Ben had a good check-up! Ears have cleared up nicely & tubes are still in. He is 75th percentile in height & head circumference & 40% in weight, which is up from last time. Irony is that he looks like a butterball. She was perfectly fine with waiting until Ben is 2 on the MMR. She has been patient with an alternative schedule since his birth. She said that she didn't mind spreading them out as long as he got them. He is actually fairly caught up. He will get the MMR by itself at age 2 & we will draw titers then for one other. Then he should be set until age 4.
Andrew's numbers are improving & his attitude is too! :)
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Vaccines
A friend sent me this link. It was so interesting that I just had to share! It is written by a doctor in Florida and is filled with interesting research. Slide 45 recommends waiting until age 2 on the MMR & "Do not vaccinate when there are signs of over-inflammation such as active wheeze, eczema, or allergy." Ben will be waiting until he is 2 and healthy!
http://www.slideshare.net/drdavid999/2009-08-15-vaccines-adverse-reactions-and-the-florida-law
http://www.slideshare.net/drdavid999/2009-08-15-vaccines-adverse-reactions-and-the-florida-law
Results?
Well, friends are starting to ask if the natural meds have helped, so I guess it is time to post. Actually, Andrew's BG numbers have been sky high since he took the flu shot. That happened before we started the Cell Food, so, yes, I think it is the shot. Two days after the shot, he felt achy & his ears hurt. He thought he might have an ear infection, so we took him to the peditrician. The doctor took a glance at him & said that looking at his eyes, she expected it was infection not the shot. Once she looked though, she couldn't find anything. Today is one week from the shot & his BGs are just now coming back into range. They are only coming into range because his basal rate is now 19% higher than last week. Other parents of T1Ds have noticed the same trend with shots, but doctors usually think it's a coincidence. The scary part of that is many times, once the increase is needed, the kids never go back to needing the smaller amount. Does that mean he just lost more islet cells???
Of course, there are other possibilities too. He got out of school the same day, so it could be because he doesn't have P.E. & recess. That theory is hard to believe if I admit that he has earned over an hour a day in Wii Fit & is plenty active. It could be the excitement & food associated with Christmas. It could be the Cell Food. Maybe it's helping his digestion & he is absorbing more without having insulin to cover the extra glucose. Maybe it isn't good for him at all.
The truth is, I'm not sure what is going on in his little body. I know that I need to watch him extra close right now & give lots of boluses & make changes in his basal. Even if it means all new basals & carb ratios, we will figure out what he needs.
Tomorrow Ben has his 18 month check up at the doctor. He is supposed to get lots of shots. However, his eczema is acting up again. We haven't found the true cause of the eczema, but it flares up when his body is stressed by infection or antibiotic. He just finished antibiotic for his ears on Friday, and he has lots of eczema. One theory on autoimmune disease triggors is that viruses (live or dead from the shots) leak into parts of the body (say pancreas). As the body tries to kill the virus, it ends up attacking itself too. Some theorize that this is especially true for kids on or recently on antibiotics. I don't know, but I'd rather wait until Ben is completely healthy. Let's hope the pediatrician agrees!
Of course, there are other possibilities too. He got out of school the same day, so it could be because he doesn't have P.E. & recess. That theory is hard to believe if I admit that he has earned over an hour a day in Wii Fit & is plenty active. It could be the excitement & food associated with Christmas. It could be the Cell Food. Maybe it's helping his digestion & he is absorbing more without having insulin to cover the extra glucose. Maybe it isn't good for him at all.
The truth is, I'm not sure what is going on in his little body. I know that I need to watch him extra close right now & give lots of boluses & make changes in his basal. Even if it means all new basals & carb ratios, we will figure out what he needs.
Tomorrow Ben has his 18 month check up at the doctor. He is supposed to get lots of shots. However, his eczema is acting up again. We haven't found the true cause of the eczema, but it flares up when his body is stressed by infection or antibiotic. He just finished antibiotic for his ears on Friday, and he has lots of eczema. One theory on autoimmune disease triggors is that viruses (live or dead from the shots) leak into parts of the body (say pancreas). As the body tries to kill the virus, it ends up attacking itself too. Some theorize that this is especially true for kids on or recently on antibiotics. I don't know, but I'd rather wait until Ben is completely healthy. Let's hope the pediatrician agrees!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Natural Med News
After finishing Andrew's appointment, we headed to a new place - Breath of Life. TI was very kind. She ran an electro-dermal screening (EDS) on Andrew. I have mixed feelings about the EDS. The screening is based on some sort of electrical current completing a circuit through acupuncture points. I won't pretend to understand it. You can read more about it at http://www.amomentspeace.net/tibishop/electrodermal.htm. I have had a couple of friends have very good results from getting a screening done. On the other hand, traditional medicine is not a fan. Most of his systems came up "red". He came up deficient in the vitamin D & calcium, which is okay since those are some of the supplements shown to help diabetics. I just got the generic of Viactin chews to help with that. She also thought he may have some issues with parasites & yeast. The yeast didn't surprise me. We are doing some kind of probiotic each day - kefir, yogurt, culturelle. I am very comfortable with those because we've used those with antibiotics before. Mom even switched Ben to sweet acidophilus milk recently during a little cold. When we gave him regular milk the next day, he regressed.
The parasite news scared me. My fear was what did she want me to do to my child to get rid of something I couldn't prove he had? She recommended Cell Food. It looked innocent enough & isn't supposed to have side effects. It is safe to take even if you don't have parasites. The bottle says it is a dietary supplement with dissolved oxygen, trace minerals, plant source amino acids & enzymes. He is to take 10 drops in water twice a day until the bottle is gone. Then he done. He took it last night & said he couldn't taste it. I've done an internet search & it seems okay. We will try it & see. She asked Andrew if he gets stomachaches. He said no, & she was surprised. The truth is, yes, he does. That is why I've worried about celiac. It will be interesting to see if the stomachaches disappear!
The parasite news scared me. My fear was what did she want me to do to my child to get rid of something I couldn't prove he had? She recommended Cell Food. It looked innocent enough & isn't supposed to have side effects. It is safe to take even if you don't have parasites. The bottle says it is a dietary supplement with dissolved oxygen, trace minerals, plant source amino acids & enzymes. He is to take 10 drops in water twice a day until the bottle is gone. Then he done. He took it last night & said he couldn't taste it. I've done an internet search & it seems okay. We will try it & see. She asked Andrew if he gets stomachaches. He said no, & she was surprised. The truth is, yes, he does. That is why I've worried about celiac. It will be interesting to see if the stomachaches disappear!
Vanderbilt Day
Kaitlyn's OGTT was moved to the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Doctor's Tower instead of the Medical Arts Center. It was the first time we had been in the hospital proper since Andrew's diagnosis. We got to go through the underground tunnel on the way there. The kids enjoyed the Christmas decorations & train, gift shop, etc. It was fun to see something different. Kaitlyn was a trooper as always. She always acts so mature about it. I'm very proud of her! Her fasting BG was 80, which is perfectly normal. We won't hear about the other readings for a few days, but I don't expect any problems. She and Andrew seemed to enjoy the day together. On the way home, Andrew asked if he could unbuckle & move seats. He moved to the back row of the van with Kaitlyn. They laughed and carried on like best friends. I couldn't help but smile.
Andrew's check-up went well too. His A1c was 7.4 - down another tenth of a point from last time for another all-time low! With all the Christmas parties and a site that pulled out the day before, we weren't sure how it would be. Anything 7.5 or below is good for a child, so we are happy. They approved of our basal changes. The only change they made was the correction factor. That meant new school orders, which the school nurse asked us to get hard copies of. School orders would still be Vanderbilt's weakness. However, they got them right on the second try.
I told each person we saw that we were looking into supplements that afternoon & asked for their recommendations. No one seemed counter to the idea. Kaitlyn's questionairre even asked whether she was taking extra niacin, etc. I asked if putting her on some supplements would prevent her from participating & they said not unless she was on some extreme dosages. The general consensus was that both kids should have extra vitamin D, calcium, & fish oil. They even recommended the Viactin chews with vitamin D & calcium together. We have to count the carbs for Andrew of course. They also gave Andrew a seasonal flu shot before he left.
Andrew's check-up went well too. His A1c was 7.4 - down another tenth of a point from last time for another all-time low! With all the Christmas parties and a site that pulled out the day before, we weren't sure how it would be. Anything 7.5 or below is good for a child, so we are happy. They approved of our basal changes. The only change they made was the correction factor. That meant new school orders, which the school nurse asked us to get hard copies of. School orders would still be Vanderbilt's weakness. However, they got them right on the second try.
I told each person we saw that we were looking into supplements that afternoon & asked for their recommendations. No one seemed counter to the idea. Kaitlyn's questionairre even asked whether she was taking extra niacin, etc. I asked if putting her on some supplements would prevent her from participating & they said not unless she was on some extreme dosages. The general consensus was that both kids should have extra vitamin D, calcium, & fish oil. They even recommended the Viactin chews with vitamin D & calcium together. We have to count the carbs for Andrew of course. They also gave Andrew a seasonal flu shot before he left.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Kaitlyn Carbs Counts for Vanderbilt Day
Tuesday will be a long day at Vanderbilt. Kaitlyn has her oral glucose tolerance test from 9 am until almost 1 pm. Andrew sees the doctor at 1:40. Then he sees a certified nutritional counselor at 4:00 for an electrodermal screening. It should be interesting. We were told that Kaitlyn needs to eat at least 150g of carbs per day for the three days leading up to her test. She decided that she wanted to carb count this time. She hit 150g before dinner today! Much of that is due to some mint chocolate hot cocoa mix that Gene brought home from one of his students. She also had a juice pouch & chips after cheerleading today.
I'm a little nervous about Tuesday. I hope Andrew's A1c will be good. We have struggled for awhile trying to make the changes that were recommended after the iPro work for Andrew. We finally quit & went back to what we were doing before except for pre-bolusing at least part of all meals. I'm not sure how all that will affect the A1c. After Kaitlyn's last OGTT, we got a call saying that everything had checked out just fine. It was the first time that was the only news & I realized that was the purpose of the call. It is just a little chilling to realize that one of these visits could yield a more upsetting result. She is doing great & showing no symptoms, so I expect no problems. She even checked her BG a few weeks ago. She came & asked me, "Isn't thirst one the symptoms?" I told her it was, but it is also normal to be thirsty sometimes. She checked just to be sure & her BG was perfectly normal.
I'm a little nervous about Tuesday. I hope Andrew's A1c will be good. We have struggled for awhile trying to make the changes that were recommended after the iPro work for Andrew. We finally quit & went back to what we were doing before except for pre-bolusing at least part of all meals. I'm not sure how all that will affect the A1c. After Kaitlyn's last OGTT, we got a call saying that everything had checked out just fine. It was the first time that was the only news & I realized that was the purpose of the call. It is just a little chilling to realize that one of these visits could yield a more upsetting result. She is doing great & showing no symptoms, so I expect no problems. She even checked her BG a few weeks ago. She came & asked me, "Isn't thirst one the symptoms?" I told her it was, but it is also normal to be thirsty sometimes. She checked just to be sure & her BG was perfectly normal.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Donate Bone Marrow!
AJ was on Andrew's baseball team last Spring & was diagnosed with aplastic anemia. His life was saved by a bone marrow transplant from his brother. This is copied from his blog:
Austin's bone marrow saved my life! I was lucky to have a sibling match. But some people do not have matches in their family. They have to have strangers that help them. Maybe you could be one of those strangers who saves a live. Please join the bone marrow registry. It is free from now until the rest of the year. It is my Christmas wish to get at least 100 people to join the registry. Please help me reach this goal. The National Bone Marrow Registry has set up a special link to help me reach my goal.
Here is how to do it:
1. Log on to http://join.marrow.org/ajchristmaswish
2. Follow the directions.
3. They will send you a packet to complete and swabs for your cheeks.
4. Mail it back. You are one the registry. It is easy.
Austin is only 5 and he did! So can you! Remember you can help save a life.
AJ
It is normally $100 to register, but it is free until the end of the year. I joined, and it was easy! You have to be over 18 to join, but Andrew will never be able to join because he takes insulin. Anyone want to join for him? It's for a great cause! If you are interested, AJ's blog is wonderful & I learned a lot from it! http://ajrevera.blogspot.com/
Austin's bone marrow saved my life! I was lucky to have a sibling match. But some people do not have matches in their family. They have to have strangers that help them. Maybe you could be one of those strangers who saves a live. Please join the bone marrow registry. It is free from now until the rest of the year. It is my Christmas wish to get at least 100 people to join the registry. Please help me reach this goal. The National Bone Marrow Registry has set up a special link to help me reach my goal.
Here is how to do it:
1. Log on to http://join.marrow.org/ajchristmaswish
2. Follow the directions.
3. They will send you a packet to complete and swabs for your cheeks.
4. Mail it back. You are one the registry. It is easy.
Austin is only 5 and he did! So can you! Remember you can help save a life.
AJ
It is normally $100 to register, but it is free until the end of the year. I joined, and it was easy! You have to be over 18 to join, but Andrew will never be able to join because he takes insulin. Anyone want to join for him? It's for a great cause! If you are interested, AJ's blog is wonderful & I learned a lot from it! http://ajrevera.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
We had a great Thanksgiving! I am thankful for family & friends, for our Savior & church, and our many blessings! We are blessed in so many ways and had a great day celebrating with family!
This was Andrew's second Thanksgiving with diabetes & the first on a pump. I am thankful that the pump gave us more flexibility in planning Thanksgiving. We planned to eat when it was most convenient for everyone to come without worrying if it matched Andrew's normal mealtime. I was thankful to serve dessert when we were ready instead of trying to decide whether to serve it immediately when everyone is stuffed so that Andrew could take one shot or wait 3 hours when Andrew could have another shot. I have Thanksgiving dinner carb counted & a card similar to his school lunch card where he could eat like the other kids & record what he took. It cut down on "diabetes talk" at the table. It felt like a normal holiday!
I'm thankful for the normalcy that the pump has given us, but then on Saturday morning Andrew went from 171 at 2 am to 374 with large ketones at 7:41 am. The site looked fine, but changing it fixed the problem. It made for a rough couple hours for Andrew. He was starving (symptom), but I wanted him to wait a little while to let the insulin work before sending his BG higher. He wanted to help carry Christmas boxes down from the attic, but you can't exercise with ketones. Have I mentioned that high BG makes you irritable? I was reminded that even a artificial pancreas is just a fancy pump. Fancy pump sites will still have problems. I'm thankful that someone out there is working even now on a real cure!
This was Andrew's second Thanksgiving with diabetes & the first on a pump. I am thankful that the pump gave us more flexibility in planning Thanksgiving. We planned to eat when it was most convenient for everyone to come without worrying if it matched Andrew's normal mealtime. I was thankful to serve dessert when we were ready instead of trying to decide whether to serve it immediately when everyone is stuffed so that Andrew could take one shot or wait 3 hours when Andrew could have another shot. I have Thanksgiving dinner carb counted & a card similar to his school lunch card where he could eat like the other kids & record what he took. It cut down on "diabetes talk" at the table. It felt like a normal holiday!
I'm thankful for the normalcy that the pump has given us, but then on Saturday morning Andrew went from 171 at 2 am to 374 with large ketones at 7:41 am. The site looked fine, but changing it fixed the problem. It made for a rough couple hours for Andrew. He was starving (symptom), but I wanted him to wait a little while to let the insulin work before sending his BG higher. He wanted to help carry Christmas boxes down from the attic, but you can't exercise with ketones. Have I mentioned that high BG makes you irritable? I was reminded that even a artificial pancreas is just a fancy pump. Fancy pump sites will still have problems. I'm thankful that someone out there is working even now on a real cure!
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