The Naturopath (Eczema Part II)

In my last post, I wrote about healing eczema from the outside. Since Izaiah's eczema flare continued to rage no matter what we did, I became desperate to heal it from the inside. Did food intolerances cause eczema flare ups? Would a special diet help? I threw in my skeptic's towel and sought out a Naturopath.

Assuming Izaiah's flare began with a yeast overgrowth, I gave him some Grape Seed Extract to treat it. I thought he had a yeast die-off. Or, was it eczema? Dairy? He drank almond milk and drank real fruit juice. The milk was casein free, the juice had probiotics in it, that's good, right? What about the coconut yogurt? Was he allergic to citrus? 

The naturopath listened patiently to my frantic concerns. Not yet ready to diagnose he instead took blood samples to test IgG and IgA antibody levels which would indicate food intolerances. These can  be tricky to nail down since reactions don't happen immediately. The signs appear hours or days later, masking the guilty culprit and confusing Moms everywhere.

It would take 3 long weeks to find out the test results during which time we were to adhere to an elimination diet of lamb, rice, sweet potatoes, pears, water, a pro-biotic specific to our issues, and vitamin D. Izaiah needed to stay on the diet for 2 weeks and since he is still nursing, I enjoyed had to do it too.

It was rough. Izaiah left a trail of tears when yogurt, juice, and almond milk was carted from the kitchen. It broke me to see him routinely search the fridge for his phantom faves. He felt himself such a big boy 'yesterday' when he could get his own food from the fridge. Now his whole world dissolved. He was so sad; we both were. But, we made it! and were rewarded with test results...which, I'll share in the next post! 

Our journey to recovery has been frustrating. I was so overwhelmed with online information. I was also stubborn because changing the diet is laborious, expensive and difficult. 

I've learned to not compare my friends' journey to ours. What works for a friend may make your situation worse. We may all be using the same map, but our routes are very different; I felt lost on a dirt road myself!  but our road, winding as it may be, is leading to healing.

If you are unable to get your doctor to help you with food intolerance issues try to find a holistic doctor first because insurance is more likely to cover that. A naturopath would be a second option, but will not be covered by insurance and if you find useful info that your regular doctor or pediatrician can use, he or she will most likely reorder the test because they want their own. You'll end up redoing tests and/or paying for them again.

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These stops are coming up next: Leaky Gut, The Dermatologist, Hospital Stay, Smooth Baby Skin. The road gets bumpier, but we did find healing, I hope this journey might help you too.  If you are in immediate need regarding eczema, contact the National Jewish Health Center in Denver, Co.