Thursday, November 4, 2010

Alternative Care for Food Allergies

My last blog post was about our first day at the clinic we were referred to for holistic care for our young son's food allergies and sensitivities.

Our care at the Nevada Clinic was remarkably thorough.  We found out that 85% of their patients come from outside the state...since we had traveled from out of state, and the people who referred us were also from out of state, it didn't surprise me. 

After our exhaustive health history, and questions about our little guy, the doc evaluated him for balance with the supplements he determined to be appropriate for his constitution and current weaknesses (which checked out to be balanced with the serums).  This meant that the homeopathic serums were bringing his body into balance, which would presumably help his body heal on it's own.  The entire philosophy is based on the fact that if the body is in balance, it can heal and function normally...and needs no further treatment.  I was thinking he would need this forever, but when his body reaches balance, he should need no further treatment.

Then we visited with the doctor for allergen evaluation.  He used the same mode of testing to find sensitivities for chemicals and foods.  He said some things to us I have NEVER heard another doctor say about trusting my intuition as a mother, even keeping a journal for insights.  He suggested that our intuition for tough experiences as parents are what help us to define a path, and then we can evaluate what to do with that information.  When I told him some of the suggestions we've had from others about care for our little guy, he asked me what I thought...and to my answer said, "Maybe you should trust that."  It was profound to hear an MD agree with many of our holistic choices we've made as parents, which most doctors find controversial, and even made some of the same choices with his family.  He was knowledgeable about nutrition, holistic birth practices and some of the dangers of vaccines.  (I still ask myself regularly how all doctors in our country don't know about these things...) 

We left that day with 5 homeopathic serums, with instructions for giving our little guy a dose of each of them that night, to check for any adverse reactions.  The doctor said that there was only one he felt may cause his skin to flare up (our little guy's eczema had come back a bit since he had his anaphylactic reaction about two months ago), and to watch him for any change, just to be sure, since we'd leave town after the appointment on the morning of the second day.  None of the serums  caused any reaction, so we reported that to the primary doctor. 

When we sat with the doctor on the second day, we still had a lot of questions...even though we were asking them all along...
What should we expect?
What was standard protocol?
How else could we support his system?
Should we help the process along with oxygen?
What about better filters for bathing water?
What did he think actually caused this hyper-sensitivity to foods?

The doctor was patient and answered ALL of them, and helped us to fnally understand the final factor...our little guy's system had probably been compromised by our genetic makeup...Gary's and mine...combined.  It's possible that there was something that further compromised him...but that we may never know what it was.  He said what we were doing was helpful, the nutritional choices, lowering his overall chemical burden on his system...but ultimately, when his body is in balance, which it should be after the next 6 weeks of using the serums they made up for him, he would be able to tolerate anything.  He used stories to illustrate...

The whole time we were at the clinic, the staff shared stories of cancer recoveries, compromised and seriously ill children getting healthy and thriving.  The doctors and nurses all expressed relief that our son hadn't been vaccinated, because without the chemical burden of vaccines, children are healthier and easier to treat.  In their years of working with seriously ill adults and children, they have seen a LOT of vaccine-injuries, and heavy metal poisoning.  It makes sense...many families become frustrated with the limited approach of western medicine to chronic problems like those we would see with a severely compromised immune system, chronic respiratory distress and neurological injuries, so they seek something completely outside their traditional route of care.  Their ultimate answer was, "He's going to be fine!"  They said this with ease and unwavering certainty...and after hearing so many other serious stories about who they've treated, I believe them. 

There's more to share about the visit.  We will be processing the experience for some time...the personalized care and concern we experienced from every one of the staff there...but for now...we are in observation mode.  After three days of taking the serums, our little guy's skin is already showing improvement.  His eczema is nearly GONE, and the skin on the rest of his body is softer.  His reaction to some of the foods that were starting to be problematic was gone, and his diaper was NORMAL...which is saying something...I know, too much information for most of you...but when your child does not have a solid stool for months at a time, it's the focus of much of your attention. 

We'll keep a close eye on him over the coming weeks...but our friends who referred us down to the clinic have shared that they have their son and their lives back.  No more crazy panic over food.  We are feeling very differently now...but still skeptical about completely being able to eat like normal people again...going out to eat?  Oh, man...I'd love to go out somewhere and not panic about cross contamination, worrying if the meal will make his belly sick, flare his skin, or cause another reaction.  We are hopeful that a 'normal meal' is in our future again.

I am looking forward to a day when I am not watching my child's face after each bite, anticipating a reaction.  Gary and I feel better than we've felt in over a year...and are starting to visualize a light at the end of this very long tunnel that isn't attached to the front of a runaway train.

Monday, November 1, 2010

A Snapshot of Our Visit With a Holistic MD

If you've read through our previous posts, you know that we have chosen a holistic approach to medical care for our children.  Less pharmaceutical medicine, more nutritional medicine...less chemicals, more nurturing and system support.  Our journey to support our young son, who we call Little Foot (his nick name we gave him during pregnancy) in this blog, has led us to a special clinic, which deals with many extreme cases of compromised health.  They work with a lot of individuals who are very ill, and have been struggling with health challenges for years.

We spent several hours with two doctors today, who are MDs as well as Homeopaths.  This means they use homeopathic remedies to help with supporting the body as a whole, as well as detoxifying the system.  We found out through some testing of Little Foot's meridians some of what we already knew, and some new things as well.  We've worked with many holistic practitioners in the last year and four months we've been seeking help for our little guy's food allergies.  Up until two months ago, it was primarily GI sensitivities, some eczema and sleeping issues that would arise, if he was exposed to certain foods.  When he experienced an anaphylactic reaction two months ago, we realized that we needed to seek other care, to get some more definitive answers, and find out how to support his system more.  We believe that the food sensitivities and allergies are symptoms of a more complex problem.  Our goal:  Find out how to best support his system and build his health, so that he is not as sensitive to food stressors.

Our experience was so interesting, and we will be posting various information about what we are learning over the next several weeks.  This is how our day went:

We arrived at the clinic at 7:30, handed in our forms we brought with us and filled out some additional paperwork.

The RN did the basic intake, temp, weight, height, etc.

She had me swab Little Foot's mouth/cheek for a base for one of his serums they would prepare for him.

She set us up in the room, where a nurse came in and did some baseline testing...essentially calibrating the testing machine they use to Little Foot's system.

A bit later, the primary doc came in and went over the health history with us, asking us a TON of questions.  He was with us for well over an hour.  He went through our little guy's health, and a ton on our pregnancy, the health of myself and my husband, and how it pulls together into our tot's profile.  He asked about drug, chemical and vaccine exposure to our son and the family.  He asked about our environment and lifestyles.  Through looking at how our little guy's system interacted with some of the tests, he determined his remedy serum for his particular constitution. 

Then we went into another exam room, and another MD Homeopath went through testing for foods and chemicals. 

Tomorrow, we will go through some more questions with the doctors, and we will be able to share more of the details of the visit. 

We are really appreciative that the doctors spent so much time answering our questions and working with us to discover all we can do to support our family's health. :)