Overall we have had little tiny improvements. Not enough for me, but really when looking back, at least it's progress. And by improvement I mean maybe the fits last 10-20 minutes instead of an hour. You may think that's huge and I would understand. Unfortunately the amount of rages hasn't changed and not all rages have only lasted 10-20 minutes. That's only happened since yesterday. The rest of the week has been a roller coaster ride.
It's included tears (from all of us), being late to church, me getting locked out of my house (thankfully I had already put my keys in the car which made Kate mad), fighting over seat belts, menu changes, and lots and lots of prayer.
Which I want to tell you is my hope. Not the diet. Not the therapist. Jesus. He really is the One I am clinging too. And He has blessed me! Blessed me with scripture, with prayer from others, kind friends and family calling or texting to check in, church members who are interceding for us, advice from good friends who care, offers of babysitting so I can get stuff done, flowers from staff members to just make me smile, help to accomplish stuff I just can't get my brain to focus on for any length of time, encouragement from so many...Jesus has shown me His love and care through so many people and I just sit back in awe and wonder.
All these people have their own lives. Their own issues. Their own struggles. And yet they care. I am so thankful. For all of it! I don't deserve it. Any of it. But I know that it's what I need right now. So I resist fighting it :)
Friday is our next appointment with the therapist. We are all looking forward to it and seeing more progress. Kate even gave me a woohoo when I told her we were going again. That's good!
I spent a ton of time this week at the grocery store (trying to fill our fridge with non-processed food), googling many foods I'd never heard of, planning menus of things I hoped the kids would at least try, hearing from them "how long are we doing this?" 235 times, having success with some recipes and epic failure with others (like whole wheat waffles that the kids all tried one bite and burst into tears and said they tasted like I put hand sanitizer in them and then promptly threw them in the trash...and went to bed hungry), making lots of make-ahead smoothies for breakfast to put their vitamins in that they can't/won't swallow. I know it will get better but for now I'm a food preparing machine! Boy do processed foods cut down on prep work....At least till I figure out how to prep a lot of stuff at once and then use my crockpot! Baby steps here.
This week we also started to attack the yeast overgrowth in our diet. Last week we added good bacteria to our guts. We will keep doing that while we attack the other. Upon reading more about the symptoms of yeast overgrowth I was blown away by how many symptoms all of my kids (and Mark and I) have.
Things like:
General Symptoms
Fatigue and a sense of being "ill" and "drained" are the dominant symptoms. These are often accompanied by irritability, difficulty in concentration, slow mentation, in coordination, and vague feelings of being "spaced-out." Excessive lethargy may lead to a sense of drowsiness.
Fatigue and a sense of being "ill" and "drained" are the dominant symptoms. These are often accompanied by irritability, difficulty in concentration, slow mentation, in coordination, and vague feelings of being "spaced-out." Excessive lethargy may lead to a sense of drowsiness.
Musculoskeletal Symptoms
Vague muscle aches, muscular weakness, pain with or without swelling in multiple joints, and tightness in chest wall.
Vague muscle aches, muscular weakness, pain with or without swelling in multiple joints, and tightness in chest wall.
Gastrointestinal Symptoms
Abdominal cramps, bloating, excessive belching, abdominal distention, constipation with bouts of diarrhea, excessive mucus in stool and rectal itching.
Abdominal cramps, bloating, excessive belching, abdominal distention, constipation with bouts of diarrhea, excessive mucus in stool and rectal itching.
Ear, Nose, and Eye Symptoms
Sore throat or scratchiness in throat, dry mouth, white coating on tongue and in other areas of mouth (thrush), bad breath, nasal itching, congestion and drip, recurrent sore throats, recurrent episodes of cough or bronchitis, recurrent infections or fluid in the ears, itchiness, burning or tears in eyes, and difficulty with hearing.
Sore throat or scratchiness in throat, dry mouth, white coating on tongue and in other areas of mouth (thrush), bad breath, nasal itching, congestion and drip, recurrent sore throats, recurrent episodes of cough or bronchitis, recurrent infections or fluid in the ears, itchiness, burning or tears in eyes, and difficulty with hearing.
We don't have all of these symptoms, nor do I think this one thing will
solve everything, but it gives me hope that I'm on the right track.
So next week's update will also include 2 more sessions with the therapist as well as another week of diet changes. Hopefully they'll get better and better!
