Parasites. The root of ALL evil?

Bold statement, eh?  I know, I know...I've been gone for months at a time and now I come back and throw this at you.  I've spent these months researching and experimenting and I am here to tell you that yes, I believe the subject heading is one area to consider.  Perhaps one of the biggest ones, especially, if you are dealing with chronic anything.

So how did I come to this conclusion?  My children were a mixed bag of fluctuating concerns and the confirmation that their yeast and bacteria seemed to be under control, but so many other things were not, had me looking for more.  But then again, I am ALWAYS looking for more.  =)  There were two things, specifically, that really sent me on the hunt for what I was missing.  Grayson's PANDAS flare was getting worse rather than better and Gavin's mood swings, anger and violence appeared to be untouched.  Why parasites though?  I mean, I have treated for them bi-annually with Humaworm and heck, we even all used Alinia for over a month for Gavin's Dientamoeba Fragilis, right?  How could it STILL be parasites?


Let me just put it out there in black and white.  If you have a compromised immune system in any way, shape or form, you DO have a parasite issue.  I promise you!

Parasites are masters at survival, their SOLE purpose in life is to survive, that's it!  They complete their life cycle by changing the neurology of their hosts just enough to ensure survival, but usually they are also smart enough to not kill it, usually.  If they can adapt to their environment, which they can (give them access to a child with a faulty immune system due to heavy metal toxicity and reduced gut flora), they root themselves deeply in your system and continue their life cycle by making you crave the foods that feed them, creating the itchies where it counts for spreading eggs under the nails, they can even force you to be attracted to certain people and yes, this is documented!  In fact, MUCH of what I have found out about parasites is widely known by certain professionals, but don't ask why treatments aren't effective.  I don't even want to go there.  You are free to dig deeper, if you wish.  I'm satisfied with dealing with the details I can control from my own home base....treatment!

A few doctors to research, who have made waves in the medical community by successfully treating illnesses that result from parasitic infections, are:  Dr. Klinghardt, Dr. Simon Yu and Dr. Fry.  These men are pioneers in this field.  Dr. Klinghardt focuses on Lyme Disease, PANDAS and Autism, Dr. Yu has recovered people from major diseases like cancer, CFS and pancreatitis among others and Dr. Fry is a researcher who has even discovered a new malaria-like parasite that is responsible for diseases like MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis and perhaps Autism, among others.  Google any of these doctors and you will get more information than you know what to do with!!  Literally!  It can be overwhelming, because there are really so many directions you can go with treatment, but the one constant I am seeing here is that a periodic cleanse here and there just doesn't cut it for someone who is chronically infected.  Treatment NEEDS to be from 6 months to a year, STRAIGHT!  Seems harsh, but parasites are much smarter than we give them credit for, in fact, they may even be smarter than us.  They have certainly been around longer.

This blurb is from an article written by Dr. Simon Yu:
"In this modern age, do you think parasite problems are limited to third world countries and don’t exist in the United States, Canada or Europe? Think again! Who does the cooking and cleaning of dishes at restaurants? Food from all over the world comes with no strict regulations for pesticides, herbicides and potential parasite eggs embedded in the food.

I have seen patients from Germany, Canada, Australia and most of the United States. People from all over have parasite problems. I’ve written numerous articles on parasites and parasite related unusual medical symptoms. Some of the conditions responding to parasite medications include allergies, eczema, asthma, migraine headache, nightmare, bedwetting, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, arthralgia, multiple sclerosis, irritable bowel syndrome, seizure, mental illness and even cancer.
The idea of de-worming everybody seems a de-lovely concept and does not seem appealing but it is not a far out concept even in the United States. Americans are suffering from a silent epidemic of parasite related medical conditions. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends massive de-worming of populations especially in schools whenever over 20 percent of the population is suspected of parasite infestation."

Dr. Simon Yu has written a fascinating book called Accidental Cure.

From Dr. Klinghardt...I love this info, because I have always been intrigued by what drives us, what creates our "personality".  I've come to this conclusion myself recently, and Dr. Klinghardt has just confirmed it for me!

• We are all a composite of many personalities. Our consciousness is a composite of 90% microbes and 10% us. Our thinking, feeling, creativity, and expression are 90% from the microbes within us. Patients often think, crave, and behave as if they are the parasite. Our thinking is shaded by the microbes thinking through us. The food choices, behavioral choices, and who we like is the thinking of the microbes within us expressing themselves.
• Patients will reject all treatments that affect the issue that requires treating. Patients will not guide themselves to health when the microbes have taken over.
• Parasites induce changes in our system to make us a comfortable host.
• Mimosa pudica (Sensitive plant) powder is an Ayurvedic herb that is 30 times stronger than the best medical drug. Start with 1/2 teaspoon twice a day two days a week and work up to 1 teaspoon daily for 3 months.
• The endothelium is the largest organ in the body and is “bug heaven”.

Since Mimosa Pudica is so hard to find, here is a link for you to purchase it.  I have nothing to do with this company, I am just passing this on, because the search for a reputable product was very hard and I would like to make it easier on you!

An incredible overview of a conference called "A Deep Look Beyond Lyme" includes data from each of these famous doctors!  I HIGHLY recommend taking the time to read this one.  Lyme is not the only focus here.  Dr. Klninghardt even mentions PANDAS.

This is an interview with Dr. Fry about the parasite he discovered, it is phenomenal information about a marlia-like protozoa called Protomyxoa, which is Greek for “slime forming protozoan”.  In this interview he also discusses the diseases it's heavily linked to, biofilm, the herxheimer effect, how it is transmitted (tick bite is one of the vectors, and to think we aren't testing for this infection when we tell people they are clear of Lyme Disease), etc.  Remember, we can only find things we are effectively testing for. Dr. Fry also has a lab where various testing can be ordered.


The oxymoron between biomedicine and parasites
Here is where it gets interesting.  So we think we are doing the right thing by our kids, supplementing their nutritional deficiencies with hoards of vitamins and such.  But did we ever stop to think about WHY those deficiencies are there to begin with?  Ok so yes, heavy metals play a role and limited diets too, but why are ALL kids on the spectrum low in B vitamins, particularly B12 and why are ALL kids on the spectrum deficient in minerals like zinc and magnesium and why oh why is their benefitial gut flora so depeleted....the common denominator I have uncovered is that parasites THRIVE on this stuff.  Yup, every time you put another supplement down your child's throat, consider the possibility that you are FEEDING a parasite, possibly even big fat and very happy worms.  A thought you can't fathom....well you better get ready, because when you pick yourself back up off the floor after witnessing one of these fellas coming from your own child (or yourself), you have some major accepting to do, lol.  Use that fear to drive you forward.  So, if we are feeding these fookers with our children's cravings, the supplements we use and we certainly aren't using anything strong enough to kill them, what are you left with in the end, continued nutritional deficiencies in your kids (because they don't get much of the nutrients) and a fat case of parasites, resulting in symptoms you can't seem to gain control of.  Geez, it's a wonder we can't seem to get past chronic cases of pathogenic overgrowth!!

Oh, and one last note on yet another common thread here is that it has been documented that the Ascaris worm can and DOES cause gluten-intolerance.  Things that make you go hmmmmm.

PANDAS and PARASITES?
BIG connection here.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised, if it was ultimately determined that the helminth is at the root of every chronic case.  So let's explore why doesn't PANDAS go away.  Well, the immune system is definitely definitely THE root of this problem, but because of the immune system, the parasites are a massive problem.  The helminth is a worm, not microscopic, a visible worm that can be visibly seen when you are successful at evacuating them.  A helminth houses (provides shelter) for the smaller guys like bacteria (strep), yeast and viruses.  Biofilm protects all of these guys from your immune system.  You can't kill off a bacteria that has a nice comfy home in your body.  When a worm dies, it releases all of the house guests inside and initiates a flare.  Worms don't die easily unless they have reached their life expectancy and that can be years for many of them, about 2-6 years on average, or you do something to kill them off, hence the die off.  One of the big players is the Ascaris Lumbricoides.  Through my extensive network of connections, I have personally seen what other autistic, ADHD, and PANDAS kids harbor and this is just one of the more common ones!  Symptoms that have been historically documented by professionals as being associated with this particular parasite are: asthma, eczema, bronchitis, rashes, dilated pupils, hyperactivity among others that effect the GI tract, as well.  The Ascaris releases amphetamines, hence the hyperactivity and dilated eyes, and perhaps very much related to the ADHD symptoms we are seeing so frequently.

How can you learn what infections you may be harboring...well, like Lyme, it's VERY hard to successfully test for parasites. Just because you have tested and either found none or perhaps a few, that does not mean it's accurate.  Find yourself a GOOD infectious disease doctor who knows about parasites, or you can go see one of the doctors listed above.  Surprisingly, the most accurate form of testing to date, appears to be energy testing!!  And of course, visual identification under a microscope, but remember, this will ONLY be effective if you are passing the parasites/eggs in your stool.  90% of parasites remain OUTSIDE of the GI tract most of the time, only returning during full and/or new moon phases to procreate.  If you are going to experiment with treatment options, this is the time to do it.  The first 15 days after a full moon is when a portion of the parasites will generally be in the GI tract.

Our personal story
When we finally bit the bullet and went strong on the parasites with multiple methods of treatment at once, we began to unveil the children under these infections.  Hindsight is a beautiful thing, but unfortunately it also means we can't piece together our current story until we navigate past the event.  We have always seen glimmers of what it could be like to have our children without all their "extras", but we have never had that for any length of time, some dark veil has always stolen those moments from us.  When PANDAS hit our house hard this past year, I was thrown for an incredible loop.  We were doing EVERYTHING right, we never strayed, we never cheated on diets, never slipped on our chosen treatments, yet we had these crazy inconsistencies that fit no rhyme or reason.  And Gavin, poor Gavin...he was living in an inconsistent world of pain and confusion.  He wasn't "classic" in any way, he didn't fit autism or PANDAS, but he wasn't right, he was a loose canon!  He did however fit every symptom in the book for Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD). I often felt like, if we weren't doing biomed with him practically from birth, he would have been much worse off.  But we still weren't getting to the root of the problem by treating him like a mirror image of Grayson.  Something was different.  I wasn't satisfied with the recommended, "maybe it's just his personality".  No, I was not willing to accept that a person could be born "normal" and be SO angry.  Something was wrong.

When I pondered our successes from the past, it seems as though treatments that overlapped with parasites have given us that glimmer of hope, just long enough to steal it away again.  Why?  Because parasites are masters at survival!!  And our treatments were never long or strong enough.  The icing on the cake was when I read that Dr. Klinghardt considers the helminth to be at the root of PANDAS.  Low and behold....we found our new angle!

What I am excited to tell you, confirms Dr. Klinghardt's statement about PANDAS and helminth parasites, Grayson's PANDAS symptoms have responded slow and steady to treatment and now that the symptoms are mainly under control (with only 3 months of treatment so far) we have witnessed a direct correlation between his PANDAS symptoms (tics, OCD and rages) and the passing of worms.  He has an instant increase in symptoms as his body is trying to filter out the toxins from killing off worms.  I have photos of these guys too, there is no denying what they are!!  One picture was taken in a glass jar with alcohol in it and you can see the entire intestinal tract of the worm.  It was 8 inches long.  If you think that's bad, consider the fact that we also got one that was 21 inches long from our 36 inch tall child!

We've seen glimmers of a reduction in oxalate issues.  This is HUGE for us, because prior to treatment, Gavin was increasingly dumping oxalates in enormous amounts through his urine.  Tablespoons of crystals at a time.  It had grown to become a weekly event.  He was having regular potty accidents, his urine was cloudy and thick with crystals.  It immediately came to a screeching halt!!  And how has Gavin been doing?  After going through a world of hurt with initial die off....I am AMAZED, truly and incredibly AMAZED by him.  I am falling deeply in love, all over again, with my baby boy.  I didn't even realize how the violence had driven an imaginary wedge between he and I, until it was gone.  The exhaustion of parenting such an explosive child is crippling.  Now, he is even more sweet, humorous and charming than I could have ever imagined!!  We've replaced the violence with hugs, kisses and frequent unprompted "I love you"s, we have replaced screaming confusion with sharp-as-a-tack cognitive function, we have replaced tantrums and meltdowns with rational cooperation....and there has been weight gain.  He was failure to thrive for so long, 27-30 pounds for years, literally.  He had lost the weight he gained with the camel milk when we stopped using it.  He has already gained 3 pounds back since reducing the parasite burden.  Grayson has done the same.  And if you are wondering whether I am lucky enough to share this infection with them, yes I do.  Parasites are incredibly contagious among family members and it's likely that I have had parasites all through my pregnancies, passing them on to my poor innocent children in utero.  There are too many connections I have learned in hindsight to list here.  It would take an entire book (hmmmm, there's that book idea again), but let me just say that I had NO idea these things were related.  So never say never!!

If you are doing everything possible and just feel like you aren't seeing the progress you think you should be seeing, I would encourage you to dig deeper, much deeper.  Parasites may be why.

UPDATE - if you are connecting with this blog entry from years ago, please also see my newer blog where I also address this topic, from a different perspective and with years more experience.

Have you been wondering, if the diet really works?

Ok, so maybe you have been an avid reader, and maybe you have a child who could benefit from something, you just don't know what yet, and maybe you have even considered going GFCF at minimum...but don't have enough evidence that it will work and just the thought of the intense changes in diet make you sick to your stomach.

Now, if I could just briefly hit on my biggest hot button in all of this?  A child does NOT have to be completely autistic to have these deficiencies, in fact, neither does an adult.  Dr. Kenneth Bock has made it VERY clear in his book Healing the New Childhood Epidemics that people with allergies, asthma, ADHD and even autoimmune diseases have their roots in the same soil as autism.  Autism is just one facet of this "illness" on the rise.  It takes the shape of many faces and does not have to go by any one label.  

Well, let me enlighten you!  It may not be enough for little old me to tell you the diet works (I have seen it, like night and day, especially during an infraction that changes my children practically overnight, turning them into a sensory snowball), but what if a well-known National autism nutritionist was able to tell you this, and what if she even had a double blind study to further prove it?  Would it be worth it then?

Feast your eyes on THIS!

One of the Most Comprehensive Studies on Nutrition for Autism

September 22, 2011 Categories: Autism News by Julie Matthews

One of the Most Comprehensive Studies on Nutrition for Autism
By Julie Matthews, Certified Nutrition Consultant
As a nutritionist working with children with autism for ten years, I was particularly excited to read the most recent research findings. For those who continue to say, “There is no science behind diet and nutrition for autism” or “there is nothing you can do about autism,” you’re about to finally be convinced.

A study entitled, “Nutritional and Metabolic Status of Children with Autism vs Neurotypical Children and the Association with Autism Severity,” conducted by Jim Adams, was recently published in the journal of Nutrition and Metabolism in June 2011. It provides an excellent framework for consideration of dietary intervention and supplementation for children with autism.

This study validates what many clinicians have observed in their practices for years—that children with autism have biomedical imbalances that are strong factors in their autistic symptoms, and that diet and supplementation play a role in helping children to heal, even lose their autism diagnosis. In my clinical experience, I’ve witnessed hundreds of children improve through specialized attention to diet and nutrition.

A fairly large number of children (99) were included in the research that measured a wide range of nutritional and metabolic markers—i.e. scientific, quantitative indicators of children with autism’s unique biochemical status.  In the “Background and Significance” and “Discussion” sections of the published paper, Adams, et al. provides a straightforward interpretation of the results that were measured, and explains functional testing, interpretations, and makes comparisons to previous study results (both consistent and contrary).  I believe it’s an excellent analysis of the current biomedical understanding of autism and supports clinical findings reported worldwide. And, it presents fresh new data to guide the use of supplementation and diet.

The study compared 55 children with autism diagnoses with 44 controls (neurotypical children of similar ages ranging from 5-16 years old).  Neither group had taken nutritional supplementation for two months prior to the testing conducted in the study.

The research indicated that for the children with autism, their levels of vitamins, minerals, and most amino acids were within published reference ranges; however many of their biomarkers were significant different from the control group.  Biomarkers are a way of discovering the functional insufficiency of a nutrient by measuring markers in biochemical pathways that indicate a deficiency, and comparing that to the actual amount of the nutrient in the body (as measured in blood, etc).
This is an interesting finding—nutrient levels appear “normal” but functional testing shows that they are not normal in children with autism. Functional testing (that identifies these biomarkers) are not used in most traditional medical settings.  If the medical community is looking for nutrient deficiencies through standard testing of nutrient levels (as an underlying factor and course of treatment), they most likely will not find it – even though biochemical/nutritional insufficiencies are common and supplementation is necessary.

In this study, biomarkers for increased oxidative stress, decreased sulfation and detoxification, vitamin and glutathione insufficiency, and reduced energy transport were also found. And, several of the biomarker groups were significantly associated with the severity of autism.

Again, this parallels what autism clinicians routinely report —that children with autism have decreased detoxification, energy disregulation, and increased oxidative stress.

The authors conclude, “These nutritional and metabolic differences are generally in agreement with other published results and are likely amenable to nutritional supplementation.”
I absolutely concur.

Here are some of the specific areas measured and details of the study’s findings, and my discussion of the results.

Vitamins
Biotin was the only vitamin with a significant difference in the children – it was 20% lower in the children with autism.  B5, vitamin E and total carotenoids levels showed “possibly significant” lower levels in children with autism.

The functional need for certain vitamins (folate and niacin) was assessed using FIGLU and n-methyl-nicotinamide, and were somewhat higher and possibly significant in autism.  This suggests and an increased need for folate and niacin in children with autism.

Minerals
While most mineral levels tested within neurotypical reference ranges, the study found a statistical significance with lower levels of WB (whole blood) lithium, but higher levels of iron in the autism group. Twenty-five percent of the autism group was below the reference range for iodine and calcium.

Sulfation
Free and total sulfate in plasma (necessary for adequate sulfation) were very significantly lower in children with autism – 28% and 65%.

Sulfate is necessary for proper sulfation. Sulfation comprises varied processes that use sulfate (sulfur) in the body, such as in forming sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGS) in the gut for intestinal integrity, or detoxifying compounds in phase II liver detoxification. Sulfate is used in many biological processes, and adequate sulfur is required both from consumption of sulfur rich foods and recycling sulfate in the kidneys.  The results of this study are consistent with the findings of Dr. Rosemary Waring who found children with autism (and adults with autoimmune conditions) to have low sulfate levels.

Methylation
SAM (S-adenosylmethionine) was also significantly lower in children with autism – very much so. Uridine in plasma was very significantly higher in children with autism +93%. Uridine is believed to be a marker of methylation status, with high levels indicating poor methylation.  For SAM, SAH and SAM/SAH ratio 25-39% of the autism group had low levels.

SAM is the primary methyl donor in methylation reactions (more than forty in the body).  Methylation is important for the methylation of neurotransmitters, proteins, and DNA methylation (gene expression).  Methylation affects fatty acid metabolism, allergic responses, myelination, cellular energy, and more.  Proper methylation is also necessary for the body to produce adequate levels of glutathione.

ATP
ATP is the primary energy source for the brain and the body.  SAM is converted from methionine with methionine adenyosyl transferase, which requires ATP.  Methionine was at normal levels but ATP was very significantly lower in the autism group. The authors suggest, “low levels of ATP are at least part of the reason for decreased levels of SAM.”ATP is required by the kidney to resorb sulfate and “recycle” it. The authors believe that decreased ATP is a significant contributor to decreased sulfate levels in children with autism.

I believe that oxalates could be a factor.  When sulfate is insufficient, oxalate (instead of sulfate) can be shuttled into the cell on the sulfate transporter and “gum up” the works of the mitochondria, affecting ATP and energy metabolism.  Could there be a “vicious cycle” at work, where adequate sulfate is needed to produce ATP and ATP is needed for recycling sulfate?  Given the benefits I’ve observed with the low oxalate diet, I’d welcome more research and discussion of this possibility.

Oxidative Stress
Reduced plasma glutathione (GSH) was very significantly lower in children with autism. All three markers for oxidative stress were very significantly higher in children with autism; oxidized glutathione (GSSG), GSSG/GSH ratio, and plasma nitrotyrosine.  NADPH, a precursor to ATP, is needed to recycle GSSG to GSH.  NADPH was found to be substantially lower in the autism group.  These results were also consistent with the work of Dr. Jill James, who found low levels of glutathione in children with autism (as well as positive benefit of certain forms of folate).

Glutathione is imperative for preventing oxidative stress.  In addition to being an antioxidant, it supports proper detoxification, inflammation, pathogen fighting, and more.

Amino Acids in Plasma
Two amino acids used in building neurotransmitters were significantly different from controls. Tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin was significantly lower in the autism group, and glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter, was significantly higher.  Low tryptophan can play a role in depression and poor sleep, and glutamate is a factor in hyperactivity. Other differences were possibly significant such as slightly decreased tyrosine and phenylalanine and slightly higher serine.

Dietary Intervention and Supplementation
This study supports the use dietary intervention for autism (individualized to the child). There is much valuable data we can gather from this study on how to apply and adjust diet and supplementation for autism.

Adequate protein intake is crucial for children with autism.  Decreased levels of amino acids such as tryptophan, phenylalanine, and taurine most likely indicate a need for increased protein intake or proper digestion of protein (possibly through the use of digestive enzymes).  Supplementation with individual amino acids, particularly those consistent with signs of deficiency, may be warranted.  For example, tryptophan or 5-HTP supplementation may be helpful with a low tryptophan level and depression.

This study highlights the need for foods rich in antioxidants and antioxidant supplementation for children with autism.  Foods rich in antioxidants like vitamins A, C and E, as well as zinc and selenium are important.  Berries, beans, spices like turmeric and rosemary, nuts, grass-fed beef and pastured poultry are good sources of antioxidants. Foods rich in glutathione and glutathione precursors to include in your child’s diet consist of: broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, garlic, kale, cumin and cinnamon, eggs, and avocado.

Supplementation with biotin, folate, vitamin B12, liposomal glutathione, SAM, lithium, sulfate, and many other nutrients are important (on an individual basis) for children with autism.
The Feingold and Failsafe diets remove salicylates, amines, and glutamates, substances that require proper sulfation (and methylation) for proper breakdown.  For the children with these biochemical insufficiencies, these diets can be very helpful.  I was glad to see further research that supports what I am finding clinically.

The low oxalate diet has been very helpful for many of my clients with autism. More discussion is needed about the role of oxalate in the oxidative stress and low ATP found in this study in children with autism.  For these children, the low oxalate diet may prove particularly helpful.

Benefit to Autism
I greatly appreciate scientists and researchers like Dr. Jim Adams, whose dedication has helped thousands of parents and clinicians to gain useful information about addressing autism.
I’ve spent more than 5 years compiling research and presenting the case for diet and supplement intervention in my book “Nourishing Hope for Autism,” which has nearly 200 scientific references regarding the biochemistry of autism and the use of food, nutrition, and supplementation to ameliorate symptoms. Dr. Adams’ earlier research was instrumental in guiding my query.

The current study by Adams, et al greatly advances our understanding of these factors and further solidifies the case for “Autism is treatable.” It solidifies a foundational understanding of how diet and nutrition intervention benefits autism and helps nutritionists like me address the diet naysayers who deny Hippocrates dictum “let food be they medicine” by asking “is there a double-blind study to support diet changes?”

Yes, there is!

Adams JB, Audhya T, McDonough-Means S, Rubin RA, Quig D, Geis E, Gehn E, Loresto M, Mitchell J, Atwood S, Barnhouse S, Lee W. Nutritional and metabolic status of children with autism vs. neurotypical children, and the association with autism severity. Nutrition & Metabolism 2011 Jun 8;8(1):34.

Here is the link for this article.

Vaccines, mercury and aluminum

I belong to the Autism-Mercury yahoo group where there are tons of fabulous and experienced parents sharing their knowledge daily.  While scanning the threads, I noticed that Haven who is one of the well-versed mothers (love her name too) had responded to a poster who was questioning her DAN! doctor's direction on testing and chelation.  We see this all the time, people questioning their doctors, and with good reason!  I found her response to be riveting and thorough so I asked permission to share it here on my blog.  I am thrilled to be able to offer this additional perspective below, on the road we have chosen for our children.

Haven and I are some of the many many other parents dedicating our lives to their childrens' recoveries.  I have heard time and time again how this is so "rare" to be doing something like this....no, it's not, unfortunately.  I wish that were true, but there are over 9,000 members in the Autism-Mercury group, over 6,000 in the chelatingkids2 group, almost 15,000 on the GFCF kids group, over 5,500 in the MB12Valtrex group and over 3,500 in the Trying low oxalates group.  I am sure there is overlap of members, and I know there are other groups like these, but the numbers speak volumes for the biomedical community.  These groups represent the increase in autism, ADHD and allergies in children today.  And ALL of these parents are looking for safe, non-invasive and natural ways to heal their children, and it's working.

So I repeat, unfortunately, what I do for the health of my children is NOT as uncommon as you might think.  I would however, like to see more parents considering this route when their children are experiencing: learning delays, sensory symptoms, allergies, asthma, GI dysfunction, mood disorders, behavior problems and or anything that you find yourself struggling with repeatedly, with no answers from your pediatricians, your gastroenterologists and your therapists.

Please take a moment to read Haven's fabulous explanation of her own experiences with this path.  One thing you will notice is that parents like us are passionate about healing our children, and all children, because in order to go against the grain of mainstream medicine, we HAVE to be this way, it's what drives us to success! While reading, keep in mind that she is responding to another poster when she says "you".
_______________________________________________________________

Don't bother with a porphyrins test. Use the Doctor's Data Hair Elements
test, and apply the rules of counting per the Dr. Andy Cutler protocol, and
stop letting a DAN milk away your money, having you pay for meaningless tests
and frivolous supplements -- many of which don't work. (What I would give to
have all that money back).

My son in now eleven. I admit that we have been lucky. The very basic
things we did: diet (gf/cf/sf) and metabolic supports: vitamins, minerals,
amino acids along with therapeutic interventions helped our son quite a bit.
We were scared and not knowledgeable in the beginning and thought we had to
have a doctor on board to do AC chelation, and of course DAN! doctors steered
us away from that as they can't make enough money off it, so we were steered toward IV
chelation which caused regressions and serious respiratory reactions in our
son.

What you may wind up finding happens with a DAN! (and I am not saying this is
a definite) is that they try or have you try all these different things, and
then when none of it works, then they will tell you “maybe you ought to put
the child on psychotropics after all”. Well, for us, we were not going to
put our son on Prozac just, because he was stimming and had hyperactivity.

What was more important to us was WHY the stimming came back (probably due
to IV chelation) and why the hyperactivity came back (probably doing IV
again). Then I remembered how those close to the Andy Cutler protocol had helped
put us on the right track in the beginning, and I found myself wishing I had
listened to Dr. Cutler all those years ago, as anything he had told me to do
helped. But we didn't listen at that time about the proper way to chelate
heavy metals.

You need to do a hair test on your child and apply the rules of counting.

If your child has received any vaccines in the last thirty years, your child
has been injected with both mercury and aluminum - among many other toxic
chemicals like antifreeze and formaldehyde.

They did not take the mercury out. My son received 67.5mcg mercury via
vaccines on March 7, 2001, and IMMEDIATELY lost all speech and began a
downward spiral behaviorally, digestively, immunologically, and
neurologically. Even if they had actually taken it out and been truthful
with the public, the FDA NEVER recalled the thimerosal-containing vials
still on the shelves -- a supply which may well still be out there, but
minimally, would have lasted an additional seven years.

The flu, combo flu this year, tetanus, and rabies shots all still contain
the full complement of mercury. ALL non-live virus vaccine are still MADE
(manufactured) using thimerosal. They told the public they took it out, but
they supposedly take it out AFTER it is manufactured with it. They
supposedly extract it out after the manufacturing process. HA-HA.

Mercury hides. Mercury binds TIGHTLY to protein (and fat) and as any parent
who has ever tried to get it out of their child can attest, mercury is very
difficult to unbind. It does not reside in the blood for long. Any
exposure not excreted by the body will reside in the fatty tissues in the
body: the brain, the kidneys, the liver, the lining of the intestine. It is
really the only thing that can cause abnormal mineral transport in the
body so, look to see whether there is abnormal mineral transport in
the body.  It has the power to disrupt a myriad of biochemical reactions
in the body.

All vaccines are made with animal protein -- ah, something for the mercury
to bind tightly to.  And who polices the extraction of mercury from the
product? Well, our government allows the pharmaceutical industry to police
itself! Maybe because this industry contributes heavily to their
campaigns. You think?

In addition, the vaccines are still sold in multi-dose vials rather than
safer one dose vials (which would not require a preservative). Many factors
can play a roll in how much mercury an individual child receives. Sometimes
it can be that the nurse doesn't shake the bottle well enough, so one child
gets much more mercury than the next child.

In some vaccines, mercury and aluminum are in there together. The aluminum
acts as a catalyst and makes whatever mercury is in there even more toxic.
In vaccines where they "took the mercury out," they added aluminum as the
primary preservative. Aluminum- a substance known to cause neuronal cell
death and suspect in contributing to breast cancer and Alzheimer's. No
wonder autism has continued to rise, given the number of vaccines and the
amount of mercury and aluminum children are still getting via vaccines.

In all this, mercury is still the primary problem. They try to comfort the
public by saying that it is ethyl-mercury and not methyl. Big whoopee-do.
it is STILL the second most toxic substance on the face of the Earth. No
safety studies were ever done on infants using methyl mercury (unless you
count the massive human experimentation on our children over the last thirty
or forty years). They "guessed." They based its efficacy and safety on
several men who were dying of meningitis who they injected with thimerosal,
and when the men died, the cause of death was listed as meningitis and
thimerosal was pronounced safe.

Did your child receive the Hib shot? This is a type of flu shot.

You need to buy Andy Cutler's book "Amalgam Illness," Study it. Get your
DAN! to order a Doctor's Data Hair elements test and apply the rules of
counting to determine, if your child is mercury toxic. If so, then your
child is probably toxic in other heavy metals too, as mercury disrupts the
detoxification system in the body. If you get the mercury out, the other
metals will follow.

Our environment is filled with this stuff! Our children with depressed
detoxification systems are picking more of it up elsewhere, as well, and it
is cumulative in the body. it is in batteries, lights, electronics, the
air, the water, and in the food supply. It is "pervasive."

I suggest you use the AC protocol for chelation. It will take 100 to 300
rounds to get the mercury out, so you are looking at anywhere from a little over two
years to six years. But this is a very safe -- low and slow method of
chelation. DO NOT allow yourself to get talked into IV chelation, which I
now believe to be dangerous.

You can still use your DAN! to do certain tests when they are warranted such
as re-checking for yeast (which you can tell by behavior usually) and you
can test for neutrophil count and once in a while for kidney/liver function.

In case you have not done so yet, I hope you have done a copper check. Many
of these children can have abnormal levels of copper and disrupted
copper/zinc in the body due to the abnormal mineral transport. High levels
of copper over time can cause permanent brain damage, so I think all
children with this condition should be checked for high copper ASAP.  Zinc
chelates copper. My son's levels were so high after vaccine reaction that
they thought he had Wilson's disease (a genetic disorder), but of course it
wasn't Wilson's, but he has needed to be on extra zinc ever since to keep
his copper levels in check.

As I said, we were very lucky. Perhaps my son's own detoxification system
was not as damaged as other children, so doing the gf/cf/sf diet and adding
metabolic supports helped him tremendously and brought back functional
language. Later, he regained expressive speech and two years ago,
reciprocal speech emerged, and now he has all forms of speech, though about
five years delayed.

By age four, all stimming had ceased, his Sensory Processing Disorder and OCD were all but gone, but then at age six we got persuaded to do IV chelation, and the SPD, stimming,
and OCD returned.

His immune system was severely damaged by the reaction to vaccines. He
began getting sick all the time. From age fifteen months on, he would
develop an infection with fever roughly every two weeks like clock work.
these were usually respiratory. He has had pneumonia eight times, countless
bouts of bronchitis, and they told us he had asthma. He was sick so much we
finally put him on steroids, which made him gain a lot of weight and only
reduced his illnesses by half.

Then he developed an inability to fight off the bacteria that gets
introduced when an insect bites him, so every time he gets bitten, he will
develop radiating staph from each and every bite site. Fire ant bites cause
anaphylaxis, and allergy shots did nothing to reduce the allergic response.

Then after some events that occurred at our DAN! doctor’s office last summer, I took a step
back and reassessed and remembered that in the beginning, the A-M group had
helped us a great deal, so I came back, and from here I learned about the
Recovery From Autism Yahoo group, which has helped tremendously, and we began the AC Protocol a little over a month ago.

I learned that very often asthma symptoms can really be a sign/symptom of
adrenal fatigue (another lovely gift of mercury poisoning as mercury likes
to settle there, as well). A little over a month ago, I started giving my
son ACE (Adrenal Cortex Extract). My son is being chelated using ALA only
due to his being a very reactive kid. Since beginning this protocol, my son
has needed NO asthma medications. He has not needed his rescue inhaler even
once! He has not been sick.

This is the longest my son has gone without being sick in over nine years!
On rounds he is more focused and there is less stimming, SPD, and OCD. About
days 2 and 3 off rounds, the yeast flares up, and we are trying to fight
this with biotin and GSE, but yeast is a big problem for most of these
children. We will prevail.

I urge you to give the AC protocol consideration.

My son was moderate/severe in the beginning. He is high functioning now.
He is bright, funny, imaginative and very well behaved. We home school now,
and at the beginning of that I was worried we might get sick of being
together all the time, but this has been a wonderful experience, and I love
being with him. It gets hectic, but he is making up a lot of ground lost
due to society’s preconceived notions regarding autism. I firmly believe
that with continued AC chelation, my son will continue to improve and
healing is very possible. Three years from now, we will know for sure, but
we KNOW our son is mercury toxic, and getting the mercury out can only
help. I am just still walking on cloud nine that he has not been sick, has
not shown signs of asthma, and has not needed steroids in over a month.

I am not a doctor. I am just a mom who has studied, researched, and worked
her @$$ off to get her son back.

Hope this helps you.

Haven