Seems that all I have been doing is research, research, RESEARCH! LOL!!
We have removed all allergens from JJ's room, including all stuffed animals. His pillow has that allergy thing on it and his sheets are washed more than ours! LOL!!
We are so thankful to my parents for buying us an IQ Air purifier!! The filters for that thing are EXPENSIVE, but so worth it as JJ is able to breath so much better!!
Speaking of air purifiers, I came across this article:
63 Air Purifiers to Avoid
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thus Enter The Ragweed
Yep. We are now deep in the middle of environmental allergies. Last night was a tough with. With his RAD, he had an attack and could not breath. A does of liquid abuterol and he was breathing better, but you can tell he is not 100%. (Although those smiles he gave me this morning after waking up were so PRECIOUS!!!!)
I found some Little Allergies Allergen Block. From the personal reviews, people are saying it works. I just put some on him.
I also met with an allergies last night at a MOSAIC group (Moms Of Severely Allergic Infants and Children). He suggested saline solution sprayed in his nose. So I got some of that too. I found SinuCleanse for kids (there is a coupon there for $2 off). JJ is a little scared of it, but there is a video you can watch which shows the apparatus in the nose of babies (JJ LOVES babies), and that REALLY helped him. I also tickle the side of his nose with it. Right now I have only been able to get one squirt in each nostril. But hopefully the more he sees the video the more comfortable he will feel with doing it.
Don't want to try it again right now as I just put on the Allergen Blocker (and you have to reapply if the nose gets wet).
Well, I would LOVE to hear from you if you have tried either of these products (or the adult version of the Allergen Blocker from Chloraseptic).
I found some Little Allergies Allergen Block. From the personal reviews, people are saying it works. I just put some on him.
I also met with an allergies last night at a MOSAIC group (Moms Of Severely Allergic Infants and Children). He suggested saline solution sprayed in his nose. So I got some of that too. I found SinuCleanse for kids (there is a coupon there for $2 off). JJ is a little scared of it, but there is a video you can watch which shows the apparatus in the nose of babies (JJ LOVES babies), and that REALLY helped him. I also tickle the side of his nose with it. Right now I have only been able to get one squirt in each nostril. But hopefully the more he sees the video the more comfortable he will feel with doing it.
Don't want to try it again right now as I just put on the Allergen Blocker (and you have to reapply if the nose gets wet).
Well, I would LOVE to hear from you if you have tried either of these products (or the adult version of the Allergen Blocker from Chloraseptic).
Monday, September 8, 2008
More Testing
Well, they have removed even more foods from JJ's diet. :(
I am a bit torn about this. On the one hand, it is more meat. Meat is acidic, and makes the body acidic which the esosinophils thrive on.
BUT I also know that JJ needs PROTEIN! He can't do beans or nuts or any legumes. And he cannot do dairy. Even raw goat milk/cheese. I know that he gets some from greens and such. But normally a vegetarian diet you can eat nuts, beans, legumes, etc. I am just not sure what to do.
And he has started waking up in the middle of the night and I am sure it is because he is hungry. I feed him a LOT of food, but most of it is fluff, so it goes through the body quickly rather than staying in the stomach digesting. :(
I am going to try quinoa and see how he likes it. I have done the flakes and they are nasty. LOL!! So I am going to try the grain and see how he does.
I will say though that things are still going WONDERFULLY well. Josiah has not thrown up in so long I cannot even remember!! And he has gotten into foods that he should not have (like chicken and watermellon and garlic) and has not thrown up! It has been so wonderful!!
Thanks to EVERYONE for their prayers for JJ.
I am a bit torn about this. On the one hand, it is more meat. Meat is acidic, and makes the body acidic which the esosinophils thrive on.
BUT I also know that JJ needs PROTEIN! He can't do beans or nuts or any legumes. And he cannot do dairy. Even raw goat milk/cheese. I know that he gets some from greens and such. But normally a vegetarian diet you can eat nuts, beans, legumes, etc. I am just not sure what to do.
And he has started waking up in the middle of the night and I am sure it is because he is hungry. I feed him a LOT of food, but most of it is fluff, so it goes through the body quickly rather than staying in the stomach digesting. :(
I am going to try quinoa and see how he likes it. I have done the flakes and they are nasty. LOL!! So I am going to try the grain and see how he does.
I will say though that things are still going WONDERFULLY well. Josiah has not thrown up in so long I cannot even remember!! And he has gotten into foods that he should not have (like chicken and watermellon and garlic) and has not thrown up! It has been so wonderful!!
Thanks to EVERYONE for their prayers for JJ.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
So this is what NORMAL is like
Why no posts? Little to no throwing up!!! :) Things have been going so well! We have had so many people praying for JJ and are so THANKFUL to them. With the knowledge of things to help (making JJ more alkaline and giving him kelp), JJ has even been able to ACCIDENTALLY eat things on his no-no list without throwing up!
Now true, if he has something he is deadly allergic to (like eggs, which he also accidentally got into since my last posting), OR if he has too many accidents of eating no-nos, then he does have a reaction. But to know that I do not have to be extra super duper vigilant about every little thing that the OTHER kids eat. Although after the last mishap with the girls leaving out cookies that had been baked with egg, no more eggs at all in the house.
We do have another round of testing on Friday with the specialist. I am so thankful for him and for the feeding specialist, and for our new GI doctor!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Blessed
Click the layout for credits and to see it larger.This is from the month of our hospital stay. A very sad time, BUT God can use all things for HIS glory! And while this was a very stressful and sad time, we are thankful for all that happened because it has brought us to where we are today. If it were not for the misdiagnosis we received in the hospital, we would not have sought out specialists.
JJ is now thriving! Glory be to God! We are so blessed!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Health Snack For Kids (and Mom TOO!)
I am pretty sure most EVERYONE has heard about Nourishing Traditions by now. It is a GREAT book! I need to get me another copy as I have lost mine or loaned it away and have no idea to who or if and when I will ever get it back.
But anyways, we sprout grains and it is SO MUCH FUN! It is SO EASY that even a child could do it. In fact, it is a GREAT thing to get children involved in!! :)
Right now, we usually sprout grains to eat them raw. Sprouting grains release the enzymes (which your body desperately needs and has so little of) as well as make them alkaline-forming (allowing your body to be more neutral than acidic - I could go on and on about this, but the book Alkalize Or Die is a great book - read with prayer as it is not Christian). But since we are in need of the enzymes (which die when the food is cooked), we eat it raw.
And of course with JJ's on going health issues and food allergies, sprouting grains are just one way to help him get the enzymes his body needs as well as create different textures and foods for him to eat. :)
I love to sprout buckwheat. It is a gluten free grain (despite its name) and it not related to corn either (both things which JJ cannot have). It is a VERY mild grain which is great for children with a lot of food allergies. But also is great for picky eaters (because it does not have a strong overwhelming flavor). I LOVE Sprout People and the information they give on their site. You CAN NOT GO WRONG if you use the information on their site (and it is FREE! THANK YOU SPROUT PEOPLE!). :)
So make sure you do NOT have the toasted buckwheat groats or you will never get sprouts (if they are BROWN they are toasted, if they are white and tan and greenish, they are raw)! LOL!! Follow the directions for sprouting, and stop when the groats have TINY little tails. That is when they are sweetest!
We save all the soak/rinse water and pour it in the garden. It is ESPECIALLY good for plants/tress that are in really poor shape. We have a tree in the backyard that was near dead. I began pouring the water on it and VIOLA! That tree is doing GREAT now!
One thing I should mention is that when I do the initial soak of any grain, I always add hydrogen peroxide to the water. I cannot remember where I read to do that, but it basically kills all the bad stuff that can end up on the grain from harvesting/packaging/shipping/sitting on a shelf/etc. When I do this, I get a foamy yucky goo at the top of the water, so I know it is doing SOMETHING! LOL!! :)
Now you can do a BUNCH of HEALTH HEALTHY HEALTHY snacks for the kids. You can rinse and drain (after sprouting) and then dry slightly and eat just like that. YUM! You can also add some salt and nutritional yeast for a cheese popcorn type thing (although this is best done if they are dry). I dry mine in our dehydrator, but you can dry them by leaving them on baking trays in the sun. :) You can also use them in place of oats for a new take (and GF take) on granola. And Buckwheatie Bars are a definite favorite around here! I also found a recipe that looks really good that you can use the buckwheat sprouts as "Buckwheatie Crispies" and have your own cereal bars looks good!
And as I said before, sprouting grains is great to do with the kids! They get so excited to see the little tails. And what a WONDERFUL lesson/habit you are passing onto them! Plus, it is nice to have someone else to remind you, forgetful Momma that I am, to rinse and drain them as often as needed! LOL!!! :)
But anyways, we sprout grains and it is SO MUCH FUN! It is SO EASY that even a child could do it. In fact, it is a GREAT thing to get children involved in!! :)
Right now, we usually sprout grains to eat them raw. Sprouting grains release the enzymes (which your body desperately needs and has so little of) as well as make them alkaline-forming (allowing your body to be more neutral than acidic - I could go on and on about this, but the book Alkalize Or Die is a great book - read with prayer as it is not Christian). But since we are in need of the enzymes (which die when the food is cooked), we eat it raw.
And of course with JJ's on going health issues and food allergies, sprouting grains are just one way to help him get the enzymes his body needs as well as create different textures and foods for him to eat. :)
I love to sprout buckwheat. It is a gluten free grain (despite its name) and it not related to corn either (both things which JJ cannot have). It is a VERY mild grain which is great for children with a lot of food allergies. But also is great for picky eaters (because it does not have a strong overwhelming flavor). I LOVE Sprout People and the information they give on their site. You CAN NOT GO WRONG if you use the information on their site (and it is FREE! THANK YOU SPROUT PEOPLE!). :)
So make sure you do NOT have the toasted buckwheat groats or you will never get sprouts (if they are BROWN they are toasted, if they are white and tan and greenish, they are raw)! LOL!! Follow the directions for sprouting, and stop when the groats have TINY little tails. That is when they are sweetest!
We save all the soak/rinse water and pour it in the garden. It is ESPECIALLY good for plants/tress that are in really poor shape. We have a tree in the backyard that was near dead. I began pouring the water on it and VIOLA! That tree is doing GREAT now!
One thing I should mention is that when I do the initial soak of any grain, I always add hydrogen peroxide to the water. I cannot remember where I read to do that, but it basically kills all the bad stuff that can end up on the grain from harvesting/packaging/shipping/sitting on a shelf/etc. When I do this, I get a foamy yucky goo at the top of the water, so I know it is doing SOMETHING! LOL!! :)
Now you can do a BUNCH of HEALTH HEALTHY HEALTHY snacks for the kids. You can rinse and drain (after sprouting) and then dry slightly and eat just like that. YUM! You can also add some salt and nutritional yeast for a cheese popcorn type thing (although this is best done if they are dry). I dry mine in our dehydrator, but you can dry them by leaving them on baking trays in the sun. :) You can also use them in place of oats for a new take (and GF take) on granola. And Buckwheatie Bars are a definite favorite around here! I also found a recipe that looks really good that you can use the buckwheat sprouts as "Buckwheatie Crispies" and have your own cereal bars looks good!
And as I said before, sprouting grains is great to do with the kids! They get so excited to see the little tails. And what a WONDERFUL lesson/habit you are passing onto them! Plus, it is nice to have someone else to remind you, forgetful Momma that I am, to rinse and drain them as often as needed! LOL!!! :)
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Possible link between EE, acid body and autoimmune disease??
I am reading that the eosinophil granulocytes, or eosinophils (those white blood cells that are in over abundance in children with EE) are acid-loving (source, Wikipedia). This confirms the research I have done about trying to create a more alkaline environment for JJ's body to help with the food allergies.
When the doctor did the scope of JJ's esophagus (I got to see the pictures), I noticed that it seemed to be confined mostly to the middle part of his esophagus, with a tiny white spot here and there in the upper esophagus. I am curious to see what it would have looked like before I started the process of making JJ's body more alkaline. Would there have been more spread covering the entire esophagus, starting from the bottom up?
And his colon was clear. I wonder if there would have been more in his colon had I not been working on making his body more alkaline. And I am curious if he is healing from the gut outward, hence why the gut looks clear, and the lower part of the esophagus looks clear, but the middle is covered with white.
Eosinophils produce cationic granule proteins and release them through degranulation. Dengranulation of the eosinophils can result in low pH i.e. making the body acidic. So not only do eosinophils love acid (and therefore there are probably increasingly more and more eosinophils in an acidic environment), they produce acid as well.
It seems that once the body is more alkaline that will help tame the EE, but possibly not get rid of it entirely as it is, I believe, an autoimmune disease. So then the problem becomes determining WHAT is causing the autoimmune response of increasing the eosinophils? Is it possibly the HHV6? Is it an overly acidic body? Or is it something else entirely? I plan on asking the doctor to test for HHV6 to rule that out first as that is my strongest suspicion considering what I know about the link between HHV6 and autoimmune disease.
I also note that the eosinophils are produced in the bone marrow (source Wikipedia). Maybe there is a link to bone marrow diseases/malfunction and EE? Something to look into further.
So now to continue to work to make JJ'S body less acidic and more neutral. I have been so busy I have not had time to read any more of the Alkalize or Die by Theodore A. Broody. But I must admit that with all this discovery, I am VERY anxious to get reading it and implementing it. The only problem is HOW to implement it on such a restricted diet.
When the doctor did the scope of JJ's esophagus (I got to see the pictures), I noticed that it seemed to be confined mostly to the middle part of his esophagus, with a tiny white spot here and there in the upper esophagus. I am curious to see what it would have looked like before I started the process of making JJ's body more alkaline. Would there have been more spread covering the entire esophagus, starting from the bottom up?
And his colon was clear. I wonder if there would have been more in his colon had I not been working on making his body more alkaline. And I am curious if he is healing from the gut outward, hence why the gut looks clear, and the lower part of the esophagus looks clear, but the middle is covered with white.
Eosinophils produce cationic granule proteins and release them through degranulation. Dengranulation of the eosinophils can result in low pH i.e. making the body acidic. So not only do eosinophils love acid (and therefore there are probably increasingly more and more eosinophils in an acidic environment), they produce acid as well.
It seems that once the body is more alkaline that will help tame the EE, but possibly not get rid of it entirely as it is, I believe, an autoimmune disease. So then the problem becomes determining WHAT is causing the autoimmune response of increasing the eosinophils? Is it possibly the HHV6? Is it an overly acidic body? Or is it something else entirely? I plan on asking the doctor to test for HHV6 to rule that out first as that is my strongest suspicion considering what I know about the link between HHV6 and autoimmune disease.
I also note that the eosinophils are produced in the bone marrow (source Wikipedia). Maybe there is a link to bone marrow diseases/malfunction and EE? Something to look into further.
So now to continue to work to make JJ'S body less acidic and more neutral. I have been so busy I have not had time to read any more of the Alkalize or Die by Theodore A. Broody. But I must admit that with all this discovery, I am VERY anxious to get reading it and implementing it. The only problem is HOW to implement it on such a restricted diet.
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