Well, today went very well for me and Sean. He didn't scream or act disrespectfully to us at all today. He kicked Saya once, but he immediately apologized. So what changed? Well, one thing is he did get enough sleep. He had a sleepover with his best buddy the night before and they were up until 10:30 pm and decided to wake up at 4:30 am the next day! Therefore, he was pretty tired and slept for 12 hours straight. Another reason could be because I reintroduced him to his supplements. I used to give him a mix of vitamins and minerals, all liquid, in his juice in the morning but I decided that was just too much work to do it every morning. I remembered though that his mood did deteriorate after stopping the vitamins and decided to give it another shot. He takes mega dose of VitaminBs, Calcium, Magnesium, VitaminD, and blended minerals and vitamins to target his attention problems. The juice is too sweet when I put everything in it, so I add some water in the blend. He didnt' like it at first, but eventually got used to it. What do you know? It works! He was like a different boy today.
I am experiencing the difference myself also. Sean's liquid VitaminD from Costco came with a sample of liquid calcium and magnesium, so I decided to try it to see if it tastes different from Sean's liquid calcium. The texture of it is like dissolved cornstarch (not that I tried it), but the taste was ok. All I can say is that I felt great all day today. I was positive, happy (not manic) and very collective when handling potentially disastrous situations. It is amazing how a small change can make a big difference. It feels very promising that the change in diet could be enough to make Sean's life easier. I know he feels terrible whenever he loses control of his emotions and I know he is losing his self-esteem every time that happens. Something has to be done. Someone has to act, and that is Mike and I.
Since the new year began, I have been thinking about going back gluten free and eventually eliminating dairy as well if Sean's mood and behavior don't improve. I have done a lot of research on nutrition and brain chemistry, and all data points to certain foods affecting the productions neurotransmitters or blocking important chemicals to be absorbed by neuron receptors. Gluten found in wheat, barley and oats is one of them. Some people with digestive problems lack the proper filter to eliminate gluten from entering the blood stream. It's sort of like having a meshed wall in the stomach and the openings are too large so that it allows the gluten to pass inside the blood vessels. The gluten then gets carried up to the brain and attaches to neurons and causes problems. A person with gluten intolerance (not to be mixed up with allergy, which affects a person physically) may feel they cannot think straight or their brain is working slowly. It also affects mood and can make a person very irritable.
I veered away from special diet for a while since it's not easy. I used to make special meatballs and chicken nuggets in a batch and froze them. I also baked and brought gluten and milk free cupcakes every time Sean was invited to a birthday party. I did it for two years and one day the stress of everything got to me. I couldn't do it anymore. I focused on eliminating the stress factors from my life and the gluten and casein free diet was one of them. Now it's time to give it another try. My boys' life is tough enough, that is the least I can do as a Mom.
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