help i'm so hungry!

[dawnof77]

my strictly breastfed ds seems to have food allergies/intolerances-i had him tested. i have been trying to avoid the offending foods and have done really well with most. however, i am so hungry and have gnarly sugar cravings-low blood sugar? not enough protein? not enough fat? not enough carbs? i cannot buy my own food which might help. i have heard there are enzymes (pancreatin) and that there is food allergy treatment (NAET?). anyone know more about these things? i need to figure something out but i don't want to harm my baby.

[MMMOM]

Oh yeah, I remember that hunger feeling. I am a vegetarian and I remember wishing I could eat some meat, so that I can eat something! Doing the elimination diet was difficult, but was well worth it for me. I was able to figure out the three main allergic foods for my baby and saw a big improvement in her skin. We are currently doing the NAET treatments, but it is not quick, the treatments take weeks/months. We waited three months just to get the first appointment. If you look into the treatments, call the doctor and ask specifically if they will just do the testing part of it for you. I know mine did not and will not. If you find one that will do just the testing part, at least you will know what to eliminate, then you can get the treatments.
For me the hardest part was trying to get the protein, I needed the protein to keep up with the milk supply.
Hope this helps.

[Panserbjorne]

What is he reacting to? It would be helpful if you posted a list. Also, I'm sorry to say that it sounds like you might be going through detox. What are you eating now, and how much? Detox often manifests as hunger and insatiable cravings for food that you are in fact addicted to. IF this is detox, it will be over soon. You also have plenty of options in terms of healing your gut...have you read about the specific carbohydrate diet? It helps heal gut lining so you eliminate allergic reactions. There's also NAET, homeopathy, EFT, and supplements (L.glutamine, zinc, quercetin, MSM) that accelerate gut healing. Let us know what you are eating just to rule out any deficiencies.

[granolagirl97]

Firefaery,


Where - or what - would you read about the "specific carbohydrate diet" you mention. I just visited my homeopath for the first time yesterday for allergies and she suggested I need to heal my gut (such lovely terminology there! ). I will be visiting her in a week again to get more specific info and rx, but I was just wondering what you were referring to for the meantime. Thanks!

[Panserbjorne]

The book is Breaking the Vicious Cycle you can also go to the website: www.breakingtheviciouscycle.com The diet is called the specific carbohydrate diet, and you can also google it and get a ton of recipe sites and things. In the health and healing section there is a thread called "healing the gut tribe" full of mamas doing the SCD. The purpose is to heal through nutrition, restore the proper gut flora and seal the intestinal lining. It really works very quickly. Once you heal the lining of the gut you eliminate food allergies. Ds, dd and I have all gotten rid of our allergies, with the exception of gluten, but dd and I have celiac disease. When we started it we each had 17-20 allergies. This along with homeopathy is a great step in a healing direction. We use homeopathy as well. Good luck!

[AnnieSnuggles]

We go to a Naturopath in Bellevue, Washington. She is very good and she does NAET too. They also have a machine called the ONDAMED that uses electromagnetic frequency to unblock blockages. Funky stuff. It is suppose to help cure allergies faster, but we just started, so it remains to be seen. She was very accurate though with what DS problem foods are.

I hope things get better soon.

[amyandelle]

What foods are you avoiding? We do not eat Dairy, Soy, or Gluten so if you tell me what you are avoiding I'll have tons of suggestions for you!
Amy

[danaan]

I recently learned about free amino acids, which are amino acids not in protein chains. They are found in vegetables, and are easier to use than proteins which must be broken down. Eating a wide variety of organic veggies and gf grains (my favorites are quinoa and brown rices) gives us what we need. Also I beleive that eating non-sweet corn (like red, brown, and starch corns) and organic red potatoes are easier to digest than the "regular" corn and potatoes. Some of us can't eat either, but for me it works well.

Quinoa is great if you are craving protein but are vegetarian or GF.

OP, you said you don't buy your own food. Can you order stuff online or give the person who does buy your food a list???

[dawnof77]

okay, i finally figured out how to reply-duh!
so, we can't have dairy, tomatoes, cabbage, corn or chocolate. also, no grain w/fruit-so hard!
i can't buy my own food because i work and live in community and the food is purchased by others. we do not buy organic food. i sometimes buy some snacks to help with hunger but don't have enough money to buy much, so i just try to do the best with what i have.
the thing with these allergies/sensitivities is supposedly they are mine AND wyatt's. but i never had problems with them before (well, maybe a bit with tomatoes). and i only even notice a difference with the grain-fruit combo. no difference with others and i had NO problems until postpartum.
hopefully soon we will buy our own food and maybe we can try to gut healing option. i am bummed to have so many problems-especially because it's already difficult to eat enough to nurse. i am below my pre-preg weight even with my larger breasts.
i don't think detox is the problem. i had been off the foods for probably months-3-4 with the dairy and tomatoes. i'm just hungry 'cause i can't find enough to eat.
hopefully, i will find someone who can do NAET and teach me more about my gut and whatever went wrong in the first place.
thank you all so much

[mpeel]

You have a great many meal options with those out of your life. Chef's Salad with vinegrette; Noodles with soy cheese (or rice or nut cheese); meats of all sorts; eggs; baked goods; etc. I think the main thing is to make sure you are getting enough calories. This is important because 1) as you see weight loss and 2) not enough calories can mean a loss of milk eventually. Eat what you can find now in greater quantities. A nursing mother needs more calories than a non-nursing woman. Surely those supplying food will understand that. If not, you really do need to find a way to get your own food. If you lose your milk, are they going to buy hypo-allergenic formula?

[courtenay_e]

Originally Posted by dawnof77

okay, i finally figured out how to reply-duh!
so, we can't have dairy, tomatoes, cabbage, corn or chocolate. also, no grain w/fruit-so hard!
i am bummed to have so many problems-especially because it's already difficult to eat enough to nurse. i am below my pre-preg weight even with my larger breasts.
i'm just hungry 'cause i can't find enough to eat.

Oh! I know EXACTLY how you feel! My daughter is allergic to cow's milk protein, eggs, cherries, concord grapes, chocolate, soy, all nuts...I'm forgetting something, but I can't remember what right now. We cook EVERYTHING from scratch. And, she started showing these allergies VERY violently, at three weeks. And she was a voracious nurser (every 20 minutes or so, until the week before she weaned). I went from a prepregnancy six to being a size zero with the clothes hanging off of me, 'cause I just couldn't find enough foods that she COULD eat (well, that I could eat, at that point), to get enough calories in me. I finally saw a nutritionist who specialized in food allergies (my insurance didn't cover it, but it was worth the scrimping!), and she helped me add a bunch of calories into my diet. That's worth a try. Also, if you're a member of the community, you should have some small say as to what is purchased...try rice milk. Try eggs replacer made by ener*g, if eggs are an issue. These things can be used in place of eggs and milk in pretty much anything you'd eat. If gluten is an issue, there are a lot of great recipes out there to try...and gluten free flours to do it with. Until the time that you can do that, perhaps you can eat things like seeds, nuts, seed butters as snacks. Add fruit juice to your diet a few times a day. Add gravy (again, if gluten is an issue, you can try arrowroot powder as a thickener) to everything you can. Good luck!

[elight23]

My son has been receiveing NAET treatments since he was two months old, he just turned 6mo. and he is doing MUCH better. He received treatment anywhere from one to three times a week. Now I can eat just about anything I want (I was vegan anyway). Whenever I eat protien, I take a Bromelain (pineapple enzymes that helps me to break food down better before it gets to him) and neither of us seem to have near the same level of discomforts that we used to. He has way less gas, less mucousy less frequent diapers, and he sleeps better.
You can check out the NAET webpage to find a practictioner. It is covered by insurance that covers naturopatic care. All you have to do is fine a naturopath who is trained in NAET accupressure.
I highly recommend NAET and Bromelian.
By the way, my sensitivities did not become obvious to me until postpartum as well. I was told that this is in part due to the stress hormones of pregnancy. I became very gassy and uncomfortable with a lot of foods that didn't bother me prepregnancy. Supposidly some of those sensitivities imprinted upon my son and the rest is supposidly genetic.
If you can't find or afford NAET you can do some yourself, we've cleared cotton and acid ourselves, and the Bromelian is easy to find.

[dawnof77]

how exactly would i do NAET myself?
also, firefaery, can you tell me more about SCD? i'll look up the forum, too. thanks.

[dawnof77]

how do i do NAET myself?

[alwayslearning2]

to learn NAET yourself you could read a book by Ellen Cutler... It's called the Bioset allergy elimination etchnique... there is also a video that demonstrates the accupressure points described in the book.

[fibre_artist]

Hopefully you've gotten the food situation evened out a bit - I just felt compelled to post because I ended up in the same situation in a student co-op. And so I tried to eat what I could from the provided food, and I got myself anemic amongst other deficiencies! It was really important for me to get out of the meal plan (which they finally acceeded to, due to both luck and sympathy). I had to move out the next fall before they started the food again though, but it was worth it for me. It's really hard to figure out new ways of eating - but that too is worth it! I love the cookbook "Allergy Cooking with Ease" (N. Dumke) - hopefully you can supplement with your own snacks enough, or petition the group to add more variety.