I have not blogged about Rebekah's issues since October - when we discovered her reactions to dairy. I was correct with removing dairy, but I had no idea of the bigger picture.
Removing dairy removed her constant runny nose and eczema so we were good there, but Rebekah began to have crazy insomniac episodes, lasting up to three days. It took awhile to figure it out, but evidence seems to be pointing to artificial dyes, artificial sweeteners and artificial preservatives.
If you are my friend on Facebook you have seen lots of posts about many wonderful things allowed in our foods in America, that are banned in other countries. Known carcinogens but the FDA allows them in minute amounts. The problem is so many of our foods contain them that the amount we consume is not minute at all.
We did have an episode last night, that I would have been going crazy over this morning, if it had not been for Amelia. Now Amelia does not know the answer for sure, but I think God used her to give me a "heads up." We have been watching Rebekah's diet pretty well. Now we mostly shop at Trader Joe's which makes our lives so much easier. None of their products (their brands only-not everything they sell) have artificial dyes, artificial sweeteners or artificial preservatives. So when Rebekah seemed a little wired last night, I was trying to blow it off as an odd night. Amelia came in to my room and saw a Rebekah that would not go to bed, and the hyper-ness increasing. So Amelia declared Rebekah had gotten some dye somehow. I said I did not think so even though my mind was already trying to figure out what she ate. With a 21 month old, and 3 other children that can drop trails, that can be tough. Amelia said Rebekah must have found a stray jelly bean left over from one of her siblings. It was then that I remembered Rebekah was in Cathan's room with him playing. Now the jelly beans we purchased for Easter were "Rebekah safe" (that is a food category if you did not know) but the older three children had been given baskets from other people. In them were Brach's and Starburst jelly beans, both full of artificial dyes that make Rebekah crazy. And yes, one small jelly bean could cause a full night of insomnia or longer. Some of Rebekah's episodes (before we were aware) lasted up to 72 hours.
Two A.M. and I here "Whoa!" - then silence. Rebekah tries to be good, she knows she is supposed to be sleeping. It was about another 15-20 minutes before I heard, "What's That!!??!!" quite loudly. I thought maybe a random car drove by but found out later that the Garmin watch connected to the computer opposite her wall was randomly beeping. By 3:00 A.M. she was jumping up and down in her crib. No more denying it, she was wired and going crazy. During these reactions, if she tries to be still, her leg will be twitching and her hands moving fingers rapidly in and out of one another. She does not have a cold, but I cheated. Her all natural night time cold medicine contains meltonin, so I gave her some. Along with a warm bottle for comfort. I changed her diaper and put her back to bed. She tried her best to remain calm, but I heard her stirring and making random comments for another hour or so. Today I fully expect a diaper rash which comes with the dyes.
So we continue to learn about chemicals in food, and how they effect our lives. We continue to learn about dyes, which seem to be the worst of Rebekah's episodes. But we are not only learning for Rebekah but for ourselves. Since removing a lot of the processed foods my ADD meds are less then half of the dosage they used to be. It is more difficult to get all the children on board, but our home is becoming more and more dye free. This house has to become a completely dye free zone, no matter what the children are given, so there will be no more questioning what a toddler might have found.
If you are curious about what one reaction can be like, here is a blog from a medical writer:
http://www.allergykids.com/blog/seeing-red/
and another blog, this one is about chewing gum, but it breaks down a lot of chemicals:
http://foodbabe.com/2011/12/09/wanna-a-piece-of-gum/
It is just a relief to know these crazy reactions have not happened to Rebekah alone.
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