Today is the final installment of Tammy and Dan Kinder’s story about seeking an alternative to medication and traditional healthcare for their son’s absence seizures.  When Tammy first wrote the story, she had Dan look over it for proofreading.  He looked at it and said, “You left too much out.”  So Tammy went back to writing, making sure we readers got more details.  Thank you Tammy and Dan!  And mostly, congratulations that your son is seizure-free without Depakote (valproic acid) or ethosuximide (previously brand name Zarontin)–or both.

“This experience has given us enormous confidence in our own ability to heal ourselves. We share our story every time we hear of another person with a GAPS condition. We hope our story will give you the confidence to make a difference in your own life. Take the next step, you can do it.”  Dan and Tammy Kinder

I am so grateful they shared their story with me (and you) as I sort through my journey into the legitimacy of alternative health.

Disclaimer:  I know you know, but I will state it anyway;  please use nothing on this site as a substitute for seeking diagnosis and treatment options from your medical doctor.  Bad health problems do exist that need to be checked for.  Bad health problems do exist that are appropriately evaluated and remedied by medical doctors.  If you are not comfortable with your medical doctor, a second opinion is always suitable.  Click here for a “brief” on absence seizures from Johns Hopkins.

Part 1:  A Success Story in Using the GAPS Diet to Stop Absence Seizures!
Part 2:  A Success Story In Using the GAPS Diet to Stop Absence Seizures!
Part 3:  A Success Story in Using the GAPS Diet to Stop Absence Seizures!

Part 4:  A Success Story In Using the GAPS Diet to Stop Absence Seizures!

By Dan and Tammy Kinder

…I definitely wanted faster results. I was growing more and more impatient as all the hard work seemed to have no results. I had also been listening to Dr. Bob Marshall’s radio program regularly. He had some interesting things that made me wonder if we could possibly do more in combination with the GAPS diet to get more progress for our son. I did some research and found a Doctor of Naturopathy in the Houston area that was trained through Dr. Marshall’s program. I convinced my husband to take our son to her in July. After a visit with her and some initial testing, she recommended we get off the GAPS diet and follow a program that she had planned out for our son. Part of that plan was to put our son on a series of special supplements that would cost us over $500 per month. I wanted to give it a try because I wanted to see results and I felt like all of my hard work doing the GAPS was not getting us anywhere. My husband pondered the option of making a change away from the GAPS diet. He remembered that Dr. Campbell said it may take two years or more to fix the gut lining. If we stopped the GAPS diet and the other doctor was wrong in her assessment, we would have wasted those four months of already being on the GAPS diet and would have to start all over. My husband decided we should continue on with the GAPS diet.

With the big decision to continue the GAPS diet came a renewed desire to accelerate the process and get results quicker. We decided in July to try to detox him by giving him baking soda baths and coffee enemas. We did this fairly regularly for a couple on months, but after that only from time to time or after we would cheat and eat off the diet. Speaking of cheating, the kids disliked the diet in a way that is probably immeasurable. For the first several months or so we were very strict and would not allow cheating at all. In fact, we would choose not to go to some events because we knew the kids would see non-GAPS food and cheat when we were not looking. Then after the kids realized we were going to follow this diet for the long haul and that is was important to stick to it, I would prepare our own food and take that food with us to events when their would be food available to eat.  They were tempted the first few times we did this, but they got much better as time went on. Then in October came our kid’s birthday parties. We decided to let them cheat on their birthday to make it a bit more special. Was it good for us, absolutely not but we did not think it would undo everything we had done and we wanted to reward ourselves a little.  For seven months we were very strict, so we figured one day wouldn’t make a huge difference. Besides, the main reason for all of this was to stop our son’s seizures. And those had not changed much at all since starting the diet. It was so hard to keep preparing GAPS meals when you don’t see results fast.

As November came and went, we got strict about what we ate. I cooked and brought GAPS food for our family to eat at the big Thanksgiving lunch. We did allow them a small serving of the dessert of their choice. With so many parties and seasonal events in the month of December, we did allow ourselves some cheating, but we would always re-focus and eat strictly in the days directly following a party. As December arrived, we had a major breakthrough and finally saw some significant changes in our son. He had never gone more than three days without a seizure, but in December he went for three full weeks without one. We were very excited to finally see progress and major progress at that.  After this exciting change, the seizures returned. We were definitely disappointed, but they were different this time. Instead of 3-5 everyday he would have 3-4 every week. The eye drooping was not nearly as pronounced. Many of the other characteristics we saw in him previously either vanished or slowly disappeared. Although there was some disappointment that the seizures cam back, our excitement for progress was through the roof. We realized that the GAPS diet was working and we knew that it was just a matter of time before his gut would heal completely.

On January 14th of 2013, OUR SON HAD HIS LAST SEIZURE! As I type this very sentence, it still amazes me that the GAPS diet worked and eliminated his seizures. Our son has no more seizures, no more stomachaches, no more voices in his head, his blood sugar is much better. He no longer takes a probiotic everyday. We are still on the diet although it has been more than 6 months since his last seizure. We have relaxed some of the rules and restriction of the diet. We have stopped drinking broth everyday although we still keep some in the meal rotation. We continue eating fermented foods everyday. We do allow cheating from time to time. We plan to keep some of aspects of GAPS in our lives to keep our guts healthy, but the transition back to normal food has already begun.

We are very thankful that God gave us the time and patience to find the GAPS book. We feel very grateful to Dr. Campbell for writing the GAPS book. She gave us the confidence to try this on our own even though most “normal” doctors would tell us we are crazy. A very shocking thing is that very few doctors know about GAPS. Even more shocking is that most of them don’t want to know about it. They think they already have all the answers. They have been brainwashed into thinking that their precious prescription drugs or pharmaceutical grade supplements can replace the healing powers God has placed in each and every one of us. We are here to say DON’T BE FOOLED by their ignorance. Read the book for yourself. Follow it closely and you too can improve your GAPS condition. This experience has given us enormous confidence in our own ability to heal ourselves. We share our story every time we hear of another person with a GAPS condition. We hope our story will give you the confidence to make a difference in your own life. Take the next step, you can do it.

THE END