My daughter's sensitivities are making me crazy!

[Jes'sBeth]

DD2 has this huge long list of food sensitivities. With grains we're left with quinoa, amaranth, millet and corn (I know... weird but her IgG level on corn was 0, lower than any other grains...) She's reactive to EVERYTHING - potatoes, rice, soy, cows' milk, legumes, citrus, berries it goes on and on. I'm nursing still and so have been avoiding everything as well and it's making me CRAZY! Honestly I feel like absolute crap! I think I'm reacting to the huge amounts of corn that we're eating. I feel out of control and I'm really struggling to parent my children the way I want to. I'm impatient, short tempered and angry all the time. I cannot sustain this diet!

But what do i do?! I don't want to stop nursing her. I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. I want her to be as healthy as possible but I need to be myself too... HELP!

As it is I'm adding back rice and potatoes back into my diet so I can stop eating so much corn. I'm just hoping she won't react to my intake of stuff...

[mamafish9]

There's lots here with lists that long, you're in good company, unfortunately. It can be totally crazy, I know.

First, how old is your DD? Is she still reacting, or does she seem to be at baseline? (If not, I'd be suspicious of the corn - there are several people here who have gotten false negatives for corn, it seems less accurate than many others).

Second, check out kathysrecipebox.com - it's the blog of a mom in this forum, and she has awesome recipes that are free of pretty much everything.

Can you do coconut? That opens up lots of possibilities. Also, eat lots of fat (way more than you might normally think you need).

Sorry, gotta run, demanding toddler!

[kjbrown92]

Have you tried all legumes and all citrus and all berries, etc.? They don't always go across the board. When I first started removing stuff from dd2's diet, I'd see her react to 2-3 things from a food family and I'd take out the whole thing. When we finally did the ALCAT list, she was intolerant to a few things in the family, but there were other things she could have. So we actually got back a lot. My DS can't have rice or white potatoes either (though he just got rice back, rotationally, after 18 months off it).

What ARE you eating. And what had definite reactions. And maybe we could help you open up your menu.

[Jes'sBeth]

My DD is 22 months. She's doing SO. MUCH. BETTER! Actually she started improving before we pulled stuff out of her diet and put her on a high quality probiotic. That stopped the nightly cough we've had for a year! When we pulled everything out of her diet she stopped climbing the walls, her nose stopped running, her skin (which I had hardly noticed) cleared - no diaper rash and she just looks healthier somehow and she's just happier. She also started sleeping better (until she started pushing 4 eye teeth through at the same time anyway) I'm not sure if we've hit a baseline but I'm really happy where she is.

The problem really has been me. I'VE been feeling horrible on her diet! We can do coconut and are using it lots. I've been eating more fat than I have in ages but it's the corn that's killing me. I eat it and I feel gross. DD seems fine just not me! I don't usually eat that much corn.

I added in rice today and didn't eat corn and I am starting to feel like myself again today. It's the first day I haven't felt sick in 2 weeks. I hope she can tolerate it!

DD's main problem is dairy. She came back super reactive to dairy. I'm hoping if we take that out her body can heal quickly. Her potato and rice reactivity was just over the reactive number so hopefully she can tolerate it through breastmilk.

(and Kathy's Recipe's Box is great as is our local public library )

[kjbrown92]

did they test sorghum and buckwheat? if they didn't, I'd be more apt to try those than things that you know are reactive.

Do you have sweet potatoes? Those are a really good sub depending what varieties you have available. There are ones that are whiter and drier at places Whole Foods, and more like a regular potato. White potates are a nightshade, so inflammatory as foods go. If you're going to eat things that she reacts to, you might want to do it on rotation so she's not getting it all the time.

[norajune'smama]

just wanted to say i'm right there with you, mama! my dd is 28 months. our list is dairy, soy, gluten, citrus, corn and tomatoes. we're still nursing and I'M PREGNANT! i feel like i'm on a diet and it's REALLY hard. i want to eat everything in sight. i dream of going to italian restaurants and eating cheesey pasta with bread! it is so tough but i feel the same as you, very committed to breastfeeding. we are taking steps to wean (mostly don't offer, don't refuse) but i doubt she even notices them. the biggest trade off for me has been that when there are no allergens in her we all sleep. after a year or so of horrid sleep (her problems didn't start until we introduced dairy) it is SO worth it.
for you.

[Jes'sBeth]

We still have sweet potatoes and sorgham but not buckwheat. She was VERY, VERY reactive to all legumes tested (carob, kidney beans, navy beans, etc.) She did react to several nightshades (I've always disliked tomatoes myself) but potatoes is JUST over the allergen line followed by rice.

Still, 2 days off corn for me and I feel like myself. I don't feel angry or nauseous and I feel capable of parenting. I CANNOT believe how out of control I have felt. No wonder my kid has been climbing the wall! I was climbing the wall and I have a WHOLE lot more control over myself than my 22 month old!

So rice is back for me and hopefully she'll tolerate it okay. I'll keep her off rice directly. She's clearly not feeling as badly as I was on the corn since she's happy, happy, happy these days (and now almost potty trained - that coincided with taking her off all the allergens too, all on her own at that!)

And meanwhile, I'm going to eat WAY less corn in the future!

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by Jes'sBeth

We still have sweet potatoes and sorgham but not buckwheat. She was VERY, VERY reactive to all legumes tested (carob, kidney beans, navy beans, etc.) She did react to several nightshades (I've always disliked tomatoes myself) but potatoes is JUST over the allergen line followed by rice.

Still, 2 days off corn for me and I feel like myself. I don't feel angry or nauseous and I feel capable of parenting. I CANNOT believe how out of control I have felt. No wonder my kid has been climbing the wall! I was climbing the wall and I have a WHOLE lot more control over myself than my 22 month old!

So rice is back for me and hopefully she'll tolerate it okay. I'll keep her off rice directly. She's clearly not feeling as badly as I was on the corn since she's happy, happy, happy these days (and now almost potty trained - that coincided with taking her off all the allergens too, all on her own at that!)

And meanwhile, I'm going to eat WAY less corn in the future!

If you can do sorghum, millet, and sweet potato (and perhaps tapioca, I think it's related to sweet potato?), then try this recipe http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.co...h-muffins.html (you can also cook it up in a breadpan, and have bread, instead of english muffins). Xanthan gum is corn derived, but sounds like that's OK for you. I've used any safe milk (or water), any safe sweetener, and any safe oil, with no problems. Are you off eggs - do you have an egg sub that works? I think I made these with the flax egg sub at one point and it worked OK. Anyhow, tasty bread that I think you can probably adapt to what you need - it sounds like that would fill a hole in your belly, and it's really good .