Need support taking the first steps for my child.

[Melodie]

Hi everyone.  I've been a member here since the site came together, but as my typical method of dealing with my little boy's health issues has been to try to convince myself that I am overreacting and crazy, I don't post.

 

We've done relatively well managing his food allergies: dairy, tree nuts, shellfish (maybe), and for a long while, eggs.  No one in either of our families has ever recognized having food allergies in themselves, and the fact that we had a kid with not one but several allergies seemed like a lot to take in.

 

Those of you who know me from MDC (as Aletheia) know I drop in from time to time fretting that there is still something we are not catching.  Well, not "we"-- "I."  My husband thinks I have become rather paranoid about our firstborn's health.  He thinks that what I view as symptoms of a larger problem are in fact minor symptoms of the food allergies we've already found, and that it isn't worth pinning down any others since  he has never had a reaction that has landed him in the ER.

 

It's been easy to think that I am paranoid, because it makes me feel better about things than when I think I am actually on to something, and that my child is chronically unhealthy.  It's way better to be paranoid than paralyzed by a lack of confidence, and consequently unable to help your ailing kid.

 

But we have another child now (O is 4.5, L is 2.5) who is completely and robustly healthy.  He gets eczema behind his knees if he uses a fragranced bubble bath.  That is the only sensitivity we've observed in him.  And I don't worry about HIM one bit.  He is just glowing.  Beautiful soft skin, rosy cheeks, consistent energy (if a bit melodramatic.)  But O???

 

Here is my wishlist for my child.  I need help keeping my eye on this list because I get so terribly overwhelmed by all the abbreviations and compounds and supplements and pathways.  But I believe I am not crazy: he is not well.  He is not thriving. 

 

1.  I would like to see him start gaining weight more readily.  He tends to gain a little, and then lose a lot.  He was just almost to 30 pounds at New Year's.  He is as of yesterday 28.4 pounds.  (And is 4.5 today.)

2.  I would like to see his skin be smooth and soft, not constantly rough, not flaring up on occasion with eczema in the creases, and certainly not like it is tonight: entirely covered with an angry, red, rash.  (The first time this has happened since summer of 2009, when he ate way too many overripe strawberries.  Has also happened with grapefruit.  Yesterday he ate 1/2 a can of pineapple.  Yes, I know about salicylates and histamines.  Sort of.  Trying to figure out what to do about them is where I got stuck.)

3.  Be able to get through the day without being exhausted by 5 p.m. (dark circles, nighttime breathing.)

4. Not have to go on a daily inhaler for his asthma, as his father thinks is necessary  now (we are using the albuterol almost daily as it is.)

5. Drop the cough and runny nose permanently.  He has been sick all winter.

6. Show a little color, even if it is only when he is in a hot bath (and no, the dark circles under his eyes do not count!)  He did flush at the table when shellfish were served recently, but didn't eat any.

7.  Be able to handle low blood sugar a bit better (screaming, refusing to eat, demanding that no one watch him eat.)

8.  Be able to sit still during storytime.  He doesn't seem to have a small attention span.  But even when he is exhausted (and perhaps even ESPECIALLY when he is exhausted) he seems unable to sit still.

9.  Nighttime urinary continence.  I know he is only 4.5, but he's been EC'd since birth and is communicating regularly with me about wanting to be done with diapers at night.  He is in disposables because anything less absorbent gives him a rash.  He has always been very rash prone to areas that have *touched* (not sat in) his urine.  As a toddler, the pee would sting his legs if he had an accident in cotton pants.

10.  Daytime urinary continence.  I know well, and so does he, that he has "allergy accidents"-- times when pee surprises him.  We often do not know what allergy caused it, though.

 

One of our issues is having the non-allergic sibling in the house.

He is extremely sensitive to dairy- even  to powdered milk dust in the air, for instance, rash sprang up once because he rubbed his face on an upholstered surface upon which milk had been spilled a week previously.  BUT DS2 LOVES dairy, and so does daddy.  DS2 also loves pistachios. 

 

We used to be entirely allergy-free, but got overexcited while we were doing NAET (it did clear the egg allergy, but nothing else.)  Now how do I go back to a dairy and nut free house? 

 

It's late.  But I needed to get that list down.  I'm going to need some support staying focused upon it.

~Melodie

[Bobbi Lee Jeselskis]

My second born son has had some issues.  I bit different from what you have listed but I can relate to what your saying.  Have you had him checked for heavy metals?  Has he been immunized?  If yes, I would definitely have him tested. We had this issue ( and ours was not vaccinated, its a mystery) and once we chelated him he was a new kid.  Even a lot of his food allergies seemed to get better.  He is still a sensitive kid but I would say life has become a lot more normal.  We also had issues with nighttime bedwetting, behavior, irritability, etc.  All of these things have been resolved.  Our only issue now is keeping yeast at bay in his gut.  As long as we stay on top of it he does fine.  Candida overgrowth may be something you might want to look into also.  I would also recommend finding a good Naturopathic doctor to help you figure it all out.  If you just happen to be from Maine I know of a great one! :)

It's so hard when you don't know.  Don't get discouraged.  It may just take some time sorting it all out.  And your not crazy, your his mom and wants whats best for him!  ~ Bobbi

[Melodie]

Thanks, Bobbi.

 

I will look into heavy metal testing.  He was fully vaccinated according to the CDC's schedule until he was 2, at which point I became more informed.  Our second child has had minimal immunizations.

 

I will also look more into candida.  I've considered it before, especially as his diaper rash often looked somewhat yeasty to me, but I'll think about it again.

 

I've now got him on a multi and a vit c supplement that gives him the B6 and about 700mg of C that are supposed to help with histamine issues.  I'm trying to limit the histamine and salicylate intensive foods.  Not easy, as he is a fruit fly for sure.