- Early-2008 - finally stopped vaccinating - If you are reading here, I hope you too have already come to the conclusion that the heavy metals (yes, even aluminum in the thimerisol-free versions) are dangerous and that doesn't even address the remaining list of chemicals, viruses and disgusting ingredients vaccines are made with. I just wish I knew more, earlier. Grayson reacted to his 12 month vaccinations for an entire month, non-stop. Doctors really had the gall to tell me that each of these incidents was unrelated to one another and/or the vaccinations. He was tested for diseases such as EBV, Lyme, arthritis and even leukemia. I'm sorry, but 4 live viruses should never have been injected into my baby in one sitting and I have since learned that he probably never handled his vaccinations well, because as I look back on pictures, I see one of his eyes turned in slightly, his lip not quite in line symmetrically with the other side and as we progressed through his vaccination schedule, his personality changed. He changed.
- Mid-2008- GFCF diet (gluten-free, casein-free) - We dabbled with this at first, although strictly, it wasn't near enough to see proper healing, because what we didn't know is that he was sensitive to so many more foods. So we sort of went back and forth trying to see if it was helping enough. It definitely helped, some, but we also reached a plateau and needed more, what next?
- Introduced supplements and enzymes - As we were beginning to remove foods from Grayson's diet, we knew we had to replace some of the things he would be missing from his diet, but even more important was the recognition over time that our children are deficient in so many things from the leaky gut, requiring more supplementation to replenish those deficiencies. This involves knowing which supplements must be taken together for a synergistic effect, which should NOT be taken together, because they compete for absorbency, etc. Enzymes play a big role in the process of digestion and children with leaky gut have a serious problem here. We could all benefit from digestive enzymes, but children with leaky gut need them like the air that they breath. You will not heal the gut, if you don't add this essential step.
- November 2008 - Removal of 23 IgG-positive foods - Yes, you read that right, he was reacting to TWENTY THREE foods!! This was HUGE for us. And when we did it, we had been back on the gluten and casein temporarily which means when I chose to go cold turkey and remove ALL of the food sensitivities, I literally did this overnight. We saw major withdraw, because many of the foods he was reacting to were passing through the leaky gut and the proteins of certain foods (mainly gluten and casein) actually act as morphine would on the neurotransmitters, so withdraw is the name of the game. He was walking into walls (literally), slurring, bouncing back and forth between spacey and hyper, heightened sensory symptoms, OCD galore....so many
- Late-2008 - Avoid refined sugars, high fructose corn syrup and food colors - As I did research on the foods we needed to remove, I saw undeniable research pointing to sugars and food coloring effecting behaviors. Anything effecting a person's behavior can't be good, it changes the very person they are, creating a facade of a personality. High fructose syrup is in a category of it's own, it's not natural (the body doesn't know how to convert it) and it has been known to be tainted with mercury. Avoiding these things is something we plan to continue for the rest of our lives, all of us, for the sake of health.
- January 2009 - Rotation diet - This is nothing more than rotating foods in their diet to avoid developing additional sensitivities. We let them eat foods for two days in a row and avoid them for three consecutive days.
- Early-2009 - Organic foods - We aim to provide as many organic foods as we can comfortably afford. At minimum, we stick to the most important foods on the top ten list
- April 2009 - Chelation via the Andy Cutler Protocol - Ultimately, chelation is how we are going to heal our children, because they are mercury (along with other metals) toxic. There are many protocols, but in my opinion (and the opinion of many others who are safely and effectively healing their children) there is only one safe protocol I care to even consider. I know there are many who have claimed success with IV chelation, but I beg to differ, because there are countless stories on the Autism-Mercury Yahoo Group of people who thought they were seeing success, thought they were doing the right thing, until their children plummeted with regression either when hormones changed or sooner. IV chelation does not address mercury in the brain, in fact, it has been known to force it deeper into the brain with redistribution. Long story short, I choose not to play Russian Roulette with my children, JMO. Safety is among all things, my top priority and I will not attempt to heal my children at the risk of harming them further.
- Ongoing - Clean up our "toxic" house - Although this may have started back in 2008, it's an ongoing process so it really fits everywhere on this list. When you go GFCF, you learn to replace things like play-doh, markers, lotions, shampoos, and toothpaste, to avoid the gluten and casein, but then taking this a step further, we began to learn more about the fact that our children retain toxins. Without this little detail, we wouldn't be where we are now with them. With this information, we were forced to see the big picture. Our cleaning products were a concern, their bedding and mattresses were sources of dangerous heavy metals, even their pajamas harbored heavy metals unless we scoured stores for the non-flame resistant styles. We continue to look at everything that surrounds us and make changes regularly whether it be the containers we store food in, plates we eat from, blankets we sleep under, and so forth. This appears to be a constant learning curve with daily lessons to be learned.
- November 2009 - Biofilm protocol - When nothing, including prescription strength antibiotics (targeted at the bacteria), could keep Grayson's very high Clostridia down, we turned to the biofilm protocol (without EDTA). We tried multiple rounds of an antibiotic called Flagyl along with the support of Nystatin and Diflucan to keep the yeast down, which literally turned Grayson into a dream child, but only while he was on it and for a few precious weeks after wards. Within two months (6-8 weeks) it never failed, like clockwork, the symptoms of bacteria would begin to creep back in. Biofilm protocol to the rescue! And that is exactly what it did, it rescued our son from the ugly and powerful grip of bad bacteria!
- December 2009 - BioVeda BAX3000 - First, let me explain a little bit about how "allergies" work, very basically. When a person is sensitive to a substance, wheat for instance, there is an increase in stress of the central nervous system and, because of our body's innate way of drawing connections, even the word "wheat" or the mere thought of it, can cause the same anxiety, believe it or not. This anxiety produces an inappropriate response by the central nervous system which in some people, depending on the allergies, can result in more severe cases, such as autoimmunity. So here is my layman's explanation of this new device. It takes the same basic premise that NAET is built on and uses a digitized library of substances such as: foods, metals, vaccines, fungi, chemicals, and many other environmental substances. The technology imitates the frequencies of these substances and instigates nervous system responses from the body to determine what the person is reacting to. The treatment retrains the body by causing it to release endorphins while encountering the substance in question....essentially saying, "this is safe". It erases the body's inappropriate desire to attack the substance. This process is a combination of positive conditioning and biofeedback. When the stressful event occurs in the real world, the relaxation training is remembered by the central nervous system and the result is the elimination of this inappropriate reaction to every day substances.....viola, allergy GONE! This whole thing is associated with stress and the BAX 3000 ultimately reduces stress through relaxation training.
- Late-2010 - Wheat grass - Surprisingly, there is no wheat protein in wheat grass, making this a wonderful gluten-free "supplement" so to speak. The benefits of wheat grass are too numerous to list here. One example I can give you is our own. For two consecutive blood tests, months apart, Grayson had very elevated platelets, which I have been advised is actually pretty consistent for children with intestinal infections. After these two tests, I did some research and decided on the wheat grass since it's a natural alternative and has so many purported benefits, I couldn't resist. After a few weeks on the wheat grass (only half an ounce daily), his platelet results were in range! It has blood cleansing and building capabilities, cleans the liver, is a potent source of enzymes, and recognized by the body as food, making all of it's nutrients more bioavailable. Both chlorophyll and hemoglobin (red blood cells) are molecularly similar. The only actual difference is that the central element in chlorophyll is magnesium and in hemoglobin it is iron. Chlorophyll has the ability to break down poisonous carbon dioxide and release free oxygen. This inhibits and reduces the action of anaerobic bacteria. Wheatgrass juice has been shown to build red blood cells quickly after ingestion. It normalizes high blood pressure and stimulates healthy tissue-cell growth.
- September 2010 - Low oxalate diet (LOD) - We actually first attempted this diet in May of 2009, but because we were also struggling with the removal of so many other foods, we felt as though we had to focus on those first. Staying on the LOD while removing 23 other foods left us with just about nothing to feed him, so we prioritized, or so we thought. Only now, in hindsight, can I say with confidence that I wish we stuck that out, because it/is was definitely one of our biggest wows! Most children with intestinal infections, food sensitivities, sensory symptoms, joint pains, inflammation and mood swings, have high oxalates in their blood and tissues. The only way to reduce them is to avoid foods containing high oxalates. Like every other form of treatment here, it doesn't come without initial irritation, in fact, this was also probably one of the hardest periods to get through with both boys. In fact, we think Gavin may be even more effected by oxalates, but this assumption is only based on the symptoms we have seen, because he has never been tested.
- September 2010 - Classical Homeopathy - This was another big wow for Grayson. We haven't tried it with Gavin yet since he is still too young to verbalize much. Homeopathy requires a battery of questions answered about the way the person feels and thinks, making it harder to correctly identify a constitutional remedy for a young child. Homeopathy is a large part of our health, we use it for flu prevention and acute illnesses, successfully. We definitely saw some huge gains in Grayson following the administration of his constitutional, even after his first dose! This is definitely an avenue worth pursuing, but I would say that as far as timing is concerned, getting the rest of the health under control is a good place to start, in order to maximize healing and the use of the correct remedy.
- September-2010 - Kefir water - After visiting our homeopathic doctor, who recommended coconut kefir, I started growing kefir water grains. We just wanted to introduce the additional probiotics and nutrients offered by kefir. We all enjoy it!
- January 2011 - Glyconutrients - The studies are promising and our bodies require them for cell to cell communication. Gavin doesn't tolerate them yet, so just Grayson and I are using them. We see a difference with Grayson's bloating as soon as we remove them for any period of time, so for now, they are a part of the daily arsenal of supplements.
- March 2011 - Natural anti-viral treatments - We have been using olive leaf extract (OLE) for a long time now, in fact, his dose is as high as mine (750mg) three times a day (two times a day when he's at school). But most recently, we've added Lauricidin which is monolaurin. The only other place it is found is in breast milk. This natural antiviral has been known to target Rubella. We haven't confirmed with testing yet that Grayson has issues with the Rubella virus, but he reacted severely to even one teeny tiny pellet, so we are starting slow and working the dose up as he tolerates it. We've gone from 3 to 5 pellets so far. It is also recommended for overall immunity health and even for gram positive bacteria, like clostridia! It's a keeper, I just hope we can get his doses to a point where he isn't in constant die off.
- April 30th, 2011 - Camel milk - Yes, you read that right, my kids are drinking camel milk! It's benefits are plentiful and the changes in our kids are nothing short of miraculous, although in the initial stages there have been some confusing days, perhaps it generates die off and what we are witnessing is a cleansing of sorts. We've been able to successfully stop digestive enzymes completely. Our 3 year old had been 27 pounds forever and in the first two weeks of starting the camel milk, he has gained three pounds, two of which were added in the first two DAYS of using the camel milk!
- January 20th, 2012 - Body Biotics soil-based probiotics - In one word....UNBELIEVABLE!! We did something completely radical and dropped ALL of the natural anti-microbials to give this probiotic a fair shot at combating the dysbiosis. I must admit, it was scary while we were going through it, because I didn't know half the time, if we were seeing die-off or overgrowth, since we were using nothing else. We continued to work our 6 year old up to 6 capsules a day and our 3 year old somewhere between 3 and 4. We even went through rounds of chelation with no problems. After only one and a half months on the product, I am ecstatic to report that we have an OAT (organic acid test) and two stool tests (these were only done for Gavin so far) to confirm that we are completely in control of the dysbiosis!! Grayson's previous OAT had a level of 413 for HPHPA (clostridia) which we battled for a good year with natural antimicrobials, this new test result is....DRUM ROLL PLEASE...26!!! And yeast markers are totally normal, all around. Gavin had slightly higher numbers, but remember that we only just recently got him up to 3 capsules. My guess is that the dose is directly correlated to the results, because a friend who also has a daughter who just recently (just two months ago) had a level of 393 for Clostridia and confirmed Candida Krusei, just resulted in 22 for the HPHPA and normal levels of yeast, and NO Candida Krusei to speak of, as well!! She was also on 6 capsules. So, if you plan to try this intervention, be sure to work up slowly to a therapeutic dose and stay there for a while, before reducing to a maintenance dose (which we are attempting as I write this). If you sign up as a preferred member on the Body Biotics website, please feel free to use my friend's name (Jessica Galligani) for 30% off for life.
- Spring to Winter of 2012 - Parasite slaying! We found many "wows" here, we saw their true capacity for recovery, although it was a long few months with the die off. We managed to bring down the overgrowth load enough to support our next healing path.
- November 7th, 2012 - Homotoxicology/homeopathy - It's time to heal, at the root of it all! This is our home run!!
Our treatment choices
In the few years we have been doing biomedicine with our six year old (and ultimately with our three year old now too), we have introduced quite a few different things along the way. When you consider the fact that his immune system was malfunctioning, I believe it was all of these things put together that has brought us to a place of healing. We went through quite a few rough patches, but it was those bodily cries for help (symptoms) that drove us through this list below, and I am grateful for every one of them! If you have a toxic child, you can't pick and choose which toxins you allow.
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