So I spent all that time telling you all how much progress I made with my son and how I basically healed him and his tics ceased. Well, its true we really did "get there" ......until November. Early this November my son's tics started showing themselves again. They were mild at first and I fussed with his diet thinking he developed another food allergy. I thought I had figured it out and removed strawberries from his diet and things seemed to get better. However, after two days his tics came on full force with a fury I haven't seen since May. I was terrified and confused. All the work I had put into healing my son, what was it for? I felt like a lie, a farce. How could I have written this blog so sure that I accomplished something that doctors deem impossible? Well, the truth lies somewhere in between.
I took both my boys to their regular pediatrician for a check up and on a whim I asked her to give my son a throat culture. She didn't understand why I was asking because he felt fine, ears, nose and throat were unremarkable and he did not have a fever or a cough. But low and behold the test came back positive for strep and she looked at me and asked how Cole's tics were. I mentioned how they had skyrocketed in the past week and then it hit me - he may have PANDAS.
Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep is a controversial disorder that many doctors either don't believe in or don't know enough about it or how to treat it. The National Institute of Health has been investigating cases of PANDAS for the past 12 years and has made progress in their research but a diagnostic test to confirm this disorder still does not exist. Instead its more of a clinical diagnosis made based on symptoms and response to antibiotics.
Many cases of PANDAS experience a sudden onset of either OCD or tics or both. However the range of neuropsychiatric symptoms is much greater. But in all cases the child is making strep antibodies that instead of attacking the bacteria are actually attacking the basal ganglia in their brain - causing the OCD/tics. So when a child becomes infected with strep the antibodies increase and the neuronal damage occurs.
Doctors have identified other bacteria/viruses that can cause the same effect in children as the strep bacteria does. These cases are being called PANS or PITAND but the common denominator in all of these cases is that these neurological conditions are brought on by an autoimmune reaction.
Even scarier is the belief that potentially 25% of all children diagnosed with OCD/Tourettes or ASD could in fact have PANDAS but are just not being treated for it.
Thankfully our Holistic MD (Dr. Taz) is well versed in PANDAS and gave Cole a blood test to confirm what we already believed. It came back showing elevated ASO and Anti dNase-B titres which meant his body was producing strep antibodies in response to the strep infection and this all coincided with his sharp increase in tics.
We put him on amoxicillan and then switched to keflex and over a period of 10 days we saw a dramatic reduction in his tics. He is almost back to baseline now and I feel relieved that we have a better understanding of what is going on inside his body.
All the work I did on his diet/yeast/methylation was perfect as we come to find out. Diet is half the battle for these kids with PANDAS. All foods causing inflammation must be removed and poor methylation addressed.
But the bigger question is WHY are these little kids having autoimmune disorders? Why is this happening to our children? I will address this in my next blog post. For now, know that we have come a long way and with God's guidance we have uncovered the source of my son's tics. I feel blessed that we are finally on the right path to healing.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
GF/CF and Corn Free Pumpkin Muffins
1 1/2 C raw cane sugar (I used a little less than 1C and they were just the right amount of sweetness)
1/4 tsp baking powder (Hain corn free baking powder)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp sea salt
2 eggs
1 2/3 C Gluten/Corn free flour (Sugar and Spice Market Brand)
1/2 C coconut oil
1 C canned organic pumpkin
Mix dry ingredients
Mix wet ingredients separately
Combine and beat until smooth (use stand mixer if possible)
I make mini muffins and bake @ 350 for 13-15 mins
If you make this recipe - let me know how it turned out!
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Get Your Kids to Eat Cauliflower
This is a very easy recipe and it tastes great!
Buy a head of cauliflower and chop it up into little florets. Spread them out on tinfoil and place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil over all the florets and roast in the oven at 450 for about 15 minutes or until they start to brown (don't burn them). Take them out and put into a food processor. Chop them for 5 -10 seconds or until they are the consistency of rice. Top with sea salt or spices your kids will love. My son loves sea salt. I tell him its a new type of rice and he eats it up! He asks for it every night now!
I am actually able to give him 2 veggies on his plate with dinner now.
Credit for this recipe: my friend Shannon from SC
Buy a head of cauliflower and chop it up into little florets. Spread them out on tinfoil and place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil over all the florets and roast in the oven at 450 for about 15 minutes or until they start to brown (don't burn them). Take them out and put into a food processor. Chop them for 5 -10 seconds or until they are the consistency of rice. Top with sea salt or spices your kids will love. My son loves sea salt. I tell him its a new type of rice and he eats it up! He asks for it every night now!
I am actually able to give him 2 veggies on his plate with dinner now.
Credit for this recipe: my friend Shannon from SC
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Corn Comes in Many Forms!!
The following excerpt was taken from A Corn Allergy Website. I had been asked by a friend to post a list of all the ingredients that contain corn or are actually corn but are just hidden under other names. So here you go!
The
lists of corn products, ingredients and additives that I provide are not
intended to be exhaustive, for that would be impossible to compile. There
are many additives that are derived from corn that we do not know about,
and often the employees of food companies do not know either. Plus, corn
derivatives can be found in everything from body powder to shampoo (I've
reacted to both)! The FDA, at this time, does not regulate corn to the
extent that it does, say, peanuts, so we corn allergy sufferers are truly
on our own. (Click
here for a printable List in a separate browser window.)
PLEASE NOTE: In addition to the items on this list not including everything that contains corn, not everything on this list will contain corn. It is that they can contain corn, and therefore may need to be outright avoided or used cautiously. Read more about this on the Corn Allergens as Ingredients page. The items identified with an asterisk * are the most common items that might not always contain or be derived from corn. Proceed with caution!
Corn Allergen List
The
lists of corn products, ingredients and additives that I provide are not
intended to be exhaustive, for that would be impossible to compile. There
are many additives that are derived from corn that we do not know about,
and often the employees of food companies do not know either. Plus, corn
derivatives can be found in everything from body powder to shampoo (I've
reacted to both)! The FDA, at this time, does not regulate corn to the
extent that it does, say, peanuts, so we corn allergy sufferers are truly
on our own. (Click
here for a printable List in a separate browser window.) PLEASE NOTE: In addition to the items on this list not including everything that contains corn, not everything on this list will contain corn. It is that they can contain corn, and therefore may need to be outright avoided or used cautiously. Read more about this on the Corn Allergens as Ingredients page. The items identified with an asterisk * are the most common items that might not always contain or be derived from corn. Proceed with caution!
Note: My son does not react to ALL of these. For example, he can have Xanthan Gum with no effect. Its really a trial and error process but its best to try to eliminate as many of these as possible because almost 100% of corn ingredients are made from GMO corn unless labelled otherwise! |
|
GF/CF Corn Free Recipes (Baked Goods)
The following recipes are for homemade snacks that I put in my kid's lunch boxes or give them as snacks at home. Everything is gluten/dairy and corn free. They are all pretty easy to make and 3 out of the 4 of the recipes are grain free! I use mini tins to make my muffins so they are pretty much bite size. My kids love them and I hope yours will too.
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
2 eggs (I use organic cage free)
1/2 C Almond Flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 tsp baking soda (Hain corn free)
Pinch of salt (sea salt)
Pinch of Cinnamon
Pinch or more of ground flax or flax seeds (whichever you prefer)
1/4 C Apple Sauce (organic or you can puree apples)
a tiny bit less than 1/4 C olive oil
1/8 Raw honey
Mix the wet ingredients and then add in the dry ingredients and mix till there are no lumps.
Put in oven at 350 for 15 minutes.
Banana Coconut Muffins with Chocolate Chips
1/2 C Coconut flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1 Soft Ripe Banana (mashed up)
4 eggs
1/2 C Raw Honey
1/3 C Coconut Yogurt (So Delicious Brand)
1/4 C Mini Chocolate Chips (Enjoy Life Brand)
Mix the dry ingredients first. Then mix in the wet until there are no lumps. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. You can substitute berries for the banana and change up the recipe!
Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/4 C Chickpeas, rinsed and patted dry
2 tsp Vanilla (Frontier alcohol free)
1/2 C + 2 TBSP Almond Butter
1/4 C Raw Honey
2 tsp Baking Powder (Hain)
Pinch of Sea Salt
1/2 Mini Chocolate Chips (Enjoy Life Brand)
Combine all ingredients except the chips in a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer mixture into a separate bowl and mix in the chips. Form small spoon size dollops on parchment paper. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/4 C Coconut Oil
1/4 C Raw Sugar
1/4 C Organic Light Brown Sugar
1 egg
1 tsp Vanilla (Frontier non alcoholic)
1/2C + 1/8 C Gluten Free Flour (I use Sugar and Spice market all purpose)
1/4 tsp Baking Powder (Hain)
Pinch of Sea Salt
1/2 TBSP Cinnamon
3/4 C Gluten Free Oats (not steel cut)
1/4 C Mini Chocolate Chips (Enjoy Life Brand)
Pre heat oven to 350. Beat coconut oil and sugar in a mixer. Add the egg and beat more, add the vanilla and beat more. Mix dry ingredients separately and then combine. Beat until no lumps and then mix in by hand the chocolate chips.
Make spoon size dollops on parchment paper. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.
Please let me know how these recipes come out of you try them. I would love to hear from you!
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
2 eggs (I use organic cage free)
1/2 C Almond Flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 tsp baking soda (Hain corn free)
Pinch of salt (sea salt)
Pinch of Cinnamon
Pinch or more of ground flax or flax seeds (whichever you prefer)
1/4 C Apple Sauce (organic or you can puree apples)
a tiny bit less than 1/4 C olive oil
1/8 Raw honey
Mix the wet ingredients and then add in the dry ingredients and mix till there are no lumps.
Put in oven at 350 for 15 minutes.
Banana Coconut Muffins with Chocolate Chips
1/2 C Coconut flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1 Soft Ripe Banana (mashed up)
4 eggs
1/2 C Raw Honey
1/3 C Coconut Yogurt (So Delicious Brand)
1/4 C Mini Chocolate Chips (Enjoy Life Brand)
Mix the dry ingredients first. Then mix in the wet until there are no lumps. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. You can substitute berries for the banana and change up the recipe!
Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/4 C Chickpeas, rinsed and patted dry
2 tsp Vanilla (Frontier alcohol free)
1/2 C + 2 TBSP Almond Butter
1/4 C Raw Honey
2 tsp Baking Powder (Hain)
Pinch of Sea Salt
1/2 Mini Chocolate Chips (Enjoy Life Brand)
Combine all ingredients except the chips in a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer mixture into a separate bowl and mix in the chips. Form small spoon size dollops on parchment paper. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/4 C Coconut Oil
1/4 C Raw Sugar
1/4 C Organic Light Brown Sugar
1 egg
1 tsp Vanilla (Frontier non alcoholic)
1/2C + 1/8 C Gluten Free Flour (I use Sugar and Spice market all purpose)
1/4 tsp Baking Powder (Hain)
Pinch of Sea Salt
1/2 TBSP Cinnamon
3/4 C Gluten Free Oats (not steel cut)
1/4 C Mini Chocolate Chips (Enjoy Life Brand)
Pre heat oven to 350. Beat coconut oil and sugar in a mixer. Add the egg and beat more, add the vanilla and beat more. Mix dry ingredients separately and then combine. Beat until no lumps and then mix in by hand the chocolate chips.
Make spoon size dollops on parchment paper. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.
Please let me know how these recipes come out of you try them. I would love to hear from you!
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
The GF/CF Brands We Love
Making the change to clean eating sounds daunting. I really sympathize because it's not just about replacing what you used to eat, its about making different choices completely and it takes time. Its a process and you must be patient especially with a child who can be combative about eating new foods.
Some of the brands that I find to be pretty "clean" are the Enjoy Life Brand, Van's, Amy's, Sugar and Spice Market, Jason's, Mara Natha, Plum Kids, Hain, Bob's Red Mill, Frontier, Dr. Praeger, Rudi's, Ian's and Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Cheese.
Enjoy Life has some great cookies that are GF/CF and corn free. My son loves their sugar cookies which only have 3.5 grams of sugar per cookie! Enjoy Life also makes chocolate chips for baking that are made with non alcoholic (meaning no corn) chocolate liquor.
Vans is awesome because they label their foods with all the allergens that have been removed including CORN!! Right now corn is not considered one of the top 8 food allergens so many brands do not call it out and you must then decipher the ingredients to see if corn is hidden in there somewhere. With Vans there is no guessing! They make a tasty cinnamon cereal, granola bars and multi-grain crackers (although I use these sparingly as I have tried to remove most processed foods from our diets).
Amy's makes a delicious GF/CF and corn free cheese pizza and the cheese tastes like mozzarella! Can't go wrong for a quick meal.
Sugar and Spice Market all purpose flour is amazing and I use it to bake with a lot. I make GF/CF pancakes and they are loved by everyone in my family. I have also spoken with them on a couple of occasions and their customer service is top notch. They answered every question I had about their flour.
Bob's Red Mill is another great brand for all kinds of flour. They have a wide variety and I buy their almond and coconut flours for making muffins. Going grain free is liberating and when I eat these muffins I have no idea that they are grain free. They are just YUM.
Jason's and Mara Natha make almond butter and chocolate almond butter. They are both pretty low in sugar. Need I say more?
Plum kids makes fruit crushers that are purely fruit with no citric or ascorbic acid, meaning no corn! I throw them in my kids lunchboxes when I'm in a rush and can't cut up fresh fruit. I like the berry ones and so do my kids.
Hain makes a baking powder that is corn free!!
Rudi's is the bread of choice if we are making sandwiches. Its GF/CF and corn free. Its soft when you toast it and has a really great flavor. Its by far the best gluten free bread I have tried and I have tried almost all of them!!
Frontier makes a non-alcoholic vanilla flavoring. Wonderful for for baking.
Dr. Praegers makes GF/CF fish sticks, broccoli and spinach bites that are made with potato. Nice way to get those extra veggies in.
Ians makes letter potatoes that my kids love because they spell words out with them and they contain no gluten, dairy or corn.
Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet cheese was the ONLY cheese I could find that was truly casein (dairy free) and that also did not have pea fiber in it. Cole happens to have an intolerance to green peas. So we got the block of mozzarella and I put it on his grilled cheeses, quesadillas, and burgers.
Everything else I cook for my kids is from scratch or is a whole food. We eat turkey, grass fed red meat, grilled chicken, salmon, cod and pastured pork. Our sides are usually potatoes or brown rice (from California) and vegetables. I cook with olive oil (extra virgin unrefined and cold pressed), coconut oil and sometimes grape seed oil.
I hope this information can help you break into cleaner eating. I'm not going to lie, its more expensive. I shop at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Natural Foods Warehouse and Kroger. I have to say that Kroger is amazing at carrying almost all of these brands so I usually can get what I need when I am there.
When I tell you that I had nightmares about pulling all these foods from my kid's diets, it would be an understatement but looking back, it really wasn't that hard to do. Now Jake is eating much cleaner as he wants to try all of Cole's foods and he seems to really enjoy them. So I didn't have to force him, I just let psychology do its work and he is now eating almost as good as his brother. I also give him a pro biotic and a whole food multi-vitamin everyday.
I'm glad Cole presented with TS at 5 years old because he was still young enough where I could change his diet and teach him better and healthier eating habits. I'm hoping these habits will remain with him throughout his life.
Recipes in my next blog!!
Some of the brands that I find to be pretty "clean" are the Enjoy Life Brand, Van's, Amy's, Sugar and Spice Market, Jason's, Mara Natha, Plum Kids, Hain, Bob's Red Mill, Frontier, Dr. Praeger, Rudi's, Ian's and Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Cheese.
Enjoy Life has some great cookies that are GF/CF and corn free. My son loves their sugar cookies which only have 3.5 grams of sugar per cookie! Enjoy Life also makes chocolate chips for baking that are made with non alcoholic (meaning no corn) chocolate liquor.
Vans is awesome because they label their foods with all the allergens that have been removed including CORN!! Right now corn is not considered one of the top 8 food allergens so many brands do not call it out and you must then decipher the ingredients to see if corn is hidden in there somewhere. With Vans there is no guessing! They make a tasty cinnamon cereal, granola bars and multi-grain crackers (although I use these sparingly as I have tried to remove most processed foods from our diets).
Amy's makes a delicious GF/CF and corn free cheese pizza and the cheese tastes like mozzarella! Can't go wrong for a quick meal.
Sugar and Spice Market all purpose flour is amazing and I use it to bake with a lot. I make GF/CF pancakes and they are loved by everyone in my family. I have also spoken with them on a couple of occasions and their customer service is top notch. They answered every question I had about their flour.
Bob's Red Mill is another great brand for all kinds of flour. They have a wide variety and I buy their almond and coconut flours for making muffins. Going grain free is liberating and when I eat these muffins I have no idea that they are grain free. They are just YUM.
Jason's and Mara Natha make almond butter and chocolate almond butter. They are both pretty low in sugar. Need I say more?
Plum kids makes fruit crushers that are purely fruit with no citric or ascorbic acid, meaning no corn! I throw them in my kids lunchboxes when I'm in a rush and can't cut up fresh fruit. I like the berry ones and so do my kids.
Hain makes a baking powder that is corn free!!
Rudi's is the bread of choice if we are making sandwiches. Its GF/CF and corn free. Its soft when you toast it and has a really great flavor. Its by far the best gluten free bread I have tried and I have tried almost all of them!!
Frontier makes a non-alcoholic vanilla flavoring. Wonderful for for baking.
Dr. Praegers makes GF/CF fish sticks, broccoli and spinach bites that are made with potato. Nice way to get those extra veggies in.
Ians makes letter potatoes that my kids love because they spell words out with them and they contain no gluten, dairy or corn.
Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet cheese was the ONLY cheese I could find that was truly casein (dairy free) and that also did not have pea fiber in it. Cole happens to have an intolerance to green peas. So we got the block of mozzarella and I put it on his grilled cheeses, quesadillas, and burgers.
Everything else I cook for my kids is from scratch or is a whole food. We eat turkey, grass fed red meat, grilled chicken, salmon, cod and pastured pork. Our sides are usually potatoes or brown rice (from California) and vegetables. I cook with olive oil (extra virgin unrefined and cold pressed), coconut oil and sometimes grape seed oil.
I hope this information can help you break into cleaner eating. I'm not going to lie, its more expensive. I shop at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Natural Foods Warehouse and Kroger. I have to say that Kroger is amazing at carrying almost all of these brands so I usually can get what I need when I am there.
When I tell you that I had nightmares about pulling all these foods from my kid's diets, it would be an understatement but looking back, it really wasn't that hard to do. Now Jake is eating much cleaner as he wants to try all of Cole's foods and he seems to really enjoy them. So I didn't have to force him, I just let psychology do its work and he is now eating almost as good as his brother. I also give him a pro biotic and a whole food multi-vitamin everyday.
I'm glad Cole presented with TS at 5 years old because he was still young enough where I could change his diet and teach him better and healthier eating habits. I'm hoping these habits will remain with him throughout his life.
Recipes in my next blog!!
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
How I healed My Son's Tourette's Syndrome (Part VII) Kindergarten
The night before Kindergarten I didn't sleep a wink. I just worried, got up at 6 AM and made healthy breakfasts: bacon, eggs and coconut yogurt with berries. I packed nutritious lunches adding in the grain free muffins I started baking and lots of protein. I got the boys up, fed them and got in the car headed for school. We are less than half a mile from the school so of course we were super early that 1st day! My good friend from NY was visiting and she really helped to reduce a lot of my stress. She came with us to walk the boys into class and briefly say hello to the teacher. I had met their teacher already (I kept them in the same class for Kindergarten to reduce the anxiety of a new school for the both of them) and made her aware of what Cole's situation was. I also told her that I was "healing" him through diet changes and to keep an eye out for tics and to please not ask him to stop. I definitely wanted a "tic" report on Cole at the end of the week to see if he his progress was continuing while at school. It was going to be the longest week ever for me to hold out for that information. I definitely did not want to stalk his teacher every night with questions so I promised myself I would wait one week. I would just have to deal with it.
That first week was a blur. All I can really tell you is that Cole's tics did NOT get any worse. I was prepared for an increase due to stress and a new environment but it never happened. In fact, as the week progressed his tics actually seemed to lessen. At this point I knew we were on to something. The healing of his gut was really happening. Between the diet changes, supplements and HANDLE exercises we were on a holistic path to neurological repair.
As those first few weeks wore on, Jake and Cole adjusted to school beautifully. I received only good reports. Their teacher told me that she barely hears or sees any tics. They are very few and far between and no one notices a thing. One area that Cole struggled in (which is common with TS) was his fine motor skills. He hated writing or drawing pictures, his grip was poor and he had trouble controlling the pencil. This all started changing as he would come home from school, get out his crayons and start drawing for hours. He was writing his letters and they were legible!! This sudden interest in drawing and writing was due to a new found confidence in his ability and I was astonished.
Its October now (7 months from the onset of his severe TS) and I barely hear or see any tics from Cole at all. There are days where I think he may be having a tic here or there but then the next day I won't hear anything at all. So I wouldn't say he is 100% tic free just yet but we are headed on that path. The more time that passes, the better it gets. No outside person would ever even guess that Cole was diagnosed with Tourette's, ADHD and OCD. Its just not present. My husband calls the progression the "reverse Dow Jones" because there are tiny little spikes along the way but the overall trend is downward. I have gotten pretty keen on those "spikes" that Cole has and the triggers are usually diet related. I made GF oatmeal cookies with Earth Balance butter and I noticed he would have some tics for about 20 minutes after eating one. I looked into every ingredient and realized that the Earth's Balance butter has an ingredient that was derived from corn. So that was the culprit and now I use coconut oil instead of the butter and no more tics after eating the cookie. Crazy right? But its real and the connection could not be any clearer.
I will never say I "cured" Cole because I really don't believe he had anything that needed to be cured. His immune system was massively compromised and he needed it healed. That is what was going on and by sharing my story I hope I can save other families the pain and suffering of the side effects from pharmaceuticals.
I will also admit that healing is no easy task. Its hard work! I had to take time away from my job in order to focus on this but I felt I had no choice. His symptoms were so severe I just could not address it head on. However, I do understand and sympathize with families that can not take time off from work to help heal a child. I do see how blessed I am and I do not take this for granted. As time moves forward, we will continue to tweak Cole's regimen based on Dr. Bhatia's recommendations and my intuition. There is nothing more powerful than a mother's intuition and we as mother's need to listen to this voice a little more than we do. The connection between us and our children is so strong and we ALL have the power to heal in side of us. This is truth.
That first week was a blur. All I can really tell you is that Cole's tics did NOT get any worse. I was prepared for an increase due to stress and a new environment but it never happened. In fact, as the week progressed his tics actually seemed to lessen. At this point I knew we were on to something. The healing of his gut was really happening. Between the diet changes, supplements and HANDLE exercises we were on a holistic path to neurological repair.
As those first few weeks wore on, Jake and Cole adjusted to school beautifully. I received only good reports. Their teacher told me that she barely hears or sees any tics. They are very few and far between and no one notices a thing. One area that Cole struggled in (which is common with TS) was his fine motor skills. He hated writing or drawing pictures, his grip was poor and he had trouble controlling the pencil. This all started changing as he would come home from school, get out his crayons and start drawing for hours. He was writing his letters and they were legible!! This sudden interest in drawing and writing was due to a new found confidence in his ability and I was astonished.
Its October now (7 months from the onset of his severe TS) and I barely hear or see any tics from Cole at all. There are days where I think he may be having a tic here or there but then the next day I won't hear anything at all. So I wouldn't say he is 100% tic free just yet but we are headed on that path. The more time that passes, the better it gets. No outside person would ever even guess that Cole was diagnosed with Tourette's, ADHD and OCD. Its just not present. My husband calls the progression the "reverse Dow Jones" because there are tiny little spikes along the way but the overall trend is downward. I have gotten pretty keen on those "spikes" that Cole has and the triggers are usually diet related. I made GF oatmeal cookies with Earth Balance butter and I noticed he would have some tics for about 20 minutes after eating one. I looked into every ingredient and realized that the Earth's Balance butter has an ingredient that was derived from corn. So that was the culprit and now I use coconut oil instead of the butter and no more tics after eating the cookie. Crazy right? But its real and the connection could not be any clearer.
I will never say I "cured" Cole because I really don't believe he had anything that needed to be cured. His immune system was massively compromised and he needed it healed. That is what was going on and by sharing my story I hope I can save other families the pain and suffering of the side effects from pharmaceuticals.
I will also admit that healing is no easy task. Its hard work! I had to take time away from my job in order to focus on this but I felt I had no choice. His symptoms were so severe I just could not address it head on. However, I do understand and sympathize with families that can not take time off from work to help heal a child. I do see how blessed I am and I do not take this for granted. As time moves forward, we will continue to tweak Cole's regimen based on Dr. Bhatia's recommendations and my intuition. There is nothing more powerful than a mother's intuition and we as mother's need to listen to this voice a little more than we do. The connection between us and our children is so strong and we ALL have the power to heal in side of us. This is truth.
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