When I started my blog, I had visions of weekly updates and my mind constantly flowed with blog ideas. It's the story of my life - not what I planned. Anyway, we have lots of changes and updates to share, including more realistic hopes of blogging more regularly (now that stomach bugs, viruses, hospital trips and unplanned craziness are hopefully at bay for awhile).
I last blogged about challenges with bacteria in Josh's gut. Not much change there. Our January stool analysis showed an overgrowth of dysbiotic (bad) bacteria called proteus mirabilis and klebsiella oxytoca. They were both at 4+ levels, which is the highest. The lab also tests for antibiotics the bacteria is sensitive to. We put Josh on a round of Bactrim to wipe them out. It sure rocked his immune system. He had an increase in hives, eczema and asthma. Once that cleared, he was in pretty good shape. We then followed up with a round of Flagyl to address the continuing clostridia levels that were high. Once again, he did really well on Flagyl. I know that the bacteria we have been battling for the last 9 months are behind his sleep issues, itching and under-skin rashes he gets. When we put him on the targeted antibiotics, he is amazing and his anger, tanrums and sleep issues greatly improve. However, I don't want to continue this cycle of testing for bacteria, then doing antibiotics for that.
His labs also showed basically NO beneficial bacteria, even the ones that we have been supplementing with in probiotics, which means the bad guys are winning. Also, with Josh being on an SCD (specific carbohydrate diet) protocol, we were severely limited on which probiotics we were allowed to give him. I met with his nutritionist about getting him off of SCD protocol in terms of probiotics. She agreed. We have added in a broad-spectrum probiotic. I also have researched on probiotics for clostridia and started him on Culturelle as well to help keep clostridia at bay naturally. To help kill off remaining dysbiotic bacteria, we are rotating grapefruit seed extract and caprylic acid. All the natural remedies are fairly new in our rotation and I see signs of die offs, but we're not in the clear yet. I fear the bad guys are still winning and am in desperate need of sleep!
My next step is to find a local naturopath. I think we need to broaden our approach to include homeopathy. I have started some on myself first to address health issues I've been battling which I'll blog about another time. I was able to clear parasites and viruses from my body via homeopathy and hope we can tackle bacteria for Josh that way rather than going the antibiotic route again.
Josh is continuing to do well in therapy. He is starting to write some letters. Some are very challenging because his hand strength and grip are still very weak. He is doing great using scissors and his pencil grip is improving each week. He is enjoying his pre-school and having him home with me and Kate on Mondays and Thursdays has been fun. He and Kate are very close in social age and watching them play together is a joy. It is so nice to hear them play a room away and know they are fine and that he'll no longer hurt her. I don't have to hover so much. :) They do the cutest things and I am on a mission to catch some videos of them playing.
Kate is now in daycare two days a week. She was getting a little bored with me at home and I was feeling challenged trying to get dr. appointments, errands, cleaning and cooking in. I went back to the daycare Emma and Josh went to and of course, they welcomed her with open arms. The teacher taking care of her was Emma's first and Josh's last teacher there. She is wonderful and we love having her care for another one of our children.
So, with a little better routine going now, I plan on weekly blog updates. Life happens and mine is crazy, so it's just my plan. No promises. :)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
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