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.

5 comments:

  1. Oh, Tiffany. My heard swells with joy for M, you, Gary and L. I have so much hope that M's body with achieve balance. I'm grateful you are sharing your story for others to find answers from. I understand your fear of food (not to the same extent), but I wake often with nightmares about food. My thoughts are with M in the next few weeks with every hope that this will be his answer. Healing Blessings~

    ReplyDelete
  2. T, this is great news! How wonderful that this clinic exists and they were so ready to help your family! Are you breathing long sighs of relief? I know there is still a process to watch him heal through this, but that will be the best part of everything!! Many continued prayers for M's healing and your family to be strengthened and blessed through this *end* of the journey!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm so happy for you guys! It is awesome that you have had the courage to think for yourselves and make well thought out decisions for your son's health care.

    Vi

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you all SO much! I apologize for not seeing the comments before this minute!

    Some of this is hard to believe, but with the health support, and all the prayers and energy from friends, I believe his body has no choice but to heal!!! Thank you, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Our son has (severe)food allergies, multiple foods, like yours and was diagnosed at 5 months, now 9 years old. Though we did not go to a naturalist or other progressive therapy clinic we did follow some simple rules. They did result in his body growing out of many of the foods, and still continuing the trend although a couple may last. His body has become much stronger, his asthma is mostly silent, and he no longer has eczema (that ended when he was 7 or 8 months old). What we did was two fold, one is avoid every allergen religiously since the immune system (as it grows and becomes more mature) will forget it was sensitive or allergic in many cases but it takes time. The second part... Our son eats primarily organic foods, lots of filtered fresh water, plays in the dirt a lot (builds up immunities), and takes probiotics. All of these things helped his health and improved his immune system profoundly. Sometimes a child is born with an extreme immune system dysfunction, allergies are a sign of this dysfunction. My only word of caution is to be diligent (and it is stressful) about what food/beverages you son eats especially when it is prepared by someone else. Most restaurants are not safe for children with food allergies, especially severe cases and multiple foods. Luckily Fort Collins has a couple of organic based restaurants. Good luck, glad to hear he is getting stronger and healthier.

    ReplyDelete