As you know, digestion and elimination has been a huge issue for Kevin that we have struggled with for several years. At Christmas, we had a glimmer of hope after the nine day poop marathon (AKA: “Christmas Miracle”). Since then, things have been better but still inconsistent.
Last month, we got the results back from a stool test that found an overgrowth of C. difficile, a “bad” bacteria. We have started Kevin on a three month supplement program to balance the intestinal ecosystem with anti-microbial’s. We also continue to do the “Liquid Diet Day”, one day a week, normally on Sundays, we consume a totally liquid diet, usually water and chicken stock broth. This was recommended because Kevin has multiple food and environmental sensitivities, and it helps rest and cleanse the digestive system, helping it function better. And by the way, when I said “we consume a totally liquid diet”…I do mean all of us. For me, it has been an enlightening experience. I have benefited greatly, by realizing that I don’t need to constantly give myself food in order to have the energy to get through my day. I can actually feel good and have the energy to get through every day on much less food than I thought. A very good thing to realize about myself.
Do you remember when Kevin had the energy-based allergy clearing during our last visit at FHC (Blog Archive: 2010 – October – Allergy Clearing)? Strawberries, was one of the foods that came up as a sensitivity, each of the three days. So the last clearing that was done we were unable to determine if this food was ever cleared. I have not added any new foods to Kevin’s diet because I wanted to get his digestion and elimination consistent before adding something that may cause it additional stress. But, I have been giving Kevin strawberries, on a four day rotation. I kept my eye on his digestion and elimination to see if there were any connections between the two. A food sensitivity means that it does not give a skin reaction, like some other foods that Kevin is allergic to (dairy, nuts, eggs, etc.) but will affect him in other ways. During the month of February, I decided to keep notes on my “Kevin Calendar” what days he had strawberries. Also on this calendar I keep track of BM’s, behavior, and other changes to try to find connections, and I also make notes of improvements that we see in Kevin to report during our return visits at FHC. Well, a couple weeks ago, I noticed that on the days that he had strawberries he would also decide to quit crawling during his program. Meaning, we would be crawling laps around the house, and he would quit, or lie down on the floor and refuse to continue. I would then have to stay with him, not permitting him to move from that spot, until he would decide to finish crawling his laps. This usually would last about 40-60 minutes. So after the third time, I determined strawberries was causing this…so no more strawberries…and fortunately no more “major” behavior problems. A few days later, I recalled that during our summer program, I had a very frustrating time with his behavior and his cooperation with crawling/creeping laps. And I remembered that over the summer I was giving him “green smoothies” made with leafy greens and frozen berries, nearly every day!!! This is so mind boggling, that we have to be on a constant look out for connections between everything in our kid’s lives. I do feel some guilt when I think of all the terrible days we had due to his behavior and now I know (good old hindsight) that it was caused by the strawberries I was giving him. By the way, I am adding detective to my ever growing resume – nutritionist, cook, teacher, organizer, therapist, etc., etc., etc.
Last month, we got the results back from a stool test that found an overgrowth of C. difficile, a “bad” bacteria. We have started Kevin on a three month supplement program to balance the intestinal ecosystem with anti-microbial’s. We also continue to do the “Liquid Diet Day”, one day a week, normally on Sundays, we consume a totally liquid diet, usually water and chicken stock broth. This was recommended because Kevin has multiple food and environmental sensitivities, and it helps rest and cleanse the digestive system, helping it function better. And by the way, when I said “we consume a totally liquid diet”…I do mean all of us. For me, it has been an enlightening experience. I have benefited greatly, by realizing that I don’t need to constantly give myself food in order to have the energy to get through my day. I can actually feel good and have the energy to get through every day on much less food than I thought. A very good thing to realize about myself.
Do you remember when Kevin had the energy-based allergy clearing during our last visit at FHC (Blog Archive: 2010 – October – Allergy Clearing)? Strawberries, was one of the foods that came up as a sensitivity, each of the three days. So the last clearing that was done we were unable to determine if this food was ever cleared. I have not added any new foods to Kevin’s diet because I wanted to get his digestion and elimination consistent before adding something that may cause it additional stress. But, I have been giving Kevin strawberries, on a four day rotation. I kept my eye on his digestion and elimination to see if there were any connections between the two. A food sensitivity means that it does not give a skin reaction, like some other foods that Kevin is allergic to (dairy, nuts, eggs, etc.) but will affect him in other ways. During the month of February, I decided to keep notes on my “Kevin Calendar” what days he had strawberries. Also on this calendar I keep track of BM’s, behavior, and other changes to try to find connections, and I also make notes of improvements that we see in Kevin to report during our return visits at FHC. Well, a couple weeks ago, I noticed that on the days that he had strawberries he would also decide to quit crawling during his program. Meaning, we would be crawling laps around the house, and he would quit, or lie down on the floor and refuse to continue. I would then have to stay with him, not permitting him to move from that spot, until he would decide to finish crawling his laps. This usually would last about 40-60 minutes. So after the third time, I determined strawberries was causing this…so no more strawberries…and fortunately no more “major” behavior problems. A few days later, I recalled that during our summer program, I had a very frustrating time with his behavior and his cooperation with crawling/creeping laps. And I remembered that over the summer I was giving him “green smoothies” made with leafy greens and frozen berries, nearly every day!!! This is so mind boggling, that we have to be on a constant look out for connections between everything in our kid’s lives. I do feel some guilt when I think of all the terrible days we had due to his behavior and now I know (good old hindsight) that it was caused by the strawberries I was giving him. By the way, I am adding detective to my ever growing resume – nutritionist, cook, teacher, organizer, therapist, etc., etc., etc.
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