Update on Noah- Taking a "Break"

I don't know what I was envisioning for our 3 week break from CEASE... I guess I was thinking that Noah would feel good and we would have a break from the normal clearing symptoms we have become so used to these last 6 months. Well, unfortunately that is not the case!

We are in week 2 of our break and Noah has been struggling throughout the last week and a half since his last dosing of Hep B 10m. It started last Monday, with irritability, lack of appetite, insomnia-- Noah didn't seem like himself. His face was flushed and I saw him rubbing his ears. As the week went on his stimming hit new heights (now he is turning in circles constantly)... he was so irritable and zoned out as well. His appetite went down the tubes. He started refusing the foods he usually eats. He is now only eating oatmeal, chocolate pudding and gluten free cookies and juice  (not the most nutritious!). Then he started vomiting on Saturday when he drinks anything and he hasn't stopped. His stomach has been hurting him and he is very gaseous. He threw up twice today. I am trying not to over react and let this play itself out but it is hard to see him not feeling well.

I am still unsure if this is all from the last dose of Hep B 10m or if this was a result of a virus. Hopefully next time I post we will have seen positive gains from this yucky time.

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.

Does Autism Control Our Life?

The answer is yes. I was thinking about this today. Every single part of our life is impacted/affected by autism.

Our extracurricular activities (pretty much non-existent), our finances (have to be a on a strict budget to pay for all of Noah's therapy), our food choices (can't let Noah watch us eat gluten and dairy foods), our relationships (marriage strained, no time for friends, local family not very supportive).... our days are governed in many ways by autism. We can't just relax like a typical family...go to church,  go out to dinner, watch movies, enjoy shopping because our son has difficulty with these things. When we are home we are supposed to spend every waking hour with him- engaging him, playing with him appropriately, redirecting his autistic behaviors, not allowing him to stim for too long... making every single minute educational for him. A typical toddler is learning from people naturally. Noah does not. He does not have any internal desire to look at our actions or faces. He is often in his own little world and we must constantly bring him out of this world and keep him here with us. It is exhausting to be honest with you. But, what is the other option???

So, I look forward to the day where I can say my life isn't controlled by autism- I am not sure when or how this will happen. I am praying for a miracle- I am praying for complete healing for our child. I am praying for recovery. Maybe one day, Autism will be a distant memory... a horribly sad, difficult time we went through. And if for some reason God does not allow full healing or recovery for little Noah, I pray to God that He helps us learn how to live our lives in spite of this diagnosis. I pray that we don't lose ourselves, our dreams, our marriage, our health and finances to this disorder. I don't want to be another statistic. I want to rise above this diagnosis and live life victoriously. This is my prayer.

Sickness, Regression and a few updates

Noah has been sick since Tuesday. When this happens, we have to stop all of our normal activities-- gymboree, therapy, and intensive one on one play with Noah and just take care of him... hold him... make him as comfortable as possible. Let him watch more tv than we usually would. I know once he starts feeling better we will be back to our normal, crazy schedule. I don't mind a little break.

We were told yesterday he has an ear infection. The doctor knows I am against giving antibiotic. He told me that I could continue to monitor Noah- see if his fever goes over 102 or if his symptoms progressively get worse. If any of these things occur, I am to start antibiotic. So far, we have been keeping the ear infection at bay with Garlic drops. They seem to really work so I am praying that they allow Noah to fight this infection naturally.

With sickness comes regression--- words and signs that he usually uses disappears. Activities that he was doing prior to the sickness have stopped and stimming behaviors have taken their place. Shaking his head and pacing mostly. This makes him feel better I guess. I know the regression is due to him not feeling well but I still hate to see it. I am praying that he will bounce back when he begins to feel better.

In other news, I had my first consult with a CEASE certified classical homeopath. She spent about an hour on the phone with me, asking a lot of detailed questions about Noah... his life so far, issues we are seeing, his personality. I am excited to see what she believes his constitutional remedy is.

I also have a screener coming out to the house on Tuesday to do the UAI screening for the EDCD Medicaid waiver. We are praying that this is approved so we can provide Noah all of the therapy he is in need of!