test results finally

[GL_Lmom]

Hi everyone,

 

We finally got our test results back and thought someone here might be interested.

 

Hair analysis

 

very high in lead, arsenic and aluminum

also high in sodium, potassium and rubidium

 

IGg delayed food allergy test

 

casein, egg white and yolk, rye and wheat - severe

peanut, pear and barley - mild or moderate

 

Nutritional panel

 

deficient in vitamin B2 (riboflavin), selenium, glutathione and alpha lipoic acid

 

 

I also suspect mercury although he tested as low on the hair analysis. There was an article in our local newspaper last week describing just how badly the fish around here are contaminated. I grew up and still live on the body of water that connects to the river where the power plant dumps mercury. The water has always tested clean by the EPA, but even those fish not usually associated with mercury stores are testing high. Luke and I both have amalgram fillings. He had the vaccinations as a baby. I had a rhogan (sp?) shot during my pregnancy. I just have to wonder.

 

The doctor who I asked to order the tests for me made it clear that he didn't approve. He and his nurses repeatedly told me they've never used these kind of tests. He was extremely patronizing to me. Well, when the hair analysis results came back, he called me, told me the results and admitted that he was amazed and had never heard about this connection between ts and metal poisoning. He said his skepticism is gone and we're definitely on the right track!

 

Thanks all for your posts. I don't input much yet (still learning) but print many of these threads.

[GL_Lmom]

I have another question.

 

According to our Children with Starving Brains book, I know we need to make sure Luke's gut is healthy and his food allergies are under control. If, then, we treat him for the heavy metals and get them out of his body, will they just build up again. I'm assuming he is more susceptible for heavy metal absorption than a non-ts child. I cannot fathom where the lead came from because I've always known about the dangers of lead. What if I don't determine the source to remove it? The arsenic probably came from treated lumber on the deck of our previous house and their climbing set. The aluminum from our water that is flouridated with aluminum flouride. We filter it now but I bet that doesn't catch the aluminum.

 

Should our whole family be tested? My kids are 13, 8 and 2. The 8 year old is the one with ts.

 

It was more that one question wasn't it?

 

Thanks!

[Chemar]

Hi

I am just popping in quickly to say how good it is to see that you have the results back....although some may have alarmed you...at least now you know and can proceed.

 

Congrats too on educating your doctor

 

I will be in touch and back here too to chat more about this.....

it is one of those mega busy days again!!

[Heather]

G & L mom,

 

Glad to hear you got the results back and have something to work with now. I am not sure about the ongoing build up of metals after detoxing but from what I have read and from what my naturopath tells me, as long as his diet is improved and we reduce the toxins going in (tap water, food additives, contaminated fish, vaccines, etc.) they shouldn't build up to the point they cause tics again. My goal is to get to the point where we have no supplements or perhaps maybe just a good multi-vitamin and since I have reduced all of the toxins that caused the imbalance in the first place there shouldn't be any future problems. Of course everyone is unique and needs to be treated individually but that is our hope and our naturopath feels we are definitely heading in that direction.

[Jennifer]

G&L mom,

 

So glad you have some place to start. Our son too was very high in heavy metals.

We just got the test results back of the DMSA challenge test and he has high lead and mercury.

 

This is an interesting article on MT protein.

http://www.autisminfo.com/AmyHolesMD.htm

 

Research suggests that some children are born with this defective protein (neccessary for detoxing heavy metals) if never exposed to mercury it seems that they would probably be O.K. , but mercury makes the situation much worse. The link speaks of MT therapy to get the protein working again, this could be an answer for future exposure. And once the toxic overload is under control it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to stay on plenty of antioxidants and use chlorella on a regular basis as a preventive measure for any futute exposure.

 

 

Jennifer

[Claire]

GL&L

 

As Chemar says, congrats on educating your doctor!

 

It sounds like your son is low in the same antioxidants as mine. I think that must often go hand in hand with metal toxicity issues. Plus the wheat and peanut allergies like my son. (I haven't gotten the other allergy tests back--scared on that one.) I still can't believe just the proportion of our kids (just on this board) with similar issues!!! And so many food allergies too.

 

Heather and Jennifer, thanks for the extra information. I will ask about MT protein It reminds me that I haven't gotten the reverse osmosis filter for our house.

 

Jennifer, so this DMSA wasn't a surprise right? Just confirmation? Except for one question: I thought you had already been treating him for heavy metal toxicity for some time?

 

Speaking of avoiding vaccines, my son's 6th grade one is coming up. Is thimerosal no longer in vaccines? So a hepatitis vaccine might be okay?

 

Claire

[Guest Guest_efgh]

GL and L mom

 

Great to know that you are on the right track. Goodluck to your son! I have a question. What methodology does your doctor want to adopt to remove the heavy metals which you identified through hair analysis? what does your doctor plan to do to help your son's food allergies? did he prescribe any plan of attack for the heavy metals. Good that your doctor is an OPEN person. What supplements does he prescribe for the heavy metals and allergies??

 

Heather and TO OTHERS USING FISH OIL

 

You rightly mentioned that

as long as his diet is improved and we reduce the toxins going in (tap water, food additives, contaminated fish, vaccines, etc.) they shouldn't build up to the point they cause tics again.

You (we all) are giving fish oil to our kids to improve the tics, right.. I am sometimes so afraid about this.. Though we are using a good brand, etc what assurance is there that its FREE from mercury.. Are we using something WITH mercury to REMOVE mercury is my fear most of the time.. But I have READ SO MANY GOOD benefits of fish oil for TS and my naturopath INSISTS that I give fish oil for a LONG period of time and he assures me of improvement for most of the kids with TS. Can you please advice/console me on this? What does your

naturopath tell you about this?

 

Jennifer

 

Please keep us posted on your doctor's plan of action for your son's test results. Goodluck.

[Jennifer]

Claire,

 

Yes we have done quite a bit for heavy metal removal. The mercury doesn't surprise me because it is very difficult to get rid of especially of his detox pathways aren't functioning as they should. We know his kidneys and liver are taxed.

 

As far as the lead goes. I have racked my brain and I think I came up with something. The very first hair analysis we did showed high levels of lead, which was done during first grade summer vacation. We have done 3 more since then (a total of 4) and after the second one his lead had disappeared and never showed up again. We home-schooled during 2nd grade then he went back to the same school in 3rd grade up until Christmas and we decided to home-school again (his diet and supplement program just wasn't happening). Coincindentaly lead shows back up in his system after returning to the same school. His school was a private Christian school that used to be an old military bunker. I am very suspicious that there may be lead pipes and who knows about the paint? I plan on contacting the principal this week. If this is the case, this poses a health risk to all the other children that go there.

 

As far as vaccines go, thimerisol is not the only issue. They contain aluminum. formaldehyde and viruses that may very well have mutated in the proceess. When you are dealing with viruses you cannot guarantee their stabiltiy from batch to batch. Some cases of ASD are actually brain viruses. There is some speculation that this is the case for some T.S. patients in which case the waxing and waning is caused by viral flair ups in the brain. Dr. McCandless touches on this in her book. I don't want to tell you what to do, but before giving your son any more vaccines try to research the topic so that you can make a fully informed decision. Most states have a waiver allowing for religious. medical and personal exemptions

 

Jennifer

[Jennifer]

efgh,

 

Our doctor too strongly recommends fish oil. He personally uses Carlson's lemon flavored oil. I think that overall all the benefits that have been doumented are outstanding, we probably would have had some negative feed back by now if trace amounts if any mercury were causing a problem.

 

There are never any guarantees, I guess we just try to do our best

 

Jennifer

[Heather]

EFGH,

 

From what I understand, you have to just be very careful that you are using high quality fish oil that is free of contaminants. It will cost extra but will be worth it to know it is pure. Dr. Mercola recommends Carlsons for its purity. I use Nordic Naturals which is another highly recommended one free of contaminents.

 

Claire,

 

I have also read a lot about the danger of viruses from vaccines. It is not just the mercury that can cause problems. My naturopath said that it may be viruses causing the tics as well but the goal is to boost the immune system with the detoxing so that the viruses stay supressed and don't cause problems to the nervous system.

 

Jennifer,

 

I have wondered about my son's school as well, as it is very old. You never know these days what is lingering in the pipes, or in the air (mold, etc.)

[GL_Lmom]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for all the replies. This website is my lifeline right now!

 

Chemar,

 

Thanks for the suppliment advice and well wishes. Is there a website that offers high quality, pure vitamins all from the same place?

 

Heather,

 

I, too, would like to reach the point where only a multivitamin is needed. While the suppliments seem better than meds, I'm still nervous about giving him so many capsules to swallow every day. I used to hesitate before even giving tylenol for a headache.

 

Jennifer,

 

Thanks for the link to the MT protein article. It makes so much sense in explaining why our kids might be having these problems. I am definitely going to ask the doctor about this as Luke was deficient in exactly the nutrients listed in this feature - glutathione and selenium. It talks of therapy to turn the MT protein genes back on instead of the DMSA and ALA chelation. I wonder if one could still chelate, then try MT therapy?

Also, It's interesting about your school. Luke's tics showed up right after starting kindergarten in a small Christian school (and moving into a new house). After half a year, I pulled him out and homeschooled for the rest of K, 1st and 2nd. The tics were milder at home (I thought less stress). This year, he returned for 3rd and guess what. The complex tics returned. He is still at the school and his complex tics have waned but he still has many simple ones as well as almost constant bodily tensing and unclenching. This may be a tic, but it seems different to me. I'm a bit afraid of the principal, but I guess I'll have to ask about the pipes, paint, etc.

 

Claire,

 

I, too, have noticed the similarites in our sons' issues. Since tv, video games, etc. are triggers for them, have you observed any problems with wireless phones or computers? I haven't but always worry that I'm missing something.

 

efgh,

 

Our doctor situation is a nightmare! Our only doctor who is knowledgable on this type of treatment is many hundreds of miles away. I have another phone consultation with him on Monday. I'll let you know about his treatment suggestions. Our pediatrician admirably admits he doesn't have enough knowledge to treat ts, so he doesn't try. The psychiatrist is a huge believer in medicine as the answer to all our problems. He gets defiant at the mention of vitamins. The pediatric neurologist is so booked up, it takes months to get in, even for what I consider urgent problems. The doc who ordered the tests is now open minded, but he's a family practitioner without training in this spectrum. He is just helping us out by ording the tests I request and communicating with the ped neurologist and other doctors. He is still a bit skeptical and keeps me very cautious.

 

anyone,

 

Is there a way to test carpets, outdoor playsets, etc. for toxins? Or do we have to get rid of them just in case? How long do these items give off the poisons? The playset is 10 years old. We moved it from the previous house with great difficulty. The carpet is almost 4 years old now. (Wish I knew then what I know now.)

 

Sorry for such a lenghty post. Thanks again for all the great advice and concern. Hugs to all of you.

[Jennifer]

GL&L mom,

 

We had a pressure treated playset too that we tore down. It was also about 4 years old. I can't remember the exact amount of time, but they continue to be toxic for many years!! I don't know about carpet, I've read that cabinets that are not 100% wood continue to give off formaldehyde gasses for 15 years!!

 

I have a couple of good websites that cover environmental issues for children, they offer less toxic solutions. I'll find them and include them in my next post.

Also soil could be an issue too, it wouldn't hurt to research if the area you live may once have been agricultural. Back in the 30's they used a lead/arsinate based pesticide. Arsenic stays in the soil forever. Be careful too of the surrounding area of pressure treated playsets and decks as the soil can become contaminated.

 

 

 

Jennifer

[Claire]

Dr. Rapp's book (Toxic World, or Is this your child) lists a carpet testing facility. A story in her book showed it lasting for many many years. I think Sheila may have posted something in the carpets thread?

 

I have posted before that some carpeting is a 'nightmare' for our son, even in my husband's car--which has some odd fragrant odor to it. I have leather seats.

 

Claire

[Chemar]

Chemar,

 

Thanks for the suppliment advice and well wishes. Is there a website that offers high quality, pure vitamins all from the same place?

 

Hi GL&Lmom

 

sure wish I could get everything from one source!

but, because of my budget and my son's spectrum of supplement needs, i tend to get a hodgepodge of stuff and just try to check labels and hope it is as pure as they promise!

 

Of course, Bonnie's specific supps for TS are truly the purest around IMO, and also so perfectly formulated to treat the specific deficiencies associated with TS,. The disadvantage is in the no of capsules of her formulae that an adult sized kid like my son needs to take, plus the fact that some kids with OCD do seem to just have some kind of reaction to those supps....not all, but some.

 

I also like the METAGENICS company for its purity, but it is pricey and doesnt make all the things we need.

 

So far I am really pleased with NOW, NATROL and TWINLAB....

 

The iHerb site does have a supplement store and offer good brands at pretty reasonable prices.

http://www.iherb.com/store.html