Epilepsy and Gluten Free Diet
The other week I had my second visit with a new Dr. I have been seeing. I was telling him how one of the main stresses in my life was dealing with my sons Epilepsy. He quickly asked if I had thought of doing a gluten free diet with him. I wasn't there to discuss DS so I kinda said no. He said that gluten free diets can reallllly help reduce seizures in people with E. Of course it got my wheels turning but I put it on the back burner. Then my cousin calls yesterday and said on the public radio station they had people/parents with E that have gone on a gluten free diet and it either lowered the amount of seizures or they have been seizure free for years. They were mentioning that they or their kids were having multiple sizures a day and it was night and day once on it. DS luckily only averages 1 seizure about every 9 months. Now my wheels are turning and I am wondering if I should talk with DS pedi neuro to see what he says. I know it is not popular medcine so I am wondering if he will shoot me down. I personally have been eating less gluten b/c of stomach issues and I feel a lot better. DS is soooooooo picky that if I take wheat away he is going to have less options. When I say picky I am not kidding either.
Any thoughts or experience?? TIA
Re: Epilepsy and Gluten Free Diet
Kristen (7), Timothy (5), Robert (3), Charles (9 months)
Just curious but how is your friends DS with autistic son doing on a gluten free diet? My Dr. said his step son is ADHD and he put him on gluten free and it was night and day. I am VERY interested in getting some recipes from you to try. My DS is sooooo picky. Literally will only eat waffles, lots of fruit, french fries, breads, fruit bars, rice cakes, chicken nugget here and there and cereal (cheerios at the moment). On top of it he has an egg allergy. Since I have been limiting the amount of gluten b/c of stomach issues I have seen A LOT out there. If you could post some ideas for cookies or other things you have found that kids like I would greatly appreciate it! Maybe I can try them with him and see how they go before I think about changing his diet.
My friend's son responded great to the gluten free diet. He has made some huge strides since switching. He was at a private preschool and they were on the verge of kicking him out prior to the diet and after the switch he did so much better that he was able to complete the year and participate in the graduation ceremony which was 45 minutes on stage sitting still. It was really amazing.
If you do frozen waffles with your son, you should check out Van's. They make gluten free waffles which taste like all the other frozen waffles out there. If you make them from scratch I don't have any non-egg recipes, but there is a great cookbook called "1000 Gluten Free Recipes by Carol Fenster and it has recipes for everything. She also lists substitutes for common allergies, including eggs.
Udi's makes good bread. The loaves are small, but it tastes like real bread, which is hard to find with gluten free.
Fortunately, fruit and rice cakes will still be gluten free. Many french fries are too, if you do the Oreida at home those are already GF. There are even GF chicken nuggets, the one I can think of off the top of my head is Ian's. If you have a Whole Foods near you they have a HUGE selection of GF products. If your son likes pasta the brown rice pasta is good, healthier than traditional pasta since it's whole grain, and easy to cook. Trader Joe's has it's own brand of brown rice pasta and it's only $1.99 a bag which is a great price for GF pasta.
Glutino and Pamela's make good storebought cookies. The Glutino version of oreos is good, I think they taste very similar to oreos. I was actually a frequent baker prior to my diagnosis and I admit that gluten free baking is still a mystery to me. I haven't had the success I was hoping for yet, but I'm getting better. This is why I just keep recommending store bought products rather than recipes at this point. I haven't found recipes that I'm completely thrilled with, although the Fenster book I mentioned above is my best bet so far.
Kristen (7), Timothy (5), Robert (3), Charles (9 months)
I second the Udi's brand. Most Health food and some gorcery store carry it but you can also buy them on their website. Their bread and bagles taste just like regular bread. Trader Joe's has waffels and pancakes GF, both pretty good.
I have 2 yr old twin boys, both under a GFCF diet and both are doing very well with the diet.
And Elias Parker, Born 3.5 weeks early 12/20/2011
FINALLY!!! After 7 years of infertility!