New direction

On the 18th, after 30 days of uninterrupted gluten free, our gluten-free trial came to an abrupt and unintentional end as an unaware family member twarted my efforts by giving our son a brownie. I was tending to our daughter's needs and son asked if he could have a brownie, not realizing that not all brownies are gluten-free.

I was realistic in knowing that we likely wouldn't make it through the holiday unscathed, but I can't help but be a little disappointed that it came to an end so quickly. But at least we made it 30 days, which is a pretty solid testing period.

This unplanned ending opened the door to a perfect opportunity to try a different approach. In addition to no gluten, we are attempting dairy free. We sampled almond milk and he does not like it. I picked up the unsweetened vanilla flavor. Probably should have chosen one of the sweetened version or the chocolate version. I might pick up some of the chocolate this weekend and see how that goes. I submitted a refund request for the two half gallons I bought that he won't drink. Silk provides refunds if you don't "love it". Just waiting to hear back from them.

I have spoken to DS's teacher and told her we were going to be testing for a dairy allergy and she said she would help us as best she could. She asked me to provide drinks and snacks for him so that she can ensure she's giving him proper foods. So I did. I sent some cut fruit and 5 Juicy Juice Fruitfuls juice boxes with him to school yesterday for his snack. He told me last night that she forgot his juice boxes in the classroom and provided him milk to drink instead... seriously?? What happened to helping us? I've had it up to my neck with this teacher - between her disregard for our requests and disciplining him/changing his behavior color for some pretty stupid reasons, I'm about done with kindergarten. *sigh*

Anyhow, we're moving in a new direction. We're testing the dairy allergy now while maintaining the gluten-free diet to see how things go. I can't wait til he's out of kindergarten so snack time is no longer an issue. I feel so bad for him when his classmates are all eating a cupcake for someone's birthday and he is "stuck" eating cut fruit. :(

Rough Morning - Oppositional Definance Disorder

We had a rough morning today. Dear Son (DS) was doing everything in his power to completely defy my demands that he stop certain behaviors (making various noises with his mouth - clicking his tongue, slurping sounds, etc). It was like he was deliberately trying to annoy me. It was a rough morning with frustration, yelling and tears. Not the way I want to start the day. I tried my hardest to remain calm and correct his behavior with calm instructions but after directing your son to stop making these noises SIX TIMES I tend to get a bit frustrated. And what is worse is that my daughter followed his lead and started also making the noises. I finally resorted to a single swat on the butt to get his attention and indicate that I am serious when I tell him to stop doing something.

What is weird to me is that he was a beautifully behaved child before having breakfast. He got dressed without much fuss (I had to ask him a couple times to put his pants on instead of playing with them, but I don't consider that to be defiance, just a kid being a kid). So, this makes me wonder if something in his breakfast triggered his behavior this morning. He had 1 egg and sausage as usual. Maybe he has a sensitivity to eggs or something. I already get the "cleanest" sausage available in the stores. Aside from being made from CAFO meat, it has no other alarming qualities. No MSG, no sugar, no preservatives... It's the sausage I ate when I was following the Whole30 protocol.

Anyhow, as I was thinking about this blog in the shower this morning, I thought about seeking out information on Oppositional Defiance Disorder as well b/c my kid isn't really hyper, he just defiant. And a friend of my sister has her daughter on medication for the same disorder. I thought if I found some information on diet change and ODD, I could share it with her so her daughter could be taken off of medication.

So, I started searching. I found a forum where someone posted information from the Mayo Clinic regarding ODD. DS has a LOT of signs of ODD. And from what I'm finding, ODD is another mental health disorder that can benefit greatly from diet change.

Here is what the Mayo describes as ODD. The signs I feel my son expresses are in red.

Your child may be displaying signs of ODD instead of normal moodiness if the behaviors:

• Are persistent
• Have lasted at least six months
• Are clearly disruptive to the family and home or school environment

The following are behaviors associated with ODD:

• Negativity
• Defiance
• Disobedience
• Hostility directed toward authority figures

These behaviors might cause your child to regularly and consistently:

• Have temper tantrums
• Be argumentative with adults
• Refuse to comply with adult requests or rules
• Annoy other people deliberately
• Blames others for mistakes or misbehavior
• Acts touchy and is easily annoyed
• Feel anger and resentment
• Be spiteful or vindictive
• Act aggressively toward peers
• Have difficulty maintaining friendships
• Feel a lack of self-esteem - I'm not sure if he really expresses this one or not... it's possible.
• Have academic problems - I wish they had defined this a bit more. He's a smart kid and does well academically, but has problems minding the teacher... does that qualify as academic problems?

In addition, your child isn't likely to see his or her behavior as defiant. Instead, your child will probably believe that unreasonable demands are being placed on him or her.

Wow. Not sure why I chose to differentiate between what he displays and doesn't display since I highlighted them all... So, now that I have a pretty good suspicion for what we're dealing with - ODD instead of ADHD/ADD, maybe we can build steam and nip this in the bud. From what I've read, ODD goes further than just gluten sensitivity and we will also have to evaluate dairy intolerance and color additive sensitivities. I guess this weekend I'll get some almond milk and see if he'll drink it.

I'll probably be posting a lot of links or doing a lot of article reviews today. Sorry if I blow up your inboxes. ;)

The Link Between Gluten and ADHD according to Dr. Mercola

Dr. Mercola wrote an article showing the link between ADHD and Celiac Disease. While my son has not been diagnosed with either illness, he shows signs of ADHD. Through my research, I have learned that there is a link between what happens in our gut and what happens in our brains. Dr. Mercola mentions this in his article as well.

What harm does it do to cut gluten from the diet of a child who is exhibiting signs of ADHD? None. No harm is done.

Anyhow, the article is great and I wanted to link it here. It is also stored in the references tab for ease of access later. :)

Child have ADHD? Stop Feeding Them This - Dr. Mercola