Labels4Kids Blog

Gluten/dairy free, ulcers, clinical nutricianists etc

Ann-Maree — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:06:46 +0000

Ages back I gave an update on my son’s health problems having a duodenal ulcer which no one can seem to cure. Well 4 years on from all this having started I thought I should give those who are interested an update. Well, we have done it all:
the dairy free diet,
the wheat free diet,
the blood type diet,
omeprozole for cutting acid from the stomach,
triple drug treatment for helicobacter which has never been found in his system anyway,
steroids,
and now immune suppressive treatment.
So we can’t get much more extreme really for a 12 year old.
He is now (just the last couple of weeks really) keeping much better. We go through stages where he deteriorates though and are not really sure why this ucler keeps recurring. The consultant at Great Ormond Street, where we went for a 2nd opinion before starting immune suppression, did indicate dairy and wheat and perhaps pollen as being the main causes or if not causes then definitely major contributors to internal problems for most people and pin pointed on the day we were there that he had “allergic shiners” or grey bags under the eyes indicating dairy allergy. So as a family anyway that is what we are concentrating on now.
Still under Yorkhill 4 years on we have tried dairy free and wheat free on their own and although his continually blocked up sinuses were much improved on dairy free there was no internal indication of any improvement to the ulcers. The blood type diet we found too extreme for a child as being fussier eaters anyway there was just so much that he couldn’t eat. For an o-type blood: no potato, corn, bread, dairy, but more and more and more that was off the list. The ones on the list were things he hates like fish for example. Just too hard and no follow up help was given.
Now on immune suppression this is really extreme but on a high dose is helping. Or seems to be. In December though I was chatting to one of our GPs who had came across a case of another child who turned out to be allergic to the additives like benzoalate that is in tomatoe sauce and also to tomotoes and this was picked up from a blood test. After taking the child off tomatoes he eventually came off his immune suppressive drugs too and is now healthy. She suggested we get a blood test done to check that and could also recheck wheat and dairy. We had been told all the allergy tests for wheat and dairy and other things had been done and had been negative. However late December results came back showing high intolerance to dairy and a moderate intolerance to wheat. Tomatoe seemed ok. That just added weight to the theory of the consultant at Great Ormond Street that dairy and wheat are problems. In our mind, regardless of whether they are causing the ulcer problem at the very least he must be intolerant to these and going off them in the main must be beneficial. The GP agrees. We have decided to try taking most of us off as much dairy and wheat as we can and strangely certain things have improved for the whole family:
we are losing weight
we are no longer feeling bloated and lethargic
everyone is regular!
the son with the ulcer has had no stomach pain at all
and has not been woken in the night with pain.
There is so much wheat especially in everything we eat that it is very hard to be coeliac and cut wheat completely. Especially for a child used to eating it. However there is so much available on the market now to be able to swap over and reduce the intake that it isn’t impossible. More restaurants too are adding gluten free diets at least. Dairy free is a little tricky. Basically plain cooking with meat and vegetables and no added extra sauces is easy enough, though a little boring.
After chatting to the favourite local Italian restaurant they were nice enough even to make dairy free gelati for us and have introduced a home made gluten free pasta so we can still visit but just no milkshakes.
Also we tried out a clinical nutricianist who has agreed in general that the wheat and dairy will be a problem but also indicated that because of the ulcer ALL FOOD will be a problem anyway as it will go into the blood because of the hole in his gut. She has not removed any consultant tablets but added in vitamins and minerals to help “balance his system” so we will see what happens. I am sceptical but she has had excellent results for various problems with a whole range of people so is worth a try. Anything is really.
Fingers crossed that we can eventually come off immune suppression with dietary changes but we are all using guess work and gut feel I suppose so will have to just watch this space.

Hormones – who needs them

Ann-Maree — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:10:57 +0000

Hormones! Something to be said for those. The office here had a miraculous clean out last week. The girls asked if I was pregnant as everyone was having to jump and get things moved about. And for the better I might add. “Of course not, do you think I’m mad? Another baby!” but then I had the comment from Sarah “OK, well you’re definitely nesting then!” What’s that for goodness sake? Sitting on an egg? No way! Yet… 2 days later on entering the office I had to admit “OK you were right. It’s that time of month again!”….How do other women know these things? How weird that we DEFINITELY DO NEST. Always heard about these things but never realised until after having kids that actually it happens every single month and gets worse every year, not better. I thought it was just when you were pregnant, but oh, no, it’s definitely more often than that. A sparkling clean office and a sparkling clean house. Even better is….no one but me can find a damned thing!

Pets Pets Pets – for presents or for life!

Ann-Maree — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:01:51 +0000

Tommy, Rex and Robbie bunnies

We have 3 bunnies, 2 hamsters, a pile of wild squirrels and tonnes of wild rabbits and birds, and 3 wild boys…and yet, we apparently don’t have enough! The kids looked after their rabbits with mum’s help for the first 2 years I guess and for the last 3 mum has been religiously feeding and cleaning out when they forget. There IS a rota of who does what day but of course boys being boys…too busy, forgot, too much homework, been to tennis, too cold, too dark…etc etc.
Well enough is enough. I did a bit of research and healthy bunnnies can last to 8 or even 12 in rare cases!!!! Ahhh! Every time I go to the vet I am told how healthy and well looked after our rabbits are. Oh dear! As much as I love these bunnies they are going to have to go. I have just booked them in for their annual injections (£90 in all for all 3) and then they can go to a good home where they will get a lot more loving attention.
I really think their life isn’t that great if they are not getting hugged and petted so much so I want them to go to a good home. The oldest is all teary as they are his pets and he doesn’t want them to go. Appears now, NOW, he wants to be a vet and promises to look after them every night – well you know that won’t last will it! The second one is quite blazé and happy for them to go to a good home. The 3rd child wants them to stay but of course is too busy to feed them tonight, or has just taken his shoes off, or….here we go again!
And the hamsters (or rats as dad calls them)? Well, they are also looked after by mum I guess in reality. The kids feed them and if they are awake at night before the kids go to bed then the kids will put them in their ball for a roll around the house. A bit like G-Force the movie at times in our house. They do more for them than they do for their rabbits which I think is more to do with them being in the house and not down the garden in the cold but at the end of the day I guess after 2 years “bye bye hamsters”.
And now for the next thing. Birthday coming up and the 12 year old wants a “bearded dragon” or a “uromastyx”. A WHAT? Can’t even spell it! For the uneducated, like me, it’s a reptile. A lizard. Since he is going to be a vet he wants to try out lizards next. BUT only one that takes vegetables and so the beardie is out. And mum, of dear, generally gives in, except not on the cat and dog due to asthma! So hear we go again. I guess I’m a softie at heart but I’m running out of steam looking after so many pets – human and non-human might I add!
What about you? Tell us your pet dramas!

Tennis coaching with a difference

Ann-Maree — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:57:14 +0000

We just returned from Los Gigantes in Tenerife over Christmas where we had a great time with Tennis Coaching in the sun with an amazing coach called John Debnam ( www.tenniszoo.com ). John has a great personality and is able to get the best out of the kids and the adults. Our 7 year old has been totally uninterested in tennis and can never get a ball over the net. In a 15 minute trial session he had him hitting every ball over the net and interested in the sport too!

We found John’s site just searching google but it is an amazing site too. Tonnes of tips on techniques and latest tennis world news. It even has our family photo on it now – embarrasing yes, but hey, at least I’m out there having a go!

I would highly recommend anyone looking for some private coaching and visiting Los Gigantes to look up John’s site and get in touch. He is great with technique tips and can tell you all about USA’s Boliterie Academy tips as well. He teaches from a fabulous small local tennis club with 3 courts which also holds Sunday tournaments for fun with whoever turns up and the restaurant/café is UK ran and good too. What more could you need? A pool? Well the club even has that for a small charge.

“The girl who said No to a new heart” and how it made me feel

Ann-Maree — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:43:16 +0000

I watched an interesting show on tv the other night which was quite like the book “My Sister’s Keeper” in a lot of ways. It was on BBC1Scotland called “Hannah: The Girl Who Said No To A New Heart”. That an amazing and inspirational story of someone only 13 years old taking her life in her own hands and making her own decisions on whether to live or die.

Hannah refused a heart transplant knowing she could die and wished to stay well and not get worse and this not be the last Christmas in 2008! Her parents I think should be commended for the way they supported her choices without pushing her into major surgery until she was ready to do it herself. She had to want to live and their decisions could not sway her. Her mother said at that age that she could not physically make her go for a major op and undergo major surgery that could be life threatening and put her to sleep if she doesn’t want to do it!

I can relate to that having had a son aged 8 undergo major surgery and having gone through the past 4 years in and out of Yorkhill children’s hospital and at Great Ormond Street for a second opinion as well. He is now 12 and is very stubborn and difficult to get to the doctors for regular blood testing if he decides he doesn’t want it done. I mean, who would!

This girl had only half a day a week at school as she was too tired. Her heart was too weak. There was a lot of public debate apparently at the time this story first leaked out about whether she should throw her life away and because she may change her mind one day but it could have been too late. Can a child make that decision and can the world stand by and watch this? The parents and I agree with them I must say said ” It’s not our decision”. They felt people who criticised them had not lived in her or family’s shoes on a daily basis or indeed at all!

The local Health trust challenged the decision and took legal advice to remove her from parents which was eventually overruled by the judge after a social worker interviewed her and decided she was a strong character able to make up her own mind. She is determined she can get well herself. The family decided to go on leading a normal family life hoping to see if she changed her decision or not.

Eventually she had a second opinion from the specialist unit at Great Ormond Street hospital which confirmed that she had a very short life expectancy and was much deteriorated medically although she seemed well at home. She had leaking heart valves and the hospital asked her if she had changed her mind. This was 2 years later! She said she had been frightened of needles, not dying, and had had enough of being permanently in and out of hospital but eventually she changed her mind herself and gave the doctors the agreement to proceed with a heart transplant.

Due to the wrong size of heart being transplanted (the only one available in time was too big and her body had to get used to the size of the new heart) she had to have 12 days unconscious with her heart left open then the doctors shut her chest and she was revived! Amazing operation and such a brave girl and a brave family.

Having gone through a lot ourselves I am always amazed to hear stories like this. I know what a stroppy and emotional child can be like if they have been in and out of hospital. Our boy had that at the age of 8 and major surgery and it was hard going. He still is under treatment and takes a pile of medication daily. On the whole given weekly and now monthly bloodtesting he is a happy and normal teenager now but he occasionally has enough and thows a wobbler about not taking the tablets any more and not having any more blood taken. I would be the same myself and I can see why the doctors and the family supported Hannah’s decision.

I just wonder how many people could have done that themselves knowing that your child was highly likely to die if not treated in time. Even I would have found that hard. What are your views? Take part in our online forum questions on this topic. Register on our forum at http://www.labels4kids.com/blog/forum/

Happy and Snowy New Year

Ann-Maree — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:00:35 +0000

Wishing everyone a very happy and healthy New Year. We have added a number of new products and also adapted some existing name tags and bag tags this year as well as added a parents forum for you to contribute to our site on any topic you want!. We will soon put out a newsletter to our regular customers with a full update and a prize for some labels4kids customers too! Nothing better than that for the post New Year winter blues. Thanks to everyone who contributed to our last survey without which we would not have confirmed our suspicions on what you were all thinking!

Go go hamsters and Meerkats Christmas must haves

Ann-Maree — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:40:43 +0000

My son has reminded me for some time now that Mr Squiggles the go go hamster is the MUST HAVE from Santa this year… Santa has been desperate to get it and after much much much hassle he has performed miracles! But, alas, I see that is has cancer causing chemicals in the coating! How true I wonder. The latest news reports say a US consumer protection group has raised the issue after testing but as the top selling toy for Christmas this year the manufacturer is denying it of course.

If there is even the slightest chance of Mr Squiggles being dangerous to my son of course he is just not going to get it. But the manufacturer is not doing a recall at present as they say he’s safe, and I don’t think I even have the receipt. I did buy if via Amazon though so hopefully they would be able to trace who sold it to me but I just can’t see all the stores accepting these back for a refund unless there is a product recall, can you? I think we’ll wait a week and see what the later news reports have to say. After all, perhaps it is just a scare by competing toy manufacturers whose toys are not selling as well. We’ll wait and see and hope for either a product recall or an all clear.

And the other toy in demand this year? Well those Meerkat ads certainly did the job. Aleksandr the Meerkat is going to be on sale in Harrods soon with a limited quantity produced. I think we’ll give him a skip!

Games Plea by 10-15 year old – can you help me?

Ann-Maree — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:45:24 +0000

My name is Robert. I need your help! I agree with my mum that there is a gap in the market for interactive games for kids my age. Are you a games company or do you know someone who can write computer games? I love games like Call of Duty modern warfare 2 but they are above my age range. The language and the violence is above the British censorship levels for my age and my parents won’t let me have it. I need a game for under 16 that has the same cool stuff. What I want in a game is:

1. First person shooter

2. Good graphics

3. Choices of weapons

4. Realistic action but not the language

5. Ability to play with friends on xbox live and others

6. Different map options

7. A campaign that makes sense and you work up the levels

8. Different levels of difficulty

9. Championship competitions

If you can help email labels4kids to my mum and I will help with more ideas! I really need your help please gaming companies. I can help with more ideas via my mum’s website and blog at www.labels4kids.com/blog You can comment or let me know if you can help via that or via labels4kids at twitter.

Written by Robert with mum’s permission to publish!

Child of 3 charged over hitting friend

Ann-Maree — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:06:58 +0000

Here is an extract from what I was shocked to read today in the Daily Express:

“…A child of only 3, Jay Jones, was battered around the head and face by a three-year-old playmate as the children were left alone in a car. The attacker could not be prosecuted because he was too young, which meant Jay could not claim compensation for his injuries. According to the criminal justice system, a child must be over 10 to have criminal responsibility, but this case establishes a claimant merely has to prove a criminal act. David Kirwan, from Kirwans Solicitors, who represented the the victim, said: “It’s a landmark decision, there’s no previous precedent. It opens the floodgates and I’m quite sure there will be a lot of cases. Jay, of Wirral, Merseyside, was struck 11 times as his attacker continued to lash out even though he was screaming in pain and bleeding profusely. He was rescued when the other boy’s parents heard his shouts and noticed the car windscreen had been cracked, such was the ferocity of the assault…The doctor in the hospital had described our client’s injuries as the worst of a child that age sustained at the hands of a child of equal age with a weapon.” The attacker has since been taken into care.”

How many times do we take our young kids out in the car with a friend and then no sooner do you turn your back even just to chat at the front door of the house when there is some sort of to do about who hit who, or who injured who, or who said whatever to who. This could have so easily happened to just about any of us. I guess the difference lies in a few basic questions:

1. Who would leave a car jack lying within reach of the children in the back of a car

2. How long were they left alone for and where?

3. How well did the parents, or the attacked child, know the attacker?

Even with the answer to all that…to think that a child of 3 could have made such a ferrocious attack on another child is horrifying. No wonder in this case the High Court has done away with the 10 rating on being held responsible for his actions and taken the child into care. Something has got to be seriously wrong for a 3 year old to do something this bad. It just shows though as I’ve always suspected since having kids – YOU NEED EYES IN THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD at all times.

What do you think ? Did you read about this and what are your thoughts?

Post back to normal

Ann-Maree — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:28:49 +0000

It seems at last the postal backlog is being cleared and post is arriving as normal at last. If you have any missing name tags in the post from labels4kids please hold off the 15 working days from despatch date and it should be with you by then. If it isn’t don’t worry we will rerun for you and place a trace. Thank goodness it has all been sorted for Christmas present time!