Dr. Clevidence met with my wife and I on a warm day Monday, October 3rd at 5:00pm. I had arrived at the conclusion that Dr. Clevidence would be our best option for starting off with classical homeopathy after doing much reading, especially from the blog The Light and numerous others touting the efficacy of natural homeopathic remedies that have dramatically improved and, in some cases, cured a child of Autism and PANDAS.
Our doctor has had experience with numerous children with anxiety and various types of issues, this will be her first experience with a 13 year old girl who has been fighting PANDAS since she was 4. The doctor provided us with a CD to listen to that explains what to expect from natural homeopathy and how to help them pinpoint the exact remedy that will help lift the fog from our daughter's mind.
Our daughters symptoms as of the meeting on 10/3/11 were as follows:
- Strong aversion to smells, especially strong ones that could permeate her clothes or get into her skin, especially her hands, such as:
- fragrant soaps, shampoos/conditioners (will not put conditioner in her hair)
- strong cooking smells, such as when my wife and I stir fry beans in oil, scrambled eggs or omeletes.
- Restaurants such as Subway (strong smell of baking bread), anyplace that serves fajitas
- High levels of anxiety around
- fear of the dark (sometimes to the point she sleeps with the ceiling fan light on).
- school/homework
- bowels (in January 2011 we had to have her "cleaned out" due to impaction. Basically she was holding it in). Now she goes to the bathroom anywhere from 3 to 10 times a day because pee or poop "suddenly" needs to come out.
- Bedtime routine takes anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour, all around going to the bathroom and pushing for all she has to get it all out (even if there's nothing there).
- Raging anger at times with screaming to the point of exhaustion.
- Ripping fingernails off and toenails. Once to the point we had to go to podiatrist to remove a sliver of a toenail that was infected.
- Pulling out eyelashes out for a couple of years and, at times, her eyebrow hairs.
What's even more fascinating is that some smells have no affect on her. Even some things she does with her hands don't bother her, like:
- Riding, grooming, washing horses and even mucking the stalls.
- planting flowers with daddy.
- Cooking and preparing eggs, muffins, etc...
- Doing the dishes
REMEDY PRESCRIBED: STRAMONIUM
DOSAGE: 3-4 PELLETS/DAY TAKEN 20 MINUTES BEFORE FOOD OR DRINK AND NO FOOD OR DRINK 20 MINUTES AFTER DOSAGE.
We chose to give it to our daughter in the afternoon right after returning home from school. She usually has a snack before she starts her homework, so instead, she gets her remedy, then 20 minutes afterwards, she continues with her snack.
Chronologically here's what's happened since then:
10/10/11
Monday night (has not had her first dosage of the remedy) had a really bad dream.
10/11/11
Tuesday afternoon began remedy.
Tuesday night slept with light on.
10/12/11
Wednesday night slept with the light on.
10/13/11
Thursday night slept with light. She was much more difficult with helping her with her homework again. My wife and daughter are so much alike that when Julie has a frustrating homework assignment and Beth attempts to help her (whether she asked for help or not) they exchange very short/terse words. The good news is that when my wife feels she's being talked do with no respect, Julie gets sent to her room until she can talk to us with respect and calmly. Usually the threat of being sent to her room is enough and she calms down.
10/14/11
Friday night Julie slept with the light on, but promised that she wouldn't need it after this.
10/15/11
Saturday night Julie did not sleep with the light on, however when we tucked her in, she wanted the door to her room cracked open. She has made it a regular ritual now that within 30 minutes to one hour after she goes to bed, she'll yell, "Mommy," and either Beth or I will yell up to her, "What, Julie!" She responds this way every time; "I'm scared." To which either we'll go upstairs and calm her down and tell her she's safe and there's nothing to be scared of and, usually, she'll go to sleep. Other nights we'll yell up to her that she's fine and go to sleep. This time when she did it, we told her she was fine and to go to sleep.
10/16/11
Sunday afternoon. Julie has left her eyelashes and fingernails alone for 21 days. I had placed a reward out there for her that if she did leave her fingernails alone for 21 days, she and one of her friends can get a manicure. So, she took one of her friends with her to a spa and had their nails done. You could see the terror on Julie's face when the manicurist put oil on her cuticles. While we told the lady not to put lotion on Julie's hands I don't think either of us knew there was oil for the cuticles. I asked Julie how she was doing and was quickly told, "FINE," in a quiet but silent-screaming voice. She was visibly nervous.
Later after dropping her friend off at home, our daughter fell apart in my hands over the smell. She cried and hugged me, but also yelled that the smell would never come off as she washed her hands in the sink with just water for several minutes. We got her out of the house for a walk to distract her and she was better. She was happy she did it, but was not expecting oil on her fingers.
Later Sunday evening we took her to church for youth worship, but when she came home and took her shower, we heard her crying in the shower because her hands still smelled like the manicure. She was also scared to get in the shower at all without Beth in the bathroom with her. "What if the smell doesn't come off," was her worrisome question. It was after 10pm before she made it to bed because of sitting on the toilet for 30 minutes, but still required the door to be open. As usual, less than 30 minutes after being in bed she called for mom because she was scared.
10/17/11
Monday it was 9:50pm before she went to bed. She stayed on the toilet for 30 minutes until we demanded she get off the toilet and go to bed. Again, the door to her bedroom stayed open and called for mommy because she was scared. We told her to go to sleep, she's fine.
10/18/11
Tuesday night she was on the toilet again for 30 minutes during her bedtime routine. Now she's playing the Nintendo DS while on the toilet. She will not get off the toilet until 2 minutes until 9pm, which is the bedtime goal in order for daddy to play the guitar and sing to her at bedtime. She finally went to bed, but was scared. The good news is that this time when we asked if she wanted the light on, she said she did, but then changed her mind and we left it off. She got herself up at 11:10pm to go to the bathroom again. Beth still thinks she was sleepwalking and then suddenly woke up when Beth asked her what she was doing.
10/19/11
Wednesday night - same bathroom/bedtime routine. Went to bed, was scared, told her she was fine and to go to sleep.
**NOTE: Not to get gross, but since taking the remedy and as of Thursday 10/13, Julie's poop has been "speckled".
10/20-23/11
Same bedtime routing, still sitting on the toilet for 30 minutes and still scared 30 minutes later after we leaver her room. On 10/23 Julie wanted the light on in her room and I refused. She managed to go to sleep anyway.
**NOTE: She wanted to review Science & English notes one more time after watching the new series, "Once Upon A Time," which delayed her bedtime (very deceitful since earlier in the day she said she was ready but she probably was not ready and lied to us to get to see her show). In bed by 9:54pm. The next day she lost her cell phone privileges for a week for being dishonest.
10/24/11
She took 3 bathroom trips during the afternoon and evening and complained that her poop is not coming as much now. Beth and I both told her she's back to normal now so probably will not be as much now.
Bedtime was still close to an hour preparing with the above routine. At 3:00am Julie called Beth to turn on the ceiling fan in the room (Julie will not get out of the bed in the dark).
4:00am Julie called for mommy saying she was scared. We have our bedroom right next door to Julie's so we simply said from our bed that she's fine, there's nothing to be scared of and that she's safe. I even told Julie that this is getting ridiculous.
10/25/11
Same routine, however this time she yelled down to mommy as Beth and I attempted to watch TV together that she was scared 3 TIMES before 11pm. Same routine of telling her she's fine.
10/26/11
Bedtime still taking 30 minutes for bathroom. Julie still has the goal of being in bed by 9pm so I will play the guitar, but now she's getting in the bed at 9, yelling down to us, "Daddy, get the guitar, it's 9 o'clock." Then she'll jump out of the bed after we've said our prayers and I begin to play and say she feels the pee coming on "suddenly," and has to pee. But she still sits on the toilet for another 15 minutes. I told her last night (while I played the guitar) that this is OCD. Having to constantly go to the bathroom and pushing with all your might to make something come out that's not there is OCD and she needs to talk to her therapist about how to deal with her obsession with going to the bathroom.
10/27/11
**NOTE: This has been a problem all 2011 since Julie had to be cleaned out at CHKD with Nulytely over a 24 hour period due to her not pooping on a regular basis. She was impacted so this was the last thing to do after numerous attempts with Miralax, prunes, and chewable tablets didn't work. Here's the problem; She sits to eat breakfast, jumps up to go to the bathroom. Sits 10-15 minutes and slivers of poop come out. Other times nothing comes out, but repeatedly says, "It's right there," and still other times it's a bunch of poop that comes out. Still, by the time she leaves to go to the bus, she has been on the toilet 3-4 times in 1 hour for anywhere from 3 minutes to 30 minutes.
Tonight she ran to the bed by 9pm and immediately jumped up to run back to bathroom to put Vaseline in the corners of her mouth (her braces make her salivate and after a night of sleep can chap her lips in the corners). She finished that, and still went to the bathroom again (just went less than 5 minutes ago). 15 minutes later she went to bed and still expected me to play the guitar. I said no. She was in bed for 3 minutes and got up to go to the bathroom again. This time I left her bedroom while she sat on the toilet. Beth tucked her in after washing her face in our bathroom. Later, Julie yelled down to us pleading for one of us to come turn on her ceiling fan light. We said no less than 3 times that if she needs the light on then she is to get up and turn it on herself. She refused and Beth had to reassure her that she's safe and she has her nightlight and is fine.
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