I'm pretty convinced dd has some allergies and that I'm not getting them all but I'm nervous about doing a total elimination diet on her (and me) since my Dr and naturopath both recomend against it.

We recently eliminated gluten. She faucet nose finally shut off. We got some by mistake the other day and we were both stuffed up within the hour so I'm pretty sure it was a gluten issue (or perhaps something else we ate that we don't normally...) I'm just frustrated trying to figure this all out. I hear that testing for her isn't very accurate at her age so to not bother. I'm just struggling with seeing her so uncomfortable (and soothing herself with nursing 12-15x a day every day still at the age of 2). I'm ready to sleep a little more at night. I'm ready to have her feel better and be less easily overstimulated. This may just be her personality but my mommy instinct tells me that it isn't. I'm just feeling kinda lost.

Is it gluten and going to take a few more months to see improvement?

Is it casien and I need to eliminate that again?

Is it some sort of chemical she is coming in contact with (we have a pretty chemical free home but who knows what she is sensitive to)

Is it the cats or dog?

Is it corn?

Is it anemia? my friends dd started sleeping better once they started iron suppliments with her. Hmmm... I'm anemic, I might start giving dd some molasses and see if that helps.

I'm also trying to figure out whatall it is that I'm alergic to and hoping that it is the same things. That will make meal planning easier at least. I know, beef, pork, gluten (or perhaps just wheat), lactose intollerant. I'm suspecting corn but nervous about eliminating that too. (what will we eat!)

Anyhow, I'm just looking for some btdt advice.

Also how can I tell if she is reacting to withdrawal or if she got an allergen? At nap time she was wired and whimpering in her sleep. I'm not sure if I should be examining what we ate today and yesterday or figuring that was withdrawal (cravings finally hit me yesterday after 10 days of no gluten).

Thanks for any insight.

Ohhhh, hugs! I know exactly what you're going through. I don't have much time now, but I'll try to come back. With food allergies you do end up with deficiencies, and iron is up there. When the gut is damaged it just doesn't absorb things properly. I would consider both iron and B vitamins as well as zinc.
If you have a gluten problem, it's very possible that you also have a casein problem. We do. Something like 70% of people with gluten issues do.
Take a look at the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It's not difficult to follow, and it's designed to heal the gut and rid yourself of any sensitivities. Lotsa mamas on the mothering board do it (we did it as well) and it works wonders. Also make sure you are actively repopulating the beneficial bacteria in your gut. I'll be back.

My dd had a dairy sensitivity and we took her to a pediatric allergist. Were told to remove all dairy from her diet. She had a constant runny nose and always congested. Would only poop once a week or so and it was always diarrhea and huge. She had what looked like black eyes from being very dry and irritated, and she was not gaining much weight. Every doctor tells you to "fatten them up" with dairy products but with my dd is was actually making her worse and not "fat".

I just used lots and lots of olive oil and made italian rice.

For fats you can also use coconut milk, avacado, olives, coconut oil (spread on bread, in smoothies) you're right. You DON'T need dairy. So many kids have devastating problems with it. I wish the medical community would wake up.