Going Gluten-free...Again!

GracieGirl and E went bowling on a school field trip yesterday. Before they left, the school secretary called me to see if it was okay for E to have a soft pretzel. Well, when they got home, GracieGirl lifted her shirt, saying, "Look what happened after *I* ate the soft pretzel!"

Her tummy was covered with itchy, red bumps! I gave her some B-dryl, and before long, the bumps were gone.

I'm spending the day today making lots of gluten-free foods for her. Since timing is everything, I'll add that just last week, we went through our huge tote full of different GF flours and threw away at least 50 pounds of flour after discovering lovely weevils in them! I thought that they would be safe in zip-locks inside of the tote, but apparently not. Ugh.

Nick got new flour yesterday and I'm ready to start cooking. GracieGirl isn't too happy about this, and she already has food issues, but I'm going to do my best to have a lot of options for her so she doesn't feel deprived in the beginning.

Also, when we got E his Allerbling allergy alert bracelet, it came with two bracelets. Since E isn't allergic to wheat, we gave the extra bracelet with the wheat charm to GracieGirl.

Let the fun begin! :)


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Adventures in Cookie-Making

I continue to hang on to Normal Rockwell imagines, especially when it comes to the holidays. One would think that I would have given up on that years ago.

We decided to make Christmas cookies. Roll-out cookies, to be precise. I pictured candles burning, Christmas music playing, the family gathered around the table, laughing and making cookies together.

It was originally Jay's idea to make cookies, and he'd searched online for a recipe. He found one and printed it out, and was later devastated to learn that it was a regular sugar cookies recipe, not a roll-out recipe. (Totally not his fault; the recipe pictured roll-out cookies!)

Meltdown #1.

That was a couple of days ago. We made them anyway, with the promise that we'd also make roll-out cookies.

It took me two days (recovering from making the first batch) to make the roll-out cookies. Jay and I made the recipe, and then we all sat down to roll out the cookies. Within minutes, I noticed that GracieGirl became agitated. Then, she started flipping out, scratching at her arms, crying because they itched so badly. It was driving her crazy, and we quickly gave her medicine and took her upstairs for a bath.

As a baby, GracieGirl couldn't handle gluten. She didn't have gluten for several years, and then we reintroduced wheat. It wasn't a conscious effort, really, more just laziness on my part. She seemed to do fine with it, but slowly started having some symptoms again. The allergist was sure that she had Celiac Disease, and he ordered a blood test. He was very surprised when she tested negative.

In the past week, she's had some symptoms again, although we hadn't associated them with gluten. One day, she came in with a huge hive on her face. I gave her medicine and it went away. The same thing happened the following day, again, just one hive. Another time, she started crying because she said that she itched all over. Again, we gave her medicine and a bath, and she seemed to be okay. The backs of both of her legs are covered with eczema, which comes and goes but is currently back with a vengeance. She's also had a lot of GI issues.

This latest incident just kind of firmed up that it must be the wheat. She was fine until she started rolling out the cookies, using wheat flour to roll them out.

She's feeling better now. I made some Monkey Munch for her, so she wasn't too sad about not having the Christmas cookies.

Time to go pull out my GF cookies recipes!


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Weekend Sleep and Test Results

Nick and I have had a much-needed relaxing weekend. I knew I needed a break when I went to call my in-laws and couldn't remember their last name! Thankfully, my son reminded me that I share a last name with them, so I was able to call them. :) They picked up the children on Friday and took them to their house for a long weekend. I'd forgotten what it was like to sleep all night long, without being woken up by screams in the night or being kicked in the side or hit in the face while sleeping. Amazing how much better I feel after a good night's sleep...

We did some crazy things like order Vietnamese takeout, which meant that we ate PEANUTS in the house!!! Honestly, I felt like we were doing something illegal! We also worked on the business, visited my mom in the hospital, and cleaned up/organized the house. Nothing exciting, but I'm happy!

We did get some test results last week. The allergist called and said that E's blood tests showed the same thing as the skin tests: he's extremely allergic to peanuts, all tree nuts (sadly, even almonds), and sesame seeds. Eggs were also high, but he wants to do a cooked egg challenge in his office. He said that I have to make angel food cake, making sure to bring in enough for the entire staff. (He's so funny!) He assured me that he would have any needed meds right there, and he'd start by touching the cake to E's lips and then waiting to see if there's a reaction. Then he'll touch it to his tongue and wait again. Next, E will actually eat a little bit of it. Not only will this determine if E can handle cooked eggs, it may also help him outgrow his egg allergy sooner. So, we'll see what happens. My gut tells me that he'll be able to handle cooked eggs, but that may just be wishful thinking, especially since our grocery store just stopped carrying Egg Replacer!

GracieGirl's Celiac test came back a few days later. Negative. I was really surprised. So was her allergist. She's going back to see him this week, so we'll find out what to do next. I, of course, started researching online and came across this info on NCGS (Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity). The logical solution seems to be to take her off of all gluten again but I want to get as much medical information as I can before doing so.

I'm thankful that we continue to get answers, even when they're not always the answers we'd like to hear! :)

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Catching Up

Our business, Truly Pure & Natural is finally up and running. We've had a good time working on it, even though Nick has done the vast majority of the work. Some people have asked if it's a Multi-Level Marketing company, such as Shaklee or Arbonne, and it definitely is not! It's simply an eclectic collection of natural products that we use and that work for us. We're slowly adding new products that we want to share with others.

GracieGirl and E both had to have bloodwork at the beginning of the week. I dreaded it because last time, E's screams could be heard three counties away! So, I did the wise thing this time...and stayed in the car while Nick took him in. :) Amazingly, he didn't struggle or cry. Nick brought him out to the car and took GracieGirl in. Same result, not even a whimper. I want to get that tech's name and ask for her every time!

E was having blood tests to confirm the skin tests for his allergies. I was hoping and praying that he wouldn't be allergic to almonds because I'd love to be able to use almond flour as an alternative to wheat and other grains. No such luck. The doctor will call us on Monday but the nurse said that he is highly allergic to all tree nuts and eggs. Unfortunately, in E's head, the doctor said he won't die if he eats nuts! So, I've been working on convincing him that the doctor most definitely did not say that. He's been really good about asking before eating anything, and I want him to continue doing that!

GracieGirl's Celiac test didn't come back yet. I'm hoping to hear something on Monday. She's been complaining of a hurt tummy for the past few days, so I'm just praying that the test shows whether or not it's Celiac.

Jay got his sleep study results and he does not have sleep apnea and his adenoids do not need to come out. So...back to the drawing board. I'm still waiting to hear back from the sleep specialist, and he sees his autism doctor in a few days, so we continue trying to find some answers!

I don't even know what to say about E. His behavior continues to worsen. I asked Nick if it was me, thinking that maybe I'm just getting too old and burnt out for all of this. He said that it definitely was not me! (I knew that, but I just had to confirm it!) The good news is that I'm getting support, which means so much. People have suggested things like bi-polar, RAD, and ODD. Hard to hear at first, but now I just want answers. I filled out a 15-page request for evaluation and sent that off. It's just hard because he has such a wonderful side, so I keep thinking that I must have been exaggerating his other behavior, and it really wasn't that bad. But then he gets violent, often without warning, and I'm reminded that things really are bad. I'm just praying that we can find the right help for him because there's a side of him that really is so sweet.

Besides being busy, the other reason that I don't generally blog during the day is that I pay for it afterwards. This time, GracieGirl and E have gotten into the crafts box. Judging by the creative mess they've made so far, I really should be focused on them, rather than on this blog! Off to survey the rest of the damage... ;)

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Allergy Update

I've become accustomed to the boys' large medical files. Well, Nate's is large; Jay's and E's are downright huge! In-between, hidden in the file cabinet, is GracieGirl's file. I think it has two sheets of paper in it. She's been the healthy one.

Today, she and Jay had appointments with the allergist. We never took her before because, although she had problems as a baby, a friend suggested that we take her off of wheat. Problems solved! I told her doctor what we'd done, and he didn't see the need in having her tested.

Late last summer, we reintroduced wheat into her diet, and she seemed to tolerate it well, so we assumed she'd outgrown any allergy or sensitivity she may have had to it. Then, in the fall, her nose started running...all the time. She started having lots of problems with gas, and we wondered if she had reflux.

She was tested this morning, and the allergist said that she isn't just allergic to all trees, all grasses, and all weeds, she's severely allergic to every last one of them! Animals were okay, except for mice. Foods were okay; she didn't test positive to any of the top allergens. She's allergic to one mold and to dust. Ugh.

The allergist suspects Celiac Disease, so we have to get a blood test for that.

So much for my healthy little girl. I'm just thankful that we have some answers and can start working towards helping her!

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