GFCF Update

We have now been GFCF for 6 weeks.  I miscalculated and thought it had been 8, which was my cut off time for trying it out.  I have been struggling a lot lately about whether or not this diet is having any affect on Chase or whether we are seeing any positive changes.  It's so hard to tell with him because the diet has not unlocked his speech or had any other miraculous side effects (so we thought).  And I'll be honest, I was really hoping the diet wouldn't work for him because it's so hard and so expensive.  He is already a picky eater and now with this diet he only eats a handful of things, mainly: fruit, ruffles, peanut butter and GF chicken strips.  I have been counting down to the 8 week mark to be able to quit this diet, I won't lie.  Well, we are only at 6 weeks, I just counted back on the calendar, and it turns out we may have seen more positive results than we really though.

Chase has had a couple of GF things throughout these last 6 weeks, but we hadn't really noticed if it had any effect on him, negative or positive, so I just assumed that gluten must not really bother him.

This past Thursday, while I was feeding Miles lunch (a piece of cinnamon toast), Chase saw it and grabbed it and started shoveling the toast in his mouth.  I thought "oh well, it's been 8 weeks, I'll just give him some toast and see what happens?!"  Well, that turned in to regular waffles for breakfast on Friday, Chick-fil-A for lunch, and grilled cheese for dinner, with a glass of regular milk.  Saturday for breakfast he had 4 Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and a peanut butter and jelly for lunch.

By Saturday afternoon he was kind of grumpy and ill/irritable.  I just thought it was because he had woken up early and we had gone swimming so he must just be tired.  By this morning (Sunday)...it was clear...the gluten was having a seriously NEGATIVE effect on Chase.  He is stimming out of control on his iPad again, having melt downs and tantrums over EVERY little thing or if he doesn't get exactly what he wants, BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS and yelling just to be loud...all the annoying, pull-your-hair-out, make you want to scream at your child, kind of things.

I had not even realized how much these behaviors had gone away because I have been so focused and stressed over what I'm going to feed him next or how much this diet is costing us.  I really didn't want to see any positive side effects from the diet unless they were BIG.  But after having a day and half of these behaviors back in full force I can say without any doubt or reservation that this GFCF diet is WORTH IT and IS WORKING.  We immediately cut the gluten back out of his diet after breakfast today and will not be going backwards again.