My son is doing very well. He has been mainstreamed for a good part of the school year. I am convinced that when I take him in for a re-evaluation, he will fall in a "mild" range, whereas when he was first diagnosed, he was much more "moderate." This is all great stuff! The work of diet, supplements, and of course lots of dicipline, love, and patience all have done wonders.
Last week, however, was a little bit of a cloudy week. He spent a couple of days in the autism special ed class for behavior reasons. He was being more diffucult at home, and getting very whiny. I felt like things were falling apart alittle bit, like when the laces on your shoes get loose and they need tightened and retied. It felt... uncomfortable, like something was wrong.
Over the weekend I did some thinking about what was going on. I realized that besides the change in weather, (Yes, that does affect, too!) I had also changed a supplement. It was the melatonin he takes at night. I didn't even change the dose, just the brand! He had been taking the new one for 1 and 1/2 to 2 weeks and was getting more and more tired everyday and was getting headaches. I ran to Smith's to get the brand we used before, and now afew days later and with the help also of some sunny weather, he is himself again. I am so grateful that I finally figured out what to do. Sometimes it feels disheartening, though, how fragile it all really is.
Showing posts with label supplements. Show all posts
Showing posts with label supplements. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Supplements
Supplements are an important part of my son's biochemical therapy. His doctor oversees them, and his regimen is unique to him. I confess I cannot tell you off the top of my head why he takes each one. Then his doctor starts talking about the methylation cycle, he starts getting a glassy-eyed, vacant look from me. I can tell you that some of these supplements are to help his gut. I can tell you that they were added one at a time, and I saw improvements with each one. Some of these he takes because his gut does not absorb enough of certain things. Some he takes for this methylation cycle thing. Some are just to support general good nutrition, (things that would help us all function better.)
The blue pill box is for mornings. The purple one is for nights. In addition, he gets Juice Plus+ twice a day, a probiotic twice a day, and zinc at night. Oh yeah, and B12 by injection every 3 days. This regimen is a job in itself for me to maintain.
I once had the experience of Eli being seen by the school psychologist. She asked what he was taking, and so I told her every single little thing, right down to the B12. She tried to hide it, but her look said, "This mom is crazy! I need to save them from their craziness." Yeah, I supplement my son's brain and body with the things that he actually needs instead of pumping him with mind-altering meds with their side effects. I must be nuts. Here is my previous post about this visit.
The blue pill box is for mornings. The purple one is for nights. In addition, he gets Juice Plus+ twice a day, a probiotic twice a day, and zinc at night. Oh yeah, and B12 by injection every 3 days. This regimen is a job in itself for me to maintain.
I once had the experience of Eli being seen by the school psychologist. She asked what he was taking, and so I told her every single little thing, right down to the B12. She tried to hide it, but her look said, "This mom is crazy! I need to save them from their craziness." Yeah, I supplement my son's brain and body with the things that he actually needs instead of pumping him with mind-altering meds with their side effects. I must be nuts. Here is my previous post about this visit.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
The Cost of Biochemical Intervention
I remember the day that I first picked up "Changing the World of Autism" By Dr. Bryan Jepson, and the way that it made me feel. I ate that book up, and I felt it was a gift from my kind Heavenly Father to help us help Eli. And those feelings of gratitude and conviction were what we needed, because we found that biochemical intervention is taxing on parents on many levels, and just let me say that we were not well off. We were still getting Daddy through college at the time we started the program.
Just afew short years later, our lives are so different. Meltdowns are an extremely rare thing, and our boy talks in a communicative way. And man, can he read. I am positive I could not read that well until late first grade, and he is still in kindergarten. We have been blessed with a teaching job for Eli's Daddy, and we are looking into buying our first little home. This purchase is a huge step for us, and so I have been reviewing our expenses, and where does our money go to. Our grocery budget is $150-$200 dollars a month more than we would otherwise spend if not doing special medical diets. I have a credit card that I put Eli's supplements on, and I hate seeing the balance occasionally go up some months rather than go down. However, when I review this part of our spending, I realize that we have always been blessed to be able to make it through, and there is no going back. He is so much more well and so much happier now.
All these thoughts really take me back to when I read "Mother Warriors" by Jenny McCarthy. It was on sale for $4 and we were curious, so we bought it. My husband said all it did for him was make him sad. It had some value for me as I saw the practical side of other parent's struggle to implement biochemical intervention, and their successes. The part of the book that really blew us away was the part that explained the average cost of raising a child with autism. Let's just say that the sum she offered as "average" was afew times our annual income.
So just let me say, you can do this on a modest income. We do.
Just as a side note, another cost of biochemical intervention is being weird. Yeah, basically to the medical community in general, I am a weird, misguided parent. I have already been lectured by a dentist about how 'it is better to err on the side of caution' when it comes to the decision of giving my son his artificial fluoride. And just recently I was given a "news flash" at a pregnancy check up about how 'in those recent news stories the research was fraud and vaccines really don't cause ADD and other things.' Well, I don't know about all of that, but seriously all I said was that I didn't want to give my child hep B at birth. Sheesh.
Just afew short years later, our lives are so different. Meltdowns are an extremely rare thing, and our boy talks in a communicative way. And man, can he read. I am positive I could not read that well until late first grade, and he is still in kindergarten. We have been blessed with a teaching job for Eli's Daddy, and we are looking into buying our first little home. This purchase is a huge step for us, and so I have been reviewing our expenses, and where does our money go to. Our grocery budget is $150-$200 dollars a month more than we would otherwise spend if not doing special medical diets. I have a credit card that I put Eli's supplements on, and I hate seeing the balance occasionally go up some months rather than go down. However, when I review this part of our spending, I realize that we have always been blessed to be able to make it through, and there is no going back. He is so much more well and so much happier now.
All these thoughts really take me back to when I read "Mother Warriors" by Jenny McCarthy. It was on sale for $4 and we were curious, so we bought it. My husband said all it did for him was make him sad. It had some value for me as I saw the practical side of other parent's struggle to implement biochemical intervention, and their successes. The part of the book that really blew us away was the part that explained the average cost of raising a child with autism. Let's just say that the sum she offered as "average" was afew times our annual income.
So just let me say, you can do this on a modest income. We do.
Just as a side note, another cost of biochemical intervention is being weird. Yeah, basically to the medical community in general, I am a weird, misguided parent. I have already been lectured by a dentist about how 'it is better to err on the side of caution' when it comes to the decision of giving my son his artificial fluoride. And just recently I was given a "news flash" at a pregnancy check up about how 'in those recent news stories the research was fraud and vaccines really don't cause ADD and other things.' Well, I don't know about all of that, but seriously all I said was that I didn't want to give my child hep B at birth. Sheesh.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
I Am a Kirkman Mom
My son is on a small collection of supplements which are monitored closely by his DAN! doctor and they really do make a difference for him. I have discovered that most of his supplements I can simply get from one place online, Kirkman Labs.
I thought I would share the site there in hopes it would be helpful for other parents. The great thing about them is that their supplements are made for people with food sensitivities. There is no gluten, casein, sugar, or other reaction triggers in their products. I have also found them to be very reliable.
One thing that I love about this company is that this year they were named one of the "Oregon Top 100 Green Businesses" which they have to meet high standards to qualify for. They also have a line of products called Kirkman Kleen and which are natural, safe cleaning products. Go Kirkman!
Kirkman Labs is on Rosewood Lane in Lake Oswego, Oregon, near to the place where my uncle and aunt lived when I was a child. We lived across the river and we visited them often, so I suppose that is another thing they've got going for them in my book. :)
Check it out here: kirkmanlabs.com
I thought I would share the site there in hopes it would be helpful for other parents. The great thing about them is that their supplements are made for people with food sensitivities. There is no gluten, casein, sugar, or other reaction triggers in their products. I have also found them to be very reliable.
One thing that I love about this company is that this year they were named one of the "Oregon Top 100 Green Businesses" which they have to meet high standards to qualify for. They also have a line of products called Kirkman Kleen and which are natural, safe cleaning products. Go Kirkman!
Kirkman Labs is on Rosewood Lane in Lake Oswego, Oregon, near to the place where my uncle and aunt lived when I was a child. We lived across the river and we visited them often, so I suppose that is another thing they've got going for them in my book. :)
Check it out here: kirkmanlabs.com
Monday, August 31, 2009
Why, Mom?
My son approached me while I was at the sewing desk, so I greeted him and told him what I was doing. "Why Mom?" was his response, so I calmly told him more about it. Really, on the inside, I was just thinking, "DID HE JUST SAY THAT??"
By the time most children are the age of four, they have already been tormenting their parents with the 'why' question for quite some time. I just heard it from my son for the first time about 2 weeks ago when this incident happened. Parents of typical kids: be grateful to hear the perpetually asked question. Apparently it is very important for a child's development. I haven't yet learned all the details of 'why' yet. :)
In the meantime, I am hoping to encourage the 'why' question more often.
In other news, this week is another Low Dose Antigen (LDA) injection. My son's DAN! doc is the only one that does these, but he is very active in the conferences and so I hope that many other doctors learn about it from him. The LDA helps my son not be so sensitive to things in the environment and also foods that bother him. It is very safe, it simply helps him build a tolerance. Parents of autistic children know: These kids are sensitive! A special test showed that my son was sensitive to many common foods, and soy especially was almost off the chart!
Preparing for the LDA includes eliminating fish oils from supplement regimen two days before, and eliminating supplements all together for three days, the day before, the day of, and the day after the injection. Fish oil is still avoided during the week after. Also during the supplement free days, he has to be off of chocolate, eggs, wheat, sugar, corn, and milk. I have to admit though, that we usually never give him those things anyway, except the egg. I'll have to remember that when I'm making pancakes in the morning...
By the time most children are the age of four, they have already been tormenting their parents with the 'why' question for quite some time. I just heard it from my son for the first time about 2 weeks ago when this incident happened. Parents of typical kids: be grateful to hear the perpetually asked question. Apparently it is very important for a child's development. I haven't yet learned all the details of 'why' yet. :)
In the meantime, I am hoping to encourage the 'why' question more often.
In other news, this week is another Low Dose Antigen (LDA) injection. My son's DAN! doc is the only one that does these, but he is very active in the conferences and so I hope that many other doctors learn about it from him. The LDA helps my son not be so sensitive to things in the environment and also foods that bother him. It is very safe, it simply helps him build a tolerance. Parents of autistic children know: These kids are sensitive! A special test showed that my son was sensitive to many common foods, and soy especially was almost off the chart!
Preparing for the LDA includes eliminating fish oils from supplement regimen two days before, and eliminating supplements all together for three days, the day before, the day of, and the day after the injection. Fish oil is still avoided during the week after. Also during the supplement free days, he has to be off of chocolate, eggs, wheat, sugar, corn, and milk. I have to admit though, that we usually never give him those things anyway, except the egg. I'll have to remember that when I'm making pancakes in the morning...
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