The thing is, I can understand how easy it is to slide from vegan to not vegan unless you're oh so strict about it. The plan is that Isaac is on a vegan diet 4 days a week, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays vegetarian, while Wednesday is our omnivorous day.
The plan seems fine, and we stick to it pretty well for dinners, but what we find is that as we look back on our food diary, every day but one over the last two weeks Isaac has had an omnivorous diet! One day was a vegetarian day. Now, mind you, we mostly stick to the plan. But often leftovers for lunch, or french toast for breakfast, or some morsel of meat will keep a day from being completely vegan. But still, we are surprised. Really? 13 out of the last 14 days Isaac ate omnivorously? So much for giving vegan a shot! Now that we're aware of it though, we are going to cinch down more now and see how the next weeks go.
Analyzing the data from the past month, it looks like we can make a case for Isaac's poop patterns and whether or not he's eating animal based protein. We'll keep scrutinizing and keep you posted. Lately we've been a little concerned about looser stools than we expect. Partly, that's why we're talking about being vegan today.
There are so many exciting ways to eat vegan. Recipe and food blogs abound, so making the adjustment has actually been more enjoyable and easier than the overwhelming feeling for Bonnie at the beginning. However, we are understanding the difference between being vegan, nad being almost vegan.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
more poop, and probiotics
Well, the day after that last post we had another poop incident. On one hand, we were thinking even more about it being a potty training issue, but then we drew a conclusion that seems obvious. Since Isaac was having that episode of vomiting, we haven't been giving him that probiotic capsule (s. boulardii). First, it was because we didn't want to upset his touchy stomach, but then when we all went to the in-laws' we did so without those probiotics. This morning I ventured out and found some Florastor at Walmart and we'll let that do for the next couple days until we get back home. Today his poop was looking better but let's see what happens in the next few days.
If Isaac's poop has a dramatic turnaround, we have even stronger evidence in his case of regular probiotic use correlating with good stools, and not giving probiotics correlating with bad stools. I'll want to tell the doctor if that's the case, and see what he thinks of experimenting a little with reducing the sulfasalazine. (I can't help but think the antibiotic Sulfa drug compromises in part the probiotic impact. We talked about this with our doc, who assured us the Sulfa is not impacting the good bacteria in the gut. I want to know more.)
Through all this, Isaac's had great spirits. How nice it was to toss him up today and play some with him. On a blog like this, I want to focus more on all the positive things about our family situation. I am also thinking about incorporating a "poop scoop" report which hopefully might help encourage others to keep a in/out diary, and might help others of you notice any patterns or similarities or anything else of note.
If Isaac's poop has a dramatic turnaround, we have even stronger evidence in his case of regular probiotic use correlating with good stools, and not giving probiotics correlating with bad stools. I'll want to tell the doctor if that's the case, and see what he thinks of experimenting a little with reducing the sulfasalazine. (I can't help but think the antibiotic Sulfa drug compromises in part the probiotic impact. We talked about this with our doc, who assured us the Sulfa is not impacting the good bacteria in the gut. I want to know more.)
Through all this, Isaac's had great spirits. How nice it was to toss him up today and play some with him. On a blog like this, I want to focus more on all the positive things about our family situation. I am also thinking about incorporating a "poop scoop" report which hopefully might help encourage others to keep a in/out diary, and might help others of you notice any patterns or similarities or anything else of note.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
days that end in question marks
A day like today is a day that ends in question marks. The first point of note is that our home this week stretches across two states, as I am in Texas and the wife and tots are in Louisiana. So yeah, it's a nice peaceful home for me, but no, actually I really miss having my brood within shouting distance. Bonnie and the children are enjoying Mamita and Papa and Aunt Liz so it sounds like all is well on that side.
So Isaac pooed his shorts today, with no easily understandable explanation. The culprit poo was also looser than we like to see, so all this, you see, is why there are the question marks. We go to bed wondering if it's going to be worse tomorrow, if maybe it was just excitement at the mall where it happened, and maybe it's a potty training issue? And back to examining the diet and symptoms tracker to see if we can scrutinize any possible causes? We suggested the idea of dog allergies and colitis--try googling that one. But mostly, what next?
As you know, it's best to focus on now. And now, presumably, Isaac is sleeping, and dreaming of triceratops, and maybe squishing around in tar pits.
On Saturday morning hopefully I'll be there to twirl him around and get those laughs and squeals of delight which we can count as blessings at the end of the day. And tonight, instead of ending the day in question marks, I'll go nod off myself, and maybe join Isaac in the late Cretaceous, and accompanying ellipses....
So Isaac pooed his shorts today, with no easily understandable explanation. The culprit poo was also looser than we like to see, so all this, you see, is why there are the question marks. We go to bed wondering if it's going to be worse tomorrow, if maybe it was just excitement at the mall where it happened, and maybe it's a potty training issue? And back to examining the diet and symptoms tracker to see if we can scrutinize any possible causes? We suggested the idea of dog allergies and colitis--try googling that one. But mostly, what next?
As you know, it's best to focus on now. And now, presumably, Isaac is sleeping, and dreaming of triceratops, and maybe squishing around in tar pits.
On Saturday morning hopefully I'll be there to twirl him around and get those laughs and squeals of delight which we can count as blessings at the end of the day. And tonight, instead of ending the day in question marks, I'll go nod off myself, and maybe join Isaac in the late Cretaceous, and accompanying ellipses....
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
normal sickness and UC
We haven't yet determined how normal sicknesses affect Isaac, but right now we're getting some ideas. A couple days after the last episode I wrote about, with the diarrhea, Isaac began throwing up. Of course, the first time, we didn't suspect it was anything more than an isolated event, but it was weird, because he vomited after taking his probiotic capsule (He has recently become good about taking pills--which is a whole other subject to blog about because that is one challenge of meds and young'uns.) and curiously, the pill itself stayed down. After that, at dinner, he spewed all of the rice milk he had drunk when we finally got him to take a bite of his food. At this point we were thinking that maybe he has a sort of upset stomach or that he had some bug. After he threw up that time, he did eat some more of his food without a problem.
Well, the next day, Bonnie reported that it seemed evident to her that he had learned how to throw up in defiance when we try to get him to eat something he doesn't want to eat. But as it is, we're not a 100% sure of that either, because he did develop a fever that day, which has persisted throughout today, and now he has a little sneezing, coughing, and sinus drip. In short, it seems like he has a little cold, and right now we're in observation mode because he has it, the other kids don't, and we hope it doesn't trigger a bowel issue or something like that. His appetite has definitely been down the last couple days, and he's had some tylenol and some cough medicine to help with some symptoms. Thankfully, his poop has seemed okay and he is on a regular sort of schedule even though it's twice a day since his last diarrhea episode I wrote about.
We have finally got into a good habit with our diet/symptom diary. We used Matt's spreadsheets (found in the left margin here), adjusted a little for our needs, and it's a great tool for us not only for the documentation and record keeping, but also for the reflecting and together time and discussion it promotes every evening when we fill it out.
Well, the next day, Bonnie reported that it seemed evident to her that he had learned how to throw up in defiance when we try to get him to eat something he doesn't want to eat. But as it is, we're not a 100% sure of that either, because he did develop a fever that day, which has persisted throughout today, and now he has a little sneezing, coughing, and sinus drip. In short, it seems like he has a little cold, and right now we're in observation mode because he has it, the other kids don't, and we hope it doesn't trigger a bowel issue or something like that. His appetite has definitely been down the last couple days, and he's had some tylenol and some cough medicine to help with some symptoms. Thankfully, his poop has seemed okay and he is on a regular sort of schedule even though it's twice a day since his last diarrhea episode I wrote about.
We have finally got into a good habit with our diet/symptom diary. We used Matt's spreadsheets (found in the left margin here), adjusted a little for our needs, and it's a great tool for us not only for the documentation and record keeping, but also for the reflecting and together time and discussion it promotes every evening when we fill it out.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
speaking too soon....
Well, in the last blog I gave a good report, but it was a little too soon. Within an hour of posting, we were cleaning up brown watery puddles of diarrhea on the floor where Isaac couldn't run to the bathroom fast enough.
Bathroom troubles with tots presents a certain challenge. When Isaac started having his problems last year he wasn't potty trained yet. By the end of the year something clicked and he knew what was going on. But folks, that's still just a couple months ago! So when something like this happened, as parents, we have to ask the question if it's a potty training issue or something else. But on the other hand, it's easy to tell it's not a potty training issue when it's his second poop of the day and it's loose diarrhea compared to a nice stool.
The first thing that happens, simultaneous with the clean up, is a frustration, "What could be the cause of this?!" Everything we are doing is careful and systematic, and we don't like to see something we can't explain. But then we replay the day, and realize he must have got a "treat" at church that afternoon. "Treats" like granola bars and goldfish, and well, almost anything bought in a store, contain soy lecethin or soybean oil, and if Isaac gets these things in his system, they're going to take a fast track of evacuation. The gals watching him that day were different from the regular Sunday crew, so we're putting it down to that.
As some of you may know dealing with allergies, we just have to be on top of this with Isaac's caregivers. I think it paints a good picture if we explain that if he gets anything unacceptable, in eight hours he will have uncontrollable diarrhea all over our house in a trail to the bathroom.
Other than that, we've started using the spreadsheet Matt posted for tracking diet and symptoms. And that was a couple days ago. Isaac has seemed to bounce back fine from that episode of diarrhea. We quizzed Orry about foods at church. Usually Orry (our four year old) is conscientious of what Isaac eats and "if it has soy in it", but we couldn't get a clear answer if they ate something or what they ate.
This morning is an early morning at the zoo, and we'll report more later.
Bathroom troubles with tots presents a certain challenge. When Isaac started having his problems last year he wasn't potty trained yet. By the end of the year something clicked and he knew what was going on. But folks, that's still just a couple months ago! So when something like this happened, as parents, we have to ask the question if it's a potty training issue or something else. But on the other hand, it's easy to tell it's not a potty training issue when it's his second poop of the day and it's loose diarrhea compared to a nice stool.
The first thing that happens, simultaneous with the clean up, is a frustration, "What could be the cause of this?!" Everything we are doing is careful and systematic, and we don't like to see something we can't explain. But then we replay the day, and realize he must have got a "treat" at church that afternoon. "Treats" like granola bars and goldfish, and well, almost anything bought in a store, contain soy lecethin or soybean oil, and if Isaac gets these things in his system, they're going to take a fast track of evacuation. The gals watching him that day were different from the regular Sunday crew, so we're putting it down to that.
As some of you may know dealing with allergies, we just have to be on top of this with Isaac's caregivers. I think it paints a good picture if we explain that if he gets anything unacceptable, in eight hours he will have uncontrollable diarrhea all over our house in a trail to the bathroom.
Other than that, we've started using the spreadsheet Matt posted for tracking diet and symptoms. And that was a couple days ago. Isaac has seemed to bounce back fine from that episode of diarrhea. We quizzed Orry about foods at church. Usually Orry (our four year old) is conscientious of what Isaac eats and "if it has soy in it", but we couldn't get a clear answer if they ate something or what they ate.
This morning is an early morning at the zoo, and we'll report more later.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
poop
for reference:
By this poop chart, we can discuss stool consistency with a common reference. For the most part, people with IBD seem to struggle with diarrhea, but also many are affected with constipation instead/too. In Isaac's case, as an infant, he went from normal infant breastmilk poop (which is not solid), to a similar consistency of brown soft stool when he started eating solids. At this time with most kids, their stool gets harder and "normal"--Bristol Poo #3 or #4.
But for almost 20 months, that soft stool seemed fine. We talked about it with the doctors, but they didn't seem too concerned. However, last July the diarrhea began to worsen in the sense of liquidity, frequency, and duration of the bowel movement. (As a note of interest, we think it was about when we switched from soy milk to almond milk that this happened. Even though we've determined that soy is what causes him to react immediately--at least for now.). Then it got worse and bloody and progressed worse and worse until a dramatic turnaround to #2 for three weeks, then a gradual shift to #4-#5 and worse for some time, and then a gradual improvement until about two weeks ago, whereupon he's right at #3-#4 once a day or sometimes skipping a day if he has a low residue day.
Keeping a food/poop diary is a must for us while Isaac is growing and developing. We need to get on that. What we need to develop is a good method for us collecting our menu items and to report on stool on the same calendar. Bonnie already writes down the menu plans but it's always on separate pieces of paper. Hmmm.... Any thoughts or ideas or what works for you?
By this poop chart, we can discuss stool consistency with a common reference. For the most part, people with IBD seem to struggle with diarrhea, but also many are affected with constipation instead/too. In Isaac's case, as an infant, he went from normal infant breastmilk poop (which is not solid), to a similar consistency of brown soft stool when he started eating solids. At this time with most kids, their stool gets harder and "normal"--Bristol Poo #3 or #4.
But for almost 20 months, that soft stool seemed fine. We talked about it with the doctors, but they didn't seem too concerned. However, last July the diarrhea began to worsen in the sense of liquidity, frequency, and duration of the bowel movement. (As a note of interest, we think it was about when we switched from soy milk to almond milk that this happened. Even though we've determined that soy is what causes him to react immediately--at least for now.). Then it got worse and bloody and progressed worse and worse until a dramatic turnaround to #2 for three weeks, then a gradual shift to #4-#5 and worse for some time, and then a gradual improvement until about two weeks ago, whereupon he's right at #3-#4 once a day or sometimes skipping a day if he has a low residue day.
Keeping a food/poop diary is a must for us while Isaac is growing and developing. We need to get on that. What we need to develop is a good method for us collecting our menu items and to report on stool on the same calendar. Bonnie already writes down the menu plans but it's always on separate pieces of paper. Hmmm.... Any thoughts or ideas or what works for you?
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