If you have read any of my previous posts on dealing with the whole 'cyclic vomiting' issue, then you might like this next one as her symptoms have GREATLY improved!!!
And if you haven't read them, but would like to...here are the links:
In the last post related to this one (posted waay back in October), we had mentioned trying 4 things: adding in a multi-vitamin, a digestive enzyme/probiotic, cutting out gluten, and making an appt. with Texas Children's.
As far as the multi-vitamins, we are hit and miss with those, but especially on days when their diet has not been as well balanced as it should be, I make sure to have the kids take them.
With the digestive enzyme and probiotic, I have my daughter take one before breakfast and dinner. Sometime, we'll add in one before lunch too. Not sure if this has aided in her symptoms improving, but hey, I figure it can't hurt :)
This is the BIG one! We cut gluten completely out of her diet. I had been keeping a food diary and out of everything she was eating, dairy and flour/gluten were at the top of the list. We were already aware she had a dairy intolerance, but we were pretty good at managing that (well, most days anyway), plus that only caused her tummy to be a little upset, nothing like the horrendous pain and vomiting she had been having. So, we took on the daunting task of cutting out gluten. It was really hard at first ESPECIALLY with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner. Needless to say, we were hit and miss until mid-January or so. Until you get the hang of things, it is very easy to miss all the ingredients gluten can hide in. She has vomited just a handful of times since February, but they have been fairly short, without all the abdominal pain, and can be traced back to a slip-up with her ingesting gluten. It is still too early to start 'counting my chicks', but we are hopeful this is what had been causing her all that trouble.
As far as the last thing we wanted to try, we had to wait 4 whole months before we actually got into our appt. for Texas Children's as they have a looong waiting list, but we finally made it. Through blood tests, a gluten and wheat allergy have been ruled out. And while she is not allergic to those, the doc said she most likely has a severe intolerance. The only way to check for that?!? Put her back on gluten for several months, see if the symptoms return, and do a scope to look at her intestinal lining for signs of irritation. Ummm, no thanks! My daughter is old enough to know how she felt then and how she feels now. She cried and begged for us not to put her back on. So, we do not plan to. When we are at birthday parties or other places where food (that she cannot have) is involved, she voluntarily abstains from eating it. She knows the few times she has slipped up or cheated, she immediately reverted back to vomiting. Anyway, other than that, we are going to have an upper GI done just to check and make sure things are all flowing where and how they need to.
Because of cutting out gluten, I have seen major changes in my daughter's behavior. That was quite unexpected. I had no idea cutting that out would have an impact on how she behaved. She used to have terrible mood swings and tantrums that would last for hours (yes, literally hours). Oh, she still has her moments, but they are what I would call 'normal' and manageable.
Another change is she is hungry, all. the. time. For a kid that has always been puny, underweight, and small for her age, she is liking eating again. I think she is even gaining a little weight :-D
She feels better too. No more complaining of her tummy hurting all. the. time. Oh sure, she still has tummy aches from time to time (usually because we overdid it with the dairy that day), but nothing like before. She is more active and has more energy.
It is so good to see my little girl overall happy and healthy again :)
Like I said though, it is still too early to tell if she is 'cured' or if the cyclic vomiting and abdominal pain will return. But, we are hopeful and thankful to God for putting people in our path to suggest these things and steer us in the right direction :-D
