DD reacting to foods. New to all this. Feeling overwhelmed.

[mamacolleen]

Okay, I officially can't get enough of this forum.... but, with all that I've read over the past week or so, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with how to apply it to our situation. DH has posted here a few times asking specific questions.... I want to put it all down in one spot because each time I come here looking for answers, I come away more confused.
So I figured I'd post a little about us and ask for some wisdom.

We have known for a few months that DD (15 months) has had some food intolerances. Actually, I've kind of suspected since soon after she was born, but it's really become apparent in the last few months. She for sure reacts badly to the following (that we are aware of): tomatoes, citrus, all berries. She gets an instant red rash wherever the offending food touches her. Looks like she's got burned skin... red and warm to touch. Took those out of her diet a few months ago. Since then, she gets these diaper rashes that come and go but are really intense. It's definitely related to whatever's in her poo, since it's only where the poo touches her bum and I can catch her like 5 seconds after she's pooed and it's still immediately red and like on fire. She screams and cries when I have to wipe. Doesn't usually last that long but we just can't seem to get rid of it completely. Speaking of poo, her's are usually still quite loose and have large chunks of undigested food. She is still BF a fair bit so I know that can be normal.... but I don't know what her poo is "supposed" to look like.

I know, from reading here, that those foods are all high salicylates... so we thought maybe that was it. But even with keeping a food journal, and eliminating the obvious offenders from her diet (we also clued in that grapes seemed to do the same thing and likely peaches/nectarines as well), the diaper rashes haven't gone away completely and we couldn't figure out where they were coming from. Also, her sleep is really not great. She's up nursing at least 3 times a night and often way more than that. She also goes through periods when she fights going to sleep a LOT and she just seems like she can't relax her body... she's so restless nursing to sleep those nights like moving her body around all over the place. And she'll have nights too where she just doesn't seem to get into a really deep sleep. She's just restless, calling out in her sleep, waking up fussy a lot. She recently went through a period where she was up like hourly. That's thankfully calmed down a bit. I don't know if her sleep issues are related to her food issues but I suspect they are, at least in part.

Another symptom I think anyway is that she is really really gassy. Like she farts a lot. and it's really stinky. and her poo is REALLY stinky. I don't know if that's "normal".

So anyway, we recently took her to a holistic nutritionist, referred to her by our ND, to get some electro-testing for food intolerances. She tested as reacting to this really long list of foods, including all of the ones that knew (right at the top of the list) and some that surprised us. It was surrogate testing, so I wonder if that skewed the results? The HN said no, but we're both a little doubtful. Other foods that it showed were bad for her were: peanuts, beef, corn, casein and whey (except cows milk yogurt apparently tested okay?!), almonds, sunflowers, mustard, ginger, green beans, apples and carrots (among other random ones). But it showed that peaches were fine. So we gave her 1/2 a peach. Next day, worst diaper rash ever. I felt terrible wiping her bum... but I honestly don't know what else it could have been since we've been sticking fairly strictly to the list.

Anyway, when I first saw the list, I thought it couldn't be sals after all since some high sals foods (cinnamon, grapes, sweet potato for eg) she testing okay for. But reading this forum now I'm not so sure since it sounds like you can be sensitive to sals in foods but not to all high sals foods... is that true?
Does this still sound like it could be a sals reaction or something else? If it's sals, what can we do beyond eliminating the offending foods so that her gut heals enough to tolerate them eventually? I'm feeling really limited in what we can feed her especially since now she can't eat corn and most dairy!

I have been trying to do epsom salts baths with her but she doesn't get a bath every day and even when we do, it's still in the tiny kitchen sink since we don't have a bath tub yet (bathroom is in middle of long reno). So I can't get an epsom salt bath with her.

A little background too, which might help.... she has been exposed to antibiotics a few times, unfortunately. First, she was a c/s baby and got it then. Second, I had a round of keflex when she was about 6 weeks because of mastitis (stupid stupid). I KNOW the keflex messed up her gut because she got these neon green poops right around the time I was on it. She also was exposed to formula on day 3 and maybe day 4 of her life because my milk took a long time to come in and she lost too much weight. Finally, I had a stupid rash on my arm from about 6-24 weeks that was mis-diagnosed for ages as a fungal infection. I had multiple rounds of topical anti-fungals and a round of oral diflucan until I finally got referred to a dermatologist who biopsied it and told me it was hives. To what, I still don't know.

She was a really challenging newborn. Needed to be in arms all the time (hated the sling, hated the stroller, hated the carrier). Needed to be held upright in certain positions as well. She cried a lot that I remember. She didn't really nap. She had a lot of gas even as a newborn and had trouble getting it out. I attributed a lot of her fussiness to the trauma she experienced during birth and we saw a chiro for awhile who seemed to help. I toyed with the idea that she might be reacting to food in my diet but was so overwhelmed with motherhood that all I really did about it was cut out caffeine and cabbage (seemed to be 2 obvious offenders) and trialed going off dairy for a couple weeks but it seemed to only work a little bit... not enough to keep it up.

I'm sorry this is so long and kudos if you've gotten through this. I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed with all of this. I really want her to be able to eat a full variety of food and I want to know how to get to that point from where we are now.

Any thoughts appreciated! Thank you so much.

[mamafish9]

Yes, it sounds like it could be sals. No testing will ID sals, although it sounds like it has identified some high sals foods.

What have you taken out so far - just the very high sals foods? Did you take out high sals oils, nuts, spices? Tomatoes? Are they out of your diet as well?

If it is sals, supping mag, molybdenum, and P5P (active form of B6) will help improve sals tolerance, sometimes immensely and quite quickly. P5P will pass via breastmilk, so you can take that, and she'll get it. Nutricology makes molybdenum drops that are pretty tasteless, so that's easy (do for both of you). Mag is a toughie - make sure you're taking tons of it (any form besides oxide). See if you can get any in her, and make the Epsom salts baths a priority - in the sink is fine, it won't take as much Epsom salts to get the same concentration for her! I'd suspect mag deficiency with the sleep issues, fighting sleep, etc, so even though it's really hard to supp mag for little ones (doesn't taste good), any little bit you can get in her will help.

I'd also suggest finding her a good probiotic not grown on dairy, and with no FOS/inulin - Kirkman Labs makes a good infant one, I think.

And I'd personally pull the yogurt right now too. My son did tolerate raw goat's milk kefir when he didn't tolerate any other dairy, but go completely dairy free for two weeks first and then add the yogurt back in before you decide it's OK.

[Koalamom]

mamafish, what brand p5p do you take? I need to get some and not sure if some are better than other (and do not contain corn or soy).

Molybdenum really helps up. Super easy to get into kids. I have a 15 month old too and it sounds like I was reading about him.

We don't have tub, so we use a tote since my babe now makes a mess with the sink water everywhere. I also try to focus on foods with magnesium, like swiss chard, well soaked and then cooked beans, and fish. My babe can handle swiss chard greens cooked, but the stems are too much for him.

What about mom soaking feet in epsom salts? Not sure if that goes through the milk enough, but any extra couldn't hurt.

[kjbrown92]

I second going completely off dairy for both of you. It's the #1 intolerance. It also sounds to me like sals are a problem and I don't know if that test is definitive for food chemicals. Start keeping a food journal as well, if you haven't already. I think you're on the right track!

[mamacolleen]

Thank you so much!!

At work so can't post long but I have a couple more questions.

I have taken all her no-no foods out of my diet (well I used to sneak cheese but resolve to no more!).

We do give her a probiotic daily mixed in her yoghurt. Not sure if it's dairy-free but it does have acidophilus and bifidus since that's what our ND suggested. I think it has helped her gas. How in the heck am i supposed to give her a probiotic if I can't mix it in yoghurt?

I was really hoping that we wouldn't have to come off dairy completely. Being corn-free and totally dairy-free seems very daunting to me. What about sheep's cheese? How do you get fats in your LO's?

Could it still be sals if she can tolerate some of the high sals foods?

Is there a prenatal that has the P5P? I want to get pregnant again in a couple months and should start taking a prenatal.

I like the foot soaking idea! I'll try that, even if it's only to be relaxing for me!

And if we start supping, is there a time when she may be able to start eating some of these foods she's reacting to now?

Thanks again so much!

[kjbrown92]

I wouldn't try anything new, like sheep's milk, until she's at baseline (no symptoms - yes, that includes sleeping better). It's daunting but not impossible. We've been dairy, gluten, soy, corn free for over 2 years, and more foods besides (I have two food intolerant children who have different foods they're avoiding, and they are rotating some of those every 4 days). Do you need food ideas? There's a recipes thread, I think it's up under resources.

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by mamacolleen

Thank you so much!!

At work so can't post long but I have a couple more questions.

I have taken all her no-no foods out of my diet (well I used to sneak cheese but resolve to no more!).

We do give her a probiotic daily mixed in her yoghurt. Not sure if it's dairy-free but it does have acidophilus and bifidus since that's what our ND suggested. I think it has helped her gas. How in the heck am i supposed to give her a probiotic if I can't mix it in yoghurt?

I was really hoping that we wouldn't have to come off dairy completely. Being corn-free and totally dairy-free seems very daunting to me. What about sheep's cheese? How do you get fats in your LO's?

Could it still be sals if she can tolerate some of the high sals foods?

Is there a prenatal that has the P5P? I want to get pregnant again in a couple months and should start taking a prenatal.

I like the foot soaking idea! I'll try that, even if it's only to be relaxing for me!

And if we start supping, is there a time when she may be able to start eating some of these foods she's reacting to now?

Thanks again so much!

I'd stop the probiotic for now, or get one that is dairy & FOS free (hard to find). You can add it back in once you know you have the reactive foods out.

Sals is a bucket reaction - so sometimes the foods pass, sometimes it depends on how many other sals you've eaten recently. What high sals foods is she OK with?

My DS used to be so sensitive that neither of us could eat anything except the low sals list. Now he can eat anything except for concentrated fruit flavors, so yeah, the supps can really work to increase sals tolerance (it took about a month to start seeing improvements, for some people, it only takes a few days).

You need to come totally off the dairy so that you can figure out a baseline, then you can try adding yogurt, sheep cheese, etc. It will likely only take a couple of weeks to know, so it may not be long term.

I like the Thorne prenatal, good forms of folate and B's, and some P5P, http://www.iherb.com/Thorne-Research...aps/18131?at=0

[Koalamom]

You could mix the probiotics in juice, smoothies, or even sprinkle on breakfast cereal or oatmeal.

Yeah another cut out all dairy even butter. For fats, we use spectrum palm oil, flax oil (not sure how that is with sals), and lots of animal fast like tallow. We would use lard if we weren't allergic to it. We also eat nuts and seeds, but with moderation. Fats are very important especially for a growing kid.

I have found with such heavy inflammation from sals reaction, watching our omega 6 intake and making sure we get enough omega 3's have been a significant help in our healing. Just something more to think about.

[mamacolleen]

Okay, so going completely dairy-free (both of us) starting today. Should we stop the probiotic altogether or get one that's also dairy-free? What would be the point of stopping it?

She does seems to be able to tolerate sweet potatos and avocados and apples, which I know are high sals, which is why this is confusing me. Although I know the testing we did showed that she was having some borderline reactions to avocados and apples. But I'm questioning the validity of the test itself since it suggested she could tolerate peach fine and she clearly couldn't.

Going this saturday to get some prenatal, mag and molybdenum. and a dairy-free probiotic.

I know fats are super important for a growing baby/toddler, which is why the dairy-free thing worries me a little. (new to this so bear with me). For fats now she gets avocado and olive oil/safflower oil which is what we cook with. that doesn't seem like enough but i don't know if i should be adding anything new now. We do eat beans (all kinds) and meat and she gets eggs probably every other day. I can up that to every day since she likes them and it doesn't seem to bother her. We also eat fish about once a week. What else can i give to her that's good fats? I was giving her peanut butter but the test showed she was reacting pretty strongly to it so we've cut it out for now.

Also, tell me more about the omegas. I know omega 3's are from fish and flax right? Isn't flax not so good because of the phytoestrogens? Her soy intake is going up now that we're off dairy so I don't want to overload her too much. Where do omega 6's come from?

Thanks so much again for all your help.

[ASusan]

Originally Posted by mamacolleen

Okay, so going completely dairy-free (both of us) starting today. Should we stop the probiotic altogether or get one that's also dairy-free? What would be the point of stopping it?

Stop the probiotic until you get a dairy-free one. Otherwise, you haven't gone completely dairy-free. (DS reacted to a probiotic grown on/with dairy when I used it vaginally for a yeast infection.)

She does seems to be able to tolerate sweet potatos and avocados and apples, which I know are high sals, which is why this is confusing me. Although I know the testing we did showed that she was having some borderline reactions to avocados and apples. But I'm questioning the validity of the test itself since it suggested she could tolerate peach fine and she clearly couldn't.

If it is sals you're concerned about, then because it's a bucket reaction, they might be able to tolerate small amounts, but once there is a significant amount in their system, they then react. For a LO, I would assume the test is unreliable; go based on her reactions.

I know fats are super important for a growing baby/toddler, which is why the dairy-free thing worries me a little. (new to this so bear with me). For fats now she gets avocado and olive oil/safflower oil which is what we cook with. that doesn't seem like enough but i don't know if i should be adding anything new now. We do eat beans (all kinds) and meat and she gets eggs probably every other day. I can up that to every day since she likes them and it doesn't seem to bother her. We also eat fish about once a week. What else can i give to her that's good fats? I was giving her peanut butter but the test showed she was reacting pretty strongly to it so we've cut it out for now.

Coconut oil? That's what we use. And coconut milk, which is high in fat. Unless you are concerned about sals, which I think coconut is high in.

Grass-fed meat fat? I can't remember if you're vegetarian.

Also, tell me more about the omegas. I know omega 3's are from fish and flax right? Isn't flax not so good because of the phytoestrogens? Her soy intake is going up now that we're off dairy so I don't want to overload her too much. Where do omega 6's come from?

If you're breastfeeding, YOU are making omega 3s for the LO (I believe).
Omega 6s are from plant oils, primarily. This would be a lesser concern for me, if I were in your situation.

[mamafish9]

Palm oil/shortening, grassfed meat (lamb is very fatty, we ate a lot of it in the early days).

It may be that if you get some of the highest sals foods out, she will do OK with moderate sals. So I always encourage a week trial of low sals, to see if this is a key issue. If it is, then the supps should help, and you can work out ways for long term sustainable healthy eating. For a week, just keep her full and as happy as possible, and don't worry too much about nutritional balance.

You need good fat sources to keep up your milk, and the palm oil/shortening and lamb would be good sources, as well as fish (we also ate salmon quite often).

Heck, it may be that dairy is fine too. But for now, keep out everything you have out, try low sals, and figure out what you're dealing with.

[mamacolleen]

Okay quick question:

What is FOS and why does it need to be out of the probiotics?

Going today to get supplements. Praying these work. What kind of doses are we talking about for the magnesium and molybdenum?

Thanks!

[mamacolleen]

okay, answered my own question about the FOS. But I'm still wondering about doses for the mag and molybdenum. I got magnesium citrate powder and the container says it can cause diarrhea. She already doesn't have the most formed stools and I'm concerned about over-dosing on the mag. What kind of dose should I start with? Also, do I take the mag and it passes through the BM or does she take it directly? What about the mo?

I got the thorne prenatals and am taking those.

We are now on day 5 of dairy-free. DD had some bites of a muffin on saturday that I'm pretty sure had cows milk in it so I had to start counting again. No diaper rash and no skin rashes. Although I'm not sure if that's the dairy or just me going off the high sals foods that we *know* she can't tolerate. She does seem to be less gassy but her sleep is still quite restless. Although she is falling asleep with less resistance. We give her a homeopathic remedy (puls) that our ND gave us to help cut down the restlessness. At this point, I don't know if the restless sleep is all food-related or if there's other stuff going on too.... like her canines have been on their way in for like 2-3 months and I'm not home everyday (WOHM 3 long days/week).

Finally, starting early this AM, I have been having some really bad gas that I can't get rid of. And my stool was really green. I had some cabbage last night but this seems to be beyond just a reaction to that. Any thoughts?

Should I be taking a probiotic too?

Thanks for answering all my questions!