Healing the Gut Tribe-October - Page 2

[Chinese Pistache]

Does that include all beans? We eat a lot of them and haven't had any probs--even had lentil soup last week that didn't cause any neg reaction that I saw. I wonder about the potential of an allergy forming, though, since we know about soy. Is there an argument for avoiding other legumes at this point?

[JaneS]

Just popping in to ask FF why she was shocked at my picture!?

Annikate,
I USED to be hot. Before motherhood. :

[Annikate]

Originally Posted by JaneS

Just popping in to ask FF why she was shocked at my picture!?

Annikate,
I USED to be hot. Before motherhood. :

Me too. Hard to believe now.

[Punchy Kaby]

FF-so do you think that 10 months old is too young to get a good readout of allergies through a blood test?

[Panserbjorne]

Here's my advice-if at 10 months the babe is EBF then YOU get the testing done and see what you are leaking. Otherwise it depends on the severity of the reaction. *IF* insurance will pay-go for it. They actually recommend that you test again in a year or two to see of things stay stable. Then you'll get your readings now and again after the second b-day. If you are paying out of pocket and the reactions aren't too too bad, then I would wait.

The rule of thumb is if there are two know allergens in one family then you avoid everything in that family.

Jane-I never expected dark hair!

[Annikate]

Originally Posted by Nolansmum

FF-so do you think that 10 months old is too young to get a good readout of allergies through a blood test?

We had dd blood tested when she was almost a year old. She was eating *some* things but certainly not wheat which she tested highly allergic to. I don't regret having it done because it confirmed suspicions but I do wish that we had added more foods to the panel. (Her allergist only tested about 10 or 15.)

[Panserbjorne]

Wow! I think we tested 115. The standard ped.panel is 88 (I think) but I opted to go with the adult panel because what mattered was what I was allergic to and therefore exposing her to. Again, it is worth it, but if you are not financially able to and really want it done, it may be worth waiting. That is if you can. I wouldn't have waited because dd was in bad shape.

[Punchy Kaby]

Well, we go through the military for our health care, so everything through them is free. These blood tests are the kind you can get done at a regular lab? I suppose I could convince his ped to do the testing. His reactions are not horrible but he has not been exposed to wheat, corn or soy for a few months. DS is eating some things but he is getting to the age when other people might be tempted to give him food that is not approved by me: . If I have proof I may be more successful in stopping that from happening.

[mama-a-llama]

Originally Posted by firefaery

I made my own formula with ds. There are dairy free options, but I didn't use them.

I'd love to hear more about this. Could you PM me?

Are you doing any herbs (besides nettles) to help?

Fenugreek tincture 3 ml/day, and oat tincture 3 ml/day. Maybe it's the stress, but the past few days have been really bad. I usually have a dip around AF, but this started after, which is unusual. I hate the idea of choosing to supplement, but I just can't keep this up.

[caedmyn]

Originally Posted by firefaery

And the frustration continues...
So I've spent the better part of my day searching for a truly dairy free infant probiotic. Apparently they don't exist. Everything out there was at least started in dairy (yes, even the dairy free ones.) I called several companies and had to follow the trail on up to get real answers. One told me it was cultured from a human source (which means-well, you know : ) and as I inquired further and was transferred several times they finally acknowledged it was in fact STARTED in dairy-but there's none left and it's just the starter and blah blah blah. How do you remove all traces of dairy, and even if you can how are you testing that you have?

Several at least were up front, but this one company (Sedona) didn't know it's arse from it's elbow-at least their staff doesn't.

I am not finding one that my guy can tolerate at all. I just don't feel safe using anything that has ever had contact with dairy. :

I'm sure you already researched this one, but just in case...Solaray BabyLife is supposed to be dairy free. But if dairy free probiotics aren't really dairy free...then that would probably explain DD's eczema flare-up, which started around the same time I started giving her the BabyLife...which would also mean she is way more sensitive to dairy than I thought, even though she doesn't generally show obvious signs. On the other hand, the BabyLife definitely helped her gut as she no longer has bloody poop, even when I ate a ton of dairy for about 10 days straight.

Do you know anything about herbal tinctures, firefaery? Like are there some herbs which don't do well as tinctures, or can you make pretty much anything into a tincture? I'm trying to do a bunch of herbal teas (milk thistle, liver support blend, digestive blend, anti-fungal blend, and mineral rich blend) but I can only drink so much tea.

[Punchy Kaby]

Here we are http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/7947/dscf1856tt3.jpg

[Panserbjorne]

Yeah, it's looking like nothing is really dairy free unless it's a human culture, and I haven't found one of those. Not sure if I'd use one if I did.

Caedmyn-tinctures are a great bet...they just tend to be much pricier. Easier to take, but pricier. I usually do a mix. Tea for around here, tintures if I'm out and about.

Mama-a-llama-let's talk. There are different things to look for to figure out which herbs you need to increase production. I will pm you in the am.

Nolan's mum-what a sweet little babe! How are things going over there? I used Immunolabs, as this is their specialty. You'd have to ask if they are equipped to do IgG testing. IF you have out of network benefits you could have it done through them.

[mama-a-llama]

Maybe OT, but I was just reading last month's thread, about Alpha Lipoic Acid being a chelator. Eeep! I was taking 200mg/day during my pregnancies to help with blood sugar issues, on the advice of my former chiro/naturopath. I wonder if that has anything to do with ds's genetic disorder

[bluets]

on pics, dh governs our family photo website and makes it just plain HARD to share stuff (but if you're bored you can see what is available to the general public http://steinbachs.org/photos/) - so i jumped momentarily on the photobucket bandwagon http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/HPIM0351.jpg

in past lives, i was an accounts receivable/inventory clerk (for my dad in high school), babysitter, musician (french horn, violin, classical voice but not opera, piano, some organ - until i got burned out performing in mid high school), science library technician, research lab technician (i hated the actual experiments- data was more fun), computer system administrator (until i got bored with that)... now i oversee the daily operations of a growing research center with a boss who is just now (5 years into my position here) learning how not to be a micromanager (he has a long way to go still).



firefaery - did you miss the posts JaneS made during the summer? something about an Amish child and poop and inoculation...

could you not use a dairy-free yogurt starter and then culture it on EBM over and over again? what about using milk kefir grains in EBM? it would taste NASTY, but eventually it might have high enough microbial count and low enough cow's milk protein that you could tolerate it. JaneS had been growing her grains in goat milk - maybe they'd be a good source.

[Pookietooth]

ff, s to you. So sorry your ds is so sensitive. Thanks for the warning about Maranatha nut butters, I had no idea. Would that be the same with Trader Joe's versions?

[motocita]

i belong here

hey everyone,

i've talked to some of you before in other forums (thanks for all the great advice). i'm finally coming to join here officially, though i've read almost all the posts from every month.

my dd (2 years old) and i have yeast issues and need to heal our guts. when i read the description of leaky gut, it sounds like it fits her. we both had thrush when she was 2 weeks old and i tried to treat it every natural way i could find - finally swabbed her mouth with nystatin and i took diflucan and it went away. starting day 2, she had GERD/ reflux/ colic. it went away between 4-5 months. we used hyland's for keeping her comfortable. i eliminated dairy at some point but didn't see a difference. i thought you only needed to eliminate for 4 days so that's what i did and no difference.

at about 18 months, she developed eczema. we've done a real elimination diet, for about 5 weeks, and her OLD eczema spots almost cleared - they are no longer red except occasionally. their footprint is still there though. the newer spots behind her knees still look a mess and she has even developed some new ones since being on this crazy diet.

we eliminated dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, and nuts. about 3 weeks into the diet her eczema started getting much much worse and i realized she was sensitive to tons of things - it seems like salicylate sensitivity. i had been giving her lots of coconut oil to substitute for the fat we gave up with dairy, and lots more produce instead of the grains, and i think this pushed her over the edge. now her eczema is worse than when we started (overall) and she is reactive to everything!!! she has shiners every day instead of occasionally.

i cut back severely on the high salicylates and reintroduced dairy and eggs. i know it was not the smartest move but the elimination diet was tearing my household apart. it just was not good for our family. caused tensions, dd and i were constantly hungry and cranky.

jane, i loved the article you posted somewhere about moderation - the one where your friend took a moderate approach and still regained health. i feel drawn to this approach. i fear that our bodies will become even more sensitive to foods we can now enjoy, if we go on a super restrictive diet. this is why i am not doing SCD at this time. i'll try a moderate approach and see where that takes us.

i believe very strongly that probiotics will heal her gut. with this salicylate sensitivity we had to cut out coconut oil. i am also a strong believer of weston price/traditional foods so it seems nearly impossible to me to do without both dairy and coconut oil and still get a significant amount of probiotics into her.

we are 9 days into eating dairy and eggs. not much difference so far - she has good days and bad days. we've been eating 24 hour cow's milk yogurt (raw milk when i can find it) every day, with supplemental jarro probiotics cultured in there too. we've also been drinking kefir sodas daily. i'm soaking everything for 24 hours (brown rice, quinoa). we have bone broth in some form every day. continuing the CLO. yesterday i re-introduced x-factor butter oil and today our complexions looked rosy, plus dd was in a GREAT mood and full of energy today.

my plan, for today anyway is to continue to eat in a traditional manner, preparing foods so as to be as digestible as possible, continue dairy unless i see a severe negative reaction, and keep a low level overall of the foods high in salicylates. i REALLY hope that dairy will work out, as i am totally counting on the probiotics to heal her gut. if we did have to cut out dairy i would continue with just kefir but i worry about our yeast issues and the sugar in those sodas.

i've also made an appointment to see dr. neustaedter (author of the vaccine guide, a frequent guest speaker here at mdc) on thursday. i sure hope the visit will be worth the $270 consultation that insurance does not cover. i had very good success with traditional chinese medicine myself so i am hopeful.

i guess that's about it. thanks for reading! i do feel somehow better after joining here officially, like i'm finally doing something concrete about our health.

[gilamama]

wow i had looked on this thread a few months back for my dh, he had severe stomach problems that are to some degree healed b/c he has no more pain (havent asked about his bowels recently), but he cant resist junk food so i have feeling that his health is temporary. maybe you all have some advice for my baby. she is 8 months old, was sensitive to dairy but i have eaten it a few times lately and it doesnt seem to bother her. And is definitely sensitive to wheat - gives her green mucousy bowels and excema - when *I* eat it. i have introduced food about a month ago, she had 2 teeth and is generally calmer and happier with food. but dont feel I am giving her the right things. wish i had one of those babys who wanted to EBF for a year, but that is not the case. dh also fed her food w/o my permission giving her diarea occasionally in that time. ugh... he has no self control for himself or my babies. (in terms of food) it is so usetting to me. ok... so i saw this "natural doctor" and she told me to give dd rice cereal with this herb "chinese date" in it. i was waiting till i had time to make my own b/c there is no brownrice ceral available where we live and she said dont drive myself crazy give her white rice cereal. this goes against what i know from NT and LLL reading. she didnt mention probiotics at all and i asked her another question b/c we are jewish and recently celebrated a holiday on which you fast all day 25 hrs asking her how to prepare for the fast she told me each day for a week cut down my food. THat seems like crazy advice for a tandem nursing mother. So I dont really trust this woman at all now, but payed her and we live in a small town and feel weird about stopping seeing her. Sorry to go off topic. Wanted to know what you all thought of her advice and what advice you have for my baby. SHe never had much of those flakes that belong in normal baby make. Oh and aside from inheritting my dh's stomach I took IV erythromycin in childbirth. i did everything natural to eliminate GBS and then at the last minute when I am almost at 10 cm the midwife pressures me and ya know i am about to have a baby so i cave. Just thinking about that choice makes me nauceous. i was thinking abt giving her egg yellow like it says in NT or oatmeal b/c of the omegas or coconut milk but I know coconut allergies are common so i wasnt sure. Iwelcome any advice you have, thanks for your help ladies.

[Annikate]

Originally Posted by firefaery

Wow! I think we tested 115. The standard ped.panel is 88 (I think) but I opted to go with the adult panel because what mattered was what I was allergic to and therefore exposing her to. Again, it is worth it, but if you are not financially able to and really want it done, it may be worth waiting. That is if you can. I wouldn't have waited because dd was in bad shape.

Yeah, I wish I knew then what I know now. That allergist (while he believed in leaky gut, was an idiot. I actually had to threaten him w/a lawyer so he'd release dd's records to me. : )

Wondering if our new DAN doc will order more allergy testing . . .

[Annikate]

Originally Posted by Nolansmum

Here we are http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/7947/dscf1856tt3.jpg

Awww, sweet!

[JaneS]

FF,

Natren's Dairy Free Bifido Factor is grown on chickpeas.
http://www.natren.com/pages/natashart1.asp

Dairy Free powder: Viable Bifidobacterium bifidum, Malyoth super strain on a culture base of organically grown garbanzo bean (chick-pea) extract and cellulose powder.