Healing the Gut Tribe-February - Page 3

[caedmyn]

Originally Posted by APmomma

So, I had my son at the dr yesterday and we tested his stool. After 4 weeks of being dairy free, the blood is GONE. I am so excited that all of this dieting has been worth it. I am going to stay dairy/soy/peanut free and am considering eliminating wheat. I hope to add eggs back in, but will wait a while.

So what does this all mean? Is his gut "healed" because the bleeding has stopped? I feel like I have a fresh start with him, and I really want to figure out what agrees with his body(and my own.) I am starting to suspect that I have issues with wheat. I have been feeling so sluggish since I added back in. He is also acting like he has stomach cramps when he sleeps and he has a ton of gas(he wasn't having this before the wheat). It's just odd because it seems like it took him about a week before he reacted to the wheat. Does that sound normal or do you think it is something else?

I am also wondering what everyone takes in terms of supplements for the foods they are lacking. I have noticed big bruises on my legs and am worried that I am lacking some critical vitamins. I also really want to continue with my enzyme because my ds seems to have issues when I eat meat and I really think the enzyme could help, but it seems to really bother him. I even cut the dose in half and he still seemed bothered.

Lastly, does anyone have any good recipes they would share that don't include the top 8? I am looking for a good chicken/veggie soup recipe.

Thanks for all of the help!!



Robin

That's great that all the blood is gone! I would not say that your DS's gut is healed, though--if it were healed he would not have any other symptoms and he wouldn't react to any foods. That's kind of the ultimate goal with gut healing IMO, to be able to eat the foods you once reacted to.

It can take a while to see reactions to a food--sometimes enough of it needs to build up in your/his system before you'll see a reaction.

I would try sodium ascorbate w/bioflavonoids for the bruising. I had the same problem and it went away when I started taking high doses of sodium ascorbate and separate bioflavonoidss (in a 5 to 1 ratio). I have a pretty high tolerance for vitamin C and I had to take at least 10 grams a day before I saw improvement but then the bruising went away within a week or two.

You might try eliminating the enzymes for a few days and then starting again with 1/4 capsule per meal for about 3 days, then go to 1/2 capsule per meal, etc...I had to do this as my DD reacted to the enzymes at first, too. Which enzymes are you taking?

The supplements I would most recommend are something for calcium (bone broths or nettle/red clover/red raspberry leaf infusions are good), and a magnesium supplement as most of us are magnesium deficient more so than calcium. B vitamins are another good thing to supplement or to get from a food source (liver or brewer's yeast). Also a liquid multi-mineral supplement or at least selenium (unless you live in a selenium-rich area and buy local foods) would be good.

I make a veggie soup that I add meat to with bone broth, leeks, onions, green beans, turnips, celery, and carrots--I usually add some tomato paste, too, and then whatever seasonings I want (usually oregano and crushed red pepper). Or just take your favorite chicken soup recipe and leave out noodles or substitute with brown rice pasta. You can do a search for allergy recipe websites or get cookbooks from your library as well.

[Chinese Pistache]

Robin, that is such great news! I agree with Caedmyn said about your ds needing further healing. But with the blood gone, you really do have a fresh start. Congratulations!

[APmomma]

Thanks! I feel like now that the blood is gone, we have one issue eliminated....now onto the others! Wheat is next. I have noticed an increase in spit up/crampiness with the wheat, so we'll see. He's just such a happy little guy, I hate to think of anything not being right inside his little gut.

Thank you for the supplement suggestions. I was taking Wholezyme but switched to Pancreatin by Kal since it would be working specifically on the foods I am eating. I think I will give it a few days and start again, slower.

[Apryl Srissa]

I'm not really sure that this is the spot I belong, but I suspect it might be. And my dh would be horrified if he knew I was posting this. A few months ago, he had some really bloody diarhia (I'm sure I spelled that wrong). We went to the dr, who was concerened, and didn't want to wait for referrals so sent him to ER. He spent a LONG day there, waiting on two test results (thats all they did, a blood test and a urine, plus a physical exam). By then, it had stopped, and they said your fine go home. A few days ago, this started again. So he tried waiting, thinking it would stop again, but it didn't. He is now on his way to the ER again, and isn't leaving until they do real tests, to rule out serious scary stuff. I'm pretty sure it's diet related though. He eats little real food, drinks soda (down a lot from last year this time, but still to much), and doesn't eat 3 regular meals a day. We know he reacts to eggs, so he only eats rarely, but we have no other knowledge on this topic. Any suggestions? Or books/websites? I know he will be VERY resistant to any non western med treatments, but am hoping to convince him.

thanks

[sbgrace]

Just looking for advice or opinions.
My sons have been on the specific carbohydrate diet for 9 months. I haven't honestly seen any changes. I have been emphasizing easy to digest food even among the SCD foods (no nuts, legumes, seeds, no honey, etc.). I've switched to their diet and frankly I'm starving.

I'm concerned about protein digestion and so much meat (can't do eggs, can't do dairy). I also want vitamins and minerals that come from grains I'm thinking of adding back in buckwheat, aramunth, and millet in small amounts. I plan to soak them prior to using and only serve grains three days a week. Thoughts?

[Pookietooth]

Apryl, hope your dh finds some answers. Sounds like inflammation, maybe from dysbiosis. SCD could help him, but it takes a major commitment.

Rachelle, if you haven't seen any improvement on SCD, generally the recomendation is to try something else. That long on it, and you should have seen some improvement. There should have been some initial improvement, and then again more after a few months. I'm not sure what your issues were, but there could be allergies involved. What kinds of probiotics are you using?

[Apryl Srissa]

Thanks. At least the ER ruled out major problems, no no panic. Hopefully he'll listen and try some diet changes in the mean time.

Thanks

[caedmyn]

Originally Posted by Apryl Srissa

I'm not really sure that this is the spot I belong, but I suspect it might be. And my dh would be horrified if he knew I was posting this. A few months ago, he had some really bloody diarhia (I'm sure I spelled that wrong). We went to the dr, who was concerened, and didn't want to wait for referrals so sent him to ER. He spent a LONG day there, waiting on two test results (thats all they did, a blood test and a urine, plus a physical exam). By then, it had stopped, and they said your fine go home. A few days ago, this started again. So he tried waiting, thinking it would stop again, but it didn't. He is now on his way to the ER again, and isn't leaving until they do real tests, to rule out serious scary stuff. I'm pretty sure it's diet related though. He eats little real food, drinks soda (down a lot from last year this time, but still to much), and doesn't eat 3 regular meals a day. We know he reacts to eggs, so he only eats rarely, but we have no other knowledge on this topic. Any suggestions? Or books/websites? I know he will be VERY resistant to any non western med treatments, but am hoping to convince him.

thanks

I would recommend the SCD as well--it's designed specifically for gut problems like Crohn's disease or IBS (not saying he has either of those, but that's the sort of thing it's designed for and seems to work well for).

[caedmyn]

Originally Posted by sbgrace

Just looking for advice or opinions.
My sons have been on the specific carbohydrate diet for 9 months. I haven't honestly seen any changes. I have been emphasizing easy to digest food even among the SCD foods (no nuts, legumes, seeds, no honey, etc.). I've switched to their diet and frankly I'm starving.

I'm concerned about protein digestion and so much meat (can't do eggs, can't do dairy). I also want vitamins and minerals that come from grains I'm thinking of adding back in buckwheat, aramunth, and millet in small amounts. I plan to soak them prior to using and only serve grains three days a week. Thoughts?

What issues are you trying to heal with the SCD? IMO, if you haven't seen improvement in a couple of months at most the SCD isn't going to help you. From what I've seen on this tribe, it really only helps mamas whose main issues are gut issues like IBS. Sometimes it helps others a little, but they always end up having to something else. I don't think the SCD has significantly helped anyone's child, either--some improvement, yes, but no complete healings that I can recall. It's really designed for people with Crohn's or IBS and that's about all it seems to help. I guess it does sometimes help some of the gut issues that go along with autism spectrum disorders, too.

[sbgrace]

Thanks for the replies on my question. I figured it wasn't for us...it just seems to make lots of sense. Issues primarily were autism, slow digestion, reflux (his med. is not SCD compliant but everthing else was and we've tried unsuccessfully to get him off), and constipation in one of my sons. He had a lot of antibiotics from 13 to 18 months (when I got educated) so I just assume there are gut issues. No improvement in any of it but like I said it seems to make sense. I took dairy and gluten out of his diet 18 months ago. My other son seems healthy but had dairy issues with my breastmilk. Right now he is having a terrible ezcema flair for the first time since removing dairy but I really think it is environmental allergies now because he is also having asthma attacks

Ok, that was long but we can't do dairy at all. But, I did start Culturelle probiotics 4 to 5 months ago with both boys even though it is dairy based. We also use kirkman's dairy free acidophilus and have for a long time.
I'm doing zinc (optizinc) and diary free colostrum too to try to help with gut issues. I'm afraid of bone broths because of my autism guy I'm afraid of lead or other contaminents (his iron is low, our calcium is likely low due to no dairy). Crazy maybe.
So that is where we are. I'd love any thoughts.

[bluets]

Originally Posted by sbgrace

Thanks for the replies on my question. I figured it wasn't for us...it just seems to make lots of sense. Issues primarily were autism, slow digestion, reflux (his med. is not SCD compliant but everthing else was and we've tried unsuccessfully to get him off), and constipation in one of my sons. He had a lot of antibiotics from 13 to 18 months (when I got educated) so I just assume there are gut issues. No improvement in any of it but like I said it seems to make sense. I took dairy and gluten out of his diet 18 months ago. My other son seems healthy but had dairy issues with my breastmilk. Right now he is having a terrible ezcema flair for the first time since removing dairy but I really think it is environmental allergies now because he is also having asthma attacks

you might try a mag supplement along with evening primrose oil. magnesium (in sufficient quantities) may have therapeutic effects in treating asthma. "Natural Calm" is a good magnesium citrate product. i've also heard that magnesium gluconate is another good absorbable form of magnesium. epo should help with the eczema - as mentioned elsewhere in this group, therapeutic doses of EPO tend to be high (3 grams or so). huge amounts of probiotics (obviously, you'll need to hunt for dairy-free brands) are also helpful in dealing with asthma.

Ok, that was long but we can't do dairy at all. But, I did start Culturelle probiotics 4 to 5 months ago with both boys even though it is dairy based. We also use kirkman's dairy free acidophilus and have for a long time.
I'm doing zinc (optizinc) and diary free colostrum too to try to help with gut issues. I'm afraid of bone broths because of my autism guy I'm afraid of lead or other contaminents (his iron is low, our calcium is likely low due to no dairy). Crazy maybe.
So that is where we are. I'd love any thoughts.

maybe the cell count of your probiotics isn't high enough. bone broths would actually be good if you have access to grassfed cows, pastured chickens, etc. as a source of bones. have you also tried glutamine? be careful with zinc - zinc, copper and iron are tied together.

calcium may be low because of low magnesium too. have you read through the nutrition 101 sticky in the vaccination forum? it would be a useful read.

and i just read this morning that isoflavones may prolong gut issues, so you'll definitely want to continue soy avoidance (if i recall, SCD prohibits soy anyway).

[bluets]

Originally Posted by bluets

formerluddite - it's an inguinal hernia, so definitely abdomen. i'll be stocking up on arnica for sure, maybe some rescue remedy beforehand. i have an appt with our ND tomorrow so i'll give him the lowdown (we haven't had a chance to tell him yet!) and get helpful recovery tips then too.

okie, so the ND recommended the following homeopathic remedies for surgery:

6X of each of arnica, nux vomica and hypericum the day before; 30C of each of arnica, nux vomica and hypericum the day of surgery; and 200C of each of those 3 remedies following surgery.

of course, we won't be able to get the 200C in time, so he said to do 6C before and 30C afterwards. also, nada (not even hard candy) after midnight before surgery, so it'll have to be taken at 11:59pm tonight.

now i have to figure out how much mag citrate dh needs to take tonight. doc wants him to take 4 oz of milk of magnesium. that's 8 Tbsp of Milk of magnesium but "only" 6.5 Tbsp of Natural Calm. yowie. dh purges his bowels with just 2 tsps of the stuff!

[Swirly]

Do you guys have any sort of short primer on this stuff (healing the gut), how to do it short simple steps for a busy mom of a baby? I have systemic yeast and need to get rid of it. My baby has reflux and I worry about her gut too - she does have thrush now also. I just don't have time to do a ton of research.


Any book recs?

[caedmyn]

Originally Posted by Swirly

Do you guys have any sort of short primer on this stuff (healing the gut), how to do it short simple steps for a busy mom of a baby? I have systemic yeast and need to get rid of it. My baby has reflux and I worry about her gut too - she does have thrush now also. I just don't have time to do a ton of research.


Any book recs?

There's a "Healing the Gut Cheat Sheet" stickied at the top of the forum with links. For systemic yeast I would recommend a candida diet--there's a candidasupport yahoo group one that I did successfully. It's strict and I don't agree with some of the information on the group but the diet did work well for me. Basically you eat eggs, healthy fats, meat, and low carb veggies. You take anti-fungals (basically raw garlic is the only one safe for BF'ing) and use probiotics or lacto-fermented foods or drinks. There's some recommended supplements but if money is tight I don't think they're a huge deal.

Reflux suggests food allergies to me--DD gets reflux-type symptoms when I eat foods she reacts to. Also, IME yeast in a baby is impossible to get rid of if they have food allergies/intolerances until you figure out and eliminate their allergens.

[caedmyn]

Originally Posted by sbgrace

Thanks for the replies on my question. I figured it wasn't for us...it just seems to make lots of sense. Issues primarily were autism, slow digestion, reflux (his med. is not SCD compliant but everthing else was and we've tried unsuccessfully to get him off), and constipation in one of my sons. He had a lot of antibiotics from 13 to 18 months (when I got educated) so I just assume there are gut issues. No improvement in any of it but like I said it seems to make sense. I took dairy and gluten out of his diet 18 months ago. My other son seems healthy but had dairy issues with my breastmilk. Right now he is having a terrible ezcema flair for the first time since removing dairy but I really think it is environmental allergies now because he is also having asthma attacks

Ok, that was long but we can't do dairy at all. But, I did start Culturelle probiotics 4 to 5 months ago with both boys even though it is dairy based. We also use kirkman's dairy free acidophilus and have for a long time.
I'm doing zinc (optizinc) and diary free colostrum too to try to help with gut issues. I'm afraid of bone broths because of my autism guy I'm afraid of lead or other contaminents (his iron is low, our calcium is likely low due to no dairy). Crazy maybe.
So that is where we are. I'd love any thoughts.

Have you tried the Houston enzymes? They're designed for ASD kids. Also, I don't know what strains of probiotics are in Culturelle, but www.customprobiotics.com offers many different dairy-free probiotics. You might also check into liquid zeolite/Natural Cellular Defense. There's a thread on it in the vax forum, and some information on the "Chelating Mamas" thread in the Dental forum.

[2rubies]

Caedmyn-
Could I just ask you to elaborate a little on whether or not the SCD would help a nursling? My son has some issue going on, I think probably a dairy allergy, but that isn't all. I thought by healing my gut, he would be healed as well. He hasn't had solids at all yet. His main symptoms are sleeplessness and green, mucousy stools (sorry). He sleeps so little at night, I am getting desperate for some rest! I thought this sounded like it could help. I'd truly appreciate any insight you can offer!

And any suggestions from anyone about what this might be? Eliminating dairy has eliminated the eczema that was starting to show up. Do I really need a strict diet like SCD for help? I've used it before for me (ulcerative colitis), and thought just maybe it could help him.

Thanks so much!
Kristin

[caedmyn]

Originally Posted by 2rubies

Caedmyn-
Could I just ask you to elaborate a little on whether or not the SCD would help a nursling? My son has some issue going on, I think probably a dairy allergy, but that isn't all. I thought by healing my gut, he would be healed as well. He hasn't had solids at all yet. His main symptoms are sleeplessness and green, mucousy stools (sorry). He sleeps so little at night, I am getting desperate for some rest! I thought this sounded like it could help. I'd truly appreciate any insight you can offer!

And any suggestions from anyone about what this might be? Eliminating dairy has eliminated the eczema that was starting to show up. Do I really need a strict diet like SCD for help? I've used it before for me (ulcerative colitis), and thought just maybe it could help him.

Thanks so much!
Kristin

This is just my opinion based on what I've read on this tribe over the past 10 months. The SCD seems to help digestive problems like ulcerative colitis--I can only think of mamas (not kids) who've had that sort of problem, though, and those are the ones it has helped. Some others (both mamas and babies) see some improvement on the SCD but are not "fixed". IMO the improvement is either because they are eating much more of a whole foods/healthy diet, or because some or all of their allergens are eliminated on the SCD. I can't think of anyone's DC who had been completely healed on the SCD, and it seems like everyone eventually starts turning to other things. I'm not saying that special diets don't help with gut healing, but the SCD isn't the best one for most people, IMO. Theoretically healing your gut will help your babe, but it's a long process and you will probably end up having to do things specifically to heal his gut as well.

You may not need a diet like the SCD. If you think you have yeast issues I would recommend a candida diet. Otherwise you may just be able to eliminate all allergens and eat a nutrient-rich whole foods diet with properly prepared foods (ie soaked grains and beans, cultured dairy if you eat it, etc) and an emphasis on easy-to-digest foods and cultured foods. A few people have also found that they have food chemical sensitivities and have to do strict diets for that.

The green mucousy stools definitely sound indicative of food allergies. If after eliminating dairy for at least four weeks the green and the mucous haven't gone away, it's likely there are other things your DS is reacting to as well. I knew about my DD's dairy intolerance from about 3 months of age but didn't realize she also reacted to wheat, tree nuts, coconut, and eggs until she was 12-13 months old. She has not had a green stool since I eliminated coconut (the second-to-last thing I figured out).

[2rubies]

Thank you for responding right away. I know that I lasted about a year on the SCD and stopped a flare of colitis in its tracks. I assumed that it would be a great way to eat long-term, but it was so expensive and so boring after a while. I agree that one of the tricks to it is that I eat so many vegetables that I otherwise may not be eating regularly. The better nutrition, in general, must be part of the healing. We have eliminated gluten, but it has not been more than a week. I'm hoping his sleep pattern will improve (it certainly can't get worse ) and I'm just feeling impatient and wanting a "quick fix". He's almost 8mos now, too, and I'm nervous about starting solid foods for him until I figure this out. On the other hand, it may be easier to pinpoint a problem if he is eating it himself-in good time, of course. Thank you for your insight!

Kristin

[Chinese Pistache]

Originally Posted by 2rubies

Caedmyn-
Could I just ask you to elaborate a little on whether or not the SCD would help a nursling? My son has some issue going on, I think probably a dairy allergy, but that isn't all. I thought by healing my gut, he would be healed as well. He hasn't had solids at all yet. His main symptoms are sleeplessness and green, mucousy stools (sorry). He sleeps so little at night, I am getting desperate for some rest! I thought this sounded like it could help. I'd truly appreciate any insight you can offer!

And any suggestions from anyone about what this might be? Eliminating dairy has eliminated the eczema that was starting to show up. Do I really need a strict diet like SCD for help? I've used it before for me (ulcerative colitis), and thought just maybe it could help him.

Thanks so much!
Kristin

Babies are naturally born with leaky guts, but the bifidus strain of bacteria helps to seal it (as I understand it, they are colonized with this as they come through the birth canal and through breastmilk). When mom's gut is leaky, it taxes the baby's gut as well, creating food sensitivities and allergies. I would supplement the baby with bifidus probiotics. I think some have mentioned Soloray, but i don't know if it's dairy free. For your gut healing, read the HTG sticky at the top of this forum.

[caedmyn]

Originally Posted by Chinese Pistache

I think some have mentioned Soloray, but i don't know if it's dairy free. For your gut healing, read the HTG sticky at the top of this forum.

Solaray BabyLife is dairy-free.