Detox, Friend or Foe?

Dante enjoys a water game during swim class

Well, well, well.  Where to begin?  I thought I was doing everything right to support Dante during his detox, but now I’m not so sure.  Every day is a learning experience with these kids.  Thank God for the Holidays – and the time to devote myself to this little boy.  My head is spinning from everything we’ve gone through – the good, the bad, and the healing.

First lesson:  maybe Dante shouldn’t have so much coconut oil after all.  So here’s why we’ve had to…

DTaP Detox Days

The good times came to a screeching halt last weekend, about a week after Dante got his DTaP 10M dose.  I thought at first that Dante was upset because he had a permanent molar coming out, but his discomfort suggested that it was more than that. It had been over a year since we had strong detox from a vaccine clearing, so I didn’t recognize the signs at first.  There is one tell-tale sign, though:  Motrin doesn’t help Dante if he’s detoxing.  So if I give Dante Motrin and he’s still very uncomfortable…it may be that he is detoxing.  Ugh!

We all need a break!

Here are the typical detox signs in Dante:

·         Wakes up crying with hunger

·         Very thirsty, drinking constantly

·         Head-butting me when hungry or tired

·         Taking food out of mouth (sensitivity, maybe?)

·         Drooling, chewing shirt

·         Darker circles around his eyes than usual

·         Yeasty bowel movements, irritated enough to need Desitin

·         Bright red cheeks for a few days

·         The classic symptom for Dante in Detox:  tantrum mid-breakfast

What is nice, however, is that the symptoms were not as continuous this time as when we had detox before.  That gave me a little time to recover to help him get through the day.  He had many periods of good behavior, but I definitely had to be on my toes when he did not feel well.