I'm So Sorry Sweet Ella {neurotransmitter results}

I'm so sorry sweet Ella that your world feels so out of control!  We received Ella's neurotransmitter results this week and they don't look good at all.

See all the red?  All of these are high, really high.  She is overproducing serotonin, glycine, glutamate, dopamine, and norepinephrine.  Basically she feels really stressed, in fight or flight mode, all of the time.  What an awful feeling!
We are going to try 3 new supplements to help balance things out.  The first supplement, Calm PRT, helps reduce stress and restore communication between her hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.  Another supplement, Calm G TheaNAQ, is designed to modulate glutamate and reduce oxidative stress and includes NAC, L-theanine, and CoQ10.  The last supplement, Kavinase, supports GABA function and helps reduce anxiety.  (I think my entire family needs this!) 
I will let you know how and if these supplements help our princess. 
It will be okay Ella, I promise.  I will fight for you.

Putting the Pieces Together

I'm sorry it has taken me two months to blog again but life is crazy!  About a month ago we had Haiden, Ella, and Mason take the NutraEval test through Rhonda Marsh at Integrative Health Specialist. It is a blood and urine tests.  We had this done on Haiden when he was three and it gave us so many answers to what was going on inside his little body.  At that time his "autism" was actually food sensitivities, yeast overgrowth, bacteria overgrowth, parasites, vitamin deficiencies, inflammation, and malabsorption.  When we started treating those problems his "autism" diminished.  I wanted to test Haiden again to see what all has changed.

Out of all of the kids, Haiden's results looked the best.  He has low magnesium, B2, zinc, and vitamin D levels which can all contribute to ADHD symptoms.  So we are going to increase those supplements.  We are also going to do a Neurotransmitter test to see if we can help with his anxiety.

For the past two years I've have been told by a developmental pediatrician, neurologist, and psychologist that Ella's "issues" were due to my parenting.  Now, I know I'm not the best parent in the world but I also know that the behavior's we were seeing in Ella were something more. I also know she was a formula fed, vaccine injured baby whose been damaged.  I've also learned to listen to my instinct more than the "specialist" and it pays off.  I also am aware of some of my weaknesses and my husband's weaknesses which have contributed to all of this as well.  It is not normal for a child to be sick all the time, it is not normal to have low tone, it is not normal to have speech delays, it is not normal to have chronic skin issues, it is not normal to have memory problems at age 5, it is not normal to cry all the time and have anxiety at such a young age.  Yes, I could put band aids on all of these issues with medicine but I know her body isn't functioning like it should.  The NutraEval gave me the answers!  In a nut shell, Ella's body isn't able to detox toxins.  So anytime she comes into contact with chemicals, whether it be in vaccines or cleaning products, her body absorbs these.  Her system is broken so we are adding some supplements to make this system work.  She is also low in her B vitamins, zinc, vitamin D, and her omegas.  Ella also has some mitochondrial dysfunction which can be helped with supplements but explains a lot of what we have seen.  Remember the Hannah Poling case? That would have been Ella if we continued vaccines.  We are now waiting the results of her Neurotransmitter test for more answers to her anxiety and find out ways we can help her naturally. 

Mason's test also showed mitochondrial dysfunction and low B vitamins, zinc, vitamin D, and a-lipoic acid.  We are going to improve these with supplements as well. 

If I were to do what the doctor's tell most of their patients then I would have 4 autistic children.  Autism isn't always a brain disorder, it is a body disorder.  Why can't every child be tested for these things when they are born?  I know it would save a lot of families heartache and the financial burden of raising a child with special needs. 

So as I fix all of these organic gluten/casein free meals, use non toxic cleaning materials, use non toxic body care products, wonder if I've lost my mind, and feel the harsh judgement from others, I remind myself that what I am doing is helping my children.  What I am doing has saved them.

Back at it

I'm blogging again!  Gavin just turned 16 months this week and I feel like the last 16 months have been a blur.  We have been going through the motions everyday, just maintaining.  I've come to the realization that all my kids have issues because of me.  A lot of autism parents feel this way.  Check out this blog entry from Thinking Moms. We don't want sympathy or "It's not your fault."  No, we just want to do something about it.  And that doing something is us letting everyone else know our mistakes so you don't make them. 
So what lit the fire in me?  Thanks to another autism mom on FB, she posted this blog entry from Regarding Caroline.  After reading it I was in tears and instantly knew that I needed to do more to help my children.  I read her blog from top to bottom and was inspired.  Yes, Haiden is doing awesome and has come a long, long way but he still has some learning issues and difficulty getting his words out. 

Yes, Ella had an evaluation and everything was "normal" but the girl is a hot, emotional mess, beyond the typical way a 5 year old girl should be. 

Yes, we were so hopeful with our sweet Mason because he has been so healthy and was meeting milestones, until we realized his speech wasn't quite what is should be. 

The same with Gavin, he was so healthy the first year of life but now he has a constant runny nose, sensory issues out the wazoo, and some very concerning speech issues. 

 

 

So, all of that, has lead me to stop being okay with how things are and make them better.  We are getting back on being strict with diet (we let things slip, a lot) and adding in some new supplements.  Haiden will take Super Nu Thera, vitamin D, vitamin C, B complex, Pro Bio Gold, cod liver oil, Goldenseal, Grapeseed extract, adrenal fatigue extract, and DMG.  Ella will take the same except Goldenseal.  Mason and Gavin will take Hero Nutritional multivitamin (still looking for a better multi for them), cod liver oil, and Pro Bio Gold.  There are some other supplements I want to add but I am taking baby steps.  I also know chelation needs to be in our future but that freaks me. 

I want this blog to be my little place in the world to document our journey, share information, and inspire others.  I hope other parents will join me! :-)

Back to School

Ever since I received this email last spring, I've been a nervous wreak for Haiden.
Hi Abby,
Haiden did such a nice job at the play today. I love when he is proud of himself... that confidence continues to grow! It was so cute to see your little group of kids sitting around you for the play! They were so good! The reason for this email is to share that the whole special ed team at WL feels that if you were interested or ready for Haiden to head back to his home school, we are all in agreement that he is ready. We are basing this on the level of sp ed support he needs to be successful. He has done so well in every facet, everyone has readily agreed that he could return to Eagle if that is what you would like for him. This is not a decision you need to make right away but if Haiden attending Eagle in 2nd grade is a goal, I need to start some transitioning discussions. Let me know your thoughts.
Maria
While at White Lick Elementary, I always had a sense of security for Haiden.  I knew he was in a good place with exceptional teachers, and had a crutch if he ever needed it.  It had always been our goal for Haiden to be able to go back to his home school but I didn't realize it would happen so quickly.  I was thrilled and nervous all at the same time!
So as the summer flew by and the school year crept right around the corner, I became "crazy, nervous mom" as Haiden was ever so cool about starting his year in a new school. 
The morning of his first day, I sat down to eat breakfast with Haiden.  He just kept smiling with excitement.  He then said, "I can't wait to walk to school with Tate."  (Tate is our neighbor and Haiden's best friend.)
I replied with, "Yes, that is exciting, I think I'm going to walk with you too."
With his head down, he looked at me, and in the most annoyed voice said, "Seriously?"
All I could do was laugh but I still walked with him. :-)

All day I thought about him and how he was adjusting.  Were his teachers going to understand his quirks?  Was he going to be okay with all the change?  So when he came home in tears, my heart broke.  I immediately went into "crazy mom mode".  The procedure for what to do with lunchboxes was different than he was use to and his lunchbox was misplaced, the teachers couldn't find it, so he came home without a lunchbox.  I figured I could come to the rescue, run back to the school, and find his lunchbox.  When I returned to his school, I was met by a very busy secretary who seemed annoyed by my request to find his lunchbox.  I was allowed to look in the lost and found but that was it.  I couldn't look in his class and she didn't want to contact his teacher.  So I stomped (yes, I'm sure I stomped) out of there after saying a few things that I shouldn't have, got in my car, and started to cry.  Why in the hell was I crying?  I'm pregnant and just hormonal right?  I had a rough day with the two younger kids and that was just my breaking point?  I was a mess over a freaking lunchbox!  I called his teacher and the special education teacher at the school to see if they could help.  Thank goodness for them!  They quickly got ahold of me, found his lunchbox, and I went back and picked it up.  I'm sure I've terrified them and I'm THAT mom now.  

Haiden had a great rest of the week and I'm calmer now. 

I need to learn to let go, he is going to be okay, I can't fix everything, and he needs to learn how to handle frustration and disappointment without me.  Always easier said than done. :-)

Why Vitamins Are Important to Us

Growing up I remember taking Flintstones vitamins every morning.  When I became a mom, I started giving Haiden vitamins as soon as he was able to take them.  I didn't know exactly why, it was just what my mom did, and I wanted to be just like her in every way. 
It wasn't until we had a DAN (Defeat Autism Now) doctor conduct extensive blood work on Haiden that I realized just how important vitamins were.  Haiden's test showed severe malabsorption issues.  So even though we completely revamped his diet, he still wasn't able to absorb all the nutrients.  We started out giving him over 12 vitamins/supplements a day!  It was overwhelming at first but it slowly became routine to him.  At that time we also questioned if this was all safe but we soon started to notice small improvements in Haiden's overall health.  Was it the diet?  Was it the vitamins?  Was it the supplements?  Was it the removal of toxins from his environment?  Honestly, I feel it was a little of everything. 
I also know that you can't just give your child any vitamin.  All those great looking vitamins on Wal-marts shelves aren't that great.  If you do give your child vitamins, which I strongly encourage, make sure you are giving them GOOD vitamins.  If not, you are just wasting your money.  Here is a great website with high quality vitamins, http://www.ourkidsasd.com/. 
Now that Haiden is so healthy, we've been able to cut out over half of his vitamins he was taking.  I also give Mason and Ella a few vitamins that I feel are important.

On the left is Mason and Ella's liquid omega from Nordic Naturals.  Next, is a new vitamin, called Juice Plus.  You can find out more about Juice Plus here, https://www.juiceplus.com/nsa/content/Welcome.soa.  I'm not for sure if we will continue with Juice Plus or go back to our Kirkman Multivitamin.  Next, is Haiden's fish oil loaded with omegas in pill form.  Then, Kirkman Pro Bio Gold Probiotic for Haiden and myself.  Last in line, is a liquid Vitamin D for all 3 kids.

As our diet continues to transition to mainly meats, veggies, fruits, nuts, and seeds, I'm hoping we can take out the Juice Plus/multivitamin. 

What we do for healthy kids! :-)  So I'm interested to know, do you give your kids vitamins?  If so, do you notice improvements in their health?  What kind of vitamins do you use?  I love your comments!