Sigh...... What a rough few months!

It has truly been a rough few months. Caleb has been in a "funk" that he just hasn't been able to snap out of. It started around Christmas and is continuing. He will appear to be in a good mood, but then out of the blue he's crying or angry. At school he's hitting the teacher's, but for me at home he rarely gets so out of line. I'm a bit at a loss of what to do. Homeopathy hasn't helped as of yet, and now I'm pulling out the supps, revisiting old stuff. Anyone have any ideas? Today was the second day in a row that I've brought him home due to hitting a teacher.

Revisiting LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone)

We've been dealing with a never-ending cough since about the end of August. Poor Caleb started with a croupy cough in August, then it morphed to a cough with lots of phlegm (which got passed to the rest of us). As the weather stays warm with lots of moisture, the cough just wouldn't go away. Now, after a few months of this I've decided it's time to revisit LDN.

For those that don't know, LDN comes in a cream that we rub on Caleb at night. It is an immune system booster, and Caleb surely is needing that right now. I've noticed that he's begun again to get a bit giddy after eating wheat of any kind. Thus...LDN will become part of our routine through the winter months, or until Caleb shows signs that it is bothering more than helping. When we first tried LDN a few years ago, Caleb benefitted greatly from it. It first cleared up all food reactions, which are a part of a weak immune system. And then, it just kept him from getting every new illness that came along. I thought it also helped him maintain his mood and speech. The only reason I had stopped it before was because it began to cause mood issues after a time. (Which mood is always Caleb's first reaction when something no longer helps). We took it away, and things improved once again for many months. Now, here we are back on this end and adding it back in. I'm just so glad that we know and have access to a program of success for my son!

**The picture is of Caleb (in the blue coat) this week at the pumpkin farm. The bunnies were everyone's favorite! Especially since it was raining out, and the bunnies were in a shed!

Back in the Swing of Spring

It's been so beautiful lately that I've forgotten to update on my blog! Caleb's been very even-keeled, and thus has made life infinitely easier. He still has his moments of mood issues, but they are no where near as severe as a year ago. We occasionally do Melatonin at night if mood slips, and it picks it up considerably. Otherwise, I just do a general gummy vitamin every day, and give a well-balanced diet (not even necessarily gluten free anymore). We are looking forward to summertime as a family which is Caleb's favorite time of year.

I included a pic of Caleb coloring Easter Eggs this year. He thoroughly enjoyed coloring all of his eggs blue (his latest favorite color)! He understands the calendar so well now, and anticipates upcoming events, like Easter. After every event, he'll tell me what's next, like: "Easter's over, next is Bumpa and Joel's birthday." Thank you Lord for the little improvements!

Melatonin helping Mood

I just wanted to update on what is currently helping Caleb. We've struggled a bit again with mood...a bit of "screaminess" and the "no" answer for everything. One evening I went upstairs to give Caleb a mb12 shot, hoping it would again bring about a period of good moods. However, I wasn't able to give it because Caleb wasn't asleep...even at 10:30 pm. I decided to give some Melatonin the next evening because I know that he is a kid who NEEDS sleep! Low and behold, I noticed a much better mood the next morning. Whether it was the melatonin, or the increased sleep, I don't know. But...it brought about the desired mood increase :)

Sundays...the WORST day!

Sundays seem to always be Caleb's worst behavior and mood day. I'm glad it's not during school, but it gets old having to have him sit by me during Sunday School because he's too moody to do well in his own class. For a LONG time, Sundays have been his worst day. I often wonder if there's some sort of cycle to moods/behavior for him. Does anyone else notice a day (especially Sunday) as being the worst?

Halloween is our annual Family Day where instead of celebrating Halloween (which we don't believe in) we go bowling and swimming. The kids LOVE it and look forward to their day off from school. Caleb especially loves it, and did wonderful this year! He took turns, knew to look at the screen and announce who's turn it is, and even called "Taco Bell" for lunch :) He does need a bit of help on his bowling technique though! We all appropriately named it "thunder ball"!

Methy B-12 (mb12) Shots are still Necessary for Us!

I wanted to post about the trend I'm seeing in Caleb, to see if others are experiencing this as well. It seems that about every 3 or 4 days, Caleb's mood starts to head south...meaning he starts getting obstinate and "tantrumy". This seems to be my cue for another mb12 injection. Then, after the injection at night, the next day is WONDERFUL! He is happy as a lark! I definitely think that both yeast, and mb12 are critical for us in handling obstinacy and bad mood. Also...probably a positive of the mb12....many people have been commenting on Caleb's increased vocabulary and speech. He still struggles with answering questions, but otherwise, he can generally say most of what he wants...in sentence form! I know mb12 is touted to help speech, but I wanted to show that I truly think it's a critical part of mood control as well.

School Update--September

Hooray for more great days! Just talked to Caleb's teacher yesterday (of his autism class), and she talked how they see him as the "highest in the class". They see what I see...that he's smart! She said, "I see some behaviors, but I don't think they're a big deal". Whereas, our local school district views little behaviors as major problems. Just so happy with this new setup thus far!

Caleb's mood is doing great! We've stumbled upon something that's been working for him. Last time we went to the DAN doctor, he suggested that yeast was most likely still the culprit and that it was something called "biofilm" (where the yeast secretes it's own mucus to protect itself & thus is hard to kill). I researched a bit on biofilm, and the protocol for it. It sounds like first higher doses of Magnesium (such as oxypowder) or Vitamin C to get the kid to have a BM. Then a protease enzyme (such as mucostop) to get rid of the mucous, then a bunch of herbs known to kill yeast. Well...I didn't have all of these things, but I started with vitamin C and magnesium, then added in several proteases (later in the day) , then gave a 2 to 3 cap dose of a yeast herb blend (at bedtime). I did this for about a week. Now, we just maintain with 2 chewable vitamin C, and 2 caps of yeast herbs both in the morning before school. Voila! It works at maintaining his mood. It obviously WAS the yeast after all. It just needed a bit of a different tactic! No more screaming/screeching, and no more bad mood! Hooray!

Back to School! Hooray!

School has started again! Caleb is doing dual enrollment between an autistic classroom (for 3-5th grades; but he's in 2nd grade) and then aspecial ed. classroom at our local school. He's doing 3 days in the autism class, and 2 days here in special ed. The hope is that he will develop more "ready to learn" behaviors, and also that our local school will be able to work one-on-one with autism experts to best be able to meet Caleb's needs in later years. They were VERY clueless last year. Anyhow, the first day went well! I'm excited to see what each day brings.

We've managed to tame Caleb's moods again (for about the last month or so). It seems that a natural yeast fighter, as well as an enzyme twice a day, and a multivit/min are doing the trick. So glad his mood is improved for the start of school! That way all can get to know him and like him before mood issues arise. He seems to be VERY ready for the challenge of school again, and looks forward each morning to going. I hope this continues. Keep praying! God has been so good thus far!

**the picture is of him getting off his bus the first day**