S/O "Was he sick?"

[Anonymous]

Saw this in the other thread and didn't want to derail it.

My non verbal ASD 9 y/o was sick with what turned out to be a serious infection for almost a month. It took a 2 week course of Augmentin to finally get rid of it. Afterwards, we realized my son had a huge behavioral regression: He went from being fully potty trained to putting him back into pull ups after 3 pairs of wet under wear in a row and a flat refusal to even enter the bathroom without a tantrum. We have to bodily put him in the bathtub because he refuses to get in the shower. He was always a picky eater, but he went back to the bad old days of only wanting to eat Gogurt and goldfish. He refuses to do anything but lay in bed or on the couch. His verbal communication is hit or miss, and he fights us on using his communication device. His personality hasn't changed: he's still a happy easy going child, but the last 2 to 3 years of progress are just gone.

None of the tricks and techniques we've used in the past are working. I know we need help, but I don't even know where to start. We have Amerigroup and it seems like nobody but Children's takes it. We never got into their Autism program because our insurance wouldn't cover it without an autism diagnosis, and we couldn't get in to see anyone who could give us a diagnosis that was also covered by our insurance until he needed to be evaluated for his IEP at 6. All that's to say I have no idea if he needs a Developmental Pediatrician or a Neurologist or something I haven't quite thought of. Or if I'm being over dramatic and should just talk to his regular pediatrician.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be grateful.

[Anonymous]

Antibiotics can cause yeast to get out of control, because there's a reduced amount of beneficial bacteria in the gut to keep it in check. When my kids have a yeast flare up, they also have potty accidents and bedwetting, no matter what we try. Their behavior also gets a LOT worse. (Like, going from really great behavior to almost constant tantrums.)

It doesn't resolve until a few days of both Florastor and probiotics several times per day (with younger kids we slip them into meals and snacks, older ones just swallow the pills). The Florastor is a good yeast that wipes out the bad yeast. It doesn't live in the intestines though, so you need to keep taking it until you're sure they don't need it anymore. (Actually now we give it to our kids at least once a day as a maintenance dose and we haven't had any relapses.) You can get Florastor at Amazon, Costco or health stores.

I'd definitely get a couple bottles and try that for at least a few days before resorting to anything else. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Antibiotics can cause yeast to get out of control, because there's a reduced amount of beneficial bacteria in the gut to keep it in check. When my kids have a yeast flare up, they also have potty accidents and bedwetting, no matter what we try. Their behavior also gets a LOT worse. (Like, going from really great behavior to almost constant tantrums.)

It doesn't resolve until a few days of both Florastor and probiotics several times per day (with younger kids we slip them into meals and snacks, older ones just swallow the pills). The Florastor is a good yeast that wipes out the bad yeast. It doesn't live in the intestines though, so you need to keep taking it until you're sure they don't need it anymore. (Actually now we give it to our kids at least once a day as a maintenance dose and we haven't had any relapses.) You can get Florastor at Amazon, Costco or health stores.

I'd definitely get a couple bottles and try that for at least a few days before resorting to anything else. Good luck!

P.S. You don't need the "Kids" Florastor. It's just more expensive. It's basically tasteless so we just buy the regular stuff and then open the capsules and mix into yoghurt, yams, etc. The kids never notice.

[Anonymous]

Antibiotics definitely have neurological effects. For example, they lower the seizure threshhold in epileptics. Kind of a non sequitur, but I wanted you to know that the neurological effects you are seeing after a strong course of antibiotics are not coincidental.

I would start with his regular pediatrician and try to get an "in" at CNMC. Call the CNMC clinics in the suburbs as well, like Laurel and Rockville, to see if you can get an appointment faster. Also, try Kennedy Krieger to see if they take that insurance.

[Anonymous]

Thank you guys so much for your help. I ended just grabbing a chewable probiotic and the Florastor from CVS because I wanted to get him started ASAP. And then I came home to find a turd on the floor of his bedroom.

I'm gonna reach out to his pediatrician tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you take him to the ER at CNMC, they have to see him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you take him to the ER at CNMC, they have to see him.

We tried that, many years ago. They basically told us unless we felt he was a danger to himself or others, they couldn't do anything for us right there.