Encouragement

[Nathan's mom]

My son is 4 1/2 and will be starting K soon. I wish his behavior was more predictable and less hyper. It's not that he is extreme at all and does pretty well obeying the rules of the house, but it is clear that he reacts to more than one thing. The problem is that it isn't always clear what that would be. He has been gluten-free for over a year now. I've gone over and over any cc issues and I don't see any. We are a gluten-free house and I've looked at soaps, etc. We've seen sleep issues improve and bowel movement ones improve. However, he is still not as calm as I would like. I'm not talking about regular busy boy behavior but more like mood swings, and ebbs and flows of hyperness.

It is really hard to isolate just what makes him react. I know that sugar load is one thing, we avoid soy also, and anything that is packaged with a lot of ingredients. I'm thinking of cutting down on glutamates (tasty food) and possibly doing an elimination diet cutting out rice just to see if THAT might be the problem.

Just need some encouragement to keep plodding along. I know how wonderful, bright, and tender hearted he is. Some people don't see that side of him just a boy who is "a handful". Any advice/encouragement is appreciated. When people suggest the word "hyper" to describe him makes me ready for the school to label him as ADHD which really doesn't help because that doesn't change him and I know he is reacting to something.

Thanks,

Debbie

[gfgypsyqueen]

I'm right there with ya! My youngest has Celiac and I think the DH too. It has been such a problem just to get her diagnosis. She is finally growing and doing great. She has allergies to three or four foods that I can pin down and still something else sets her off. I haven't been able to figure out what sets her off. She turns wild, hard to settle, behavior is just off the charts and then comes the diarrhea and rash. It lasts for a solid week of hell. Drs aren't really a big help in figuring her out. I am also nervous about when school starts and what will happen. I see the ADHD label coming her way by 2nd or 3rd grade. I just hope by then either she is better able to listen and focus or I found her trigger item.

As for the "hyper" label from others, give him a good nickname and have a comeback ready to correct people. Something that makes a positive attribute about his ability to be so active. When someone says he is so hyper, reply with "yup, he's my future CEO, always on the go, always thinking". Or a comment on his ability to sleep through a tornado (I'm optimistic.)

I hear the "tiny" and "wild" comments for my little one. I use a variety of nicknames and comments with people. I don't want her growing up with the thought that tiny equals weak, delicate, or breakable thought. I think she'll catch up in size, but it may take a while. Her nicknames infer toughness and power (it fits her).

Hope you have luck finding the item that still bothers your son.

[dbmamaz]

My middle child has a bunch of issues and I just did the celiac test (tho i dont expect much) and a blood-type allergy test. My youngest is having clear reactions to food dyes, anything with colors in it. He tends to just yell the rest of the day after having red foods, and the only time he got in trouble for hitting at preschool, it was v-day and they'd had pink cupcakes w pink frosting.

I have to say I was very pleased w the A.L.C.A.T test for myself and may order it for my middle child - they include testing for food dyes and up to 200 foods. Esp if its hard to find a connection, this kind of test can help.

good luck . . .my middle child is on major meds and sometimes I wonder if I could have prevented it if i'd gotten to the bottom of his food issues first.

[OBXMom]

My son is 4 1/2 and will be starting K soon. I wish his behavior was more predictable and less hyper. It's not that he is extreme at all and does pretty well obeying the rules of the house, but it is clear that he reacts to more than one thing. The problem is that it isn't always clear what that would be. He has been gluten-free for over a year now. I've gone over and over any cc issues and I don't see any. We are a gluten-free house and I've looked at soaps, etc. We've seen sleep issues improve and bowel movement ones improve. However, he is still not as calm as I would like. I'm not talking about regular busy boy behavior but more like mood swings, and ebbs and flows of hyperness.

It is really hard to isolate just what makes him react. I know that sugar load is one thing, we avoid soy also, and anything that is packaged with a lot of ingredients. I'm thinking of cutting down on glutamates (tasty food) and possibly doing an elimination diet cutting out rice just to see if THAT might be the problem.

Just need some encouragement to keep plodding along. I know how wonderful, bright, and tender hearted he is. Some people don't see that side of him just a boy who is "a handful". Any advice/encouragement is appreciated. When people suggest the word "hyper" to describe him makes me ready for the school to label him as ADHD which really doesn't help because that doesn't change him and I know he is reacting to something.

Thanks,

Debbie

Debbie, it sounds like you have really been on top of things to have figured out so much - Nathan is very lucky to have you for a Mom. My son was diagnosed with ADHD and auditory processing issues which mostly showed up in public, stimulating environments. I got so many sypathetic looks that I wanted to have sweatshirts printed saying, "Don't feel sorry for my Mom, I'm really good at home." In the second grade now his auditory processing issues are almost entirely resolved, and attention is not much of an issue, either. Part of his improvement is due to going gluten free, but a lot of it I think is just due to his own maturation and effort, with support at home and school, of course.

Kids naturally settle down a bit as they get older, and kids who have help settle down even more. You are lucky that your son is bright and tender hearted, that will help him in school. We have had teachers who were enormously helpful and encouraging with my son. Even though he has required more guidance at times, he's a pleasant little guy, and nobody ever seemed to mind. Our school encourages writing a letter prior to kindergarten telling what kind of teacher you feel your child needs, which is something you might consider. I asked for an experienced teacher with very clear communication skills, and we got one who was all that and more. With the right teacher, even a child with some challenges can have a great school experience.

We are still trying to work out all of our food issues ourselves, so I can't offer any help with that, but I do encourage you to keep on keeping on. You are definitely on the right track.

- Jane

[Sarah8793]

Hi,

One thing you might watch is if there is a connection to his hyper behavior with food coloring-especialy red food coloring. I have noticed that while gluten and dairy affect my children in other ways, red food coloring makes them start bopping off the walls. Just a thought. Sounds like you are a very caring and concientous mom!

[shayesmom]

Hi,

One thing you might watch is if there is a connection to his hyper behavior with food coloring-especialy red food coloring. I have noticed that while gluten and dairy affect my children in other ways, red food coloring makes them start bopping off the walls. Just a thought. Sounds like you are a very caring and concientous mom!

Another thing that you may want to consider that goes along with the gluten/casein/food coloring issue is improper digestion and possible problems with sulfation (converting sulfur into sulfate...which is how the liver detoxifies the body). A great site to visit is www.enzymestuff.com. Simple things like giving your child a bath in Epsom salts may help relieve the hyperactivity and help him process the toxins and chemicals from food/environment. There are some fascinating sites that talk about sulfation and how this is a major player in ADHD, ADD and autism. I suspect it is also prevalent in Celiac and a myriad of other issues. I just started looking into this and applying some of the information and the changes in both myself and my dd are absolutely amazing. I'd highly recommend looking into this if ever there are multiple food intolerances at work.

[Rachel--24]

I would second shayesmom's post.

If there is a deficiency of the PST enzyme which is involved in detoxification (sulfation pathway)....certain food chemicals cannot be metabolised. Food colorings and other phenols can cause reactions if this enzyme is deficient.

As previously mentioned epsom salt baths can help make sulfate available and this will help to eliminate the phenols. The PST enzyme requires sulfate.

Also, an enzyme such as No-Fenol can help with phenols....although food colorings such as red dye 40 or tartrazine (yellow) should be avoided altogether as they will furthur inhibit the PST enzyme.

The Feingold diet puts alot of focus on eliminating high phenolic foods which put a heavy burden on the PST enzyme and the sulfation pathway.

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