This is not a book review I wrote. This is one a friend of mine wrote but I needed to share it. Please read it: http://freelifeglutenfree.blogspot.com/2011/08/special-needs-kids-eat-right-book.html
I took her recommendation and got a copy of this book. It is helpful for any child with bowel problems, not just kids with disabilities. Although I found it even more helpful because I do see some elements of Asperger's in my son, I just have not found it necessary to seek a diagnosis.
The book talks about how nutrition significantly affects the functioning of children and their ability to focus, learn, and grow. She addresses specific issues children with Autism and ADHD face nutritionally and gives steps for restoring nutritional health in children. Proper nutrition can make medications work more effectively, or eliminate the need for medications at all. I highly recommend it.
Showing posts with label medications. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medications. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2011
Baby#3--Also Gluten/Milk Intolerant
I have been doing a lot of research about food sensitivities since dealing gluten-intolerance. When I got pregnant with my third child I was determined to avoid all of the potential triggers hoping he would not have the same problems as my other children. I chose to have a home birth to avoid hospital medications, interventions, and pathogen exposure. We avoided vaccinations and watched very closely as we introduced foods to my baby. And unfortunately, it hasn't done a lick of good.
Kaden had rashes all over his face for the first three months and has very sensitive skin. He has really bad eczema on his legs, feet, and hands and I have not been able to find the trigger. His stools are not normal. He was in the 85th percentile in weight and at 8 months he had dropped to the 25th. He is very active--but I don't think his activity could account for the huge drop. He does have the same gene sequence as his sister--two different gluten intolerance genes and no celiac genes. He reacts to gluten and milk with a flushed face, increased eczema, diarrhea, diaper rash, and evidence of intestinal damage in his stools, and sleep problems.
On the other hand, he has been much more easy-going than his siblings. He has a very easy temperament, was crawling at 5 months and walking at 10, and learning words at 10 months. It could just be a different personality, or that we knew what to watch for in food allergies so he hasn't had as much stress to deal with.
Either way I am disappointed that our lifestyle changes didn't seem to help even a little bit. The only other known potential trigger that I could not avoid was pesticide. We got chickens to eat yard pests, but the mosquito abatement truck still goes by almost weekly in the summer. I hope one day research shows why so many more kids are having autoimmune problems!
Kaden had rashes all over his face for the first three months and has very sensitive skin. He has really bad eczema on his legs, feet, and hands and I have not been able to find the trigger. His stools are not normal. He was in the 85th percentile in weight and at 8 months he had dropped to the 25th. He is very active--but I don't think his activity could account for the huge drop. He does have the same gene sequence as his sister--two different gluten intolerance genes and no celiac genes. He reacts to gluten and milk with a flushed face, increased eczema, diarrhea, diaper rash, and evidence of intestinal damage in his stools, and sleep problems.
On the other hand, he has been much more easy-going than his siblings. He has a very easy temperament, was crawling at 5 months and walking at 10, and learning words at 10 months. It could just be a different personality, or that we knew what to watch for in food allergies so he hasn't had as much stress to deal with.
Either way I am disappointed that our lifestyle changes didn't seem to help even a little bit. The only other known potential trigger that I could not avoid was pesticide. We got chickens to eat yard pests, but the mosquito abatement truck still goes by almost weekly in the summer. I hope one day research shows why so many more kids are having autoimmune problems!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A Visit With the Gastroenterologist
Our appointment wasn't for a few more weeks but yesterday the clinic called and said they had a cancellation for this morning so we took it.
The appointment wasn't long but it was nice to finally be able to talk with some who actually had some experience with this sort of thing. The doctor is Dr. Harnsberger. We discussed the Enterolab results a bit but she said she couldn't do anything with them because it was considered an alternative form of medicine and she was not trained or qualified to interpret such results or use that approach. She said the tests are sketchy because some of the things they test for are naturally found in food and so would come out in a stool sample. At least that was the case with the transglutaminase tests. She did, at least, concede that the information about soy was helpful, and that regardless of any sort of testing we have seen and can conclude that Barrett is sensitive to milk, soy, and gluten.
We discussed possible causes of his insensitivities. When Barrett was a baby they suspected giardia, but the stool sample came up negative. Dr. Harnsburger said you couldn't entirely rule that out because it only shows up in 50% of stool samples when people have giardia because it lives in the small intestines. She said the bacteria could cause the food sensitivies because it breaks down the proteins in larger chunks than normal that cause the immune system to react to it. We could have seen improvement on an elimination diet because the bacteria was not being fed the foods it was previously ingesting.
Another possibility could be a genetic food insensitivy or allergy since it does run in the family. My uncle couldn't eat anything but rice until he was about three years old. His daughter had a similar problem. My family also has a history of autoimmune disease and my husband's sister has Celiac.
Another possibility is that there is some kind of damage or infection in the digestive tract that caused something like leaky gut. The only way to rule that out would be by a biopsy. Dr. Harnsburger recommended waiting on that and trying other methods first. Especially since he has done so well on the elimination diet.
Our main concern was getting Barrett the nutrition he needs on a restricted diet. Barrett was taking Usanimals, but he won't eat them anymore. Not even if I smash them and put them in his food. She recommended a simple gummy vitamin, if we wanted to give him one. Even more importantly though, she recommended some protein juices designed specifically for children like Barrett. They come in juice boxes and are called either Boost Breeze or Eo28. She gave us a sample of Eo28 and Barrett seemed to like it. They are supposed to be hypoallergenic. She also recommended a medication called Cyproheptidine, which is an antihistimine for the digestive tract to help lesson reactions. It also stimulates appetite. She wanted us to do that for three weeks and then call and update on his status.
She also said that 90% of kids outgrow their food allergies by the time they are in kindergarten. Even with kids as severe as Barrett. I guess I will place some hope in that.
The appointment wasn't long but it was nice to finally be able to talk with some who actually had some experience with this sort of thing. The doctor is Dr. Harnsberger. We discussed the Enterolab results a bit but she said she couldn't do anything with them because it was considered an alternative form of medicine and she was not trained or qualified to interpret such results or use that approach. She said the tests are sketchy because some of the things they test for are naturally found in food and so would come out in a stool sample. At least that was the case with the transglutaminase tests. She did, at least, concede that the information about soy was helpful, and that regardless of any sort of testing we have seen and can conclude that Barrett is sensitive to milk, soy, and gluten.
We discussed possible causes of his insensitivities. When Barrett was a baby they suspected giardia, but the stool sample came up negative. Dr. Harnsburger said you couldn't entirely rule that out because it only shows up in 50% of stool samples when people have giardia because it lives in the small intestines. She said the bacteria could cause the food sensitivies because it breaks down the proteins in larger chunks than normal that cause the immune system to react to it. We could have seen improvement on an elimination diet because the bacteria was not being fed the foods it was previously ingesting.
Another possibility could be a genetic food insensitivy or allergy since it does run in the family. My uncle couldn't eat anything but rice until he was about three years old. His daughter had a similar problem. My family also has a history of autoimmune disease and my husband's sister has Celiac.
Another possibility is that there is some kind of damage or infection in the digestive tract that caused something like leaky gut. The only way to rule that out would be by a biopsy. Dr. Harnsburger recommended waiting on that and trying other methods first. Especially since he has done so well on the elimination diet.
Our main concern was getting Barrett the nutrition he needs on a restricted diet. Barrett was taking Usanimals, but he won't eat them anymore. Not even if I smash them and put them in his food. She recommended a simple gummy vitamin, if we wanted to give him one. Even more importantly though, she recommended some protein juices designed specifically for children like Barrett. They come in juice boxes and are called either Boost Breeze or Eo28. She gave us a sample of Eo28 and Barrett seemed to like it. They are supposed to be hypoallergenic. She also recommended a medication called Cyproheptidine, which is an antihistimine for the digestive tract to help lesson reactions. It also stimulates appetite. She wanted us to do that for three weeks and then call and update on his status.
She also said that 90% of kids outgrow their food allergies by the time they are in kindergarten. Even with kids as severe as Barrett. I guess I will place some hope in that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)