Help me get started...

[Amy0417]

My DD and I are both miserable individuals when it comes to feeling good.  For starters I have fibromyalgia.  I was put on Savella 6 months ago & there was a definite change in my fatigue but I still don't feel that great.  I do yoga at least 4 times a week and I am vegetarian.  I take supplements as well.  Also, I was an adopted and formula fed baby.  This week I realized that I could possibly have food allergies.  Especially since I have environmental allergies and I was formula fed.

Now onto DD... she is always tired, crabby, cries at least 5 times a day & she's almost 4!  She is not vegetarian.  We nursed for 23 months and didn't start any solid foods until past 6months.  I think I've been naive in thinking that she shouldn't have any allergies.  She recently had her tonsils and adenoids out because they were restricting her airways while she slept.  I was hopeful that she would start feeling well again but she's just the same.  She wakes up every morning crying.  I just don't think it's normal for an almost 4 year old to cry so much and be so miserable.   

I was hoping you Momma's could give me some advice on allergy testing.  Currently we have public aid insurance.  Would an allergist (?) even take public aid.  I've thought about doing an elimination diet but I'd like definite answers asap and that's why I want to have allergy testing for both DD and I.  I would love it if you can share any information you have.  Thank you!

[bodhitree]

Allergy testing might give you a place to start, but all of those tests are also notoriously inaccurate. And all of the conventional tests that an allergist would do would only show "true" allergies, not intolerances, so the usefulness of the information is very limited. I so wish there was a way to get fast, easy answers, but if there is no one has told me about it yet. You could still do the testing and just use it as a starting point to see what you should try eliminating first. The other option is to skip the tests and just eliminate the foods you suspect most, then start keeping a detailed food journal to see if you can spot patterns. It does take a while to figure everything out.

FWIW I agree with you that it isn't normal for a 4yo to wake up every morning crying. My DD is much younger, but now that we've eliminated a bunch of problem foods, she will often wake up and start calmly talking instead of just crying. She never really did that before. How does your DD sleep during the night? Does she have any skin problems or any obvious digestive issues? And I have read that fibromyalgia can be related to food stuff. You might find it helpful to take a look at the book "Digestive Wellness" by Elizabeth Lipski. She gives a good introduction to these issues that I found very useful.

[Amy0417]

Thank you for all of the information.  I really appreciate it.  I didn't really realize the difference between an allergy and an intolerance.  I talked to DD's dad the other night and he said he's allergic to citrus and intolerant to dairy.  I knew she was allergic to citrus because she breaks out and gets the poops (TMI).  Dairy definitely makes sense.  I think I will try an elimination diet.  Thank you for the book reference!  

Originally Posted by bodhitree 

Allergy testing might give you a place to start, but all of those tests are also notoriously inaccurate. And all of the conventional tests that an allergist would do would only show "true" allergies, not intolerances, so the usefulness of the information is very limited. I so wish there was a way to get fast, easy answers, but if there is no one has told me about it yet. You could still do the testing and just use it as a starting point to see what you should try eliminating first. The other option is to skip the tests and just eliminate the foods you suspect most, then start keeping a detailed food journal to see if you can spot patterns. It does take a while to figure everything out.

FWIW I agree with you that it isn't normal for a 4yo to wake up every morning crying. My DD is much younger, but now that we've eliminated a bunch of problem foods, she will often wake up and start calmly talking instead of just crying. She never really did that before. How does your DD sleep during the night? Does she have any skin problems or any obvious digestive issues? And I have read that fibromyalgia can be related to food stuff. You might find it helpful to take a look at the book "Digestive Wellness" by Elizabeth Lipski. She gives a good introduction to these issues that I found very useful.

[DevaMajka]

Since her dad has allergies, she's more likely to have allergies. I'd say it would be worth calling around to see if any allergists will accept public aid.

ED's are hard, but you could get answers fast if there's only one or two main problem foods. So, the waking crying is every day, right? Then I'd look at a food that you eat every day to every 2-3 days. Unfortunately, that means you'll probably have to take out a favorite food. But a lot of the time, people see improvements in a few days, sometimes a week. It *can* take longer, but it seems that it's pretty common to see some improvement pretty soon.

[kjbrown92]

Personally, I'd take both dairy and gluten out for you guys. The rheumatologist I saw said I had all the symptoms of fibromyalgia but didn't actually have it. And they tried me on fibro meds, which didn't help at all. Two of my kids have food intolerances so I went off the ones that were common to them both (and happen to be the top 4 food intolerances): dairy, gluten, soy and corn. Then I weaned myself off all the meds, and found that I wasn't having the constant muscle spasms, IBS symptoms, etc. so it's definitely worth a try.

The food journal is key. Remember that dairy can take a week to get out of your system, and some people say that gluten can take as long as a month to get out of your system, so be patient. And it does eliminate a lot of processed foods, but as long as you eat whole foods, you'll be fine. Beans, fruits, veggies, potatoes/sweet potatoes, grains like quinoa, sorghum, buckwheat, millet, chickpea flour (cheapest of the bunch), etc. And meats for your DD (just make sure they're not injected with anything).

I took my kids to a regular allergist to rule out allergies, so that I knew that I was just dealing with intolerances. And you might even find that she has regular allergies (food or environmental).

[Amy0417]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92 

Personally, I'd take both dairy and gluten out for you guys. The rheumatologist I saw said I had all the symptoms of fibromyalgia but didn't actually have it. And they tried me on fibro meds, which didn't help at all. Two of my kids have food intolerances so I went off the ones that were common to them both (and happen to be the top 4 food intolerances): dairy, gluten, soy and corn. Then I weaned myself off all the meds, and found that I wasn't having the constant muscle spasms, IBS symptoms, etc. so it's definitely worth a try.

The food journal is key. Remember that dairy can take a week to get out of your system, and some people say that gluten can take as long as a month to get out of your system, so be patient. And it does eliminate a lot of processed foods, but as long as you eat whole foods, you'll be fine. Beans, fruits, veggies, potatoes/sweet potatoes, grains like quinoa, sorghum, buckwheat, millet, chickpea flour (cheapest of the bunch), etc. And meats for your DD (just make sure they're not injected with anything).

I took my kids to a regular allergist to rule out allergies, so that I knew that I was just dealing with intolerances. And you might even find that she has regular allergies (food or environmental).

Great information!  I need to learn more about gluten.  Is gluten in all wheat products?  Some items list gluten and others don't.  I've been wondering if I am allergic to corn because whenever I eat tortilla chips I get an itchy mouth.  Yet, I get an itchy mouth a lot haha!  So, who knows.    I'm definitely going to start a food diary.  

[Amy0417]

Originally Posted by DevaMajka 

Since her dad has allergies, she's more likely to have allergies. I'd say it would be worth calling around to see if any allergists will accept public aid.

ED's are hard, but you could get answers fast if there's only one or two main problem foods. So, the waking crying is every day, right? Then I'd look at a food that you eat every day to every 2-3 days. Unfortunately, that means you'll probably have to take out a favorite food. But a lot of the time, people see improvements in a few days, sometimes a week. It *can* take longer, but it seems that it's pretty common to see some improvement pretty soon.

Yes, the crying is every morning and all day.  This morning she's cried for 30 minutes when she woke up.  I do not know what to do anymore!  She does like to eat a banana every night before bed.  She didn't have one last night though and still woke up crying.  She could have been crying for a different reason.  I ask her what's wrong and if anything is hurting her.  Today's excuse was "There was a hair in my face and I couldn't move it."  That seems pretty bogus to me.  I think she cries out of discomfort but can't explain it so after crying for some long she makes up a random excuse.  Most of the time it's " I just wanted a huggie or a kissie".  But this is after 20 minutes of wining and crying and not telling me what's going on.  

[kjbrown92]

Originally Posted by Amy0417 

Originally Posted by kjbrown92 

Personally, I'd take both dairy and gluten out for you guys. The rheumatologist I saw said I had all the symptoms of fibromyalgia but didn't actually have it. And they tried me on fibro meds, which didn't help at all. Two of my kids have food intolerances so I went off the ones that were common to them both (and happen to be the top 4 food intolerances): dairy, gluten, soy and corn. Then I weaned myself off all the meds, and found that I wasn't having the constant muscle spasms, IBS symptoms, etc. so it's definitely worth a try.

The food journal is key. Remember that dairy can take a week to get out of your system, and some people say that gluten can take as long as a month to get out of your system, so be patient. And it does eliminate a lot of processed foods, but as long as you eat whole foods, you'll be fine. Beans, fruits, veggies, potatoes/sweet potatoes, grains like quinoa, sorghum, buckwheat, millet, chickpea flour (cheapest of the bunch), etc. And meats for your DD (just make sure they're not injected with anything).

I took my kids to a regular allergist to rule out allergies, so that I knew that I was just dealing with intolerances. And you might even find that she has regular allergies (food or environmental).

Great information!  I need to learn more about gluten.  Is gluten in all wheat products?  Some items list gluten and others don't.  I've been wondering if I am allergic to corn because whenever I eat tortilla chips I get an itchy mouth.  Yet, I get an itchy mouth a lot haha!  So, who knows.    I'm definitely going to start a food diary.  

Corn is a definite possibility. gluten is in wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut, something I'm forgetting and contaminated oats (you can buy gluten-free oats though some people can't tolerate those either so most people recommend taking them out at first, then trialing them later). The G-free diet (by Elisabeth Hasselbeck) is pretty good so far. Itchy mouth doesn't sound good. There's oral allergy syndrome but I thought that was usually from fruits.
 

Originally Posted by Amy0417 

Yes, the crying is every morning and all day.  This morning she's cried for 30 minutes when she woke up.  I do not know what to do anymore!  She does like to eat a banana every night before bed.  She didn't have one last night though and still woke up crying.  She could have been crying for a different reason.  I ask her what's wrong and if anything is hurting her.  Today's excuse was "There was a hair in my face and I couldn't move it."  That seems pretty bogus to me.  I think she cries out of discomfort but can't explain it so after crying for some long she makes up a random excuse.  Most of the time it's " I just wanted a huggie or a kissie".  But this is after 20 minutes of wining and crying and not telling me what's going on.  

That doesn't sound normal to me. When they don't feel good, kids usually have a lower tolerance for everything else (patience, itchy clothing, all sorts of stuff).