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I got a number of responses with your opinions regarding treatment of
allergies, Celiac testing, & behavioral changes you’ve seen in your
children.

In addition to probably having Celiac and being found allergic to yeast,
peanuts, soy, lentils, eggs, wheat, dust & some pollens, he was also prone
to severe hypoglycemic-type episodes where he would be in an absolutely
hysterical state if he hadn’t eaten in a number of hours. Thank goodness
that has cleared up dramatically since removing the allergens & gluten (I
was told that removing allergens would decrease them). Here is a summary
of the information you gave me:



1)It can take months to see improvements after going GF.



2)Foods can account for many of the behavioral problems parents saw. One
parent said:

“I know from both our children that the foods accounted for 90% of the

behavioral problems, and once they were somewhat under control, the

environmental allergies didn't seem nearly so bothersome.  Actually, the

congestion also cleared up in my son after being on a gluten-free diet.”
In addition, I was cautioned to look at food FAMILIES of the foods he’s
allergic to. I had been doing that somewhat, but did not know for example
that millet & sorghum are closely related to soy. May I ask those of you
whose children seemed to have behavioral issues: Do you believe that
environmental allergens can cause any of these, or do you think it’s
primarily food-related?



3)High-glycemic foods may be an issue for children like mine.



4) In terms of controlling environmental allergens, parents recommended a
HEPA filter, hypoallergenic mattress & pillow covers, no carpet, no
stuffed animals, & basically no “dust catchers”, such as curtains & books.
In terms of pollen, it was recommended that I not air-dry clothes, that we
stay indoors with doors & windows shut during pollen season(at least
during the morning & evening when pollen tends to be released), leave
shoes outside, & shower him off when returning from outdoors.



5) Probably the most controversial and interesting bit of information I
received was this:



“And as for Enterolabs, at the Stanford Celiac Conference this past
October, I

asked several celiac specialists what they thought of them. All of them
said

the same thing: "Save your money." So you'll have to decide if you trust
their

findings if your doctor can't duplicate their results.”



I would certainly invite comment on that one. I have been concerned about
Enterolabs kind of being “out there” on their own, but had mainly heard
positive comments about it.



6) You were divided on the issue of allergy shots. Most of you preferred
to avoid them, but some of you have seen benefit from them. One parent
thought the shots actually caused very adverse effects in her child.  I am
just not sure if environmental allergies are causing the behavioral issues
in our case. A bit of congestion doesn’t warrant 2 weekly shots for a
three-year old, but if it would help with Jekyll & Hyde-like personality
changes, we may do it! I did find some allergy doctors who use an oral
serum rather than shots- am still checking to see what would be covered on
insurance.



I would welcome any further thoughts any of you might have, and thanks for
all the “food for thought” you’ve provided so far!

Carrie

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