Saturday, March 30, 2013

CEASE Clearing and Various Updates

Here are some updates on things I have posted about in previous blogs:

CEASE: We delayed Noah's new dosage of Hep B 30 c until Thursday due to his sickness earlier in the week. He continues to have a runny nose on/off, and I have noticed this week that he has been very emotional and cranky- more than usual. Yesterday,  I found that he kept bursting into tears for no apparent reason. Today, he kept screaming at everything. The only thing that calmed him down was going outside--- which we did ALL DAY LONG. He has also started to stim more--- shaking his head back and forth (which is not common), and I have noticed some facial tics that I haven't seen since he was 15 months old.  His face is constantly staying flushed and he has had a few green colored diapers. Are these side effects of the clearing?  I will need to ask the homeopath about these things and get her feedback.

EDCD Waiver: We received Noah's Medicaid card in the mail recently and we have started the process of hiring a respite provider. I am also looking into the EPSDT screening with a physician to see if Noah may qualify for ABA services through Medicaid. I am praying that he does. This would be a HUGE load off of our shoulders.

ABA/Speech/OT: Therapy continues to go well. He stays very busy through the week. We have recently seen a positive change in ABA. He is starting to catch on to things and he isn't resistant to his therapist Lily. I am not sure whether Noah is benefitting at all from speech. The speech therapist just sits there and plays with him and doesn't offer many suggestions on how we can work with him on speech (isn't that the point?!). She is very nice and Noah doesn't mind her but we need intensive speech therapy SO I am considering adding outpatient speech since his Medicaid went through. More than likely it will cover it now. Occupational Therapy has been more helpful to me than it is to Noah. His OT gives me ideas on eating, bathing, dressing, playing- a lot of problem solving and creative ideas. She helps keep me on track with developmental milestones that we need to work on.

Gluten free/Casein free diet: Noah has been adhering to these diet changes since December. Has it helped??? I don't really know. We have worked our butts off with Noah so I don't really know what exactly has caused the improvements we are seeing. I know the diet doesn't harm him but it is a pain in the butt to keep up. And.... what do you do when he goes to birthdays or out to dinner? I wish he could enjoy birthday cake, and easter candy and ice cream from time to time. But it isn't possible right now. I pray that homeopathy heals his body so that he will one day be able to enjoy various foods he cannot currently eat.

Things we are working on with Noah: 
-signing/using words or approximations for what he wants
-yes/no
-pointing to communicate
-taking turns with toys
-giving him choices to choose from- having him pick
-drawing/ arts and crafts (he hates this!)
-hygiene (brushing teeth, bathing, clipping nails, brushing hair--- This issue is exhausting. He has a very big issue with all of these things!)
-imitation (of body movements, noises, household tasks).
-imaginative play (still not comprehending this, but we have started to see some changes recently)

Puppy Therapy!: We have decided to get Noah a 7 month old puppy and hope he will benefit from the interaction. Little Luna (mini labradoodle) will be arriving the weekend of April 13th. Just two weeks before Noah's second birthday (BEST early birthday present ever!). I will post pics when she arrives. Hopefully he will like her!

Homeopathy for Me!: So, since I have seen such positive things with Noah in regards to homeopathy, I have decided to seek treatment as well. I will be having my first consultation with our homeopath April 10th. I have a lot of things I want to work on and I am looking forward to getting better.

That is all for now, I think!

As always, I am trusting that God will take care of Noah, me and my family and that He will give us His wisdom and guidance and we move forward and towards recovery. Happy Easter!!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

I Spoke Too Soon! CEASE Update

In my last post, I reported that Noah had minimal reactions to the 12c dose of Hep B. That was true until Sunday. In the afternoon his eyes and nose began running constantly and then he started throwing up. He also had a mild fever. I am almost certain he had an ear infection. I emailed our homeopath but didn't hear back in time so I went ahead and gave Noah Hyland's homeopathic ear tablets (2 of the ingredients just happen to be his constitutional remedies- pulsatilla and calcera carbonica!) . Within 10 minutes, his flushed face and runny nose were gone and he was running around the house happy again. Wow! Homeopathy is amazing. Since that initial dose, we have also given him Silica and Kali Mur cell salts to help with his congestion/cold.

The homeopath did say in the beginning that we may see detox/clearing reactions that are like the sicknesses Noah had in his first year of life. The only time Noah got sick was when he had recurrent ear infections... so she was correct.

It is day 2 of his sickness and even though he is not fully over it he is doing so much better than he would have been if we were giving him pain medicine and antibiotic-hands down! The homeopath said she may delay his next dose of Hep B until he is feeling better.

I will continue to post updates as we continue CEASE therapy with our son.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Week 3 CEASE Therapy

Noah has just completed his 3rd week clearing Hep B. He went on to the 12c dose this week and he did not have many reactions to this dosage. A few stinky/sour diapers, a flushed face from time to time and a little runny nose.

We have had a phenomenal week with Noah! We have been getting wonderful reports back from his ABA therapist. She is so happy with how quickly he is responding to the work she is giving him and he has been saying so many things lately! Most of his sessions thus far with ABA have been constant/nonstop crying. This week everything changed.

And he is signing so many more things than just a few weeks ago. Before CEASE, Noah was signing "more", "milk" and "eat" (and he stuck to those for like 4 months!) and now he has mastered about 8-10 signs total ("yes", "book", "ball", "me", "music", "please" "dog" "cookie".....) in just a few weeks. It is like a lightbulb went on and things are making more sense for him. He is definitely understanding more of what is being told to him and is aware of his surroundings in a way he hasn't been in a very, very long time. We still have a very long way to go but I am soooo excited that he is responding to CEASE!

Our homeopath has advised us to move Noah to 30c starting next week. Instead of Monday and Thursday dosing, she would like us to give him the dose on Wednesday and then his constitutional remedies on Saturday. I will continue to post weekly updates as we continue our CEASE therapy with Noah.

Friday, March 22, 2013

EDCD Waiver update

I received word today from the Department of Social Services that Noah's Medicaid application has gone through. Woooohoooooo!

He is now receiving Medicaid through the EDCD waiver. The worker has advised me that I have 30 days to start utilizing the benefits of the waiver. If we do not begin using the benefits, he will lose it at the 30 day mark. I will be calling a service coordinator to begin the process of locating a respite provider. I am also praying that this waiver, and having Medicaid, will allow Noah additional hours of ABA that we currently cannot afford on our own. We are paying out of pocket for 6 hours of ABA/week (which is very costly---at a discounted rate we are paying almost $1,000/month). The doctor recommends that Noah should receive at least 20 hours a week of ABA, so we are having to facilitate the remaining hours of therapy ourselves. It is hard to do. We are usually exhausted at the end of our work day and we don't give 100%. We are trying to do our best but it would be such a blessing if this waiver allowed Noah some more professional ABA services. Either way, I am just thankful to the Lord for His provisions. At the very minimum, this waiver will allow us some much needed respite and support. We are grateful!

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Week 2 CEASE Therapy

Noah just finished his 2nd week of CEASE therapy, clearing Hep B. He stayed at the 30x dose and we only saw minimal reactions this week. He had a few toxic smelling diapers and a little swelling on his upper lip. He was also more irritable than usual. He threw tantrums regularly which is not normal for Noah. He also had a few nights of insomnia (no fun!). I am not sure if this is related to the clearing or not.

We are excited to go to the next dose 12c and see the reactions and positive results.

Things we are noticing with Noah this last few weeks:

1) More alert/present with us and aware of his surroundings

2) He has been trying to make more noises/sounds/verbalizations than usual

3) He did great at his Gymboree Music class--- on the first try!!!! This is HUGE. It was a new room, new people, new teacher, new activities and he handled it beautifully. He even engaged some of the children and parents.

4) On our shopping trip to BJs recently he was looking at all of the displays and at our faces. Normally Noah fixates on the lighting in the store and appears to be in a fog, overwhelmed by everything in the store. This was pretty huge as well.

5) I have noticed also that he seems to understand more of what we are saying to him. This is also a big deal as he was recently evaluated to have a 6 month level of receptive language. I think that is changing now!

I will continue to post updates each week as we do CEASE therapy with Noah.


Saturday, March 9, 2013

Preparing Myself

I took Noah to Gymboree today. He is still in the Level 3 class which has 12-16 month olds. He is 22 months old so he stands out. He is already a big boy but when he is with these children he towers over them. I wonder whether it is better for him to stay in a class with these younger children and work on communication development or whether he should be challenged by children his own age and observe their behaviors.... I plan to ask our therapists about this. I asked his Gymboree teacher about when he will be ready for the next class. She hesitated.... she told me that the last few classes he is "acting" like all of the other children. So, we are seeing some progress. I just don't know if it is realistic to think that he is going to act just like children his age. It may not happen. If that is the criteria for moving to the next class we may be waiting a long while.

This got me thinking about something that really bothers me.... Right now we can hide what is going on with Noah to an extent. But not for much longer. His age hides the disability he is struggling with. Very soon however it will be obvious to everyone that he isn't like his peers. I am dreading his second birthday. I know that sounds horrible. It will just be a reminder to me that he is struggling. That he isn't able to say words like other two year olds. That he may not even comprehend that he is getting gifts or pay attention to his birthday guests. I am preparing myself for this time to come. I know it will be so hard for me and my husband. It is hard enough that we are grieving but we haven't had to deal with the public's opinion. This will come soon.

God, my heart aches for my little boy. I want him to be healed. I want him to be whole. I want him to be happy and healthy. Lord please hear my desperate plea.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Week 1 CEASE Therapy

Noah has had the first rounds of hep B 30x clearing this week.  Our homeopath is going very slow to help him ease into the detox. She reported to me that she has never seen anyone respond to this dosage. On both Monday and Thursday Noah had detox reactions. The first day he was irritable, wanted to be held constantly, and his face was flushed... he was just very uncomfortable. His lips were also a tad irritated and swollen. On Thursday, he had diarrhea all day and the smell was horrible. He also had some more irritation on his lips. Today, the diarrhea continues.

Some things we have seen this week that are new:

-he is trying to make more noises/verbalize/try new signs more than usual

-he is more aware of people around him, more present

-he just seems to be understanding more of what we say to him

Is this because of CEASE therapy and homeopathy? I am not sure but we will take it!

His detox reactions this week confirmed to me that his vaccinations impacted him and his development. I will be interested to see how he does next week when we continue with the hep b clearing. I am also excited to see how he responds to his constitutional remedy Pulsatilla. We will be giving him a dose of this tomorrow.

In other news, I learned today from the DSS worker that Noah was approved for the EDCD waiver!!! This is a huge answer to prayer. The Medicaid application still has to process but it shouldn't be a problem. He doesn't have any money so he will qualify. By having this waiver, we will be able to receive respite services, and he will receive Medicaid which will cover copays and services that our private insurance is not covering. I also pray that it covers some ABA for Noah because we cannot afford much for him. Thank you Lord for Your provisions.


Monday, March 4, 2013

Detox Reactions

Wow, It hasn't even been an entire day and I can already tell Noah isn't feeling well. We started the Hep B detox today. He had a "sour" smelling diaper this afternoon and just hasn't been his normal self. He rubs his eyes constantly and seems lethargic. He doesn't want to play or do normal activities- he wants to be held. He has excessive thirst this evening.

I hate to see Noah suffer in any way- the crazy thing is that I am the one doing this to him! I know that CEASE therapy is a detox and this is part of the process. I have to be prepared for rough days/weeks. He has to detox so he can feel better... so he can heal. I must focus on that. I plan to give him Epsom salt baths regularly this week to help his body remove the toxins. I plan to ask the homeopath about which cell salts to use to make him the most comfortable during this time.

Lord, please be with our little boy. Help his body remove the toxins so he can get better.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

About to Begin CEASE Therapy and We are Excited!!!

Our homeopath sent us a chart for treatment over the next few weeks. Last Sunday we gave Noah Aconite. Today we gave him Cal. Carbonica and fat soluble Vitamin C. Monday will be the first day of  the Hep B clearing! The homeopath says she is going slow to help with the detox reaction. We are staying at 30x for two weeks instead of one.

We are excited to start CEASE therapy and to see what positive results come with the clearings/detox. I am sure that the vaccines did not help Noah's development and probably contributed greatly to the situation we are dealing with now. I don't know if it is the sole reason for his autism but it may very well be. I also think at some point we will need to clear antibiotics since he was given 5 rounds of different antibiotics between 9 and 12 months... at the same time we noticed him going into a "fog" and not paying much attention to us. My gut tells me they also contributed to the autism.

I have read and been told by those going through homeopathy that you need to give it at least 6 months to see improvements. Some remedies may not be the right "fit" and it may take some time for the treatment to work on Noah. We are going to give it a good try.... probably a year. I hope that in a year from now we will see a significant difference in Noah. I pray that he blesses us with his sweet voice. I pray that he understands language better and engages with children and strangers without anxiety. I pray that his development catches up with his peers.

I will continue to post updates on how he does with this new treatment.