New school!!🎒
School plot twist & progress from all angles!
Hi from the brief moment where things are calmer and I’m afraid to blink,
We’re (dare I say it?) coming out of the flare. It’s felt like a long one - and I think I may have accidentally made it last longer than it needed to 🙈
Turns out I was giving slightly too much Vitamin D to my eldest PANDA- sometimes two drops instead of one. I didn’t realise how powerful those tiny drops can be!
So we’ve stripped things right back, and at the moment we’re just doing:
Micro immune therapy (MIT)
Lemon balm
Homeopathy
Upped nano magnesium
And really focusing on the detox pathways (yes… poo 💩)
Ideally once a day - which is wild considering it used to be once a week.
I also think there was a bug lingering around the same time as the too-much-D situation, but finally, finally, we seem to be through it.
And then came the unexpectedly enormous update…
🎒 My youngest is now enrolled at a new school!
She’s only been twice - an hour at a time - but she’s doing amazingly. I wanted to strike while the iron was hot and keep the momentum going, so… I went for it.
Her old school was lovely, but it just wasn’t working. Tomorrow she’s going again for an hour, and we’ll slowly build it from there.
We’re starting with 11am starts and taking it at her pace. (Not going to lie - I am dreading the future 8am school rush (two children, 30-minute drive… But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now: slow, steady, and full of hope.
I also popped a question box on my stories on Instagram, asking what type of education is working for your children - mainstream, homeschool, alternative provisions, tutors, online school… all of it.
I’m going to gather your answers and share them, because so many parents are navigating the same maze. Comment on Substack or on my Instagram story (it’s live for 24hours).
💛 Healing moments everywhere
My brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew came over from Wales - and for the first time in ages, my eldest was okay with seeing them. Actually, very excited to see them!
It felt huge.
Both girls’ birthdays came and went without too much chaos.
And Halloween 🎃 - honestly, it blew me away. We’ve gone from absolute dysregulation from my eldest on previous years, to her handing out sweets at the door to teenagers.
TEENAGERS.
Who usually trigger her.
I could’ve cried.
She also wore warmer clothes and trainers (👋 bye sliders). We’re now back to shorts and T-shirt, but the trainers and coat have stuck (time to buy 3 exact pairs of trainers & coat as a back up!). - I’m counting that as a seasonal miracle.
🌿 And on the youngest’s side…
We’ve been trying to get to the bottom of her rashes for years. Even before we knew about PANDAS, she had a huge rash flare-up nobody could explain. Now we know they appear during her flares - like her body’s little warning sign. So she had an ALEX allergy test (nearly 300 allergens). Dr Tim recommended it, and I’m really hoping this gives us proper answers. Praying it’s not the guinea pigs 😅. We’re also planning to start working with Brainstorm Health for her too, to support her system in a more targeted way. (Probably lots of histamine support).
🎙️ And something exciting…
I went on the “We’re Not Your Typical” podcast! I was sooo nervous, but it was such a good conversation and I really hope it helps raise more awareness about PANS/PANDAS. I’ll pop the link here if you’d like to listen. (It’s on YouTube/ Spotify & Apple podcasts!)
Sorry this is a long newsletter this month - so much to squeeze in! I’m writing this while desperately trying to avoid the Traitors finale spoilers. No idea why I thought I’d get both the girls magically to sleep before it started. I’ve been co-sleeping for years - why did I think tonight would be any different?! 😭😂
Guess I’ll just lay in the dark annoyed now 😮💨
With love,
Lucy x