Because this is a blog, I will probably periodically remind you to start at the bottom. Latest is greatest, and on the top of the page. Grace’s story is packed with beneficial information for anyone, and I wouldn’t want you to miss any. 
So, we left off with her diagnosis of FSGS with a collapsing variant.
BUT……….before we had gotten the official diagnosis, all we knew was that Gracie was spilling protein into her urine and her creat. was high. I took her to the naturopath right away.
- Dr. Kim put her on an anti-inflammatory diet, excluding any foods that are generally irritating to our bodies. (Wheat, pork, red meat, citrus, dairy, eggs, etc. Too many to name!) She requested that if we couldn’t get organic fruits and veggies, at least buy organic meats. The antibiotics, hormones and animal by-products they give to these animals we ingest are so damaging to our systems.
- She tested Gracie for food allergies. This was just 3 drops of blood in a kit sent off to a lab that measures IGE and IGA levels.
- Then Dr. Kim also put Grace on an acidophilus/bifidus powder, a digestive enzyme, cod liver oil, apple cider vinegar, a liquid B vitamin, and one homeopathic remedy. These are all to boost her immune system and to aid in her digestion, as it seems her body is immune confused and having difficulty completely processing foods.
- We were to use a castor oil pack with heat on Grace’s belly every night, and do a little lymphatic massage, or skin brushing as well.
We continued with this for under a month, and pretty much fell off the wagon. The nephrologist had Grace’s blood tested again and her results were anything but encouraging. I was disappointed, and a bit discouraged. A good friend, Amy, later told me that when you make a change, like a dietary one, it takes a good 4-6 weeks for the risiduals of the old stuff to leave, and another bunch of weeks for any treatment to take effect. The effects are not immediate, as we tend to expect them. Then we found out Grace’s allergies; eggs, dairy, gluten, almonds and hazlenuts. We stayed somewhat true to refraining from those things, but still let things slide here and there.
Then came the biopsy, and two weeks later the diagnosis. This was completely life changing. Devastating at first, (I was a mess), but this has grown into something powerful, somehow. I’ve never felt so strong in my entire life. More on that later.
So, the nephrologist gave her information, which is in my previous entry, and I found the term “idiopathic disease” unacceptable. That’s when my real drive began.
We returned to Dr. Kim, the naturopath. First of all, she agreed with me in that well, yes, it kind of is an auto-immune problem. She was very reassuring that there are so many things we can do to help Grace, and I love Dr. Kim for never calling this a “disease”. She went at the situation much more aggressively, and really began working hard on correcting Grace’s upside down, confused immune system. In addition to her other treatments mentioned above, she did a number of other things. There were a few other homeopathic remedies added, and one group of them is now helping Gracie with a “global cleanse”. The cleanse also is targeting her kidneys and liver, really helping to drain the organs, as well as the rest of her, of any nasty toxins built up over time. Dr. Kim specifically mentioned working to reverse any negative effects from immunizations. We go back to see her at the end of the month.
Our little Gracie is such a trooper about taking all this stuff, but frequently asks “when am I going to be done with this diet?” I usually reply that everyone is on some type of diet. No one can just eat what they want, whenever they want. However, Todd, myself, Grace and the babies have made trips to the Gluten Free Trading Company, The Outpost, Health Hut, and an unsuccesful trip to Molly’s Gluten Free Bakery(they were closed….rrrrrrr). We have found quite a few options. Soy based cheese, which Grace actually loves , and we got a few bread mixes. Yesterday we made our first GF(gluten-free) loaf using an egg substitute. Grace loved it and is SO happy she can have bread for lunches at school again! Woo hoo! My point is that a big change in your diet can be difficult at first, but is worth it, and does get easier as time goes by.
There have been a few great side benefits in Grace’s life that “accidentaly” came along with the allergy food avoidances. Things that I never even considered health problems have gone away.
- Grace used to always sound a bit congested, and never seemed to completely shake a cold. She would seem to be fine after having a cold for two weeks, but at night for an additional two weeks, she would cough and hack and sometimes choke on phlegm all night long.
- At bedtime, she would sleep in almost nothing, claiming that pjs were too hot. A short while after falling asleep, she was wet with sweat and had thrown the covers off.
- When Grace would have a cold, she could barely hear.
Since changing her diet, Grace has had a bad cold that came and completely left in UNDER A WEEK, her hearing is not an issue, and she sleeps with covers on, sweat free every night!! What a wonderful and exciting side effect!
A good friend of mine, Kristen, just sent me an email yesterday telling me that she was recently diagnosed with celiac-gluten intolerance. She got a gluten-free cookbook and there was a quote from it that I feel speaks volumes……see for yourself.
“Early man hunted for meat and fish and gathered fruits, seeds, herbs, tubers, and roots. As civilization progressed, crops of complex carbohydrates were cultivated for the purpose of stabilizing food supplies. Rice was the most cultivated species in Asia, sorghum and millet in Africa, and in America maize, or corn, was the major crop. Wheat and barley containing very low gluten content were grown only in Southwest Asia. As time went on, farming of wheat and barley spread into Europe. But our ancestors never ate bread as we know it today.
The industrial and agricultural revolutions of the past 200 years have changed our diet faster than we can change genetically. Today, our wheat crops have a high gluten content (50% higher than centuries ago in some cases) for the purpose of improved bread baking, and with it we see a rise in the prevalence of gluten intolerance. Just as humans are predisposed to store excess calories as fat, the same genetic make-up that tolerated wheat with low gluten levels cannot tolerate modern foods with high gluten levels.”
(Thanks for letting me share, Kristen!)
Doesn’t it make you wonder what you’ve been living with unnecessarily?
Seriously.
Well, it’s getting close to time to wake up, so I’d better get a nap in. I am just bubbling with excitement to share everything I’ve learned and gathered through this so far – I can’t wait to tell you the rest!
Let me leave you with this. My sister Myra told me yesterday that she had just been at a Chiropractic Seminar and the instructor was talking about the energies within and surrounding us all. He said, “Energy combined with thought expands into reality”. I’m finding this to be true.
I hope you find my energy infectius and spread it in your own life!
Once again, I love each and every one of you for your positive thoughts and your support.
Angie
