Holy food allergy! | Autism PDD

Luke was tested for food allergies this a.m.  We kind of knew that he had a dairy allergy ... but they found more than that even.  He's allergic to dairy, soy, eggs, and yeast!  The spots testing for corn and wheat allergies hadn't gotten red, but they told me to watch them overnight.

The info given to me by the doctor says that food allergies have been implicated in autism (among many other things).  I already knew this, but I thought it was 'alternative medicine whooee,' if you know what I mean.  NOT that I'm saying I think alt. med is whooee ... just that many in the medical establishment seem to write it off as such.  Has it been medically established that food allergies can contribute to autism?

My questions  are for those of you with children who also have food allergies (or any of you who have an opinion and wish to chime in!).  1) Have you taken your kids to a GI specialist to test for leaky gut syndrome and/or had your kids put on Nystatin for Candida stuff?  2)  Have you noticed significant changes in your kids after getting their allergies under control?  3)  Did you eliminate the foods from their diets completely or did you just use the sublingual drops to control the symptoms (which is what our doctor is suggesting)?  4)  If it's been a while since they were diagnosed with the food allergies, are they now no longer allergic to those foods?  (The doctor told me that this is something that Luke will almost assuredly grow out of.)

Thanks!!
Kellie

We have had ds on the gluten free, casein free diet since last November. He is literally a different child after removing those foods. Some of the biggest changes were with eye contact, much less lethargic - didn't lie on the ground and roll around as much, much less cranky and no more (sorry for being graphic) runny diapers. Also he hasn't had an ear infection or throat infection since, where as before he was being considered for tubes in his ears.

We supplement with a multivitamin in his juice (it is liquid) + B12 and although it can be difficult to change eating habits, it really paid off in our situation.

We did some blood tests- they didn't show any intolerance to gluten or dairy but by then he had been on the diet for months, we never did consult with an allergist but we have noticed by trial and error that he was also allergic to soy. (again cranky behaviour and runny diapers) We do not use Nystatin, we may try it but I don't see much of a need seeing as his digestive tract is working well and seems to be fine the way he is now.

My opinion is that although the diet can be really difficult to implement in the beginning, the change in behaviour is worth it in our case to justify. Now it is second nature for us, we just prepare all of his food in advance before we go anywhere.

Good luck with whatever route you decide,

Jess

Hi Kellie...it good to finally know huh!  At least there's something now that you know he reacts to that may explain some behaviors!  It stinks to have to rethink everything you're doing though...and readjusting eating habits etc. etc. etc.!

Riley was tested for leaky gut, it was just a urine test, looking for how the body expels sugars from what I understood, and also for Celiac, which was a blood test.  I found a link that goes into leaky gut, it's relation to food allergies and autism. 

http://osiris.sunderland.ac.uk/autism/gut.htm

Good luck...you know, it stinks when they find stuff...but it's also a blessing that you have something to work with!
~Lesley

Hi Kellie,
This is Mickey. I wrote you a note in reference to allergies. You were going to take Luke for tests. I Found this message by chance.
Like I stated before, my daugher who is now 27 has allergies to milk, wheat, etc. At age 6 she stopped drinking milk, etc. She had fluid buildup in both ears off and on. No doctor could find anything wrong with her - only processing problem, etc.??????? Was labeled Communication Handicap but graduated high school and passed the HSPA, etc . Went to college, now she is a salesperson doing very well (communication problem???)
My gut feeling is that by her eliminating milk at age 6 actually helped her.
I have read a lot on autism, diet, gluten, leaky gut, caesin, vaccines, protein, etc, etc, etc.
Found a neat book - The Hidden Drug Dietary Phosphate.
Author, Herta Hafer, a research pharmacist in Germany, and her husband, a chemist, have a son who is ADD, Autistic???? behavior problems, etc. Found this book from the internet - Australia. This book was translated into English (6th edition??)Bought this book .00.
Phosphate is a very common food additive. Milk contains phosphates! The book is about poor behaviors and she believes phoshates (too many in the system) causes bad behavior!
This is where I am today after researching diet, etc.
She believes the body must have a healthy ph balance, etc. If the body is too alkaline or too acidic, behaviors occur, etc. She also states the a tsp. of vinegar in a glass of water helps! Not sure about that but when I was pregnant I craved pickels - the vinegar!!!
My metabolism must have been off when pregnant, etc.
There is a lot more in the book. If anyone is interested in this theory - phosphates - behaviors, please reply to Mickey. I am under the OCD search.
Thanks for reading this.
Mickey


hey kaviar, i just took Carlo to see a gi doc on thurs. he has leaky gut,but know i wonder if he needs to be tested for allergies?mom2carloThe test wasn't fun, but it was just 40 mins of agony -- I'm so relieved we took him and found out what he shouldn't be having.   Ours son is going to the Allergie asthma center Plano Texas Oct.19.The problem is some allergie are out grown some are not. If the diet has to be so restricted how can they be with anyone but you. Some people won't follow. Mil's for one. My hubby/bil would not follow their diet. Our allergist told us that most of Luke's food allergies should be outgrown in a few years.  We were given sublingual drops to give him if he's going to eat something that he's allergic to, but Luke will NOT allow us to put drops in his mouth.  It's easier for us just to eliminate those foods from his diet.  Maybe you could have the doctor write something about how important it is for your child to avoid those foods he's allergic to -- would that help to convince your MIL?  If not, then maybe you shouldn't let your MIL watch your child.  Or give her the foods your child needs to eat.  Good luck! I am just reading the phosphate book. I didn't even intend to look for it at the library but it happened to jump off the shelves (almost) when I was looking for something else. I haven't got to the bit where she tells me what to cut out but as my son used to live on wheat products like pasta and weetbix he probably is a candidate for this.

The best part is if it is going to work you should see results in just a week or so and if you reintroduce a bad food you should see an effect in a few hours. At least it is an easy one to try and test. Not like some of the other elimination diets which they say take up to a year to work.

I will keep you posted.

oh and by the way..my twins both have leaky gut..but do not have candida...leaky gut has to do with the lining...even if he does not react to milk and wheat (allergies) the proteins go dirrectly to the brain (bad stuff) anf act like a drug..so even if you test for food allergies to casien & wheat make sure he doesnt have leaky gut...

Patricia

I also went to an allergist..didnt see any real changes in my twins (with autism)6yrs old..then my allergist died!!! so I only gave it about 2 months..now I am going to see a DAN Dr. they do sensitivity testing for food allegies...its done through blood work..I had this don 2yrs ago and it reallt made a differnce...that conbined with vitamin therapy & aminos is a noticeable difference..I am just starting again with the diets and supplements..this is the only real change I have seen with my twins...& Sunrise program...Good luck with the allergist I know it does work for many other kids...

 

Patricia

1) Have you taken your kids to a GI specialist to test for leaky gut syndrome and/or had your kids put on Nystatin for Candida stuff? 

Our dd is seeing a Pediatrician who is also a DAN doctor.  Our dd does have leaky gut and is currently on Nystatin (50 days) to get her yeast overgrowth under control. 

2)  Have you noticed significant changes in your kids after getting their allergies under control?  We have noticed a definate improvement in her behavior.  For example, when she was 2.5 yrs dd was practically non-verbal (she could label some objects around her, but was doing it less AND she did not knowhow to use words to communicate)  We removed milk from her diet (this was before we were told of her autism) and she started talking (w/ coaxing from the ST).  By the end of the week she was talking in 2 word phrases.  As for the yeast, dd displays more of the autism characteristics (in own world, stimming, etc).  When we started giving her the Nystatin (an other related products) she was more in tune to her environment, communicated more and did less stimming.  There is a die-off phase w/ eliminating the yeast where she did get worse (the same goes w/ removing the gluten and casien from her diet.

3)  Did you eliminate the foods from their diets completely or did you just use the sublingual drops to control the symptoms (which is what our doctor is suggesting)? 

We were told to remove the foods from her Ped.  We are looking into getting enzymes since I have heard so much success w/ it.

4)  If it's been a while since they were diagnosed with the food allergies, are they now no longer allergic to those foods?  (The doctor told me that this is something that Luke will almost assuredly grow out of.) 

It is my understanding that if you correct his leaky gut to where food particles do not pass from the gut into the blood stream and his intestine is working correctly in absorbing all the nutrients, then the allergies or intolerances may go away.

Here are some websites with more info:

http://www.tacanow.com/medical.htm (biomedical approach)

http://www.tacanow.com/dietinfo.htm (gfcf diet)

http://members.aol.com/lisas156/gfpak.htm (lisa lewis who wrote Speical Diets for Special Kids I & II disgusses the gut issue)

http://www.autismwebsite.com/ari/dan/dan.htm (Autism Research Institute - review the catergories DAN and Treatment - click on the yellow bar at the top of the page)

 

little byrd38740.3523958333I recommend checking out autismndi.com which contains a wealth of info on this subject. Our appt. with the same Plano Dr. in TX is Feb. 21.

Our sons Gi test was fine. We did Nystain when he had yeast issues. We now use a Organic supplement that has enzymes, vitamins,minerals, Flora stuff, amino acids, Fatty acids.

Lifeforce international -body balance

We also do Melaleuca cleaning products.

Legally who in plano are you seeing? We see Dr. REO for allergies.
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