Noah's story continues

I have been meaning to write this blog for quite some time. In my dreams, I would have links to famous doctors and authors who are on the cutting edge of research. I would have solid proof that what I want to tell you is real and legit. I want article after article proving all the claims I want to make.

But I can't.

I haven't had much time for cooking and cleaning, let alone blogging and then researching. I browse and I talk with others and get my information from them, but my research is just beginning.

My research might just be beginning, but my proof already exists. In my son.

Another reason I haven't posted in awhile about Noah's progress is that I didn't want to write it too early. I didn't want to make any claims and then have it turn out not to be true. It's been three months now, and I feel confident that though I can't give you medical proof or explain all the ins and outs of dietary restrictions, I can share my story and what I know so far.

Disclaimer**** I want to put this here in the beginning instead of at the end, in case you don't make it that far. I am not a medical professional or an alternative health specialist. I am a mom whose son has not been diagnosed with anything but leaky gut right now. I have not done all the research, but have seen the dramatic effects of food in relation to behavior. (he had no strong physical reaction to anything like stomach aches, headaches, throwing up, etc.) In this blog I am not diagnosing your child or sibling or self saying that if you have similar issues, you have food issues. I will state that if you carefully watch your child, sibling or self in what you eat, you might be surprised. If you are in doubt or wonder if your child might have more issues than just being strong willed, take a chance with the diet. We started the diet change in a place of doubt, but we are firm believers now. Changing your diet is not a cure all for all ailments, but I stand on the side that I think it changes and improves almost everything. And truly, you'll never know if you don't try it. You may be missing out on a more peaceful existence if your courageous enough to try. And your child could be released from an emotional/behavioral prison if you give it a chance.*****

In my last blog about Noah I explained that we went to Wyndgate Health in St. Paul and Noah got tested for Gluten and Dairy allergies, along with discovering his low levels of certain vitamins. We went GFDF immediately and saw a difference within days.

What do I mean by difference? One of my husbands favorite moments to share is when he took Noah to a T-ball practice. When they pulled up, Noah was adamant that Paul had the wrong field. He was supposed to have a game at a different field, not practice. He was angry, confused, and yelling with tears that dad had it wrong. He was growing anxious and terrified that he would miss his game. We felt this was a bit over the top response for a T-ball practice. You can be confused, but yelling and crying and shouting and calling your dad a lier is a bit much for an almost six year old. Paul pointed out to the field, and showed him his team practicing. They still needed to call me to confirm it, and once that happened, Noah calmed down and went out to practice.

My favorite is that our family has a rule that you have to stay in bed until 7am. We are loud so you can read quietly in bed till then if you wake up ahead of time. Noah woke up one morning at 645am and I told him he could grab a book but he had to stay in bed. He got so angry with me. He was crying and thrashing in his bed, (this is when I really knew something was wrong.) He couldn't stop. This went on till 7am. I told him he couldn't come out until he found control and could stop. It went on for another 30 min. He couldn't understand or make a choice to stop and realize that he could come out. He was slurring his words. He was thrashing around in the bed. He was lost to us in a state of utter and complete despair and anger. he was full of rage and hurtful words.

These things would happen randomly even though most of the time, everything else was a battle, or a discussion, or debate, or frustration for the fact that he didn't like what I had to say, or someone else for that matter. He couldn't join Karate because he was too emotional. When he got upset, which was often, he would start to tense every muscle because he couldn't control the emotion and rage starting to build. His eyes would be so angry. His words would be so hurtful, and he would always need to hit something. Hit something or throw something, or kick something. Anger and rage and tears. So many tears. And lots of yelling.

These episodes stopped within days of cutting out gluten and dairy. If he was upset with me, it lasted for no more than two minutes. And even after that he was extremely sorry. Most of the time after cutting these two things out of his diet, he could comply really easy to what we were doing.

Pause*** I understand that food allergies and intolerance's have become one of the leading ways to help curve/curb/cure ADD, ADHD, Asbergers, Autism, Sensory issues, and other issues that fall in this line. I didn't really see any symptoms lining up with this list in regards to Noah. I just had what I considered a normal kid who was really sensitive and hot tempered like his mom and dad. I considered it genetics so I wasn't really looking.

Well, we adhered to our new diet for two weeks and then the tornado hit. For about a week, something was still off. Noah was doing so much better. SO MUCH BETTER I didn't want to complain, but when he would still get mad at me, his eyes changed.

Parent's pay attention to the eyes!

They would fill with hate and rage, even for the briefest of moments. For two minutes max. I thought, well, its a ton better, maybe this is normal behavior? How am I supposed to know? But something still felt off.

After the tornado, Calvary Lutheran church where Paul used to work in Golden Valley rallied around us and helped us so much. They knew we were on a restrictive diet, and one of the congregation members volunteered to bring us food. He name is Dawn and she is a Naturopath. She brought bags of groceries and we sat and talked for a little while as the kids played.

It was great to pick her brain and I felt comfortable enough to discuss my small concerns about the diet not working as well as I thought it would. She started talking about mold build up and creating enough enzymes in his body, and I started to feel overwhelmed. She told me to come to her office in Golden Valley and she would test Noah for some other issues to see what else was going on.

Mold issues? More allergies? Tornado stress? Sleep deprived?

I felt lost and confused. I was standing in this place where all my walls got pushed down already. The way were eating had already changed so much. I mean, really? No sandwiches ever?! Come on! Now there might be other things. I started to find myself not knowing anything about food anymore. I didn't know what I was looking for when assessing my son's behavior. I didn't know what was a food thing, or an emotional thing, or a spiritual thing, or a physical thing, or a behavioral thing. Why was he acting up? What was he upset about? Was it really him, or was his body processing poison?

I wanted to scream that I didn't know anything anymore! How can you parent your kids or take care of them if you don't know what's going on with them? Man I felt lost.

We came home from the wedding in St. Louis and went to NewDawn clinic. There we discovered through an electric computer testing program that Noah wasn't just allergic to Gluten and Dairy, but ALSO

Soy/High Fructose Corn Syrup/Sugar/White potato's/Pork and all kinds of barley and wheat.

It started to make so much sense. To overcompensate the things we were taking out of his diet, we supplemented other fun things like juice, bacon, ham rolls, homemade french fries and fun candy for treats.

All the things he shouldn't be eating. So even though his body wasn't getting pounded by poison, we were still unknowing shoving it in. So ever since Memorial weekend our family has been Gluten/Dairy/Soy/potato/sugar free. We have traveled the country and it has been a challenge. Almost once a week my husband and I look at each other and we say, "Is this worth it?"

Then we look at our son. We remember all the previous things I have written about. Now our son stops and thinks before he freaks out, most of the time. He looks at me and at my request, says, "Yes Madam. OK mom." The sweet boy that everyone is used to, is my son most of the time now. Don't get me wrong, he is still six. He is still a sinner. He is still learning. He is still a kid. We have issues. We have breakdowns. We still struggle to share. We still struggle to listen. He's still six is what I'm saying. But there is more peace in my house now more than ever. Where we were feels like night and day from where we are now. The extra bonus is that my kids are eating healthier than ever before as well. All we eat is fruit and veggies and lean meat and lots of eggs.

Another strong benefit is that we are enjoying our son more than ever before. I feel like I am really getting to know him all over again. We can talk about stuff and he can listen. Again, he's still Noah which is a boy who loves to run, climb and dive into impromptu dance parties. He talks all the time and can't wait to share all he knows. He still has the same amount of energy and spirit and life. The difference is his capability to stop and think and make choices.

So, yes, the Tietjen's are on a huge diet. Paul likes to call it the joy free diet. Ironically, we have more joy in this house than ever before.