Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome
Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome
By Marissa Anderson (Baby Cyrus's Mom)
Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS) as defined by RareDiseases.org is:
Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS) as defined by RareDiseases.org is:
“Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) is an uncommon disorder affecting both children and adults and characterized by recurrent episodes of severe nausea and vomiting. An episode may last for a few hours to several days and is then followed by a period of time during which affected individuals are relatively free of severe nausea and vomiting. Some can experience milder symptoms between attacks. This alternating pattern of disease and disease-free periods distinguishes cyclic vomiting syndrome from other gastrointestinal disorders. For each person who suffers from this condition, the episodes are similar to each other. The associated nausea and vomiting can be severe enough to incapacitate the individual who may be unable to walk or talk and/or be bedridden. Additional symptoms often present during an episode including dizziness, paleness of the skin (pallor), lack of energy (listlessness) and abdominal pain and headaches. Oftentimes, nausea is the most disturbing symptom, more so than vomiting. Some affected children outgrow these episodes as they get older but for many others, CVS transitions into migraine headache. Cyclic vomiting syndrome may affect children more often than adults. The exact causes of cyclic vomiting syndrome remains unknown in many people, but a cause or risk factors can be determined in many others.”
Cyrus’ condition perfectly lined up with the description for CVS, and he would vomit sometimes 80+ times in a day (literally). The doctors at St. Luke's (Natasha Erickson specifically) didn’t believe us when we told them Cyrus’ symptoms and instead tried to say his weight loss was due to us not feeding him properly.
When Baby Cyrus was taken into state custody, he contracted C.Diff, a severe colon infection that is often contracted in hospitals and nursing homes. When he was returned to us, his vomiting was more severe, his episodes more frequent, and he had some additional symptoms as well.
Once Baby Cyrus was AWAY from St. Luke's Hospital, two separate doctors not associated with St. Luke's finally diagnosed with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. While they were able to accurately diagnose Baby Cyrus, something St. Luke's could never do, they still did the exact same thing—they look up the diagnosis in their little doctor search engine that they use, and then they look at the list of treatment options and try them all to see what works. It’s the classic “treating the symptoms and not the root cause." They ended up prescribing 4 different medications: Zofran, Amitryptalin, Proplanalol and one other big Pharma drug.
We wanted to use natural methods of treatment, but even though Cyrus was in our physical possession, at this time he was still legally in state custody so we were forced to follow all of the doctors suggestions as part of our “safety plan" with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Not surprisingly, Cyrus had negative reactions to all of the medications and was subsequently pulled off of them (once the doctors realized they weren't working).
After the case was dismissed completely, we dove deep into the holistic healing world to find answers.
A Doctor of Oriental Medicine ran multiple tests. One test found the C. Diff infection which we then treated with Grapefruit Seed Extract and a strong probiotic, and it was gone within the first 2 months. We immediately noticed improvement with the severity of the vomiting, but Cyrus’ tests showed that his gut was, according to the lab, “absolutely destroyed.” Yes, most likely due to St. Luke's horrible and incompetent care, Baby Cyrus contract a C.Diff infection which "destroyed" his gut.
Ultimately, our treatment plan included an anti-inflammatory diet: gluten free, dairy free, grain free, no seed oils, no processed sugar, and no food dyes. He continued on his strong probiotic in addition to magnesium, riboflavin (for high dopamine levels), vitamin K2/D3, a high quality DHA supplement, DGL Plus (a gut health supplement with aloe vera and licorice root to support the gut lining) and a good quality multi-vitamin. He took these supplements every single day except for when he was actively vomiting.
We also started doing oral motor therapy with a world renown therapist who has created some of the protocols that are industry standard for oral therapy. We started off going to this therapy 2-3 times per week and noticed great improvement with his speech, jaw strength for chewing, and his gag reflex. Because Cyrus was forcefully put on a feeding tube at St. Luke's, and did not eat solid food for quite a while, he lost his jaw strength and had trouble eating anything solid. He would gag on basically anything that wasn’t applesauce or smoothies. This oral motor therapy helped him to be able to eat solid foods properly.
Cyrus also did Craniosacral therapy which helped reduce inflammation and would calm him.
At the onset of his symptoms, I would give homeopathic remedies: Nux Vomica 200c, Ipecac 200c, Árnica 200c and Chamomila 200c. If the episodes came on too fast, then Cyrus would not be able to get the homeopathic remedies down at all, but if I caught it early enough and gave him a dose or two, it would make him calm down and prevent the vomiting. But I would have to give him another dose about every six hours because that’s when I noticed the symptoms started to return.
The one thing that would soothe him every time is warm baths. We’d sometimes do 5+ baths in a day, and I would sit on the bathroom floor next to him and wait for him to be relaxed, then I would feed him mineral water through a syringe to keep him hydrated, then breastfeed once he got out of the tub.
I would also let him smell peppermint oil or grapefruit essential oils, both of which he would pleasantly react to. Taking him outside for fresh air always made a big difference as well.
We noticed gradual and steady improvement. He had less severe vomiting, episodes were further apart, and his weight gain was on target.
We found a really amazing chiropractor and Cyrus started getting adjustments 3 times per week. After about a month of chiropractic care, his episodes all of a sudden stopped. He would occasionally act like he was about to get sick, but then he’d fall asleep and wake up completely normal. We sometimes would say it was like a ghost episode. He went about a full 2 months with no episodes.
Then we decided to retake all of his tests to see the progress in his gut health, and in preparation, took him off most of the supplements for a short period. At this time, his chiropractic adjustments were also reduced to once per week. We noticed a bit more sensitivity return and he’s had some “episodes.” Nothing long lasting. He would just vomit multiple times at once, then sleep a lot, and be fussy for about a day.
His test results came back showing that everything was greatly improved, the C. Diff was gone, his leaky gut was also healed, but there was still some gut inflammation. Not as severe as it used to be though.
The holistic pediatrician recommended that we do a food allergy test to eliminate any foods that could be causing inflammation, and to increase the chiropractic adjustments and resume all supplements.
She emphasized that a gut that was as destroyed as Cyrus’ is not going to fix overnight or by taking some pill, but that it would be a slow and steady process of consistency with his natural treatments. She said we are doing “everything right” as parents and encouraged us to keep trying new remedies and anything we think could help, but reassured us that she was fully confident that he was on the absolute right path to full healing and he is thriving, so there are no reasons for worry.
Cyrus is doing very well, thriving in developmental and motor skills, he’s eating and drinking a lot, gaining weight very well and he is extremely full of life.
I spent the first six months after we got Cyrus back staying up all night researching any information I could find to try to figure out Cyrus’s condition. I no longer feel as confused as I once was. I feel like I have a decent understanding of what was happening with his body, and I am very confident that he is on the right path. I learned a very important lesson, that if you want true healing, you must heal the root cause from the inside and not just treat the symptoms. This means that if you want true healing—avoiding traditional allopathic doctors is essential. Understand that God designed our bodies to heal, and that there are remedies and solutions and our bodies want to heal, as long as we give them the proper support and nutrition for a healing environment. I met some amazing people with their own stories of healing and every single time, the story was basically the same. They all started off in allopathic medicine and their health worsened, and it wasn’t until they found holistic treatments and lifestyle options, that they found true healing.
I hope this can help any other parents out there struggling with any similar health problems. It takes a lot of dedication, learning, and consistency, but God wants total healing and total victory for you, and He gave us everything we need to get there.
P.S. As noted above, besides Baby Cyrus's Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome, the most difficult health hurdle we had to overcome was the C-DIFF infection that Baby Cyrus undoubtedly contracted from his stay at St. Luke's Hospital. Literally, Baby Cyrus was harmed and damaged in every way possible by being at St. Luke's Hospital. They did no help and caused major harm.
Additional Links about Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome:
Articles on the Baby Cyrus Website Where We Mention Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome:
When Baby Cyrus was taken into state custody, he contracted C.Diff, a severe colon infection that is often contracted in hospitals and nursing homes. When he was returned to us, his vomiting was more severe, his episodes more frequent, and he had some additional symptoms as well.
Once Baby Cyrus was AWAY from St. Luke's Hospital, two separate doctors not associated with St. Luke's finally diagnosed with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. While they were able to accurately diagnose Baby Cyrus, something St. Luke's could never do, they still did the exact same thing—they look up the diagnosis in their little doctor search engine that they use, and then they look at the list of treatment options and try them all to see what works. It’s the classic “treating the symptoms and not the root cause." They ended up prescribing 4 different medications: Zofran, Amitryptalin, Proplanalol and one other big Pharma drug.
We wanted to use natural methods of treatment, but even though Cyrus was in our physical possession, at this time he was still legally in state custody so we were forced to follow all of the doctors suggestions as part of our “safety plan" with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Not surprisingly, Cyrus had negative reactions to all of the medications and was subsequently pulled off of them (once the doctors realized they weren't working).
After the case was dismissed completely, we dove deep into the holistic healing world to find answers.
A Doctor of Oriental Medicine ran multiple tests. One test found the C. Diff infection which we then treated with Grapefruit Seed Extract and a strong probiotic, and it was gone within the first 2 months. We immediately noticed improvement with the severity of the vomiting, but Cyrus’ tests showed that his gut was, according to the lab, “absolutely destroyed.” Yes, most likely due to St. Luke's horrible and incompetent care, Baby Cyrus contract a C.Diff infection which "destroyed" his gut.
Ultimately, our treatment plan included an anti-inflammatory diet: gluten free, dairy free, grain free, no seed oils, no processed sugar, and no food dyes. He continued on his strong probiotic in addition to magnesium, riboflavin (for high dopamine levels), vitamin K2/D3, a high quality DHA supplement, DGL Plus (a gut health supplement with aloe vera and licorice root to support the gut lining) and a good quality multi-vitamin. He took these supplements every single day except for when he was actively vomiting.
We also started doing oral motor therapy with a world renown therapist who has created some of the protocols that are industry standard for oral therapy. We started off going to this therapy 2-3 times per week and noticed great improvement with his speech, jaw strength for chewing, and his gag reflex. Because Cyrus was forcefully put on a feeding tube at St. Luke's, and did not eat solid food for quite a while, he lost his jaw strength and had trouble eating anything solid. He would gag on basically anything that wasn’t applesauce or smoothies. This oral motor therapy helped him to be able to eat solid foods properly.
Cyrus also did Craniosacral therapy which helped reduce inflammation and would calm him.
At the onset of his symptoms, I would give homeopathic remedies: Nux Vomica 200c, Ipecac 200c, Árnica 200c and Chamomila 200c. If the episodes came on too fast, then Cyrus would not be able to get the homeopathic remedies down at all, but if I caught it early enough and gave him a dose or two, it would make him calm down and prevent the vomiting. But I would have to give him another dose about every six hours because that’s when I noticed the symptoms started to return.
The one thing that would soothe him every time is warm baths. We’d sometimes do 5+ baths in a day, and I would sit on the bathroom floor next to him and wait for him to be relaxed, then I would feed him mineral water through a syringe to keep him hydrated, then breastfeed once he got out of the tub.
I would also let him smell peppermint oil or grapefruit essential oils, both of which he would pleasantly react to. Taking him outside for fresh air always made a big difference as well.
We noticed gradual and steady improvement. He had less severe vomiting, episodes were further apart, and his weight gain was on target.
We found a really amazing chiropractor and Cyrus started getting adjustments 3 times per week. After about a month of chiropractic care, his episodes all of a sudden stopped. He would occasionally act like he was about to get sick, but then he’d fall asleep and wake up completely normal. We sometimes would say it was like a ghost episode. He went about a full 2 months with no episodes.
Then we decided to retake all of his tests to see the progress in his gut health, and in preparation, took him off most of the supplements for a short period. At this time, his chiropractic adjustments were also reduced to once per week. We noticed a bit more sensitivity return and he’s had some “episodes.” Nothing long lasting. He would just vomit multiple times at once, then sleep a lot, and be fussy for about a day.
His test results came back showing that everything was greatly improved, the C. Diff was gone, his leaky gut was also healed, but there was still some gut inflammation. Not as severe as it used to be though.
The holistic pediatrician recommended that we do a food allergy test to eliminate any foods that could be causing inflammation, and to increase the chiropractic adjustments and resume all supplements.
She emphasized that a gut that was as destroyed as Cyrus’ is not going to fix overnight or by taking some pill, but that it would be a slow and steady process of consistency with his natural treatments. She said we are doing “everything right” as parents and encouraged us to keep trying new remedies and anything we think could help, but reassured us that she was fully confident that he was on the absolute right path to full healing and he is thriving, so there are no reasons for worry.
Cyrus is doing very well, thriving in developmental and motor skills, he’s eating and drinking a lot, gaining weight very well and he is extremely full of life.
I spent the first six months after we got Cyrus back staying up all night researching any information I could find to try to figure out Cyrus’s condition. I no longer feel as confused as I once was. I feel like I have a decent understanding of what was happening with his body, and I am very confident that he is on the right path. I learned a very important lesson, that if you want true healing, you must heal the root cause from the inside and not just treat the symptoms. This means that if you want true healing—avoiding traditional allopathic doctors is essential. Understand that God designed our bodies to heal, and that there are remedies and solutions and our bodies want to heal, as long as we give them the proper support and nutrition for a healing environment. I met some amazing people with their own stories of healing and every single time, the story was basically the same. They all started off in allopathic medicine and their health worsened, and it wasn’t until they found holistic treatments and lifestyle options, that they found true healing.
I hope this can help any other parents out there struggling with any similar health problems. It takes a lot of dedication, learning, and consistency, but God wants total healing and total victory for you, and He gave us everything we need to get there.
P.S. As noted above, besides Baby Cyrus's Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome, the most difficult health hurdle we had to overcome was the C-DIFF infection that Baby Cyrus undoubtedly contracted from his stay at St. Luke's Hospital. Literally, Baby Cyrus was harmed and damaged in every way possible by being at St. Luke's Hospital. They did no help and caused major harm.
Additional Links about Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome:
- Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome (Wikipedia)
- Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (Medline Plus)
- Your Guide to Creating a Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS) Diet
- Diagnosis and Management of Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome: A Critical Review
Articles on the Baby Cyrus Website Where We Mention Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome:
Baby Cyrus Quick Links:
Isaiah 44:28 "That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure."
Isaiah 45:1-3 "Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings…I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight…that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel."
Isaiah 45:1-3 "Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings…I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight…that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel."
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