Fewer Infections.

On a more positive note, Alex's infections have really reduced in frequency since we started him on the Equazen fish oils last October, along side his eczema. In fact his last infection was in December. He has not gone four months without an ear infection for years. We are sending him back to school and hope that this will not result in his health deteriorating when he comes into contact with all the bugs and viruses that can trigger off ear infections.

Allergic reaction to gluten and soya; day eighteen.

Alex is finally quiet at night again and although he is still shouting and yelling a bit during the day we are nearly back to where we were before he ate the offending food.Recovery from that one mistake has taken nearly three weeks. He has colour in his face again and the dark circles under his eyes are more or less gone.

Allergic reaction twelve days on.

So now it's twelve days after Alex ate the food he is allergic to. His dark circles under his eyes are much better and his ears are no longer red. He is not complaining of painful ears as much. His excema, which returned, still remains. His energy levels are improving.
Though he is no longer leaping around the place he is still a lot louder verbally than before. He still remains more excitable, insecure and prone to becoming upset over very little. Having said that, even this is getting better. It took weeks for the positive effects of going gluten free to show. I have a nasty feeling that his recovery from this mistake is going to take just as long.

Gluten, Casein and Soya free.

So after the allergy testing in march we started Alex on a diet free of soya ,gluten and dairy. He had already been dairy free for three years and we removed gluten six weeks before the allergy testing in march. When we removed gluten his sleeping and ability to settle to sleep improved. Bedtime had been terrible for the last two years. By bedtime he would be bouncing off the walls, loud and this would continue once put to bed. He would run and jump around his room very loudly until finally falling asleap at around one in the morning. To compensate for this he would not wake up until eleven or twelve the next day. Since removal of gluten he actually stays in the bed quietly until he falls asleap, now by eleven o clock at the latest. His concentration and focus improved, something that was observed by his home tutor.

After the testing we removed Soya. this further helped his concentration. He began spontaneously answering questions more than before. His focusing on schoolwork for his tutor further improved. He started doing things like spontaneously picking up my bag and giving it to me as we were getting out of the car one day. Stuff like this he would have not done before, basically because he had been too hyped up to notice things like that. I began to trust him to to stay in the car when i got out. The loud verbal rubbish reduced by 90 percent. Gone was the exessive leaping round the house and shouting and squealing out of nowhere I began to be able to take him out in public and it be more pleasant, less stressful experience for both of us. He stopped shouting every time his two year old sister cried. This was gradually imprroved through removal of each substance.
All has gone well until six days ago when we ended up in two social situations where, firstly he was accidentally given gluten, soya and dairy by someone else. Then i thought that as he had had it the previous day, it wouldnt hurt to give him a ginger bread man. We were at a theme park. I had said no to the burgers, hot dogs and felt so bad. Boy are we paying now. His behaviour actually worsened over the following days until it peaked yesterday, the fourth day. Today has been a better day . He is still getting angry, upset, crying jumping around, being vocally noisy all exessively. Though thos is an improvement on yesterday which i would class as uncontrollable. He has been pale, lethargic. The dark circles around his eyes are terrible.He is streaming from his nose, his ears are red. He is back to wanting loose trousers on and his ears hurt. That awful shout that he does at his sister when she cries is back, but again it peaked yesterday; today he has controlled himself much better. We have learned a hard lesson from this. His reaction was worse this time to coming off the foods in the first place. I'm just glad he seems to be recovering.

Gluten. March 2011

We have taken Alex to a private hospital which specialises in biomedical treatment. After five years trying to findand answers with the NHS as to why he is riddled with eczema, has constant constipation, asthma, ear and throat infections and balanitis, we have finally come to the conclusion that we have wasted our time.
We have been told that he has Leaky Gut and multiple allergies. Indeed we took him for allergy testing yesterday. He was tested for some main foods ie. wheat, milk, cheese, sugar, rice, soya as well as histimine. He reacted against soya and wheat. They measure the heart rate before and after the substance is given under the tongue. If the heart rate changes it indicates reaction to the substance. His behaviour changed immediately it was administered. He became hyperactive, loud, reactive and could not listen. This is the exact behaviour that is characteristic of him and stops him focusing and accessing school.


I read this on a blog today and it seems to explain a lot;
"Thanks to genetic engineering the wheat we eat today has four times the amount of gluten the wheat our grandparents ate.
Most people can benefit considerably from a gluten-free or reduced-gluten diet. Gluten and wheat are blamed for a variety of health problems, including depression, fatigue, weight gain and behavioral problems.

We have been given drops for him to take every day to desensitize him from wheat and soya. Until then he has to stay off both and milk because of his aczema. How we are supposed to do this i am still wondering. Is this the answer we have been searching for and will reduced allergy help his infections, asthma, eczema and constipation? Only time will tell.

Fish Oils

On 6th October we started Alex on Eye Q Omega 3 and Omega 6 capsules. I read that during a study children were given 6 a day for three months and reported improved concentration and mood. We are now four months on and i have to say they have made an impact. His chronic eczema that has not left him for three years has completely gone. He also had constant constipation which had been present for two years. This has much improved in that it is no longer a daily occurance. His concentration, focus and ability to listen have also shown a marked improvement. Having said that these areas are still a problem, but it has been great to see the change. He is less reactive now and does not get upset or angry as easily. Also his ear infections have become less frequent. His general health has improved, as has his stamina. I would recommend them to anybody.

More Evidence

Went to yet another meeting at Alex's school. We had to provide evidence from Alex's consultant to say that he was too unwell to attend school, in order for him to qualify for his home tutor. We obtained this and he was awarded five hours a week. What we didn't realise was that we would have to do this every six months in order to keep the tuition going and in order to keep the Education Welfare Officer happy.
So off to the G.P i have gone. She is very helpful. We also have to get one from Alex's immunologist