Long time, no see...

Well, not really. I don't see who reads this, but you know what I mean.

A lot of life has happened since November 2012.

Let's see...

In January 2013 we received the wonderful news that the yeast was gone in David's system!

I cried.

It is a lot of work, but it IS worth it.


We have tried to venture into the world of fermented foods. Kombucha, sauerkraut and Bubbie's pickles.


We have really been focusing on the ramp up to Deplin (Methyl-Folate) and Leucovorin (Folinic Acid) for David- it takes quite awhile to get where you need to be.


At the end of February, David has his first "sleeping" dental appointment.

We had a cleaning, x-rays and a few teeth pulled.

He really struggled with the wake up from anesthesia, but generally did pretty good.

We both took a nap after.


We were given a free family vacation in March that cost us our van. That was fun. Gorgeous condo in Ocean Shores, only to have transmission die on the way home in Hoquiam...hours from home.

Almost three weeks later, our dream family vehicle was made possible by a diligent father-in-law who just kept looking after we gave up.

David loves his new truck, he named her "Blue"


David has struggled on and off in school with new responsibilities.  Although, a new love for reading has emerged.

We send him to school in a SPIO shirt, which seems to help...but his behavior was getting worse this last month or so.

Wondering if the yeast was back.

Finally touched base with Dr and she lined up the behaviors to ALLERGIES! We tested foods but no environmental allergies. Duh. He gets green boogers, and "raccoon eyes" and he is irritable.

When he is having trouble dealing with how cruddy he feels, he is easily set off at school, being difficult for his teacher and his schoolmates. Throwing himself on the floor, spitting and hitting the para-ed.

Not good.


I needed some additional natural treatments in my arsenal for David.

In March, I was told of ARC of Snohomish County offering a grant for autism help and resources.

We started Craniosacral Therapy at the end of March for David, weekly after we see his OT (so he's worn out a bit). He immediately took to the therapist and really enjoys his sessions.
He lays on his back and watches his iPad while he gets various adjustments according to what his body needs.

The therapist said he could really benefit from daily treatments and I should look into taking a course on how to do some basic Craniosacral techniques.

I checked with ARC and it was a valid request for me to ask for the fee for the class to be paid for so I could learn how I could better help David (plus the rest of my family and friends).

Two weeks after I applied they paid for the course in full.

I am happy to say that I completed the 4 day course TODAY. I can not work on David's head yet since I am not quite trained in the changes made to the protocol for children BUT I can "tune in" to Davids rhythm and get to know him and build trust and familiarity. I can do a stillpoint at his feet, treat diaphrams and treat my family as well. I have to practice.

I know this is considered a bit "new-agey"...but my heart was in the right place. I asked God to guide me, I asked Jesus to help me be a light while I was there. I prayed, where others may have meditated. I know He helped me learn and understand everything I took home from this course.


Let's see, what else.

Oh yeah. Essential oils!

Some people are not sure about this technique, but I can honestly say, it has really worked for us in this last few months. I decided to get involved with doTerra oils. Mainly for the discount so I can treat my family with good quality oils and learn more about them too.

I can make my own cleaners and disinfectants with these oils, they can be used topically, internally and diffused too. I'm slowly replacing items in my medicine cabinet with oils.

I am  firm believer in oil of Oregano, this stuff is amazing! I use 3 drops under my tongue (with a swig of water) every hour (for up to 10 hours) if I feel something coming on. It works great in shampoo for itchy scalp. It also repels lice, and so does rosemary! I can get David to drink oil of oregano (2 drops) in a small cup of juice- that'll keep the yeast away!

I have started using the Serenity Blend on David (diluted in jojoba oil). I rub it on the back of his neck and down his spine to help calm him on school days. I also add Balance (a grounding blend) diluted in jojoba to his feet as well. This oil helps him to focus. DigestZen also has helped David recently.

We are also looking in to adding BH4 to David's regimen to support the Methylfolate and Folinic acid- that is another NEW item in autism treatment seeing great results.

So...as you can see, blogging hasn't been my top priority. We've been through a lot.

I think we are emerging...

The yeast beast is back!

*****WARNING!- this post talks about POOP!*****

Took the boys on Thursday to the Dr for follow-up visits.

The night before, David was really gassy and stinky. I looked at Troy and said "That isn't good."

Sure enough, the stool test we did on 10/18 showed a +3 for Candida! That is moderate flora, not good.

So...while we were at the Dr., David proceeds to have an accident, because his stool is so runny it won't hold form. He is starting to act giddy again...but you know what?

He is happy and totally wonderful to be around!

I can not stress to parents enough who are treating their kids for yeast. Do NOT remove gut support! The probiotics, Enhansa, and iGg powder are essential to YOUR sanity!

David no longer has to use Enhansa because the inflammation in his gut is totally healed.

Remember the nightmare month of August we had, with the crazy defiance and horrible behaviors? That was all from going OFF gut support to take a stool test and check for yeast.

Well, you can check for yeast without removing that support...just check for the flora and continue to support the gut and heal inflammation.

Your hair will thank you since you won't be ripping it out!

David's behavior is still improving, he is still enjoyable and we are still seeing changes in him even though he has a bunch of yeast...again.

We are getting ready to start Nystatin again...for two months.

We are trying the BioFilm approach. It's a 4 step system, because OBVIOUSLY the yeast in David's system isn't giving up that easily.

Apparently yeast protects itself but exuding a slimy protective barrier (imagine a slug trail if you will), and when you take the anti-fungal, you see some improvement, but that slime protects enough yeast, that when the anti-fungal is removed there is enough there to start growing again.

Well, there is a targeted digestive enzyme that is made to remove that slimy protective barrier. So we take that, then 30 minutes to one hour later we take a dose of anti-fungal, then David eats his meal and one hour later we take activated charcoal and modified citrus pectin to "mop-up" the die off and lastly, we bring in fiber, to scrub the intestinal walls clean and carry the crud out of the body.

Sounds fun, huh?

Not when you are trying to determine HOW to do this on a school day!

We have to do this twice a day... it's all about logistics.

I will post more once we get started...but even with moderate flora David is still thriving and doing well.

Praying die-off doesn't turn him into a crazy horrible kid again...

Until next time...

When you see a light...

I am amazed.

In the last two days, there is a light in David.

He understands.

He is paying more attention to things.

He's being intentional with his discussions toward us. Don't get me wrong, he still perseverates on the things he loves a lot.

He went over and picked up Troy's phone off the floor and told Troy "I'm putting your phone on the entertainment center Daddy."

Intention.

Absolute Blessing! I feel like crying, and WHY NOT! I feel like we are truly starting to see our beautiful boy emerge right before our eyes!

Praise Jesus!

I'm just sayin'...

I know we have a long road ahead still. All the effort for the last three years has paid off!

Well, if I really think about it, the MAIN effort was in the last year. I still feel like I didn't get anywhere that first two years ACCEPT to educate myself on my child's condition and to plead and pray for the Lord to guide me. I knew in my heart of hearts I wasn't getting responses with the first doctor.

I needed change in David and I wasn't seeing it. All the things I read and underlined in that book when David was first diagnosed had all been set aside and put on the back burner...because the doctor we were seeing wanted to go a different route.

That need FINALLY led me to go with the doctor that was recommended to me when David was first diagnosed... and she is a tremendous God send.

I knew it was the best move as soon as she spoke. She wanted to start B12 shots right away, one of the things I had underlined in my notes regarding things I felt David would possibly benefit from in all my research.

I recommend her to EVERY mother I have met with a child that has special needs.

For the last four weeks, I have taken David to an indoor trampoline park for some therapeutic jumping and cardio. He and his brother spent time the first two weeks in the "kids section", but I wasn't seeing a good level of real jumping. So, I started going on family night where it's 25% off for entire family to jump.

Tonight, it was just David and me. He wasn't bothered with the music or how many people were there. He jumped and he had fun. He flew into the foam pit this time and CRAWLED to the back of the pit to look outside (big garage door opened to the outside) and see the big bus that the air park uses for group stuff.

When I asked him nicely, he crawled right on back to me, got out on his own and we went and jumped some more. I asked him later if he wanted to see the bus again, he immediately ran over and jumped in the foam pit and crawled to the back again for another peak.

If you have ever been to an indoor trampoline park, and the foam pit...talk about MAJOR heavy work out!

Such good therapy for David (and me) to get in there and have to use ALL our muscles to get out!

Inviting David's friend from school to join us next week. That'll be good a social workout too!

I feel like I could go on and on tonight...my heart feels light for the first time in a long time...like I said, I know we have a long way to go...but I am feeling renewed.

Thank you Jesus.

Light at the End of a VERY Long Tunnel...

It has been a rough few months.

Defiance is still present in David.

We got in last month to the Dr and we stopped the "ramp up" of methyl folate (5-MTHF) and brought additional supporting amino acids on board to provide a more rounded support to his system. We added additional NAC and Glycine and also added 5-HTP.

Things have started to improve.

Felt we needed just a bit more calming, so we have added Trytophan as well.

Waiting for the week to be through, then we'll move toward ramping up the methyl folate again.

Goal is to get to a pharmaceutical level of methyl folate (5mg or higher) then add in folinic acid.

We are going to heal my boys methylation cycle!

It is a long hard road, but patience is paying off.

When we didn't see the MAJOR changes that a lot of people see in their child when they start B12 shots, we knew that his cycle needed some serious repair. It's like B12 is just one spoke of this boys broken wheel. We've added a spoke of 5-HTP, another of Taurine and another of Tryptophan. We've "lengthened" the short spokes of NAC and Glycine by adding just a little more...

We will get this wheel rolling on it's own soon enough.

We know we are getting there because the defiance is actually a clue that things are working.

David is asserting a personality, he's irritable because more info is getting in and overstimulating him...now we need to provide the sensory support he needs (proprioceptive (heavy work) and vestibular are the main ones to support right now.

Helping him to tune out background music and not become overwhelmed by it. This had been achieved at our OT appointments! The last 3 or 4 appointments, he hasn't even mentioned the music playing in the background, when he would normally immediately turn it off.

Slow but sure successes are so encouraging.

Thank God, we are ready for a little breather for awhile.

It's so hard when you want a "break" from your child. You feel like such a horrible parent when all you want to do is run the other way because you don't have any more patience or energy to fight. You can't decide if punishment is appropriate because you aren't certain if your child comprehends what is happening.

I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me...David's favorite scripture is what gets me though and reminds me that I can't do this...WE can't do this without Christ.

Now if we can slow down a bit to enjoy the time we have...

Gregory, Madeline & David- First time trick or treating this year!

Wits End...

This last few months have been such  struggle for us and David.

We have been treating for yeast since the end of June. We have seen an improvement the last few weeks and then yesterday, David decided he wasn't going to use the potty again and started going in his pants.

This is so stressful, the amount of laundry or money spent on pull-ups is ridiculous.

Not only that, but we have seen a major increase in defiance in David. We say "No, David" and he replies "Yes!" or vice versa...it's been a constant fight and battle gradually getting worse over the last few days.

We've heard that die-off reaction can be almost as bad or even worse in some children.

Is it that, or something else?

We have him on diflucan, a pretty strong anti-fungal.

We were also told it could be an increase in methylation for David. Which is a VERY good thing, but why all the defiance?

He's asserting his personality.

More sensory information is getting to David, so he gets overstimulated much faster. It's causing him to be more "oral" at school. Chewing on his fingers, his shirt and even his toes!

I don't know if we are dealing with die-off or increased methylation or BOTH.

We are so tired, after this last few months. We've been looking forward to things hopefully getting better...and we are still having so much trouble.

There is a lot of yelling in the house. David defying every request, arguing at every turn.

It is so frustrating, because no matter how simply we explain a punishment, he doesn't seem to understand.

We have taken away the iPad as consequence for messing his pants the last few days.

He cries consistently for it and almost to the point of puking.

It has been exhausting to consistently hold our ground and stand firm on the punishment. Lord give us strength...Please.

Hopefully we'll have more answers this week from Dr on what is going on with our kid and how we might get some relief...for all of us.

We did a small trial of L-Theanine chewables for calming and it seems to help a little, so we are going to go try a 800 mg dose of these as directed to see if it brings us some peace. These things taste amazing, they are like candy and David loves them.

Until those come, we'll continue to hang on to what sanity we have left until we get direction on how to handle our little tyrants behavior.

One exhausted Momma,

Until next time...

Emerging...

Brothers...

For those of you closer to us, you know that we have had a struggle this last few months with yeast...and David's behavior. We saw a more prevalent come back of yeast once we finished the Ampho(anti-fungal) and also stopped gut support for a week prior to getting a new stool sample.

We will not do that again.

The Dr. even agrees that we know the iGg powder is working and the probiotics are essential, so the next stool kit we do will not be as comprehensive, we'll just check for yeast and stay on the gut support.

Thank God. I've asked for a few months to breathe, where things are back to "normal" and we can adjust to new school year and having another sibling going to school.

We recently learned that David's younger brother also has a few sensory issues and have addressed those, also needing to make dietary changes to help his system. Our whole home may be gluten free soon, it was recommended from the start, but I didn't go for it. It's not that it's that hard but...well, it's hard. Worrying about what David may have gotten a hold of...and now that Gregory is presenting with a bit of an intolerance too.

I am having an iGg panel done on myself and if I present with similar intolerances, we have outnumbered my husband and our household will go gluten free.

I know I make yummy breads and cookies, so I'm not worried there. I'm actually worried about cheese, you see, I'm a Tillamook girl, through and through. But enough about me...

We are making good headway with David, he starts school next week. We'll finish Nystatin in the next week and move to fluconozole (Diflucan) to bump up the attack on the yeast remaining in his system.

We've had pretty good success starting to limit the sugar in David's diet, and still trying to lessen the carbs and increase protein. I am grateful for Vegalite chocolate powder, it has really helped... and thanks to my husband, he has made it even more fun for David in this great sunny weather we are having. He mixes David's chocolate "shake" and then freezes it... making a chocolate slushy that David really enjoys.

One of our next endeavors is "pill swallowing training". Yeah!

David has a strong gag reflex, I'm not looking forward to this really, but I'm going to keep a positive attitude and try and help David understand that if he can swallow pills/capsules there will be less "icky juice" to drink. Hopefully he makes the connection and complies.

Please let him comply.

We actually received a pill swallowing training kit from the Dr's office! It comes with a bottle full of cellulose capsules to practice with and a list of helpful literature and tips for learning and teaching how to swallow pills.

We will also be going after that methylation pathway and working on additional support with more 5-MTHFR (Methyl Folate). We are going to increase it 2 weeks in to the diflucan and praying we will see a good response. We will then start adding in folinic acid. Supporting focus and attention, speech and language centers.

I can't wait to see major changes in David. We know that since he is getting daily B12 injections that he needs additional support because we didn't see major changes with just the B12... we are taking the next step and are prayerful to see God's handiwork.

I will say that folks in church notice how he engages a bit more, how talkative he is and that his eye contact is much better...and I love that feedback.

I'm going to go after reading comprehension...which is a whole other obstacle to tackle that most of our kids on the spectrum struggle with...

...so I'll leave that for another post.

A few steps back...

All I have to say is it has been one rough summer.

We have basically been treating David for yeast for a couple of months. Since school has been out.

David has struggled with the lack of schedule.

We finished that last dose of Amphotericin, waited one week off of iGg powder and decreased probiotics to do the stool sample and... all hell breaks loose.

David regresses, looses fine motor skills for buttoning, snapping, zipping pants. He won't wash his hands and when you try to help he's all "wobbly" and squirming all over the place!

Oh, did I mention he is not using the toilet? Yeah, he's back in diapers! (Yeast makes stool so soft/runny, I don't blame David here- but man, the laundry!)

He's chewing on his shirt.

He's defiant.

But hey, he's sleeping later!

He's craving carbs and sugar, of course.

And what does that feed...?

YEAST!

Argh- it is back with a vengeance. We gave it more ground when we took away gut support with iGg powder and probiotics...and any sugar he ingests just feeds it more. :::SIGH:::

Luckily, a few days after this behavior starts, Dr. lets me come in early to talk about David (when I'm supposed to be getting Gregory's allergy test results) and we both felt the yeast was back.

She immediately called in Nystatin before we get the stool sample because she knows we've got to make some headway.

Well, the pharmacy gets the Rx yesterday and once shipped we wouldn't get until Monday.

No! I can't do this craziness all weekend.

I tell you, I struggle when David is "below" his "normal". It really stresses me out, then I feel like a bad Mom because my patience is gone sooner in the day then it should be.

My wonderful family... the Plumbs.

Well, we took an almost two hour trip to Snoqualmie Falls yesterday to go and pick up that medicine, the pharmacy is right by the Falls themselves and it was a gorgeous drive.

Well, we immediately gave David his first dose once I received it...and was it just me or was he so calm on the way home?

The kids did pretty well, for the most part and we enjoyed some sightseeing too!

David checking out Snoqualmie Falls.

Well, we are on our way to beating this yeast again.

Now I know what die-off looks like in MY child. I also know what his behavior is like if yeast comes back.

I guess there is a silver lining.