Supplements wearing off?

[Kimmers]

Okay, I have a strange question and it may seem dumb but...

I have noticed on several occassions, yesterday being one of them, that my son will be next to perfect. He has all of his pills in him, he is polite, calm, obediant, etc. I am around him all day long and know without a doubt that he has not eaten or drank anything that would cause a reaction in him, nor is he doing an activity that would cause him to get excited or act out. Suddenly out of nowhere, after a whole day of this awesome child, the monster emerges and returns for several rounds of h*ll.

So my question is this: Is it possible for the supplements to "run out" and my son needs to be "recharged"...is it a possibilty that it has something to do with his blood sugar dropping since it happens usually before the evening meal...or is it just a wierd phenomenon of the universe?

He is currently taking his second doses before bedtime and I didn't know if maybe I should be giving them with supper instead...

I hope somebody has an opinion for me!

Thanks
Kimmers

[catatonic]

Kimmers, this is awesome that your son is having periods of calm, obedient, etc. Remember when the monster lived in your house all the time??? And it's enough to run you absolutely crazy with disappointment and frustration when that monster returns and you CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY. I know how discouraging that is and wish I had any help at all to offer. Maybe a few things to consider:

Are his "episodes" happening after a snack? You could try changing his snack, or giving him a snack if he's not having one.

Does he tend to eat or drink the same thing when he gets home from school? Sometimes food reactions take a couple of hours to show up. If he consistently eats or drinks the same thing, try not letting him have it for a week and see what happens.

Vitamin levels DO drop in your body. If you've ever taken a vitamin B complex, you can track exactly how long it takes them to run through your body by watching the color of your urine. If you take the vitamin at 7 am, an hour later, you'll have neon yellow urine. Same thing at 9am, 10am, etc. But by about 3 pm, your urine will be back to its normal color. (At least that's how long it takes me to eliminate all the extra B-vitamins.) So, assuming 8 hours is fairly typical, your boy may be "running out" of vitamins. Try giving them around 4pm with a snack and see if there's any improvement.

P.S. -- NOT a dumb question at all. Very interesting, in fact. If I come across any info on vitamin metabolism, I'll post it.

[Kimmers]

Hi Cat-

Yes I remember all too well how awful it was having him that way ALL the time, and I think that is why it is so puzzling to me. That he will be SO good and then WHAM-we're hit with the monster.

I know on occasions like I posted, it was on a Sunday and I know he didn't have a snack or anything and that is what made me question the blood sugar issue. But if food reactions can take a few hours to hit, then it is very possible that there is something that he had for dinner that had caused a reaction. I do know that he had Minute Maid lemonade to drink with his dinner and I have always questioned this drink as causing problems with him. Unfortunately it is his favorite and I have a hard times saying no because the only alternative would have been Sprite, (we were eating out!) and I have put a halt to any Sprite in his body. Not because of things I've witnessed but for fear of the "temper tantrum in a bottle!" LOL

I will try the supplements with his after school snack for awhile and see if he has any improvements. Otherwise, I think I will need to eliminate the lemonade and see if that is the culprit.

Thanks, sometimes it just helps to have another opinion to help you work out the logic you have always suspected anyway!

Kimmers

[DenverSarah]

Kimmers,
sounds like you need to eliminate corn syrup, which is in both Sprite and Minute Maid lemonade (and just about every other beverage out there seems like). It's a VERY common problem, and it's bad bad stuff anyway. Don't worry though, I was terrified of eliminating it because it seems to be in everything when you first start, but like all the other stuff we've done, it became easy after a while. Good luck!
P.S. I still allow my son to have it on occasion, like if we are at a party, but only becuase his reactions to it are tolerable in a situation where he can run around a lot. For some though, (like our Cat) the reactions are much much worse and not worth ever allowing it.

[Kimmers]

DenverSarah-

I have suspected a sensitivity to corn syrup for awhile now but like you said, how the heck do you avoid the stuff. Does Feingold address corn syrup in the products they approve or is it just the artificials and preservatives? It would be nice to have a shopping list for the corn syrup no-no's!

Thanks
Kimmers

[DenverSarah]

In the Feingold foodlist it is noted in parenthesis for any product containing it, but eliminating it is not required for all. Fortunately it is one of the ingredients that is always listed in the ingredients list. The only hard part is remembering all the names it has:
fructose
dextrose
dextrine
and of course plain corn syrup (as opposed to high fructose corn syrup LOL)
It is hypothesized that the problem with these items isn't in fact the high calorie content, but rather the chemical residues left over in the product that are used in producing it. See the link for more details:

www.mcvitamins.com/cornsyrup.htm

Good luck! Hey... why haven't you joined the Feingold Association yet? ;0)

[catatonic]

...don't forget maltose, maltodextrin, and a variety of "malted" this and thats.

And I will tell you, no lie, that avoiding corn syrup is harder for us than the rest of the Feingold program put together. You can't buy a commercial hamburger or hotdog bun. No french bread. Very few breads at all. No lunch box drinks. Most juices other than frozen concentrates are out. No crackers (even Wheat Thins contain corn syrup). No chocolate milk. Very few lunch meat/ham products. No jellies. Some canned fruits have corn syrup. The bread coating on chicken nuggets. Breakfast cereal. Yogurt. Bargain brand ice creams (and quite a few premium brands). Absolutely no packaged cookies, cereal bars, puddings, muffins, etc. Corn syrup is in EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!

However, DenverSarah is absolutely right, you do get used to it and after a while it isn't that big a deal. Probably the only two things I really miss are frozen lemonade and store bought bread. I'm happy to give them up, though, because if my boy were consunming corn syrup, he'd either kill someone or I'd kill him, it's that awful.

We have found that there are a couple of types of sodas sold at the health food store that use cane syrup or regular old sugar, so he can have an occasional soda. (He loves soda soooooo much.) That helps him not feel so deprived of all treats, and when he doesn't feel totally deprived he's less likely to cheat.

It's worth giving it a try for a week to see if eliminating corn syrup eliminates the monster from your son.

[Kimmers]

DenverSarah-

I am waiting for some extra money I know that they will work out payment arrangements but I just keep figuring there are people out there in more need than we are! Some day we will get to do it!

Cat-

How in the world do you live without store bought bread?! Some of the things you listed is something we use on a sometimes daily basis! Maybe the reason we should avoid it? Hmm...

I am glad Feingold addresses the corn syrup issue-even if they approve it. If corn syrup is something we would ultimately have to avoid then it would be alot easier to be able to pick and choose right away rather than reading labels for hours on end!

Thanks
Kimmers

[DenverSarah]

Kimmers,
no worries! Just pokin'
As far as the chore of eliminating corn syrup...most FG members end up getting a bread machine to make their own bread. We did and love it. However you may find that just eliminating the drinks that are sweetened with it may be enough. I get away with feeding it to my boys in Lenders bagels on occasion without a reaction...the level of sensitivity varies as much as the kinds. So don't despair! Drinks have a huge amount of it (about 5 - 12 teaspoons per 12oz serving), so definintley cut out any soda or juice "drinks". Then try to cut it out of any products that list it within the first 2 or 3 ingredients. This may be enough. If not, unfortunately you may need to take the next step and cut it out completely which would definitley require a bread machine or buying specialty breads which are very pricey. Just try not to overwhelm yourself with too much at once. If you can (which I could never successfully do) try to keep a diary or at least notes about any changes you see. Hope this helps and keep up the good work! You are doing a great job. When was the last time you patted yourself on the back???

[DenverSarah]

One more thing...here is a homemade chocolate syrup recipe to replace the fake ones at the store that may help alleviate the need for "sweet drinks".

1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

Add the sugar and cocoa to the boiling water and stir constantly until dissolved. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt. Store in a glass jar and use as you would regular syrup.
Enjoy!

[Kimmers]

Gosh darn it I'm speechless! ;D

I guess I am overwhelmed...there are just too many knowledgeable people on this board and I just get too much information here that I get too anxious to try it all and I can't keep up! If I look real hard under the dust, I might find my bread machine that I got for Christmas 2 years ago and used about 3 times! Maybe I need to dust it off and fire it up again!

Thanks for the recipe-I will definitely try it! (It's good for chocolate milk right?)

Kimmers

[dfp]

Oh Cat,
I WISH for a Whole Foods market to spring up near you. Nearly everything on your list we can buy there in a no-corn-syrup alternative form. It would make your life so much easier.

They have wonderful lemonade made with sugar, wonderful jams and jellies made with real sugar, a fair bit of 'safe' candy, and NONE of their breads are made with corn syrup. Even the chicken nuggets are safe. But...
...it's all heart-stoppingly expensive... Sigh.

I know they're building those markets all over these days. It doesn't seem fair that all those products are only available for some people in some regions.

I'm sure that it's because of that market (and Trader Joe's) that Feingold hasn't been so hard for us to stick to.

Which reminds me... we have to scale back to Phase 1 again. My son sounds just like Kimmers' son. Just great all day, then WHAM. Like someone punched me.

dfp

[catatonic]

dfp,
I'm also wishing for a Whole Foods to spring up nearby. Or a Trader Joe's. Nearest of either one is a 5 hour drive - each way! Expensive or not, it would be nice to have hamburger buns. I think that's what my kids complain most about. And store-bought jelly!!! My mouth is starting to water. Sometimes I feel like my grandma, raised on a dirt-poor Mississippi farm, cooking up her own soap and slaughtering her own pigs and canning her own food. I've gone back 100 years in time!!! Can't say I'm really sorry, though. It's MUCH MUCH MUCH healthier to eat actual food as opposed to processed boxes or cans of chemical toxins! But I surely do get tired of making bread.

[dfp]

Yeah those hamburger buns. They're not quite the same if you make them at home, are they? And don't you have 4 kids to worry about? Forget it!

I WISH I had enough time in my life. I'd just go the market and buy all of you care packages and send them along.

Hey, maybe it's a get-rich-quick scheme! Do food shopping for Feingoldies who don't live near a Whole Foods! ;D ;D ;D

dfp

[lllex]

Hey dfp,

Sounds great, where do I sign up for the Whole Food packages!

Laura