Well. I've been gone for a while. We were running around dealing with occupational therapy and wondering whether or not Sam had some sensory issues. Long story short: Yes. Yes he does. It appear that about half of kids with ADHD also have some sensory processing issues as well, which ... is complicated. Sensory processing issues can look just like ADHD, but sometimes they co-exist, and sometimes they are mistaken for each other and ... you know what? I don't entirely understand it 100% myself. But the kind woman who evaluated Sam for SPD (sensory processing disorder) said her feeling was that he had some of each. I guess one of the big hallmarks of ADHD vs SPD is that the purely SPD kids will, occasionally, shut their mouth. As opposed to ADHD kids, where I frequently feel like my ears are going to spontaneously hemorrhage blood and brain matter towards the end of the day. I mean, what he is to say is interesting for sure, but MY GOD the talking is nuts. And I have a fairly high threshold for that kind of stuff.
But that's not actually what I want to write about today. The mister and I have gone on a liver-cleansing diet due to some health issues the mister is experiencing. A major part of this diet is giving up dairy. I've been sort of inching closer to this for a while. You'd be surprised, though, at the societal pressure to not stray too far from the norm when it comes to diet. Go vegetarian and you'll get some teasing. Go vegan, and people start getting uncomfortable but QUICK. Not everyone, of course, Not even most people I know. But some people, for sure. In fact, my own husband told me at one point that he would no way, no how support me going vegan--it was just too extreme and weird for his comfort level.
Then we gave up dairy for the sake of his health. And people. I have lost 7 pounds in 10 days. I feel SO. MUCH. BETTER. And after seeing me, my husband said "You needed to give up dairy. I completely support this for you. To see you looking and feeling so much healthier is totally worth it." I've also given up most processed foods. I'm basically trying to aim for eating raw fruits and vegetables for about 40-60% of my diet. Both of us have lost weight, but we've also lost INCHES. When you learn about the inflammatory effects of dairy and sugar, it's not really that surprising that we're seeing such a dramatic difference in such a short time.
There's that line that goes "Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels." Which, to me at least, is kind of bullshit. I can think of a TON of things that taste as good as being skinny feels. But for me, nothing tastes as good as being healthier feels. Which isn't to say I will eschew all processed foods and sugars for the rest of my life. But seeing how incredible I feel cutting those things out of my life? It makes it so much easier for those things to be special, exceptional treats. Although to be honest, the idea of fast food and chips is just really quickly loosing its appeal.
Am I making this dietary changes for Sam? Not yet. At some point we very likely will experiment with elimination diets to see if cutting out dairy or gluten makes any difference in his behavior. But at this point, I honestly consider his eating to be pretty disordered (in terms of the fear and distress he exhibits around new food), and I want to fix that first. I don't want to encourage him in any way to give up any foods at this point. If a PROFESSIONAL who has evaluated him tells me trying an elimination diet will help at this point, I'll do it, but the issue is really closed for discussion from the peanut gallery. I mean, dude. My kid can't even HOLD a carrot without hyperventilating, let alone think about eating one.
