Feingold Question for Jeff

[Heather]

Jeff,

 

With a change in diet and added supplements my son has been doing amazingly well over the last few months. I am gradually getting him to eat more fruits and vegetables and I avoid additives altogether. However, in the last 2 weeks he has discovered that he loves both grapes and strawberries and wants to eat them all the time. He hasn't eaten them in the past at all. I didn't notice any change at all during the first week of him eating these fruits, however during this past week his tics have increased significantly. I am now considering ordering the Feingold Diet since I have been reading about your great success with it and have always wondered if it may be an issue for us. Can you tell me if Grapes and Strawberries are fruits that are to be avoided on this diet because of the natural occuring salicytes (sp?). If they are, then this may be the cause of the recent increase and I will definitely order the package.

 

Heather

[Frank_Sm1th]

Hi Heather,

 

I'm not Jeff, but am on the Feingold diet. Grapes and strawberries contain salicylates. They are neither extremely high nor low as fruits go. I believe the riper a fruit is, the lower the salicylate level is. Also the salicylates tend to be in the skin. Perhaps he'd feel like peeling the grapes?...

 

For my boys, grapes and strawberries are a real treat to be eaten in great moderation. Bananas and pears are the lowest salicylate fruits, I think. Apples vary a lot, golden delicious being the lowest.

 

Good luck,

Frank

[Guest Jean]

Hi Heather,

 

Yes. Grapes and Strawberries are on the first stage avoid list.

[Heather]

Thanks Frank and Jean for your prompt replies to my question. This is something I am definitely going to look into.

 

He had no grapes or strawberries today at all and this evening his tics already seem to be subsiding again.

 

Heather

[Guest Guest_efgh]

Heather

 

So glad that your son is improving again.

 

Even I had noticed an increase in my son's tics when he takes strawberries or tomatoes or apples.. all these are very high in salicylates. Did your son get motor or vocal tics due to grapes/strawberries?

do you give your son any probiotics?

 

thanks.

[Guest Jeff]

Wow, Great to hear from other Feingolders!

One of my daughters appears to be sal sensitive. We noticed reactions to tomatoes and apples. We find that we can moderate and do okay. An apple one day, a tomato another day, grapes another day, etc. But we try not to let it get out of hand or we do see a reaction. She seems to be less affected by that as she gets older (now 12), and we don't worry as much about it as we used to.

Her sal reactions tend to be more behavioral than tics. For example, she seems more whiny about things, and reacts more emotionally to things.... no motivation to do her homework, things like that.

We eat pears, bananas, kiwis, lots of mangoes, canteloupe. Some of these might be "medium" sal. We try to avoid any that are "high". If you become a member of FG, the initial package and binder that they send you includes a lot of info on salicylates, as well as a list of foods that are low / medium / high in sals.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Jeff

[Guest Annie]

Jeff, I've ordered the Feingold programme but it hasn't yet arrived. I'm hoping it will help!

 

FJ, I've read on here where you posted that 400 mg of B1 and 400 mg of Mg divided into three daily doses can be beneficial for facial tics. I thinking to try this combination for my child (11 1/2 years old) but noticed also that you said that some people find that L-carnitine helps. If that turns out to be the case for my child would it be that I would replace the Mg with L-carnitine or would it be safe to give it along with the Mg? What dosage of the L-carnitine is safe for a child this age? Also, do I need to have tests done before I start the treatment?

 

My child has not been diagnosed with anything as yet and I'm scared of all of the treatments and side effects that they can bring. This is all soooo worrying.

 

Thanks!

[Guest Guest_efgh]

Annie

 

Does your son have only facial tics or does he have vocal tics too? When did his tics begin - I mean, at what age??? Does he have ocd/adhd too?

 

I have not read any post as such from FJ in latitudes. She posts regularly in braintalk forum though.

 

Goodluck to your son!

[Heather]

Frank,

 

I haven't looked back to previous posts to see your story, however am wondering. Have you had the same success as Jeff and his family in controlling tics with the Feingold Program? The more I read back over my journals, the more I am thinking that at the times my son's tics increased was when he was having a lot of high salicylate foods. I am eager to find out how this will work.

 

We are really having a hard time with the no TV thing. Even at school they are watching movies now and then with it being close to the end of school. I don't have the heart to pull him out of the classroom during these times since his tics are minimal right now anyway (aside from when he had the abundance of grapes and strawberries last week).

 

Heather

[Claire]

Heather,

 

Hang in their Heather, summer is almost here! We brought in an LCD monitor with TV tuner during my son's movie days.

 

I don't know what will happen at the new school next year. Now they aren't sure they want to remount LCD monitors. So we may need to get a 504. Ugh. I can't believe my son would need a special allowance to NOT be required to watch TV. I won't know until the beginning of the year.

 

My son REALLY wanted to see Harry Potter, but the last movie he saw in November was absolutely horrible for him--a major and unpleasant tic for 6 days--the tic he had. But it was important to him, so I tried the 'one-eye trick' that the photosensitive epilepsy sites mention. (They say if you see a strobe light for example, immediately cover one eye.

 

I bought cheap sunglasses, put a bandaid to cover one lens, popped out the other one. Now I am not sure if it is because he has improved in sensitivity, or whether the trick worked, but the next day he had no tics--though he was definitely more fidgety 'touching' things. Still it was gone the day after and this was mild in comparison to the last time.

 

I doubt my son wear those sunglasses at school though--it would be too embarrassing for him. So likely he will just leave the room next year --unless we can either replace the monitors with LCD, or if one of these 'energy' solutions works out for him. There is no question with us that the daily exposure is cumulative versus if it is just once a week.

 

Anyway, you might try that at home sometime when he watches TV to see if it helps. I did it myself just to see how bad it was, and I thought it was okay.

 

I always wonder about those salicytes too, so I tend to limit his exposure, just in case.

 

Claire

[Sheila]

Claire--I forget, did you have your son tested at an Irlen center for individually determined tinted glasses?They are just lightly tinted blue, yellow, etc.

 

If it were an issue, he could wear them all the time at home which would reduce general stress, and he might be willing to wear them occasionally at school. Some parents write to me that their child doesn't care about the tinting because it helps them so much, and regular frames can be selected. Sheila

[Claire]

Hi Sheila!

 

Nice to have you stop in...

 

Yes, I did have my son tested by an Irlen specialist, and she said he showed just a little light sensitivity and she saw no need for the glasses.

 

He did use the sheets at school for a time, because they made the letters less blurry--which was a new thing for him as of November. Another child went through the colored overlays with me and loved them and used them at school also.

 

However, since we have removed the foods he is allergic to (and/or been improving his mercury levels with antioxidants), about a month ago, he no longer has the blurriness when he reads and no longer needs the sheets.

 

So to answer your questions, we never tried the colored glasses for this issue.

 

Claire

[Frank_Sm1th]

Heather,

 

We've only been on Feingold for 1 year, so it's hard to be sure how much salicylates contribute to my older son's tics. In order of importance, I'm estimating the prime cause is strep antibodies, followed by stress, TV & computer screens, then maybe salicylates. We noticed the salicylates also cause ADHD and general bad behavior in him.

He is sensitive to maltodextrin and corn syrup and the artificial colors and flavors, but haven't noticed them causing ticcing. They might, but we eliminated all the grossest foods and additives first and his attention & behavior improved FAST. The tics are almost non-existent now, but experience has shown us that by far the greatest threat is strep and other infections.

The Irlen light threrapy has helped a lot; he LOVES to read now and I suspect that may have helped in OCD and tics.

We've discovered all this over just the past year; add in fish oil and various supplements and garlic and it's hard to directly identify every cause and effect.

But overall, he's dramatically better balanced and I'm thinking a summer of exercise will help immeasurably. I don't see enough discussion of EXERCISE on this board. Exercise obviously contributes to better sleep. Exercise has been proven to improve immune function.

It's a lot to keep track of and I'm grateful for this board; wish I could be more help, but it'll take time to learn more.

 

Frank

[Heather]

Frank,

 

Thanks for your reply. I believe that my son has almost identical triggers as you mention....strep, tv and computers, stress and the salicylates.

 

I am looking forward to receiving the Feingold information next week so I can try eliminating things that may be triggers I am not aware of.

 

Heather