Healing the Gut Tribe-December - Page 14

[JaneS]

Oh and I suffered a setback a couple months ago due to stress over DS and probably too many grains ... and drinking kefir and eating the kefir grains everyday fixed me up really fast.

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by caedmyn

Nolansmum/anyone with kids with eczema--how quickly does eczema appear/worsen after you or your DC ingest an allergen? DD's arms are COVERED with eczema tonight, and she has never had visible eczema on her arms before--little patches I could feel yes, but nothing visible. And these patches weren't there this morning!

Could it be the almond butter she reacted to 3 days ago? Or I made some homemade coconut milk chocolate pudding this morning--could she have reacted with eczema that quickly? Also, my mom came to visit from out of state this afternoon--is it possible that DD reacted to the detergent on my mom's clothes? My mom doesn't wear any perfumes or use fabric softeners on her clothes.

I feel like DD is turning into one of those kids who is allergic to absolutely everything. I feel like she needs to be kept in a bubble right now or something--I mean, she was chewing on the shopping cart today at the store, who knows what food residues could have been on that. She's not even a year old--I can't keep her from touching/chewing on things!

Sorry, I should read in the right order instead of backwards...

I have seen anything from immediate to one hour to next day reactions. Coconut was one of DS's worst, his skin broke out from it so I actually removed long before testing. I was always thinking die off from coconut too, but his is definitely an allergy... it produced a HUGE wheal in testing, and then 3 days later the spot inflamed again and got itchy, really weird. Second only to the enormous quarter sized bump that peanut produced.

[Pattyla]

I'm inclined to get my fillings out. Not necessarily because I think it will help dd (I don't) but I think it probably won't hurt her and it will help me and any future children I may be lucky enough to conceive.

My mouth tastes like metal 24/7. I have plenty of other symptoms of mercury although not the most severe ones to be sure. My candida that won't go away is a biggie though.

I'm sick of this stupid diet that isn't getting me anywhere and costs an arm and a leg to maintain as well as all our friendships, and is taking a toll on my marriage as well. We have been just straight out since dd was born. The diet has improved dd's behavior a ton but my time spent managing her has just been replace with time spent researching, shopping and cooking. I still don't have any time to just be me.

I'm 35 and my dd isn't even remotely ready to wean. She now nurses every 3-4 hours durring the day and every 2-3 hours overnight. I think she'll nurse untill she is 5 or even older most likely. I can't take this away from her. Nursing is so important to her. I can't wait untill I'm 40 to have baby #2 and I can't continue ttc in good concience with this mercury in my body, esp if my fillings are breaking down (which I fear is why I now taste metal all the time). If we decided to adopt instead I will would really want to nurse my adopted baby and don't want to nurse with tainted bm.

DD doesn't get a lot of milk from me. When I had to temporarilly wean her a couple of weeks ago for a test I only pumped 3 oz or so of milk in the 24 hours that I needed to pump. I didn't pump as much as she wanted to nurse but I never had a huge ammount of milk to pump, even when I felt full.

No decisions have been made at this point and I do welcome anyone who can talk me out of this.

[JaneS]

It's really hard I know. It sucks that it feels like "Sophie's Choice".

I had a hard time thinking about weaning DS too but it was so much easier than I thought it was going to be. I remember our last session. I was crying and told him the whole story of his birth and his life so far. How I will always be there for him, love him and do my very best for him. And how we had to stop bf'ing, I didn't want to, but right now I thought it was best for us. I swear he listened to me and accepted it (he was 2) he didn't ask when I didn't offer. He just held me and cuddled from then on, it was pretty surprising. Of course your babe might be different. And I had spent several months not offering, distracting and cutting out feedings with DH taking over bedtime stuff. So I had cut out all daytime feeds and when I weaned I just didn't do bedtime or nightwakings for a long while.

Now I wonder if taking away bm was the deciding factor in DS getting worse or giving him coconut milk which I know now he is hugely allergic to?? I just don't know. And really you might have to live with not knowing the real reasons either and being at peace with whatever decision to make. Once you are at that point of peace, you will know it is the right decision no matter what the outcome ends up being. You can say, I really did the best I could and listened to my heart.

Just don't back yourself into a corner, you can't possibly do everything. A healthy and happy mama, and a healthy future sibling, might mean more to your DD's long life than continuing to nurse right now.

For me the whole issue became so overwhelming... from my reading, my dental history, DS's hair test, that I simply had to do something about it and get my fillings out. I do regret it for the fact that I had to do it. But I don't regret doing it. Maybe it helped me heal, maybe not. Maybe it made DS worse, maybe not. But whatever the outcome, I can say I did the best I could at the time.

[JaneS]

More late night maudlin thoughts on weaning: it is, for me, a way to examine my personality regarding relationships too. Weaning was hard for me when seen in that way and still is when I think about it. It is such a deeply personal act. Very enlightening when able to be examined. Thinking this way deepened my commitment to DS, because I had to be present and nurturing for him in a different way. Not that I did anything that different or wasn't present before, it just made me more aware of my responsibility. And frankly, remembering to be more patient, loving and grateful with a child going through such difficult times since birth! (ie sleep issues)

[Pattyla]

When I discuss weaning with dd I might as well be speaking chineese. It is that foreign an idea to her. We have tried to night wean a couple of times. It has been a huge failure that left dd distraught and it took a looooonnnnnggg time for her to get over it (after we abandoned the effort). The fact that she nurses so little durring the day is a result of my working very hard to not be available to nurse. It is harder at night when you co-sleep.

If I were to wean dd now and then never got pg and ended up adopting a baby who either never could figure out how to nurse or an older child I would totally regret it. So much has gone wrong in DD's life, this is one thing that I want to get right. I want to let her self wean.

I'm just not convinced that the mercury in bm is that bio-available and even less convinced that dd takes in enough of my bm for it to be significant enough to wean her over it. If she was a n/b that would be a different story.

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by Pattyla

So much has gone wrong in DD's life, this is one thing that I want to get right.

OH mama, I hear you.

Why do you think the Hg is not bioavailable? Have you done a hair test on her? Maybe that would help you decide either way. I think it is less of an issue to wean now over Hg load, but more importantly to decide whether to continue while getting the fillings out and afterwards.

[Annikate]

Originally Posted by Pattyla

No decisions have been made at this point and I do welcome anyone who can talk me out of this.

I hear ya on the reasons you want to get the amalgams out. Do you *really* want someone to talk you out of it?

It does suck that you feel damned if you do, damned if you don't. Maybe your amalgams (and mine) are leeching out too many toxins right now. Maybe the removal of them (even while b'feeding) would *not* be so hazardous. It's such a hard decision and there is NO RESEARCH on this topic.

My dd had my *really* tainted milk (after haphadard removal) while she was almost a n/b so it's hard to compare your dd w/mine.

I often wonder if dd2 would be better off w/out my milk. : Who knows.

It's almost impossible to know.

Just thinking out loud here - - Maybe you don't have to have them removed right away. Maybe you can give yourself x amount of time to nurse dd, then get the fillings out, then chelate and then ttc.

Have you read any of this thread?
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=471795

[beachbuminthecity]

Originally Posted by Gale Force

I did the candida diet and did not cheat even one little tiny bit for about six months. I lost a lot of weight and was looking very good. I've since gained it back and cannot go on a strict diet to save my life. :

After about a month into the diet I added homemade yogurt. I also added beans about 2x/week when I wanted to reduce my weight loss. After about nine months I added kefir and noticed a very big difference with that. I think both the yogurt and kefir helped.

The diet was no grain, no dairy (except for the yogurt and kefir I added), no high starch vegetables, no vinegar, no high mold foods (like mushrooms). There were surely other restrictions I've forgotten. It was a miserable diet and I was able to do it so strictly because I thought I would have to wean my son if I didn't and I had OCD-like behavior which compelled me to be very strict. I took antifungals on occasion but reacted to them and so generally did not include them. It was pretty much all diet. My health has continued to improve even though I've allowed some grains back in.

My diet for the last two weeks is apparently a coffee-based diet, so I may be working on my gut again before we know it. :

Amanda

Originally Posted by JaneS

I will say that the most helpful things to me were SCD, enzymes (with and between meals), CLO, bone broths and raw milk yogurt and kefir. I did a short protocol of oil of oregano too right when I weaned DS (a good brand, I think Gaia) that was helpful. I didn't do SCD for a full year. I found that enzymes finished the job for me as there was such a clear improvement in a short time. Once I got used to high proteases without freaking myself out that is, they made me hyper at first but really worth it.

Originally Posted by JaneS

Oh and I suffered a setback a couple months ago due to stress over DS and probably too many grains ... and drinking kefir and eating the kefir grains everyday fixed me up really fast.

Thank you all for answering my questions. For what you all have been doing I believe I am on the right track I pretty much do what you all do, but I need to buckle down on myself. Also I think the kefir is going to make a big difference. I just had my first homemade batch last night and thorough out the night (while sleeping) I had weird sensations (I think good) my rash isn't worse, but a little itchy, I think it is repairing the skin. What kind of symptoms did you all have. Did you use fruit in your kefir, because that is the only way I can take kefir. Is it ok to have sourdough bread (I want to make it with kefir and no store yeast), if it is ok and you all made your bread this way can you post the receip please.

[Pattyla]

Originally Posted by JaneS

OH mama, I hear you.

Why do you think the Hg is not bioavailable? Have you done a hair test on her? Maybe that would help you decide either way. I think it is less of an issue to wean now over Hg load, but more importantly to decide whether to continue while getting the fillings out and afterwards.

The fact that inorganic mercury is minimally bioavailable.

The fact that studies of breast feeding children who were born to mothers with fillings has shown that their blood mercury levels drop over that first year of life (while they are nursing).

The fact that fillings are mostly inorganic mercury. The main reason it gets into my blood is because my fillings get scratches and it vaporizes the mercury and I get it as inhalation mercury. If it was just going down my throat it wouldn't increase my blood mercury nearly as much.

I'm considering the hair test on both of us, but I thought I heard it wasn't good for nursing moms and babes?

[Pattyla]

Anyone know why my iron is dropping now that I am eating more iron rich foods than I ever have as an adult? I'm not taking supplimental iron but I haven't ever been very good about that anyhow. My tsh is also going up, but not enough for my Dr to think it needs tinkering with.

[bluets]

Originally Posted by Pattyla

Anyone know why my iron is dropping now that I am eating more iron rich foods than I ever have as an adult? I'm not taking supplimental iron but I haven't ever been very good about that anyhow. My tsh is also going up, but not enough for my Dr to think it needs tinkering with.

low copper?

try homeopathic Cuprum metallicum as a first test.

[Gale Force]

Patty,

What foods are you eating? What are you eating now that you consider iron rich that you were not eating before? Are you on the SCD? Do you drink a lot of milk?

Amanda

[Gale Force]

mercury fillings

My dad had his fillings removed and his health insurance paid for the removal. As one of the diagnostic tests they measured the amount of mercury coming off of the fillings, somehow. Have any of you had a test like that?

I have quite a number of fillings and hope to get them removed someday. Neither they nor my uranium and arsenic issues have kept me from improving my gut. But I may be a lucky aberration. And I may still need to pay the piper. We'll see.

Amanda

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by Pattyla

Anyone know why my iron is dropping now that I am eating more iron rich foods than I ever have as an adult? I'm not taking supplimental iron but I haven't ever been very good about that anyhow. My tsh is also going up, but not enough for my Dr to think it needs tinkering with.

And how do you know that your iron is low?

[Pattyla]

Originally Posted by Gale Force

Patty,

What foods are you eating? What are you eating now that you consider iron rich that you were not eating before? Are you on the SCD? Do you drink a lot of milk?

Amanda

I'm doing scd. No dairy. I added red meat into my diet probably 6-8 months ago. At that point my iron was 28. I got blood work from my Dr today saying that it is now 20. I used to see a different Dr in the practice and she was concerned about my level being 28. She has left the practice and the Dr I am now seeing isn't concerned (but possibly didn't realize that this was a drop for me). I try to get liver. I probably get it about 1x a month but that is way better than I used to. I also eat red meat 2-4x a week if not more and I wasn't eating any before earlier this year.

[Pattyla]

Originally Posted by Gale Force

mercury fillings

My dad had his fillings removed and his health insurance paid for the removal. As one of the diagnostic tests they measured the amount of mercury coming off of the fillings, somehow. Have any of you had a test like that?

I have quite a number of fillings and hope to get them removed someday. Neither they nor my uranium and arsenic issues have kept me from improving my gut. But I may be a lucky aberration. And I may still need to pay the piper. We'll see.

Amanda

They checked one tooth for mercury coming off it. Nothing at first but then scratched it gave off a very small ammount. They only checked one tooth/filling.

One of my big fears is that if I do get pg again a new baby will help me chelate out the mercury in my body right into his/hers. It just makes sense to me that my body is all out of balance because of the mercury in it and that the mercury messed up my gut flora and the combo of my lousy flora and dd's abx at birth set her up for her own situation. I'm not sure if she is mercury toxic or not and not really clear on how to figure that out. She doesn't show any neuro signs (thankfully!) other than her hyperactivity when she eats something that she shouldn't. She is quite brilliant (if I do say so myself).

I have worked so hard at getting my body back into balance and really don't feel like I have gotten anywhere. Sure I can stick to the straight and narrow and have no symptoms but if I deviate, even a little, the symptoms are so much worse than they used to be. And I feel like my hands are tied wrt probiotics becasue dairy bothers dd so much and yet I belelive that the best form of probiotics are usually those grown in dairy.

[Annikate]

Originally Posted by Pattyla

I'm considering the hair test on both of us, but I thought I heard it wasn't good for nursing moms and babes?

I asked Andy Cutler this myself and his answer was that the test would be reliable for the nursing child, but not for the lactating mom.

[Annikate]

Originally Posted by Pattyla

One of my big fears is that if I do get pg again a new baby will help me chelate out the mercury in my body right into his/hers. It just makes sense to me that my body is all out of balance because of the mercury in it and that the mercury messed up my gut flora and the combo of my lousy flora and dd's abx at birth set her up for her own situation. I'm not sure if she is mercury toxic or not and not really clear on how to figure that out. She doesn't show any neuro signs (thankfully!) other than her hyperactivity when she eats something that she shouldn't. She is quite brilliant (if I do say so myself).

Actually Patty, many kids that are mercury toxic are *quite brilliant*. My dd has encephalopathy but she is still way ahead of the curve. She just has serious sleep issues and, of course, gut issues. Oh, and immune system issues too.

If someone were to see her, they would not notice anything wrong at all.

At the risk of sounding a little defensive here, I don't think you're really open to hearing about the dangers and that's fine. We all have to choose our own path. I was just hoping that our experience could help you decide.

That's all I'm going to say on the subject.

[Pattyla]

Originally Posted by Annikate

Actually Patty, many kids that are mercury toxic are *quite brilliant*. My dd has encephalopathy but she is still way ahead of the curve. She just has serious sleep issues and, of course, gut issues. Oh, and immune system issues too.

If someone were to see her, they would not notice anything wrong at all.

At the risk of sounding a little defensive here, I don't think you're really open to hearing about the dangers and that's fine. We all have to choose our own path. I was just hoping that our experience could help you decide.

That's all I'm going to say on the subject.

I'm very open to hearing the dangers. I may argue with you but that doesn't mean I'm not listening.:

I don't want to do anything to hurt my dd further. I know that each of us needs to make our own best decision but I do value what each of you has to say on this subject. I want the complete truth as best as it can be found. I feel like I am constantly walking this tight rope afraid to fall off.

I wish that I had a medical professional who had enough skill to really help me with dd. I haven't met that person yet. I'm leaning toward going to that DAN Dr again but the money is really holding me back. Plus apparently she relies heavily on NAET and we are getting that done already.

Sigh. I'm not sure how much I'll be on here the next week. DH is going out of town tomorrow and won't be back till Friday night. Last week dd only napped one day. : We'll see.