how long is this going to last??

[proudmamanow]

Back in January, we had our then 22 month old IgG tested, as she had been sick for almost a year (cough, runny nose, poor sleeping etc.) Her IgG test came back with 43 items on it. We have diligently removed the following: dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, ALL legumes, ALL citrus, almonds, peanuts, AND rice--and more things I'm not thinking of right now, lol! She has been off all these items for 7 months now.

The good news: it has made a WORLD of difference to her health. She is a happy, healthy girl, who rarely gets sick, is so much happier (her stomach must have been so sore, poor baby), sleeps through the night. She even speaks MUCH better because her ears aren't constantly clogged! And about 2 weeks after we removed these items, she potty learned! So all in all it's been an amazing transformation.

But we are really really feeling burned out . I guess we never really expected to have to keep ALL these items out. Our naturopath implied that we would be able to bring back many of the lower value items quickly, and that has NOT happened. The only thing she can eat now that she couldn't have before are potatoes. Everything else gives her a stomach ache and often other symptoms too

I guess what I'm wondering, is how long should we expect this to last???? We have lots of recipes, we can make many wonderful alternatives. But we are so tired of never being able to eat out, try new things etc. etc. Does anyone have any insights? She takes an excellent allergen-free probiotic every day, as well as fish oil. Is there anything else we can do??

Sorry for the pity party/vent! I am really grateful for how much our dd's health has improved...just feeling a little burnt out.

[changingseasons]

Some other things you might try:
- digestive enzymes
- quercetin (for inflammation)
- l-glutamine (for gut healing)
- vitamin C
- vitamin D
- maybe zinc to increase stomach acid
- B12 can help allergic symptoms.... I'm sure there are many more that I'm missing.

eta:

[mamafish9]

Are you still nursing? So are you restricted from these items as well, or just your daughter?

If it's just her, then go out on date night and enjoy a nice meal with your DH . The thing is, even if she gains back a number of foods, it's probably going to be fairly restricted in terms of eating out, packaged foods, etc. My son only reacts to gluten any more (and even that's questionable) - when it's foods cooked at home. In restaurants and packaged foods, he reacts to the "non-food" garbage that's in almost everything - so we're still really restricted taking him out to eat anywhere.

With a gut as reactive as hers was, you might be able to start rotating back in some of the lower reactive foods over the next year - but the biggies will probably take the longest, and she may never get them all back. So figure out how you can wiggle around the restrictions for yourselves - I know it can feel *really* limiting, but it's better than an unhappy kiddo.

[ASusan]

You have my sympathies. Can I relay an anecdote? My maternal aunt had food allergies/sensitivities (in the 50s), with asthma and eczema as the primary effects. My grandmother did a total elimination diet with her...and added foods back in one by one (no IgG tests back then), on the instruction of a top allergist in Boston. My aunt has no memories of ever having asthma or a restricted diet. I asked my grandmother when my aunt was able to eat everything. (because we have foods that DS can't eat, but we hope he will "grow out of it").

"Oh, I think by about age 7 or 8, she was able to handle things, even strawberries (one of her most sensitive things)."

Ugh. I get so exhausted thinking we may be doing this for another 5+ years.