[ilovemykids]

For those of you that don't know me........my name is Lisa and our son Aaron was adopted from Guatemala almost 3 years ago at the age of 1. Aaron has never had a solid diaper.....it is always like a peanut butter consistency......he doesn't nap, doesn't sleep through the night, craves dairy and refuses to eat meats unless it is mcdonald's hamburgers or fried chicken and chicken nuggets. he has been very disruptive in nursery school and we had an occupational therapist observe him in school (he cannot sit still, cannot transition from one thing to another, cannot stop pushing and touching classmates)

Aaaron has had 2 sesssions so far with the occupational therapist once a week for his sensory integration dysfunction (strong child but very weak muscle tone which causes him to be floppy and not control his movements - thus pushing and jumping on other children)

we also went to a pediatric behavior specialist who tests the child from the inside to the outside of their body.

she ordered some tests to be run........blood tests to see if he has lead in his system, thyroid screening, zinc levels and a few others i cannot remember.

she also had us send a stool sample to a special lab in north carolina that will test for something called leaky gut syndrome and/or celiac.

leaky gut syndrome is:

What is leaky gut ?
After passing through the stomach, whatever we eat passes into the small intestine which is designed to allow nutrients to be absorbed from the food and into the blood stream. The mucus lining of the intestine consists of helpful bacterial and good yeasts which break down the food into substances which are beneficially used by the body. When the composition of this lining is disturbed, the intestine walls can be damaged, and become porous - allowing unwanted substances to penetrate the lining and into the bloodstream.
The body becomes overwhelmed by this flood of foreign substances, and reacts by producing antibodies and resultant inflammation to joints and circulatory systems, allergic reactions and even mood swings.

What causes leaky gut ?
A large number of factors are thought to be the villains, including:

Overuse of antibiotics, steroids, NSAIDS (aspirin, ibuprofen, etc)

Poor diet - high in refined foods and sugars and nutritional deficiencies

Incomplete digestion

Heightened exposure to environmental toxins

Stress

Parasitic infestations


What are the symptoms?
These are wide ranging, and include:

Candidiasis, when "bad" yeast takes over the intestines and other parts of the body such as the vagina. In some instances, candida can even invade the brain.

Allergies - food, airborne, environmental, skin

A weakened immune system with all the problems that can follow

Chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome

Auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, CFS and lupus.


What steps are necessary to repair leaky gut?
These include:

Removing the candida yeast and its roots which penetrate the mucous lining

Flush any parasites out of the gut, both microscopic and visible

Cleanse the gut of toxins

Keep away from the non-food foods: sugars, refined carbohydrates, coffee, fatty foods.

Enhance the flow of digestive secretions such as HCl and pancreatic enzymes.

Provide proper nutrition to the body with Greens +

Include the right supplements in this diet: zinc, anti-oxidants, L-glutamine, insulin stimulators, garlic, barberry, pau de arco, oragano, and healthy living flora in yogurt etc.

Drink only purified water and lots of it!




she seems to feel that he has a problem digesting dairy and wheat.......but we will see what the real culprit might be after all the tests come back.

once the tests come back we will modify his diet and he will get supplements of fatty acid enzymes which are mixed into his food, an enzyme that will help break down casin from dairy products and wheat so that we will not have to cut out all dairy and wheat products (because all he craves to eat are starches and dairy products). a specially formulated magnesium sulfur cream that will be rubbed on him at night to help calm down his muscles so he can sleep and add sulfur to his body because he sweats so much.

so that is where we are right now..........i am so glad i went to this specialist........now i am not so depressed and can understand why he acts the way he does.

[LotAkids]

That sounds like my son....a lot of posts on here sound like my son!
He's almost 5 and has SID. It drives us crazy. He touches everything and everybody! He was tested for Celiacs too, but it was negative. Thank God. He was actually allergic to the protein in cow's milk. He can still eat dairy, and drinks special milk that is broken down into singular molecular form. It's called Neocate.

The running stool has disappeared. But his ADHD and SID are things that we will have to work on with his OT for a long time. If it's treated early on, it can be helped better than if it goes longer without treatment.
He is very clumsy and kind of annoys his classmates. But we're working on it.

liz

[ilovemykids]

sounds like your son had an allergy to casin (spelling)? it is the enzyme in milk products which he probably has problems breaking down in his system.

my ped doesn't like the fact that i took him to a specialist that does alternative medicine.........but hey i have been telling them about his horrible diapers for almost 3 years and all they test for is parasites........and that is all.

lisa

[suburbanmomgw]

Sounds like my son too. My ped. never offered to test for anything...Said he was adjusting to new diet. I took my own initiative and took my son off of dairy. Gave him soy milk and lactose free cheese--only an occational yogurt (instead of it being a dietary staple! ) His diapers got better very quickly. Now, I can tell if he's gotten a piece of pizza by the diaper the next day.

As for SI...We have only had 3 OT sessions. I am feeling very overwhelmed trying to do all the recommended things to help him cope. I need ways for ME to cope! (See my other tread in this forum)

[Kellster]

Hi all,

May I recommend an excellent book that I read on the topic of SID? It is called "The Out of Sync Child" by Carol Stock Kranowitz.

Kelly

[ilovemykids]

thanks for the tip on that book.........i have read it from cover to cover and it was very helpful.

we have aaron doing a sit and spin at home........he craves the spinning motion. we are doing brushing and joint compressions 6 times a day...............on top of that

he was diagnosed with "leaky gut syndrome".......has a small perforation in his stomach wall which causes some enzymes to escape into his blood stream and entering his brain.......thus acting as bad transmitters causing some bad behavior.

he is on an enzyme 3 times a day to help break up the bad enzymes before passing out of his stomach..........he is on a "good bacteria" enzyme to help with the large amounts of bacteria that were in his stool. he is on phenol which will help to harden his stool.............i spend all day long trying to remember which enzyme i have given him..........which he still needs......how many brushing/compression sessions we have done............ARGH

this mommy is in need of a night at a hotel for a good nights sleep without any kids.

[Stormy]

Our older son (5 year old/ high functioning autism) is on a Gluten Free/ Casien Free/ vegan diet. It was very difficult at first and for the first few weeks I felt like I couldn't give him anything. But now that i have learned so much more I have found that it is much easier. For instance, for breakfast this morning he had soy milk, cantalope and a hash brown (found a company that assures no cross contamination for the hash brown). I have learned how to remake all his favorite foods, mac and cheese, grilled cheese, pizza, he eats tons of cereal (malt-o-meal has a fruity pebble type and cocco pebble type that are safe). He eats lots of green stuff, salads, broccolli, green beans, and more. It has actually become easier for all of us to GFCF and I am feeling better (have fibromyalsia and it is suggested for that too). For my son, I have seen lots of gains and it makes the diet very easy to do. I found a web-site and list serve on that site that was very helpful, www.gfcfdiet.com. They have a list of safe foods that is very comprehinsive on their home page, a list of additives that are NOT safe and the list serve has been helpful to gather new items for that list. Also, when I made a GFCF chocolate cake last week for our younger son's 2nd birthday I couldn't find an icing mix. Went to the listserv and got a response right away. (and the cake was wonderful).

[mumoffour]

We put our daughter onto a wheat free diet at Easter, it was almost miraculous the change in her. She is very sensetive to the slughtest amount of wheat/gluten and we know if she has had any by acciedent because her behaviour changes so dramatically.
She has gone form being very easily agitated with Self injury and destructiveness to a happy giggly mischievous bundle of energy.
Rosie was very constipated and needed help to empty her bowels every time, she is now having bowel movemetns almost everyday and is rarely in any pain form them.
We have not gone as far as the Casein Free diet, Rosie loves her fromage Frais but so far the wheat free hsa been such a great success I don't think we need to take it any further.
Much love
Tina