A few days in

OK I'm a few days into this new regime and it's not too bad! I'm checking out everything for any signs of wheat/dairy/additives. I read part of a book I have about ADHD/ASD and they mentioned shampoo, toothpaste, moisturisers containing the 'offensive' items but I thought I wouldn't go down that route (not yet anyway). It can be laborious checking every label, but I guess it's something to get used to again!

If I cook things from scratch using natural ingredients, then that would make things easier than buying ready produced food. M&S do a good range of Made Without Wheat - still have to be careful though because other things contain gluten - like Oats, even though they are not wheat - they are still not good. 

There can be 'hidden' ingredients e.g lactic acid, whey powder etc - these are derivatives of dairy products. 

One thing I am finding - I was hoping to start sleeping better but I think I'm sleeping worse now - although I could be having withdrawal symptoms perhaps. Reading up on this - everything I have read seems to agree that when people with ADHD/ASD eat the products they shouldn't, the food acts like opiates and give a sort of high, therefore I have wondered if the withdrawal produces cold turkey kind of symptoms like a drug addict would get. We shall see if I improve! 

Tonight we are having curry and we cheat and make it from a jar, of course I have to look at the ingredients. One out of about 5 was fine, the others contained lactose (the carbohydrate in dairy). 

OK I guess I'll end there for now! 

Take care whoever reads this 😍😘

💖💝💕💓

Why this blog? A brief overview of why the GF/CF Diet

I have never been formally diagnosed with ADHD, but after reading up on it and completing some online tests, I believe I have it and may have slight ASD.

All throughout my childhood I have been 'different', I have found it difficult to make friends, although I am forever grateful for my wonderful friends that I do have. I was picked on, as a child, not only by my peers, but by the teachers in my school. Even when I went to new places I was picked on, and that was without the other kids knowing me! Put it this way, I struggled. Do I want sympathy? No, not at all - those experiences have made me who I am now.

Anyway, I am married to the most patient and loving husband, I could ever have dreamed of. We have 2 children, 1 of whom has ASD.

I home educated my children, the reason? My youngster son, who has ASD was labelled by the teachers as a trouble maker - at the age of 4! He would get up and wander around the classroom while the other children did their work. He had been moved up a year, 2 terms too early and couldn't cope with the work. The headteacher always had him in his office, one time, because he had jumped in a puddle - the lad was 4, it's what 4 year olds do! Anyway the straw which broke the camel's back was when he told me that my son was weird. I was gob smacked and my husband and I decided it would be best to withdraw him and teach him at home - for a year, at least.

He has a diagnosis of Semantic Pragmatic Disorder from a paediatrician, this term is no longer used, Aspergers is the common name now, and is recognised by most people. I looked into diet for children with ASD/ADHD and found research had been done on giving an affected child a diet free from Gluten, Casein and additives. We trialled this and the improvements were amazing - he is in his 20s and isn't on the diet now.

Through the years I have come to the conclusion that I have ADHD and/or ASD. I have followed a GF/CF Diet in the past, but it was a fair few years ago and I can't remember how I felt. I have always had concentration issues, sleep deprivation, dark rings under my eyes, depression, anxieties, fear, short term memory problems etc. Now I have digestive problems so I have decided, enough is enough, I am going to trial a GF/CF Diet again and record the changes (if there are any), my feelings, thoughts etc. To see if this diet also works in adults. I have googled GF/CF Diet and all the info I saw was for children, but surely if adults have ASD/ADHD the same diet should help them too.

In work, I think that they don't understand me, I'm still strange, I still find it difficult in new situations, I'm sure I miss some social cues, I tend to speak before I think etc. so enough about my background - time to get going! (I have a yummy recipe for gluten free American style pancakes, so those for breakfast with some blueberries and maple syrup - yum yum)!