New psychogist today

[earnestfamily7]

We met with a new psychologist today for our daughter (7) - in addition to helping with the OCD and meltdown - he wants us to try a no wheat no dairy - grass fed organic meat diet.... and add omega3 fish oil (build to 2tps perday)....

 

We are a family of 7 so this is an expensive proposition... as I can not justify just making my daughter do it... as my DS (9) should do it too... and then that leaves the rest of us... I know we would all benefit....

 

any suggestions? I have been trying to do gluten free pastas & breakfast cereals for a few weeks since reading one of the threads a while back... but now the psy is making a formal recommendation (no blood tests) just what he feels we should do for behavior improvement and inflammation reduction benefits....

 

also what about the Omega 3 fish oil.... I asked about using flaxseed oil and he mentioned that is does not 'transfer' well in some people... (we wer short on time and I didnt ask what this meant....) My husband takes the Omega 3 fish oil tabs & they are too large for a cild to swallow and I am 99.9% sure she will turn up her nose to to the fish oil....

 

Any comments are appreciated!

Steph

[Suzan]

We met with a new psychologist today for our daughter (7) - in addition to helping with the OCD and meltdown - he wants us to try a no wheat no dairy - grass fed organic meat diet.... and add omega3 fish oil (build to 2tps perday)....

 

We are a family of 7 so this is an expensive proposition... as I can not justify just making my daughter do it... as my DS (9) should do it too... and then that leaves the rest of us... I know we would all benefit....

 

any suggestions? I have been trying to do gluten free pastas & breakfast cereals for a few weeks since reading one of the threads a while back... but now the psy is making a formal recommendation (no blood tests) just what he feels we should do for behavior improvement and inflammation reduction benefits....

 

also what about the Omega 3 fish oil.... I asked about using flaxseed oil and he mentioned that is does not 'transfer' well in some people... (we wer short on time and I didnt ask what this meant....) My husband takes the Omega 3 fish oil tabs & they are too large for a cild to swallow and I am 99.9% sure she will turn up her nose to to the fish oil....

 

Any comments are appreciated!

Steph

 

I like Chia Seeds for Omega 3 as long as you can be creative on how to use them. Basically you can add them into anything an dthey add all kinds of great things to your diet. http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA365093/Chia-for-Health.html Also, Coromega has a orange "pudding" that one of my dd's likes.

 

Gluten free is expensive but depending on where you live there are options for less expensive. I like Trader Joes and some Super WalMarts (if you shop there I know some are anti-walmart) now have a nice gluten free section that have pretty good prices. Search Amazon.com too for good deals on stuff after you find what you like.

 

Good luck with the diet. We found it made a huge difference in behavior at our house but both my girls test gluten intolerant.

 

Susan

[MomWithOCDSon]

I'd just like to say that I'm truly impressed that you found a PSYCHOLOGIST who would go there . . . wheat free, gluten free, etc.! Heck, if all that stuff really helps your child, he might put himself out of work!

 

There are several threads here about the benefits of such a dietary path . . . I'm sure that there are lots of benefits. But I get your concerns, too. Especially for a large family, the impacts on costs, shopping options, preparing meals, the TIME spent preparing meals . . . its an overhaul!

 

I think one of those threads has a web link for gluten-free recipes, etc. Good luck!

[Megs_Mom]

Wow, I am impressed too! That's actually kind of shocking from a psychologist. We use a gummy Omega 3, from Nordic Naturals. Not fab tasting, but not bad. We built up to 4 per day, 2 in am, 2 at night. We also use a Gummy multi & a gummy D. It's like a candy store in our vitamin cabinet

[earnestfamily7]

Thanks for the input and encouragement! After today we feel very lucky to have found him! In a way he found us! I received a call one evening about 3 weeks ago (this is the time frame we were having major crazy meltdowns) and he said "Hello - I had a message to call you"... I had no idea who he was and it took the 2 of us a while to figure out that he waas an affiliate dr at one of the centers I called a while ago (before the craziness started again) about getting my daughter IQ tested.... He asked what was going on with my daughter... I gave him the long version of her story and he said he wanted to meet w/ my husband and I 1st (we went last week) and my daughter was today.... So far we are very impressed... He is aware of PANDAS and is willing to listen to our theories on what is happening - We really think his phone call was no accident... we have faith that this was the work of God as our last psy, although she knew of PANDAS said repeately in our last session "Gabrielle needs to apply the tools I tuaght her" my response.... "in the middle of a meltdown! how is she or anyone supposed to be able to apply them.... and they come out of the blue!!!

[smartyjones]

hi Steph - so very interesting to me that a psychologist recommended this to you. my son has been gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free for exactly a year tomorrow. today is older son's birthday and the appt when we got back the test was the day after. he was immediately off everything that day b/c his results were off the chart.

 

i have not seen a difference for him in behaviors that i can attribute to this diet - he's had exacerbations while still restricting these foods. however, i do still do this diet b/c i believe for him, it is a tax on his immune system which is not functioning properly right now.

 

getting started is rough b/c it is so different but once you get into it, it's not as hard as you'd imagine. we eat much rice and potatoes. we all do still miss good bread with dinner though.

 

i feel for you that it is expensive - especially if you're looking at for 7! do they like veggies and fruit?

 

we all here tend to be all or nothing people so i think it was actually easier to just do it rather than trying to do it slowly. let me know if you need some ideas. i found the magazine living without helpful in the beginning.

[thereishope]

As for Omega 3's, my son takes a gummy Omega 3's. he's 6 and super picky. Omega 3's can be found added to many foods now too. You'll be surprised. Overall, poeple are more aware of their diets and the options out there for things that are gluten free is great. I really think you will be pleasantly surprised.

[MichaelTampa]

My guess as to what the psychologist meant in terms of flax oil "not transferring" is, a lot of what is believed to be important for the brain is DHA and EPA--very specific types of omegas. Unless you are getting flax oil that has some of those added, flax oil really won't have those, it can make some of these from the flax oil, but the "conversion" rate of "utilization" rate is said to be relatively low.

 

Michael

[monarchcat]

This was recommended by our nutritionist and my son likes it: http://www.iherb.com/Barlean-s-Omega-Swirl...54-g/13411?at=0 He takes 3 tsp a day which gives him a little over a gram of omega 3s (combined dha and epa). I think for therapeutic doses one gram per day is really the minimum you want.

[fuelforall]

Lil Critters has good gummy omegas, my picky son is gobbling them down.

[reactive]

We met with a new psychologist today for our daughter (7) - in addition to helping with the OCD and meltdown - he wants us to try a no wheat no dairy - grass fed organic meat diet.... and add omega3 fish oil (build to 2tps perday)....

 

We are a family of 7 so this is an expensive proposition... as I can not justify just making my daughter do it... as my DS (9) should do it too... and then that leaves the rest of us... I know we would all benefit....

 

any suggestions? I have been trying to do gluten free pastas & breakfast cereals for a few weeks since reading one of the threads a while back... but now the psy is making a formal recommendation (no blood tests) just what he feels we should do for behavior improvement and inflammation reduction benefits....

 

also what about the Omega 3 fish oil.... I asked about using flaxseed oil and he mentioned that is does not 'transfer' well in some people... (we wer short on time and I didnt ask what this meant....) My husband takes the Omega 3 fish oil tabs & they are too large for a cild to swallow and I am 99.9% sure she will turn up her nose to to the fish oil....

 

Any comments are appreciated!

Steph

When I read this I was picturing all your kids in line for cod liver oil like on the Little Rascals....

[thereishope]

That's what my son takes. For some reason Target sells them with sugar on them, Walmart does not. Of course my son doesn't want the sugar coating and Walmart is further away for me.

 

 

Lil Critters has good gummy omegas, my picky son is gobbling them down.

[Austin Mom]

We met with a new psychologist today for our daughter (7) - in addition to helping with the OCD and meltdown - he wants us to try a no wheat no dairy - grass fed organic meat diet.... and add omega3 fish oil (build to 2tps perday)....

 

We are a family of 7 so this is an expensive proposition... as I can not justify just making my daughter do it... as my DS (9) should do it too... and then that leaves the rest of us... I know we would all benefit....

 

any suggestions? I have been trying to do gluten free pastas & breakfast cereals for a few weeks since reading one of the threads a while back... but now the psy is making a formal recommendation (no blood tests) just what he feels we should do for behavior improvement and inflammation reduction benefits....

 

also what about the Omega 3 fish oil.... I asked about using flaxseed oil and he mentioned that is does not 'transfer' well in some people... (we wer short on time and I didnt ask what this meant....) My husband takes the Omega 3 fish oil tabs & they are too large for a cild to swallow and I am 99.9% sure she will turn up her nose to to the fish oil....

 

Any comments are appreciated!

Steph

 

Steph,

We use Coromega - we find it at Sun Harvest or Whole Foods. It comes in lemon/lime or chocolate raspberry I think. It's in a little foil pack and has the consistency of warm cake icing. My son loves it so getting him to take it every day is a breeze.

 

Tammy

[Pandamom777]

Hi Steph,

 

We've been gluten and dairy free at our house for a long time. The change over can be rough at first, as you need to rethink how you cook, but after awhile it becomes much easier. One common mistake, I think, is trying to substitute wheat for pre-packaged gluten-free items. You are often trading one problem for another, and you can easily consume way to much rice and/or corn products. They are often over-processed and really expensive.

 

Having said that, we do use some gluten-free products, though I try to limit them. The ones I think taste pretty good are the Tinkyada pastas (they sell every kind of pasta). Just don't overcook them. Udi's makes some good white and wheat bread. Van's makes good gluten-free waffles. As someone else said, Trader Joes organic products are really reasonably priced. Just don't overdo it as you will be getting way too many processed carbs and will be spending a lot of money!

 

A better option is to replace processed carbs with simple ones -- increase fruits and veggies and cook more from scratch. It's cheaper and healthier as you are getting more variety in your diet. As far as cost goes, there are the 'dirty dozen' fruits and veggies which are better to buy organic. The rest do not contain pesticides and are OK to eat conventionally. This can save a lot of money! As far as organic grass-fed meat and organic chicken, look for a local farmer where you can buy in volume. The cost per pound is much, much lower than buying a pound at a time at the grocery store. Your local coop may be able to give you the names of some farmers.

 

Swanson is a company that sells very reasonably priced supplements. They have several kid-friendly Omega 3 supplements you could try. Their site is www.swansonvitamins.com. I'm sure there are other companies as well.

 

I think your doc is very wise to suggest some changes. They are finding that an increasing number of people are having trouble with gluten. Because of the way they now grow wheat, it has 50% more gluten in it than it did 50 years ago. This could help explain why our grandparents did not have the problems eating wheat, but so many people do now.

 

Fatty acids are so important for good brain function. Don't forget to increase the good fats, too: olive oil, avocados, nuts, etc.

 

Good luck,

Sharon

[earnestfamily7]

Thank you everyone for all the tips... I really appreciate it! I am lucky all of the kids do like fruit and most veggies and I only have 1 'picky' eater and I think he will be OK with mot of this... I did see the Living Withoiut Magazine at Mustard Seed (Local store) and wasnt sure if it was worth the money... the next time i am there I will pick one up ... I also appreciate the kid friendly recommendations for the Omega 3 supps... they do like fish incl. tuna and salmon... so I can serve these too right?

 

Sharon- I think it is so interesting about the point you made about the changes in processing the wheat... I agree that it does help explain the differences the various generations are having with food... this is a very good example of how 'progress for greater & cheaper yield in crops' is just not worth the risk to the population....

 

I'll let you know how we are doing soon.... we are transitioning... hope to be in final stages within a few weeks....