Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) Support thread

[tigerlilly905]

Gotcha, thanks for the info Karen   I will have to ask our ND about it when we go on Wed.

So after reading again about die off vs. intolerance I've decided to go ahead and try Ds1 again with sauerkraut.  We first tried about 4 mos ago and Ds1 got a REALLY bad rash. All over his chest and on his face. I *thought* it was die off/detox but wasn't sure. I stopped the sauerkraut altogether for a while and it did go away, so I tried again - this time just a bit of raw cabbage juiced in his morning juice. Again, the rash came back, but just a little on his face.  So I stopped again. That was about 2 weeks ago. I think I was starting with too much.

He's rash free now and his poops have been normal so starting yesterday morning I added 1/4 tsp of the brine from our sauerkraut mixed in with his fresh juice.  I did the same today. No rash yet, so that's promissing.  I'm thinking the previous times I tried the cabbage/sauerkraut I must have gone too quickly. I know NCM says to only introduce high detox/die-off foods slowly, but maybe I wasn't going slow enough? I'm hoping to keep up with the 1/4 tsp of sauerkraut brine each morning for the next week and slowly increase it.

Megan, how's Milo doing?  How's he responding to the Caprylic Acid? Are solids going ok?

[deb]

Can I thank you all for putting me on to a form of zinc that I can tolerate without puking? The zinc piccolinate, I think it was? It's also helping me fight off a cough/sniffle.

Still following along.....

[bug_blues70]

Yes, the caprylic acid is for candida (and probably other yeasts or fungi too but I'm not sure). The stool results showed that Milo had yeast and they had a section on the homeopathic remedies that were most effective on whatever the patient has. Ours showed caprylic acid and grapefruit seed extract. We are supposed to do a 1/2 tsp of CA for 14 days followed by 14 days of 1/5 drop of GSE. The dosage for GSE for ages 5+ is 1-3 drops per day. Since Milo is very sensitive she told me to start with 1 drop diluted by 5 drops of water and then give him one drop of that. We'll work up a little bit from there if he tolerates it well.

We are doing much, much better lately and I attribute most of that to the gaps diet. I *know* that's why his poops are finally normal after 10 months. I'm also more careful about how I give him his reflux meds which I think is also helping a lot with the screaming at night. Since starting the diet, he also throws WAY less fits during the day during normal routine care (changing, dressing, wiping face and hands, etc). TBH i can't really say how much i feel the CA is doing since i don;t really think he was screaming b/c of the yeast and his poo started to get better with just the diet. Also, it's only been 6 days and we are supposed to alternate 14 days CA and 14 days GSE for about 6 months.

Solids are going good - he loves to eat. For the most part we are doing pear, swedes, chicken, chicken livers, and squash. Occasionally I give him banana or green beans and I also still offer avocado and eggs on a regular basis, but he just doesn't want anything to do with either one.

Ok, Ellen is up now so I gotta run!

[Erin M]

Can I thank you all for putting me on to a form of zinc that I can tolerate without puking? The zinc piccolinate, I think it was? It's also helping me fight off a cough/sniffle.

Still following along.....

Wait!  What is this miracle drug??  I've never even cone close to tolerating zinc and they say it's good for the immune system.

[Mom to M&M]

Zinc picolinate is also the only form I can tolerate! I take 50mg daily with dinner.

[tigerlilly905]

Erin, you can get Zinc Picolinate from iherb http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-Zinc-Picolinate-50-mg-120-Capsules/878?at=0

Megan - that's awesome news!! Were you afraid to keep pear/bananas in his diet due to fructose?  I kinda feel like I will wait a loooong time before introducing fruit to Arthur when we get into solids.  Do you find the fruit effects his poops at all or reflux flares?

[bjutka1]

Good question about the fruit. We took all fruit out of Julia's diet but it would be great to put pears back, even mixed with some squash.

How often do you give chicken liver, Megan? That was also something I was thinking of trying.

We went to a regualar dermatologist today who prescribed some steroid creams for Julia's eczema. She sracthed it so bad that it bled!!! I'm a bit worried about steroids as some people say it damages the skin...

Such good news about wee Milo doing better on the GAPS diet. We are also doing a lot better. Julia is now pooing on her own every time without laxatives. I just cannot believe the change. She is also less windy but still quite windy, though I suppose, this will all take time.

The only thing is her nighttime sleep is still disrupted. She wakes a couple of times at least for a bottle. How are your LO's doing with sleeping?

[bug_blues70]

OH. MY. GOSH. I just received my FCLO in the mail today. I bought the liquid b/c it was way more economical than the capsules... I have a pretty tough stomach and can handle a bit of nastiness when I need to. But good lord, it literally almost made me throw up!! I think i just wasted my money, I can't bear to take that every day!!!

Rebecca - I don't think he has a problem at all with ripe, peeled pear. The bananas though, I'm not sure. It's a recent addition and I've only given it a couple times and I haven't decided yet if I think he reacts to it. He never eats very much of it though, which may be why there's no problem yet. I don't give him any other fruits, though I eat some myself. Oh, and I gave him blueberries the other day b/c he really wanted some of Ellen's, and I didn't see a reaction. I wouldn't give him strawberries or blackberries at this point though b/c even Ellen reacts to those.

Jutka - I give chicken livers almost every day. He loves it and I feel like it's really easy on his tummy and I never see chunks of it in his poo (it gets kinda soft and crumbly when I boil it). Also, maybe I just have a good association with it, but I gave it to him at my uncles house on a holiday when there was nothing else there he could eat, but after that was the first time I got a normal poo. I buy some, separate them to freeze, and pull a bit out at a time. I boil it and store/re-serve the leftovers for one, maybe two days, but no longer than that.

We are also still having very disrupted sleep. He wakes about every 2 hrs and wants to nurse. I have struggled with my supply so sometimes I HAVE to feed him at night, and now he kinda just expects it even when my supply is normal. I think I have become a prop though as he won't settle any other way. After a year of screaming I just can't handle any more when I know all I have to do is nurse him (in the past, even this didn't settle him). Especially since, like I said, I struggle with my supply so much that sometimes I have to nurse all night whether I want to or not.

[Erin M]

Jutka - steroids are not ideal long term as they can thin out the skin (my mom is a nurse who has worked for a dermatologist for 20+ years, so we've had this discussion on the few times I've been on them).  They're also not recommended for thin skinned area of the body (think the inside of your arms, places like that).  The thinking (correct me if I'm wrong someone who knows more) is that the eczema is a reaction to something happening inside her body -- food intolerance most likely, based on what you've described) and will get better as you figure out what she's not tolerating and eliminate it.  You'll get different opinions on this from other people, but when I've been in this situation myself (I had horrendous rashes in 2 out of my 3 pregnancies) I've used the steroid creams short term because having open wounds all over (from scratching) is IMO inviting nasty infections.  So while the steroid cream treats the symptoms and not the causes, it can make her more comfortable (which might improve her sleep too, who knows? -- when I had those terrible rashes I would wake up multiple times a night from the itchiness).  However, definitely press on trying to figure out the food issues as that's probably your best bet to getting rid of the eczema for good. 

And apologies to the rest of you if my answer was not properly GAPS friendly, since we are on a GAPS thread.  Just wanted to share what I know. 

[bjutka1]

Thank you for the answers, girls.

First reply to Megan. Gosh, that reaction sounds terrible - I'm not surprised you don't want to try again. I'm gonna be the same with the expensive digestive enzymes I bought for Julia - she gets such a sore tummy, I don't want to try it again.

I wish I were you and could still breastfeed!!! I remember though when I did, she was waking every 1-2-3 hours a night to nurse and I was absolutely shattered. I don't think it was a prop, she woke due to wind and then needed nursing to comfort her. If her sleep was just a bit better, I never would have given up breastfeeding. Now, she still wakes a couple of times a night but it's so much harder to get up and prepare a bottle than just to put her to the breast, while half asleep myself. I don't blame you for using breastfeeding as a prop to get her back - I would do exactly the same! This won't last forever.

Would you mind writing down Milo's daily feeding routine? What he gets for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks etc. I think it would really help me to see it and would give me ideas.

Erin - thanks for the info on steroids. I kinda suspected this myself. But I think at the mo, I have to try them as she is very itchy and I think this also affects her sleep. Dietwise I'm not sure what else to change. We are down to HAF, swede, squash and chicken. I was always pretty sure about these. The strange thing is that her gut is a lot better (less wind,no constipation) but her skin isn't improving at all...

[tigerlilly905]

Echoing Erin's thoughts on the steroid cream/eczema. Eczema is *usually* an external reaction of the internal imbalances you're dealing with. I would try and be patient and push through with diet. If she's uncomfortable, there's lots of natural topical options. Calandula cream is very soothing for eczema.  You can also ad peppermint/chamomile tea to her bath which can also help soothe the skin.

Megan, so even if Milo isn't having a reaction to pear, are you afraid you're feeding the Candida/bad bacterias with the sugars? Just curious.  Im just not sure how I would proceed w/ fruits

[Erin M]

 Jutka, I would try them too in your position.  They will most likely make her more comfortable.  It's my understanding that the rash can take awhile to go away after the foods are out of her diet.  What kind of formula is she on?  Might she have a dairy intolerance?

[bjutka1]

Thanks. She is on Nutramigan AA - hypoallergenic formula.
I also heard of chickweed cream for eczema. What are you girls using?

[bug_blues70]

I don't think it was a prop, she woke due to wind and then needed nursing to comfort her.

Well, tbh I can't really rule this out either. If I don't nurse him, he'll cry or scream for literally hours. The few times lately I've tried to not nurse, I've ended up just giving in after 1.5-2 hrs. That makes it totally pointless and worse for him b/c then his reflux is worse and can barely eat. I know it's horrible to make him scream for hours only to give in and nurse anyway, but I'm already so sleep deficient and so sick of screaming that I just can't handle it for that long. That's why I've just decided to try not to, but nurse as soon as I realize he's not going to resettle otherwise.

For breakfast Ellen and I do eggs and avocado, so sometimes I offer it to Milo, but since he always refuses, lately I haven't offered b/c I have to not feed him before his Nexium anyway. After his nap, he nurses and then still wants to eat so I give him pear or chicken liver or something to hold him over til E wakes up and we can all do lunch. For lunch I usually bake chicken (dark pieces) and make a vegetable - lots of times some kind of squash - and he loves the chicken. I just give him little bits of the darkest, fattiest parts and he eats and eats. Then for dinner I try to make something he can eat too, though lots of times he misses it b/c he goes to bed so early (6:30) and nobody's hungry after eating such a late lunch. Sometimes though i'll give just him something. I pretty much I just alternate between chicken livers, chicken, squash or other non-starchy vegetable, pear, swedes, etc.

Today (in between writing this post) he actually ate both eggs and avocado! A little over a tbsp of each. And that's after nursing more than every 2 hours last night (last night was a pretty bad night). I'm thinking that maybe I need to make sure to do better about breakfast and dinner and work out the Nexium somehow in between. But maybe that's part of why he's nursing so much at night - b/c I don't give him 3 big meals a day, usually just one and maybe 2 littler ones.

Rebecca - I have thought about that too and I don't really have an answer except that I only give him pear every few days or so at the most and usually he only eats about 1/4 of a pear. Maybe I shouldn't give it to him at all, but it's just a food that he tolerates well and his diet is so limited and he loves the pear. 

[bug_blues70]

Oh and I forgot to say that he LOVES navy beans too. I don't give him more than 1-1.5 tbsp in a day though b/c I think they might cause him a little bit of gas if I give him too much.

Some other ideas, some of which I've tried and some I haven't: broccoli (very small amounts) cauliflower, carrots, eggplant, lentils, split peas, lima beans, green beans, berries (watch out for reactions though and start very small!! I only ever give a few blueberries no more than every few days and never strawberries or rasp/black berries to Milo), beets, pork, turkey, or slow cooked chuck roast. HTH!