So befuddled about allergies at this point

[wednesday]

Some of you may remember my posts on the Special Needs forum. Short background is we took DS off dairy at 14 months and saw a dramatic improvement in his behavior. He was still not an "easy" kid though and I suspected other food sensitivities, but we never did any more to try to track them down. Fast forward to three years old and DS' preschool teachers telling us they found his behavior to be extreme for his age--screaming tantrums, aggression toward other kids, sensory issues, etc. They were asking us to have him evaluated by a professional for these issues. But it was kind of hard because some days he'd be totally fine, and other days he'd really be challenging. The day he was evaluated he was in a GREAT mood. Nothing to evaluate or give suggestions about on that day. DH and I decided to go on a strict elimination diet to see if there was another food that was bothering DS.

So--we went on a diet of no dairy, wheat/gluten, corn, or soy. It was HELL. He had the most nightmarish, psychotic, inconsolable, hours-long tantrums during that time (about 5 weeks total). Advice we got here and from others was that maybe it was withdrawal. It SUCKED.

Meanwhile, we had an appointment with an alternative medical practice, where we were expecting DS to get a blood draw for allergies. In preparation for this blood draw, DS needed to be eating the foods we were concerned about. So a week before Christmas, we opened up his diet and let him eat anything. Even dairy (which hwe had restricted for a couple years already).

And now...he's TOTALLY happy. We're seeing very little problem behavior at all. He threw a tantrum last night because I told him it was time ot turn off the computer and go put jammies on...but he was humored out of his grumpiness in about 5 minutes. It was a NORMAL tantrum as opposed to hours of agonized incoherent screaming.

So now I'm like...WTH? I really thought the food was the problem.

The doctor we saw didn't have much advice about the behavior because he was acting totally normal and happy that day (after 4 days on an UNrestricted diet). She did recommend enzymes which we've been giving him.

So what's going on here? Is he on a permanent "high" from the dairy and gluten he's now consuming? I sort of thought maybe so at first, he almost seemed a little manic, but that's leveled off. We really haven't seen any crashes at all, which was what I totally expected to happen.

Did he have a damaged gut which miraculously healed in only 5 weeks on a restricted diet? So that now he can eat anything and not go crazy?

Any other ideas?

We're really baffled. Preschool has been on a holiday break but he'll be starting back next week so it will be interesting to see what they report about his behavior.

[Caden's Mom]

Hmm. A friends child would go completely psycho from eating any red dye. That's my only thought.

[wednesday]

Originally Posted by Caden's Mom

Hmm. A friends child would go completely psycho from eating any red dye. That's my only thought.

He has had VERY little exposure to food dyes at any point, we have always been pretty careful about that...so I don't think that's it.

[Panserbjorne]

It's possible he was having a reaction to somethime that you increased when you took him off the rest. Like...for instance a rice allergy. He may not have had a ton of it before-just enough to cause a reaction, but if you relied on it in the absence of the rest of thie things and he is allergic to it his behaviour would have gotten worse. Does that make sense? DId he eat anythign consitently while on the elimination diet that he's not having much of now?

And no, I don't think he healed in a couple of weeks.

[Icequeen_in_ak]

No, a gut does not heal that quickly. It's a very slow process.

The way our allergist explained it to us is this. When they are constantly exposed to their allergens, their body fights it off for as long as it can, then it finally just gives up the ghost and completely rebels. When you eliminate that item, the body heals. When you reintroduce, if it's a mild allergen... it will take until it reaches it's breaking point again before you notice the drastic bad reaction.

So, it sounds like he's had a while to heal.... and now, he can tolerate it... until he no longer can.

I don't know if that helps at all or not. I'm discovering that allergies are a serious PITA to figure out and get under control.