Lab Results

So it's been a while since I've had a chance to post the results we got back from the lab.  A while back we did the neurotransmitter test and the results were not shocking, but helpful to see I suppose.
All of her excitatory neurotransmitters were higher than the normal range.  Her Glutamate, Dopamine, Norepinephrine and Serotonin levels came back very high.  
The ND suggested that she take GABA (GAMMA - AMINOBUTYRIC ACID) to bring down the elevated glutamate levels.  She is supposed to take it a half hour before breakfast and before dinner.  
This hasn't been too hard to do, since they are grape flavored and chewable or dissolve under the tongue.  The second supplement that was recommended was the Calm PRT, which is supposed to promote sleep, reduce excitability and re-establish a healthy HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis.

This all sounds wonderful right?  Finally!  A cure!! 
Well, we have been really good at giving her the GABA, but it has been really hard to give her the Calm PRT.  It is a horse pill that smells and tastes like SH*T!  So everything I try to mix it in with she can taste and refuses to finish.
I wasn't too worried about the Calm PRT because she really wasn't having too many problems sleeping anyways now that we are spending more time with her at bedtime, rubbing her back until she falls asleep.

Call me crazy, but ever since we started her on the GABA she has been 10 times more hyper!  The girl is bananas lately.  I can NOT keep her busy enough and everything excites her beyond control.  I have mentioned this to her ND and she said she's never heard of that happening.  

I tried a second real attempt at making sure we give her everything when she's supposed to have it, how she's supposed to have it, but its impossible.  I feel like she was doing better before.  She has recently pulled all of her lashes again, completely gone... and today I got her to finally admit what I have been suspecting:  she has pulled her hair.

I think I will be taking her off of the supplements and trying the NAC with vitamen C that everyone swears they have success with.  
As far as school goes, she is excelling in every area and her teacher says she is amazing.  Her therapist continues to tell us how gifted and smart and happy she is.  We will not be seeing the therapist again unless little girl needs it. Right now she is too young for trich to really be affecting her life, but if it ever does become a challenge for her, she knows she can go see her Miss Brigitte!   

Trich Awareness Week

This year, Trichotillomania Awareness Week was October 1-7th.  To raise awareness I forwarded some really useful info geared towards schools and teachers on to my daughter's Kinder teacher.  She was very supportive and said she has forwarded it on to others.  I believe that communicating with her teachers regarding her trich is going to be the key to her succeeding in school both academically and socially.

I also ordered a bunch of these purple awareness bands.  A few people have seen me wearing mine and asked if I could get more.  They have arrived so if anyone is interested in purchasing one for $5 please let me know and I will send one to you!  Show your support and spread awareness!!!

Rainbows and Butterflies

Suddenly my little baby girl is WRITING!  How cute is THIS??  She has been making signs and taping them all over the walls in the house.  I absolutely love her creativity... She reminds me of myself when I was little.  I could color for hours on end.  I guess there is something therapeutic about art, and I'm glad she has found yet another means of expressing herself.  We are definitely filing these in her memory box so when she's all grown up we can look back at them. 

Happy Birthday to my PRINCESS!!

This past week our daughter turned 5!  She has gone from being my first born baby to a 5 year old little girl in the blink of an eye!  I feel like there is a huge difference between ages 4 and 5, and she has developed her own little personality.  Not that she wasn’t ALL personality before, but now she’s even more confident in the person she is becoming.

   

To celebrate, what better theme than a “Sofia the First” Royal Birthday Party?  She has been very excited about her birthday all week.  First she had a little celebration on her actual birthday at school, followed by a birthday dinner with the family.  Instead of the restaurant bringing her cake or ice-cream, we asked for a strawberry lemonade icy and they happily obliged.  This past weekend we celebrated her birthday “Princess Style” with family and friends!

With all this excitement I was trying to keep an extra watch on her pulling at bedtime.  She has been doing great lately, her eyebrows are almost grown back to normal.  Her lashes are still quite stubby, but not too bad.  They definitely take longer to grow back than the brows.  I checked on the baby monitor the night before her birthday party and sure enough, she had pulled the gloves off her thumbs and was kind of hiding under a pillow.  I try not to be the “pulling police” but if I see a chance to help her I will step in.  So I went into her room and asked her why she had her gloves off and she said she was pulling her lashes.  I asked her if she wanted me to sit with her for a little bit longer until she calmed down.  She loves it when I scratch her back or stroke her hair, so we’ve been doing that every night until she’s calm enough to drift off to sleep. 

I think this extra one on one time with ME has REALLY helped her settle down at night, and the pulling has decreased a little bit.  Ever since baby brother was born, the bedtime routine has usually been for me to feed the baby and put the boys to bed, and daddy reads to her and puts her to bed.  This extra Mama time has been really good for her.  It’s a little exhausting for me, as I spread myself thin between the 3 kids, but I know it’s just something I have to do until everyone is relaxed enough to finally fall asleep.   One day it will get easier…. Right??