Good (Gut?) Stuff....

Adding links to a couple of *back in the early days* posts of mine (one, two, three). They provide a small window into the gut related stuff that started this journey.... And as I am reading them, it makes me sad that a lot of the same debates continue to go around and around and around (and that newly diagnosed parents/kids continue to have to deal with the same B.. S.. explanations I was fed).

What makes me happy though, is to realize how much Salamander has progressed since then...


BUMPING THIS ONE TO THE TOP. KATIE WRIGHT POSTED ON AOA TODAY ABOUT HER SON AND A HORRIBLE IBD FLARE TRIGGERED BY HIS ENVIRONMENTAL ALLERGIES. IT FITS WITH THIS POST. And I know where Katie is coming from.. I was there between end July and end August (minus the diarrhea and the screaming, but plus, as is now very evident, the enormous *stool back-up* and the incredible mood swings/aggressive outbursts). Gut pain is the WORST.. and it doesn't matter if your child is non-verbal or verbal. Salamander is VERY verbal, but he still was not able to tell me that something was going horribly wrong inside of him....(not until now, as he's starting to feel better and is realizing once again, that how he felt is NOT how a person SHOULD be feeling).

And yes, I too was told, for many many many years BEFORE making changes to Salamander's diet, that all his gut issues were *behavioral*, and that he was *doing this to get attention* (and oh, do I remember the acid diarrhea and vomit...). I try to stay away from stating HATE for an actual living person. But I HATE that doctor for her ignorance and her blatant disregard for Salamander's suffering, and for what that ignorance and disregard ended up costing him...


As I wrote about here, Salamander and I are working on getting his gut bug situation back under some measure of control. And it hasn't been easy. He's taking some pretty powerful naturals, and he hasn't been feeling too good. I have tons of kidney and liver support on board too, but still, his body has had a hard time keeping up.

Sunday afternoon things looked pretty bad. His poor belly was so bloated, swollen and painful (inflammation? backed up with stool despite rigorous magnesium supplementation?) that he could NOT get the zipper of his shorts even halfway up. And his face looked puffy too.

So I spent quite some time researching on Dr. Yasko's parent board to figure out if there was anything I could do to, at a minimum, address the bloating. I found several suggestions, did some additional cross checking, and ended up making two changes in Salamander's supplement regime. I started these two changes on Sunday nite (and discussed with Salamander what the changes were and what I was trying to accomplish).

When he got up on Monday morning, I thought his belly was a little less protruding, and I asked him how he was feeling and how he had been sleeping. His answer: "I slept good, mommy, but I was sooooo gassy." [insert raucous laughter]

Made the same supplement change to the Monday morning batch. Salamander went off to school. When he came home, I again thought his belly was less protruding than it had been that morning. I asked him *the question* and Salamander told me he had been *pooping and tooting a lot* [I did ask him how the tooting bit went over in class. I was assured that all the boys in his class thought it was hysterical. Go figure]

Same supplement change on Monday nite. Tuesday morning, no doubt, Salamander's belly was a LOT less protruding. He now comfortably fit into his shorts!!!! Same supplement changes on Tuesday morning.

When I saw him this afternoon, his belly was almost FLAT (still a slight bulge just below the sternum). The difference in shocking. And the puffiness in his face is GONE! [and my dear friend C.R, who takes care of Salamander three afternoons a week after school, commented that Salamander had been *so good, the best I've seen him in a long time*]. And I too noticed a real difference in his demeanor tonite - very calm, clear, focused, helpful, cooperative, going with the flow, flexible ....[anybody else need proof of the gut-brain connection???].

As we went upstairs tonite, I asked him how his belly had been. And he reported on more *pooping and tooting*. I reminded him that if he feels the need to pass gas while he's in the classroom, he should make an effort to get to the bathroom to do so, and that, if that's not possible, he should try to minimize the noise. His response? "I try momma, but when it's gotta go, it's gotta blow."

Oy

Time for a little note to his classroom teacher, perhaps, eh? Don't want for Salamander to get labeled as *class clown*....

I'll keep the supplement changes going for a few more days. I hope the effects I'm seeing continue (I'll take the *pooping and tooting* any day over that big bloated, swollen, painful belly...)