Metallothionein Promotion Therapy

[Jennifer]

Hi all.

 

I just finished listening to a tape I ordered from http://www.autismone.org from Dr. Walsh from Pfeiffer institute. It is a tape of his talk he gave at the DAN conference last month. What great information. Our doctor has ordered the physician's information packet from Pfeiifer Institute so that he can review it and test our son.

 

To make a long srory short a certain protein called Metallothionein is responsible for: break down of casein and gluten

removing heavy metals from the body

killing yeast

balancing zinc/copper ratios

 

If this protein is not functioning you will end up having problems with the above mentioned issues. The great news is that it is completely correctable...with natural supplements. The first phase consists of zinc pre-loading the second phase consisits of amino acids and other nutrients needed to form metallothionein. Dr. Walsh has been studying it's function for about 18 years and has had tremendous results.

 

The Pfeiffer clinic website is http://www.hriptc.org and the phone number is

(630) 505-0300.

 

In our situation our son has all of the above issues, except for high copper, don't know that one he hasn't been tested. I am hoping that Metallothionein is an issue with him, maybe we can get to the root of WHY these things are going on.

 

 

 

 

Hope this is of help to you other parents out there.

 

Jennifer

[Heather]

Hi Jennifer,

 

Thanks for the link. By coincidence I have been just reading all about Dr. Walsh while researching the Pfeiffer Institute. Since Chicago is only about a 6-7 hour drive away from us, I am considering making an appointment there. It seems to be state of the art when it comes to the alternative therapy approaches with medical doctors working as naturopaths.

 

Heather

[Jennifer]

Heather,

 

That is great that you live so close. The institute also offers outreach clinics, but for us it would still mean airplane travel.

 

Best of luck to you, and if you do take your son there keep us posted on the findings.

 

 

Jennifer

[Guest Nancy]

Heather and Jennifer,

 

Just wanted to let you know that we are taking our son to Pfeiffer in July (we live very close to it). He has a tic disorder which is very under control with supplements, but his anxiety and some mood issues have become more of a problem lately. I really feel he may have yeast and/or metal issues, and I want to check for pyroluria as well. I finally decided to go ahead and have everything checked so we can make sure he's getting the right supplements and see if we can help him with the other issues. I know someone who took her son there for his serious anxiety/OCD issues years ago and he is totally fine - still doing great with the right supplements. My sister took my nephew there recently - he has some learning and attention issues and some tics - and they will be starting the suggested treatment soon.

 

I feel good knowing that I've gained so much knowledge from these forums, so I'm more comfortable going in and understanding much of what they discuss and test for, as well as possible treatments. I will also feel much more comfortable being guided by professionals as far as the proper treatment. I'll keep you posted on our progress.

 

Good luck to both of you!

 

Nancy

[Heather]

Nancy,

 

That is great you are so close. Thanks for the input about the successes that you know of with respect to Pfeiffer. I am feeling like you...that I believe we are on the right track with treatment but feel that I just want to go and have the thorough tests done so we are sure. Pyroluria is a concern for us too. I received the test kit in the mail the other day but haven't done it myself yet since I am wondering if I should just wait and make an appointment and then I know the pyroluria test will be accurate. The lab person there has given me thorough instructions on how to keep it frozen with dry ice for shipping but I am still hesitant to do it. I am going to call there Monday to talk about an appointment.

 

Anyway, do keep us posted.

 

Heather

[Jennifer]

Heather and Nancy,

 

That is great that you will be going to Pfeiffer. I just know you will get some awesome results. We are contemplating taking our son to the outreach clinic. We have done alot of tests, but I feel like there is still quite a bit of fine tuning necessary, and they certainly have the experience!

 

Nancy,

 

Our son too had alot of mood issues. We found out he was gluten intolerant and since we have eliminated it he is much happier and resonable.

 

Jennifer

[Guest Nancy]

Jennifer,

 

That's interesting regarding the gluten. I've often wondered about that along with the rest of all the possibilities. How did you determine he had a problem with it?

 

I'm really losing my patience lately with his inability to handle the littlest mistake or disappointment when he is playing with us at home - if we play catch and he catches 10 and then misses one he immediately gets mad and kicks at the grass, throws his glove. If we play a game and it looks like I MIGHT win, even if the game isn't nearly over, he throws a fit. I hate to say it, but it's just SO not fun to play with him. And the thing is, he DOESN'T do this with other people, or at school, or at baseball. I'm sure it bothers him, but he keeps it in check. But he explodes so quickly with us.

 

I'm really beginning to wonder if this really is tied into his tic disorder and related deficiences or if it's just bad parenting! If he can control it everywhere else, why not with us? This mood stuff definitely runs in my family, and I'll admit I'm not always the most patient person. I'm sure he gets his perfectionist tendencies from me, but I've actually mellowed way out about that stuff since I've had kids. I've preached for years how mistakes help us learn, and games are just games, and NOBODY's perfect, and EVERYBODY wins some and loses some. No matter how I approach him - encourage him, cajole him, ignore the behavior, offer rewards, give punishments, it still happens. We just tried to play checkers (his request) and as soon as I got one checker kinged he pounded the table, threw his hat, and knocked the phone off the table. I just had enough of it, and stopped the game. I asked him why he doesn't get mad with other people and he said he doesn't know.

 

I know kids usually act out most where they feel safe, but this is getting ridiculous. My other son doesn't do this at all. I just wonder if this is really tied to a neurological reason or simply something better solved by counseling and learning to handle his emotions better.

 

Whew! Well, I guess I had to get that off my chest. It's just really been so hard lately. The thing is, he's such a great kid. He calms down very quickly after it happens and says he's sorry, but I don't think he even knows how to break the cycle at this point. And it happens EVERY time. I'm still hoping and praying for some answers to help him get through life in a happier, more peaceful way.

 

Thanks for listening.

 

Nancy

[sgrunin]

Nancy..you know what is funny? well not funny like "ha ha " but funny in the other sense.

 

I have always been a perfectionist when it came to sports. Everything had to be perfect and that is how I succeded at racquetball until I had to stop a few yrs ago because of injuries..

 

I used to get mad at myself at every little mistake. I would do drills that I had to hit the same shot perfectly 10 times in a row and I would be there for hours trying to do it. I would get to 8 or 9 and make a mistake and I would start over.

 

Now the funny not "ha ha" funny part.

 

I am still like that now. I set goals for myself for working out. I work out every night and I HAVE to do what my goal is...I get upset if I dont do it. I set goals that are near impossible to achieve and I am very hard on myself.

 

I still have to be perfect with everything I do.

 

Maybe he will grow out of it but its not a big deal if he does not. I think it will make him a better person in the long run. It is just hard to see that now. I know my parents must have thought the same thing with me when I was like that.

 

Scott

[Claire]

Nancy,

 

Is he like that just with you or with others? Sometimes kids always expect to win everything around their mom, but they accept different rules on different turfs.

 

Sounds like 'OCD symptoms' (you can have compulsiveness without having full blown OCD). Many perfectionists are high achievers--sounds like the point Scott was making. I have forgotten how old your son is? In any case, it is tough on a kid and tough on the parent.

 

Great Plains at 913-341-8949 has a urine test for Urinary Peptides for Casomorphin (Milk) and Gliadorphin (Wheat) which is basically the casein/gluten issue test that I have heard of the most. My son passed both, even though he is allergic to wheat and milk. When done with other tests (e .g. organic acids) that test only cost us $99, and insurance covered part of it. We did it at home and had Airborne pick it up.

 

In "Children with Starving Brains", (which I discovered through Jennifer --thanks a million Jennifer!), Dr McCandless says that 50% of children on the autism spectrum (OCD etc) benefit from a casein-free gluten-free diet. We noticed emotional improvement within a week--I can't see the harm in trying. Pamela's has great gluten-free pancakes and Gluten-Free Pantry has a great bread mix (for a bread machine), so if you aren't dealing with school lunches, a week could be painless for the gluten part. Milk is tougher. Honestly, I never noticed any symptoms in my son with milk, but when we removed it, he did seem to improve overall. Though for emotional upsets, it seemed like the air filter had a big impact. But we did have mold problems back then , which have since been corrected.

 

Good luck.

 

Jennifer,

I had mentioned the MT Protein issues to my son's DAN doctor when you raised it briefly a few months ago. He said we will wait to see if the vitamin deficiencies are corrected by supplements. I think , folic acid was the one he was watching closely. I will keep you posted.

 

Claire

[Guest Nancy]

Scott and Claire,

 

Thanks for your thoughts. It's interesting to hear your experience, Scott. Did you get mad at others when you made a mistake, or only yourself? I know I used to expect too much of myself too, and was certainly a perfectionist, but I don't remember blowing up at other people. And I actually outgrew most of that. I still have lingering perfectionist standards regarding work, but I learned to let a LOT of stuff go that used to bother me.

 

My son is almost 9, and he's really only like that with us at home. We actually had a breakthrough moment this afternoon when I was calmly asking him why he thought he only got mad with us. He finally said "I'm used to always losing with other people, so I want to be able to win at home." !! I'd never heard him explain it that way before, and it actually makes sense to me. If he can't control the situation with other people he wants to be able to control it at home. I really felt bad. The poor guy is way too hard on himself. He obviously doesn't lose all the time with other people, but in his mind he's not doing well enough, so at home he should be able to be the best to make up for it.

 

I got him to admit that he doesn't always lose games with other people, and that playing catch at home isn't even a game and there is no score, so it shouldn't matter if he misses some, but even though he knows all that is true, he still has these reactions. I agree that there are good aspects to wanting to do things very well. He is definitely an overachiever in academic areas - he's in the gifted program and has always performed high above his grade level. And that has always come pretty easily to him. I think that part of the problem is that he's used to feeling so competent in that area that he gets frustrated when other things don't come as easily.

 

He's never been terribly interested in sports until this year when he played baseball. He definitely has the ability to be a pretty good player, but because he doesn't have the experience the other kids have it was a struggle for him to really feel comfortable and confident. He'd play great at practice and then freeze up batting in the real games, because he was afraid of striking out in a real game. Of course, he'd strike out anyway, because he wouldn't swing. Sort of a catch 22, huh? Poor guy. Everyone was pulling for him and in his last at bat of the season he got a hit and an RBI! He was so happy (in his reserved sort of way!). It was really great.

 

I've always thought the perfectionist tendencies seemed OCDish. He's so sensitive and so hard on himself sometimes my heart just breaks for him. He wants to be good NOW, not after practicing more and getting more experience. He knows ALL the stories of great athletes and scientists starting out nowhere and making lots of mistakes before they succeeded, and I can only hope he realizes someday that it's ok for him to make mistakes too.

 

Anyway, I'm rambling again. Thanks again for your input. Thanks for the test info, Claire. I'm going to see what Pfeiffer will test for first. I actually have a gluten free bread mix I bought awhile ago - I think I'll make it and try it out. We already eliminated dairy for the most part years ago, so that's not a problem.

 

Now I have to go tell him it's time to practice the cello - the cello he likes - the practicing he doesn't! Also, I don't want to sound like I'm only complaining about him - he's a great, sweet kid, and I thank God for him everyday. It's not his fault he inherited my bad genes!

 

Nancy

[sgrunin]

Nancy

 

Most of the time I would get mad at myself BUT while playing racquetball I was playing against someone and I would tend to blame them sometimes also. If I missed a shot I would think that my opponent did something to make me lose my concentration.

 

I know this is not what he wants to hear but losing will help in the long run. Kind of hard for him to see that now but its SO true.

 

My nephew is 5 going on 6 and when he comes over and spends time with us, we always have to play baseball. That is all he likes to do.

 

I make sure he does not hit the ball everytime. It sounds mean but I cant believe how well it has made him. He concentrates more. You get lazy if you succeed all the time :-)

 

Again being 9, he wont see that or want to hear that but keep that in mind.

 

Scared of losing and not performing is something he will learn. I learned it quick when I was playing 30 tournements a year. You get over that pretty quickly the more you play.

 

scott

[Mustang Carole]

Hi Nancy,

 

You can just try the casein free diet for a week or two, you should see a difference in that time period, the gluten takes up to 5 months to clear the system.

I use rice or soy milk, cheese, ice cream and coconutnut oli in place of butter for cooking and use as a butter substitute.

We are on the diet for 1 1/2 yrs and have come light years in progression forward ! We have gone thru every thng that you have listed above and worse.

Hang in there, Your child needs you to advocate for him,

Good luck and blessings!

 

Mustang Carole

[Guest Nancy]

Hi Mustang Carole,

 

I think I see you over on BrainTalk a lot, don't I? Thanks for your reply. Am I right in thinking casein is only in dairy foods? We already stopped dairy a few years ago, although since his tics are so under control with the supplements he takes I'm sure I'm more lax letting him have treats these days that may contain milk once in a while. We don't drink milk at all - we use rice milk and a butter substitute from Trader Joe's that is gluten and dairy free.

 

Did eliminating gluten and casein alone account for a big change in your child? I feel like we've come a long way in a few years, learning so much that has helped him in some ways, I'm determined to keep going until we figure it all out.

 

Nancy

[Jennifer]

Nancy,

 

I can see I have missed a few days on the forum!! So hard to keep up, we just sold our house and have started packing (what a job)!!

 

We did an IGE and IGG allergy test. He tested postive for delayed reactions to wheat and spelt as well as their gluten. He was negative with barley. We have since been using barley flour and have found it to be a very good substitute. Barley does contain some gluten, but it doesn't seem to bother our son any.

 

As far as moods go our son was always perfectly behaved at school and would melt down the minute he stepped into the car when I picked him up. Tics and moods are not completely uncontrollable, they can to a certain point exercise some restraint and really let go where they feel "safe".

 

Like I mentioned before the difference in his moods is so night and day since we have gone wheat free!!!

 

Hang in there!! I understand completely what you are going through and it it not fun for anyone.

 

Jennifer

[Jennifer]

Claire,

 

Just wanted to clarify that MT protien deals specifically with breakdown of casein/gluten; copper/zinc ratios; yeast control and heavy metal detoxification.

 

The Pfeiffer institute offers information and support to doctors who are interested.

I know that this is something that Dr. McCandless has started to incorporate in her protocol because of the excellent results. The tape I ordered was highly informative and went in to much greater detail than I can post.

 

Good luck with everything!!!!!!

 

Jennifer