It May Sound Crazy, But It's True!

So after weeks and weeks of being on this program, we are finally seeing consistent improvement and are ready to move on to the next stage of gradually adding in foods with naturally occuring salicylates...things likes apples, oranges, strawberries, and grapes. It has been a long process and frustrating one as I felt I was seeing inconsistent results up until a huge revelation last week. Now, a good researcher will only have one variable at a time. While I knew this, there were a few other things I tried along with the food plan thinking that it couldn't hurt. One of those was suggested on the Feingold forums...giving epsom salt baths can be calming and soothing for children. Without going into a whole chemistry lesson, I did some reading and it sounded like a good idea. I like to soak in epsom salt when I have muscle aches so I started putting a cup of epsom salt (magneisum sulfate) into Elijah's bath, too. He seemed to love it, but the night after his first bath, he woke up with nightmares, which is very unsual for him. I took a mental note and thought maybe it was just a fluke. Later that week, he had a bathroom accident which he hadn't had in years. Again, I thought maybe it was just coincidence or due to "detox" from the diet.  I would see a good pattern of behavior and then it seemed like something would change out of the blue without having any "infractions" on the diet. It is important to realize that in the winter the boys maybe get two baths a week because they are not as dirty. Finally, last week, he was doing really well for several days and then it seemed like someone flipped a switch and he was back to undesirable behaviors. My husband jokingly asked me, "What did you feed that kid?" My answer was, "Nothing different!" The day was not unsual. He seemed to be feeling fine. He had plenty of rest. Plenty of time to play with dad. Then, I was in bed thinking (dangerous I know). The only thing that was a little different was that I remembered that I gave him an epsom salt bath the night before. I pulled out the food/ behavior diary I have been keeping. In the diary, I also noted each time I gave him an epsom salt bath and it was so clear that the days after an epsom salt bath, his behavior was in some cases even worse than before! "Holy Cow," I exclaimed! I posted something on the Feingold forums to see if anyone else had found epsom salt baths having an opposite effect and found that this is not uncommon. It has been suggested that children who are extremely low in magnesium can react poorly to having such intense exposure to magnesium (remember that epsom salt is magnesium sulfate). Often, the salt will remain on the skin after the bath and continue to be asborbed by the skin.  In doing some research, I then learned many children with ADD/ ADHD are low in magnesium. Most natural supplements for hyperactivity (such as "Natural Calm") are strickly magnesium supplements! I think it is very possible that what was suggested on the forums is exactly what was happening. So, I stopped the epsom salt baths immediately and since then, we have had two consistently great weeks. I am also trying to up his magnesium by giving him "brownies" with hidden spinach, pumpkin seed granola bars and whole grains. I am going to discuss  magnesium supplements with our pediatrician, but for now, we are doing well and I don't want to add another variable....I learned that lesson the hard way!

Parties, Treats, and Holidays

Valentine's Day. Love, roses, gourmet dinner and red dye no. 40. Yes, this is what I was thinking about in the days before Elijah's Valentine's Day party at school. Before the party, I emailed his teacher and asked what was going to be served at the party. The menu was red punch, red jello, skittles and twizzlers. My heart dropped...not a single thing that he could have. I was hoping there would be just one thing served that he could have. When I first started this, I looked up all of the ingredients of his classes approved snack list. His teacher has an approved list because of allergies, including Elijah's peanut allergy. While the snacks are typically low sugar, and "healthy" snacks like goldfish crackers and cereal, there was only one approved item on the list...baked tostitos.  His teacher and I agreed that I would send in his own snack from the approved list everyday...he's been eating a lot of baked tostitos. This is by far one of the hardest parts of this program...having to go against the norm. I am the type of person who likes to just go with the flow, not draw attention to myself and not cause trouble. Perhaps, that is why I am even trying this. It was hard for me to have a child that stood out for negative reasons. It's hard to tell someone, "My son is on a special diet and can't have ????, please only allow him to have what I provide." Or asking at a bakery, "Excuse me, can you please tell me what type of pan sprays you are using when you bake your bread?" I also don't want to seem ungrateful when others offer treats. I am still trying to find the best way of handling this. It is out of my comfort zone. Usually, I think that others think that I am either crazy or strict or both. So what did I do about Valentine's Day? First, I attached an "approved" organic lollipop to all of his valentines. The kind that had he received one last year, I would have thought, "This must have come from a hippie family!" I figured his teacher would be OK with him eating a sucker that was given to the other classmates. Then, I told him that I would exchange any unapproved candy for another non-food treat. So, he came home from school, he gladly gave me his small pile of candy and in return got a new Star Wars lunch box.Now, this may seem like a small pile of candy for the gift, but to a kid who had to refuse the treats at his school party, I think it is totally justified. I guess I better start saving up for the Halloween exchange!

Feingold and Sickness

If there was any doubt that this food plan was making a huge difference for Elijah, there is none now! After a week or so of getting used to a calmer, less impulisve and downright sweet 6 year (the other day I teasingly asked him if he would cook dinner for me and he replied, "I would be delighted too.") we saw a dramatic change over the weekend. More "mini-fits" and crying over little things. He had trouble completing his homework that he missed last week. His handwriting was messier. And then it dawned on me...the antibiotic.He was home from school last week for a few days and diagnosed with strept throat on Friday. By Saturday morning, the old behaviors began creeping in. You might be thinking, "Well, of course, he was on edge, he was feeling sick." I would agree except that the days he was sick before going to the antibiotic were fine. I even made a FB comment about how I was enjoying having him at home from school those days.  So, I did some research. I knew before I even read the ingredients online that it had to contain something that is not on the diet. I had asked both the pediatrician and the pharmacists about dyes and they both didn't really know, except that there were no dyes listed in the ingredients. I didn't think to ask about the other stuff. To make a long story short, the antibiotic he is on, Cefdinir (because he has a penicillin allergy), contains artificial flavorings, artificial preservatives and salicylates. I was so discouraged. This was week 4 of our trial week...the week before I knew we would have some infractions because of our trip to California. He is on the antibiotic for 10 days and while I am going to leave him on the rest of the diet as far as food goes, I can't count this as a trial week because one of the variables has changed! I feel like I will need to start over when we get back from our trip. Because this is an elimination diet, the substances are supposed to be totally gone from their system before beginning to add the salicylates back in. And he was so looking forward to his first cup of apple juice after we got back from our trip. Anyway, in the future I am going to explore using a compounding pharmacy as recommended by a friend who follows Feingold. They can mix the drugs there without the added stuff. Then then question is...would he take an antibiotic that doesn't taste like strawberry cream. After all, that is the reason for the additives.