I haven't posted much on my son's condition because it hadn't changed that much until this week. For once, his stomach discomfort is now down to almost a zero. He's been able to do PE without having terrible stomach cramps. Instead of coming in close to last in the mile run, he has been coming in second place. His stool coloring is almost normal so I am thinking, perhaps, he is coming out of whatever flare up he had.
For dinner I made Easy Pork Stir Fry with Peanut Mole Sauce. Definitely could have caused Andy major problems. Pork has a lot more fat in it than chicken. There was tomato sauce and cocoa too. He had this meal for two days and had absolutely no problems. I'm still holding my breath and don't know if I'm going to try him on dairy. I think it would probably be healthier to eliminate dairy for good.
My son and I discussed that we should still try to maintain a low-fat diet although it won't have to be as restrictive as it's been. But mainly what my son wanted was to be able to go out with friends, eat pizza , hamburgers, drink pop and be just a kid without worrying that his GI system might go berserk. I am hopeful that he will get his wish soon.
Showing posts with label GI problems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GI problems. Show all posts
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
On the Mend?!
Andy came to me and was all excited. He gained 6.8 lbs. I was overjoyed. The many weeks of high calorie shakes are finally starting to pay off. He was at 2 to 4 lbs for so long, I didn't think he was capable of gaining any more weight. I am wondering if his "IBS" or whatever it is, is on the mend.
I have been driving him to and from school every single day. Now he thinks he can ride the school bus in the morning. Also he was only eating just a piece of toast for breakfast. He did not want to take any chances with his sensitive GI system at school but today he says he wants to eat omelets and a low fat version of the egg mcmuffin.
Still, I am a little hesitant about jumping in and giving him anything he wants. His condition has stabilized and I don't want to rock the boat. I will have to proceed with caution.
Our grocery bill has gone up $400.00 every month just because of the special foods and supplements I have had to give him. It would be nice to be able to pare it down.
I have him on so many things that I am not sure what has helped him the most but I am keeping him on the Digestive Advantage for IBS no matter what. The lacto bacillus will always be beneficial to him even when he is healthy. I was given information from Ganeden, the company that makes Digestive Advantage, and they said that their powerful probiotic can" bring the digestive system back into balance." Their cultures have a "protected hardened layer of organic material that enables their (lacto bacillus) survival through the acidic stomach environment and arrive in the intestines alive." I do think this product in combination with some of the other things I have done has made a difference.
I also put him on B complex vitamins which is supposed to help with the GI tract. A friend of mine had years of terrible stomach cramping and pain. Got no help from the doctors and so she read about vitamin B12 and decided to start taking the B vitamins. She said she has had very little cramping in the last year.
I am very grateful that my son is doing well although still not normal. However, this is his second bout with a GI problem. I am not sure what the future will hold. My friend who has Crohn's Disease warned me that hers started out with a few problems here and there before it became full blown Crohn's. I hope that with careful management, we will prevent it from becoming a
full blown whatever it is!
I have been driving him to and from school every single day. Now he thinks he can ride the school bus in the morning. Also he was only eating just a piece of toast for breakfast. He did not want to take any chances with his sensitive GI system at school but today he says he wants to eat omelets and a low fat version of the egg mcmuffin.
Still, I am a little hesitant about jumping in and giving him anything he wants. His condition has stabilized and I don't want to rock the boat. I will have to proceed with caution.
Our grocery bill has gone up $400.00 every month just because of the special foods and supplements I have had to give him. It would be nice to be able to pare it down.
I have him on so many things that I am not sure what has helped him the most but I am keeping him on the Digestive Advantage for IBS no matter what. The lacto bacillus will always be beneficial to him even when he is healthy. I was given information from Ganeden, the company that makes Digestive Advantage, and they said that their powerful probiotic can" bring the digestive system back into balance." Their cultures have a "protected hardened layer of organic material that enables their (lacto bacillus) survival through the acidic stomach environment and arrive in the intestines alive." I do think this product in combination with some of the other things I have done has made a difference.
I also put him on B complex vitamins which is supposed to help with the GI tract. A friend of mine had years of terrible stomach cramping and pain. Got no help from the doctors and so she read about vitamin B12 and decided to start taking the B vitamins. She said she has had very little cramping in the last year.
I am very grateful that my son is doing well although still not normal. However, this is his second bout with a GI problem. I am not sure what the future will hold. My friend who has Crohn's Disease warned me that hers started out with a few problems here and there before it became full blown Crohn's. I hope that with careful management, we will prevent it from becoming a
full blown whatever it is!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Lesser Known GI Disturbances
I spent the weekend talking to a mom whose daughter was having GI problems. I wanted to compare notes to see if there were any similarities between what her daughter and my son have been experiencing. It turns out the daughter's symptoms were quite different from Andy's. She was having severe abdominal pain and nothing else. Her mom did tell me that she heard of a condition called the Habba Syndrome where excessive bile was being dumped into the small intestine which would cause constant diarrhea. The treatment was to go on anti-cholesterol medication that would bind the bile and stop the D. This condition was named after Dr. Habba and there could possibly be millions of people who think they have IBS when in fact they have this particular problem.
What are the cardinal symptoms of this syndrome?
It is possible that my son could have this.
The other condition I have found is called collagenous microscopic colitis. Normally when one says colitis, it usually means ulcerative colitis or infectious colitis which often times involves visible inflammation of the colon and bleeding. It still is a possibility that my son has UC although so far all the tests have been negative. The interesting thing about the microscopic colitis which is supposedly rare although they are now thinking that perhaps 10-20% of people with chronic D may have this, is that even with a colonoscopy, the colon will look normal. The intestinal wall has to actually be biopsied for confirmation of inflammation and not only one side but both sides as it could be more prevalent on one side. Also people with this inflammatory bowel disease will have weight loss, severe intolerances to many foods especially dairy and gluten. Although gluten tests will many times come back negative. They have diarrhea several times a day and they cannot tolerate fat. Onset of symptoms can be sudden. One lady that I read about said that she thought it might have been the mercury in her fillings that set it off. She had dental work done and then had symptoms shortly afterwards. When my son had vaccinations, he had severe symptoms within two days. The meningococcal vaccine has thimerosal in it, a mercury derivative and I was highly suspicious at the time that it might have been a trigger to my son's problems. Doctors think that the colitis could be autoimmune in nature. Treatment is usually steroids ie, Entocort, Prednisone which will control the D. Changes to a low-fat, dairy free, gluten free diet can help tremendously. My son's symptoms and onset of his problems fit rather closely to this particular colitis. So Bette Jo, you may be right!
My GI doctors, nurse practitioner never mentioned any of these conditions as a possibility. I am finding that one has to be extremely proactive and become their own detective in order to get any kind of answers. The medical profession is not going to do it, that is for sure!
What are the cardinal symptoms of this syndrome?
- Post-prandial diarrhea (varying from simple urgency to incontinence) and fear of eating to avoid diarrhea
- Dysfunctional gallbladder as determined by radiological testing
- Failure to respond to standard therapy of IBS or spastic colon
- Favorable response to bile acid binding agents
It is possible that my son could have this.
The other condition I have found is called collagenous microscopic colitis. Normally when one says colitis, it usually means ulcerative colitis or infectious colitis which often times involves visible inflammation of the colon and bleeding. It still is a possibility that my son has UC although so far all the tests have been negative. The interesting thing about the microscopic colitis which is supposedly rare although they are now thinking that perhaps 10-20% of people with chronic D may have this, is that even with a colonoscopy, the colon will look normal. The intestinal wall has to actually be biopsied for confirmation of inflammation and not only one side but both sides as it could be more prevalent on one side. Also people with this inflammatory bowel disease will have weight loss, severe intolerances to many foods especially dairy and gluten. Although gluten tests will many times come back negative. They have diarrhea several times a day and they cannot tolerate fat. Onset of symptoms can be sudden. One lady that I read about said that she thought it might have been the mercury in her fillings that set it off. She had dental work done and then had symptoms shortly afterwards. When my son had vaccinations, he had severe symptoms within two days. The meningococcal vaccine has thimerosal in it, a mercury derivative and I was highly suspicious at the time that it might have been a trigger to my son's problems. Doctors think that the colitis could be autoimmune in nature. Treatment is usually steroids ie, Entocort, Prednisone which will control the D. Changes to a low-fat, dairy free, gluten free diet can help tremendously. My son's symptoms and onset of his problems fit rather closely to this particular colitis. So Bette Jo, you may be right!
My GI doctors, nurse practitioner never mentioned any of these conditions as a possibility. I am finding that one has to be extremely proactive and become their own detective in order to get any kind of answers. The medical profession is not going to do it, that is for sure!
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