Feingold Diet

[kim]

I have read some of you that use the FG diet. How long ldid it take you before you saw results???

[1mom]

hi kim---welcome!
my son did a modified fg diet and we saw results almost immediately in some areas (the 'no-no' foods) that really set him off. it helped me alot to keep a journal of what he ate/drank and to just eliminate one suspected item at a time. ((in his case chocolate, red/yellow dyes, and foods with preservatives were the worst)). i also found out that he was sensitive to milk products, so cut down on them a whole bunch (milk took a few weeks to show up, so i guess it depends on their individual reaction and tolerance levels).
i wish you luck and success with the diet. post and let us know how it goes!
prayers,
1mom

[dfp]

We saw results within 2 weeks. Actually, results came sooner, but we couldn't believe it so to be conservative I'd say 2 weeks.

And I am the biggest skeptic about this diet. Before we did the diet I was absolutely positive my son wasn't reacting to the foods he was eating. Maaaaybe red dye, but I was convinced it wasn't going to work.

Ah well, I can admit I was wrong!

[catatonic]

The Feingold diet has made some miraculous changes in my son. Day 4 was the last time he wet his bed (he used to be a once-a-night-man) except for a couple of rare occasions (maybe 3 in a year) where he ate off-diet. He used to get terrible, incapacitating migraines about once every week or ten days. He now feels a migraine starting perhaps every 3 weeks although there have been gaps of a month or more, and these migraines never go full-blown to the point where he is vomiting and sleeping like he's in a coma. He used to take hours to fall asleep and then wake up and wander the house in the wee hours before getting up early. On Feingold, he lies down, falls asleep, wakes up in the morning (still kind of early, but I can live with that). Nasty, oppositional behavior is reduced by probably 75%.

I'd say two weeks, maximum, and I had a whole different child on my hands. Of course, that makes it sound too easy. Once his body had been detoxified, we began noticing behavioral reactions to secondary sensitivities, so spent months experimenting (for example, he cannot EVER eat corn syrup or chocolate). But this is fine tuning, once the major symptoms are under control.

I highly recommend Feingold and believe it's worth joining the Feingold Association, since so many foods contain "hidden" additives that it is impossible to avoid without the support of the association's research department and support board. Take a look at www.feingold.org

[foley]

We saw results within 6 weeks! I highly recommend it.

Foley

[kim]

Thanks for replying.
I have got all the inf. and pamphlet from joining the Feingold ass.
We are tried sooo many different diets and things I have just been "skeptical" myself about trying it. We did the Gluten/ casein (no mil orwheat) diet for about 3 months which seemed like 3 years without success . So maybe I will give it a try.
With the gluten/casein free diet you absolutely cannot mess up on it ,not even a crumb or it will not work..Is the FG diet that way??
Thanks,
Kim

[catatonic]

Not exactly. The first 6-weeks, you must be very strict, since this is a period of detoxification and you will be establishing a new baseline (and new expectations!) for your child's behavior. After the 1st 6 weeks, you can test additional foods to see if they are tolerated.

However, artificial colors, artificial flavors and the preservatives BHA, BHT and TBHQ are NEVER permitted. After you've been on the diet a while you will understand why, once you've seen a few of the reactions they provoke.

A number of people allow "cheating" occasionally. We don't because I'm so grateful to have my wonderful son back, the one who is affectionate and bright and likeable, that I'll do anything to avoid a reappearance of the Spaz Boy From H*ll. I can't stand the Spaz Boy From H*ll.

You really do need to make the effort to be 100% compliant with the diet. However, if you make a mistake, the reaction will pass, sometimes within a few hours, sometimes in a day or so. (I've heard stories of longer-lasting reactions, but we don't have them.) Then you just get back on track and things level out again. So while you should stick faithfully to the diet, if mistakes happen, you just carry one with no lasting harm done and a new learning experience under your belt.

[DenverSarah]

For us it took longer. I would say 8 weeks before we really had a different kid on our hands...and he never did quit wetting the bed. We've now been on it for over a year and would never go back. It is difficult at first, but if you've been doing GFCF it will seem like a cake-walk compared to that! Good luck either way!

[catatonic]

DenverSarah -
Do you do corn syrup? For us, we found that corn syrup is a major bedwetting trigger. Milk seems to contribute, too, although when we tested dairy it didn't cause behavioral reactions, just peeing.

[DenverSarah]

We don't avoid it like the plague like some must, but he will occasionally be allowed a soda at a social situation. We don't have CS products at home at all.

[RiahBubbaPooh]

Took one week to see immediate results, longer to fine tune everything.

I just posted our testimony (which is quite long) on the Feingold board, but I'd be happy to post it here if you'd like to read how it helped our family.

[kim]

I would love to read your story,
kim

[RiahBubbaPooh]

It's long, but it's a quick read....

Let me tell you what life was like at my house pre-Feingold.

Dh was diagnosed severely ADHD, and was dealing with bi-polar issues. These were not mild, but things that impacted every aspect of our home/marriage/family, not to mention ministry. He'd been dealing with it all of his life, but no one had taken the time to do anything about it.

Moriah (ADD) was just about the sweetest child on earth. Slept soundly, helpful, cheerful, just about perfect. Unless she got ahold of artificial color or flavor. Then she would instantly turn into a mean-spirited vindictive child, would not sleep and completely spaced out. She learned to read at 3, but would suddenly forget how when she had artificials. She also would get very sick and break out in a rash whenever she had orange juice. We started to notice that certain fruits made her agitated (oranges, apples, raisins).

Seth (ADHD) was three when the drs. finally suggested we medicate him. No kidding, THREE! They told me he'd never learn with out medication. From the time he was born, he had trouble. He would have reactions to the foods I ate before I nursed him. Scream for hours, hate to be touched, NEVER slept. Loud noises (even two dished clinking together) would make him react as if he'd been struck. He'd wince in pain and then start crying. When we introduced solid foods (starting with applesauce, of course) the ear infections began. The medication was full of food dye and flavor which we found out was causing more ear infections. After two months straight on antibiotics, I was unable to get him back to the dr for a recheck...that was when the infection finally cleared. He would not let anyone hold him, read him a book, no hugs and kisses. On the rare occassion that he did fall asleep, he would wake with horrible nightmares. We didn't find out until years later that Moriah would bring him into her bed at night, and he would play in her bed while she slept. He had to be with someone at all times, because he was always into something. Beyond toddler curiosity. When Seth would wake up, he would scream bloody murder until someone gave him food. We did not realize until later that he was craving because he was withdrawaling from toxins. The great/horrible part about ADHD, is that most people who are afflicted with it are absolutely BRILLIANT. But they do not consider the consequences of their actions/experiments. One of the scariest things to me was when we started to recognize autistic behavior. Dh and I had both worked with severly autistic adults, and Seth was starting to display many of the same behaviors. I had said I would never medicate, but by 3 1/2, I couldn't handle him any more.

Noelle (ADHD) was 6 mos. when we went on FG, so she's always been on it. But we are finding out through trial and error that she is even more severe than Seth. She's the one who keeps ending up in the emergency room because she had this brilliant idea.....! Everything she touches gets destroyed, but not on purpose. She is giddy and silly and disruptive. Immediately repentant, but she'll do it again in five minutes. If she goes off diet, it is magnified a hundred fold. I pull my hair out.

Now for the good news....

With plans to medicate after vacation, we headed to Maine. Our friends were bold enough to tell us that something was seriously wrong with our son, and they thought they could help. John's sister had her child on a special diet that had changed her completely. So he put me on the phone with her, and we talked for over an hour. We thought the whole thing sounded ridiculous (especially the part about leaving out tomatoes, apples, raisins, etc.) but decided that we could do anything for a week. She was convinced that if this was our problem, we'd see a difference within a week.

After one week on Feingold, dh said he had completed a thought for the first time in his life, and we were never going back. By two weeks into the program, Seth climbed into my lap and hugged me, and let me read him a book. He was sweet and loving, and this was the first time ever! I cried, because I had finally met my real child! He began sleeping through the night almost immediately. He even took naps! EVERYONE noticed the difference, and we had not told them what we were doing. He could play with other children. Pre-FG, his sister was the only one who could tolerate him.

Being on FG finally allowed the discipline to work! If I could only count the number of times we heard, "If they'd just discipline them..." It wasn't until we had a house fire and had to live with another family that people got it. Hearing this other family tell how consistent we were, and that we put our all into training our kids....THEN people believed us.

Dh and I both worked in the mental health profession before we got married. We had all the training on how to deal with every aspect of mental disabilities. (And we both worked with psychotic behavioral patients, so we had the highest level of training, thanks to the state of NY.) But no amount of training will work if the person is incapable of processing the information.

I compare Feingold to my kids being on heroin. Ever tried to reason with a drug crazed person? That's what it was like pre-FG. And when my kids get ahold of something off diet, they go through physical withdrawal, complete with stomache cramps, diarrhea, migraines, vomitting, nightmares, hallucinations and panic attacks. They are completely out of control with emotions and behavior. Then, about three days after eating the offending food, they go back to their happy selves.

It's been 6.5 years now, and it is the best thing that ever happened to our family. Over time, we have realized what can be added back in and what can't. (We can have tomatoes once or twice a week, but a grape can never pass their lips!) It took us a couple of years to realize we needed to go farther and eliminate corn syrup, MSG, barley malt, and sodium benzoate foods (all notated in the FG book). I wish we had started there, but it was a process, and of course, you don't want to eliminate more than you need to.

The FG program tells you everything you need to know. As a member you get a monthy newsletter with updates on the newest approved foods, and you also have access to a message board that is, in my opinion, invaluable. The combined experience of all of those families has helped me figure out mystery reactions repeatedly, not to mention that they know where to find the stuff you're looking for. The program comes with a shopping guide (a HUGE book!) that tells you exactly which brands to buy. I have found very little that we had to completely give up, it's just a matter of buying a different brand. Breyers ice cream instead of Perry's, Jones sausage instead of Jimmy Dean, etc... Dh and I follow a low carb lifestyle, and have had no problem at all meshing the two together. It's real food that you get at your regular grocery store. I do go to the health food store for specialty items (candy, etc) but mainline stores are starting to carry that also.

I hope I've answered your questions...please feel free to ask more if I've missed something. I'd strongly encourage you to try it. And when you do, give it 100%. There's no such thing as being 80% on FG. You're either completey on it or completely off it. (I say that just so that you don't sabotage yourself, it's easy to do.)