Time for a new face? Who am I really?

I have a small confession to make, I have been contemplating starting a new blog.  One that reflects my new being.  There is just no easy way to say this, so I will just say it.  I am no longer the mom you read about in these entries behind me.  I am still a fuss about food, that will never change.  I am evolving though.  It's as if I entered my chrysalis stage and am awaiting my wings.  I feel renewed in such a way that our future never looked brighter.

Autism?  A distant memory.

Even PANDAS is only visible in my rear view mirror now.  It isn't gone, but it isn't here either. 

The evolution I have been part of is almost mind-blowing.  I wouldn't believe any of it, even if I were reading it in a memoir only 6 months ago.  It would appear like a character in a fictional novel, someone else's life, certainly not mine.  How incredibly wild it was to wake up one day and realize this IS me!  This WAS me all along, how did I not know sooner??

Well, you are probably thoroughly intrigued by now, lol.  I may lose readers here, but I hope to gain others, in fact, what I hope most is to retain all of my current readers and gain others, so we can all merge into this realm together.  What I am referring to is energy medicine.

This means something different to each person who participates or practices energy medicine.  To me, it simply means being totally in tune with my gut feelings.  Even writing this is hard for me, because I have spent years squashing the real me, without even realizing it.  I may sound "crazy".  I know I am not though, because I am living the ultimate....the results of accepting it.  More importantly, so are my kids!

Over the past year or two, as I have been helping parents trust their gut instincts to guide them in healing their children, one thing became very clear....I just know things.  I have been asked so many times, "How did you know to....?"  I repeatedly heard myself saying, "I don't know, I just know".  

What I have finally learned about myself during an insightful transformation is that I am in the early stages of uncovering my potential as a clairsentient.  Meaning, I have a gift of "knowing".  I am not a fan of labels, so I don't even like labeling myself with this somewhat intriguing label, haha.  It does, however, provide some form of description though, and it provided me with a description of something I realized I could relate to.  I have always been an extreme empath, to the point of embarrassment, because I can't always control it.  It isn't cool to cry in front of someone, because I have taken on their emotions....even when they haven't shared them with me!  This is one of the reasons I had shut it off previously.  But it didn't leave me completely, in fact, it was the underlying force of all of my decisions for my children.  Clairsentience is one of the most overlooked psychic abilities and requires one to clear their own energies in order to become a clear channel.

There are two ways that clairsentience works.

1. Clairsentience works by allowing an intuitive to receive signals from the spirit realm. A clairsentient will be able to sense the messages, where as a clairvoyant will see the messages, and a clairaudient will hear the messages. The clairsentient will feel what a spirit is trying to say, and interpret the message by using their intuition.
2. The second way that clairsentience works, is by allowing an intuitive to understand the feelings of the people around them, (empathy). Clairsentients often use their abilities to share and heal the pain of others. By sensing what someone feels, a healing clairsentient will know exactly what remedies someone needs

When an event out of my control spiraled me into a situation requiring a lot of self-analysis, I saw this side of me that I never acknowledged.  I took some time to just be.  Something I never did, I was always researching, creating, fixing something or someone, and planning the next step.  For once, I just took time to BE!!  I didn't research, I didn't fix things, I wasn't onto the next best treatment or practitioner.  I just waited for communication from the universe.  It was in this calm that I found myself.  Suddenly, I got ME.  I mean, I really got who I am, who I have been all along.  Everything began to make sense, including what was going on with my kids.  And how interesting to find out (after the fact) that my solar plexus chakra which was blocked and needed some attention, as I began going through this transformation, is the chakra that is most linked to clairsentience. 

I decided things were going to change.  And change, they have!  I am now using my intuition to guide our health decisions.  Not that this is very different from my past, although now I am doing it more consciously, with intent.  We use only homeopathy and soil based organisms.  Remedies are chosen based on intuition.  I also clear our energy regularly.  It's amazing what dealing with the chakras, meridians and aura can do for detox!!  I can't believe we survived biomed without this knowledge!  I see instant changes in us, when we acquire non-beneicial frequencies and likewise, when I remove them.  We have been able to move through high potency remedies with ease since participating in energy healing.  Our past was riddled with significant detox symptoms, something I thought just came with the territory.  How wrong I was!

What I find most important about metaphysical powers is that we all have them.  We are born intimately connected to the universe.  We can choose to shut them off or we can choose to actively embrace them.   None of what I have experienced is extraordinary, the only difference between myself and others is that I am now recognizing these events and learning to use them to my advantage.

In retrospect, this isn't really a new me, but merely the next progression of me.

So my whole point in this entry is that I would love to continue writing, but this is a new realm for me and I am not sure exactly how much I plan to share.  Like anything else though, it will come to me, when the time is right.  I hope you will find yourself wanting to follow along as I find my wings.  My new blog can be found at "You are what you...believe!"

Turn of events, my new "face"

You may have noticed that my blog has recently taken a dramatic turn from past entries.  I have always spent a lot of time reading and learning, but nothing has made more sense to us until we embraced homeopathy 100%.  Not just taking a remedy here and there, but truly embracing all it has to offer, believing in it, and learning from those who have created this fascinating ancient medicine.

The little-known facts that supplementation renders the body lazy while introducing new and potentially dangerous toxins, and that much of what we have done in the past has literally been aimed at suppressing symptoms, rather than providing true healing, have put me on a new path.  I will never again think in terms of eliminating symptoms, even with herbs.  I will never again consider ignoring the signs of degeneration and/or healing put in front of me by the body.

Our new journey stems from the deep understanding of where homeopathy and healing meet.  There is nothing more natural or more effective.  We have seen it on every level and most recently, our children have come off of EVERY supplement they have ever taken.  They no longer need anti-microbials (even natural) to keep their gut in check.  They no longer require digestive enzymes to digest their food.  Amazingly, homeopathy and SBOs (soil based organisms) have encouraged their own bodies to take over healing.  They are flourishing and they are growing (finally)!

I'm not suggesting my life is peachy every day, because detox is ugly, even when it's happening from a natural place within the body, and emotional detox can be even uglier than physical detox, but man oh man, the progress is permanent and it's complete! 

So as we move forward, my journal will take new shape, one of true healing from within.  If you are a loyal reader, you have probably seen everything we have been through.  If you are a new reader, you are have started in the right place.  Our past is a story, it's our story, but our future is riding on today.  Welcome to our new path.

The dangers of suppression

What is suppression and more importantly, what are the consequences of suppression?  Once you understand, really understand (and respect), the health consequences of symptom suppression, it will change your life.  Well, it should anyway.  It did mine!

Homeopathy has not only changed our lives physically and emotionally, but I am learning things that I have never learned from any other forms of healing in the past 5 years of biomed.  My research has unearthed information that should be shouted from megaphones everywhere, because without these little tidbits of knowledge, we are and will continue to harm our potential to remain healthy!!  We are literally sabotaging our own health!

Suppression.
The Webster Dictionary says to suppress is "to restrain from a usual course or action "

The "usual course of action" in this case would be symptoms, which in actuality, are the natural course of action being taken by our bodies to HEAL!  A symptom is bothersome to many, it prevents them from going to work, hanging with friends, feeling good, so we want it gone, but let's think about this for a brief moment.  Let's use the example of a burn.  When you burn your finger, it turns red and swells up.  What is your instinct...to run cold water over it and STOP the swelling, right?  Is this really the best course of action to take?  And what would happen, if you never ran that cold water over it?  Do you even know?  The swelling is called inflammation and inflammation is actually the way your body attempts to repair the damage that was done.  The human body is designed to heal itself!  By running cold water over it, you are literally stopping the body from doing what it needs to do!  So what should you do instead?  Believe it or not, you want to ENCOURAGE the direction the body is trying to take that damage, run very warm water over the burn!!  Not as hot as the original burn, but warm enough to be uncomfortable.  Guess what happens?  Nothing!  That's right, no blistering, no pain, although if the burn is bad enough (as was in one case when I grabbed a very hot ceramic pot and lifted it) you might have some mild residual signs left over, in my case, my burned skin was left a bit rough. Other than that, I had no blisters and no discoloring, it didn't even hurt!  

Or how about this scenario which I am SURE all of us have experienced.  FEVERS!  Why do we fear fevers so much?  A fever is the RIGHT action taken by the body when a foreign invader has taken hold.  Fever kills pathogens.  So the body knows what to do as soon as it encounters these bugs, it turns up the heat high enough to kill them!  Out of fear, most people immediately run for the fever reducers/pain relievers.  I bet you didn't know that fevers are self-limiting?!  The highest most fevers will go is 105-106 and once your body has reached this temperature, you are no longer at risk of a febrile seizure.  Fevers are misunderstood and the sales and marketing of fever reducers are aimed at fear.  The one piece of good advice I got from our worst pediatrician was to let fevers be, and that they ARE in fact self-limiting to about 105.  When you stop the fever or even just reduce it slightly, you are inhibiting the body from successfully fighting the pathogen.  So guess what happens?  It survives.  Common sense?  And don't even get me started on the topic of doctors who tell patients to use fever reducers in their kids pre-vaccination.  Good God, there is no more destructive advice than this!!  

So let's now think about a simple cold.  What happens, your body begins to purge from every orifice...not a pretty sight or feeling: snots, ear drainage, secretions galore.  Raise your hand, if you were ever guilty of taking something to eliminate this nastiness.  But again, let's think about what the body is trying to do.  It's eliminating the pathogen!!  Colds start in the nasal cavities and ears.  Mucus is designed to purge pathogens.  And common sense would say that when you stop this from happening....need I go on?  I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but really think about how ludicrous this even sounds when you think of it rationally!  Why hasn't anyone ever taught us to think about our health in this fashion?  Well, because it would hurt pharmaceutical sales, of course!

The examples of suppression are endless and we are often partaking in this dangerous act daily.  Putting creams on eczema, treating acne with topical gels, giving anti-inflammatory, pain relievers, DRUGS!!  All of these products are designed to make your life more comfortable, they do not get at the root of the problem, they don't cure anything, they only suppress.  Why do you have chronic inflammation Miss Fibromyialgia, what is causing those skin lesions Mr. Eczema....people, you are not only ignoring how your body communicates and heals, but you are downright fighting it!  Your body reacts and tries to heal itself and then you say, "Oh no you don't, I have work to go to work...I have a date to go on....etc!" and you do/use everything possible in your arsenal to eliminate the "symptoms".  Well you have just effectively eliminated healing too. 

We need to trust the body in doing it's job.  It won't have an overnight fix and you might feel yucky for a while, but when you stop the body from doing it's job, the consequences are great.  And maybe part of mother nature's magnificent design is to SLOW. YOU. DOWN.  You may not even realize that subsequent illnesses or symptoms are related to the act of suppressing other conditions, but I assure you, it is all related.  Your body is a fine tuned machine with all the equipment necessary to run optimally.  Your future health depends heavily on what you choose to do today!  I am not suggesting you shouldn't do anything at all when things run a muck, I am just saying that HOW you choose to deal with these imbalances is critical and either facilitates health progression or degeneration.

I also want to add that just because a product is "natural" doesn't mean it isn't suppressing a symptom and shutting down your body.  Anything that stops a symptom, rather than addressing it's cause directly, is suppressing the body from healing.  It's that simple.  I learned this the hard way and as we use homeopathy, which encourages natural healing, we are witnessing the host of suppression(s) we took part in, as we retrace old symptoms.  How completely and utterly eye opening.

So what are the consequences?  If you aren't addressing the reason the symptom arose in the first place and you are prohibiting the natural healing action designed by mother nature, what do you THINK is happening?  You are not only allowing illness to prevail, you are encouraging it on some level.  Sure, some minor things are superficial, but every time you eliminate the body from doing it's job, you are also reducing it's ability to learn how to respond next time, and the time after that and well, eventually, your body is going to learn to stop responding to illness.  It may take some serious research and experimenting to truly understand the underlying cause of symptoms.  It's typically not simple or cut and dry, but if you want to know more about the stages of natural detox and what they look like when they are suppressed, check out these incredible videos from Mary Coyle:

Video one

Video two

Our body is designed to detox illness, pathogens, and toxins.  When we hinder our innate healing abilities, things begin to shut down and where does this land us?  Cancer anyone?  Autism on the rise much?  Autoimmune disease is a PRIME example of suppression and inability to detoxify naturally.  HELLOOOOOO!!  This, my friends, is suppression at it's finest.  

Next time you have a headache, or inflammation, or a fever, or anything that is uncomfortable for that matter, stop and think, "what is my body trying to do?".  Don't reach for that over the counter toxin to stop your body from working.  If you love your life and your future health, just don't.  Tough it out, learn the signs of your body and do something to support it rather than tearing it down.  Think of what you have to gain from trusting your body!

Let's remember too that suppression doesn't occur only on a physical level.  We can suppress emotions and feelings which will ultimately wreak havoc on our psyche, as well.  If you can't release these emotions through discussion, consider other spiritual forms of emotional detox such as yoga, meditation, quite time for yourself or some other form of spiritual release.  Even kids can be guided to partake in these activities.  =)

Why now?

Why now?  Why didn't I find this path with homeopathy sooner?  Especially when homeopathy was the very FIRST therapy we tried with both myself and Grayson 6 years ago.

My best friend and I have discussed this at great length recently, because we wonder, could we have avoided all of the bumps in the road that lead us here?  Could we have healed ourselves and our children sooner?  Should this have been the first treatment we tried?  We unanimously agree, NO!!

We needed the path we were on.  We are who we are today, because of the path we have traveled.  We saw glimpses of who our children could be, and it drove us harder.  We learned about anatomy and physiology, because of the path we traveled.  Our diets are healthy, our environment is cleaned up, because of the research we did.  We researched and experimented and we came to incredible conclusions due to the roads we visited.  And most importantly, we met the people we needed to meet to find this path.  It wasn't put in front of us sooner for very valid reasons, we just weren't ready for it!  Every single day of our pasts have lead us to this very point in our lives.  I wouldn't change a thing. 

I am a dedicated researcher and a dedicated parent, no...that is an understatement, it might be more appropriate to define myself as anal retentive and controlling, and a little over zealous at times.  ; )  This is why it's even more undeniable that for the first time in our healing journey, we are in the right place.  I am ready and able to let go.  I am ready to hand the torch to someone else and jump on the waves.  I am ready to trust and look inside myself for guidance and confirmation that we are on the right path finally!  I'm ready, and so are they...

360 degrees of homeopathy

There are times in our lives when we have that little voice inside saying something doesn't feel right.  Do you follow that?  Or do you shove it deeper, using your brain rather than your instincts to rationalize your choices?  This little voice isn't far from the suppression of disease states.  Listen to it and you will heal, suppress it and well, you drive the disease in deeper.

We have to learn to trust our instincts more!

We have always felt like homeopathy has the potential to really get to the root of our health, regardless of what ails us.  It's been the one constant on our path, the one source of healing that we never abandoned, even through all of our biomedical choices.  But...we have never relied on it 100%.  Why?  It's clear to me now that we hadn't found the right practitioner for our children.  We had only used classical homeopathy, trusting in it's ability to make subtle changes that would perhaps cause long-term healing.   But the wow-factor was never part of classical homeopathy for us.  I have since learned that for the healthy people, classical homeopathy can be incredible, but our kids are so inundated with layers of toxins and familial illness that we can't reach the core of the person to treat classically.  Autism and autoimmune diseases are the result of an overflowing bucket of toxins and dangerous emotional states.  We need so much more than one classical remedy to heal us.

Ironically, it was our parasite journey that brought us full circle, back to homeopathy.  I had been increasingly disturbed by the recommended meds and found myself reaching for the homeopathic dilutions more and more.  I also felt like the boys' extreme reactions to either die off or the meds themselves encouraged me to seek out methods that would support the organs, remove blockages and detox the body more safely.  A diseased body houses pathogens, all kinds.  If we just keep chasing the bugs and we don't correct the immune system where it was damaged in the first place, we are chasing our tails, round and round.  I don't know about you, but I am ready to get off this merry go round!

We have made the break!!  We left biomed and have fully embraced homeopathy and boy does it feel right!  We researched methods we feel comfortable with and with each day of treatment, we had enough confidence to eventually remove everything other than SBOs (which have been significantly reduced to 2 capsules a day for the boys) and just a few basic minerals.  We couldn't be happier with the progress we are seeing.  I always thought these stories were only for those who wrote books, the rare lucky cases who hit their remedy just right.  I've been proven wrong and couldn't be more happy with our choice.  And this time, treatment isn't reserved just for the kids, I've jumped on board too.

If you have that little voice telling you something, don't ignore it, embrace it!

Autisms' bigger picture, who benefits?

When you are scanning ingredients to feed your ASD family safe and nutritious GFCFSF allergen-free, low oxalate, Failsafe, SCD, or GAPS meals, when you are injecting your child with his nightly MB12, and when you are traveling to and paying out of pocket for yet another "specialist" to consider more out of the ordinary treatment options to recover your sweet child, you don't give it a second thought.  This is second nature now, this is what our children need, so we do it for them.  We are going to recover our kids, period!

Unfortunately, not every ASD family is making these changes for their family. 

I don't even think we consider, for one minute, the sheer magnitude of our actions.  Think of throwing a rock in a lake, that ripple effect is much like recovering our ASD children.  I hear many families talk about the massive changes autism has encouraged their family to take on, changes regardless of how hard, they are incredibly grateful for, ironically.  Changes that may have even saved another family member's life!  I know that I am even more grateful than words can express, for the knowledge we have gained as a family, but it doesn't stop there.  The learning carries on when we influence other families in our large network.  We hold on tight to our ASD community families and we would do anything to help other families heal their children.  Of course, we want to see all of these children recover, that is certainly where my heart is, but each individual family makes up the bigger picture. 

But what if we DON'T carry this movement forward enough to grab a hold of the reigns on this frightening epidemic, what then?  Have you thought of that?  It won't be JUST the ASD families who are effected by the ever-growing rate of autism.

No one says it better than a fellow ASD mom, Florence Iwegbue, who is on a quest to change this movement.

"I come from a 3rd world country--Nigeria with MANY economical and social issues and like the NJ Senator mentioned during the hearing, a Nigerian Govt. official approached him about the rapid rise of Autism. Why? because, it is now a Global National Security issue; Possibly the worst epidemic in modern day medicine. At these rates, this country will not have men to go to war, marry, reproduce or support the economy of this nation. For all of us that are made to feel guilty when we use the word recovery, these are the problems we're worried about. For those who criticize, they have no idea the magnitude of the problem. When an official (probably even corrupt) from a 3rd world country like mine, with: waring tribes, abject poverty, astronomical rates of crime, perpetual recession and zero economic growth becomes worried about an Epidemic like Autism and flags down a U.S official to question him, be VERY FREAKING WORRIED and ya better be living and breathing RECOVERY & CURE. 
 
I come from a very proud and hard working tribe and my people are on the edges of their seats because they send their children to the West to make something of themselves and help out their fellow villagers back home by way of sending money to help educate the younger generation. When we stop sending money, because it is being spent on Whole Foods, ABA Programs, Supplements and Health care bills, more families back home get hungry, sick and kids are left on the streets without education. This is the consequence of my son's Autism. It is no longer just a disease that he has, it is a disease that many family members have inherited. So whenever anyone chastises you for seeking recovery for your child, send them my way so I can explain to them why it is a Global epidemic that needs to end NOW!"

Florence is a warrior mother.  She is fighting for the world and when she looks into her sweet boy's eyes, she knows that all of world is depending on his recovery.  His recovery matters to the world as much as it matter to her family.  The ripple effect.

Florence's family is so driven to help the world, in fact, that her husband has also developed an iPhone application to help parents help each other.  What's more impressive is that they are providing this app for free.  What could be more beneficial to the big picture?  

In their LiveWello social health app for iPhone (and iPad coming soon!), families are able to create a little village around the person they are caring for.  You can invite and label people with important roles, share medical records, videos, pictures, etc.   It's the ASD medical recovery ripple-effect in the making.  

Watch the ABC interview here. 

Let's embrace the fact that our children are going to change the world one way or another, do you want to be a part of that?  I sure do!!

Another toothpaste recipe

I know, I have another toothpaste recipe in my blog, but if you are a biomed parent, you understand how your child's sensitivities can change like the wind!  It's very hard to find a preservative-free, GFCFSF, mint-free, flavor-free, low-salicylate, toothpaste that is also free of excitotoxins.  That is a mouthful, isn't it?  Literally, tehehe.

 I haven't had time to write about our latest dietary adventures, but I can tell you that my new toothpaste recipe is in direct relation to some things, ok a lot of things, we are trying to avoid.  I will refer to the original toothpaste post for all the reasons to avoid commercial toothpastes, toxins at their best, and YES they do get into your bloodstream via the blood vessels in you mouth.  You can read more about that here.  In the meantime, as a home-schooling, multi-chef-hat-wearing, uber-researching, no-time-for-me mommy, I am going to get on with this post.  =)

Ingredients
-1/2 C. water
-1/2 C. xylitol (birch sourced only)
-1/4 C. baking soda
-1/8 C. Redmond's sea salt (independently tested as being the lowest in heavy metals)
-1/4 tsp food grade hydrogen peroxide (optional)

I have to warn you that this recipe is very salty, so if you have an aversion to salt flavor, you could reduce the salt in the recipe, but it's very good for cleaning, mineralizing and offering a safe abrasion for scrubbing the surface of the teeth so I wouldn't remove it completely.  You could add flavorings, if you tolerate them, in the form of essential oils, but be aware that they are very high salicylate.

Heat all of the ingredients, except the hydrogen peroxide, just to the boiling point, then reduce to low.  Let this simmer until the liquid is all gone, stirring frequently.  It will take a while, so do something else rather than watching the pot, lol.  When it's fairly thick, like a paste, turn off the heat and let it cool.  If you are adding the hydrogen peroxide, add it here and then blend in a blender or the Magic Bullet which is just the right size for small recipes like this.  Your toothpaste will be less of a paste and more of a thin gel.

I like to keep ours in a glass dropper bottle.  After we use up a supplement, I clean it out with boiling water, take the dropper out and cut an X in the tip of the squeezy part of the dropper cap.  Shake well, turn it over and squeeze the dropper cap to dispense!  It works like a charm!  You could also use a nice little hand pump lid for the texture of this toothpaste.  A little goes a long way.

My teeth feel super smooth and clean after using this toothpaste, I have even grown to like the saltiness (I didn't at first), it makes my mouth feel clean! 

The three year wait

I have waited THREE YEARS for today.  I couldn't imagine life like this and both my husband and I got teary eyed acknowledging that we are getting there....We've seen hints of it, little glimmers that it was possible, but nothing ever like this.

The three year wait....for what?  I'm not talking about a doctor waiting list or an opening in a highly respected school, I am not even talking about finally having a nice night out alone with my husband (Lord knows we need that!).  What is different about today is that Grayson just went through a round of chelation (low, frequent oral dose) without a single regression!!  His belly remained flat, he slept well and didn't have any bed wetting incidents, he woke happy and stayed happy through the entire round, no irritation, he's been patient, cooperative, helpful, independent, flexible, very affectionate to us AND to Gavin....I am completely and utterly amazed!  For those who know what I am talking about, seeing a round with no regression is nothing short of a miracle.  Our kids have ALWAYS regressed on round, and sometimes pretty significantly.  They always came out of it a few days later and often with gains they didn't have before, but the round itself was like a living hell.  That is why we can only handle one round every two weeks.  We are now post round by one day and STILL nothing negative!!  Everyone went to sleep well without melatonin.  We even increased his ALA recently!  He reacted SO severely to our original addition of ALA and then again with any subsequent increases, we even had to reduce our increases numerous times because he wasn't handling it well.

We just finished round 63 and I had heard that when you get past round 60, things start changing for the better.  When we reached round 60, things were actually getting worse!!  So this comes as a huge surprise that we would see a round this good so soon after those traumatizing days. He's been doing really well lately, but this just tops the cake!

I don't know, if all rounds will be such a breeze, and frankly I don't care.  If we only have one of these rounds every now and then, it has shown me what is possible.  I am grateful for the reminder of what we are working so hard to recover.  When I look back to where we started, how incredibly difficult life was every single day, I want to cry tears of joy for the progress we have made, and believe me, I do.  I have never been more grateful for anything in my entire life, it gives me goosebumps.

We've had parent teacher conferences with both boys' schools in the past week and our children are not just doing well, they are excelling and flourishing.  They are respectful, well rounded children and I am proud to know that they will be astounding members of our community some day, because of this intense labor of love.

In honor of all of the recovering children out there, if you are a biomed mom, please raise your right hand....higher, higher.....now bend it and pat yourself on the back!  You deserve it.  This is no easy road, in fact, it is downright grueling at times.  Life changes and we accept it and challenge it, we take the bull by the horns and we dominate this illness like warriors!!  And thanks to all those who paved the path before me, my children are living proof that this IS reversible, healing the immune system IS possible!

I am a firm believer in living one day at a time, and this is one heck of a day...

The perils of parasites and Pyroluria

Pyro-what?  Who is a pyro?  Isn't that somehow related to fire-starting?  I didn't know what pyroluria was either, that is, until I read and identified with practically every symptom on the list, with the exception of substance abuse.

Let me go back a few steps though.  As you recall, we were treating the family for parasites, because Gavin was diagnosed with Dientamoeba Fragilis.  We have completed the Alinia and Gavin's progress since the treatment is nothing short of astounding.  I have often said that you just don't know your own child until you have witnessed them in a place of wellness.  Even I didn't realize the impact of my own words as it relates to Gavin, until now!  He is a changed child.  I didn't even know my own child, neither of us did.  His real self has always peeked through the shadows occasionally, but never have we seen such consistency, ever.  He is beaming with humor and happiness, he is calm and shows clarity and focus in all that he does and most amazingly, he has not shown even an ounce of defiance!!  Time outs were becoming so bad that it felt like he was spending more time in time out than out of time out....did you catch that?  lol  It was so bad that we created "the calming space" in an effort to put a positive spin on time out, somewhere that HE could choose to go to relieve stress and recharge with some calm toys.  Since creating it, we haven't even had to use it!  We went off the Alinia and within a day, he emerged as this confident, well-spoken, and very well-behaved three year old.  I knew parasites were nasty buggers and had read that they are capable of destroying good health.  Never in my life did I think a parasite could cause so much disdain, but I will honestly never ever take health like this for granted again.  Our mental stability relies heavily on our health.  I can't stress this enough!!  I have said over and over again, that I don't believe that kids are "being kids" when they are defiant and I have seen the changes in Grayson with the Clostridia overgrowth, but this....this is still astonishing me!

So back to the Pyroluria.  Another huge wow for us, me included.  On my constant quest for better health, I stumbled upon this under-diagnosed condition that not only appears to fit me, but our boys too.  It's highly genetic and it's symptoms are profound by comparison to the ease by which it can be controlled.  Pyroluria is basically a fancy way of saying a person is deficient in vitamins B6 (pyrodoxine) and zinc. Let me sum it up for you....better yet, Nora Gedgaudas will do a better job than I ever could.

"Pyroluria is a genetic metabolic condition long recognized by the field of orthomolecular medicine and orthomolecular psychiatry.  As many as 50% of those with autism, 40% of alcoholics, 70% of schizophrenics, 70% of persons with depression and 30% of persons struggling with ADD may have pyroluria underlying these conditions and make them very difficult to reach with traditional and even holistic therapies.  –But pyroluria isn’t limited to these populations.  As much as 10% of the population may have this metabolic condition and not know it…but may have lifelong symptoms associated with it that tend to worsen with age…and stress."

And regarding how it effects children, I found this statement which is exactly what we are dealing with in our own two children.

"Although children tend to be more easily diagnosed than adults, the symptoms are consistent: poor tolerance of physical and emotional stress, mood swings, depression, noise and other tactile sensitivities.  Later symptoms can range from severe depression to chronic schizophrenia.  Accompanying physical symptoms can include pain, seizures, even complete physical debilitation."

All that from a simple B6 and zinc deficiency??  All that and more!  You would never connect it's oversimplified treatment with the significant health challenges it is capable of causing.  The reason a person is so deficient in these nutrients is because of a byproduct called kryptopyrroles created from the synthesis of hemoglobin.  Kryptopyrroles bind very tightly with zinc and B6, making them unavailable to the body.  Krypopyrroles tend to increase with stress and age, which means, this disorder will only snowball, if undetected.  Do you know ANY mainstream doctors who will diagnose something so simple to rectify and without the use of prescriptions?  Since they have about half a day of nutritional training in all their years of med school, my guess is that they won't even know what it is.  But they should, because it has it's hand in many illnesses being misdiagnosed as mental disorders, and medicated unnecessarily.  If you are a regular reader, you already know how much I DESPISE covering up symptoms with medication.  Our body cries out to us for help, telling us there is an imbalance somewhere, and we shut it up with medication.  If only we spent half the time discovering what CAUSES these imbalances, we could spend more time enjoying our lives!

So let's see, if you or someone you know can identify with Pyroluria, here is a list of the more common symptoms from Nora's website.

The following includes the most common symptoms associated with the condition Pyroluria.  If you answer “yes” to 15 or more of these then further testing may be worthwhile:

PYROLURIA QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Little or no dream recall

2. White spots on finger nails

3. Poor morning appetite +/- tendency to skip breakfast

4. Morning nausea

5. Pale skin +/- poor tanning +/- burn easy in sun

6. Sensitivity to bright light

7. Hypersensitive to loud noises

8. Reading difficulties (e.g. dyslexia)

9. Poor ability to cope with stress

10. Mood swings or temper outbursts

11. Histrionic (dramatic) tendency

12. Argumentative/enjoy argument

13. New situations or changes in routine (i.e., traveling) particularly stressful

14. Much higher capability and alertness in the evening, compared to mornings

15. Poor short term memory

16. Abnormal body fat distribution

17. Belong to an all-girl family with look-alike sisters

18. Dry skin

19. Anxiousness

20. Reaching puberty later than normal

21. Difficulty digesting, a dislike of protein or a history of vegetarianism

22. Tendency toward being a loner and/or avoiding larger groups of people

23. Stretch marks on skin

24. Poor sense of smell or taste

25. Feel very uncomfortable with strangers

26. Frequently experience fatigue

27. A tendency to overreact to tranquilizers, barbiturates, alcohol or other drugs (in other words, a little produces a powerful response)

28. A tendency toward anemia

29. History of mental illness or alcoholism in family

30. Easily upset by criticism

31. Sweet smell (fruity odor) to breath or sweat when ill or stressed

32. Prone to acne, eczema or psoriasis

33. A tendency toward feeling anxious, fearful and carrying lifelong inner tension

34. Difficulty recalling past events or people

35. Bouts of depression or nervous exhaustion

36. Prone to frequent colds or infections

Again, if you have answered yes to 15 or more of these then consider testing further using a urinary screening test for the presence of elevated kryptopyrroles via Bio Center Lab in Wichita, Kansas (Phone: 316-684-7784 or 1-800-494-7785). Here is their web site for more information.

Testing for this condition is simple, relatively inexpensive and readily accessible to anyone without a prescription.

I answered yes to 27 of these 36 questions.  In fact, I had 15 of them before I even got to 20!  Since supplementing (as well as treating my thyroid with the iodine protocol), I have had energy, I wake ready to go, I feel good most days and oddly enough, I have my dream recall back almost nightly now! We've taken a small break from chelation, so I am sure I will return to some dark days before I emerge as the beautiful butterfly, but boy am I learning a lot in the process of healing!!

If you want to learn more about Pyroluria, I highly recommend the following literature:

Journal of OrthomolecularMedicine: The Discovery of Kryptopyrrole and its Importance. Vol. 10,No. 1, 1995

Pyroluria A Blood Disorder Causing Hard-to-Treat Depression and other Mental Health Conditions

Pyroluria: Overview

Pyroluria

The big picture

I have been adding to my "Recommended reading" tab lately, because I think the big picture is more than just that ONE trigger, ONE reason we have sick kids, or are sick ourselves.  Just like we've been brainwashed to think one magic pill will cure our illnesses, we also think there must be one reason we have the "illness".  The truth is that our environment has become so polluted, we are living such toxic lives, that it's just a matter of time before each of us reaches our tipping point.  For our children who are the products of evolution involving over-toxic lifestyles, that is happening sooner and sooner.  I know, I have written about this before, but it's a big part of the big picture.

I see many parents who jump to the conclusion that because their child or children regressed after a particular vaccination, that this vaccination was THE cause....no it wasn't.  I don't believe that for a minute.  Was it the tipping point, it sure was!  But that doesn't mean it's the ONLY cause for the regression or downward spiral.  And what about the parents who throw their hands up, because their child was "born this way"?  We must view each of our lives as having a large bucket to maintain.  We are filling it too fast!  This bucket is overflowing for those of us with CFS, autoimmune diseases, autism, allergies, Fibromyalgia, frequent infections, hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue....it starts the flow of events that unfold before us every new day, the events we chalk up to "old age".  So why are our children being born with them?  Our job is to figure out, for each of us, what we need to do to maintain that bucket, BEFORE it tips.  Removing toxins, controlling pathogens, eating healthy and organic, avoiding dangerous chemicals and ingredients, knowing what our bodies react to and avoiding those things, identifying and replenishing deficiencies....this is how we remove the sludge that builds up in the bottom of our buckets.  If you make this a lifestyle change rather than experimenting with spurts of attempts, you can imagine this bucket is the dehumidifier with a hose permanently attached to your sump pump, lol!!  It will drain regularly and maintain your bucket.   Once you realize the impact your actions have on the rest of the world and how in return, that effects your health, you will also take more interest in the big picture!

If we don't start maintaining our lifestyle before having children, it is inevitable that they will somehow reap the *rewards* of our choices.  And yes, this can and does appear even before birth, in utero.  Many things are passed onto our children before they are even born, like heavy metal toxicity which passes on for at least three generations, and pathogenic diseases like Lyme and Syphilis, overgrown microbes like bad bacteria and yeast (candida), nutritional deficiencies that often get worse in pregnant and lactating women, antibodies that we carry (good and bad), and then there is the passing of pathogens and toxins via breast milk and so on. 

The problem is that we don't realize this soon enough.  We usually figure out that we even have a "bucket", when it's already been tipped over.  Why is this?  Simply put, because doctors do NOT have this knowledge....not the kind of doctors we are told to see regularly.  They push medicine and if you are well, they don't see any need to help you.  We are indirectly learning to rely on pharmaceuticals rather than trusting our instincts and using common sense to prevent and treat our ailments.  When did we lose touch with prevention?  Ask your grandmother about castor oil, fish oil and using salts and natural foods to heal!  As soon as big Pharma came into the picture, our priorities did a 360, and we didn't even see it happening!  Unfortunately for my family, my children are the reason we have figured this out.

So now my life-long "calling" is to research and find the reasons this is happening to us as a nation, and educate myself and others about how to avoid and change it.  Many are willing to listen, in fact they want the information, but there are those who are just stuck, they are so stuck in their over flowing bucket that they are drowning in it, they don't even know which way is up.  Some people are beyond recovery emotionally and it's directly related to how far their health has declined that they believe in nothing, they are so wrapped up in their own sadness that they can't even see the hope anymore.  I am sad for them, because I would love more than anything to point them in the right direction, but I have to accept the fact that not everyone wants help.  I will not stop trying though!

Life as you know it

When my sister told me about meeting a 7 year old little girl who "used to be" autistic before biomed, dietary changes and chelation, it got me thinking about how long this will go on for us.  She was in managed recovery, the parents still doing everything we do now.  So is there ever an end in sight or is this how it always will be, detoxing, preventing and removing since our kid's bodies can't do it themselves? 

The truth is, when you first learn that your child is on the spectrum, life as you know it, changes....forever.  So this change, it can either be discouraging and fearful, it can be riddled with wild tantrums, lack of affection, weird behaviors, repeated stims, tics, lack of sleep, etc.  OR, you can take control of life as you know it and yes, it may change forever, but with your new lifestyle comes a healthy calm child who makes eye contact, tells you they love you and loves hugs, a child who makes friends at school and has the desire for extra curricular activities, a child who doesn't need to be held down or treated differently everywhere they go.  THAT is worth every single lifestyle change involved in biomedicine. 

So, if you are battling the decision of whether to do biomedidicne or not.  Doesn't your child deserve a normal life?  Life as you know it is different regardless, and it always will be, wouldn't you prefer a happy healthy child?  Life as you know it, HAS changed.  It can be for the better.

Oh the joys. Parasites and viruses.

I can't remember a time when we haven't had multiple experiences overlapping each other, graying the fine line that once existed between symptoms and results, cause and effect.  I hear myself relentlessly repeating, "it could have been, or it might be..., but I just don't know".

As you may know from reading my blog, Gavin has a parasite called Dientamoeba Fragilis, once labeled as a protozoa/amoeba, but more recently relabeled as a flagellate.  Lyme Disease is also a flagellate and as I am reading about the D. Fragilis, I am learning about the similarities they share, such as the many changing forms this parasite has....making it hard for any conclusive fact to be established about it's life cycle and stages.  One thing that has been determined is that it doesn't respond the same in a body as it does in a test tube or slide.  It isn't even known, if this parasite goes through a cyst change during it's unknown life cycle.  We don't know, if it hatches or reproduces with the full moon or new moon, or BOTH.  There is overwhelming evidence that these creatures cannot survive outside of the body, suggesting fluid transmittance or the use of another "host" to transmit them successfully from person to person.  It is most likely that they are hitching a ride on other parasites like B. Hominis or pinworm, etc.

I have a theory about how Gavin could have gotten infected with this one-celled parasite and perhaps has had it since birth (since all of his symptoms have been there since then).  When I was about 19 years old, I experienced a case of pinworm infestation which was ironically short-lived and didn't require treatment.  If D. Fragilis hitched a ride way back then, perhaps the pinworm situation resolved itself, but I could have been carrying around the D. Fragilis, asymptotically, which is not very uncommon.  Along comes this helpless baby boy who contracted my parasite in utero and never had a chance against infection from the very first breath he took.  He was immediately sensitive to foods like dairy and soy, he bloated early on, had torticolis (not sure if it's even related, but part of the big picture of his health), bowel movements varied from constipated to loose from the very first bite of "solid" foods, he had a seizure by the time he was a year old, and mood swings and control freak are understatements!  So here we are three years later, with possibly three years of damage from this GI-disturbing parasite.

What does all of this mean for families like ours who are trying tirelessly to rid themselves and/or their children of this monster?  It means experimenting with many treatment protocols.  We did multiple natural parasite cleanses from Humaworm and Artemesia to W-W from Pure Herbs and even higher doses of black walnut hull.  Although he always experienced some level of die-off, the symptoms never seemed to subside fully, he continued to have behaviors that waxed and waned with the moon cycles, very typical of parasite infestation.

Alinia was recommended by our DAN! doctor.  He gave us a script for just Gavin, 5 days worth.  So I did more research before even considering giving this RX to him.  I wanted to know more and had quite a bit of information already under my belt confirming that Alinia should only be used, if the doses are going to be high enough and used for long enough to rid him of this pesky intruder for good.  Just giving 5 days of meds could create a super-bug rather than killing it off, especially considering it travels with the ever-resistant B. Hominis which has a very long cyst cycle.  When a parasite is in it's cyst form, it is impossible to kill, so that means either knowing it's life cycle (which we don't) or treating for an entire month, plus a few days, to ensure hitting the exposed, non-cyst phase.

So as a last resort, we decided to attempt the Alinia, BUT only if we could have the longer dosing schedule and for the entire family since it is highly probable that this originated with one of us, and even if it didn't, we could pass it between us again post-treatment, all dependent on it's method of transition, but I don't like to take chances with our children and their health.  Our doctor was open to the treatment protocol I had found to be successful with multiple other families and ironically, our insurance actually covered it!!  Over $1000 per person worth of prescriptions, yippeeee!!

So here we are, on our third day of taking the Alinia (two days before the full moon), all of us.  I expected to be in a world of hurt, but surprisingly, it's been pleasant....well, hahahahaha, except for those around me, since I am very clearly effected by some form of die off, if you know what I mean (blushing).  Not very ladylike to say the least, teehehehe.  Gavin has had some gas as well, bowel movements were perfect for the first two days, but today we had what we have come to call Flagyl-poop.  Grayson was put on Flagyl years ago, for high levels of Clostridia (bad bacteria) and his BMs were hideous, they floated like chunks of cotton candy, attempting to stick together in what looks like it might have resembled a BM before exiting the body.  It is undeniably a die-off symptom.  Another interesting fact is that the Alinia also kills anaerobic bacteria like e.coli and clostridia, both of which we know Grayson has had, via stool samples.  This prescription has many modes of attacking our boy's ailments.  Lets just pray the results are permanent!

To add insult toinjury, two days into taking Alinia, poor Grayson contracted Coxsackie (Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease).  He developed a sudden high fever, lethargy, not hungry, sores in the back of his throat and he slept much of yesterday after  I loaded him up with 40,000IU of vit D3, OLE (which I confirmed wouldn't interact with the Alinia), Virastop and Lauracidin.  He woke without the fever, but was still very lethargic until bedtime, which he did not fight one bit.  He was ready.  Today, his mood is great, his eyes look bright, he is energetically playing with Gavin and he wants to eat, but his throat hurts too much to swallow anything solid. 

Amazingling (knock on wood), Gavin hasn't shown ANY signs of this illness....yet.  The contageous period can last weeks as the virus sheds, so I am praying Gavin's immune system is fighting it off successfully.  We are helping him with the natural anti-virals too.  In fact, Gavin is like a new child yesterday and today!  His mood swings are GONE, he is cooperative, compliant, happy and bouncy, his speech and ideas are more complex, he is playing nicely with Grayson (who is playing nicely back, HEAVEN for me), his belly was even flat for the first two days on the Alinia.  Today he has a little pouch after the strange BM, but still not as protruded as usual.  He's amazing, and I am relieved.  There is a glimmer of hope that perhaps this is Gavin's main health issue, and that perhaps we will have it resolved with treatment.

We just ordered follow-up hair tests with Doctor's Data, Inc. to see the progress we have made after a year of chelation with Gavin and two with Grayson.  The results should be in between tomorrow and Tuesday...I am so anxious!!  Maybe, just maybe, Gavin will still not meet Andy Cutler's counting rules and maybe, just maybe, this parasite will resolve the issues we were tying to mercury toxicity, and maybe, just maybe not having him vaccinated was the smartest thing we ever did!!  We'll see, one can hope, right?  Without hope, our days look dark.  I prefer to see the light at the end of the tunnel, even if my perception may be slightly off occasionally.  It can make the days in between seem less stressful.

Tick testing update

I completely forgot to provide an update on the tick testing for Lyme, Ehrlichia and Babesia.  We chose to use Quest because it is covered by insurance, but we did confirm that they use DNA PCR testing, which is preferred.

I kept checking the mailbox with excitement to know, but anxiety to know....fearing the worst and hoping for the best.  The day it came, I couldn't wait to tear that envelope open, it was like I just had a feeling.  On all accounts, "not detected" was the result!!  Happy dance!!  It doesn't mean we are in the clear, testing can be wrong, so I will keep that in the back of my mind and will always consider this an open door to Lyme disease.

This whole experience did get me thinking more though.  When he was 12 months old, we went to visit my mother in Connecticut, it was right after having him vaccinated with 4 live viruses.  When he began having odd symptoms for a month afterwards, we thought it could be the vaccinations, especially considering all the other things we have been dealing with.  But now that I think back to the details, Lyme is still a possibility!  The week before things started, I recall seeing a large red spot, not quite like a "rash" per say, but a red circle, pretty large, on his head.  It resembled the very same rash as discussed in Lyme called erythema migrans.  I wish I thought back then to take a picture of it.  It was because of this rash and all the following symptoms that we saw for an entire month that a Western Blot was ordered as part of all of his testing, which came back negative.  Now, I am learning why this isn't necessarily true.  Timing of testing after the bite is specfic and the Western Blot has high false negatives.  The symptoms that phased in and out over a month were: swollen glands (one remains swollen still to this day, on the side of his neck), various full body rashes throughout the month, fever, he wouldn't bend one knee for a day, swelling around one eye, hives and an ear infection. These symptoms literally either overlapped or were one after the other and doctors kept telling me that they were coincidental circumstances.  I think not....and now, it's probably very possible he was bit by a tick.  We never saw one, but that doesn't mean anything and there are too many symptoms that fall into place for Lyme...and then after this was when things really started to fall apart for him.  The Lyme Induced Autism Foundation has been established for very good reason.  I even learned that over 90% of autistic patients that were tested properly, have Lyme Disease.  I would love to test him properly too, but we just can't afford it right now.  It's close to $1000 for proper testing with Igenex, one of the most reputable labs who specializes in Lyme testing with the most cutting-edge technology.  It is definitely something we will be doing in the future.

In the meantime, we will be using Stephen Harrod Buhner's protocol (from the book Healing Lyme) for treatment/prevention.  I also bought a homeopathic Lyme/co-infection nosode which I can't wait to get and use on everyone!  It has also been known to help treat those with the infection already.  We will be going to the Poconos and Maine this summer, both are filled with woodsy escapades.  I also researched the many essential oils that ward off specific buggers and made my own natural bug repellant in a natural base of aloe vera and witch hazel.  We are READY!!

GREAT video from Dr. Klinghardt on autism which he attributes to Lyme and mold.

In the throws of regression, and such

In the midst of ongoing mold remediation (and finding more mold) you would think it couldn't get any worse.  Yes, the kids were battling coughs and mild regression already, but now we have taken regression to a whole new level.

Two days ago, we were outside at a friend's house and Grayson had to go to the bathroom.  Since they were running around in dirt, I didn't want him trapesing through her house so I actually suggested that he use the toddler potty we had outside with us, hehehe.  He also happened to have a button on his pants and needed help getting them open.  These two unusual scenarios had me closer to him than I normally would be, enabling me to notice something out of the ordinary.  I caught a glimpse of a dark spot below his waistline and it was actually an afterthought on my part to take a closer look at it.  When I did, I realized it was a deer tick, embedded in his skin!!  Luckily it didn't appear engorged, although now I am learning that this isn't necessary to transport bacteria to the host, so the false hope I had to begin with is quickly dwindling.

The process of getting a tick the size of the tip of a ball point pen out of a 6 year old's tummy while he is trying to sit up and look, squirm and talk through the whole ordeal, is nothing short of painstaking.  Not to mention the sheer panic that went through my body at the realization of what had just happened....I was numb and frantic inside.  I don't know, if it's possible that the tick regurgitated in the process of trying to get him out, but I made the mistake of listening to strangers who were working at my friend's house, and we tried to drown the tick into backing out on it's own.  We put oil of oregano on it.  It wasn't backing out....so I used needle nose tweezers which were still too big to grab just the head of this teeny creature, and I yanked the sucker out.  It came out clean, nothing was left behind and the only mark, to date, was the irritation of grabbing the skin around it and the little hole it left where it was embedded.  The only reason I know it came out clean is because when I got home, I got creative and used Grayson's Cyclops Eye to view the tick up close and personal and then I took pictures of the tv! So now I have documentation of the very tick that bit Grayson.

We rushed home and began the daunting task of trying to determine how to get this pesky critter tested for Lyme bacteria.  I called the State department of health, who referred me to a place locally where they ID the tick, but they don't actually test them, she referred me to the hospital who referred us back to our doctor.  No one in our doctor's office knew how to handle testing a tick, even though the hospital told us we needed a prescription and more direction from our doctor.  It wasn't until I got my husband (who was away on business for days) involved, that we finally got some answers, found a lab to test it under our insurance AND got our doctor to write the script that they had refused to provide only minutes before with me.  The lab provided the codes for the doctor to write the script at which point they were only too happy to get rid of us and provide what we needed, lol.  We are persistent people, we don't go away that easily.  We didn't get to where we are in our healing by following the path of least resistance.

So the tick went off to the lab and we expect the results in the next two weeks.  I have my reservations about the concept of Quest testing the tick for all of the possible bacteria a tick can transmit, so I actually plan on calling the lab for more specific information about it's testing.  They do a PCR test which uses DNA, but I don't know, if it only looks for one or more of the bacteria involved in Lyme. 

While we wait for the results, I wanted to get a jump on treatment naturally (even though our Dr. offered to start treatment immediately with antibiotics).  I chose to read up a bit on natural remedies and found Dr. Buhner's protocol which identifies many natural remedies for treating Lyme.  They have indicated that many of the antimicrobials we use already (GSE, OLE, Lauracidin, etc.) help with Lyme bacteria, but he also suggested that THE most important neutraceutical to be used on a Lyme patient is called Japanese Knotweed.  Here is his description of this important herb:

"The core herb for Lyme is Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum). Japanese Knotweed is an invasive botanical in almost every place where Lyme has emerged. Buhner noted that rather than taking the gift that nature has provided to exactly those that need it, people in Vermont are focused on trying to eradicate it from their yards. "Nature has a way of helping us but we quit listening a long time ago," said Buhner.


Japanese Knotweed shuts down the inflammatory pathways initiated by the spirochete. Other herbs like Turmeric can shutdown inflammation as well, but it uses very different mechanisms. Knotweed, on the other hand, affects the exact pathways that are problematic in Lyme disease. It is very specific for the inflammation related to Lyme disease. "If a genetic biologist had designed something, it could not be any better," he said.


Knotweed crosses the blood brain barrier. It is specific for inflammation in the meninges. If a person presents with a stiff neck and headaches as part of a neuro-cognitive Lyme presentation, Knotweed is very specific for these symptoms. It is a potent antioxidant and has protective effects on the brain. It calms the central nervous system and helps with arthritis symptoms in Lyme disease. Knotweed is an herb and drug synergist meaning that when it is used with antibiotics, it makes them powerfully effective even in cases where they previously failed. "If I could get every Lyme-infected person to do one thing, it would be to take Japanese Knotweed along with their antibiotic therapy. It increases the effectiveness by at least double," he said.


Knotweed is a mild antibacterial and is effective against other spirochetal organisms such as Leptospirosis. It modulates the immune system by either raising or lowering immune function as required in each unique person. Knotweed reduces the dynamics involved in autoimmunity. It is an angiogenesis modulator and controls the healthy generation of blood vessels. It stimulates microcirculation to the eyes and joints thus helping to facilitate the movement of drugs or herbs to those locations. It is cardioprotective and helps to remove endotoxins, which is a benefit to those with Herxheimer reactions during treatment.


The chemistry of Japanese Knotweed is incredibly complex. It contains resveratrol at a level higher than any other known plant. Buhner is not a fan of resveratrol itself, but the only product on the market that contained Japanese Knotweed at the time of the writing of his book "Healing Lyme" was Source Naturals Resveratrol with 500mg of Polygonum per tablet. Isolated resveratrol alone will only be partially effective and will not be very potent for Lyme disease if it was derived from grapes.


Ideally, people would use the plant itself. There are more products available now that are made using the root, which is what Buhner prefers. In terms of making the protocol as simple as possible and easy to follow, the Source Naturals Resveratrol product is still a reasonable option.


Knotweed is clearly the most important herb for Lyme disease. It continues to emerge more and more strongly and is incredibly good for cognitive Lyme and for inflammation. The dosage of the Source Naturals Resveratrol is 1-4 tablets 3-4 times daily for 8-12 months. Buhner finds that some people begin to experience symptom relief within two weeks to two months, but it takes up to a full year to really turn the disease around."

This is the link for more information about treating Lyme naturally.  He has a LOT of great information available here.  It's a reduced version of his protocol.  He also has a book on this topic.

I spent the next morning calling health food stores, to hunt down the Knotweed and Yarrow which is an herb that has been proven to be more effective than DEET as a bug repellant. It was even tested by the military. You better believe I will be working on formulating a safe bug repellant for the kids!  With both the Poconos and Maine vacations in our near future, I definitely needed to get on that, pronto! Poor Grayson is afraid of the grass unless I spray him with something so that was a priority.

I also gave Grayson a loading dose of 15 drops of LDM-100 which isn't an herb recommended by Dr. Buhner, but I have read about it in the past as possibly helpful in treating Lyme, but this seems to be questionable when reading more about it.  He handled the dose well, but considering I am seeing an increase in yeast symptoms now, I am actually thinking of dropping the LDM-100 and trying Cat's Claw or something else that won't stir up the yeast quite so much.

This is a work in progress, I am learning while trying to maximize the early stages of the possibility that we could have a Lyme issue on top of everything else....

I can't help but think about what I could have done differently to prevent it...natural bug spray (which I had been meaning to research), long clothes (but it was just too darn hot out), staying inside (is this really practical), doing a tic check every time he came in from outside (totally slipped my mind).  And to compound matters, the night before we found the tic, he dressed himself for bed.  He normally sleeps with nothing on which would have allowed us to see the tick.  So I don't even know, if it was there for 24 hours from playing in our yard the day before or if it was just picked up while we were playing outside at our friend's.  It's more likely that a tick he just picked up would be less of a threat, although, that is another fact being hugely disputed.  I know it isn't helpful to think like this, but it's a normal part of acceptance. I am coming to grips with something that was clearly preventable to some degree.  I feel guilt, I feel anger and it's all driven by fear.  My child was already suffering and now Lyme might bring that to a whole new level.  If there is any good news in this situation, it's that we were already doing so many things that could help battle this evil illness.  This weekend we are back on chelation, another recommendation for those with Lyme disease.  Here's to hoping the tick comes back clean or at minimum, everything we are currently doing reduces his odds of being plagued with a life-long debilitating illness.

UPDATE - on the lab testing - The code we were told to use by Quest only tests for Borellia, AKA - Lyme.  It does not test for any of the multiple co-infections!  I figured as much.  So I got the codes to do at least two more of the co-infection testing (Ehrlichia and Babesia) and had our doctor add the codes to the testing with Quest. One of the customer service representatives was concerned about the possibility that there wouldn't be enough tick to go around for all this testing, but we at least have to try to get as much out of this as we can.  Perhaps we will still be forced to test Grayson down the road, but I would like to try to get as much information as possible, right off the bat.  If the tick has even one of these infections, we know we need to treat.