Back To The Basics

I'm sure most of you know that Jonah is my challenge. The poor kid's skin looks like it has been dipped in acid most of the time and he has vomited or had diarrhea every day for all of his nearly 27 months of life. We have seen allergists, dermatologists, and gastroenterologists. He has had skin tests, blood tests, ultrasounds, esophageal studies, an endoscopy, and a colonoscopy. The list of prescription medicines and creams that we have tried are too numerous to list. All of the doctors, tests and medicines really have not given us much help or for that matter even much more information than we had already figured out on our own. We do know that Jonah is very allergic to any form of eggs, has a rare genetic skin condition that no one knows anything about, and has rather severe eczema. I have to say that our pediatrician has been diligent in trying to find something to help Jonah. I am always hopeful when we find something new to try, praying that it will be just what we need, but sadly we have never found much to really help.

After a weekend of bloody diarrhea, Jonah ended up back at the pediatrician's office. He believes that due to Jonah's tendencies toward developing allergies, that there is something obscure that Jonah is ingesting throwing his body off balance. The many allergy tests that Jonah has had only show eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, and shellfish as allergens. We of course avoid all of those items, but there is something else that we have not figured out yet. It could be as simple as a preservative or seasoning that is added to any food that he eats.

That brings us to our new approach. Jonah is on a very limited diet. Since Monday he has only had rice, bananas, apples, bread, milk, and water. Today he had his first "normal" BM!!! We will add in one whole food every few days, making sure that there is no reaction to it. After we get a variety of whole foods re-introduced, we will then begin other things watching closely for any changes that may develop.

I can already tell that his tummy is not hurting as much as it once was, because he is not complaining nearly as much as before. I know that it is going to be a long process, but I also know that it will be well worth the trouble if it helps even a bit.