DS reacting to everything / treating a leaky gut in mum

[mama9]

hi to all! pls excuse my typing as i have ds in one arm...

i am hoping/praying that some mamas can advise me. i will cut my story super short. i have a 4 1/2 month old boy, ebf since birth (natural/at home no meds). he's been suffering with reflux and what seems to be sensitivities and/or allergies to something in my milk. he's been in and out of hospital and is now being referred to an immunologist and allergist.

i tried the ted for 6 weeks with no improvement when he was 3 wks old but that was to treat his reflux primarily. now it's more about the terrible pain from his stomach, gut, bowel from gas, fits of screaming and he has very mucousy poop. i've been religiously and thoroughly dairy and soy free for 5 weeks, egg and banana free for 3 weeks (seems to get worse when i eat those). when i tried him on 3 teaspoons of homemade organic brown rice cereal he broke out in a rash and was in pain for days in his tummy. won't be trying foods on him again until i get to the bottom of his issues.

i ate a bowl of millet yesterday as i have now also eliminated rice. he got crazy bad after that. so now no millet.

i want to bf him and i'll do whatever i can to continue.

i am suspecting leaky gut on my behalf as everything seems to cause a reaction on him. i have had a history of candida over growth, have fibromyalgia and had all kinds of leaky gut associated health issues. i am desperate for insight, i'm tired, alone (no one understands and dh is abroad for a long time), i'm flaring up in my joints and muscles, my body is depleted (can't find supps that are rice free and everything else free) and my baby angel needs his mama in tip top condition. i REALLY want to bf and will do whatever it takes. please help/advise me.btw, i'm booking a session with a kinesiologist this week.

kisses to all and thank you!!!
xxxxxxxxxx

[Blessed_Mom]

So sorry mama s

Try this link http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1204375

[farmerjess]

Here's what I would try in your situation:

no grains, since he is reacting to so many you are eating. Are you totally gluten free? That would be very important in your circumstances. Make your carbs come from potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, fruit, and maybe try buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth since those are not true grains.

eat lots of brothy soups made with meat and bones and lots of well cooked vegetables

Allergen free probiotics for both of you. One with lots of bifidum infantis for the babe. Pharmax neonate might work well. It was good for us at that age.

increase your stomach acid by taking apple cider vinegar in water, sauerkraut or Betaine HCl with meals. Consider digestive enzymes.

All those things you have to make sure your babe tolerates, but if you get a lot of the big offenders out it will make it easier to see what's going on. For instance we had out dairy, soy, corn, gluten and eggs for a really long time and eventually saw that beef, chicken, beans, nuts, and seeds are also problems.

Classical homeopathy also helped us in our most desperate moments. My babe went from reacting to everything to us being able to add many foods he'd had problems with. That was at about 5 months.

[kjbrown92]

I was going to ask about gluten as well. And keep a food journal (for both of you). And be sure to check supplements/meds for allergens.

[mamafish9]

Hang in there mama!!!

What are you eating? And what supps are you taking? (If you link to any supps, we can look at the ingredients lists).

[mama9]

Originally Posted by Blessed_Mom

So sorry mama s

Try this link http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1204375

Oh wow! How enlightening!! Thank you so much Blessed Mom! xxxx

[mama9]

Jessi, thank you ever so much. I wrote down everything you said and it all makes total sense to me. I'm off the grains and gluten as from today. I had a big bowl of quinoa this morning as that's all I had in the cupboard that wasn't on the no-no list and will go out shopping for the rest.

When I had acupuncture to try and help my labor along, the practitioner told me to eat plenty of meat/bone broths but I didn't have the time or energy. I should have listened

I will get on it with the enzymes and probiotics, plus I will see how DS does with everything new that I am adding. I'm sure there will be some kind of cross-over where I find he's getting better from eliminating foods like grains, and gluten but also getting a clearer picture of the other foods I'm eating that he may be reacting too. The probiotics, etc, may give us a good start towards healing along with cutting out the gluten/grains and maybe I won't even get to see some of the foods he can't tolerate because the gut healing would have made them more tolerable....so many cross-overs here lol! Whatever...even if I can't figure it out totally, as long as he's improving along the way, I'll be SOOOO happy.

I would love to retry homeopathy (we also tried cranial sacral therapy) but the homeopath was trying to help him on the basis that he has colic when he was having something else so we never reached a remedy that helped him after going through lots of them. I am hoping that I can get to see this kenesiologist. I do love the principles behind energy medicine and I was talking to a family in the waiting room at the hospital about this particular practitioner who helped their child greatly, so I will see if I can go see him and maybe seek out homeopathy too.

Again, thank you so very much, I'm eager to get started!

[mama9]

Hi Kathy, thank you, I started my food/symptom diary this morning. I am looking for all round good supps here in the UK that are okay for us to take - and I'm sure as I find out more about what I can't eat I will be re-buying supps along the way. Thanks so much and I look forward to checking out your blog also

[mama9]

mamafish9, thnk you so much!

I am in a food black hole right now and I've not been eating enough through all of the confusion, terrified that I'm hurting my milk supply, but the milk is going strong right now. All I know is what I'm 'not' eating which is the following: dairy, soy, egg, banana, cocoa, (rice and millet since the past few days and grains and gluten as from today).

I only just ordered some multi vit/min supps from Nature's Own Wholefoods range but they have rice in them so they are a no-no right now and I'm desperate for a good multi vit/min sup, especially cal/mag that I can have. I don't know of any though and I'm in the UK so I don't know what we've got here. If I find anything that looks promising I will post here about it. Thanks so much!! xxx

[kjbrown92]

'not' eating which is the following: dairy, soy, egg, banana, cocoa, rice, millet, grains and gluten

Think of all the things that you CAN eat:
chicken (and bone broth)
fish
beef
pork
all veggies (carrots, celery, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, brussel sprouts, beets, winter squash, sweet potato, potato/tomato - be careful of nightshades - if you notice a reaction, take them out)
beans (chickpeas, kidney beans, peas, green beans, etc.)
all fruit except banana (apples, pears, avocado, coconut, strawberries, blueberries, nectarines, peaches, plums, grapes)
vinegars (stay away from white vinegar since it's usually from grain; go with apple cider or wine vinegar)
there is corn in iodized salt (sea salt and kosher salt are okay)
there's corn in baking powder (I make my own - mix equal parts cream of tartar, tapioca starch, and baking soda)

[mama9]

thanks kathy for helping me to think! just picked up ds as he woke up screaming again

he is reacting to so many foods that it seems to be everything - just some worse than others. lots of those foods are on your list. i have to trial sweet potatoes as i'm suspicious of those but if he's good with that i'll be happy because i get a nice energy boost from those. i will go through the foods on your list in rotation to see how he does xxxxx

[gigismom]

you've gotten a lot of great info already. i wanted to add my support as we were much the same place as you when my ds was that age. i have gotten great support here as well as with some great local practitioners. one is a chiro that does muscle testing and found many food intolerances that helped us with all of my kids and myself, not just ds. the other as an md that specializes in gut issues/detox/food sensitivities etc.... i wanted to add that really i have seen the most improvement on grain free diet. i also wanted to mention that if you have candida or other abnormal gut flora and start killing it off with enzymes and probiotics, you may release toxins such as metals and other junk that the bad gut bugs were storing into your system too quickly which could in turn be released into your milk. i saw this happen with my ds and wish I had gone slower with the killing of my own bad gut flora.... so go slowly with the enzymes and probiotics. There are also ways to support your detox system that you can get more info from the smart mamas here if you ask. I think the same is true for all of these changes... go slowly and be patient. You will see change, just slower than you wish....

best wishes

jen

[mama9]

Hi Jen! Thank you very much (thank you all of you) for such great advice. You all feel like angels

I got an appointment booked with that muscle testing/kinesiologist practitioner for next week wednesday. He told me to hold off on the probiotics until he sees us and something along the lines of not putting probiotics into my gut until we heal the leaky gut to some extent first (if I have a leaky gut). I am to bring a little expressed milk with me so that he can test it, and some of the rice I gave him a few days ago, just how I prepared it for him, along with any supps I am thinking to take, or taking. He will check us for many things.

I got a call from the ped saying that they are going to refer DS to a special children's allergy hospital in London and that they want me to start him on Neocate and to stop bf (due only to me being on such a limited diet). I say no. I want to continue to bf and with all of the support I have already received here, I am confident that I am on the right track. Thanks so much.

Jen, the release of toxins you talk of. Is this what 'die off' is? I will definitely heed your advice and take it slow as I was tempted to go nuts and sort this issue out at full pelt. Ultimately, any change towards 'better' is amazing for us. xxxxx

[joliebebe]

Originally Posted by mama9

I got an appointment booked with that muscle testing/kinesiologist practitioner for next week wednesday. He told me to hold off on the probiotics until he sees us and something along the lines of not putting probiotics into my gut until we heal the leaky gut to some extent first (if I have a leaky gut).

Hi mama9, I feel for you, we are going through a similar thing. We went to see a kinesiologist yesterday for 5 m/o ds (suspected food allergies) and it ended up being me that needs to be treated. He said we both have candida overgrowth and leaky gut from the candida, the gut lining is very compromised, Im creating antibodies to casein and gluten and passing them along to ds through the milk. He prescribed antifungals and probiotics for the candida and healing my gut. He also did a 'desensitisation' on me and ds where somehow he taps into the bodys nervous system (?) to not recognise certain substances as invaders. Ds cried all the way home, but then had a great nights sleep for the first time in a long time.

Originally Posted by mama9

I got a call from the ped saying that they are going to refer DS to a special children's allergy hospital in London and that they want me to start him on Neocate and to stop bf (due only to me being on such a limited diet). I say no. I want to continue to bf and with all of the support I have already received here, I am confident that I am on the right track. Thanks so much.

Yes! Dont stop bf, it will be the best for your baby in the long run, esp if his immune system/gut is compromised.

I was wondering about die off sypmtoms while breastfeeding......

[mama9]

Hello Sita

I'm sorry that you are going through this too, thanks for your sharing your experience and I hope your lo (and you) get better soon!

It's so interesting what your practitioner said about passing antibodies through milk. It makes sense to me. If the mother can pass antibodies through milk to help fight potential infections (one of the great wonders of bf) then I guess other antibodies can come through, such as the ones you have (casein/gluten). I wonder if your lo is also creating his own anitbodies in addition to yours due to your leaky gut/candida and his own?

Your practitioner sounds to me like a good one and has you both on the path to healing. I'm hoping I get some clarity on what's going on with our guy next week Wednesday and I will post an update on our session.

When he did the desensitisation on both of you, did he mention if he was working on your 'triple warmer' or 'three burners'? The reason I ask is because this system is responsible for the flight or fight response largely associated with allergies, where the body sees a foreign substance as a threat to itself. He may have 'sedated' your triple warmers in order to help the system to understand that gluten and casein are not the enemy, which would in turn allow the massive amounts of energy spent on fighting those substances to be used towards your healing. Did he give you any techniques to use at home to sedate your TW or desensitise your systems? That's awesome that your lo had a great sleep that night. The session must have worked well for him. I'd love to know how you are both doing, please update me/us on your progress and/or pm me anytime.

I agree with you about continuing to bf and thanks for your support on that. I'm glad you reminded me about how bf is going to support his issues all the more. It can get scary when you have docs in white coats telling you what's best when it goes against your instincts and when it comes to my ds I can get even more insecure about the 'right' thing to do, iykwim. He is gaining weight and very tall for his age, but I just can't stand him being in so much pain. As it is, he is doing a lot better this morning. Yesterday though he needed calpol to get through the afternoon, and I don't give him that unless he is not coping at all.

Okay, I'm off to make something to eat whilst ds is nicely content! xxxx

[mama9]

Just wanted to post an update. I have been off of all grains. I find that millet and buckwheat bother him very much. Quinoa is 'okay' for him but terrible for me. It has always caused me to have low blood sugar for some reason, even before pregnancy. Well, I don't know if it is exactly that but I start to get dizzy and light headed as if I haven't eaten enough sugar. The first day of eating it is somewhat okay but I need a long break from it before I go there again without the sugar drop feeling. So, I took out all grains from my diet.

DS started to improve since I cut out grains. Then I moved on to orange sweet potatoes. I'm not sure if they are okay or not okay. It's borderline for those at the moment, although I adore them. I had a white sweet potato but that made DS very, very miserable. He broke out in a few red pimples and had a few screaming fits after one potato. So.....I'm now off those too. I guess that kind of lands me nicely on a SCD doesn't it? Thing is dairy and eggs are out for us so I have to do the SCD minus those things.

I thought I was a high-carb kind of person that thrived on those foods and did poorly without them. Perhaps I was mistaken and it is the candida, etc in my body that feels that way. I had a TERRIBLE day yesterday where I looked like a zombie and felt so faint and 'not with it'. I was feeling at the end of the bf road, and Neocate was on the horizon, looking like a better option for both of us, as I wasn't any good to anyone in that zombie state. A little voice inside me however told me to push on, that this too will pass and I will be feeling much better in no time. Well, today I do feel a lot better and so does DS actually.

I am confused though, as I've never been a great meat eater and have spent around 6 years of my life in total between vegan and vegetarian. I do like meat but I don't digest it too well and don't feel great eating it. I need to eat a LOT more meat than I would like if I want to keep myself going and bf my DS. I'm eating fruits (dark red ones), avocados, various nuts, chicken broths and cooked vegetables right now.

Another thing...I have observed for a while now that when I eat walnuts, DS is feeling SO chilled out and calm after the following feed. I started to eat those just in case their anti-inflammatory properties would somehow help him through my bm and EVERY single time I eat around 5 halves or so, he is so much better. I guess foods can harm and foods can also heal/help.

I ordered the Breaking The Vicious Cycle book which I intend to read from cover to cover. Perhaps he'll eventually be able to tolerate the home made yogurt after a while?

Thanks for reading and have a beautiful day.
xxxxxxx

[mamafish9]

Sounds like good progress, mama! Try coconut milk, it's a wonderful source of fat and tasty.

I'd also try adding eggs back in fairly quickly, and see how you and your babe react - they may be fine, and if so, are a wonderful source of highly digestible protein.

For dairy, I'd try either homemade kefir or 24 hour yogurt. My son tolerated raw goat's milk kefir when he couldn't handle any other dairy.

[JaneS]

Work up to 3 doses per day of a bifidobacteria dominant probiotic... that is the dose which seems to provide the best response especially at his young age. Bifido is the gatekeeper of the neonatal immune system.

Yes, I have posted before about immune factors from the mother's intolerances and allergies passing onto the babe. Which makes sense b/c they would be in your bloodstream. I have learned EVERYTHING about my own health through my son. Although it's been incredibly hard, his issues have revealed so much for me.

I give you a lot of credit mama9 for sticking with breastfeeding, there is so much that is beneficial and healthy about your milk that Neocate couldn't begin to provide!

[joliebebe]

Originally Posted by mama9

It's so interesting what your practitioner said about passing antibodies through milk. It makes sense to me. If the mother can pass antibodies through milk to help fight potential infections (one of the great wonders of bf) then I guess other antibodies can come through, such as the ones you have (casein/gluten). I wonder if your lo is also creating his own anitbodies in addition to yours due to your leaky gut/candida and his own?


When he did the desensitisation on both of you, did he mention if he was working on your 'triple warmer' or 'three burners'?

Yes it does make sense doesn't it, I suspect he was making his own antibodies as well as receiving mine, what a load!

Doctor didnt mention anything about the three burners, although he did some things which Im not quite clear on yet, so perhaps that was it. He tested and stimulated the four areas of digestion, left and right side of abdomen, stomach (just above belly button) and jaw. 3 out of 4 of mine were weak. He also stimulated/massaged the valves that take food from the small intestine to the large intestine and onto the bowel. He said that candida damages the flow of these valves, they should only go one way, but with candida they become two way and digesting food goes back the wrong way. He did this with DS too, and said we can do it at home as well to stimulate digestion and healing.

anything sound familiar?

[mama9]

Originally Posted by joliebebe

He said that candida damages the flow of these valves, they should only go one way, but with candida they become two way and digesting food goes back the wrong way. He did this with DS too, and said we can do it at home as well to stimulate digestion and healing.

anything sound familiar?

Hi, no it doesn't sound familiar but I'm sure there are so many approaches and variations depending on who you go to and what your particular problem is. I'll let you know what my doc says tomorrow at our appointment. I am to take a little of my bm for him to test it on DS too. I'm on the SCD and I think it is actually working! I have a lot of hope but I can't seem to find any info/support/topics on other mama's doing the SCD to help their babies through their bm. I will have to dig deeper as I'm sure they're out there. xxx