Brainwave Optimization Report 1

This was the report by Bonnie:

Deep Breath In

A friendly hug outside Whole Foods

To say the least, I was conflicted about starting this last week.  Isaac underwent 10 sessions of brainwave optimization.  That in itself was exciting.  The office where we got the treatments done was clear on the other side of town.  The treatments were each 2 hours long and we were doing 2 a day with a 2 hour break in between.  Those were the things I wasn't looking forward to.  Deep breath in.

I was looking forward to Isaac getting the treatments and excited about the possibilities it held for him.  I wasn't looking forward to a 40 minute drive each morning, waiting in a waiting room for 4 hours total with my other two kids, and then driving back 40 minutes to get home.  But we (I) pulled it all together, gritted our (my) teeth, and "happily" went along with it.  Deep breath in.

In our van

Now, I won't drag it out.  I'll let you know right now that after the first 2 hours in the waiting room, I was politely told that my kids were too loud for this office's reception area and that I would have to find some place else to wait.  A really deep breath in.  Now, I won't deny that my kids made noise while we were there.  They're kids.  Duh.  But I will defend them and say that they were well behaved and getting along and making the best of being in a waiting area that definitely wasn't made with a single child in mind.  So where did we go from here?  Our van.  Yep, we spent 4 hours each day waiting in our car for Isaac to get his treatments.  Deep breath in...

On the flip-side, Isaac did really great.  He had a good time and behaved himself just fine while having the treatments done.  It's too soon to tell how well it will work for his bowels, but we can already tell a difference in his concentration, speech, and sleeping behaviors.  And chances are that we will see some results in the next 1 to 6 weeks.  

What do you think it is?

All things considered, it was a good week.  Our lunch breaks were spent at the dinosaur museum and Whole Foods.  We got to dig for dinosaurs and learn about malacology.  We played at the park and watched movies on the laptop.  We survived.  Deep breath out.

brainwave optimization

Well, you won't believe what we are doing this month.  We are trying a brain state technologies series of treatments where a patient's head is hooked up to sensors and then sounds are played into the patient's ears which vary depending on the brain activity.  All of this is designed to help the brain sort of train and balance itself.  And, if you want my opinion on the matter, it seems at least a little dubious.

However, a good family friend who has had ALS for over 20 years has recently experienced some radical improvements using these treatments.  And my dear mother wants to help by covering the cost of these sessions, in hope of an improvement for Isaac.  And we of course would love improvement in Isaac's symptoms.  It is completely noninvasive--except for the wrench it throws at our daily routines during the week of sessions (twice daily, two hours each session).  No harm, and possibly a working treatment.  And really, it costs less than half of one of the two diagnostic colonoscopies Isaac has already had, and just a fraction of the treatments that are suggested next, which have unknown risks with young children and are given by injection every so often (I am speaking of Humira or Remicade).

Please allow me to give an update on Isaac's healing or not healing.  After the last round of not healed, Isaac has entered another cycle of somewhat healed, where his stools are solid or at least 5s and blood is not apparent.  As far as we can tell, this is a irregular periodic cycle.  We are still careful with his foods but allow in moderation most things as long as they aren't terribly processed.  We still want to experiment more with the SCD but we're also up against the butt of budgeting, so we've kind of held off on making big pantry shifts.  He seems to be doing pretty well on limited dairy and limited soy products. Although I have to say, he does seem to have an upset stomach more often, even if his bowels seem to be producing more healthy stools.

Basically, we have gotten out of the habit of our food and poop journals, and we need to get back in the swing of it.  Isaac is beginning to write more, so maybe we can share some responsibilities with him as far as logging some of the items.  We are still keeping up with all the prescribed meds, and we do seem to notice a difference with VSL.  To get him to take it, we started giving him just a half packet at a time, because if we use more than a half packet in any portion of anything, he notices it, but just a half-packet can be disguised by yogurt or a drink.