Hello! Time for another GAPS Intro update.
Actually, I’m a little overdue! I didn’t do an update last week. (There wasn’t much to report.) But I’ll still fill you in.
When I last wrote, I had introduced new foods too quickly and forgot to balance the new foods with plenty of healing sauerkraut. Well, that was a big mistake. So we went in reverse.
A week of moving back to stage 3 with no nuts and no eggs = not much change in my second son’s eczema. At first it got better, then it came right back. Drat.
So this week I decided to remove avocado as well, after hearing that it can be a pretty big source of fructose. I guess it’s technically a fruit. I was hoping this would help. You probably guessed it – it didn’t!
Sigh.
You know, let me be frank with you. When I was reading about GAPS through the book and various blogs, I got this impression that we would sail right through the Intro diet in about a month and heal all of our allergies. It seemed so, I don’t know, almost . . . easy. Seal and heal the gut. Then it’s time to party, right? Wrong!!!
My expectations were not jiving with reality.
Eczema is a tricky thing to navigate. It can be caused by problem foods, such as in my first son, or it can be a sign of a liver that is overloaded and dumping toxins through the skin. I am 100% certain that this is my second son’s case. There’s just one problem:
Kids can’t do liver detoxes!
But thankfully, there are ways to gently support the liver, to aid in getting those toxins out. I’ve got a post in the works on ways to support your children’s liver function, but I still have a lot of work to do on it. Plus, remember, I am not a doctor or a naturopath. I’m simply a mom, trying to navigate this world of unbalanced guts.
The human body is so incredibly complex. While it can be frustrating, it is truly amazing. What amazes me most, however, is its ability to heal. God worked that right into our incredible bodies and that’s my hope. That and His unlimited healing power.
Just gotta cling to that.
Well, back to my report. I had cut out avocado to no avail, so I’m going to be adding it back in after our next trip to the store.
We gave the kids a teaspoon of homemade yogurt two weeks ago to see how they’d handle it. No one had any outright reactions, but later my oldest son said his mouth itched so we nixed it. Also, my daughter developed a tiny patch of eczema (the kind that comes from food allergies) on her wrist that is still there.
So to make another change, I took out a lot of other sources of sugar, hoping to starve any yeast in their bodies, and I upped their sauerkraut and fermented vegetables. They were getting small amounts of honey from fat bombs, gummies, and their faux porridge and I cut it all out for several days.
Whoa! I was not expecting such a strong die-off from this! Wow! Crabbiness, fussiness, acting out, you name it. We are still in the midst of it. Lord, please give me the patience to deal with four fussy littles all at once. Especially when my body is acting up too!
I may not have food allergies like my children have, but I am having a hard time making my way through these stages too. I am so tired all the time. Digestive disturbances. Grumpy. Achy. I have this weird knot on my knuckle that tends to ache from time to time. (I believe it stems from excess uric acid in my body from all this.)
And the answer to it all seems to be: slowly keep trudging along. We all feel stuck. We can’t back out now.
I mean, we’re dealing better than we were. We’ve gotten used to most aspects of the diet but it’s frustrating that we can’t go anywhere for too long because we get hungry so quickly and need to be home. Yes, you can travel with GAPS intro meals for the whole family but it’s a pain, if I can be honest.
I’m writing all this so those of you who are considering GAPS will know what it’s like, at least our family’s version. I don’t want to scare you off with all my griping, but I honestly just want you to know what you’re getting into. It will become your life and once you start, you have no idea how long it will take to work through it. You have to be careful with it, and not be careless like I have been.
You have to be determined. You can’t give up. You have to HOLD ON TO HOPE.
That’s what I tell myself every day.
With that being said, we are okay. It’s not fun being on the diet, but it’s not torture like those first two weeks were. I’m pretty sure they came from hell. lol. It has gotten better.
Plus, I don’t even crave the foods I used to. Really, all I want are all the foods on the Full GAPS diet. I want nuts and fruit. Almond bread, coconut flour, coconut milk. . . I don’t crave bread anymore. Insane. I just want to be on Full GAPS.
We all do.
We’ll get there.
Love,
Dandy
Aw, hang in there! I’m in month 5 of full GAPS. I’ve seen a huge improvement in my digestion and joint pain leftover from longterm antibiotic use for lyme disease, but the eczema I’ve had since I was a kid still hasn’t gone away. It hasn’t gotten worse, though, so there’s that… Once you can add in pancakes and other yummy snacks it gets a lot easier. Good luck!!
Thank you for the encouragement, Candace! I need it right now. I’m glad to hear your digestion has improved…. I have been reading about how eczema is a liver issue, have you looked into liver support? I hope it gets better for you and fast, too. Thanks for visiting! 🙂
Good job hanging in there! It will get better!!! I’m sure of it. 🙂
Thanks, Sharon. I’m just ready to get there. 🙂
Thank you for your post, Dandy. My son’s eczema on his right hand (the less bad hand) was nearly gone after 2 weeks on GAPS Intro, and the really bad patch on his left seemed to be somewhat improved. However, we are now on Stage 4 (introducing carrot juice, EVOO, and just last night the bread), and it is bad. The eczema was bad on Stage 3, too, though, so I don’t think it’s from these new items necessarily. (What a boon it was to add eggs, those delicious little pancakes, and avocado!) Anyway, like you, we are hanging in there, although it is hard. And, like you, I am just LONGING to be on Full GAPS!!! It seems like that would be easy (and similar to the Paleo diet we’d done for a while prior to starting GAPS Intro. 5 weeks ago) compared to Intro. 🙂 Last night, I started to apply some probiotic mixed with oil (or mashed avocado) to my son’s “bad spot,” as we call it. This is something recommended by the GAPS practitioner I’ve been working with recently via phone. It can help restore good skin flora, I believe.
Stay strong in the Lord! (When it gets hard, do remember that you are an encouragement to others on this difficult journey, even when your reports aren’t fully good news. Honestly, it just helps to know there’s another mom out there doing this for her kids).
Jennifer, nice to hear from you! I completely empathize with the eczema struggle, and thanks for the tip, I will have to try that. Thank you for the encouragement. I love hearing from you other mamas who are going through the same thing. This diet is very isolating, confusing, but rewarding, and it’s wonderful to have some community. God will get us through this. Thanks again for stopping by. <3
P.S. I should clarify that my son’s less-severe eczema spot is still gone–PTL! It’s just the really bad spot that is still sticking around (and possibly looking worse).