Skip to main content

PKU Mom

Things I have learned as a PKU Mom 
(and as a Mom in gereral)
  • Never let your supply of formula run out (dry or the stuff you have pre-made) order and make LOTS!
  • Lancets (the things we use to do the heel poke) are expensive but it's worth it to have the right one!
  • Do not cheap out on a shaker bottle for making formula, it will leak or explode and that is so not okay
  • Plan ahead as much as possible - it makes life easier
  • But plan for things to change
  • People are amazing at offering love and support, ask for help when you need it but make sure to pay it back when you can
  • There are people you can talk to somewhere in the world going though almost the exact same thing you are, sometimes it is nice to talk to someone who knows exactly what you are dealing with
  • Don't hide or feel embarrassed about having to ask for different food choices but also try not to let it take over your enjoyment of what is offered
  • It hurts some days to think this is a life long condition, let yourself cry and then pull up your socks 
Luke's lancets and sharps disposal container

We receive some of Luke's food frozen
and it is VERY important to be home to
receive it and put it away asap.

Prep Prep Prep and PREP


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction

Hello & thank you for taking the time to find and start reading this blog about our journey as we discover what parenting an infant with PKU means for us. Now most people who we talk to (including a fair amount of medical professionals) have no idea what PKU is or what it means to have this condition.  So let's start by trying to explain PKU to those who don't know what this condition is (just like Jeff and I the day the doctor told us that Lucas had it). The following is information provided by  http://www.canpku.org/  which is the Canadian PKU site. PKU is short for phenylketonuria (pronounced fen'-il-kee'-to-nu'-ria) PKU is a rare, inherited metabolic disease that results in mental retardation and other neurological problems when treatment is not started within the first few weeks of life. (Lucas' condition was caught within the first days of his life and treatment was started the same day) People with PKU are missing an enzyme to brea...

Toughest Kid Around

Today was such a busy but great day for the three of us. Luke, Jeff and I headed to the Stollery at 9am to meet with his metabolic team.  The appointment  The dietitians always start things off with weighing and measuring Luke to see how well he is growing and if you have been following the blog you may know Luke has kinda been a bit light on the scale. However today we were happy to find out he is doing really well both height and weight wise! He is in the 50th percentile for both!! Then we talked about his diet some, touched on his formula intake and got the green light to try him with a new juice type formula (which will be good for summer holidays) Then in came Dr. S, she is his pediatrician/metabolic doctor. I love this lady! She is great at offering guidance and suggestions that will make things easier for us as he gets older, things like having him help us make his formula, help us weigh and measure his foods, those sorts of things. The exci...

Drug Trial

As 2016 is coming to a close I am very much looking forward to the very exciting things that the new year will bring our family. One of the big things we are looking forward to is Lucas doing a drug trail with a medication called KUVAN. What is KUVAN & why should we try it? (much of this is copied from the http://www.kuvan.com website)  This medication trial offers us the chance to see if Lucas is a responder to KUVAN. KUVAN is a form of the cofactor (or helper) BH4 that already naturally exists in your body. In people who respond to treatment with KUVAN, it works in the body just like BH4 does to help stimulate residual PAH enzyme activity to convert Phe to tyrosine and lower blood Phe levels. KUVAN has been prescribed along with a low–Phe diet to lower blood Phe levels in many people with PKU of all ages and types In many people with PKU, KUVAN increases the activity of the PAH enzyme that isn’t working properly. In other words, the PAH enzyme that isn’t working “wakes up” a...