Our Symptoms

Since starting GAPS 8 months ago, so much has happened. Each one of us have displayed symptoms, and have had some healing take place. Hmm... where to start?

My Oldest...(who we started the diet initially for)

Majorly colicky as a baby
Asthma-gone!
Eczema-gone!
Food allergies to eggs and dairy-he can now tolerate egg yolks, eggs cooked in things (like pancakes), and he can now have Ghee, or clarified butter (protein removed).
Focusing Issues- Better!
Stimming-been both better, then worse, then better
Chronic Allergies-better, but have recently gotten worse again because of the addition of
sauerkraut (good bacteria).
Constipation-gone!
Digestive Issues-better, but still working on it!

My Daughter.....

I thought she had perfect health! She did scream as a baby for 7 hours a day for about 6 months when she was a baby, and at 2 months, was pretty much classified as failure to thrive, but other then that, she grew up with just a few colds, and one time had the flu. Not bad! Since the diet, she struggled with blood sugar issues, (probably hypoglycemia), yeast infections, a couple of kidney stones, weird licking of the lips for months, and a stuffy nose for 3 months (til' I pulled dairy out).

She has recovered from all of these things, except, as of late, since starting sauerkraut (good bacteria), her face has broken out in a little rash. I have since learned, this is yeast coming out. Your skin is a major detoxifying organ, and this tends to happen a lot until all the junk is cleared out.

My youngest....

My easiest baby. My healthiest kid. He had some eczema as a baby, so I knew when starting this diet, he would do some healing. Weird thing happened. He woke up every night, sometimes two times a night before the diet started. I didn't think much of it, because he would just come into our room and fall back asleep on the floor. I was not very strict about putting him back in his bed, so I just thought it was habit. It was wearing on me though. The day we started the diet, he slept through the night. I thought it was a fluke, but he kept sleeping through night after night. He went to nursery 5 days later, and had the regular nursery snack of gold fish and pretzels. That night, he woke up. I totally saw a connection early on. Now he sleeps through the night all the time, unless he eats something that is too advanced for his tummy. I started nuts for three days, and he woke up every night. The day I stopped the nuts, he stopped waking up! Strange! His only other symptom is yeast rashes. Sometimes on his bum, and sometimes on his face.

My Husband...

Allergies- Much better, but reared there ugly head again when starting sauerkraut (good bacteria)!
Overweight-Lost 40 pounds, and has kept it off

He's pretty darn healthy!!

Me....

Where do I begin? I had always felt pretty healthy, was very active as a teenager, few ear infections as a kid, regular period, very little acne as a teenager, very stable moods, (even when it was that time of the month) and 28 day cycles to the T.

Then, I started having babies, and something happened. Each pregnancy, I got sicker and sicker. In between pregnancies, my joints felt achy, I started to get frequent headaches. About once a week, I would get incredible back pain on the lower right side to where I had to lay down at times. I was tired, I had Brain Fog, my periods became heavier, and longer, and were unpredictable. With the periods, came the mood swings. Sorry honey! I hated it, this was not me! I started sleeping horribly. It would take me over an hour to fall asleep, and most nights, I would wake up in the middle of the night, and not be able to fall back to sleep for 2-3 hours. Did I mention I was TIRED. Last but not least, after my third child, I began breaking out all the time. It would last about three weeks, clear up in a week, and start all over again. My face hurt, they were the big zits that would hide under your skin and reek havoc! Unfortunately, I thought this is just what came with being a mom, but I have learned different now.

When starting the diet, my die-off or detoxing lasted 4 months. I was dizzy, absolutely exhausted, I would have hot flashes all day, I was nauseated, headaches, excruciating back pain, weird aches and pains in different parts of my body, and I also passed a kidney stone (holy cow, that hurt!) But, all is better now!

The die-off was a combination of things. First switching from the SAD (Standard American Diet) to the GAPS diet. My body was so addicted to the old foods, I'm sure it was equal to being in rehab when u are trying to get off alcohol or drugs. Second, stored toxins being released too quickly, causing havoc, and some food intolerances I uncovered.

So, how is it going now??

My face is virtually clear. That took about 5 months. I still do get some acne when I am going through some die-off, but it is nothing like it was before!

My headaches are gone for now
Back pain-gone for now
Nausea-gone!
Brain fog-gone!
Sleep- Wow, has this changed! I typically fall asleep with in 5 minutes, and never wake up in the middle of the night. We moved to a new house in June, and u can hear a train come by at night. I woke up the first few nights, because I was not used to the sound, but fell back to sleep right away. YEAH!! This was huge!
Periods- 28 days, shorter, lighter, no cramps or recognition that they are coming. Another Yeah!
Ever since I've been married, I have worn socks to bed, my feet have always been cold. Summer, winter, it didn't matter. After about 1 month on the diet, no more socks, and I don't feel cold going to the movie theatre anymore. (Hormones more balanced)
Uncovered an egg allergy about 4 months in. I took out the eggs for 2 months, and can now tolerate them just fine with out my previous issues of nausea, back pain and brain fog. Wahoo!

Ok, I say gone for now on some of my issues above, because what happens with this diet, is that you are always healing. You can have some things heal right from the start, and other things can take a couple of years to heal. I have felt fabulous for a while, but then last week we started sauerkraut ( a healing food) it brought some of our old issues up because it is adding beneficial bacteria into the stomach, and all the bad bacteria come out to fight it, and you feel worse again. You are then removing those things from your body, so ultimately it is a good thing, but uncomfortable, so I am trying to control die-off slowly. (More on this in another post).

 With all this said, we have had huge gains, but are still working on some things. This diet has been a total life change, hard, but definitely worth it. I've always known in life the hardest things are ALWAYS the most worthwhile!

Britt