August 30, 2010

Beautiful Healthy Nails, No Pimples, and Happy Feet

I have noticed recently that my nails are strong and beautiful and healthy
looking. They used to peel in thin layers and would frequently break.

I have had acne forever. Even though my mother assured me that my horrible acne
would get better as I moved out of adolescence, I continued to have pimples into
my thirties. This year...one or two here or there. Mostly none!

My feet look younger, too, even though I am on them more now than ever. Hmm.

Eczema Gone

My 9yo has had no eczema for many months now. She can eat a little fruit
without any eczema or yeast symptoms.

Our 6yo still has eczema and itching (down there) whenever she eats fruit,
honey, or sweet veggies. It IS better than it was. We are about to start a
third round or S Boulardi for her and we are going to try the S Boulardi for our
two little ones, too. They have diaper rashes and fine rashes on their torsos
whenever they eat fruit, honey, or sweet veggies or when we increase probiotics.

I, too, no longer itch anywhere. No eczema. No yeast symptoms. No fungal
symptoms. I had athlete's foot for over a year and a few nasty looking toe
nails. No treatments cleared it completely. GAPS alone made it all go away.

Our 12yo never had any problems with itching. Whew!

Growing Taller and Gaining Weight

One of my children is oh so very petite. She was a very picky eater. She was
five years old and weighed 31 pounds. She now weighs 38 pounds. I don't know
how tall she was when we started GAPS, but in the last six months she has grown
1 1/2 inches and is now 41 1/2 inches tall. She is still very petite.

Our 3yo now weighs 38 pounds and is 38 inches tall. He's not fat, but he is a
hefty little fellow.

Our 9 year old, also smaller than all of her friends, has also grown a full inch
in six months.

I don't know about my oldest or the baby (16 months).

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Last year when I put my whole family on GAPS to heal food allergies, behavior
issues, mental issues, vaccine damage (two children reacted to vaccines given to
them on the same day, same vaccine), etc., my goal was to do the intro diet and
try to increase the number of foods we can tolerate. We went too fast for us
and ended up pulling many foods over and over as we realized that they were
causing a problem. After starting intro, we were more limited in what we could
eat than before we started GAPS. I wanted to scream! I think I did on
occasion.

This year when I put my kids back on intro, my goal is to heal their digestion
and increase their probiotics (and to go real slow) so that we will be able to
add in lots of new food.

Lots of healing has taken place. That is evident. We are not there yet, but I
do not believe we will get there if we do not focus on healing their digestion
and adding/increasing probiotics to repopulate their gut over trying to make the
diet palatable and interesting.

It was not a wasted year by any means. It took me a year to learn how to cook,
to find my resources, to convince myself and everyone else that this is for
real, and in the meantime I got my two kids back who had changed/regressed after
those stupid vaccines. My 9 year old can suddenly read chapter books because
the letters don't wiggle and move on the page. Dyslexia? My 12 year old can
complete his schoolwork in a timely fashion and organize his thoughts better.
His handwriting has improved and he can remember things like capital letters and
spelling and indentions and spacing, etc. ADHD? My baby is developing
beautifully now after a scary start and a period of hand-flapping and loss of
eye contact when I did intro while nursing. Not recommended. It was a
profitable year, to say the least.

I can't wait to report the day when we can eat what others eat from time to time
without all of the suffering we have lived with for all of these past years.

Sauerkraut Juice Makes All the Difference

We have discovered that when we increased the sauerkraut juice to 4 tbs per
person/per meal that everyone finally started to digest their food and they
finally started to go more regularly. All six of us!

It is hard work to make that much sauerkraut to serve six of us on GAPS ( it
comes to 72 tbs of sauerkraut juice per day) and it is sometimes hard to find
enough organic cabbages to keep up. Sure enough, on 3-4 occasions we have run
short on sauerkraut juice and all the poopies (I have little ones) fell apart
and were filled with undigested food. Every time we increase it back to 4 tbs,
the poops are brown and formed and at least once a day (no enemas!) Yay!

August 29, 2010

A Normal Three Year Old

I am flying high these days. Our little three year old has been the most perfect little three year old that anyone could ask for these past few days.

He listens and follows directions, even fairly complicated ones like, " Put the book on the shelf. The middle shelf. Next to the blue book."

He plays independently and happily with his siblings and neighbors.

He plays make believe! Lots of make believe.

He put together a 30 piece puzzle with a little help. He knew immediately which way to turn the pieces to make them fit.

He "reads" books out loud to himself by looking at the pictures and telling the story in his own words.

He has been using his utensils at the table and has used his nice manners with clear words like, "May I have some salt on my chicken please?"

He talks constantly, but it is conversational and not repetitive.

He laughs and smiles.

What is truly amazing about this is that he has been sick with a cold, runny nose, croupy cough, congestion. Although I have noticed that he always seems to do better during and after an illness. I really am beginning to believe that such symptoms are what we see when his body is detoxifying itself or fighting off some bad bugs.

We added and increased egg yolks a few weeks ago. That is when he first showed any signs of congestion. Then it went away. We added scrambled eggs a few days ago. No regressions in him and no anger/rage in me or anyone else. Last year when we tried to introduce yolks, he regressed and my older daughter and I became angry. We tried several times with the same results. Oh, to be able to eat whole eggs again. It's a dream!

When I say our son regressed, I mean that he went downhill in all areas and even began grabbing at his eyes again and losing his balance. I feared seizures and backed off. I believe they were seizures. They looked like some of the absence seizures I found on YouTube, also known as petit mal seizures. I am thankful that they have gone away and we are not seeing this with the addition of yolks this time around. WooHoo!!!

Praise God with me! Dance with me! Celebrate! I couldn't be happier than I am right now.

Thank You, Father, for guiding us, for giving us the knowledge that we needed. Thank You for giving us the strength and the resources to do what we are doing. Thank You for the healing we are seeing in all of the children and in myself. Thank You!

August 28, 2010

Looking for a Doctor to help us on This Journey

I have questions that can't be answered satisfactorily on a yahoo group. I need a doctor, a nutritionist, someone who is knowledgeable about these things to work with, to learn from.

I have questions like:

"What causes the severe leg cramps in my daughter when she eats certain foods and when she gets more sun than usual?

"What causes all of the nighttime accidents?" & "Is there a test to confirm what could be causing it?" & "Could we do a test?" & "Is it a problem? Do we need to do something about it?"

"Are we getting enough vitamins? Do we need any additional supplements?" & "Is there a test for that?"

"Why do egg yolks cause regressions when CKS has more than a little?"

I think I may have found the one to help me. I hope so. I prayed that God would make it obvious to me about whether this doctor is the right one to help us or not. He has his own Brain Healing Diet that is VERY similar to the GAPS diet. He is familiar with the GAPS diet. He is supportive of us continuing on GAPS because it is working. He suggested some testing and several supplements that are probably needed. He will work with me and with what I need for my son (family). Now that CKS is a patient, I can e-mail him with questions. Maybe I will finally get some answers. I hope so.

I won't post his name until I know for sure and only with his permission, so if you are wondering who, you will have to wait.

August 27, 2010

Thank You, my God, for many good things

Hi All,

I am so happy about many things.

My period has returned after 16 months and I didn't even see it coming.  No PMS symptoms!  WooHoo!

I used to have bad PMS symptoms.  I had lots of hormonal ups and downs while nursing, but not this time.  I usually have the worst PMS and the longest, most painful cycle when my menstruation resumes after having a baby.  I always had overabundant milk supply and had to be careful not to nurse too often, but not this time.  I can nurse on demand.  Too, cool.  Letdown used to be obvious and painful, but not since GAPS.

I read on WebMD "Even common disorders like thyroid disease can cause abnormalities in the nail beds, producing dry, brittle nails that crack and split easily."

I was in the process of testing for thyroid problems when I became pregnant this last time.  My nails used to be dry and brittle and they split easily.  No more!!!

All itchy places on my body are gone now for months.  I keep waiting for a return, but nothing.

I think I may have found a doctor to help us on this journey.  He's 30-40 minutes away.  He's familiar with GAPS and he came up with his own Brain Healing Diet on his own before the GAPS book came out and it is very, very similar.  He was familiar and knowledgable about everything I discussed with him.  He agreed that we should not change what is working.

CKS is a perfect 3 year old today!!! Perfect!!!  Eye contact.  Clear words.  Makes sense, as much as any 3 year old does.  No tantrums.  No rigidity.  No repeating phrases over and over and over ad nauseum.  No sloppy eating.  Perfect!  A delight!

O happy day!!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!  Praise Him all creatures here below!  Praise Him above ye heavenly host!  Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!  AMEN!!!!!

August 2, 2010

A Puzzle - Putting the Pieces Together

So we are having some major die-off issues after a week on Intro (2nd time through). We are stage two, as in soups with a little egg yolk in their broth once a day. The sauerkraut juice is a new batch every 5 days or so, as we use it up so fast. Everyone is up to a sixth of a capsule of Bio-Kult.

Baby and three year old are sleeping fitfully. Older kids are going to bed late: can't fall asleep. Six year old itches. Youngest two have diaper rashes. Three year old is regressing, but not too much. He is also coughing and looking fatigued and ill. Six year old can't yawn. Eleven year old is achey, tired and has a headache. He has taken 3-4 baths a day for several days now. Three year old is rigid. His eye contact is poor. He is messy. Language is beginning to slur a bit. Six year old is easily upset. Nine year old seems to be doing fine.

The question is...coughing, hiccups, and the inability to yawn (can't get enough air), are these symptoms that mean they have an intolerance for this food (eggs?) and it should be taken out and tried again later? OR is this a healing reaction? Will they adjust if we hold at this level for a bit?

What about regressions? Egg yolks made our little three year old regress before. He is regressing again, but only a little so far. Is it a healing reaction or is it bad? I just don't know for sure.

In Dr. NCMs book, she does say that during die-off or when eating a healing food (salicylates/phenols) the person will have symptoms typical for him or her until the body clears it out. My thinking is that the BK and the SKJ and the eggs are all healing foods and the body is detoxing, which is why we are seeing these symptoms. I think we should keep everything at the same level to see if it all evens out.

Lord, please guide us. Please keep us on track and help me to remember the things I need to know. Lead me to the things I need to know. Thank You for healing us. Thank You for bringing peace to this home. Thank You for all of these beautiful children. May they all choose You as their own personal Lord and Savior and serve You all the days of their lives. Draw all of us closer to You, my King, my All in All, my Everything. AMEN

The Funny Things That Kids Say

Not necessarily GAPS related, but funny.

Our six year old was in hysterics and was throwing a big tantrum because she couldn't yawn. She complained, "I can't yawn! I need to yawn, but it won't come out." We finally figured out that she was having trouble catching her breath. It may be asthma related from the egg yolks because this was always my reaction to yolks and it was the reason we took them out several years ago, before we ever heard of GAPS.

Our three year old saw his shadow on the ground while he was swinging and said, "Look, Mommy. There's a picture of me on the grass." Love it!!! Only it sounded more like this: "Hook, Mommy. 'ere's a picture of me on du gass."

He can't say "L" and he always says "my" instead of "I".

Everyday he says, "My hove you."

He likes to sing "Maywee had a hittle ham, hittle ham, hittle ham. Maywee had a hittle ham. Its fweece was white as snow."

August 1, 2010

Bio-Kult and Egg Yolks

I was afraid to try the Bio-Kult because of the additives and because of hearing how powerful it can be, but we are now introducing it. We started stage one of intro 8 days ago and started everyone on 1/12 of a capsule. I have since increased it to 1/6 of a capsule.

I started the week without the Baby Biotic/Gut-Pro, but increased it to half and then back to their previous dose, as I saw very little die-off. I don't want to go slower than we need to go.

We also added a very small amount of egg yolk to everyone's broth at dinner time. I dip a table spoon into some egg yolk twice and stir it into their broth mug. Our little 3 year old, the one who regressed every time we have tried to intro egg yolks, only gets one dip.

So we have been two days at the 1/6 of a capsule of Bio-Kult and we are seeing some die-off now. This morning I was mad at the world, or I was bawling and feeling very overwhelmed. I know I am not in a right state of mind when I feel angry at my dear husband. I took an Epsom salt bath and have been absolutely fine the rest of the day. (Note: I was dripping with sweat during my bath. This always happens when I really need to detox.)

Our oldest boy (12 next month) took a bath first thing after breakfast this morning. He reported dripping in sweat during his bath, too. He was weepy off and on all day. He took a total of three baths (baking soda, Epsom salt, and Raw Apple Cider Vinegar). He took his third bath after bedtime and was still up after 11PM.

Our 9 year old girl seemed fine for the most part, but I did put her in the bath after an incident with her younger sister, just to be on the safe side. I asked her about the incident after the bath and it seems the issue was really that her little sister was having a die-off reaction. She had a hard time falling asleep and was up until after 1030PM.

Our 6 year old girl, who reacted to a vaccine a little over a year ago and became angry and hateful and who began throwing hateful temper tantrums whenever things did not go her way, was rather irritable today, to say the least. She over reacted to many things throughout the morning. She cried. She yelled. She made excuses for naughty behavior. She did better after a bath. Daddy says she was still moody, but not as bad. She could not fall asleep and was up until after 11PM.

Our little three year old has some regression: eye contact is different, will look at you in his peripheral vision if you are close, eyes seem off, more tactile, more clumsy, falling, spilling, dropping things, repeats things, talks in a loud and whiney voice, droopy shoulders, coughing a little here and there. No difference noted after his bath. He went to bed right away and that went well. The boy does like to sleep. He always was a good sleeper before the vaccine and then he woke up screaming every night. Now, on GAPS, he sleeps better. He wakes up, but not every night and not screaming inconsolably. He is having periodic bouts of diaper rash.

Our little baby boy (16 months) is more fussy than normal, but still. A pretty easy little guy. He doesn't want to go down for naps or bedtime, but once I walk out he sleeps and he sleeps well. Actually, this morning he cried around 6, which is unusual, but he went back to sleep and woke at his normal time. He is having periodic bouts of diaper rash. He has cradle cap again and a prickly rash all over his face, worse after meals.

They are all having undigested food in their stools. I pray this will improve as we get more probiotic in them. Our six year old had the first perfect poo tonight, brown and formed. WooHoo! I know everyone wanted to know that. All poos are looking better since we started intro again. Yay!

Thank You, My God, for leading us to GAPS, for giving my kids an opportunity to live happy and fruitful lives. Thank You for the improvements that we can see that encourage us to keep moving forward. Thank You for knowledge. Thank You for all of the resources that You have provided. Thank You for the means to do this for all six of us. Thank You for the support You have provided. Please keep me on the right track. Amen.