Feingold Diet( Robin) and others doing it

[kimwal]

I read something you wrote Robin about your child doing the Feingold Diet...

Does it help , considerably??? Like is all the time and effort put into it worth the difference it makes in your child???

We have tried sooo many different diets formy son.

Gluten/yeast free , sugar free,oh it was so hard, and we did not see any results.

I got all the feingold inf. but have not doneit yet . Does it help with adhd and TICS?????

If so, how long before you see results???

thanks,

Kim

[Guest Guest_efgh]

Thanks Kimwal. Will contact the moderator. Can you please give me the email id of the moderator?

When was your son's TS diagnosed? Does TS run in your family? Have you tried alternate supplements?

thanks.

[Guest Robin O]

Kimwal. we started the Feingold diet in August 2003, It took about 10 weeks to see an improvement in his ADHD. The good thing about Feingold is it is easier to see what foods may be causing tics, mood swings or ADHD.

 

I never would have thought that apples and grapes could cause problems but when I took my son off them for a few weeks and then he had them again it was not a good day!! He was off the wall.

 

The feingold allows sugar and corn syrup and we realized that my son is very sensitive to corn syrup. This does incease his tics. Alot of the foods that cause him to be very hyper do not increase his tics and some foods that bother his tics do not make him hyper!

 

What I found most helpful was the book itself. The food list is store bought foods and most have corn syrup or something else that can cause problems for my son.

We have had some allergy tests run lately and most of the foods I had suspected of being problems were postive.

 

After being on the diet we found we had to eliminate dairy and recently have eliminated Gluten. This has made the biggest difference for him. He seems more carm and his moods have improved. He is also taking a natiural supplement to reduce yeast in his system. ( He also takes BonnieG's Vitamins)

 

Hope this helps. Robin

[kimwal]

the moderators email is

lester@helix.mgh.harvard.edu

I had to email him a couple of times so keep on trying until you get on because its a great forum to learn different things from.

I think we have tried almost everything for my son from meds to all kinds of alternative treatments. So far nothing has really helped. But,,,, we're still trying though.

Good luck

Kim

oh yea, my son is 10 has severe ts. adhd, and ocd(not as bad ocd as the rest)

[Guest Jeff]

Kimwal, My daughters and I have been on the Feingold diet for about 4 years now. We started it to see if it would help with the tics that started at about age 7 for my oldest. We saw unbelievable results after a few weeks, and have been followers ever since. Before we began, my oldest daughter was tic'ing very badly - facial, hands, neck, etc. - her whole body would clench and twist when she sat on my lap to read books at night. Naturally, the teasing had started at school, and I could see that she was starting to withdraw. Fortunately, we discovered the FG diet, and ever since then, the tics have not been an issue. The diet can be difficult and frustrating, but the end justifies the means. When we deviate from the diet, we do see the tics return, but never as badly as they were 4 years ago.

Like Robin, we too have sensitivities to salicylates (apples, grapes, etc) and corn syrup, which causes additional frustration. Corn syrup is in so many things that we have not been able to eliminate it as much as I would like. Yes, my daugthers still do tic at times, but sometimes months can pass without us seeing any. And when they do return (usually because we went on vacation, or deviated from the diet for some other reason), they are not that bad, and we can get back on track after cleaning out a bit. Best of all, we have never had to use any of the meds. I attribute our good fortune to the FG diet. There are hundreds - probably thousands - of other families who swear by the FG diet, too - most of them for help with ADD and ADHD. If you are a member, then you have access to the Members Bulletin Board. Be sure to log on there as often as possible. The folks on that board are a wealth of info, and always very helpful.

If you do try the diet, don't be too discouraged if you don't see results right away. Many experience a "detox" period of several weeks while the body cleans itself out. In fact, for some, the symptoms worsen during that period. But once the detox period is over, most are amazed at the results - claiming that they finally have their child back.

Good luck whatever you decide. Jeff

[Guest Guest_efgh]

Thanks Jeff for your detailed reply . how long did it take for you to see good results in your daughter's tics?? How long is the detox period in general? did your daughter have vocal tics too?

 

thanks

[Guest Jeff]

efgh - We saw results after about 3 weeks. It was like night and day. In general, the detox periods can last around 6 weeks, although I've heard of some lasting up to 10 weeks before people see results.

Jeff

[Guest Guest_efgh]

Jeff, did your daughter have vocal tics also? if so, what were they? Did the feingold diet help her with the vocal tics too?

 

thanks.

[Guest Jeff]

efgh - No, neither of my daughters has had vocal tics. The closest we've come to that is a sniffing in one daughter, and I have a tic in my chest that finishes with a slight squeak from my vocal cord. Don't know if that qualifies as a vocal tic or not. But in any case, the FG diet helps us with all of our tics.

Jeff

[Guest Frank]

The Feingold Program is the best thing to hit my family in 2003! My older son (8) has P.A.N.D.A.S. and when he gets strep he gets tics and OCD behahaviors. There is no question what a huge factor diet is, especially the food colors and preservatives. Fragrances in cleansers set him off into irrational behavior, too. It's been a lot of work to sort it all out, and there is definately an overlap of his P.A.N.D.A.S. symptoms and food/fragrance reactions.

 

It's worth the effort--me, my wife and both sons feel a lot happier and less cranky. It's almost criminal what's in "food" and what it's doing to millions of people's behavior! Anyway, it's getting late, gotta go, bookmarking this site.

 

Frank

[Claire]

Frank,

 

Thanks so much for the feedback! I am glad this thread was named "Feingold", as this is a clear approach.

 

My son gets 'urges/fears' during strep (ie PANDAS), and I always wondered whether this genesis would change the appropriateness of Feingold, so your feedback is helpful. I also wondered if it just helped tics and adhd, rather than the compulsions/urges, so this is helpful to read.

 

I remember once he was in the bathroom while I was using strong cleaners, and he had a reaction later that day--since then I have simply kept him away from them.

 

Does your son have issues with the Salicytes that Feingold mentions (grapefruit, strawberries)? Does he occassionally get to have that gosh-awful chemicals, lfor example at school parties? This is my most difficult challenge, and where I cave in.

 

I know that Jean makes 'trades', and I have offered this, but he doesn't want to feel different.

 

Do you do vitamin supplmentaton also, or is Feingold alone sufficient?

 

Thanks again for posting,

Claire

[Guest FRANK_SM1TH]

Claire,

 

Unfortunately, my son is sensitive to salicilates, so we give him l-cysteine 500mg caps but we're not sure that helps. It's a shame he has to forgo some of the healthy foods I love like apples, tomatos, etc. We don't want him to feel left out, either, so we just don't eat certain things around him. But in Sunday School, etc. he brings his own snacks (Newman's oreos rules!) and he happily shows us the chemical "treats" he wins or earns and we convert them into something healthy that he really appreciates.

 

We don't cave in to any school pressures because there are none; my wife is home-schooing the boys this year. Their school last year was impossible to tolerarate health-wise. We found a crystal-clear cause and effect correlation between the school's cleaning chemicals and my son's ability to obey and get along with others. Also, he got a lot of strep infections, but we had no idea that also had behavioral implications.

 

He takes Animal Parade watermelon flavor vitamins from the local health food store. And to keep all streps and colds at bay, we all take varying amounts of

astragulus, echinacea, goldenseal, cat's claw and eat lotsa garlic. I suspect that, given time, we will not have to concentrate so much on eating extremely healthy

stuff, provided we stay fastidious in our avoidance of artificial colors, flavors & preservatives.

 

I recommend Feingold. Join, and you might meet my wife on their message board. From this, my second visit to this board, I'm impressed with how much I'll be learning as I return here. I'm not sure how much help I can be, especially this late but it's only right to help.

 

Hope I've helped,

 

Frank

[Claire]

Hi Frank,

 

Thanks a million!

 

I joined Feingold, but for some reason I can't figure out how to get on their message board, I think I am trying to access the right link.

 

You are the second person here to solve this peer problem by homeschooling. Not related to the Feingold diet, but my son gets tics/compulsions from CRT computer monitors and TV, due to the flic This is not a problem at home--we have an LCD monitor with a TV tuner (no flicker), and he rarely watches, and at his current school the teacher knows he is not authorized to view either, but middle school next year is going to be a HUGE challenge.

 

So he doesn't get tics without the computer, but I am wondering whether diet change might make him less sensitive. I know that either corn syrup or artificial colors/flavors make him highly wired--generally seen after school events or basketball snacks--ugh. I just talked to him about the 'trade' idea again, as we used to do this (Jean mentioned this also), but he rejected it soundly. He sees that computer/TV makes a difference, but the diet restriction is 'nonsense' in his mind. He is allergic to wheat and peanuts, and is eating wheat only temporarily for testing purposes, however next week he goes back off wheat. This is just too much restriction for a 10 year old at once.

 

I think first I will see what all these recent tests uncover, and go from there. Again, I buy nothing with artificial colors/sweeteners/preservatives for our home food--I agree that parents must support their children and follow a similar diet. Also, I am going to buy low-odor paints for painting, we are basically about to paint the interior. I think it will take weeks though, and I can't see 'moving out' that long. No one but me in our home thinks it matters!

 

He loves Oreos! I will check out that brand, thanks.

 

Claire

[Guest Jean]

Hi efgh,

 

I post my answers to your questions (from other threads) here, so we can stick the same topic at the thread. My son is not offered cheese, yoghurt , butter either. I bought the Feingold cook book. I did follow the "not to" list, but I did not follow the cook book as I don't have enought time to cook. My son is kind of tired of the current food that he has. If I am the Feingold member so I can receive the updated food list, and I can get on to the message board. I registered it through on-line.

[Guest Guest_efgh]

Jean

 

Thanks. But how do you ensure that your son gets enough calcium since you don't give him cheese, yoghurt, butter etc. Are you giving any calcium supplement? If so, what ? Is he gaining/maintaining his weight with this limited food?

 

thanks.