Toddler with chronic diarrhea and behavoir problems

[Ashley Wilson]

To make a long history (somewhat) short, we started my 3.5 year old on GFCF when she was one due to the difference it made in her mood and development. Shortly after we started eating WAPF foods. Since then we have eliminated vairous other food allergens. We have now been on the GAPS diet for a couple months, but did not do the intro.

 

Right now is probably the worst my dd has ever been. She has had 4 teeth removed due to decay, she is acting very much like she is ADHD, she is bruised and her hair doesn't grow. She used to be in a good mood for two weeks then a bad mood for 2 weeks. Now the mood swings back and forth several times in one day. The most concerning symptom started around halloween last year. She would wake up during the night with horrible stomach pain. She would then get up and vomit clear liquid. The next day she would have low grade fever and diarrhea. This happened about 10 times over the next few months. At this point it is much less frequent and when she does get stomach pain during the night she doesn't throw up or run fever and it is less severe.

 

Starting a couple months ago  though she started having diarrhea. It was basically food and water that was her poop. Now she is not having diarrhea as often (she goes on average once a day, sometimes more), but there is still a lot of undigested food in her stool. She had bloodwork a month ago that showed she was dehydrated and low zinc and magnesium. Iron and B-12 were good though.  We are waiting on results of a stool culture. I just don't know what direction to go in! We eat greens everyday, fermented vegetables, grass fed meats. and lots of fruits and veggies. While she has made improvement she is far from well. Any help or thoughts on what direction to go in would be appreciated.

[Pat Robinson]

Gosh, that is frightening. Personally, I'd call our classical homeopath or see our acupuncturist/TCM woman for an acute issue which I couldn't resolve quickly.

How much fermented food is she consuming? Too much can cause diarrhea, in a very imbalanced gut. Did you all do cooked fruits and veggies? And are fruits eaten separately from fats?

Zinc is critical to adequate stomach acid and digestion of proteins. Are you doing any grains? I'd stop grains. Are you cooking the greens? I'm wondering about iodine and thyroid issues. Did they do thyroid antibodies and free T3 and free T4? Do you have amalgam silver fillings in your teeth? Have you had lead levels checked? Considered hair mineral testing? What about conventional IgE food allergy testing?

Vomiting is often a sign of an IgE food allergy, especially with stomach pain and fever. It sounds like something very inflammatory is still in the diet. How much coconut oil is she consuming?

Are you doing bone broths? CLO? What does a normal day of food look like?

Pat

[Ashley Wilson]

Thanks for all the thoughts...

She only consumes about a Tablespoon of fermented veggies a day, sometimes water kefir (when I have grains that I haven't killed yet)

I cook most vegetables, with occasional dandelion greens or kale raw in a smoothie.
She does eat raw fruits, usually away from meals.

Her ND wanted to put her on the stomach acid (betaine HCI I think it is) as we know she is low in zinc.

We are doing no grains. They did not do the thyroid T3 and T4, though we talked about it (they couldn't take any more blood because of her weight)

I do have amalgam fillings- Dd's lead level is at 3.

We do use a lot of coconut oil, I have hesitated on trying ghee since she is so reactive to dairy. I include broth in dinner or add to the smoothie

Typical day of food: Breakfast- sausage or smoothie with fruit, greens, coconut milk, broth
Snacks- apple and almond butter, banana or other fruit, crispy nuts
Lunch- leftovers, soups, grass fed hotdog and a veggie
Dinner- grass fed lamb, beef, pork, or chicken and two veggies
We also give her houston digestive enzymes, Pharmax probiotic, CLO, and right now a homeopathic for the diarrhea. ND wants to do a round of Nystatin as well.
We see the ND again in a couple weeks, hopefully we will have the stool test result in. I know she wants to blood test for IgG allergies- I hadn't thought about doing an IgE. I will definitly ask her about that and the thyroid.

It is so frustrating because she was doing so much better a year ago than now. We tried NAET and she did not handle it well. Everytime we tried to introduce a food it just set us back so much. She ended up getting a horrible tooth infection (before it was pulled) and had to do a round of antibiotics. Around the same time she weaned and it has all been going down hill since.

I really appreciate the help!

[Pat Robinson]

The things which concern me are coconut is often allergenic and I'm not keen on Nystatin, especially with you sharing a dose of mercury. (btdt with our son).

What about beans or legumes for molybdenum? Soaked overnight in acid medium.

You are avoiding eggs? What about Epsom salt baths for the sulfate.

The HCl needs to be taken IN capsule. I'd rather see zinc lozenges or chewables. Pumpkin seeds are high in zinc and can be added to smoothies.

CLO often has vit E as soy origin. Soy is a common allergen when dairy is an issue.

I'd cut back to 1/8 teaspoon on the probiotics and gradually increase over weeks and weeks.

Are you supplementing magnesium? It is critical for effective detoxification, especially heavy metals. Our food sources are low, we use Natural Calm.


Pat