Welcome back. I hope your day is going well. Many things feel out of our control, like gas prices, but don’t lose hope. Take each day as it comes. I tell friends some days, I take five minutes at a time because that’s all I can handle. I, too, have to remember our Lord still sits on the throne. In a world screaming all around me, I know the Lord hears my cries. I pray you too are seeking the Lord each day.
Let’s continue our conversation on stool testing and gut health in children with autism. If you are joining me for the first time, you are about to learn something very interesting. Check out my first two posts on stool testing. You can find them here or below.
Starting Over At 54 – Stool Testing – Part 1
Starting Over At 54 – Stool Testing – Part 2
How did we get here?
Jaxon is my three-year-old grand nephew who came to live with us in April 2020. Little did we know, Jaxon would be diagnosed with autism and have gut issues a year and a half later. We never saw either coming, and now we are taking every step possible to get him the help he needs. This experience has been like reading cliff notes for a big exam and hoping you remember everything you read, all the while realizing you should have read the textbook because the test is much harder than you imagined.
In my last blog, Stool Testing – Part 2, I explained that we had Jaxon’s stool tested at the recommendation of a friend who had her son’s stool tested seven years ago. The stool testing revealed Jaxon has a major yeast belly, C-Diff, and three other small bacteria residing in his gut. His immune system resides in a gut of despair and must be corrected immediately.
Looking at Jaxon, we didn’t know his insides were such a mess. Jaxon looks like a healthy little boy. But in thinking back to all the diapers we have changed over the past year, we realize loose stools were common. We rarely saw solid stools, and honestly, that’s because he spends five days a week at a private daycare while we work. The other reason I never considered the loose stools was because he drank milk for breakfast. I have been told the loose stools were most likely caused by the C-Diff and yeast, not the milk. I think of the various rashes on his arms and face, all pointing to yeast belly. The signs were there and we missed them.
Where do we go from here?
Today, I want to share the treatment plan Jaxon is currently on in the event your child suffers from similar symptoms. You may be an adult suffering from loose stools and gut irritability and could benefit from testing your stool. But know this, not all doctors are willing to test stool.
Disclaimer: The information expressed by this page is meant solely to share our personal experiences. The food and medical suggestions should not be in any way construed as child-specific advice. Any choices you make to determine your child’s treatment or your own are entirely at your discretion.
What is the goal?
- Kill the yeast!
- Kill the C-Diff and three other small bacteria.
- Build up the good gut bacteria.
- Get his system regulated.
Sounds easy enough, right? Not so fast. This can take months to get Jaxon’s gut back to a good place, but we must do it to avoid bigger internal gut problems down the road.
Jaxon’s treatment
No sugar! Get rid of all foods containing sugar real and fake as much as possible. No fruit either – it’s natural sugar, but it’s still sugar, and yeast loves sugar! I love sugar too. Easy to do? Not at all. The sugar beast is real, and it’s powerful. Veggie pouches in your local grocery normally have sugar. Many foods naturally have sugar in them or added to them, so be sure to read all labels.
Do not eat anything with yeast. This is very hard to do, considering so many things have yeast.
There are no white things – no white potatoes, white bread, or white rice.
Go as gluten-free as much as possible. We’re trying to go non-GMO as much as possible too.
Eat meat and veggies as much as possible.
Meats are limited to fish, chicken, and turkey. Tuna in the can is not advised. Jaxon needs to eat 50-60% veggies a day if possible. Clean and organic veggies are best if possible, and not all vegetables are an option. So, we are going from eating no vegetables to 50-60% a day. Yikes!
Review the DO NOT EAT list of foods (it’s long) and steer clear of those foods as much as possible for the first 28 days. Killing the yeast completely can take up to six months.
So what can Jaxon eat? That list is not bad. It’s doable. Will it be fun? No.
Sounds complicated, right?
Don’t worry, it is. Sounds expensive, right? It is. But you can get creative. So far, the biggest challenge for us has been finding food options and getting him to eat these new foods.
Jaxon goes into fight or flight when he doesn’t want to do something, and mealtime is no exception. Jaxon is a very picky eater, so we have had battles at mealtime, and veggies have flown across the room and thrown on the floor. We’ve been hit multiple times as we try to feed him. We are in this position partly because we didn’t push the veggies before because he refused to try them. Now he has no choice but to eat veggies.
Word of advice – start pushing veggies early even if they fight it. Find ways to get healthy veggies in your kid.
I understand it’s a big change for him, but I am happy to report he has eaten more veggies in the last two weeks than he has his entire life, and he has hit us more in the past two weeks than ever before. But we must stay focused on the end goal.
Honestly, I can report that meat and vegetables in their natural state and unseasoned are disgusting since going clean ourselves. I praise the Lord daily someone created spices.
Supplements
The doctor suggested seven supplements for a comprehensive treatment plan for Jaxon. We were already doing two of them, so all we had to do was implement the remaining five. This is not an easy task by any means because two of the supplements are powder, and it is tough to hide powder in the foods Jaxon is allowed to eat.
But here’s the list of supplements prescribed to him. Each of these supplements has a specific purpose in battling gut bacteria. Many of these can be found at Whole Foods.
- Vitamin D drops – 2 drops each day.
- Xymogen ProbioMax DF 30B CFU probiotic capsules
- Continue current multivitamin – this is a liquid form for toddlers. He will not eat gummies.
- Nordic Naturals DHA Jr. Liquid Omega
- Nutribiotic Grapefruit Seed Extract drops
- Xymogen L-glutamine powder
- Garden of Life 100% Organic Coconut MCT Oil
Further instructions
- Attempt to adhere to the Anti-Candida (anti-sugar/yeast) diet for the full 28 days as best we can.
- The stool analysis will need to be repeated after six months on the program for a comparative analysis to ensure the microbiome bacteria have been rebalanced, the yeast presence has been eradicated, and the pathogenic bacteria has been eradicated.
- To ensure adequate hydration, he needs to drink at least 1/2 his body weight in ounces of water per day. (approx. 16 ounces)
It’s a lot
It is a lot, but when I consider the alternative, I would rather tackle the gut issues now than find ourselves in the hospital years from now with a worse condition, not to mention all the therapy that would fall short of our goal because of his hidden gut problems.
Now, according to the doctor, let’s look at the common symptoms of candida (yeast).
Common symptoms of candida: (yeast)
-Skin and nail fungal infections, such as athlete’s foot or toenail fungus
-Feeling tired and worn down, or suffering from chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia
-Digestive issues such as bloating, constipation, stomach aches, or diarrhea
-Autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Ulcerative colitis, Lupus, Psoriasis, Scleroderma, or Multiple sclerosis
-Difficulty concentrating, poor memory, lack of focus, ADD, ADHD, and brain fog
-Skin issues like eczema, psoriasis, hives, and rashes
-Irritability, mood swings, anxiety, or depression
-Vaginal infections, urinary tract infections, rectal itching, or vaginal itching
-Severe seasonal allergies or itchy ears
-Strong sugar and refined carbohydrate cravings
My friends, when I look at the list, I see several of these symptoms in Jaxon.
We made our mistake in thinking that a toddler could not experience some of the symptoms above because they are a child, but we were wrong. Not all pediatricians know to look for yeast belly. Toddlers can and do experience gut issues.
So now I wonder
Regarding children with autism, how many children are experiencing these symptoms, and their parents don’t know?
I believe there may be many children experiencing gut issues who do not know how to express themselves. Like Jaxon, many children with autism cannot verbalize, so how would their parents know? I am not trying to create chaos or question someone else’s parenting, but we wouldn’t have known if my friend hadn’t told me about stool testing.
Join me next time as we dig deeper into the newest leg of this gut journey. There’s a lot more information to share. Starting Over At 54 – Stool Testing – Part 4 – Signs
Blessings!
The Teaching Lady
Starting Over At 54 – Stool Testing – Part 1
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