wheat free—halfway through the challenge

18 days since we started our wheat free March.  It’s been fascinating to see the changes.  Ryan no longer scratches to the point of bleeding at night.  He’s falling asleep in 15-20 minutes instead of his normal 60-75 (generally the same bedtime but sometimes earlier!).  He’s down to a very minimal amount of melatonin before bed (recommended by his pediatrician, but now only taking 1/10th the recommended amount) that we’re cutting back more, since it’s mostly a ‘crutch’ instead of a necessity at this point.  He sleeps well and wakes rested.  He’s not dealing with headaches.  Or leg cramps.  Or stomach aches.  Or a continually plugged nose.  He’s been very vigilant about what he eats, and hasn’t grumbled at all.  So far, he’s earned $2 or the $5 promised for completing the month without grumbling.  (Phil 2:14 is the verse we’ve been putting into practice this month).  From his standpoint, going wheat free has been a huge success.

Logan hasn’t been as obvious, but he didn’t have the significant question marks, either.  We are seeing some improvement in his ability to focus and recall.  He still struggles tremendously with academic issues (who wouldn’t, given his laundry list of issues?) but the changes have been helpful.  Always a great sleeper, we’re seeing him fall asleep faster and wake up much less groggy.  For Logan, going wheat free has been a tolerable experience.    He’s also earned $2 of his promised $5 for not grumbling this month about food. 

Jim hasn’t seen much change, but he’s also eating more wheat than the rest of us, by his choice.  (Maybe I should have promised him $5 too?!?) Not a big deal as far as I’m concerned.  The thing is…he’s likely stuck with the wheat free thing for a long time.  I’ve seen great changes for me:  I sleep SO much better.  I FEEL better.  My headaches are almost completely gone (unless I inadvertently eat some wheat!).  My achy thumbs don’t bother me.  My hip (an ongoing problem since I was about 10) hasn’t bugged me.  I have more energy and less ‘down’ days.  The rainy grey weather hasn’t bugged me at all, and that’s saying something around here! 

So…it looks like wheat-free is going to be much more permanent.  Next steps?  Cut out sugar and most other grains.  But since I love my family, we’ll take it slow.