Happy Thanksgiving

We had a good Thanksgiving and made lots of SCD-legal foods for our little boy. He had:

(1) Turkey (no broth-added, organic, SCD) - $50 at Whole Foods (!!!)
(2) Gravy - didn't turn out so well, but we tried.
(3) Cranberry-pear sauce - a MAJOR hit with everyone (substitute honey for sugar)
(4) Almond butter muffins (from Comfy Tummy and elsewhere)
(5) Acorn squash - he didn't want it, but we got a bite or two down
(6) Pumpkin pie - this is ridiculously good and makes our kids CRAZY! (we make with butternut squash)

The adults ate mashed potatoes and stuffing as well.

Since the last flare a couple of weeks ago, we've made significant progress back towards normality. Poops are now runny with a little oatmeal-consistency, predictably twice a day, and with little blood... which seems good to us. Most of all, our boy has been very happy over the last 3-4 days and when HE feels good, WE feel good.

We were concerned a few days ago about anemia (and we still are). We've scheduled an appointment with the Children's GI group for this Thursday. He is NOT looking forward to giving blood despite the fact that the lab technician is awesome. This man is a gentle giant and is absolutely amazing with his effortless ability to draw blood with little kids. We ask for him by name!

A week ago, I would have entertained the idea of putting him on a course of prednisone to clear him up. The last several days have been good and I'd probably be defensive about medications prescribed by the GI docs. I'll post again soon.

Anemic

We are reasonably certain that the bad flare up was the result of getting a hold of an illegal food. The flare subsided after several days back on the intro diet, which our 4 year-old seemed quite tired of by the end of day 2. We've noticed that his face is more pale and that he doesn't have much energy lately. He's also fairly irritable (more than his usual irritable self). We're thinking that blood loss during the flare caused some anemia and are going to have his blood drawn this week to verify.

We're toying with different ideas for food and symptom journals. We kept an online food journal for a while but it got to be a hassle. It would be nice to have something portable and quick... I know, a pen and a notebook work - but I analyze data for a living and want something e-accessible.

I'm going to play with this offshoot of Twitter:
http://www.tweetwhatyoueat.com

It doesn't totally fit, but it's not bad.

Bad Flare

I don't like only blogging when things go badly, but it seems like we are in a serious rut. Our son is at 4.5 months on the diet, and has had two pretty awful days in a row. We're back to the intro diet, which he is losing patience with and going on a hunger strike, and are very close to going back to the Children's Hospital. Maybe a course of prednisone would help get things back on track? I know prednisone makes people feel crazy, but this flare is making us crazy. Going to the bathroom 4 to 5 times a day is one thing, but the blood/mucus is another.

We're still looking for the "bright side" of Crohn's Disease and haven't found it yet after one year. If anyone cares to share their "bright side", we're all ears!

4.5 months, doing okay

We've been at this for a while now. No meds for over 6 months and on the diet for 4.5 months. Our son is doing reasonably well -- feels good and does not complain of tummy pain. I definitely think he went through a 3-month rut that sounds common on the SCD. He seems over that now, though still goes 2-3 oatmeal-consistency poohs a day (with a little blood). That seems tolerable to me and worth the burden of the diet.

On a financial note, we definitely spend more per month on food with this diet. Pre-diet, we budgeted $800 per month for food... though we've now been spending $1200 per month for a family of four. Shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's seems to be adding up! Also, we no longer go out to eat... so we're saving some $$$ on that front.

solid!

First solid(-ish) poop in about 3 months yesterday... something every parent should be proud of! He's been eating like mad lately and generally in good spirits. Though, he did try to fist fight another 4 year-old last Friday at preschool and, as a result, has had all of his favorite toys taken away until he has a completely good report from his teacher.

SCD @ 4 Months

I'm starting to question the efficacy of this diet. He hasn't had anything close to solid poop-wise in several months and the blood keeps on flowing. We've introduced a few things every now and again that adults might recommend staying away from (legal fruit leathers, almond flour) just so we can expand the dietary horizon of our 4 year-old son. We've backed off of the almond flour and will probably back off of the fruit leathers as well.

As far as we can tell, we are following the SCD 100%. The naturopathic doctor has given us two supplements which are a little suspicious SCD-wise (a multivitamin and intestinal repair complex) but I haven't noticed bowel changes one way or another. It's the same poop twice a day with a decent amount of blood in the second accompanied by pain.

If nothing else, he's consistent bowel-wise and with that comes some reassurances. Also, he seems to feel good still and does well throughout the day. In my mind, the risks posed by medicating him seem to be greater than those posed by going with the SCD... I just wish I could see some measurable progress in the toilet!

Down $40

Well, Halloween was fun and as a result of my $$$ for candy deal with our son - I'm out $40! It was worth it though; he had fun and getting candy had a positive connotation without needing to eat it. He was the most polite little "spider" I've ever heard, saying "thank you" with utmost sincerity.

We made some Halloween *candy* that day:

1/2 cup of honey
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup of almond butter

Simmer the honey, oil, and vanilla over low to medium hit in a sauce pan for 15 minutes. Then add the almond butter and simmer an additional 5 minutes. Pour into a greased bread pan and put in the freezer. Once hard, cut up into *candy* sized pieces and twist them into some wax paper.

He was in hog heaven and felt so special for being able to open something that looked like candy.