Food triggers

[Faith2007]

So last night at a bday party my daughter (inattentive ADHD)had an orange soda (without permission). Well within 30-60 min her whole body was twitching uncontrollably. I thought she was just throwing a fit about something at first but realized she couldn't control it and wasnt lying about it. I felt horrible and am not even sure it was the orange soda that cause it. Has this happened to anyone else's child?

[Onthemove1971]

Faith2007- Sounds like a strange reaction to a soda, but maybe her body is super sensitive to what is in it.

I am not a doctor, but I would wait a few days and give her another orange soda to see if she has the same reaction, if she does then you know then she is very sensitive to soda ( sensitive to caffeine and the additives in soda).

Or she also eat or came in contact with something at the party that gave her this reaction, which could also have been the case.

Hope this makes sense to you.

Let us know what you decide to do.

[Faith2007 in reply to Onthemove1971]

It happened again today. She drank a red Gatorade. Common ingredient red 40. So I'm thinking it might be a trigger. She only drank a little and the jerking only lasted a few min. I hugged her tight and rubbed her back. It hasn't happened before. She has always had an eye tick so not sure if it's a turret thing or an ADHD thing.

[Elijah1]

Some children have a sensitivity to certain food colorings (the artificial, not the natural ones) that can aggravate behavior and make them look like ADHD. Maybe she is one of them.

[dubstepMaul]

when my son was little I 'd swear the red dye used to make him bounce off the walls. In retrospect it was probably a combination of sugar and the dye. Might not be a bad idea to eliminate the dye from het diet and minimize sugar too.

[WendyD1969]

Red and yellow dyes are supposed to be really bad for kids with ADHD.

[Momrocket]

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, there are two problems with food dyes: 1) They are likely carcinogens, and 2) Most lower zinc & B6 levels, and 3) They probably cause or worsen adhd.

Chemical food dyes are manufactured in China from petroleum products. While the dyes are still legally used in the U.S., non-industry sponsored research on a number of dyes indicates they are probable carcinogens. In addition, a major study in the U.K. found food dyes make adhd worse in children already diagnosed, and can cause adhd behaviors in children without it. A study done in China, the country producing $300 million worth of dyes yearly, showed dyes do not cause adhd in children. For this reason, perhaps, the scientific literature states it is not known whether or not dyes cause adhd in children.

In addition, most food dyes lower zinc, b6, or both. Without zinc and b6, the body is unable to produce the brain’s neurotransmitters, so a deficiency in these nutrients will cause anxiety and depression, and associated behavior problems.

Some if not most children who are reactive to dyes may suffer from an underlying zinc deficiency to begin with. This may be an indication of Pyroluria. Testing & treatment for this has greatly helped our son with severe anxiety, depression and involuntary motor movements after consuming food dyes. Treatment consists of prescription vitamins and a controlled diet.

[abryans]

Hi, I think twitching is an unusual reaction and would try to video this it if it occurs again and show it to her pediatrician.

[Faith2007 in reply to abryans]

Great idea

[Faith2007]

So weird thing is her fits, which could be ADHD hyperactive symptoms or possibly ts, happened again this weekend. Fridays lasted over 2 hours and Saturday was earlier than the others. We are tryig to eliminate all dyes to see if they are triggers but last night she had red (which we though was the problem) and had no issues at all. So back to square one. I don't know what is causing her body to jerk so horribly and uncontrollably. She says it hurts to try and not move and it feels like she has ants under her skin. Does this sound like ts? Could it be changes in her hormones?

[Pennywink]

If you haven’t yet, I would take her to her pediatrician, with a video if you can. Hopefully they will refer you to a neurologist. It sounds like it could be a number of things, TS being one possibility.

My son doesn’t complain that his hurts, more that it’s uncomfortable and very distracting to hold them in - like if you need to urinate badly but are trying to hold it. But his tics are also fairly mild. I’ll ask him if it feels like ants, but he described it closer to having to sneeze.

My son’s tics are worse when he’s stressed, excited or fatigued. End of the school year is the WORST. Caffeine can potentially make them worse as well. I haven’t really noticed anything making a difference for him, though an adult cousi with TS avoids caffeine, food dyes and restricts sugar.

Anyway, not sure if any of that helps you

[Faith2007 in reply to Pennywink]

Thank you!