gastrocrom? colostrum? new holistic ped...

[ellasmama2007]

we took dd to a new ped yesterday, a holistic dan! md who seems genuinely awesome and speaks the whole gut dybiosis language i.e. enymes, probiotics, vitamin supplements, etc (he gave us new probiotics to try that are inulin-free).
anyway, i was wondering if anyone has tried or heard of gastrocrom? http://www.drugs.com/cdi/gastrocrom-concentrate.html
he discussed giving this to dd with us and we are thinking about it and getting back to him. he said it has been safely used in babies and young children, though it is not fda approved for them. we are quickly growing sensitive to every food that i eat (what's left anyway) and we just need to do something else to help our guts because allergen avoidance is becoming impossible. we can eat no grains, animal products, soy, celery, carrots, onions, garlic, pears, apples, nuts, seeds, etc. i currently take enzymes, twinlabs clo, pure encapsulations ca/mag, l-glutamine, coq10, two/day multi and quercetin. we've tried probiotics several times unsuccessfully (she acts the same as when she's allergic to a food).
he also gave me casein-free cow colostrum to take. i tried 1/4 tsp last night and we seem to be doing alright so far...
we are also sending stool for yeast/bacteria and urine oat. lastly, he recommended adding epsom salt baths 2/day.
please give me your opinions/experiences/knowledge!! i am desperate.

[mtn.mama]

Sounds like its time to start something new. Why not jump in and give the new doc a chance? That's what we're doing... we're scheduled with a ND DAN! doc on September 4th. I think everything your doc recommended sounds on track. Does he think your dd has mastocytosis? Or is he prescribing the gastrocrom as a prophylactic?

[changingseasons]

Can I ask a really stupid question? What is a DAN! doctor?? I keep seeing it around the threads this week.

[mtn.mama]

DAN! stands for defeat autism now!. DAN! doctors follow a protocol that allows them to consider heavy metal toxicity and vitamin/mineral imbalances and digestion problems and nutritional therapy all in the same light, as a path toward optimizing health... kind of a really focused whole body approach.

[changingseasons]

Ooooooh. Thanks!

ETA: Oh look at that... the ND that we were going to see before the insurance company screwed us is a DAN! practitioner.

[ellasmama2007]

Originally Posted by mtn.mama

Sounds like its time to start something new. Why not jump in and give the new doc a chance? That's what we're doing... we're scheduled with a ND DAN! doc on September 4th. I think everything your doc recommended sounds on track. Does he think your dd has mastocytosis? Or is he prescribing the gastrocrom as a prophylactic?

i really like this doctor, and i have yet to find one that i like since my daughter was born! i want to jump in, but you know how hard it is with these allergies. they deprive you of enjoying your lo's babyhood, kwim? i just want her well and to feel happy again! it's hard to put one darn thing in her mouth or mine without torturing over it.
i dont know if he thinks she has mastocytosis...but he thinks this could def help her. he said there are virtually no side effects in anyone up to 25 times the normal dosing. but there are ALWAYS side effects with everything so i wanted to know what you girls thought of this all.
btw, should i take the colostrum hours away from enzymes?

[ellasmama2007]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

Ooooooh. Thanks!

ETA: Oh look at that... the ND that we were going to see before the insurance company screwed us is a DAN! practitioner.

you should keep looking for another dan! doc, imo. they tend to be more holistic and often will do phone consultations because their patients are often across the country. mine sees kids from all over and will be happy to do phone consults. this is him http://www.wholisticpeds.com/default...956655663&n1=7

[ellasmama2007]

welp, the colick-ease that he gave us is definitely out. she has been screaming horribly in her sleep the past three nights and constantly waking

[Punchy Kaby]

YOu might check out the Yahoo group: enzymesandautism
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/EnzymesandAutism

They are very knowledgeable over there about all the therapies your DAN suggested. I have used naselcrom topically on DS, he suffered from bad rashes/eczema, itchiness. I mixed it: 1 part naselcrom, 1 part emu oil, 1 part lotion and applied it to where he was itchy. I only used it sparingly until we got his reactions under control because it does suppress the immune system.

Keep in mind you need to add in supplements no faster than 1 every 2-3 weeks or you will never know which is good/bad. Enzymes take that long to start working and it may take a couple of tries to get it right. I would also stay away from the multi vitamin. Chances are that you need some minerals in far greater quantities and some not at all.

[LaurieG]

Originally Posted by ellasmama2007

welp, the colick-ease that he gave us is definitely out. she has been screaming horribly in her sleep the past three nights and constantly waking

I'm sorry.

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by ellasmama2007

welp, the colick-ease that he gave us is definitely out. she has been screaming horribly in her sleep the past three nights and constantly waking

That sucks. Do you know what is in it that might be causing the problem?

[ellasmama2007]

Originally Posted by Nolansmum

YOu might check out the Yahoo group: enzymesandautism
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/EnzymesandAutism

They are very knowledgeable over there about all the therapies your DAN suggested. I have used naselcrom topically on DS, he suffered from bad rashes/eczema, itchiness. I mixed it: 1 part naselcrom, 1 part emu oil, 1 part lotion and applied it to where he was itchy. I only used it sparingly until we got his reactions under control because it does suppress the immune system.

Keep in mind you need to add in supplements no faster than 1 every 2-3 weeks or you will never know which is good/bad. Enzymes take that long to start working and it may take a couple of tries to get it right. I would also stay away from the multi vitamin. Chances are that you need some minerals in far greater quantities and some not at all.

i need to buckle down and really spend some time with the yahoo group. i tried (weakly) and am not used to the format and stuff but that is a really terrible excuse. i know that they are really knowledgeable over there also.
do you have any more info on immune suppression with the cromolyn? that is exactly what i was worried about and i have not really been able to find much in terms of info on that. i am so afraid to compromise her immunity, especially because we vaxed through 6 mos (big, stupid mistake) and are not going to do any more. so her system has already been through the mill and i dont want her to be unable to fight off anything for which we dont vax.
i am trying to move soooo slowly with intros of everything. it just seems like there is always some kink in the works, kwim? teething seems to come and go ( or really just stay around all the time) and make it impossible to tell what is going on with her.

Originally Posted by LaurieG

I'm sorry.

thank you so much

Originally Posted by changingseasons

That sucks. Do you know what is in it that might be causing the problem?

against my better judgement, i gave it to her even though it has multiple ingredients. i know, i did know better, but my ped raved about the testimonials he has heard over this stuff from kids with really sensitive guts. still, i was wrong to try it, but she was really doing badly.
we accidentally fed her organic babyfood carrots because i grabbed them from the sweet potato section and didnt realize that the labels are the same and they were mis-stocked. dh gave them to her and she seemed fine ( i have been eating carrots all along with no obvious problems from her). well, then the sh*t hit the fan and she started with the screaming and acid poop. anyway, we *prayed* that the colick-ease would help her, but it seemed to make things worse. it's possible that they were getting worse anyway and the colickease did nothing, but now i wont know. i keep doing things the wrong way even though i know better than to try things when she's reacting...i just cant seem to get it together, kwim?
it contains:dillweed seed oil, carroway seed oil, cinnamon bark oil ( likely culprit), clove bud oil, and cardamom seed oil.

[menomena]

Originally Posted by Nolansmum

I only used it sparingly until we got his reactions under control because it does suppress the immune system.

Who told you this?

Per the FAQ about "Magic Masto Lotion" on mastokids.org :

Cromolyn does not suppress the immune system as cortisone does (which can allow an infection to develop and become severe), and it is unlikely to be absorbed systemically when used on unbroken skin. However, if any is absorbed, there are no adverse effects from its use systemically.

We are going to try to get some nasalcrom to mix into unpetroleum jelly for DD1's eczema/potential UP.

[menomena]

mastocytosis

oops. i meant to start a new thread...

ETA: here's my spin-off about mastocytosis: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...6#post12023206

[mtn.mama]

Ellasmama- this is just an offhand "I think"... but I think carrots and caraway are closely related. In fact I think dill is too. They're all umbelliferae plants if I'm right. I might be wrong, but...

[ellasmama2007]

Originally Posted by menomena

Who told you this?

Per the FAQ about "Magic Masto Lotion" on mastokids.org :


We are going to try to get some nasalcrom to mix into unpetroleum jelly for DD1's eczema/potential UP.

Originally Posted by menomena

oops. i meant to start a new thread...

ETA: here's my spin-off about mastocytosis: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...6#post12023206

Originally Posted by mtn.mama

Ellasmama- this is just an offhand "I think"... but I think carrots and caraway are closely related. In fact I think dill is too. They're all umbelliferae plants if I'm right. I might be wrong, but...

see this is why i ask you mamas stuff instead of taking doctor's word for anything - you're all so d*mn smart! i learn so much here it's unbelievable!

[LauraLoo]

Originally Posted by ellasmama2007

we are quickly growing sensitive to every food that i eat (what's left anyway) and we just need to do something else to help our guts because allergen avoidance is becoming impossible. we can eat no grains, animal products, soy, celery, carrots, onions, garlic, pears, apples, nuts, seeds, etc. i currently take enzymes, twinlabs clo, pure encapsulations ca/mag, l-glutamine, coq10, two/day multi and quercetin. (.

I quickly read your list --- Do you know what the quercetin you take is derived from? Since it is naturally found in foods such as onions, apples and buckwheat (among others.....) you may want to look at this if you haven't.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercetin

[ellasmama2007]

wow, i had no idea! i have to call pure encapsulations tomorrow. their website is down now...figures. how did you know that?! maybe i should have known that. i can stop taking the quercetin for now without a problem because it doesnt really seem to be helping anyway. i think it is most effective at higher doses than i have been taking.
thank you, that is a really good point!

[LauraLoo]

Originally Posted by ellasmama2007

how did you know that?!

I just remembered it from when I was doing research for getting ds off his allergy rx meds, and I wanted a *really* natural alternative that worked. I have to be careful with things like camomile because of our environmental allergies......

But don't get down on yourself -- it's hard to know. And maybe it won't turn out to be derived from anything you have to avoid. But maybe it would be good if it was, since then you could see what happens going off of it.

[Chinese Pistache]

I just wanted to send you a

Also, if you're doing jarred baby food, they usually contain ascorbic or citric acid, which are usually derived from corn. I'm not sure if that could explain any of her reactions. . .