Re: How long to heal?

[Guest guest]

Hi Sharon,

> My son started the SCD about two weeks ago. Last fall he had lost 3

> pounds, gained one back by January, but has stayed the same since.

> Assuming that his stomach was injured causing him not to absorb his

food

> (no question in my mind), how long would it take for his stomach to

heal

> (the villi) and start absorbing food? The reason I ask is because he

> still hasn't gained weight, even though he is eating very nicely and

> enjoys his SCD food. Will it take weeks? Months? Or does it depend

on

> how much damage was done?

It depends on how much damage was done, how fast he heals and how

much he eats. I was extremly underweight when I began the diet and

had a voracious appetite for months. When I finally put back on the

lost weight my appetite leveled off. But, it did take a while before

I stopped losing weight even though my symptoms were gone - it took

extra energy to heal and for my body to adjust to the change in food.

It takes extra food energy to heal, to add the weight and for kids -

to grow; so don't be too suprised if he has a big appetite. Giving

him easy to digest foods, with lots of good fats and calories will

help.

>Also, are there any tests that could be done

> to view the damage and then estimate time to repair?

There are colonoscopies, endoscopies etc. but they would be performed

by a specialist and if you don't need them I wouldn't recommend

getting them. Besides, they wouldn't be able to tell you

definitively how long it will take to heal either.

I know these are

> probably ridiculous questions no one can answer, but perhaps hearing

> your experiences will give me an idea.

> is eating eggs, avocado, banana, pears, chicken, carrots,

squash,

> fish, pear/apple sauce, and is drinking Welch's grape juice cut with

> water, pure honey, also gets Prune nectar in the morning.

This sounds good for so early in the diet.

I add olive

> oil in every chance I get to give him more fat. I made the yogourt

but

> was afraid to give it to him too early so it is in the fridge

looking

> scary (must have someone do something about that!). I attempted

coconut

> milk but made such a mess of the kitchen I am still finding coconut

> pieces everywhere (will gather the courage and correct tools to try

it

> again soon). Is it too soon for the nut cereal? All of his food is

> pureed.

Do you mean blanched nut flour cereal (ground nuts and water)? You

could probably try a little amount and see how he does with it. If

he has constipation it may even help if he is ready to digest it.

>

> BM-wise is still on the constipated side of things, although

his

> stools are less hard and no longer peel the wallpaper. He'e gone a

few

> times on his own but still needs help. Seizures are not completely

gone

> but are definately improved. Cognitively (he's 3 years old but

maybe 3

> months old congnitively) he has started to tell us, in a very

obvious

> way, when he is " done " with feeding, play, therapy etc. This just

> started a few days ago and is pretty amazing to me.

Sheila