Dairy elimination - what did you see, if you did it?

[Spryte]

If you eliminated dairy in a child's diet, what type of changes did you see? Physical (eczema, asthma, etc?)? Behavioral? Anything else?

 

DS has confirmed IgE allergy to dairy, despite consuming it regularly. Not an LTFA, like his other allergies, so we were not sure what to think. We eliminated it a few weeks ago and are seeing some interesting changes in him. Not sure if it's all attributable to the dietary change, so curious to see what others experienced upon eliminating dairy.

[Dandelion]

For DS, we eliminated a few other foods at the same time as dairy, so I can't say for sure that the changes we saw were directly linked to eliminating dairy.

 

From a behavioral standpoint, we saw a marked reduction in aggression and irritability, greater flexibility, and just an overall improved mood. Physical improvements/changes were no more bedwetting, no more excessive mucus and nasal allergy issues (DS used to sneeze and blow his nose for the first 30 min. after waking - every day for years), and better sleep. All of these changes came about within 1-3 weeks of removing DS's reactive foods (identified by an IgG blood test).

[Spryte]

Thanks for sharing your experience, Julie. Ours is similar, and it's only been a few weeks. I'm interested in seeing if others have had the same experience - I am surprised at the changes we are seeing. Speech patterns are smoother, no grinding of teeth for the last few nights, an overall calmer attitude. It feels premature to chalk it all up to no dairy, but I'm hopeful.

[Lisa in Jax]

Like Julie, we eliminated multiple things at the same time, but we saw:

 

Elimination of bedwetting

Increased flexibility (fewer tantrums)

More positive mood (happier, less grumpy)

Better sleep

Elimination of constipation

Reading level skyrocketed (he was in Kindergarten)

Fewer "know-it-all" behaviors

Decreased hyperactivity

[Rosie_0801]

I have to keep ds' dairy and wheat intake low or he gets the grandmother of all nappy rashes. Rashes that look like he'd been sitting in the same nappy for 12 hours or something, and would take a week to clear up.

[Unicorn.]

We took ds off of dairy when he was 3 or 4, because it made him bounce off the walls. The only thing I can remember, is that he didn't bounce as much. Of course, we then realized what other foods set him off- like red delicious apples, grapes, etc. I slowly started letting him have it back, and the reactions weren't as severe. He is addicted to milk though. I kind of wish I had kept him off of it.

[Dandelion]

Like Julie, we eliminated multiple things at the same time, but we saw:

 

Elimination of bedwetting

Increased flexibility (fewer tantrums)

More positive mood (happier, less grumpy)

Better sleep

Elimination of constipation

Reading level skyrocketed (he was in Kindergarten)

Fewer "know-it-all" behaviors

Decreased hyperactivity

 

Interesting. This mirrors what we saw with the exception of constipation elimination. That wasn't an issue for DS, although he used to have a lot of gas and that went away after the diet changes. I didn't correlate academic improvements with diet, but school did become much easier once we removed reactive foods due to the reduction in problem behaviors. I also forgot to list decreased hyperactivity in my previous post.

[Miss Peregrine]

Headaches, stomach aches, red rings around eyes.

[AMJ]

I have to keep ds' dairy and wheat intake low or he gets the grandmother of all nappy rashes. Rashes that look like he'd been sitting in the same nappy for 12 hours or something, and would take a week to clear up.

 

 

Lanolin Wipes -- not usually found near the other wipes, but in the breastfeeding section. These are MIRACLE WORKERS for rashes, and great for rash prevention. When my DD11 was a baby she had some nasty rashes until I found out about these. Cleared the rash quickly, and kept it from returning. We gave the daycare permission to use DD's wipes on any other child who came in with a rash, and to hand out a few to parents. Our 2nd DD never had diaper rash.

 

I will also say -- these work great on adults, too. Chaffed from being in wet clothes too long (soaked at the beach, caught in rain, whatever)? Wipe down the area with these. "Girl" or incontinence issues causing discomfort? These help heal it. Very soothing.

[NorthwestMom]

How long did it take, generally, to see these results? I am considering taking DD8 off of dairy.

[Staceyshoe]

My oldest ds was off dairy for 2 years because it was a trigger for major reflux (later suspected as an autoimmune reaction in EGID). He ate it again with no noticeable problem. After a few weeks, his behavior was so extreme. He is my child who has never really been angry--frustrated, yes, but not angry. (My youngest, on the other hand, was born a spitfire.) My oldest was miserable. He was angry 24/7. He walked around looking for any excuse at all just so he could blow some steam--and he would throw completely out-of-control fits for hours every day. Nothing gave him pleasure. His entire personality was different. I told dh that we needed to seek psychological intervention ASAP. This was way way beyond normal. He suggested cutting out dairy first (based upon family history with one of his siblings). Two days later, my sweet boy was back. At age 4, *he* recognized the difference and wanted nothing to do with dairy. I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself.

 

We've done some more recent experiments with him and dairy. He seems to tolerate a few exposures well, but it just cannot become a regular part of his diet without causing drastic changes in behavior and personality. He does *not* have an IgE allergy. (My youngest does have an IgE allergy to dairy and has not experienced these emotional and behavioral changes during accidental exposure.)

 

I can't help but wonder what our lives would be like if ds1 didn't have reflux and had never gone on a dairy-free trial. I don't even like to think about it. In a strange way, our nightmarish experience with his eating issues was a blessing in disguise.

[Staceyshoe]

How long did it take, generally, to see these results? I am considering taking DD8 off of dairy.

 

Pretty consistently, we notice a 48 hour delay before changes are seen (and then it's drastic).

[Lisa in Jax]

I believe the differences began to be clear within about three days, and got much clearer in a couple of weeks. In our case, gluten was also a huge culprit. Gluten takes 3-4 weeks to clear, so that might be why we saw slower improvements. If dairy is the major offender, you ought to see improvements in days.

 

Lisa

[Lisa in Jax]

 

Interesting. This mirrors what we saw with the exception of constipation elimination. That wasn't an issue for DS, although he used to have a lot of gas and that went away after the diet changes. I didn't correlate academic improvements with diet, but school did become much easier once we removed reactive foods due to the reduction in problem behaviors. I also forgot to list decreased hyperactivity in my previous post.

 

Your response reminded me that in addition to the constipation being resolved, the bathroom stench decreased markedly, from "WOW, it smells like there's been an elderly alcoholic with digestive distress in there!" to more normal smells.

[Lisa in Jax]

By the way, here's a link to a list of things that indicate dairy ingredients, so that you can ferret out hidden sources:

 

http://www.livingwithout.com/resources/casein_free.html

[Lisa in Jax]

Double post. Sorry.