Feingold update

[JTsMom]

We're approaching the 6 week mark, and I *think* we're seeing some results. It's certainly not a cure-all for us, but I'm pretty sure there has been a fair amount of improvement as a result of the changes. Things were actually going really well for a while, but the past maybe 5 days or so have been pretty rough. We did have a playgroup here, and there was a lot of non-approved food floating around, but I don't think DS ate anything he shouldn't have. Is it normal to have what looks like a reaction, for no apparent reason sometimes?

I have a list of supplements the ped wants to start that I've been stalling on b/c I really am sick of trying multiple things at once and not knowing what's having an effect.

Also, now that we're at this 6 week mark, I'd really like to think about trialing some new foods, and I'm having a hard time deciding what should come first. I REALLY would love to ditch the GFCF stuff, b/c that would make feeding DS immeasurably easier. But should I try some salicylates first? DS is basically eating almost zero fruits and vegs at this point.

[JBaxter]

FYI "I" found with Nathan he tolerates salicylates better on a fuller tummy. OJ in the morning is BAD BAD BAD but an orange later in the day after lunch is much better. Its only been in last 3 months we have gotten oranges again.

Do only one fruit at a time if he reacts you will be able to tell. Oranges were Nathan's biggest reactions.

[JTsMom]

Thanks for the tip. I probably need to do some type of journal or something. I always think I'm going to keep it all straight, but end up confusing myself. Spaghetti sauce, apples and blueberries have been the big things here, so they'd definitely be on the list of things to try first. Surprisingly, he hasn't griped too much about giving up orange juice, but we never had it that frequently.

[JBaxter]

We had no problems with any of those. In fact we eat a lot of all those.

[JTsMom]

We had no problems with any of those. In fact we eat a lot of all those.
:thumbsup: Crossing my fingers!

[wimama]

My DS is salicylate sensitive. We added tomatoes back first then tried strawberries. I didn't realize how high of a salicylate fruit was until we tried it. DS had a nice big reaction to the strawberries and I was crying thinking he would be very limited on his foods he could eat. But, he can tolerate qite a bit of S2 in moderation even though he is sensitive. The key for us was to test slowly, some of the reactions DS had were milder and smaller, so harder to notice. And, space out the stage 2 foods at first. My DS gets a build up reaction to saliclates. He can eat just about any fruit except oranges, apples and strawberries. He can handle a little bit of some of those 3 fruits or more of other Stage 2 in Stage 2 product. But, if I feed him too many foods containing stage 2 over the course of 2-3 days he reacts.

One more word of advise. If may want to test with organic stage 2 fruits/veggies. I have noticed that DS tolerates some Stage 2 fruits better when they are organic. Like strawberries and grapes for example.

[JBaxter]

I only buy organic apples & strawberries so maybe that was the difference

[JTsMom]

We try to stick with organics as much as possible here too. Definitely dirty dozen stuff at the very least, so hopefully that will work in our favor.

I've been sitting here thinking about what could be different this week, and it just occurred to me that we just stopped doing school (we HS) at about the time this started. I'll bet he's missing the structure. He also had a fever 2 days ago, so that might have something to do with it as well. He's been extremely hyper and loud, and easily frustrated. You know what the really big improvement has been though? He had this pretty strong OCD thing going on with fingernails, and it 100% disappeared! Isn't that amazing? That's the first time we've ever done something that had that kind of effect, and believe me, we've tried a lot! I could kick myself for waiting so long to try this. I really resisted b/c we do eat so many natural and organic things, and so little artificial junk, that I really didn't think it would help. In fact, that's why I went to the GFCF diet first, even though it was so much more difficult.

Any thoughts on what to try first- salicylates or wheat? I'm fairly certain GFCF wasn't doing anything for us, and we've been doing that since early January.

[wimama]

I only buy organic apples & strawberries so maybe that was the difference

When my DS had the big reaction to strawberries, it was to conventional strawberries. I had picked the strawberries up at Whole Foods but they were not organic. Someone on the FG board suggested we retest with organic strawberries and we did. He did dramatically better with the organic strawberries, but still had a reaction. So, I think my DS reacts to the pesticide on some of the fruits. We don't eat 100% organic, but try to stick to organic for the dirty dozen. For my DS it seems to make a difference.

[wimama]

We try to stick with organics as much as possible here too. Definitely dirty dozen stuff at the very least, so hopefully that will work in our favor.

I've been sitting here thinking about what could be different this week, and it just occurred to me that we just stopped doing school (we HS) at about the time this started. I'll bet he's missing the structure. He also had a fever 2 days ago, so that might have something to do with it as well. He's been extremely hyper and loud, and easily frustrated. You know what the really big improvement has been though? He had this pretty strong OCD thing going on with fingernails, and it 100% disappeared! Isn't that amazing? That's the first time we've ever done something that had that kind of effect, and believe me, we've tried a lot! I could kick myself for waiting so long to try this. I really resisted b/c we do eat so many natural and organic things, and so little artificial junk, that I really didn't think it would help. In fact, that's why I went to the GFCF diet first, even though it was so much more difficult.

Any thoughts on what to try first- salicylates or wheat? I'm fairly certain GFCF wasn't doing anything for us, and we've been doing that since early January.

It is really your call on what to add back first. What do you miss the most in your diets? I think it would take longer to go back to being GFCF if a reaction does resurface from adding those thing back into his diet. Our Stage 2 reactions are pretty mild and don't tend to last real long. Of course every kid is different.

On another note, my DS always has reaction type symptoms before he gets sick. I am usually scratching my head trying to figure out what he is reacting to, and then the illness surfaces and it all makes sense.

[JTsMom]

Oh good, so maybe that's what's going on. I keep hoping he's going to settle back down, and that it wasn't just a fluke that things were going well.

[JTsMom]

Update to my update- I feel pretty confident that it is working. :cheerleader1: We had a big party for my mom last weekend. Lots of new people, lots of noise, lots of challenges. Being utter fools, we let Jason cheat on his diet. Hooooly cow! I have never seen anything like the change that resulted! He was like an entirely different child! He was crashing into people, spitting!, freaking out over everything, his OCD fingernail thing came right back, he wasn't communicating effectively, he was melting down. It was wild! How much of it was diet and how much of it was the environment, who knows, but I'm telling you, there was no way it wasn't partly diet. No. Way. Today was Day 5 back on, and he's back to the new and improved Jason! We had to go to the post office today, and normally that's a total disaster. I could see him struggling, but he managed to get through it without incident, and I was so proud of him! He was really proud of himself too.

He stills gets frustrated easily, but when that happens, I kind of script the appropriate words for him, and he pulls himself together and says them. That never would have happened before.

I'm excited to add in some supplements and see if that gets us a little further. I still don't think he's at a level that would enable success in every situation, but this program has been more effective than everything else we've tried combined. I'm a believer! Thank you guys so much for nudging me to try this. :bighand:

[KpbS]

Great update! Go Jason!!! So happy for your success :)

[Bens Momma]

Oh I'm SO happy for you :cheerleader1:! We've been on the program for 3.5 years and it has worked wonders! So glad you're seeing positive results, and yes I agree with PP, there will be set-backs here and there but usually with DS it signals that he's coming down with something or even a slight change in routine can throw him off. I would start adding fruits & veggies back one at a time spaced out in 5-7 day intervals so you will definitely know which ones are triggers for him. Keep up the good work!

Momma to 2 ACTIVE DS :bouncy::bouncy:
and the third musketeer arriving in early Fall!

[Cuckoomamma]

So happy to hear your successes!

[JBaxter]

So now you know..

Seems like every parent needs to try it just once. THEN it stuns you what you lived with every day. Glad things are back to normal for you.

[daisymommy]

:yay: Yeah!!! So thrilled for you guys that it's working and you've seen improvement!
Honestly, people don't believe me when I say this, but I have never heard of a parent trying it and not seeing a change for the better!

[wimama]

Awesome! Reactions are not fun, but boy are they a window into the past and a not so gentle reminder what everyday used to be like.

The reactions to salicylates may be milder, so do go slow testing Stage 2. Some kids react to suppliments as well, even some of the ones on the list. So, go slow testing everything out. Seeing is believing, isn't it!;)