Back into the Groove

It's been a few weeks since I've updated. We're back home and in full swing. Yesterday was our 4th NAET treatment; my son was treated for Vitamin C. The idea behind NAET is to reduce or eliminate sensitivity to the underlining nutrients of food which can be a hidden problem. For instance, many people are allergic to oranges but it may turn out they are allergic to the Vitamin C. I still haven't found the courage to feed him any of the foods he's reacted to in the past, particularly egg, so I can't say for certain if NAET is working. But I've talked with a couple other parents in the D.O.'s office who are seeing vast improvements in their children. I can only hope we're a fraction as lucky.

Skin treatment is going well these days. The Atopiclair (prescription) has been effective, allowing us to stay off steroid creams for days at a time. CereVa cream (OTC) is a God-send. We apply these pretty much head-to-toe 2-3 times a day. We had a bout with asthma last week, my son woke up a t 4am with a terrible croupy cough. I was certain he would end up in the ER. We had 4 hour albuterol treatments for about a week, along with 2x/day Pulmicort .5, and I supplemented with Tartepheedrel drops (homepathic) 5 drops every 15-60 minutes. I did take him to Urgent Care at one point because I couldn't get the pulling to stop, but his O2 levels were 100 (awesome!!). So they prescribed a steroid and antibiotic, both of which we didn't end up using because he improved shortly after our visit.

So that's the scoop for now =)

Peaceful Bedtime

There's been a transformation within the past week. My son is learning to fall asleep without help from his parents once again! This has been a long time coming, 6 months to be exact. Prior to the alkaline water therapy he was a great sleeper and never needed any help to fall asleep. In the 6 months since, we've been sleeping with him nightly so that he doesn't scratch himself into a bloody mess or wake himself up from scratching. Although we're still sleeping with him, he no longer needs us to rub and scratch him for an hour+ to get to sleep. It's a wonderful thing. And in the last week I've been trying to get him off the Atarax medication (It's like a strong Benedryl.) I've recently replaced it with Zyrtec at bedtime. This is progress, and much welcomed!

We've been out of town and are looking forward to continuing the NAET treatments the beginning of February. I wrote how the constant rash on his abdomen vanished after the egg treatment. It hasn't come back! We still haven't gotten the courage to actually feed him an egg. On the downside we discovered the hard way that he's allergic to crab meat--he broke out in hives and dark dots, but Benedryl from my emergency pack took care of it. I also think he's developed a latex allergy as it seems when he's playing with one of those punching balloons he breaks out into hives/eczema.

I came across this post by a Pediatrician that also works with NDs & ODs, it explains many of the reasons and theories behind Leaky Gut. She also says to stay off casein and gluten products for the four to six months while the intestinal wall heals and the beneficial intestinal bacteria are restored--we're 4 months into a GFCF diet, so I hope and pray we see the results soon:
http://www.youandyourchildshealth.org/youandyourchildshealth/articles/allergies.html

Always Be Prepared

I keep a backpack prepared for emergency situations. It contains 2 epi pen jrs., albuterol, a backup nebulizer, a list of current medications, doctor information, and chewable benedryl. Since the meds shouldn't be kept in extreme temperatures the backpack goes in and out of the house with us on a daily basis. Of course the challenge is remembering to bring it. I'm glad I had it last night for our dinner at Carrabbas. Carrabbas is a place that I've found to be allergy-friendly as they'll go out of their way to find my son something he can eat, such a vegetable that's not on the menu for that day.

I informed the waitress that this kid has food allergies, so don't bring the bread. Then she helped me with finding a suitable vegetable to go with his chicken breast. Silly me forgot to say a "plain grilled chicken breast', so as my kid is eating I look over to see hive popping up everywhere on his face. I flag the server down to ask what the chicken was marinated in, in which she replied "just olive oil." Well, I knew there had to be something more so I asked her to double check. It turns out the grilled chicken breast was marinated in butter and flour (although it wasn't fried.) So lesson learned--never assume anything is safe! Good thing I had the benedryl handy, which took care of the hives.

3rd NAET treatment

We had our 3rd NAET appointment today. Good news is that he cleared from the egg treatment and we have the go ahead to feed him eggs. We'll try that at some point,I'm just not ready. With each treatment his body should desensitize, and that will make me feel more confident. We proceeded with the Calcium treatment today, so we now need to avoid a multitude of foods with calcium for 25 hours which shouldn't be hard since he's already avoiding most, if not all, foods on the list due to his food allergies. We'll be out of town for a couple of weeks, so we'll have to take a break from NAET, but I'm eager to get back and proceed with the program. If we can get any relief from this it would be worth it.

Our doctor was trained by the founder of NAET, Dr. Devi. It's interesting to listen to him tell his story of stumbling upon NAET. Basically he needed to find something to help the autistic and allergic kids in his practice. He did an internet search and NAET was all over the place. He was skeptical, even thought it was "hocus pocus", but says the relief it's brought to the families is proof something is working with NAET. He's currently treating 63 children with NAET, and 60 of them have responded favorably. The other 3 didn't see any difference, but he said they were very high functioning kids on the autism spectrum that didn't have much room for improvement to start with.

We also saw the Ped today, and we have stopped the anti-fungal treatment for now. The doc was very pleased at how clear my son's skin is right now. He thinks the Liver Life and MSM will continue to help remove any toxins in his system, and doesn't want to add anything further to his daily regiment.

2nd NAET Treatment

My son had his second NAET treatment on Friday. This one was treating him for egg and certain protein sensitivities. Basically he put the vial of diluted proteins in his sock so it's in contact with the skin. The the D.O. took a massaging tool to my son's back to stimulate the nervous system. Then we wait for 20 minutes before acupressure is applied to 10 sites and the vial can be removed. We are to steer clear of a variety of items and foods associated with eggs for 25 hours, while periodically rubbing the acupressure sites. The craziest part (if that doesn't sound crazy enough!) is that the D.O. said that after our next appointment we can feed our son egg. The thought terrifies me, as this is a kid that hasn't had egg in any product for at least 18 months. He's IgE positive (level 3) to both whites and yolks, and has had 3 anaphylaxis reactions in his life (not to egg, but to blueberries, peanut, and sunbutter.) But even knowing all this, the doctor was confident that the treatment would successfully desensitize our son. I think I'll wait until after the holidays just to be safe. Our 3rd visit is this Wednesday. Maybe it's just coincidence, but since this treatment my son's constant eczema and hives on his stomach have vanished. I haven't done anything different, but they are gone.

Another Allergist/Asthma Doc

I've been contemplating finding another asthma doc for some time now, as I just feel more comfortable having one in my back pocket if ever needed. The last one didn't buy into the fact that my kid has food allergies that flare his eczema, which is totally insane and infuriating. I also got the sense that he didn't believe that I was doing everything in my power to help my child, which is even more absurd. Anyways, I bit the bullet and took my son to yet another doctor to seek a second opinion on his RAST test and to get a game plan for the epi pen.

I really liked this new doc, he was a bit wacky in a good way and related well with my son. He said he's had dermatologists that didn't believe food could cause eczema, to the point that he has invited them in for food challenges to convince them. No wonder there are so many moms out there feeling like they're "the crazy mom", as that's how they see us. This doc however didn't buy into the yeast theory and outlined a simplified plan that he wants us to follow that eliminates the yeast treatment completely. I'll take that with a grain of salt because I've seen progress. He did agree that we should continue with the probioitcs, multivitamin, D3, and fish oil. Interestingly, he said the Pulmicort .25 has now been found to only have a placebo effect and prescribed .5. However, my son does very well on .25 and I'm not feeling inclined to increase his dosage at this time. The new doc also prescribed Atopiclair Cream which seems to reduce the redness and dryness in the two days that we've used it, and he recommended Elidel which I've been hesitant in the past to use but will try it for a few days to give the Desonide steroid cream a break. As for the black-box cancer warning with the Elidel, he clearly said it was overrated and felt comfortable prescribing it. As for a steroid cream, he recommends Fluticasone as it's the only one that has been tested and approved by the FDA for children.

The new doc explained that we could do food challenges in the office to "clear foods." This means that if my son didn't have a reaction, then we can add it back to his diet to increase the variety of food and nutrition. However I'm leary of this technique due to the fact that I know my son can have one glass of milk and appear fine, it's after 2 or 3 glasses that his skin turns into gritty sand-paper and the eczema flares. So knowing this, why would I allow my son to ingest certain foods? How do we know that an internal reaction/irritation is not being caused before we see it externally? With all that we have going on, I want to take it slow and am not ready for food challenges. Tomorrow starts our first Naet treatment, which I'd like to see through before pursuing another course of action.

NAET

We're still trying to clear my son's skin after the eczema flare from the caulking 2 weeks ago. This past week he came down with a cold with I'm sure has prolonged his flare-up. He's starting to look better, it's just taking a real long time.

We're continuing the Ketoconzole treatment for another month, and we've added MSM powder and some herbal liver support called Liver Life. Since we're continuing to experience eczema and food sensitivities, our MD has also recommended that we start a NAET program through the DO in his office. We had an impromptu consultation with the DO and we had the opportunity to sit in on a session of another 3 year-old, although his issues were with autism. I'm in the process of researching NAET, Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques. This is a non-invasive, drug-free, natural solution to eliminate allergies of all types and intensities using a blend of selective energy balancing, testing and treatment procedures from acupuncture/acupressure, allopathy, chiropractic, nutritional, and kinesiological disciplines of medicine. One allergen is treated at a time, and it's my understanding that there are 15 standard allergens tested in a specific order initially. The mother of the autistic child said she has seen dramatic results in just a few weeks with NAET, to the point she tried it herself for a milk intolerance that has now been 'cured.' I had no idea that the child was even on the spectrum, he seemed as interactive and developed as my own 3 year-old. I also have an acquaintance that once mentioned NAET to me as her son had good results, too. I remain hopeful that we are going to fix this child, or he's going to out grow what ails him. I'll keep you posted as to the NAET that we start on Monday. I hope to be singing its praises from the roof tops, but at the same time I realize this is just another avenue that we need to try.

Sun Butter Allergic Reaction

I foolishly let me son try a small amount of sun butter for the first time tonight. I should have been more careful given his peanut allergy, and I should have made sure I had a vehicle in case there was an emergency. Soon after eating a small amount I noticed hives/eczema on his legs. I gave him his bedtime dose of Atarax, but an hour later his chest tightened up and he was having an asthma attack (he was saying 'my breathing's stuck.') The albuterol has helped, and I gave him a dose of benedryl as a precaution. I recall a similar experience with a blueberry when he was about a year old, except he vomited and then had an asthma attack. I'm a little worried that since he didn't get sick on the sun butter, and that the remnants are going to linger in his system for a couple of days.


In searching the internet for similar stories, I did find a couple of children with similar reactions. And I found this link describing peanut butter allergies vs. sunbutter allergies: http://doe.sd.gov/oess/cans/nbulletin/2005/april/bulletin.htm

More Sensitivities

We've gotten use to the beautiful baby skin around here, but unfortunately eczema has flared it's ugly head twice again.  The first time was after eating broccoli.  I know better, which is so frustrating!  Broccoli is my son's favorite food, and he has tested negative to it (RAST test.) But there must be something during the digestive breakdown that causes him to flare.  I mentioned before, but I was told broccoli turns into sulfur in the liver and causes a detox.  I have seen this with my own eyes.  All three times his sideburn area on his face and knees flare within 24 hours after eating it (not immediately like with the sunscreen.)

Then we had another chemical sensitivity.  This time it was to the smell of caulk from re-doing the bath tub.  Again, right before our eyes eczema and hives appeared all over his face, arms, and knees.  After conversing with two other moms whose children are on anti-fungal treatment, they both say their kids experienced heightened sensitivities to odd allergens during treatment.  The good news is it should get better.

A Year in Eczema Pictures

What a year it's been battling eczema, and the proof is in the pictures.  As of this very moment his skin looks great.  I pray it stays that way.  Here's a quick year-in-review:

Today (Nov 2009) all smiles!

August 2009, covered head

to toe in eczema.
Nov 2008, the day after

steroid treatments ended

for an asthma attack.
Oct 2008, a few days before

a major asthma attack. Broke

out in hives/eczema after 

eating soy sauce.