We just came back from three days in Disneyland. We went there for his sister's dance workshop and performance. It was a thrill to watch her dance on the Disney stage with other members of her studio and we had a blast. Of course, being on vacation means eating out every meal which is exactly what we did. I wanted us to stay on a reasonably healthy meal plan without ruining the vacation spirit. For Americans in vacation mode, we ate relatively-healthy at places that served salads, soups and sandwiches and avoided desserts for the most part. I tried to guide Sasha to order lower carb items but didn't insist or force his hand when he opted for pancakes for breakfast or French fries with his sandwich (which we normally don't permit at home).
We enjoyed the attractions and rides and he discovered that he likes roller coasters! We also walked quite a bit over the three days (on Saturday we walked 8 miles, almost 13 kilometers). Although we all had a great time (especially Sasha), I was still aware of his food issues and was tired of his asking me about when we would eat our next snack/meal. In retrospect, it wasn't really that bad but I think it felt annoying to me because I was with him 24/7 and was the only parent (Dad stayed behind for a work conference) to deal with his issues. He may have also been a little more anxious about food because we were in a new environment and away from our home routine.
As I reported last time, he has still had some episodes of food intensity and food seeking. In fact, there was a minor incident at Disneyland when our friend, H, told me that she suspected Sasha had snuck his hand into her backpack to eat the remaining third of her cookie! Apparently, she was trying to discreetly eat a cookie out of her backpack but it is very hard to be sneakier than Sasha when he comes to food so he must have spied her doing it... while we (adults) were standing up in a line, Sasha was seated on the ground near her backpack and snuck the rest of the cookie into his mouth when we weren't looking. I didn't say anything to him for face-saving reasons and it wasn't really a big deal but I felt disappointed that he would be so daring as to go into a friend's private property to get the cookie. Although this is minor incident overall, it is a sign that the problem of food seeking/stealing has definitely NOT been solved.
In recent weeks and on this trip, we have seen a continuation of food sneaking. Despite the food seeking, his satiety seems ok since he does have the capacity to stop eating when he is full and can and does feel full after a meal. On this trip, he ate more (permitted) carbs than usual but still had excellent energy in spite of the extra carbs AND he lost weight again! We have asked his endo to order another glucose tolerance test (GTT) with insulin so we can test to see if he is no longer hyper-secreting insulin. If this is the case, it means that he tolerates carbs better and if he continues to keep his weight down/stable, perhaps he can start to eat more carbs on a regular basis...
IF this is happens, does it mean that we could mellow out on the carb food policing by allowing him to eat carbs and sweets like a regular person? Might he be able to control himself (with the help of an increasing dose of Naltrexone) from binging on sweets like he did in July? Could this mean that his food sneaking would no longer be considered "sneaking" because he would be free to eat these carbs? Wouldn't that be marvelous?!
I can dream, can't I?
Be good if we could feel what these compulsions feel like for them wouldnt it?
ReplyDeleteBe good if we could feel what these compulsions feel like for them wouldnt it?
ReplyDeleteSugar addiction is a "regular person" problem in our culture, hard for kids and adults to overcome. I hope Sasha is experienced enough with compulsions, and wise enough, to avoid becoming a sugar addict. He likely doesn't have the leeway to maintain energy without a consistently nutritious diet.
ReplyDelete