovered a few things that had hidden gluten after waking up in e middle of the night.

[meggie]

Yes, it is possible - and no, you're not imagining things. :)

 

For many people, the sensitivity fades with time (presumably, as their gut heals and the proteins from gluten/dairy are properly absorbed), so you may not have to stick with the diet forever.

 

Glad you're seeing such a positive response!

 

Do you have to do the GAPS diet to heal the gut or can just staying away from their intolerances heal the gut too? (just in case you know. if you don't, that's ok :001_smile:)

[Trilliums]

I was really hoping it would prove that they weren't sensitive and we could go back to eating cheese someday.

 

This just made me laugh. It kind of summed up several life experiences. Ok, I might have an odd sense of humor though. :)

 

I hope it works out, cheese or no cheese, whatever the case may be.

 

DS has eczema too, but not so bad. It worsened when we moved. He was basically free of it, but now gets flare ups once in a while. Definitely many contributing factors.

[Parrothead]

I've often heard that dairy brings out the worst in people's eczema.

 

I've also heard of people's allergies being healed after a time. Dh used to be allergic to all manner of foods. He eats anything now. So there is hope.

[Dandelion]

Do you have to do the GAPS diet to heal the gut or can just staying away from their intolerances heal the gut too? (just in case you know. if you don't, that's ok :001_smile:)

 

You don't have to do GAPS. DS8's gut is healing and we're not doing GAPS - we've simply removed all his "reactive" foods for the past 1.5 years and added in several beneficial supplements (anti-inflammatory vitamins, etc. that help with gut healing).

 

Just in the last few months, we've experimented with a previously reactive food (eggs) and were able to add that back into his diet with no negative effects. We'll be doing a trial with gluten and dairy soon.

 

You might also have success with digestive enzymes - many people with food sensitivities can tolerate their reactive foods if they take enzymes (made specifically to digest dairy, gluten, etc.) with each meal. Houston Enzymes is a good source: http://www.houston-enzymes.com/

[meggie]

You don't have to do GAPS. DS8's gut is healing and we're not doing GAPS - we've simply removed all his "reactive" foods for the past 1.5 years and added in several beneficial supplements (anti-inflammatory vitamins, etc. that help with gut healing).

 

Just in the last few months, we've experimented with a previously reactive food (eggs) and were able to add that back into his diet with no negative effects. We'll be doing a trial with gluten and dairy soon.

 

You might also have success with digestive enzymes - many people with food sensitivities can tolerate their reactive foods if they take enzymes (made specifically to digest dairy, gluten, etc.) with each meal. Houston Enzymes is a good source: http://www.houston-enzymes.com/

 

thanks!

[She Reads a Lot]

I know the GF/DF diet can be a challenge, especially for kiddos. In case this helps, the cookbook below made all the difference for me as the primary cook around here (with a GF/DF hubby):

 

http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Isaiah-Gluten-Free-Dairy-Free-Delicious/dp/1606521659/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341356832&sr=1-1&keywords=cooking+for+isaiah

 

It has a ton of excellent recipes and most are kid friendly. They are pretty easy to prepare and are delicious. I cannot emphasize enough how much easier this has made my GF/DF cooking! Now we can all eat the same meals and the boys don't even realize what they are eating is GF/DF!!

 

HTH,

Christina

[Ellie]

Yes, it's absolutely possible (believe your own eyes!).

 

In a few months, you could try reintroducing a smidgeon of dairy and see what happens, but I wouldn't try gluten again.

[meggie]

I know the GF/DF diet can be a challenge, especially for kiddos. In case this helps, the cookbook below made all the difference for me as the primary cook around here (with a GF/DF hubby):

 

http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Isaiah-Gluten-Free-Dairy-Free-Delicious/dp/1606521659/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341356832&sr=1-1&keywords=cooking+for+isaiah

 

It has a ton of excellent recipes and most are kid friendly. They are pretty easy to prepare and are delicious. I cannot emphasize enough how much easier this has made my GF/DF cooking! Now we can all eat the same meals and the boys don't even realize what they are eating is GF/DF!!

 

HTH,

Christina

Thank you! I just requested it from the library! Hopefully it'll be so wonderful that I will have to order my own from Amazon. I'm very excited.:D

[meggie]

Yes, it's absolutely possible (believe your own eyes!).

 

In a few months, you could try reintroducing a smidgeon of dairy and see what happens, but I wouldn't try gluten again.

 

I know I should just believe it, but I like staying in denial sometimes. It seems less overwhelming there:lol:

[Julie Smith]

Very possible.

 

My dh gets eczema if he ever over loads on dairy.

 

But as long as he stays away from it most of the time he is fine if he eats some.

[joannqn]

DS's eczema was completely caused by detergent. I've never had full blown eczema, but I'm rather uncomfortable if I use any projects with sodium lauryl sulfate. I use glycerin soap, SLS-free toothpaste, and SLS-free laundry soap. I still use normal shampoo, but I need to find an alternative because I develop itchy, raw, oozy skin on my scalp occasionally that heals when I switch to baking soda rinses for shampoo. I'm just lazy.

 

I mention it because it could be another thing to look into.

 

DS had severe learning delays caused by lactose intolerance. He caught up and you can't tell he was every diagnosed with learning delays today. He can have dairy now.

 

I mention this because it is amazing how much food can heal and harm.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I know a woman whose eczema mostly went away after she went GFCF. Eventually, she figured out that it wasn't gluten or dairy that was the problem, but potatoes (and maybe tomatoes, I can't remember). Anything "enriched" has vitamins that may have been grown on potatoes, so that's why going gluten-free helped. In a similar way, dairy itself is okay for her, but she is sensitive to what the cows or goats eat. Before she changed her diet, her eczema was so bad her hands looked crippled.

[acurtis75]

Going gluten and dairy free cuts out a lot of additives and preservatives that are in processed foods these days. Any of a number of these things cause allergies. I have a good friend who had th exact itching problem you referred to. He and his wife initially thought it was wheat or gluten because changing diet fixed it but later discovered it was processed food additives.

 

You might try the blog 100 days of real food for ideas about cutting processed foods which might allow you to figure out whether or not some dairy and gluten would be okay.

[mom4him]

Crap.

 

This made me laugh. :lol:

 

The better you are at sticking with it the more healing your children will gain. We have followed a VERY strick diet STRICKLY now for 6 1/2 yrs. You learn to plan ahead for those times when busyness takes over. For us there are always something like scrambled eggs, gf pancakes with eggs, left over roast with a frozen veggie, crumbled hamberger(taco meat with out the seasoning packets but herbs that I add) over broken lettuce. It just take a bit to figure out the meals that will work quick and easy for you and your family but it will happen.:D

[Mom22ns]

We were GFCF for 9 years for ds. We did trials every few years, and it was always terrible, then one day it wasn't. We were able to add back gluten and a year later dairy. It is hard at first, but you get used to it and it becomes normal. For us it was completely worth it.

[meggie]

This just made me laugh. It kind of summed up several life experiences. Ok, I might have an odd sense of humor though. :)

 

I hope it works out, cheese or no cheese, whatever the case may be.

 

DS has eczema too, but not so bad. It worsened when we moved. He was basically free of it, but now gets flare ups once in a while. Definitely many contributing factors.

 

This made me laugh. :lol:

 

The better you are at sticking with it the more healing your children will gain. We have followed a VERY strick diet STRICKLY now for 6 1/2 yrs. You learn to plan ahead for those times when busyness takes over. For us there are always something like scrambled eggs, gf pancakes with eggs, left over roast with a frozen veggie, crumbled hamberger(taco meat with out the seasoning packets but herbs that I add) over broken lettuce. It just take a bit to figure out the meals that will work quick and easy for you and your family but it will happen.:D

 

Well, living without cheese is really sad. :001_unsure: <--- See my sad face?

 

:tongue_smilie:

[She Reads a Lot]

Thank you! I just requested it from the library! Hopefully it'll be so wonderful that I will have to order my own from Amazon. I'm very excited.:D

 

Yay! I'm glad it looks good to you--and that they have it at your library! I know it was a bit off topic from your original post, but I figured it couldn't hurt to share. I know how tough cooking GF/DF can be, especially for kids.

 

Hope it works great for you!

Christina