Re: Please help - Daughter refusing to drink

October 24, 2006

Hi Kim,

I've struggled with this very same issue. What I've found is that the more

dehydrated my daughter gets, the LESS she will willingly drink. VERY upsetting,

I know.... and it becomes yet another vicious cycle.

You don't say how long she's been on SCD, so this is more difficult for me to

answer.

Will she eat popsicles? I would normally suggest cooked, pureed fruit (pears,

peaches, apples), frozen into a popsicle, perhaps diluted with some water. I'm

not sure why you're doing " low fruit " ? Does she have allergies? Or are you

limiting fruit due to yeast problems? It really makes doing SCD difficult when

you can't/won't use plenty of fruit.... especially for a young child. SCD

includes plenty of fruit and veggies.

If you simply must severely limit fruit, I can only suggest trying the honey

lemonade (water, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a spoonful of honey).

Something tells me you're going to say she can't have honey either. ??? Again,

this would make things more difficult. At this point, I think getting her

hydrated is a priority over yeast. Maybe consider adding the anti-yeast enzymes

(Candex, etc.) or using the carrot juice/garlic remedy.

There is an electrolyte drink recipe from Elaine's website that is very good,

and getting some salt into her may help trigger her thirst. Here's the recipe:

***

1 quart boiled water

2 tbsp. honey

1/4 tsp. of salt

1/4 tsp.baking soda

Can be kept in refrigerator for 24 hours, and then a new batch should be made.

***

Adding extra salt to her food may help, too. Alos, pump up the broth.... any

way you can. There are very healing minerals and such in broths made from bones

(chicken, beef, etc.) along with various veggies. Add it to mashed or pureed

veggies.... make thick soups, etc.

Even if you have to continue to syringe the liquids in, you've got to do it....

I would suggest syringing in the electrolyte solution and/or bone broths to get

the balance back and hope that the salt especially will help get/keep her

hydrated.

Also..... on the yeast topic.... are you using SCD yogurt? Or giving an

acidophilus supplement? You've GOT to get the probiotics in or yeast will take

over.

Patti

Please help - Daughter refusing to drink

Hi All;

My daughter has been refusing to drink for the past week. She is severely

autistic/non-communicative. Normally drinks out of a sippy cup. Eating o.k.

She will not drink anything upon waking. She will not drink anything when

she's at kindergarten (goes full days 2-3 days/week).

Very distressing. I have had to syringe feed her liquid (takes 1/2 an hour to

get 1/2 cup liquid into her).

She is dairy-free SCD low fruit. She had been drinking distilled water with no

problem. I have added diluted SCD legal fruit juice in order to intice her, but

she won't willingly drink unless the juice is almost full strength (and then

only a few sips).

Please help. I'm very upset.

Kim.

October 24, 2006

Hi Patti;

Thanks for the reply to my post.

We've been dairy-free SCD since May of this year. Yes, our DAN doc has been

limiting her fruit intake due to yeast issues since the start of DAN treatments

(2+ years) - and yes, it does make life difficult trying to do low fruit SCD.

I have been adding extra fruit to her diet despite the doc's advice. And I do

use some honey - he doesn't want me to use that either. I have been trying to

entice her with diluted juice that's much stronger than I'd like to give her.

Still not much interest in drinking.

Yes, we've been doing goat yogurt since July. Very important for her

yeast/bacteria situation.

Thank-you for the electrolyte recipe. I have been trying to feed her salty

dinners to entice thirst. I am so stressed out about this whole situation. I

hate sending her to school because I know she won't drink the entire 6 hours

she's there. And having to force liquids down a child's throat feels like child

abuse - but I know I have to do it!!

When your daughter was avoiding liquids how long did it last? I'm hoping she'll

start drinking on her own soon. Can't take much more.

Kim :-(

Dairy-free SCD almost 6 months

4 yo severe ASD, 2.5 yo w/beh'r G.I issues

Re: Please help - Daughter refusing to drink

Posted by: " Patti " durovchic@... mychildslife

Tue Oct 24, 2006 8:35 am (PST)

Hi Kim,

I've struggled with this very same issue. What I've found is that the more

dehydrated my daughter gets, the LESS she will willingly drink. VERY upsetting,

I know.... and it becomes yet another vicious cycle.

You don't say how long she's been on SCD, so this is more difficult for me to

answer.

Will she eat popsicles? I would normally suggest cooked, pureed fruit (pears,

peaches, apples), frozen into a popsicle, perhaps diluted with some water. I'm

not sure why you're doing " low fruit " ? Does she have allergies? Or are you

limiting fruit due to yeast problems? It really makes doing SCD difficult when

you can't/won't use plenty of fruit.... especially for a young child. SCD

includes plenty of fruit and veggies.

If you simply must severely limit fruit, I can only suggest trying the honey

lemonade (water, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a spoonful of honey).

Something tells me you're going to say she can't have honey either. ??? Again,

this would make things more difficult. At this point, I think getting her

hydrated is a priority over yeast. Maybe consider adding the anti-yeast enzymes

(Candex, etc.) or using the carrot juice/garlic remedy.

There is an electrolyte drink recipe from Elaine's website that is very good,

and getting some salt into her may help trigger her thirst. Here's the recipe:

***

1 quart boiled water

2 tbsp. honey

1/4 tsp. of salt

1/4 tsp.baking soda

Can be kept in refrigerator for 24 hours, and then a new batch should be made.

***

Adding extra salt to her food may help, too. Alos, pump up the broth.... any way

you can. There are very healing minerals and such in broths made from bones

(chicken, beef, etc.) along with various veggies. Add it to mashed or pureed

veggies.... make thick soups, etc.

Even if you have to continue to syringe the liquids in, you've got to do it....

I would suggest syringing in the electrolyte solution and/or bone broths to get

the balance back and hope that the salt especially will help get/keep her

hydrated.

Also..... on the yeast topic.... are you using SCD yogurt? Or giving an

acidophilus supplement? You've GOT to get the probiotics in or yeast will take

over.

Patti

October 24, 2006

Kim,

I have to say.... I really, REALLY do not agree with the DAN docs who say to

restrict fruit and honey on SCD. I mean, I get it.... but this makes SCD really

difficult, and practically dangerous for some kids. We've had some families who

have their kids literally eating almost nothing but meat and eggs. I just think

that what the docs are ending up doing is prescribing a diet that really IS NOT

SCD when they place those other restrictions on.

I know you have to do something if a kid has horrific yeast.... and even Elaine

did say that some may need to reduce the amount of honey and not eat fruit

excessively if yeast was an issue. And obviously, if you have a child who is

extremely reactive to certain fruits and/or honey, you would naturally want to

hold back.... but there are other things you can do for yeast and I personally

am convinced that the kids need the nutrients and carbs.

I will say that I just really have to keep an eye on Katera..... any time she

is drinking less and less I know I need to start pushing the fluids again. Turns

out it is VERY common to lose one's sense of thirst when dehydrated. When I

first learned of that, I was quite surprised.... I just thought thirst would

kick in when needed, but it's not so!

Katera got very badly dehydrated a few years back, actually when she was on the

Ketogenic diet, not on SCD.... and I had to pretty much force liquids down with

a syringe.... one cc at a time.... for a couple of days before she started

drinking on her own again. She was quite young at the time..... about 4 yrs

old. We narrowly escaped having to go in for IV hydration. I just kept giving

her a few cc's every half hour or so..... and I was not aware of this

electrolyte drink recipe at the time, but she would not have been able to have

it anyway. I just used water with a bit of lemon juice and salt.... and stevia

(allowed on the Keto diet).

I suggested popsicles.... I still think that's a good idea.... and/or

partially frozen pureed fruit, eaten with a spoon. I say BAG the fruit and

honey restriction for now.... until you get this dehydration turned around.

Honestly, I really think you need to.

Maybe you could put in her favorite video and use the " pause " button.... make it

an ABA sort of thing..... she takes a drink, she gets one minute of the video

and then it goes off. She takes another drink, get another minute. Two drinks,

two minutes.... etc. ?? Just a thought. Or if there is some other favorite

toy or activity she really responds to, you could first pair it with the

drink.... then get her to drink to get the reward.

Katera and her daddy have a game they play..... he pretends to take a drink from

her straw cup, then he makes a funny face, smacks his lips and says " Ahhhhhhh! " ,

which she thinks is very funny. Then he offers her a drink.... and she will

usually take a tiny one..... then he does his drink routine again.... then she

has to take one, etc. Whatever it takes.

Patti

Re: Please help - Daughter refusing to drink

Hi Patti;

Thanks for the reply to my post.

We've been dairy-free SCD since May of this year. Yes, our DAN doc has been

limiting her fruit intake due to yeast issues since the start of DAN treatments

(2+ years) - and yes, it does make life difficult trying to do low fruit SCD.

I have been adding extra fruit to her diet despite the doc's advice. And I do

use some honey - he doesn't want me to use that either. I have been trying to

entice her with diluted juice that's much stronger than I'd like to give her.

Still not much interest in drinking.

Yes, we've been doing goat yogurt since July. Very important for her

yeast/bacteria situation.

Thank-you for the electrolyte recipe. I have been trying to feed her salty

dinners to entice thirst. I am so stressed out about this whole situation. I

hate sending her to school because I know she won't drink the entire 6 hours

she's there. And having to force liquids down a child's throat feels like child

abuse - but I know I have to do it!!

When your daughter was avoiding liquids how long did it last? I'm hoping

she'll start drinking on her own soon. Can't take much more.

Kim :-(

Dairy-free SCD almost 6 months

4 yo severe ASD, 2.5 yo w/beh'r G.I issues

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October 24, 2006

I would strongly urge you not to drink distilled water or give it to

your daughter. This can lead to mineral depletion as the body's

minerals dissolve in the distilled water and are excreted. My parents

drank distilled water for a while and my Mom became quite depleted of

minerals, her fingernails started becoming concave and pitted. You're

better off drinking filtered tap water or bottled mineral water.

I would suggest you try adding saccharine to her drinks to make them

more palatable. All three of my kids love saccharine sweetened tea

(hot or iced), lemonade or just plain water (with 2 tablets of

saccharine per cup). In Canada, I buy the Hermesetas, which cost, I

think, $11 for 1200 tablets.

Good luck. Theresa (in Vancouver, Canada)

>

>...She had been drinking distilled water with no problem. I have

added diluted SCD legal fruit juice in order to intice her, but she

won't willingly drink unless the juice is almost full strength (and

then only a few sips).

>

> Please help. I'm very upset.

October 25, 2006

Hi Theresa;

Thanks for the reply to my post.

Yes, you're the 2nd person who's warned me about distilled water. Very

disappointing as we received our distiller as a gift from our parents (they're

quite pricey) in an attempt to help our family drink healthier water.

I wonder if I could add a source of trace minerals to our families diet to cover

the depletion from the distilled water. Guess I better do some research.

Thanks for the drink suggestions too. A little leary about saccharine, but it

could be an alternative to using too much honey (still use honey in baking).

Kim

dairy-free SCD 6 months

4 yo ASD, 2.5 yo w/beh'r & G.I issues

Re: Please help - Daughter refusing to drink

Posted by: " tm_marion " lavoiemarion@... tm_marion

Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:40 pm (PST)