Graham: a GI update

Ready to EAT!!!

Today marked the end of my two-week elimination diet.  Just to recap, I avoided all dairy, soy, wheat, eggs, fish, shellfish, and nuts.  I also avoided red meat.  The GI doctor had told me that red meat should be OK for Graham, but after I re-introduced it to my diet, I noticed that Graham was fussier than normal and had diarrhea.  So after one delicious steak, I avoided it again.  Many people have asked what I CAN eat: red-sauce pasta (rice pasta), chicken, pork, lots of fruits, lots of veggies, and coconut and rice milks.  I make myself a giant smoothie every morning with milk, two cups of spinach, two tablespoons of ground flaxseed, a banana, some pineapple chunks, and/or a peach, strawberries, and blueberries.  I have really tried to increase my spinach intake as it is full of nutrients that I might be missing out on otherwise, and drinking it in smoothie-form is pretty much the only way I can get it down.  There are a few salad dressings/marinades that I use to spice things up, but I also make my own and have learned to cook with fresh herbs.  This diet is definitely restrictive but is very holistic.  I still have plenty of energy to work out and have lost 6 pounds in two weeks (I attribute that to all the fiber!).  I don't even get very hungry because I allow myself to eat as much as I want of everything I'm allowed to eat.

Anyway...onto the good stuff.  Graham's doctor had advised me to call him at the end of the two-week trial, so we chatted today for a while.  Graham is definitely less fussy and has not had diarrhea since I stopped eating beef (along with all the other restrictions the doctor had suggested).  He is, however, still not sleeping well at night, and he has had black pepper-like specks in his stools for a week (this is most likely blood).  The presence of those black specks indicate that Graham's GI tract is in the process of healing.  Because this is still a work in process, the doctor does not want me to add any foods back into my diet for at least two more weeks.  This was not really what I was hoping to hear, but I can deal with it for two more weeks.  But I was given very exciting news: we could start feeing Graham some solid foods!  He has been VERY interested in what goes on during mealtime, so I knew he was mentally ready to eat.  I'm glad the doctor agreed that he was physically ready, also.  We are allowed to follow the same pattern of normal food introduction, only avoiding those allergenic foods that we have previously identified (but most of these are not introduced until much later, anyway).  We have an in-office appointment with the GI doctor in two weeks.  If there is still blood in Graham's stool at that point, the doctor will probably perform an endoscopy to see what's going on in there.  On a related note, I should know tomorrow whether the insurance will cover the cost of the prescription formula.

So tonight, Graham had his first taste of rice cereal!  He seemed to like it at first but changed his mind after about 10 bites. I'm not sure why, but he was definitely not having any of it at the end.  We will definitely try again tomorrow.

Clearly we were poisoning him.

Thanks for all the prayers on our behalf.  We are definitely seeing improvement, but we are not out of the woods yet.  Not only is Graham not completely healed, but I need support to stay the course with my diet.



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