Halloween through New's Years...

[PacificMama]

Hi,

 

Just a head's up for new lyme families. This time of year is notorious for seeing a relapse or worsening of lyme/other symptoms. My first 2 holiday seasons found me back to the LLMD with major relaspses on our hands. He said it's not uncommon.

 

Halloween starts the sugar binge, and it continues on through the December holidays. So hard to say "no" to treats for the little ones. Combine that with the decreased sleep / later bedtimes that usually takes place during the holiday break, and you may find yourself with some regression.

 

It is very hard at the holidays, but as best you can try to protect your child's sleep and diet. (for candy, I do try to use Feingold Diet approved items as they are free from the artificial flavors/colors that are so bad for neuro problem kids. And scratch bake too).

 

Good luck! Most importantly, enjoy the upcoming season with your children. It is a blessing to be on the journey to wellness.

 

Mary

[NancyD]

I agree with Mary wholeheartedly...and not just for LD but also PANDAS, ASD, ADHD, etc. Worst time of year for us. When my daughter was little I used to make up little packages of GFCF, soy free, and dye-free candy for Halloween and drop them off at the neighbors for them to give to my daughter. And twice when she was little we got together with another friend who was also on a restricted diet and we had a little party with fun activities and foods they could eat. They dressed up and had a blast. When she got older we found a way to escape Halloween. My least favorite day of the year! The hardest part is all the candy available at school. That drives me crazy! My daughter is no longer on a restricted diet as we cleared up her colitis but she knows that any kind of dyes make her psychotic so she's pretty good about staying away from it. I know when she has eaten something she is not supposed to -- it really affects her behavior.

 

I have also treated DD to other goodies (non-food items) to take away the sting from not being able to eat all these sweets. It does help.

 

 

Hi,

 

Just a head's up for new lyme families. This time of year is notorious for seeing a relapse or worsening of lyme/other symptoms. My first 2 holiday seasons found me back to the LLMD with major relaspses on our hands. He said it's not uncommon.

 

Halloween starts the sugar binge, and it continues on through the December holidays. So hard to say "no" to treats for the little ones. Combine that with the decreased sleep / later bedtimes that usually takes place during the holiday break, and you may find yourself with some regression.

 

It is very hard at the holidays, but as best you can try to protect your child's sleep and diet. (for candy, I do try to use Feingold Diet approved items as they are free from the artificial flavors/colors that are so bad for neuro problem kids. And scratch bake too).

 

Good luck! Most importantly, enjoy the upcoming season with your children. It is a blessing to be on the journey to wellness.

 

Mary

[justinekno]

My kids have never been big candy eaters but for the last two years I have traded my younger son's trick or treat candy for a present. This year he wants the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid so I'll give him a "coupon" for the book when it comes out later in the week. He gets to have fun collecting candy with his friends and also is excited to know he has a better treat waiting at home! I also took charge of the Halloween party at school and thankfully the teacher sent out a note saying "no sugar" since it was a morning party. Phew, got that one down for another year

 

I agree with Mary wholeheartedly...and not just for LD but also PANDAS, ASD, ADHD, etc. Worst time of year for us. When my daughter was little I used to make up little packages of GFCF, soy free, and dye-free candy for Halloween and drop them off at the neighbors for them to give to my daughter. And twice when she was little we got together with another friend who was also on a restricted diet and we had a little party with fun activities and foods they could eat. They dressed up and had a blast. When she got older we found a way to escape Halloween. My least favorite day of the year! The hardest part is all the candy available at school. That drives me crazy! My daughter is no longer on a restricted diet as we cleared up her colitis but she knows that any kind of dyes make her psychotic so she's pretty good about staying away from it. I know when she has eaten something she is not supposed to -- it really affects her behavior.

 

I have also treated DD to other goodies (non-food items) to take away the sting from not being able to eat all these sweets. It does help.

 

 

Hi,

 

Just a head's up for new lyme families. This time of year is notorious for seeing a relapse or worsening of lyme/other symptoms. My first 2 holiday seasons found me back to the LLMD with major relaspses on our hands. He said it's not uncommon.

 

Halloween starts the sugar binge, and it continues on through the December holidays. So hard to say "no" to treats for the little ones. Combine that with the decreased sleep / later bedtimes that usually takes place during the holiday break, and you may find yourself with some regression.

 

It is very hard at the holidays, but as best you can try to protect your child's sleep and diet. (for candy, I do try to use Feingold Diet approved items as they are free from the artificial flavors/colors that are so bad for neuro problem kids. And scratch bake too).

 

Good luck! Most importantly, enjoy the upcoming season with your children. It is a blessing to be on the journey to wellness.

 

Mary

[matis_mom]

There was an article once about how college kids all start getting sick right after the Halloween sugar binge.

I like the idea of trading the candy for a gift.

We were bargaining yesterday with the kids and reached the following "deal"...

* They get to keep 5 pieces of candy of their choosing and eat them on that day

* I take everything else and throw away anything that is just too junky (like bright red stuff and the like)

* They can have a piece of candy each on Sunday till it's gone

PANDAS ds has been awesome about staying on his diet, so I think he won't even touch this stuff. Got to go get something special for him.

I found an awesome GFCF chocolate cake mix at Wegmans, maybe we'll do that.

Have fun and stay safe and healthy everyone!

[philamom]

I love the idea of the coupon or trading in, but my daughter's hoarding would not allow it. And then she'll agonize over the offer and get very upset at me as well as herself. I usually sneak away pieces every night and make a visit to the outside trash can. It's one symptom I can't seem to budge! She is walking around the neighborhood without me, so I'm very proud of her for that!

[pixiesmommy]

We are trading for a gift too, and then I saw on a blog where a mom created the "Sugar Fairy" to come that night and take the candy and replace it with a gift, so we are stealing that idea this year

[smartyjones]

last year our dentist took candy trade-ins for a penny a piece - i think with a limit of $5 or $10. i was surprised at how excited my kids were about that. i believe they then sent it to troops overseas.

 

 

 

 

[P_Mom]

Halloween through New Years is also a big season for PANDAS flairs. It correlates with the high incidence of strep exposure during this time. Just a heads up for those dealing with PANDAS and Lyme.

[justinekno]

We have a local dentist doing that. I'm curious to see how many kids take him up on the offer. I think it's $5 for a max of 10 lbs of candy for each kid.

 

last year our dentist took candy trade-ins for a penny a piece - i think with a limit of $5 or $10. i was surprised at how excited my kids were about that. i believe they then sent it to troops overseas.

[smartyjones]

i just found out you don't need a dentist to do the donating. operation gratitude, based in CA, will take the candy and sent it. check out http://www.opgratitu...page=individual, scroll down to halloween.

 

my boys were excited. . .of course, their idea of a donated amount and mine are vastly different!