Bringing biofilm back

We've used the biofilm protocol in the past with Grayson.  It was the only thing that pulled us out of the trenches when his OCD, anger/aggression and tics were out of control.  We had tried antibiotics twice, long courses pulsed, for his Clostridia, e.coli and strep, to no avail.  It never failed, his symptoms always returned within 6-8 weeks.  Biofilm to the rescue!!  No more antibiotics for this household! His last stool test was clean as a whistle!  Only good bacteria to show for, yeah baby!!

Grayson is currently in managed recovery with no more of the above symptoms.  They are GONE!  We know we still have a long healing path ahead of us, because he can't sustain without the supplements and antimicrobials, and he regresses slightly when he is sick or maybe he's just like the rest of us when we are sick, impatient, cranky and tired.  A child doesn't have the filter to control what they think so it comes across as lack of control when it may just be normal sickness response, FINALLY!!  There was a time when he never got sick, hypo-immunity)

I bet you are wondering why we would need to bring the biofilm protocol back then.  Well, it's not for Grayson, it's actually for Gavin!  He has been catching cold after cold since before Thanksgiving.  When he is sick, he is completely unbearable to manage.  He has never been a sensory kid like Grayson, but when he's sick, his clothes bother him, sleeves and socks, his coat bothers his sleeves (figure that one out) and even food textures become an issue suddenly.  His mood is volatile constantly, he looses speech only screaming and yelling for communication.  He is irritated 24/7!!  He has had bloating and the red anal ring the entire time he's been sick as well.  I tried increasing his antimicrobials with no success.

Then it dawned on me....BIOFILM!  If it worked so well with Grayson, it should also work with Gavin now.  I only started it a few days ago and the results are astounding!!  It's bringing back so many memories from using it with Grayson, but it's working SO much faster!  He immediately began having army green BMs which is always a sign of bacteria die off, yippee!!  A few of them even had mucus with them, which we never see.  The red anal ring is gone, just like that!

It's like we flipped a switch on in his brain!  He is speaking in full, thorough sentences, including following through with conversations.  He listens, responds (even uses "yes" instead of "yeah" or "I did" or "I didn't" instead of just "yes" or "no") and carries through to the end of the conversation calmly and appropriately!!  He is using manners on his own, he is cleaning up messes without being forced, he even played in his room alone for over an hour this morning, reading books and playing with trains.  His belly is down, he's patient and cooperative, and best of all, he is HAPPY again!!  Nothing makes me happier!

Today he did puzzles of the Unite States, puzzles he has never even seen before, very hard puzzles with a lot of small pieces.  At first glance, he immediately noticed that a piece of the puzzle (a state) was MISSING from the pieces laid out in front of him.  He pointed to the puzzle board and said, "This one isn't here".  Unbelievable!!  He is absolutely amazing me right now.  To go from the things we were seeing just days ago, to this, it's clear that the biofilm protocol (with the addition of Lauricidin to his natural antimicrobials) is solely responsible, because nothing else has changed and he is even still sick with congestion and a runny nose.

There are times when we need to go back to basics and for us, that means reinstating protocols we have used successfully, in the past.  Since we have used this with Gavin in the past, as well (when he was MUCH younger) I expect it will work it's magic faster this time around, with lasting results hopefully.  All I know is that I will take what I can get, the vacation from the screaming alone is enough to keep me smiling, today anyway.  =)

Lightbulb moment!

My husband and I have always noticed that when we don't give our boys grapefruit seed extract (GSE) they respond negatively, almost immediately.  When we had their last stool test done, it showed encouraging results of no yeast or bad bacteria.  Now, we know that yeast can be systemic and may not be in the GI tract, so we never really questioned it beyond that, but I must say, we were slightly perplexed by the fact that they needed the GSE so frequently.  In further reading, I came across some information that made the lightbulb in my dusty brain flicker!

Let me start by edumacating you.

Our natural detox system is broken down in phases in the liver.  The Phase 1 pathway is dependant on many enzymes in our body and is responsible for breaking down toxins for easy transport, but in that process, they actually become more toxic so it's very important for the Phase 2 pathway to step up and remove those toxins from the body, and fast.  If these two phases aren't working together, a toxic bottle-neck occurs.

Here is the layman's picture.  You take your garbage out to the curb for pick-up weekly to keep the house clean (Phase 1).  Let's just say the garbage truck (Phase 2) starts coming less frequently, but you are still putting the garbage out.  It starts to pile up!  It becomes more stinky, toxic!  Now imagine that going on in your blood...

Many people who are mercury toxic have slower Phase 2 cycles, causing the toxins to sit around poisoning the body.  Now more interesting news....GSE slows down Phase 1 liver function.  And even more importantly, methylators like MB-12 and DMG, taurine, glycine and epsom salt baths (sulfation), speed up Phase 2!  Another important part of Phase 2 is....GLUTATHIONE!  Helloooo, mercury toxic and chronically ill people are low in glutathione!  While it's not beneficial to try to take glutathione in the form of a supplement, there are ways to increase your own.  You can take certain supplements like NAC and you can eat foods like avocado, etc.  Click on the link above to learn more about glutathione.

I have always known that the liver phase pathways determine our ability to detox, I never really boiled it down to why the supplements we give the kids effect this process!  (ding, ding, ding)

There is a test that will look at your DNA to determine how your liver is detoxing and because it uses DNA, it is a test that only needs to be done once in a lifetime!  The test by Genova Diagnostics is called DetoxGenomic Profile.  It requires blood work, so you will have to get your doctor involved in this order, but WELL worth knowing!!  I would hate to be giving our children supplements that could slow something down that doesn't need slowing down, especially when it involves our natural detox mechanism.  I know that Grayson is a slow methylator from an organic acid test we have done in the past, so this will inevitably effect his phase 2 pathway.

I love when things make more sense.  This is why I read endlessly.  It creates a deeper understanding to why I work so tirelessly at helping our family get healthy.  It also makes it easier to know when to tweak things as healing occurs.  I wish it was as easy as popping a single pill and moving on with life, but it just isn't that easy.  Recovering from chronic health issues requires a deep understanding of how our bodies work and then years of helping them get back to that healthy place.