TSO: The Sequel

02/23/2009

 
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the last month.  I don’t mean just a lot – I mean, obsessively pondering our situation. 

The facts are as follows:

Liam:  on the TSO, his typical eczema and foot eczema both cleared up.  On the hook worms they both came back – but his executive function improved.  Yes, it did improve somewhat on the TSO, but it improved a great deal more when he was on both and he maintained those gains on the hookworm. 

Alex: this exact same scenario, only in different terms.  That is, on TSO, Alex was much HAPPIER.  His anxiety went down, so his OCD also decreased.  He was relaxed, social, smiling – and did a lot more “conversational talking.”  That is, in response to my comments to him, he’d echo back the thoughts that he agreed with.  Example:  “Alex, can you wait a minute for Mom?  I’m not done here.”  “Wait mom.  Wait mom.  Good waiting.”  Another example:  “Time to go, Alex.  Get your shoes and coat.”  “Ok, go.  Put shoes on.”  If you remember my stories from Disney World last year, he was trying to take part in a conversation about how we all wanted a cup of coffee.  “Ok, cup of coffee.”  That social interest, the happy and relaxed boy, vanished when we stopped the TSO last summer.

 

A Mixed Bag

02/03/2009

 
I never did give those 6 worms to Alex.  I chickened out.  Two reasons:  one is, I’m afraid that giving 6 will induce another bout of the excessive peeing.  As it is, Alex has been going too often and for the last 3 weeks, he’s gotten up in the middle of the night to pee every single night, except 1.  6 is too close to the 8 of September.  If I’m going to give more, I decided I’d prefer to stick to 5 or less.  Secondly, Jasper and Marc both feel I should wait longer to see how Alex fares on his current dose of 24.  So, I gave in to their wishes.

The reason I wanted to give more is, I want to try to shed some light – somehow – on what is going on here lately.  I am completely confused and it’s a very unpleasant feeling.  The negative:  Alex has been having significantly more mood swings every single day.  He’s back doing the unexplained crying, laughing, sillies, rapidly cycling (sometimes several in 1 minute) several times a day.  He’s also had several outbursts of tantrumming.  He’s over 5′ 5″ now and 130-something pounds.  When he let loose at the orthodontist’s office a week ago, while we were waiting for Liam, there’s not a whole lot I can do about it.  Also, he’s been picking the skin off his fingers possibly worse than I have ever seen.  His thumbs are a bloody pulp.    There is no improvements in expressive language.