It's REAL

So after going Gluten Free for the trial period and seeing the amazing effect it had on Vivian and her cognitive and coping skills. I started to notice in my oldest daughter Candice a few subtle differences that made me turn my attention to her and if she may have been being affected by gluten as well.

Candice was singing the ABC's by 2 years old. By 3 she sang the Alphabetical United State song with out missing a beat (or state). She started speaking around 10 months old. She was a very easy going baby and child. She never went through the "terrible two's" and was always a well mannered kid. She does well in school and received award after award in every grade.

Within the last 2 years or so she started developing a fear of throwing up. She had only thrown up maybe twice in her whole life with me and a few more times when she was with her dad, but was always so healthy I figured it was normal. I remember I hated throwing up, who doesn't?  She then started to get upset and anxiety about eating at dinner time because she said she already had a stomach ache. She told me she was so afraid of throwing up at night she didn't want to eat. She started losing weight. We discussed all sorts of possible problems with her about her eating so little.  I started having her go to the school counselor every week last year to see if that could help and see if she would tell the counselor something she may not want to tell me. I know there are alot of things she struggles with as a child within a divorce situation and all that entails. I wanted to give her a safe place to talk with a trusted professional about anything that may be wrong.

For over a year she has been seeing her school counselor every week. We've been speaking back and forth and her teachers have been watching her (without her knowledge) at lunchtime to see if she is eating. She would eat a big bowl of cereal (gluten) every morning, her teacher was seeing her eat enough during lunch to not be alarmed, but she would not want to eat dinner claiming tummy aches.  She had not, after a year, told her counselor anything about being bullied, abused, or any other type of external problem we wondered might be contributing to this. She only said she was paranoid of throwing up and also her struggles with divorced parents. Her counselor told me she was only concerned about her eating, other than that she was a very bright, reasonable, stable and understanding kid.

Then we changed the whole families diet to try to help Candice's little sister Vivian.

Within a week Candice had stopped her obvious fear of dinner. She suddenly started eating whole plates of dinner and asking for seconds. Nick and I talked about this and started paying attention to Candice and her evening eating. She didn't even realize how much she was eating at dinner, and she was waking up in the morning for school so much easier. She was less whiney and argumentative about homework, housework, and waking up for school.

After 3 weeks I took all three girls to the IHOP. I got Vivian oatmeal, and let the other two get pancakes. It was lunch, so they had already had breakfast (Rice Chex). After IHOP we went to the store. Side note; omelettes at IHOP have batter in them, you have to ask for regular egg omelettes to get it GF.

Candice, within 30 min of eating the pancake, started complaining of stomach cramps and she started to get very ornery and worried she was going to vomit. She walked around the store whimpering about how nauseous she was. Then she spent 20 min in the bathroom having a diarrhea attack.

The same thing happened to me awhile back, after the first failed attempt at going GF because we had only gone 4 days, but then had pizza at a gathering with friends and the next day I thought I was going to pass out while on the toilet. Literally, I am not trying to be dramatic, I had such huge waves of nausea I was almost in tears. I had personally not had gluten for about a week, but the kids had eaten gluten cereal, and I was not watching everything they ate as closely as I am now.

So I talked with Candice about her maybe having a Gluten intolerance. We talked about it and I answered as best as I could all her questions, the only thing is if you have already stopped eating Gluten, your bloodwork will not be accurate. I had Vivian tested before we started GF, but Candice had not been eating Gluten for weeks now. I told her if she wanted to start eating Gluten again she could and after a week or two we could get her tested. She said after that pancake she NEVER wanted to eat gluten again.

At this point I just validated her feelings (is it bad she doesn't want to eat Gluten? I think not) and I have been educating her and empowering her on what Gluten is, what its in, how to identify labels, and reassuring her it is ok to politely tell people no thank you if they offer a gluten snack, or ask if it has Gluten in it. For her class Halloween party she made her own box to check on the snack sign up sheet that said "Gluten Free snacks" and we made Ghraridelli chocolate rice krispie treats, naturally GF! Not sugar free lol.

I had not heard her complain since IHOP that she had a stomach ache, or not want to eat dinner, or feel threatened by puking. It had been a little less then 2 months.

She had Thanksgiving in Utah with her dad and his family. I talked with her about what she should be careful of during Thanksgiving, then let her know if she did eat gluten not to worry. I spoke with her dad about our discovery and he agreed he would help her. When she came home she had quite a bit to tell me about her trip and food matters.

She had taken a bite of a hamburger with the bun and within minutes had hives break out all over her face and neck. A family member gave her Benedryl to help. She said she also had cheerios and her dad promised her they were GF, but she said she had a stomach ache after. She also had an IHOP omelette on the last day (with batter) and she said the whole day and the flight home she was nauseous and sick and had diarrhea as soon as she came off the flight.
She also told me her dad had told her she did not have a gluten sensitivity. He told her there was no such thing and showed her a few articles on the internet that said Gluten sensitivity was bogus, and he stated he had gone to college (communications degree, not medical) which meant he knew these things for sure......

I asked her how she felt about that.... she said she felt he was wrong. She said she knew how gluten made her feel and she never wanted to knowingly eat it again. She was also bewildered why her dad, who announces frequently how allergic he is to cats, weeds and grass among other things, didn't believe her allergy was real.

This is were her counselor also comes in handy. To help her understand things like this and realize she is an individual and can stand up for herself, that not everyone sees eye to eye or has the same perspective. That she must be responsible and understand her abilities within her world to make her own decisions.

Any of you reading this who are thinking of "trying it out" but are worried about support or help from others. If you are worried what others will think, or how to explain to people why your making this choice...

KNOW that NOBODY else matters. NO ONE else should have the power over you to make you feel like you are unable to do this, that you are making a mistake, or tell you based on their ideas or opinion that you are weird or wrong. NO ONE matters but you, your kids and your opinion and experience and health. Let the people around you see your determination.

Nothing may come of it, you may need to look elsewhere, to continue your journey. I guarantee you will not look back and regret trying something like this, whether it works or not. And if it works you will be amazed, relieved, revitalized and empowered in your decision.

Patsey has had zero noticeable differences from being on or off Gluten. NONE. No different bowl movements, emotions, behaviors, reactions.... nothing.

Nick says he has had better digestion and regularity. He did eat some gluten a few times after being off of it, and said he felt weighed down and tired, as well as loose and painful BM. He said with his crazy busy schedule, he feels more energy and clarity moving through his day.

I feel so much more energy, I wake up easier and do not feel so groggy in the morning. I feel better maybe as a placebo effect, just doing something that has had such a good impact on my family. We are still figuring life out but Life is Good.

I took some video of Vivian the other day that shows a bit of her cognitive connections increased speech and how they are improving. I will post that with my next post. It is AMAZING to witness.