I was so scared. Lil DS7 has had soooooo many issues. When we went to the docs yesterday that ran a ton of new tests, everything from platelets for Leukemia to Bordello, cat scratch....And I totally should have realized, he has celiacs! Thank you God! This one, I can handle. My daughter has celiacs so I guess I'll just have to feed lil DS7 the same foods. Also something strange. The doc said celiacs runs in families. DS12 has had Epilepsy since as far back as we can remember. Epilepsy simply means 'seizure disorder'. Guess what can happen to a child with celiacs if the right diet isn't properly followed? Yep...seizures! I had my DD10 on gluten free for her stomach cramps, bloating etc... Then I found out that if you constantly give someone something they are allergic to, you are left with a child who is literally sick all the time, stunted growth, dark circles under his eyes, diarrhea etc...(He seriously hasn't had a solid poo in over a year). Mind you, he will always have lung problems, BUT all the other symptoms should disappear with the proper diet. It was easier for him to catch so many things (3 stomach flus/2 flus/strep/bronchitis...all in the past 6 months ) because he was worn down from us constantly giving him stuff he couldn't have. He wasn't even gaining weight because his body couldn't disperse what we were feeding him. SOOOO.....YAY! I know the celiac diet well, jsut have to make enough for ALL of them :lol: It's an expensive diet, however, we r ripping out the pool this year so I can extend my garden. We found the diet is cheaper with our DD10, when we mostly have her go vegetarian. Making your own breads with the gluten free products is INSANELY expensive, but we have been making our own granola instead. We just use different things. Nuts etc... So, in about a month, I should start to see a whole new boy/boys. All night I was dreading those blood tests. I swear I woke up in a cold sweat. As for the petechia all over his body, they said the strep had spread. Typically you can get petechia on the roof of your mouth with strep, but Tommy's spread to his chest, hands, feet and fence (hence the Leukemia scare). They upped his antibiotics and little does he know, when he gets home from school today, he'll be sharing his sisters diet. As for school...no more school lunches. Which is better anyway...have you ever seen what they feed these kids???? It's awful! Looks like something my cat drags in!
I'm so glad to know the solution to his health is "simple" (much simpler than things like leukemia, that is)!
So happy for the knowledge you have gained! It wouldn't hurt anyone in my house to take up that diet, too.
Thank you. I'm so happy I could cry. The things going through our heads last night. Plus cooking will be so much easier. I was only making enough for her, simply do to cost and the boys boycotting healthy stuff. But, now they they HAVE to eat it and I'm getting a bigger garden, we should do fine. Alot of celiacs have lactose issues too, so I went back to Almond milk. (That stuff is GREAT in coffee BTW But I do have to figure out my budget now. Typically including gas,paper products AND food, we spend 200$ week. I need to bring down the paper product costs in order to stay at 200$. That's gonna be interesting. PS is actually expensive here. Should be free...but NO! They have the school list, then the teachers list, then the lunches, then they nickle and dime you to death with stuff every week. It's crazy! My DS12, last year forgot his 2$ to go bowling...TWO lousy bucks and they didn't let him go The camping trip is over 200$, plus you have to buy hiking boots etc... If you DON'T have the money, they sit in the office for a week. Basically, if you have money, your kid has fun at school, if not, they get no rewards. Not to mention the gas to drive them back and forth. I mean you could put them on the bus, but on our bus, that means fights and bruises. In the end, school costs alot. OH YEAH! The worst, the doc notes! For a flu, you HAVE to get a note. With Thomas this year we have wracked up THOUSANDS in doctor bills. Totally crazy, if he was at home, we'd just put him to bed!
So now you can homeschool him, and he can help with the garden, and learn a ton of stuff, and stay healthier TOO! AND you can save money and do your own fun stuff! instead of them nickel-and-diming you to death...
Exactly I was just remembering the battle with the teachers at the beginning of the year. They INSISTED on every kid having special binder 18$ at Office Max. Even sent home an Office Max ad at the beginning of the year. I said, I have two in this school (middle school), for me that's Almost 40$ and that was just one thing on the list. I asked why they couldn't just bring in 10 cent folders. They said no, the kids would get a mark on the board! Well now that DS12 is home, we use 10 cent folders He doesn't have to have a billion things for each subject. Paper and pencil is just fine. I'm also scouring the net for FREE curriculum, I heard it was possible. Right now, we've been aloud to use his regular text books, but they have to be turned in and he can't do it next year. This year was special circumstances. I read that some people have built an entire curriculum using the library, internet etc... And we have a TON of home school books and text books at our library. I LOVE the library! Ours even has free classes on different things almost every night. Computers, budgets, hobbies etc....Then there's the reading clubs and game nights. I swear, my library rocks! I'm sure I'll have to purchase something, but it will be a drop in the bucket. We spend about 1500$ on school clothes every fall, 600$ on supplies and backpacks, 100$ PTO and fundraising, TONS$ on gasoline. 1000's$ on med bills just to get a NOTE! PS should be FREE for all students, paid with our taxes. But it's honestly not. I can't wait till next year so we can start at the beginning with a whole new game plan. I told DS12, he's my guinea pig. LOL This last couple months is our 'trial' period. If it works out, next year there will be a house full!
That stuff would never fly here. The teachers can't send home anything that requires a computer because our community is so poor that they cannot count on kids having a computer, let alone internet access. In reality, they all probably have it, their parents just won't make sure they use it.....but I digress..... I'll be anxious to hear about how all your lifestyle changes are going in the coming months. Keep us posted.
YAY! So glad you have some answers....so is the hope to let him finish out the year, yet still pull him for next year? I used to be gluten-free (long story)....but while I was I had a blog called www.goingglutenfree.blogspot.com - I left it up, even after I went back to eating gluten.... Just thought I'd share it with you in case you'd be interested in the recipes. It is gluten free, but NOT dairy free! LOL
That is fantastic! Hey, I have been experimenting with the glueten free Breads and its not all its cracked up to be, so I would ad a little bit of salt to any you try to make. There are a ton on sale at Big Lots this week! mostly with oat flower or corn flower. but there are chocolate chip cookies even! I know its junk food, brownies to0, and Winco has 98 cent energy bars in glueten free now too.. I got some for he little boy who I sits little brother. more and more people turning up with that same thing so I can see costs coming down soon enough too.
I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!!!! I totally know what it's like to worry and worry about blood tests for a child. Paddy has a few problems and we swear he has a gluten allergy becaus ehe is rail thin, hasn't had a solid poo...God...since he was born? But we had him tested for celiac and It was negitive. :/ would love to get him on gluten free or vegan, but with his autism I just don't think it would go well. He's so limited in what he eats now and most of what he eats is riddled with gluten. lol. I am so glad you found out the issue and you have experience with the disease and can cope fairly easily. I will still be praying for you and your family to make an easy transition for the little man.
I'm sure you have plenty of G-free recipes, but Elizabeth Hastelbeck has two G-free cook books that I hear are great! Rachel Ray talks highly of her books and RR also has put G-free in her cook books. : ) I'm sure this is old news to you.
Actually, a gluten-free/casein free diet is AMAZING for autistics. My friend works as a special ed teacher at a school for autistics...the lunchroom serves nothing but gluten-free/casein-free in it. Also, when we lived in AZ, there was an amazing program at the Mayo Clinic where they did brainwave remapping and it worked on daily exercises and diet modification (they used more of a rotation diet scheme, but it was still gluten-free/casein-free). It's hard...but...you might actually find it beneficial. As far as Gluten-free bread being expensive to make, quite frankly, it's still cheaper than buying it. There's a recipe link on my old blog to a great recipe on allrecipes.com. Also, investing in a grain mill can really help cut down the costs. You could grind your own rice (I used to use brown rice). Also, if you can find an asian or indian grocer near you, you can get inexpensive gluten-free flours because a lot of their cooking uses rice flour, garbonzo bean flour and sorghum. When I was GF, I would make my own flour blend using brown rice flour, sorghum flour and teff. Worked so nicely! Had a very "wheaty" taste. I would go through a homemade loaf in a day - because my kids loved it so much! LOL But it was easier to make than real bread because you put it all together in the mixer, mix, pour into the greased bread pan, wait for it to rise and bake. SO EASY.
With the amount of savings from school clothes and supplies, plus field trip costs, you could increase the food budget $25 a week AND buy a first-rate curriculum. So happy for you to have an answer, and I hope the transition for your pickier eaters goes smoothly! B&N has a book called homeschool your child for free, although buying the book tosses that idea out, lol!
Wow, I just got a book at the library about gluten free diets and autism! It's actually called the kid friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook. It also has a bunch of info on enzyme and vitamins that alot of these kids are lacking. It says that removing gluten and cassein will allow the body to absorb those vitamins and they've actually had huge improvement. It said 60% improvement. The children who weren't holding eye contact etc, suddenly were. They said since the brain was unable to process VitB and folic acid etc....that it wasn't able to function properly, but with the diet they turned around. I got the book for my DS12. His epilepsy and a whole host of other issues sent me searching for another way to help him. He also has a sensory disorder etc...So when DS7 celiac was positive, it gave us hope that a change in diet might be what they both need. My daughter's already on it (celiac), but If this helps DS12 too, It would be incredible. Half the time he can't even maintain eye contact. I'm curious to see if this diet will work for him as well. So far, the diet for autism, epilepsy, add, adhd and numerous other issues, ALL dealing with brain function, seem to be almost identical...no gluten! For DS12, while he isn't the main reason we went to the doc (DS7 was), it led us to a whole lot of other info. After talking DS7's doc (also DS12's), they want me to keep a journal. They are also very interested in knowing whether or not this diet will also help DS12. They actually called again this morning. They've been calling daily. So I'm really hoping that maybe I can get back that little spark that DS12 used to have before the seizures. I'm not banking on it and I know that it might not work, BUT if there's even a small chance, I'm going for it.
I'm so glad that you got the answers that you needed. Food sensitivities can cause huge difficulties.
I'm gluten free and the smallest amount wreaks havoc on my body. I'm glad you found the answer for your son/sons. Praying that you see dramatic improvements.
Just a word of encouragement as you start your new diet.....I have a friend whose son is autistic. He was non-verbal and no eye contact for years. She started him on a gluten free diet, as well as other dietary restrictions, and within a short time he was talking and interacting. He is now in middle school and has had the lead role in the school musical the past two years. Just incredible! She can also tell if he has slipped in something he isn't supposed to eat by his behavior.
