New perspectives

[Theloose]

For some reason, I haven't posted here much. I thought I'd introduce myself and see if anyone has any insight for me I'm not going to volunteer too many details now because I don't want to steer in any one way, but I'm happy to answer anything and provide more info.

Dd is 22mo. She started having bloody poop at 3mo, it got bad at 6mo, and that's when we started our elimination diet. We're not eating: gluten, dairy (except ghee), soy, corn, stone fruit (almonds, peaches, plums, cherries, etc), nightshades (except peppers), minimal legumes, minimal grains, asparagus, squash/melons/cucumber, xanthan gum, guar gum, and probably more.

I'm working on adrenal fatigue in myself, and seeing good things happen. Our biggest difficulty is in getting to baseline and staying there to test the foods that we're not eating, so most of that list is just suspects.

We still have cradle cap issues, a weird slight rash that's been there from month 1 or 2, and ear crusties. And slight constipation when we're at baseline.

What would you do?

[mtn.mama]

Were eggs and corn clear passes on your ED? Have you addressed yeast and dysbiosis?

Welcome!

[Theloose]

Eggs passed. They may be causing a slight increase in mucous - the monthly stray buggers and earwax clumps reappeared after we brought them back, but I figured that was so minor, that the nutritional benefits and variety won.

We're not doing corn, I'll add that to the list. I knew I'd forget something!

I do have some slight symptoms of yeast and dysbiosis, but either it's not much of an issue, or else it's a really sticky problem. Large doses of probiotics seem to have no affect on me (first lots of water kefir, then 2 VSL#3/day) and little affect on dd. We've only had thrush once, at 12mo, after lots of fruit sugar, little milk, and little sleep, and I didn't have symptoms, just dd's mouth. I haven't been keeping up on them lately, though - thanks for the reminder!

[tanyalynn]

I ran across cradle cap as being a sign of yeast, and biotin deficiency being one of the links between the two. I haven't sorted it all out yet, it was actually in one of firefaery's posts that I ran across that linked them.

[mommydancer]

How thoroughly (time lapse) did your clear all dairy before trialling/ reintroducing ghee? Cradle cap and rash make me think there is something still causing autoimmune response. And when you say ear crusties, what do you mean? Ear canal? Scaly skin behind the back of the ear?

Glad you decided to step into the light with your post...welcome!

[Theloose]

Interesting about the biotin/yeast/cradle cap connection, I'm going to have to look into that more!

After first eliminating in July, our last dairy trial was in December, and ghee we trialed a couple of times in March. I don't think dairy is a big issue for us because there have been times that I accidentally ate a piece of shredded cheese, and there was no noticeable symptoms afterward at all.

The ear crusties are scaly cradle cap-like skin behind her ears. Those first showed up at about 3mo, and have slowly gotten worse over time. They're still not that bad at all, though. They're just still there.

[mtn.mama]

While considering yeast and biotin... I would have to try a new elimination of eggs. Ear wax is a clear sign here of something to avoid... it might be keeping healing at bay. Seems like its worth a try?

[Theloose]

Originally Posted by mtn.mama

While considering yeast and biotin... I would have to try a new elimination of eggs. Ear wax is a clear sign here of something to avoid... it might be keeping healing at bay. Seems like its worth a try?

I have it in the back of my head. But it's *so little* (like one small glob a month) and egg yolks have so many nutrients, like biotin! Besides, dd really likes them - and I think she's good about eating anything, but not liking things that she reacts to.

We also have a really hard time getting to baseline and staying there long enough to do a proper trial. So just testing them again really is a big ordeal that would likely take months. In the past 16 months, I think we've been able to clearly trial less than 10 foods. Part of the reason is new reactions, part is accidental exposures, and part is dh and I disagreeing on what to consider baseline.

I don't want to come across as if I've already made up my mind - I really value the input, and if you'd still do the trial, I want to hear that too!

[mommydancer]

Okay, DS had that type of skin behind his ears until I pulled wheat, pork and beef (all at the same time...I was mad and desperate for improvement) and then it was gone and has stayed gone. I belive your DC is reacting to something. I am totally with you w/ regard to trialing. It was impossible to go three days w/o a reaction in DS until I took corn out of his diet, which was only around 2 and 1/2 mos. ago. I think I had heard enough about corn around here to know it was a possibility...but also that is was going to be awful to eliminate because of its prevalence in food. Also, I bought it when the allergists and nutritionists told me how unlikely it would be to cause a reaction. (What DO they know?) I could have started his healing sooner. I think you should consider the egg trial. Maybe apples.

[Theloose]

How long does it take crusty skin to resolve itself once the cause is addressed? Because I did do a short (2-3 weeks) TED and then later doubled back and eliminated my TED foods. The ear crusties never went away I suppose combos of foods I haven't specifically addressed yet. And for us, onions might be more likely than apples in terms of foods we eat every day.

[kjbrown92]

If the rash and the ear crusties and the cradle cap never went away, and there's constipation "at baseline", then I'd say you never made it to baseline. Sorry. She may have improved, but she's still reacting to something (or more). Have you ever played "Mastermind"? That's what I've decided that a TED is like. You have to have the right colors and the right order of colors to win, and any combination is "close" but not right.

[Theloose]

Oh, I know we've never officially hit baseline. The thing is, there's not much left to try eliminating - or there's way TOO much, depending on how you think about it. That's part of why I'm posting here, and a big part of why I'm seriously considering a degree in holistic nutrition.

Time for me to steer the conversation a little

So I've tried the elimination route. I've found some things that dd is reacting to. She no longer poops blood. But I really feel that it's not the whole picture for us, and that there's something else going on. I know that I have adrenal issues, I suspect minor thyroid issues, and I want to keep dd from as many needles as possible. I'm exploring the addition route. Which of these symptoms could be caused by a deficiency in something, or an imbalance? Suppose hypothyroid caused by iodine deficiency were causing the constipation - there is no elimination diet combo that would lead us to that answer.

Where can we go from here? Or would you stick with elimination? I'll admit, while I cook most everything from scratch, on the rare packaged food item, I don't worry about 'made in a facility with...' or those type disclaimers. And I'll make it clear that after my short TED, I never did the reintroduction phase. Partly because I didn't believe in our baseline, partly because I was getting sick of my 'safe' foods, partly because relatives were coming to visit and it was the holidays, and partly because it was making me feel worse. My goal was to heal myself.

[Panserbjorne]

Nope, elimination can remove the trigger (necessary when you are in trouble-don't get me wrong) but elimination doesn't equal healing. If I were you I'd focus alot more on healing and less on elimination.

This is all caused (IMHO) by deficiencies. I'd spend more time and energy on that.

[Chinese Pistache]

I agree with ff. Elimination is important, but then, you have to work on healing.

FWIW, my dd never had crusties, but my ds did have cradle cap that lingered longer than any of my other children (it eventually resolved itself), but the crustiness in his eyebrows didn't go away until I cut out wheat. He is officially crust-free