Drumroll please.
Survey says: I think so.
A bit anticlimactic, I know. But there's a bit of a twist to our story lately.
Adding to my 10+ year Google medical degree, I had to search for more. While I do believe the IVIG helped tremendously (for which I am grateful), it still left us feeling like there was more we could do. Scrolling through Facebook several months ago, I came across a group for homeopathy. I always skimmed by that word, thinking it was more "natural," supplement-type stuff that we'd already been cramming down his throat for more than a decade.
No thanks.
But on a 4 hour drive to one of Rowen's appointments in North Carolina, I listened to a doctor describing what it really is.
Ditch those supplements. Ooookayyy, I'm listening.
Like cures like. Huh?
Substances that produce symptoms in one person, cure them in another. Ok, you lost me.
In the world of PANS/PANDAS, you try everything. If you have something unchecked on the list, you aren't done. $600 out of pocket for the initial appointment? What the heck, these kids don't need to go to college I guess.
Our first appointment was by phone and lasted about 3 hours. I spent that time telling the naturopath every symptom he's had for the last decade. Every. Single. Detail I could think of. He was so thorough, I didn't know whether to hug him or scream. You know what he didn't ask me? His diagnoses. Not once.
But wait, I have a list a mile long of diagnoses! Don't you want to see all our labs we've drawn over the years? This kid has produced bucketfuls of blood in the name of diagnosis, for crying out loud!
So let me explain.
No, there is too much.
Let me sum up (when you get it, you get it).
Let's say a healthy person is walking through the forest and sees some yummy looking berries. He eats them but later gets a major stomach ache, throws up, and is flat on his back for days. Let's say that another guy, Joe Schmo, isn't quite as healthy and actually has those symptoms already. Poor Joe. But when Joe eats those same berries, he's cured. Perfect sense, right?
Maybe this will make more sense. Has anyone ever offered Mountain Dew to your kid who was in an ADHD tizzy? Same idea. Turns out, that person you wanted to throat punch wasn't as crazy as you thought.
So this little $10 remedy arrived in the mail the following week. The first day we tried it, Rowen aggravated. That means he had a difficult reaction to the remedy. It was one of the roughest days we've had in a long time. Scary even. Believe it or not, that can mean we were on to something. Since then, we've noticed amazing changes in Rowen. He's calmer, less reactive, and his pupils have not been so dilated (always a sign of neurological disorder). Amazing. Thundercats are go.
Because I've had health issues for years, I figured I'd give it a go too. I'd gotten to the point of barley being able to eat without feeling like I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. I'd been gluten free for years, hoping that was helping some but still feeling horrible. I started my own remedy, and guess what? Holy pizza and bread batman, I can eat again. I feel like a human being again.
So maybe there is something to this homeopathy thing. Rowen is on month 4 and we just increased the potency. He flared on day one like he did last time, but we are already on our way back it seems. I'm so grateful, though cautious. There have been so many disappointments from "miracle cures" along the way, that I've become pretty jaded. The hubs tells me not to say anything good is happening out loud, because inevitably it changes. Kind of like that time I thought, "hmm, I haven't seen a Palmetto bug in the house in awhile," and within 15 seconds one promptly flew above my head.
It's nice to feel hopeful again in the midst of a hopeless illness. Sooooo, homeopathy for the win. All gratitude goes to God though, because He is always my guide. And hope. Always hope.
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