Thursday, August 27th, 2009-
Today, he didn't want breakfast. Made me sad. I don't know why he just doesn't eat sometimes. He didn't have any ADHD medicine left in his system that would affect his appetite.
I packed the same lunch for him as before. He seems to like it and says he's eating it all at lunch.
I let him have tacquitos for dinner, but he didn't want to eat again. He had left his ADHD patch on and had no appetite. :o(
Same supplements as previous, except at dinner I gave him double. He can't get to sleep at night.
I still think he's doing a bit less, but it's not getting better. The not sleeping at night is bothering me. He needs his rest. Also, Joel said I need to add that we have all his clothing in our room and he has to come to us when he wants to change clothes. He still isn't changing as much, so I don't see how that really matters.
Friday, August 28th, 2009-
Finally, an appetite again, though not as great as he had been having. He ate rice chex with rice milk and a tsp. of sugar.
We were out of ham and Frito's, so I packed him gluten-free vanilla cremes and a Smucker's naturals peanut butter sandwich with Polaner All Fruit grape jelly on the gluten-free homemade bread. Almost out of bread, so I'll be baking this weekend. :o)
He ate dinner at my neighbor, Becky's house. I think she said roasted chicken breast, fruit, and vegetables. She had called to clear it all by me.
I doubled the dosage of the L-Theanine (to 1000 mg) and the L-Huperzine A (to 400mcg) at breakfast and after dinner. The N-Acetyl Cysteine I kept the same at 1 dose at breakfast of 500mg.
He still can't get to sleep at night and I don't like giving him Tylenol PM each night. One of these, I think the L-Theanine is supposed to help you sleep better, so I keep wondering why he can't get to sleep? I ordered Kanna today, it's the one supplement I was leary of, but I think we may need to give it a try. Still no more change as far as frequency of hand washing and clothing changing this week. :o(
Saturday, August 29, 2009-
I made pancakes with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free pancake mix and served pure maple syrup instead of the corn syrup laden Log Cabin syrup we usually use. I don't even like pancakes.....OMG! They were delicious! Katie said she loved them too and gobbled them up. Alex ate a little, complained that they were terrible and that he "hate(s) my Gluten-Free diet!". Oh the drama! I think he's just moody this morning. He had already been screaming and yelling at Katie over something silly and the two of them fought. I gave him the same supplements....500mg N-Acetyl Cysteine, 1000mg L-Theanine, and 400mcg L-Huperzine A.
I gave in for lunch and let the kids have a Happy Meal from McD's. I made a deal with Alex that if we did, he could only change clothes at bedtime into pj's. He has stuck to it. Also, he only washed his hands 3 times from lunch until now and it's almost 7pm. Good results as far as I'm concerned. Maybe the supplements are helping more than I thought?
I made oatmeal raisin cookies for a treat. Alex was finally happy about something Gluten Free! YAY! :o) Everything was your normal oatmeal cookie recipe except for the Gluten Free Rolled Oats and All Purpose Flour. Everyone liked them.
For dinner, I made pizza with the GF Homemade Bread Mix from Bob's Red Mill that I like. The recipe was on their website and it was easy. It wasn't Mellow Mushroom, but it was nice to have pizza. Katie and I thought it was good and said she liked the crust (so did I). Alex just smiled and Joel said he can tell the difference, he'll eat it, but he's not excited about it. He will keep his thoughts to himself though and eat it because we are doing this for Alex. I put tomato sauce, canadian bacon, pineapple chunks, and mozzerella cheese on it. Honestly, I have made homemade pizza before and I thought this was better than them all. Think I'll try different toppings for Joel and I next time. I think we both like a little more on our pizza...Hawaiian just happens to be the kids favorite.
I gave Alex 1000mg L-Theanine and 400mcg L-Huperzine A again at dinner.
As far as the OCD goes....I think it's been a pretty good day. I noticed his hands are looking less red and they feel softer. Last week they were like sandpaper. I bought him this special hand soap at Bath and Body works to help with the dryness and cracking. I thought that was it, but he said he doesn't like the smell so he's been using a bar of Dove instead. So, that would probably help too. Last week he had issues with bar soap and had a meltdown......what can I say? There is no rationality with OCD. He still has a spot on his ear he keeps picking at and making it bleed. I know picking can be an OCD thing. Now, I notice that his nostril looks raw around the edge and he is prone to nose bleeds. I noticed him picking there earlier today. Are we trading one OCD behavior for another? I guess we'll have to see......
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The Challenges Placed Before Us
The only experience with OCD I had ever had was laughing at the silly things that "Monk" would do on television. How far from that we turn when it becomes a reality and your child whom you love more than life itself, becomes plagued with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
We know Alex has always been compulsive and obsessive about things. When he was very little he pestered us with his insessant need to be reassured that there were no bugs or snakes in his covers or under his bed. He would fixate on a particular item or subject and not be able to "let go of it and move on" no matter how many times we told him to. It never dawned on us that this could be something bigger than just a quirky child with ADHD.
Last summer, the devastation hit when Alex turned 11 years old and began washing his hands like a surgeon after touching anything he thought was contaminated and changing his clothing repeatedly because he thought he had "pee germs" on them after using the rest room and sometimes in between. He also began refusing to touch his food and would only eat with a knife and fork. No matter how we pled with him, he couldn't stop and the anxiety....sheer panic....on his face if you tried to stop him was real. OCD was taking over and despite his faith in and love for God, he couldn't say no. It was affecting our home life and his grades in school, since the anxiety challenged his ability to focus.
He was doing odd things at school which made the kids only tease him and alienate him, and washing his hands until cracked an bleeding each day. I lay awake some nights and cried, because my son was still up at midnight doing his ritualistic behavior and could not find peace enough to go to sleep. Mountains of laundry....clothing and bedding each day have consumed me. There isn't an hour that goes by that the washer isn't running. He will run out of clothing and have a panic attack because he feels the need to change because he thinks he is contaminated.
We have been in therapy for the OCD since last December. It helps. We have been on 2 anti-depressants, Paxil and Zoloft, both of which had agressive, violent, and suicidal side-effects.
I have asked the psychiatrist about natural solutions. I watched ABC's PrimeTime special on OCD in children earlier in August. If you have a child with OCD and haven't seen this....it's a must. It helps to know you're not alone! I cried and cried through it seeing some of those kids struggling with the same thing my son does.
http://vp2.abc.go.com/watch/primetime/216354/225738/the-fight-against-ocd
This special told that research has found that OCD is the inability to process glutamic acid in the brain.
I encouraged the psychiatrist to watch it the next day. To this day, he still has not. When I ask about glutamine-blockers as an alternative drug, he just ignored me and began telling me that he wants to change Alex's ADHD meds to Straterra. I came home and did my research and based on what I found, it is not even something we want to try. Besides, the ADHD medicine he is on is the first that has worked this well in the 5 years Alex has been treated for ADHD.
Searching for an alternative....thinking "if the inability to process glutamic acid is the reason that Alex has OCD, and glutamic acid is made from gluten's and monosodium glutenmate, why can't you just eliminate those from his diet and reduce the glutamic acid levels to help or get rid of the OCD?". On the internet again. I like to do my research. I found this page:
http://www.ocdtribe.com/groups/_/id/178
I decided to give this a try. It makes sense and it cannot hurt. So, I have gotten the supplements and I am giving him about half of the adult dose since he is 78 lbs soaking wet. I am also converting us ALL over to a Gluten-Free, MSG- Free, and Low Glutamic Acid diet. We began Monday, August 24th.
In an effort to reach out and help anyone else with childhood OCD and pass this information along, I decided to blog our journey with this new diet. If the diet does not work, I'll be on to the next idea I have. I will not give up. God cannot possibly want anyone to be so miserable and driven by compulsions.
Here are my observations and menu from the last few days to catch up:
Monday, Aug. 24th-
Alex ate Gluten-Free Corn Chex with a tsp. of sugar and Rice Milk for breakfast. Took N-Acetyl Cysteine 500mg, L-Theanine 500mg, and L-Huperzine A 200mg with breakfast.
For lunch I packed him a ham sandwhich with Gluten-Free bread, Frito Corn Chips, Red Grapes, and a couple Gluten- Free Vanilla Creme Cookies.
He took supplements L-Theanine 500mg and L-Huperzine A 200mg when he came home from school.
For Dinner, I prepared an Organic Marinara sauce and Gluten-Free Spaghetti noodles for dinner. I let him sprinkle on a little parmesan cheese. I sliced some Gluten-Free French Rolls up and put a little butter and garlic salt on them and broiled them to make garlic bread. We all liked that meal. :o)
*He was very mellow today. Said he was tired. Ate very well and didn't complain about the food.
We noticed a decrease in the amount of clothing changes and hand washing just this first day. YAY! Hopefully, it will keep up.
Tuesday, Aug. 25th-
Alex ate the same breakfast yesterday with the same supplements.
Same lunch minus the Gluten-Free Cookies.
I added 500mg more N-Acetyl Cysteine to his afternoon supplements.
For dinner, we had Grilled Chicken Breast, Green Beans, and Alex requested Mashed Potatoes (which I think he ate 2 cups of!). I made the mashed potatoes with some butter and rice milk, salt and pepper. We all liked this meal too. :o)
*Not as mellow, but not difficult or wound up either. One shouting match with his sister when they argued over something silly (of course).
He seemed to have reduced hand washing and clothing changing again, until bedtime. He struggled to get to sleep. He kept getting up and washing his hands. I finally gave him a Tylenol PM to help at about 10:30. Wondering if it's the N-Acetyl Cysteine that I increased? I think I will go back to the original dosage tomorrow.
We know Alex has always been compulsive and obsessive about things. When he was very little he pestered us with his insessant need to be reassured that there were no bugs or snakes in his covers or under his bed. He would fixate on a particular item or subject and not be able to "let go of it and move on" no matter how many times we told him to. It never dawned on us that this could be something bigger than just a quirky child with ADHD.
Last summer, the devastation hit when Alex turned 11 years old and began washing his hands like a surgeon after touching anything he thought was contaminated and changing his clothing repeatedly because he thought he had "pee germs" on them after using the rest room and sometimes in between. He also began refusing to touch his food and would only eat with a knife and fork. No matter how we pled with him, he couldn't stop and the anxiety....sheer panic....on his face if you tried to stop him was real. OCD was taking over and despite his faith in and love for God, he couldn't say no. It was affecting our home life and his grades in school, since the anxiety challenged his ability to focus.
He was doing odd things at school which made the kids only tease him and alienate him, and washing his hands until cracked an bleeding each day. I lay awake some nights and cried, because my son was still up at midnight doing his ritualistic behavior and could not find peace enough to go to sleep. Mountains of laundry....clothing and bedding each day have consumed me. There isn't an hour that goes by that the washer isn't running. He will run out of clothing and have a panic attack because he feels the need to change because he thinks he is contaminated.
We have been in therapy for the OCD since last December. It helps. We have been on 2 anti-depressants, Paxil and Zoloft, both of which had agressive, violent, and suicidal side-effects.
I have asked the psychiatrist about natural solutions. I watched ABC's PrimeTime special on OCD in children earlier in August. If you have a child with OCD and haven't seen this....it's a must. It helps to know you're not alone! I cried and cried through it seeing some of those kids struggling with the same thing my son does.
http://vp2.abc.go.com/watch/primetime/216354/225738/the-fight-against-ocd
This special told that research has found that OCD is the inability to process glutamic acid in the brain.
I encouraged the psychiatrist to watch it the next day. To this day, he still has not. When I ask about glutamine-blockers as an alternative drug, he just ignored me and began telling me that he wants to change Alex's ADHD meds to Straterra. I came home and did my research and based on what I found, it is not even something we want to try. Besides, the ADHD medicine he is on is the first that has worked this well in the 5 years Alex has been treated for ADHD.
Searching for an alternative....thinking "if the inability to process glutamic acid is the reason that Alex has OCD, and glutamic acid is made from gluten's and monosodium glutenmate, why can't you just eliminate those from his diet and reduce the glutamic acid levels to help or get rid of the OCD?". On the internet again. I like to do my research. I found this page:
http://www.ocdtribe.com/groups/_/id/178
I decided to give this a try. It makes sense and it cannot hurt. So, I have gotten the supplements and I am giving him about half of the adult dose since he is 78 lbs soaking wet. I am also converting us ALL over to a Gluten-Free, MSG- Free, and Low Glutamic Acid diet. We began Monday, August 24th.
In an effort to reach out and help anyone else with childhood OCD and pass this information along, I decided to blog our journey with this new diet. If the diet does not work, I'll be on to the next idea I have. I will not give up. God cannot possibly want anyone to be so miserable and driven by compulsions.
Here are my observations and menu from the last few days to catch up:
Monday, Aug. 24th-
Alex ate Gluten-Free Corn Chex with a tsp. of sugar and Rice Milk for breakfast. Took N-Acetyl Cysteine 500mg, L-Theanine 500mg, and L-Huperzine A 200mg with breakfast.
For lunch I packed him a ham sandwhich with Gluten-Free bread, Frito Corn Chips, Red Grapes, and a couple Gluten- Free Vanilla Creme Cookies.
He took supplements L-Theanine 500mg and L-Huperzine A 200mg when he came home from school.
For Dinner, I prepared an Organic Marinara sauce and Gluten-Free Spaghetti noodles for dinner. I let him sprinkle on a little parmesan cheese. I sliced some Gluten-Free French Rolls up and put a little butter and garlic salt on them and broiled them to make garlic bread. We all liked that meal. :o)
*He was very mellow today. Said he was tired. Ate very well and didn't complain about the food.
We noticed a decrease in the amount of clothing changes and hand washing just this first day. YAY! Hopefully, it will keep up.
Tuesday, Aug. 25th-
Alex ate the same breakfast yesterday with the same supplements.
Same lunch minus the Gluten-Free Cookies.
I added 500mg more N-Acetyl Cysteine to his afternoon supplements.
For dinner, we had Grilled Chicken Breast, Green Beans, and Alex requested Mashed Potatoes (which I think he ate 2 cups of!). I made the mashed potatoes with some butter and rice milk, salt and pepper. We all liked this meal too. :o)
*Not as mellow, but not difficult or wound up either. One shouting match with his sister when they argued over something silly (of course).
He seemed to have reduced hand washing and clothing changing again, until bedtime. He struggled to get to sleep. He kept getting up and washing his hands. I finally gave him a Tylenol PM to help at about 10:30. Wondering if it's the N-Acetyl Cysteine that I increased? I think I will go back to the original dosage tomorrow.
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