Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) Support thread

[tigerlilly905]

So this mornings first pee sample was a bust. The bag leaked everywhere overnight. I managed to get another small sample this morning after his first feed so I hope it was enough.

For those of you who have already done stool samples - did you need a big sample? I could only manage to get a small amount for each test, maybe 1/8 tsp each jar. Since his poops are still completely liquid fairly small it was so hard to do.  Hopefully it was enough Maybe I'm just being paranoid, LOL. These tests are so expensive, I don't want to get a call saying we didn't do it right.

[bug_blues70]

Rebecca - ours had a fill line you had to get to... did yours have one too? We had to use three different poops to fill the three bottles so it took us a couple days. We did the frozen one first followed by the refrigerated ones.

[tigerlilly905]

Ya, our tests have a fill line too... but there was no way were were getting to it with the one poop. I thought it had to be from one poop?  Honestly, the instructions that came with the kits are garbage.  These kits are made for kids/adults, not babies.   I guess I'll just keep adding to the frozen sample then. I called Fedex and they aren't doing any pick ups until Wednesday because of the holidays, so I guess I have a few days to collect. It's just so hard to gather the poop samples - most of it ends up being absorbed into the diaper

[bug_blues70]

we did each vial with one poop, so three poops total. I hope you get enough

[tigerlilly905]

Me too... I guess since Arthur isn't really on solids it makes a difference in the type of poops I'm dealing with.. there's absolutely no solid consistency yet. I managed to get another 1/4 tsp to ad to the frozen sample I have, but it's barely even covering the bottom of the jar...

[Erin M]

Could you maybe line his diaper with something non-absorbent, something like plastic wrap or a bag?  Not sure how you'd get enough otherwise!

[deb]

Don't know if it'd be useful, but I found by accident that if I changed my kids before they were done pooping, just me wiping the anus seemed to stimulate them to poop more. (I learned this the hard way after going thru 4 or 5 diapers in a row. Twice. With EACH girl!)

Anyway, if you can catch him early on, maybe you can try some anal stimulation and see if it gets him to make more if he goes a bit at a time instead of all at once?

This is one of the stranger pieces of advice I've passed on.....

[Erin M]

Ooh, good idea Deb, I've done that a few times lately too, quite by accident as well!

[tigerlilly905]

Yes, great idea Deb!! I read that quickly last night!! It reminded me of when we rescued an abandonned newborn kitten. We had to stimulate it after each feed like the Mama cat would have done to get it to go. (glamourous, I know )

So this morning I was really worried about not getting enough for the sample.  I called the Lab and they said it NEEDS to be at the fill line for proper cultures. At the rate I was going I was going to be at this for a month!! The woman I spoke to said I could keep adding to the same sample for up to 14 days, but that was it.

My mission this morning was to get poop!! So after following Arthur around with a tupperware container and a wet cloth to try and stimulate him to go all morning, I managed to collect from 3 poops - enough to get to our quota. Geez, I never want to to THAT again!  Hopefully by the time we have to retest he'll be on solids so I won't be dealing with this liquid goop.  The things we do for our kids, eh?!

How did you ladies do over the holidays with your dietary restrictions?? We had a very "gaps friendly" dinner.  We did have potatoes for guests, but everything else (including desserts) were GAPS legal. I tried making a quiche w/butternut squash crust from the health, home & happiness website for xmas morning breakfast - SOOO good!

[kim&savannah]

Mmmm!  I'll have to try that quiche recipe.  I've had pretty good luck with the recipes from that site so far.  We did the raspberry scones from there (for my mom and me, everyone else had cinnamon rolls which is our traditional Christmas morning breakfast.)  They were very good, too.  And we had a totally GAPS friendly dinner--pork tenderloin with an apple sauce, butternut squash puree, roasted cauliflower, green beans. I was going to make rolls for everyone else when I did the cinnamon rolls, but ended up messing them up (Not sure DH believes it was an accident--I've had serious baby-brain and been doing a terrible job cooking.  I left the salt out of the dough (which we caught before I baked the cinnamon rolls and salted them and they ended up being ok), and then I had them in the oven, rising, which was still a little warm, but had it programed to turn on in a bit.  Well, of course Henry woke up that night during all that and I was in his room for 30 min trying to get him back to sleep when the oven turned on and started cooking the rolls, with the towel still on them, and the oven door open.  They didn't stand a chance.

  And for dessert coconut flour brownies I had left over from a party last week.  I'd frozen them so I wouldn't eat them all (except they actually taste really good frozen, too).

My biggest issue with food over the holidays is that Henry just can't seem to handle me eating nuts.  He doesn't get a rash or any clear sign.  But every time I do, he wakes up a lot at night, and doesn't take great naps.  So the almond flour that I made things with and the Lara bar DH put in my stocking have been wreaking havoc on our sleep the last two days.  It's a little sad to not even be able to have some of the allowed "treats".

But in happier news--his poops are looking mucus free!  And we go in Thurs for a weight check--which I'm really hopeful that he'll be at 15 pounds--we hit that on our home scale this morning, so I'm hoping it holds.  That will be a 2 pound gain in 1.5 months!!!!  He is LOVING his solids. I can't force him to BF more, but he will eat 3 solid meals a day that are probably around 3/4 cup each.

Glad you got the poop, Rebecca. It will be a lot easier if you can get going on solids before the next time.

[bug_blues70]

hmmm, I wonder if it's the nuts that are still keeping Milo up at night?? I've been eating lots of nuts since starting the gaps diet - they are my go-to snack. I think maybe I'll have to stop eating them for a while and see what happens.

We went to a cranial-sacral therapist this morning for Milo's reflux on advice of the naturopath we are seeing. I was hopeful (and still am just a tiny bit ) but I think this lady was a load of crock. I'm not sure that I'm saying that ALL c/s therapists are hokey, but this one sure seemed like it. She's not the particular one that the naturopath recommended, but the one he wants Milo to see is 2 hrs away and uber-expensive   I guess we'll wait and see how Milo does over the next few days, though he's already thrown up since the visit

[Mom to M&M]

Could be the nuts or even just certain nuts? My DS can't tolerate almonds and peanuts used to be a problem but he loves pistachios and cashews and those seem to sit fine with him. Otherwise, what about roasted chickpeas? So yummy!

[bug_blues70]

hmm, funny you say almonds and peanuts. I used to think he had a problem with peanuts and haven't eaten them since he was little bitty until I started gaps about a month ago, and almonds gave me headaches when I was pregnant with him and I haven't eaten them until the past few days - I have a headache today and I was wondering what in the world caused it - I had almonds this morning!! No more almonds for me!!

[tigerlilly905]

Yes, I agree w/ Karen about only certain nuts causing problems. I know peanuts bug Arthur. He seems ok with all others. Although, I guess peanuts technically are a legume, but either way, I would perhaps do a trial and error with certain nuts before ruling them out completely.

Megan, I remember you mentioning waaay back when that you thought Almond milk bugged Milo. It could be the Almonds for sure. 

Megan & Kim - You could try cashews for a while and see where that gets you. Cashews are low sals and good on gaps, so IMO you would be good on both fronts if you were worried.  Even though Arthur is good when I eat almonds, almond butter (and cashew butter) is rather expensive here, so I've been opting for Sunflower Seed butter and its been great.

I know Larabars makes a Cashew bar thats just cashews and dates (it has an orange wrapper).  That could be a quick nut snack if it's only certain nuts that are bothersome, but I guess you would have to watch for a reaction.

My other thought on the nuts is the phytic acid. I have no clue if it could be passed to BM, but since pretty much everything else passes to BM, I would think phytic acid could too. Technically nuts (seeds, legumes, beans ect) *should* be soaked/sprouted/fermented to break down the phytic acid and allow for easier digestion.  I don't think NCM talks about it much in GAPS, but if you read the NT cookbook and other resources you'll learn more about phytic acid.  TBH, the nut soaking thing is something I"m lax on... soaking nuts and then toasting them again on super low heat would just be yet another cooking thing on my "to do" list. I know that Almond flour seems to be difficult for Charles to digest, and I'm assuming it's b/c of the phytic acid.  I do make sure to soak any beans/legumes prior to cooking though, and I've noticed Charles can digest those now (before they would just pass right through...)

Speaking of Charles, he seems to be doing much better with the sauerkraut.   I guess super slow introduction really is key with those strong detoxifying foods.  Yesterday and today he's had a small amount of sauerkraut with dinner and it hasn't bothered him. Yay! Also, tmi, but he's had really great poops the past few days. He's fully daytime potty trained now so I can actually see his formed poops in the toilet (instead of mushed in his diapers ) I'm really happy we're seeing progress with him!

OH!, and I forgot to mention, I had a small amount of goat cheese on Christmas & Boxing Day and it hasn't bothered Arthur. That's a bonus! I can't find the words to describe how delicious the goat cheese was!! I guess when you go without certain foods for a long time it really is a treat when you can have them again, even if it is in a very small amount!

FX that Henry has been gaining weight, Kim! That's terrific he's doing so well with solids! and HOORAY for non-mucous poops!!

[kim&savannah]

Rebecca--I totally agree about the cheese.  I also went ahead and had a little cheese on Christmas Eve and unless its responsible for the poor sleep, I haven't seen any issues.  Since nuts in the past have had the same reaction, I'm assuming its that and not the dairy.  Although I really need to get him back on track and then try the dairy again.  I pushed it with too many things because I wanted to not feel so deprived over the holiday.

That's interesting about certain nuts causing problems.  I'm pretty sure I've had periods where I only had cashews, and still had problems, but I also know that once I start eating nuts, I eat too many because they really are such an easy snack.  I do need to try soaking them, though.  I haven't done that.  I just wish the almond flour was okay because it opens up some other baking options.  But I guess too many baked goods aren't necessarily as good.

My first batch of saurkrat (successful) is starting to taste pretty good.  Its only a couple weeks old, but it has a little tang to it.  I'm pretty happy that it worked!