>The other point here Dawn made was that frequently little guys just don't have >the words to express how they feel. This is especially true when they have >always felt bad due to constant injestion of the food. How could they explain >they feel bad when they don't know they are supposed to be feeling otherwise? This is so very true ! > >We have been dealing with this in our house with our 5 yo who we just found out >is allergic to so many things I don't know what to feed him. He has had many >symptoms but the doctor kept telling me they were my problems and we needed to >see a psychologist. I insisted allergies based on family experience but he >refused to help me. Finally we had testing done privately. My little one is >seeing some improvements after 2 weeks despite several allergic foods being >given to him by well meaning friends. Keepin on tryin' > >-- >Kathy Wentz unschooler, n. one who never swims >[log in to unmask] with the crowd > Kathy We had a similar situation with our 3 1/2 year old. I kept telling our pediatrician in our health network that my son had food allergies, and he refused to order the tests, kept ranting on about Ritalin for him when he was 5, and " just deal with it" until then, and see a child psychologist for help controlling him until he was old enough to drug. Even though I told the doctor that food allergies run in the family, and that my son's bowel movements were never formed, he refused to acknowledge the possibility of allergies/ sensitivities. We also had to go outside the health network to find a doctor who ordered many tests on our son, who turned out to be hypoglycemic, have very high levels of aluminum, and was highly reactive to MANY foods by IgG4 blood test (immunologic response, not neccessariy a histamine response). We stick with the diet as best we can, since he is reactive to so many things (wheat, corn, oats, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, bananas, citrus, most nuts, etc etc) that it is hard to find things that he will eat that have nothing in it that is on his "NO" list of foods. We are fortunate that he does not have severe breathing problems, but wild behavior, loose bowels, innability to sit still, stuffy nose (does not stop breathing from airways swelling shut, like many on this list), and circles under his eyes. Dr Allen Buresz has an excellent website for ideas to try on this subject http://www.all-natural.com/add.html I would encourage all parents of children with any allegies or other symptoms listed above to check it out. We are seeing improvement with our son, and our next step is to implement full spectrum lighting in our home. The lower the percentage of bad foods our son eats, the better his concentration, behavior, and breathing. Also, the more light stimulation, the better. Winter months with shorter days always is a difficult time. Another resource: The National Light and Sound Therapy Centre - London , England Zelda Landau email [log in to unmask] ask for a copy of the Winter 1996 newsletter issue 4, and any other advice she has for your situation. She was very helpful to us. Anyone is welcome to email me privately on this letter for more info- I fear this letter is already way too long- sorry. Very Best Regards, Kim