Trying food elimination in NJ

[KJS]

Hi Gina,

That's a great approach you took with your son. My daughter doesn't seem to have any problem with what we've changed inside the house because there are still plenty of foods - and yummy ones - that she can choose from. Thank goodness there are so many products available today that don't contain all the junk.

 

Your point about letting your son go at birthday parties and such is an excellent one - any added stress can increase the tics and then the whole thing backfires. Since we're not yet at the point of actually knowing what our daughter is sensitive to we don't see such a discernable reaction when she eats things that are not on the plan, but perhaps that will come with time.

 

Thanks for sharing!

Karen

[KJS]

After 5 weeks on the Feingold diet we are fairly certain that the things we've eliminated (Stage One of Feingold) are NOT the things that cause our daughter to tic. We haven't seen a change in her tics and we think she has been extremely compliant. There were a couple of days when she ate things that were probably somewhat off the diet, but most days have been right on target. I also eliminated most corn syrup just because I was reading labels closely and could easily do it.

 

The stress of being different - not trading food at school, not being able to eat at parties (and this is big party season), not eating the special lunches and snacks at school - isn't worth continuing since it doesn't seem to have helped with the tics. I will continue to try very hard to keep additives and preservatives out of the house now that I'm such a skilled shopper because I know that's healthier for all of us.

 

Thank you so much to those of you who offered your support and insights as I struggled through the past 5 weeks, especially Jeff, Andy, Daniel & Gina.

 

We're going to focus our energies now on the HANDLE exercises we received from the occupational therapist and see if those make a difference. I will continue to search for a practitioner to help us figure out our next steps, which are likely to include some testing so our efforts can be more targeted to our daughter's needs. We're giving her the summer off from eating restrictions since she'll be away from us for 2 nights each week and we'll basically have no control over her diet. Hopefully testing will happen over the summer so we're geared up to begin the next big thing in September.

 

Thanks, again.

Karen

[Jeff]

Karen, Sorry the FG program didn't work out for you. Sounds like you gave it a good try, and I admire you for sticking with it even though you weren't seeing good results.

I hope you and your daughter will soon find what triggers her tics.

Jeff

[quan_daniel]

sometimes stress will bring on the severity of tics..

being school is out..summer is here..you have no idea what is going through kids mind.

 

What is funny with food elimination..you are sometime gear up on testing for food allergy . One have to realize there is a difference between food allergy and food sensitivity.

 

Food allergy you will notice an immediate reaction upon ingestion of the food,

but food sensitivity is more like the body is not able to break down food properly

and toxin/yeast/etc builds up..

 

we only notice our childs trigger point when his tics where relative mild..and re-introduce potato again..bam..he tics severely..

 

potato is a nightshade group..has toxity in them..so is tomato in same group ..

but he has no or less reaction to it..

 

then I realize potato has the highest glycemic index(how fast carb breaks down into

sugar) and highest glycemic load(how much carb)..

 

then we realize we have been eating 80% carb diet..with white rice(white is always processed from brown rice)...

 

could this be the cause...who knows..only time will tell..

 

but we are adding lot more salad..lot more fruits..all have natural enzymes to break down carbs..

 

takes flax seeds and takes probiotic..all help in digestion..

 

he also was diagnosed with yeast overgrowth a year and a half ago..

 

who knows what that is... we just want to give him a healthier diet..

 

there will be parties...

 

but if you think about it..that might 10% of the time...

 

try to take care the 90% of the time..the times she spends at home eating.

 

 

 

After 5 weeks on the Feingold diet we are fairly certain that the things we've eliminated (Stage One of Feingold) are NOT  the things that cause our daughter to tic.  We haven't seen a change in her tics and we think she has been extremely compliant.  There were a couple of days when she ate things that were probably somewhat off the diet, but most days have been right on target.  I also eliminated most corn syrup just because I was reading labels closely and could easily do it. 

 

The stress of being different - not trading food at school, not being able to eat at parties (and this is big party season), not eating the special lunches and snacks at school - isn't worth continuing since it doesn't seem to have helped with the tics.  I will continue to try very hard to keep additives and preservatives out of the house now that I'm such a skilled shopper because I know that's healthier for all of us.

 

Thank you so much to those of you who offered your support and insights as I struggled through the past 5 weeks, especially Jeff, Andy, Daniel & Gina. 

 

We're going to focus our energies now on the HANDLE exercises we received from the occupational therapist and see if those make a difference.  I will continue to search for a practitioner to help us figure out our next steps, which are likely to include some testing so our efforts can be more targeted to our daughter's needs.  We're giving her the summer off from eating restrictions since she'll be away from us for 2 nights each week and we'll basically have no control over her diet.  Hopefully testing will happen over the summer so we're geared up to begin the next big thing in September.

 

Thanks, again.

Karen

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[mmazz]

Hi Karen:

 

Don't despair. I remember with my oldest son and allergies. Sometimes it was a combination of things. Like if he had OJ in the fall he would have a reaction, but OJ was fine the rest of the year. I know it sounds weird but only time will tell the whole story. As Daniel stated stress in a huge trigger and this diet thing probably envoked triggers that she could feel but not explain. My little one tells everyone about his diet. Sometimes he is proud of healthy eating and when there is a party at school he just hates it and me too. Claire and Chemar once told me that it is best to go slow. I think it is best to see what she craves and eliminate just that. Our bodies have a strange way of craving things that are not good for us. My little one craved dairy, candy and carbs. Since that was his diet it was easy for me to find the food triggers. But it was not JUST the food triggers. It was our life style. To much TV, to little family interaction. To much eating on the run and no schedule. Mind, body and spirit is what promotes a healthy lifestyle. My little one still tics from time to time but his way of life is truely much better. I don't know if you are supplementing, but remember that it took years to the signs to show outward, it will take time to detox. Good Luck and keep up the good work.

 

Marie

[KJS]

Marie,

Thanks for your encouraging and supportive note. You, too, Jeff & Daniel. You're right, Marie - it took years for the tics to emerge so we shouldn't think that the reversal of whatever that wayward process is will occur within mere months. One can always hope! How strange that your son is able to drink OJ at one time of the year but not at another. That really does speak to the interactions between food, environment and who knows what else. I am still in awe of those of you who have been able to pinpoint the triggers given all the confounding factors.

 

When I told my daughter this morning that she CAN have pizza at school today because we've finished our experiment with the Feingold diet her eyes lit up. I assured her that just because Feingold didn't help her tics doesn't mean that nothing will, and we'll continue our search. I described it as trying to unlock the mystery of her tics with a table full of keys in front of us and we don't know which key - or keys - will do it. We might try something related to food in the future, but I suspect we'll do it with a practitioner's guidance and after some testing.

 

Hopefully the summertime will help reduce everyone's stress levels and we'll all see improvements! Hugs to you,

Karen

[KJS]

Just to let the interested people know what's happening... I have noticed NO increase in my daughter's tic activity since going off the Feingold plan 4 days ago. Although being on the plan didn't seem to reduce her tics, I still wondered whether the clearing out of artificial colors, flavors, salicylates and preservatives might cause us to see anything once we resumed "usual" eating habits. No change for the worse, that's the good news. Still searching for something that will allow me to report a change for the better.

 

Karen

[quan_daniel]

karen,

hang in there..

with the fengold diet..

what was her meal like..

can u write down breakfast,snacks, lunch, and dinner..

we were on fengold diet..but doct allowed rice..

and I bet even rice is mostly gluten free..but not carbohydrate free..

and carbohyrate is full of sugar..that feeds bad yeast , and bacteria..

 

it is not easier finding the trigger..

[KJS]

Hi Daniel,

Here are some of the days I recorded while my daughter was on the Feingold diet. If you see a pattern here or something interesting I'll be happy to hear about it! Thanks for your interest.

 

You can assume that everything I purchased that was pre-made was a brand from the Feingold list (like cookies,cheese, cereal, etc). B=breakfast, L=lunch, etc.

 

B: Puffins cereal with milk, lemonade, Dole pineapple

L: cheese & crackers, watermelon, corn chips, chocolate chip cookies, water

S: Sun Chips, avocado, lemonade, peanut butter, water

D: home made chicken soup, home made challah (egg bread), artichoke, water

 

B: eggs, lemonade, challah, melon

L: tuna, pita bread, shake w/coconut milk, pineapple, papaya, kiwi

D: feta cheese on bread, beef burger, white rice, meringue cookies, water

 

B: Eggo whole wheat waffle with vanilla yogurt

L: cantaloupe, mozzarella cheese, crackers, chocolate

S: bagel w/cream cheese

D: salmon wTeriyaki sauce, asparagus, orzo (pasta), meringue cookies, water

 

That's a few days worth of meals & snacks. What are you thinking?

Karen

[quan_daniel]

wow..that seems to be a very lax diet..

the one we were on are far stricter..

no milk..cheese...I wish I am on this one :-)...

 

Wheat...gluten..

 

Teriyaki sauce..(fermented and color added...)

 

I am not sure if this is the diet we were on..the one we were on..literally made my child cried.. this is delux(I am sorry to sound rude,but this is a lax diet when compare to the 2months we were on..and we hated it!!!..)

 

 

is the tic hurting your child..?

 

if she is old enough...and she might have done this already..is to test for food allergy and food sensitivity..

 

I believe organic acid test..ususually can be gotten from an alternative doctor /integrative doctor can order this..main stream doctor has no idea.

[Robin O]

KJS, The Feingold did not help my sons tics decrease but It did help with his ADD. What we did find out with the Feingold was that milk and corn did increase his tics. Also Peanut Butter seemed to bother him.

 

Lemonade seemed to also incrase his tics. ( the citric acid seems to cause an increase for a day or 2) We found this out by elimaniting foods. We have always stayed away from the food colors, artificial flavors etc.

 

You may want to try taking away milk,cheese,etc for a week and then try corn etc.

This helped us find the food triggers. Robin

[KJS]

Daniel,

I see why you think this Feingold diet is "lax" as it does not eliminate casein, gluten, corn, soy. Feingold is really about artificial colors & flavors, some preservatives, and some salicylates. It does seem to be most effective for people who have attention issues, which my daughter doesn't. The teriyaki sauce we used didn't have any artificial colors or such in it otherwise it wouldn't have been Feingold approved.

 

Robin,

Interesting that you did further food elimination and found some triggers. I've wondered about that, too. You can see from the sample I provided that dairy isn't a huge part of my daughter's diet but she does eat some almost every day. Casein is probably in some of the baked goods she was eating. We have considered eliminating things one at a time but I really don't want to put her through that without having some food sensitivity testing done first. At this age (almost 12), anything that makes her different from the kids in school is difficult emotionally and that stress probably increases the tics. So it's a tricky balance.

 

For reasons that are a mystery to me, her tics have been better over the past few days. Nothing in her diet has changed (meaning, she's eating a regular, no restrictions, varied diet). Maybe school stress has diminished as the year begins to wind down. My husband has been out of town for a little over a week and I'm interested to see what he observes when he returns.

 

Karen

[quan_daniel]

karen,

Great to hear, it can be also be a good beginning for further tic reduction..all on its own..just being more relax..

This is the part where mainstream docs see kids improve at this age also..

body chemistry changes/hormones changes at this age..

 

a lot of factor happening..food is just one of them..emotional factor is another one..

I applaud u for going slow..

and doing what is best for her..

just imagine there are kids that have severe tics..to less severe tics..are being help by this forum..just eating better helps..

I know..there is so much..yeast..metal..etc..

 

but u can only take one step at a time..and also when she is ready to accept some responsibility of getting herself better..

 

I think u r on to the right path by finding a good environmental allergist in finding out her food sensitivity and food allergy..I think it can be from 1 to 5 sessions..

and it is lot easier then food diet elimination..

 

The one I PM you does that, but my child is too young to go through that..

 

now Iunderstands the feingold diet..I think most kids on this board..are either having intolerance to certain food from gluten/caesin(spelling)..

 

some parents mentioned red dye..

 

I think your child will be fine..

[KJS]

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for your sweet and encouraging note. Yes, my daughter's tics are relatively mild and we are extremely grateful for that. Although we're now off the Feingold diet I still stay away from purchasing foods with anything artificial in them. I know my daughter will eat things when she's out of the house that aren't the best for her, but at least she'll be eating well at home and the foods I send her for school lunch.

 

I have leads on 2 doctors who may be helpful. One is DAN! certified, along with a PhD nurse practitioner in his office. They seem to have a well-established functional medicine practice and I hope to speak with them over the phone this week. The other lead is a local neurologist who is known for seeking alternative treatments. I will also phone him and see if it makes sense to pay him a visit. Either way, I'm meeting with these people myself before bringing my daughter. I don't want to drag her around needlessly.

 

Good luck with all of this.

Karen