Feingold Diet - anyone else on it?

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Phoenix_Rising
Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My 5 year old is highly academically gifted with an adorably sweet, wonderful personality. However, she is also ADHD and ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder) and DBD (Disruptive Behavior Disorder). I've scheduled an appointment with an ADD prescribing doc for late summer but plan to do EVERYTHING ELSE IN THIS WORLD in an attempt to avoid meds. If nothing works by that date, I'm going to consider meds.

I'm starting to phase us into the Feingold diet. It's a substantial change from her food now (which includes all the no-no's.... regular ketchup, apples, applesauce, peaches, oranges, bologna, snack foods with dyes like Cheese Its, Capri Suns, etc).

Wanted to see if there were other MFPers doing Feingold. Maybe get some tips. This won't be an easy change on myself or my daughter, but I refuse to think I didn't try every avenue before giving into medicating her.

(And yes, if this last ditch effort doesn't work, I'll medicate her, demanding the mildest meds available, and refusing to allow anything that turns her into a little zombie.... but for her sake, something's gotta give in her little life.)

Also welcoming any stories or advice.

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  • crazymama76
    crazymama76 Posts: 17 Member
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    I tried this diet for my son also. It did not work for him-he is ADHD. Good luck!
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
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    I tried this diet for my son also. It did not work for him-he is ADHD. Good luck!

    The success rate is about 70%. It didn't work for my daughter's kindergarten teacher's son either. I am hoping but still keeping the med appointment.
  • akgrl1020
    akgrl1020 Posts: 179
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    I did this for my son, years ago, and it was amazing! I discovered he was reacting to dairy products! Good luck!
  • islandnutshel
    islandnutshel Posts: 1,143 Member
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    I feel for you, and I think you are making a good decision, diet first. It's worth a try. Don't feel like you've failed if you have to try medication, you may need to try many things till you find the right combination. A friend of mine got counceling for her child, a little older, that helped him understand his differences, and why he was treated different. It kept his confidence and self worth in tact as he needed teaching aids. He was brilliant but couldn't learn in the same settings. I think you are the best judge of your daughters needs as you are obviously willing to put the work in.
    Love to both of you.
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
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    I did this for my son, years ago, and it was amazing! I discovered he was reacting to dairy products! Good luck!

    *jumps for joy* I am hoping to find that it's something as "simple" as a food allergy.... an intolerance to a food... that will help her regain focus and control of her behavior. (I say "simple" when it's still very hard to adjust but the results are visible!)
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
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    I feel for you, and I think you are making a good decision, diet first. It's worth a try. Don't feel like you've failed if you have to try medication, you may need to try many things till you find the right combination. A friend of mine got counceling for her child, a little older, that helped him understand his differences, and why he was treated different. It kept his confidence and self worth in tact as he needed teaching aids. He was brilliant but couldn't learn in the same settings. I think you are the best judge of your daughters needs as you are obviously willing to put the work in.
    Love to both of you.

    Thank you :flowerforyou:. She's been in therapy for a year now. Her behavior at school is the biggest hurdle we have to conquer. She prays for 'good behavior cards' from school during her nightly prayers. I cry when I hear those prayers. She wants to be good, but simply cannot control her behavior. Part of this is due to the lack of focus and hyperactivity. Another part is related to the cognitive functioning delay of the ODD. I'm reading now how to address her behavior and head off her meltdowns... and then plan to teach her teachers!! I think now that I've zeroed in on the causes of her behavior (ADHD and ODD), I am able to find the pathways that will work for her, with her therapist's guidance in behavior modification and get her teachers on board the right path too.

    I won't feel like a failure if I have to medicate her.... because I know I am doing everything humanly possible to avoid the meds. For me personally, not trying the diet change but going straight to meds would have been a personal failure. (*** I DO NOT JUDGE OTHERS. That is my own PERSONAL standard!!***)

    Thank you for your kind words :smile:
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
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    afternoon bump
  • maddymama
    maddymama Posts: 1,183 Member
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    HI Mama,
    My friend's kid is ADHD and she says the F diet works for her family. Her son is doing so much better now.

    My 4.5 year old is probably borderline ADHD, but we haven't gotten her tested yet. We do know, however, that we have to limit sugar or she will be a bear. My favorite parenting book is Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. Your daughter may be past the advice in the book, but it has been very helpful for me as a parent. I read the book over and over and over again, especially during trying times.

    Good luck with the diet and getting everything balanced out.
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
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    Thanks MaddyMama!

    I'm reading "The Explosive Child" by Ross Greene. While Kiddo's ADHD certainly makes it hard for her to stay still and focus, her ODD is the worst of it. Basically, when a transition occurs (from recess to reading, or tv to dinner time, etc etc), her brain locks up and she can't clearly think. All those "if I switch tasks it will be positive" and "if I don't oblige, it will be negative" memories are no longer accessible. She fogs up, gets frustrated, and melts down. Simply put, she CANNOT think during a transition or in any situation that requires flexibility. She wants to, but simply cannot make it happen.

    She's absolutely a "spirited" child, lol. I'll have to look into that book too.

    I'm hoping to see any little benefit from the Feingold diet. Any little bit is better than where we are now!!
  • maddymama
    maddymama Posts: 1,183 Member
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    Haven't read explosive child..... will put that on my list. checking RYSC out of the library might be helpful to you.... there is a fair amount of ideas on transitions and how to help your kiddos work through them. It's helped our daughter weather them a bit better, but I really don't think she's in quite the same league as your kiddo.
    Good luck!
  • Feingolder
    Feingolder Posts: 4
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    Our sons have been raised on the Feingold diet. Give a try but be sure to do it right. Join the support group so you have all the right info and know which products to purchase. It is very important. The group has a good website www.feingold.org and there is a good Yahoo group too.
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
    Options
    Our sons have been raised on the Feingold diet. Give a try but be sure to do it right. Join the support group so you have all the right info and know which products to purchase. It is very important. The group has a good website www.feingold.org and there is a good Yahoo group too.

    Thank you!!!!

    I just got my info this past week. I haven't been on the boards and was trying to convince myself I had a little wiggle room in my grocery purchases. You're a pro, so I'll take that advice to heart -- stick strictly with the menu!! :wink:

    Thank you again :flowerforyou:

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