Healing Gianna

Week 14

Moved up to 6 ml milk and 4 ml peanut

It's our last Peanut Solution C and will be changing to Solution D in a fortnight 🤩

Gianna did well today. Although the concentrations were getting higher, her body was tolerating the doses well. The only thing we noticed was her getting a bit more tired some days, which she compensates by sleeping longer - usually during her nap time. She ends up staying a bit later at night, but I don't mind it at all. As long as no reactions are happening, then all is well ☺️

We also got cleared to start Egg OIT!!! Woohoooo! So excited! We will finish these 3 allergens (milk, egg, and peanut) and have a few months' rest for Gia before tackling wheat. Wheat is a more complex issue for us due to having a DQ8 gene (gluten sensitivity), so we are looking for ways with our team to not cause inflammation in Gia's tummy, and their recommendation is SLIT. I'll share more on that next time 😉

God is truly amazing 💕

Week 13

It's been very quiet these past two updoses. I don't want to jinx it, but Gia's been adjusting well with these new solutions. Hopefully, it continues ☺️☺️. God is good!

Gia has been more aware of what she can't eat, but sometimes she gets confused, especially when I make similar snacks at home. She loves pancakes and muffins, and I have to explain how hers have different ingredients. I have to make sure she understands why Mama has to check first before she eats something.

And more good news, I am very, very grateful for my family here in Perth. We managed to have two gatherings that were allergen-free!!! Can you imagine that!!? ☺️☺️. They asked about Gianna's allergies and bought ingredients that I use to make sure everything is safe. Gia didn't eat, as she has her own, but the point is, we were all having fun, worry-free! I can't forget how we had such a great time. The kids were very well-versed in what to do after eating; they were very careful still. But to see Gianna freely play in someone else's house without me running around following her, my heart melts. We stayed until it was nearly late at night, and Dario even said that's the longest we've been out. Haha. We are so, so grateful, and honestly, it's a testament to great love for my child. We love you dearly, fam ❤️❤️ We will never forget the support and understanding! 💕 May God bless you all ☺️☺️

Week 12

Even with setbacks, we were able to increase our little girl's dosage today. She did well and has been off antihistamines for a while now. Her reactions seem to be getting milder and milder - praying this stays stable.

We met our new doctor, Dr. Wong, and our lovely Nurse L. They were so approachable, and from my experience yesterday, they made me feel so much better. Dr. Wong was very interested in meeting Gianna and learning about her journey.

God's grace and wisdom, we have been blessed ❤️

Jupiter Lakelands cancelled our appointment again. I called, and unfortunately, I was met with a defensive staff trying to gaslight me throughout our conversation. With the will to deal with the issue from the root, I waited for the doctor at the clinic tonight to see what happened, but the receptionist didn’t like that. She kept saying I should have gone to her, and I said I did call and we have not solved the issue, so I wanted to clarify with the doctor. She kept pointing out that I disturbed the doctor, but I said I sat there and waited until he was done with his patient. I didn’t interrupt or interfere. She kept saying things, and I said if you are upset with that, I am sorry, but could we solve my appointment issue, as we did not cancel it on our side. She said I was the one who cancelled it and I always cancel through phone calls. What!?! I explained that I have it on my phone and it says 'modified', and before I finish talking, she talked over me, saying all these other allegations of lying about cancelling and shouting at her and even on the phone. I murmured 'oh my goodness' to myself, and she looked at me and said, 'Don’t even say “Oh my goodness” right there!' I was appalled by this behaviour! What a person! I was talking calmly, very slowly and clearly, but she kept telling me not to shout 🤨. I said I am not shouting, and my voice is normally loud. I just want to clarify how we can probably make sure we don’t get cancellations in the future. She kept insisting that she can’t help me with that because I was the one pointing fingers to her cancelling our appointment. When I took the paper for a different appointment, my hand was shaking, and she shouted at me, 'Don’t sn**ch!' I was shocked as I didn’t sn**ch the paper off her; I was shaking!!! My hands were shaking!!! WTF! I said to her I didn’t do that. My tears started rolling; this is very embarrassing. How can people be like this? I said I never said she cancelled anything, that I just want her to help me understand how we can make sure our appointments are not cancelled in the future—- nah, she kept talking over me and said she has patients waiting for her attention.

And so I met a person who would really test my faith tonight….and as what the scripture said, be humble. This is for my daughter. So I ate up my pride, walked away, cried my heart out in the car, and called her back. I told her I understand how she had a long day, and I also am in a panic mode. We didn’t meet in the middle. I apologised for how the situation went and explained how I was just there to ask for help and hopefully in the future, we can resolve things in a better way. May God bless her.

Q: Could you list the things that worked for Gianna’s eczema?

Firstly, we did trial and error as not everything is the same for every child. But here’s some of the major things that helped:

-eliminating trigger foods: dairy, egg, peanut, almond, wheat, beef, high histamine fruits and vegetables (very important!!) and high FODMAP foods

-tested for allergies

- GI map stool test: showed imbalance of bacterial colonies and also hidden inflammation in the gut

- clean eating: whole foods, made from scratch and not bought due to added preservatives and hidden ingredients, high polyphenols, high fibre, lots of fluids (water, pomegranate juice, coconut water), meat broth

-searched for a cream with no steroids and no hidden allergens: found Kiara Pharmacy who compounds our moisturiser

-made our zinc cream and ozonated jojoba oil: very easy to make at home- good for oozing spots and red areas (you can use sudocream)

- wet wraps on itchy days especially spring time with high pollen: we didn’t use steroids at all, thick layer of EC cream and Cel B cream then wet cotton cloth, wrap with dry bandage.

- supplements from our naturopath- gut compound (mixture of different anti inflammatory herbs, multivitamins, prebiotics and probiotics), vitamin D, zinc, Biogaia probiotic drops, pomegranate, slippery elm, marshmallow root, olive oil, turmeric

- summer time essential: Avene thermal spring water spray (very refreshing and has cooling effect)

-beddings and sheets cleaned and changed weekly due to dust mites; vacuuming regularly and less carpet exposure

What we learnt from this experience is that the skin shows what’s happening inside your gut. You have to find the balance and focus on your gut health. It doesn’t mean you have to give up on eating out or buying your usual haul of foods, but just making sure you get more of the clean ones- less ingredients mean better quality.

Week 10

What a day.
Balled my eyes out before up-dosing.

So, we came to the clinic as usual. Went to reception to check in for our appointment but we were told it’s moved to Thursday at 1.15 pm 🤨 I showed my appointment confirmation on my phone but they insisted it’s not available anymore and that our GP isn’t even there yet. I said we didn’t receive any information or notification of change of date.

Oooohkayyyyyy. My anxiety went overboard. I have new solution for Peanut and I couldn’t give that without a Doctor or a nurse with me. They said they’ll call me back when our GP comes but otherwise if I need an appointment today, 1.15 is available. No. That’s beyond our dosing hours and that puts Gianna at risk. So I called Sydney Clinic for help.
And while I was on the phone, Dr Tom passed by. He’s here! Why did they say he’s not 🤨🤨🤨 He saw us and said we do have an appointment and someone apparently moved it without telling him. Whew. Had to release the stress so I cried.

Learnt my lesson-call days before the appointment for confirmation.

Gianna did well with her new dose and that is what matters. God is good 💕💕💕

Gianna’s journey isn’t an easy one, and going through it with her isn’t for the faint-hearted. There are moments of doubt and fear, of confusion and despair. Trauma is deep and flashes back every now and then. The ‘almost gone’ and ‘what ifs’, the waiting rooms and emergency visits, the overwhelming list of things to do and to check to keep her safe. But each time we remember Jesus on the cross, His journey to the cross, and His resurrection, it now feels so relatable, as if we are going through it ourselves.

Easter reminds us of God’s love, that we are all saved and worthy of His grace and mercy.

Hold onto God; He will not let you down. Have patience; everything takes time – in God’s time. And be faithful, forgiving, and humble. Happy Easter 💕

Week 9
That’s 2 months done in the program! 🙈🙈🥺

Sadly, we started this week with a mild viral illness. Dario was sick last week, then Tala, then me, then Gia. The kiddos’ immune systems were so strong they only had fever and a bit of sore throat while Dario and I had cough and felt very tired.

With her fever, we had to reduce Gia’s dose to half. She did alright and was her usual happy self. We will start climbing back up this week and hopefully move to her next dose on Tuesday.

She’s due to move to the next solution for peanut!! I’m excited 😛 Have to meet the chemist this weekend for solution swap and discuss next dosages ☺️☺️☺️

Let’s all have a wonderful Easter 💕✨

Sharing as we get a few questions about Gia’s eczema journey

Gianna’s eczema appeared when she’s around 4 months old. First, it looked like pimples on her face but more prominent than the usual baby pimples on newborns. Then we noticed her scalp was getting worse- we thought it was just the cradle cap but nothing seemed to help. It got thicker and smelt bad.
Her creases followed next and it was oozing.

We saw her dermatologist who gave us advantan- fatty cream and coal tar. It worked for a month; she cleared up and looked amazing. But after a while, it started creeping back. Her face was really bad, cheeks were scaly and oozing. This time, I searched for natural remedies. Steroid creams just patched it up but didn’t really work and it made it all worse.

I joined ErasingEczema after my sister-in-law invited me. I read the starter guide and it seemed like I have to spend a lot on tests and natural products so we started with diet changes. We removed all allergens at home and stopped giving Gianna soy, gluten, high histamine foods and high fodmap. I made meat broth with lamb and vegetables, froze ready made meals to keep histamine low and gave her polyphenol-rich fruits. We got a cream from Kiara Pharmacy which uses natural ingredients and had used it on her flares. This helped clear her up really quickly. But I know something is still not right as she was still itchy which creates a new cycle each time. We have to address the real issue.

We went to see our naturopath from Perth Allergy Clinic who then helped us with a stool test- GI Mapping. This was a game changer! We now focused on gut healing. We had gut compound targeting her microbiome imbalance, backed up by healthy whole foods and low histamine diet. We checked for coeliac (negative) and no histamine intolerance. We were introduced into the world of prebiotics and probiotics- adding broccoli sprouts, green bananas, asparagus and artichoke. After a year and a half, Gianna finally had a good stool test result- no more inflammation.

The itch was the last to go but it wasn’t as bad as the first time. It’s triggered by the wind or change in temperature. But manageable- we used wet wraps that healed her skin quickly.

Now, I can say Gianna is eczema free. We don’t get flares. No dry patches. I barely moisturise her nowadays. Change in temperature doesn’t seem to bother her as much. I always think I will jinx it by praising her skin but I think we’re fine. If we get a flare from OIT, I think I know what I need to do. No steroids needed 😉

Week 8

Another escalation day for Gianna
Milk Solution B 1 ml
Peanut Solution B 4 ml

She did well today ☺️
Coming to the clinic, Gia was very excited to see Dr Tom and her nurse and gave them a big hello. She had no tantrum with observations, even the BP cuff. So brave!

We didn’t notice any reaction but she’s been touching her lips a lot today- might be feeling funny.
Hopefully the whole week will go by smoothly…

Keep going, God is always with us 💕

Week 7

Gia scared me today. She had some random hives-one on her back and one on her leg. This was 4 hours post dose. She’s more active today and we have been slowing down with antihistamines…so I guess it’s a really big day for her.

This evening, I have to buy Cow’s milk to drop off to the pharmacy for her next solution. It’s been two years since I’ve been on the milk aisle in woolies… feels good 😊

When things pop up during the day, I always play my Christian songs to ease my anxiety- and it helps a lot. Knowing that this journey is with God and trusting God makes it more beautiful.

To God be the Glory 💕