John just isn't making it in school; he isn't making it at all. So we decided to try medication again. He's older, and might not react to the drugs as he did before. I know he doesn't react to amines in foods, so that's a good sign. Beyond this, there are medications that can be given to a ten year old, that are not safe and/or tested for children under 8. So there is reason for optimism.
Of course I'm not looking for a 100% psychotropic solution. He's got candida, and we've got to get rid of it. That has to be the number one priority. I wrote the following and gave it to the doctor, who was surprisingly open minded about the whole thing.
In the interest of fixing the problem, rather than treating it indefinitely,
we have observed the following correlations over the past two years.
This information may help us treat the symptoms more effectively now,
and ameliorate the symptoms in the future.
The following table presents symptoms as a function of carbohydrate intake,
either simple or complex.
The form of sugar doesn't seem to matter.
Even GFCF failsafe foods (rice, potato, pear, etc) produce the same symptoms.
The table begins with 120 carbs per day, because that's as low as John will go.
I wish we could explore 80 carbs per day,
but that seems impractical at this time.
Symptomology120: Lack of focus, low frustration threshold, difficulty carrying out "boring" tasks such as household chores. A wonderful kid at home, plays well with friends down the street. Bright, interesting, engaging, imaginative.160: Oppositional, especially at school, when he is asked to do things that aren't precisely what he wants to do. Refuses to follow directions. Traditional ODD symptoms come in at this point. Still plays well with others, and is great with young children. 220: Extremely impulsive. Makes inappropriate noises and blurts out swear words, similar to Tourette's. Tries to clean the kitchen using an excess of soap and water; generally makes a mess. A touch of OCD. Absolutely no focus. Has to be the center of everyone's attention. At this point he is not functional, even in a home setting. 300: Violent fantasies, actively looks for things to break. Threatens people around him, though he doesn't act on these threats. Hyperactive, running about, can't sit still. Traditional ADHD symptoms come in. Has to be monitored at all times. Often has to be physically managed. 400: Self destructive behavior. Hits himself as hard as he can, and has to be restrained. He says simply, "I have to do it". This child, whom we never see unless we run the 400 experiment, would have to be institutionalized. We last ran this experiment on 08/18/2002, the oatmeal cookies. Candida120: No scent that I can detect.160: A slight yeasty smell on his breath, if he breathes directly in my face. 220: I can smell the yeast and/or its metabolites if he is sitting next to me and talking towards me, or facing me. 300: The yeast is apparent, even one to two meters away. Someone else wouldn't recognize the smell, but they would know something was amiss. At this point some of the yeast products escape through his pores. I can smell it on his skin. 400: His entire bedroom is filled with the smell, like walking into a brewery. The presence of gluten in the diet makes the smell, and the behaviors, much worse. Symptoms normally associated with 300 carbs appear at 220, and so on. Digestive disorders begin around 160 carbs, with excessive flatulence. This progresses to loose stools, and eventually diarrhea at 400 carbs. Nasal allergies kick in at 300 carbs. We need to get rid of the underlying candida infection, and if that can't be done quickly or completely, we may also need to treat the behavioral symptoms, to help him get through school. |
The doctor prescribed an anti-fungal regimen, to beat back the candida, and she recommended probiotics thereafter. She also talked to John about diet and moderation, especially when it comes to carbohydrates. In other words, "Your Dad isn't crazy, listen to him." Nice to have an authority figure back me up for a change.
She really hit the nail on the head when she said, simply, "He eats to much." We all eat too much, period. And if you eat too much food, you almost certainly eat too many carbohydrates. John has eaten adult portions since he was five, and maybe that's the problem. I'm afraid I don't set a good example. If the food tastes good I'm in line for seconds and thirds, whether I'm still hungry or not. Our ongoing diet has to be low carbs, and less food across the board.
We went on to discuss psychotropics. Two drugs seem promising. One is a reformulation of ritalin, and the other is wellbutrin, which is relatively new. We haven't started either of these yet, and I'm not sure which way to go. For now we're trying to evict the candida and see where that leaves us.