Parenting PKU

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...

I think I have mentioned before that a HUGE  part of Luke's diet & phe management is his formula. It is like a PKU "protein shake" in that it has all the parts of protein that he needs but that he misses out on with his restricted diet. He has a set amount of formula that he must  drink in a day and if he goes a little over on drinking extra then that is alright. It has zero phe in it so will not cause him to be over his phe intake, in fact it will help him feel more full if he has eaten his days worth of phe and needs a bit more to fill his belly. When we switched over from the infant formula to the new, more age-appropriate, formula I worried so much about Luke rejecting the new one. I have read so many posts on the Facebook group about kids refusing to switch over, of parents stressing as their kids went days without drinking any formula and I was so worried. It's a big fear of mine for Luke to stop drinking his formula. Another situation I read a lot about ...

Right now you maybe looking for someone to tell you that it will be okay, and it will be.  Or maybe you are looking for a picture of what a day in the life of a PKU baby/child is like. Or maybe you are just curious as to how someone else is handling it or how they handled it when they found out. Well perhaps you will find an answer here or maybe not but either way please feel free to comment or ask me questions.  *            *           *   That moment they told us he had a condition with a big long name that I couldn't even pronounce I felt something inside of me break, I don't mean to sound melodramatic but maybe it was everything else that was going on but when they said he has  Phenylketonuria I felt my world freeze. I came home and let all that emotion pour out of me, I cried and I worried and I didn't even really understand what I was worrying about because I barely heard or understood what they ...

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...

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...

Well as most know we have been trying more and more of Luke's low-protein foods, I had blogged about him trying some of his little pasta circles  here . Well they have gone over really well, as has the low protein version of rice! Luke really enjoys it if I mix the rice with coconut yogurt (plain) and a bit of cinnamon, almost like a little guys rice pudding!  We tried the Eggz next and it was a bit more of an adventure then the pasta! Eggz powder comes in a bag and has simple instructions - add "non-dairy creamer" and let sit, then cook one side and flip. So easy.... yeah not so much. Okay the first one was a flop. I thought it would be more like normal eggs and be soft enough for him to nibble on, instead it was much to firm on the outside and not what I would consider safe for a little. So I decided to scramble them up like normal eggs, which of course they didn't do the way I am used to but this time I had softer pieces for him to try a...

Doh! Well I know it was bound to happen at one point or another!  I calculated Luke's phe on the fly and got it a touch wrong, darn it! Saturday when I tallied up his final numbers in the evening I realized I had gone about 20 mg of phe over his limit.  At first I was super upset and mad at myself but I calmed down and told myself that it's done & I cannot change it now. Really with his low levels last week this should not make a difference. It is less then 4% more then his usual amount, so it is not like I doubled it. Well I did the heel poke this morning and tomorrow first thing I will take it into the Lab. I will be very curious (and slightly anxiously) awaiting these results!

Lucas having some applesauce with my cousin Amanda in BC   One of my worries when we thought about solids was that the "easy" feeding methods would not be something we would be able to use, things like food pouches and self feeding foods like rusks and puffs. Well that proved an unfounded fear as pouches that are only one type of fruit or a mix of low-protein veggies and fruit are ones I can pretty easily estimate the amount of phe. The puffs and rice rusks are low in protein, especially considering how little they weigh, which is wonderful because they make great distractions when trying to cook a hungry little guy some food. Back Left to Right : Bread mix for a bread machine, case of phenyl-free formula, Mushroom Burger Mix Front Left to Right: Amino-acid supplements, Lo-Pro Anellini, Lo-pro Rice So now that Lucas is ready to start having "more solid" type foods I ordered up what I consider the next step in his diet. One of the things I wanted t...

Well today I placed an order for what seems to me is the "next stage" of foods for Lucas. I have been putting off moving Luke to more firm and diverse solid foods until I ordered him up some of the low-pro options that will a big part of his everyday diet. Things like making him bread and putting the "peanut" butter on it, it won't be real peanut butter because 3 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter has his entire days worth of phe!! (crazy right?!?) So how do I order up this food? I go to a special website and it provides me with all their options of mixes, baking needs, soup bases, pastas, rice, cereal, cookies and more. I select what items I need to order (including his formula) and it provides me with a grand total. So far we have been able to order up all free items. These are items that are paid for by the government and I have had a couple people ask me why would it be covered? Well Lucas' food is a medical food  due to the fact that the protein has ...

Hey all!! First a small update on Lucas: we still do not have his phe levels balanced out but we are working hard with the dietitians to get past this current growth spurt! I have a feeling, call it Mommy instinct, that his next levels we get back on Tuesday will look much better. But I wanted to drop some quick facts about PKU that people have asked me recently. I love when people ask me about Lucas' current levels and ask me PKU questions so don't be embarrassed or worried about asking me anything about it!!! Luke will never out grow his PKU We may decide to try one of the current drug options in a few years to improve how much food he can eat but it is not something that is cured (yet......) Everything Luke eats and drinks  must be recorded and counted in a daily diary Some foods are very low phe naturally (apples, grapes, pears, and more) so he can eat a lot more of them then some foods that are higher (potatoes, peas, cereals) and some proce...

We had been blessed with some very stable safe numbers for Lucas for a nice while, it was glorious and I actually did not mind hearing from the dietitians on a weekly basis. However Luke had a sharp dip in his levels at the end of May. So we upped his phe intake and waited for the response to that hike. Well it wasn't enough so we increased again and waited. Bingo. Got the number! Nope, the next spot came back higher then expected so we dropped his intake and waited to see the response. Nope now his level was too low again (not the normal response) so we kind of scratched our chins but made a new change and waited again. Nope, still too low! What the heck is this baby doing to us?!? The problem is how "far behind" we are once we get his levels, anywhere from 3-6 days behind to be honest (Canada Day added an extra day of course). We do a heel cut, take the sample, send it in...then wait.  I actually have not the foggiest idea what this next blood spot level ...

Yesterday, April 24th, we had Luke's solid appointment at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton at 8:30 am (early for getting everyone presentable and packed up!). We got to meet the most recent addition to the Metabolic Dietitian team, Sydney, who I have been emailing and chatting with for awhile now but hadn't met in person. She is as much as a sweetheart in person as she sounds on the phone.  We started off by talking about Luke's growth which has been spot on (woo!!) and he is gaining weight at just the right pace. Also he has maintained safe zone levels!!! Good job Lucas!  We found out Lucas' phe tolerance is between 320mg and 360mg.  His current average is 335mg of phe a day. Then we got into the learning aspect of our visit. Basically next time you see me say "count protein" you need to throw something at me because there are varying amounts of phenylalanine ( phe ) in different kinds of proteins. Below is a break down...

Luke at 3 months old Well it has been a long while since my last blog post and that is partly due to the fact that things with Luke's PKU have been pretty "quiet" the last while. We were exceedingly happy to go down from 2 heel pokes to only 1 heel poke a week. This is especially nice for me because we chose Sunday as the day to do them, and this is a day Jeff is home to assist. Luke is so tough he rarely cries now! These are some photos I found online (no this is not Luke) which shows what the heel poke looks like: 1>                  2> 3> First we have to warm his foot in a warm face cloth, then we swab the heel with an alcohol wipe, then Jeff starts making silly noises & faces and I use a lancet (like the ones pictured in #2) to "poke" his heel which makes an incision like in photo #1. I then put the drops of blood onto 2 of the circles on his blood spot card (like photo #3) until they are ...

Well as mentioned in past posts we had a big appointment with Luke's whole team on Wednesday and it has taken me a bit to write about it, mostly because I am still trying to work through it in my own mind. It was by far the longest appointment we have had - even longer then the original introduction. We talked with Melissa, Luke's main dietitian first for about 45 minutes and she took all Luke's measurements and plotted him on the charts. We have Luke up to the 25th precentile for weight, which is good news, he is the 50th precentile for height and when you plot his length and height combined he is 25th precentile (therefore long and skinny - sound familiar Matt?). They are pleased with his growth and don't believe there will be any problems from when his levels were low for so long. Then came talking about his current intake of protien and phe. This is where I tend to get emotional because even though I know that this is a lifelong disorder, I think I am like many who...

Fourteen days of safe zone levels for Lucas! What a fantastic feeling &  along with the great feeling of safe zone levels we also have the great news that we still have  no diet changes in over  2 weeks ! I am very relieved that we appear to have found a good place with Lucas' diet, it means he is getting all the protein he needs; whole protein from breast milk and the Similac formula and also the phe free protein from his PKU formula. We have a "big" appointment with his Metabolic team of doctors and dietitians on Wednesday next week and there is talk of us learning about his current tolerance, which I look forward to hearing and sharing! I have to admit that the day leading up to a phone call from the dietitians I tend to start feeling anxious, wondering if his levels have changed despite no changes in diet and just a general worry. This makes me remember what fellow PKU parents have told me; "don't let the numbers control you". I have also had p...

I want to take some time to say thank you and shine some light on something very important - you. Now I don't think I could ever be able to clearly and completely get people to understand how much it means to me to have so much emotional support. It has been incredibly amazing the love that has been shown to Lucas, Jeff and I as we have started this adventure that is our new life.  By talking to friends, family, friends of friends, family of friends, friends of family and so on and so forth, I have discovered so many people that are willing to listen, to share their stories or struggles and to lend support in any way - big or small. It has nothing to do with a grand gesture, it honestly could be a simple like on a Facebook post or a comment about this blog. It is, to me, a show of support. Thank you. Thank you for reading about Luke's PKU and to those who have offered support as I get my feet under me in this amazing thing called Motherhood. I cannot express how much it...

It feels so good to say that we have had safe zone phe levels for one week now!!  I got a wonderful call on Monday about Lucas' phe levels being 133 as of Thursday the 22nd and it was so wonderful to hear the dietitian even express how happy she was that we seemed to have hit the diet plan on the right mark. Even better was the call I got yesterday saying that Luke's phe level had gone from 133 to 221!!!  We are so happy to have Luke in the safe range of phe levels and he is gaining weight so well! This is a very happy place for us to be and we did not make any diet changes this week! So all in all I think it is very safe to say we are excited for this and look forward to hopefully being able to keep his levels in this range for awhile.  Luke was happy to hear his phe levels where so great <3