What causes autism? - Page 5

[LongIsland]

Originally Posted by Momtezuma Tuatara

Jane S, you know who might know the answer to your question. Long Island...

I don't know the ins/outs of chelation because we never got up to that point with the immunologist since diet and supplementation were essentially having it's own "detoxing" effect, so we never chelated.

[JaneS]

Thank you

I do know quite a bit about hair testing and chelation, both DS and I have had Hair Elements tests done and I've analyzed them:
http://home.earthlink.net/~moriam/HOW_TO_hair_test.html

I'm fine, he's not.

I thought this was something different.

I'm scared to death of chelation for him. I just don't want to make another mistake. The diet (Specific Carbohydrate) we are on too is supposed to fix his gut and imbalances and has evidence acting like a chelator as well. And since I do believe that superior nutrition can fix many things, I'm going with that right now. Except he can't or won't eat certain things I want to give him so we are supplementing now as well with mixed results.

Except for the evidence the brain is the only organ that mercury never leaves unless chelated out. Sigh.

[AngelaB]

We are going to do a chelation trial in about a week. We will do a dmps supository and do a urine test for 8 hours and see what we see. if he is passing metals then we will continue. We will also monitor his liver. About a year ago our family doctor suggested checking his liver function and the test results indicated that he either had hepatitis c or had taken tylenol within 3 days. well he had taken tylenol and he reacted very badly to it according to the tests. so we will watch it closely. It just doesnt seem like the diet and supplements are chelating enough. We might have to do a SCD as well.

We are starting a liquid glutathione supplement since the transdermal really irritates his skin. We are also going to do a liver support and mineral and trace mineral supplement. I am curious to see if this has a behavioral effect for him. He takes Methylaid 3 times a day and a multivitamin multimineral, vitamin c, calcuim magnesium tablets, taurine, enzymes when I can get him to take them and a vitamin b-12 subcutaneious shot every 3 days.

He is also on a very strict diet to make it a short description!!
I have seen the most dramatic effects from the diet but I have seen more verbalization since doing the b-12 shots and methylaid(b vitamins, TMG)

This tread and the one about preparing for pregnancy are so interesting. I am just overwhelmed with test results, books, articles about the biomedical side to autism. Its interesting but hard to grasp it all but what I have been reading here leads me to beleive I am on the right track and picking up on the key information in my own research.

I really like the book "Autism : Effective Biomedical Treatments" The autism research institute puts it out.

I sometimes wish that I would have chelated before getting pregnant this time but we shall see. I had a traumatic m/c a year ago and now I am wondering if it was due to vitamin deficiencies. I started a b-complex and have noticed significant emotional and physical differences. I dont have panic attacks like I used to and I have more energy. I even feel like I can think clearer.
I take a prenatal vitamin from kirkman and a b-complex. I dont even want to take my head out of the bag to talk about my diet. Organic is expensive where we live but there are things i can do. Ok enough rambling from me!
~Angela~

[AngelaB]

I was under the impression that the hair test wont tell you what you have in you only what you are passing out. I think the only accurate way to tell is by doing a chelation trial and going from there.

We see Dr. Levinson in florida (I do phone visits anyways) he is overseeing my supplementation and chelation for ds. I really like his views on everything so far. http://www.vitalitywellness.com/index.php

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by Momtezuma Tuatara

The problem is that we mere mothers are so far ahead of the thinking of the experts that essentially we are breaking ground for them. The problem is its a bit hard to get them to hear, when you yell at them from ten miles ahead, and between you is a blizzard of dissembling from so called experts.

Personally, I say nothing now. I get laryngitis and its not worth it. It's better to concentrate on getting a child up and running.

EXACTLY!
They have the luxury of being patient.
And the blinders that come from not living 24/7 with the child who is the piece of your heart walking around on earth.
(And nights of undisturbed sleep).

I used to be intimidated, now I'm not at all.

That is the biggest gift MDC has given me.

And you played a very large role in that MT

[JaneS]

Angela,

Please read my above message to Victoria re: challenge tests and why they can be dangerous. I personally would not do them after I read about that. The hair test analysis can be effective if you get the right one.

Andrew Hall Cutler's book is worth a look for anyone considering chelation:
www.noamalgam.com

And the Autism-Mercury Yahoo group:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Autism-Mercury/

Files for the group:
http://home.earthlink.net/~moriam/

Their archives can be more easily searched here:
http://www.onibasu.com
[Enter word(s) to search for and check the box for "autism-mercury".]

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by AngelaB

I was under the impression that the hair test wont tell you what you have in you only what you are passing out. I think the only accurate way to tell is by doing a chelation trial and going from there.

We cross posted...

Yes, that is mostly true but there's much more to it.

See that hair test link I posted above. The Hair Elements test includes 16 heavy metals and 23 minerals. Yes, testing low in mercury can simply just mean that it is not being excreted which is common for ASD kids.

But with this test, you can see the other metals, which can tell you if mercury is causing certain ones to be held onto as well.

And the minerals do not necessarily correlate with accurate mineral levels in the body but their relationships to each other will tell you if mercury is effecting their transport, even if mercury tests low. Cutler terms this the "Counting Rules".

Challenge tests can be completely ineffective as well as ASD kids can still not excrete metals on a challenge b/c of methylation, etc. Plus since it does mobilize a lot of metals at once can cause some serious side effects/regression.

Cutler's method is low and slow chelation keeping the chelator at a constant level of a small dosage in the blood. He posts at Autism-Mercury and that is the predominent method of chelation parents of ASD kids use there but other methods are present as well. Might even be some people using your dr.

[AngelaB]

Jane,
Do you know if the test from great plains lab is the same as the doctors data test? We had the greatplains hair test done and it was amazing to see the results. It tested for 16 metals and 23 elements.
Ok I just read his test results again and doctors data analized the test results so forget the last question!
I will look at that site you posted to.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Originally Posted by LongIsland

I don't know the ins/outs of chelation because we never got up to that point with the immunologist since diet and supplementation were essentially having it's own "detoxing" effect, so we never chelated.

the question wasn't anything to do with chelation.

The question was, "What is the present method of testing for cellular mercury concentration?"

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

In England they do it this way:

http://www.biolab.co.uk/docs/kelmer.pdf

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Here is their testing index:

http://www.biolab.co.uk/datashet.html

Home page:

http://www.biolab.co.uk/tests.html

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Originally Posted by JaneS

And you played a very large role in that MT

Does that mean you now look like a greying dragon with 40 heads, which breathes fire, and is more stubborn than stubborness itself?

[LongIsland]

Originally Posted by Momtezuma Tuatara

The question was, "What is the present method of testing for cellular mercury concentration?"

Don't ask me what I was thinking.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Probably that I needed my head looking at.

[chasmyn]

Originally Posted by Momtezuma Tuatara

Well, what some people here have found is that selenium added to their normal schedule has meant they don't have so many infections in winter, if any at all.... but then they are also Vitamin C nuts, and love garlic, so there's some other confoundings for you.

I'm 2/3 of the way there, then. I love garlic, put it in everything and take Vitamin C daily. Adding Selenium and E will hopefully keep my immunity, and DS's, up. No sickness so far and he's 5 months old (for either of us).

Originally Posted by Momtezuma Tuatara

Makes you want to run away and hide, huh?

Very much. So very much.

Originally Posted by Momtezuma Tuatara

Well, "safe" removal was a disaster for me. But then I'm queer.

I think it, and what I've been reading, is making me think that I'll wait and take my chances with the Selenium/E/C route. Once I've finished nursing I'll look into removal again. I don't want to rick my son, but in ways it looks like 6 of one, half dozen of the other.

Originally Posted by Momtezuma Tuatara

Was myocarditis ever found?

It would be difficult to differentiate - he was born in heart failure, and the right side of his heart enlarged. It never really got smaller. He essentially had half a heart, which they were working to "reroute" the circulation so that that half could pump all of the blood. That is done in three stages. He had the first two, and then his tricuspid valve started (not suddenly, it had progressed over time) leaking severely, so they decided they needed to replace or repair the valve. This is the surgery after which he died, despite the surgery itself going perfectly. He had a small stroke, then began seizing, then just gave up the fight.

The thing that I found to be the most difficult about the entire situation is that I have always felt an inherent discomfort with allopathic medicine. Always. We had Quinn at home. I never went to the doctor for anything - when I was sick, I ate well, took vitamin C and zinc, waited it out. So when Quinn was diagnosed with this defect two days after his birth (he was never strong enough to nurse, so we took him in to the hospital thinking we'd get him hydrated and talk with an LC and then go home), I felt so helpless. Surgery was the only option - HLHS is always fatal - he was starting to die when we got him there, his systems had already begun to shut down.

I all of a sudden was left feeling like I had no choice but to trust the medical establishment, and that was terrifying, because my entire life, I had never trusted it before. It felt sort of all or nothing, so I sort of stopped doing extraneous research and just focused everything on the (so very little) information out there about his condition.

Vividly I remember knowing at least something about there being an option to not vaqccinate and that it felt right not to, but what I didn't realize was just how blindly doctors put their faith in all things allopathic, therefore not doing any of their own research. So when we were in the ped's office and I said to him, "Are vaccinations really necessary? I mean, do we really need them?" and he said, "yes, because Quinn has a compromised immune system we really need to vaccinate him," I believed him. Because he had years of schooling, right? So surely here, this young uber-healthy marathon-running doctor had surely done his research, right? He certainly must know what he is talking about?

And I allowed the vaccines, even though my heart felt like it was being ripped from me every time he had to have them. And that was before I'd ever done any reading on the subject. That was just my "Mommy-ness" talking.

I basically put down any reading I had been doing on anything other than sound nutrition until after he died. I was really just so focused on his life - I knew we didn't have him for long, despite the prognosis being fairly positive. I just felt it.

Am I rambling? I'll wrap this up. Just to say that now I've spent all kinds of time and effort reading all about vaccines and mercury and toxins and nutrition, etc etc. And if I knew then what I know now...

Sometimes I want to use it against myself, but what good would it do? It won't bring my son back. But I CAN use what I learn now, on my other son, to do the best I can to give him a healthy life. And myself, for that matter.

Um, that really went on a tangent. Sorry. I guess I had more to say than I knew.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

You are not rambling. You should know I'm the queen of tomes around here

I have read it very carefully... s: : and if you think you wrote too much, I've had to write a book to get similar feelings out of my system .

We could all say "If I knew then what I know now...."

What's the saying? Good judgement comes from experience which comes from bad judgement"?

All you can say is that no matter how you feel about your decision, the fact is that Quinn would never have had the "life" he was meant to have. And maybe the purpose of his life was to get you to the point where you really, truly, thought about many things, so that his death's mission was to make your future family a lot lot safer.

It may be a concept that sound's like the death of one, to save many, and not one people can handle... but I believe that good always comes out of adversity and that we should concentrate on that, and the positives, because an oak tree,... grows from a tiny nut. And sometimes this is what it takes to make us really analyse things.

I'm glad you said it. Are you? s:

[Bestbirths]

chasmyn, I am so sorry.

I regret vaxing our first son too....I didn't vax the other four after him. I try not to beat myself up about it, because we didn't know....we BELIEVED doctors back then.

I don't know the ins/outs of chelation because we never got up to that point with the immunologist since diet and supplementation were essentially having it's own "detoxing" effect, so we never chelated.

Have you verified this by hair test? Andy Cutler says the diet and sups are not what's important, its that they bring you to the chelation, and chelation is the only way to get the heavy metals out, especially lead and mercury. He also says that a round of sauna (or was it four rounds?) is equal to 50 mg DMSA, but that a lot of these children are heat sensitive. Our son won't step foot in the sauna as of yet....but he will take a pill...so we are going to use DMSA...

[chasmyn]

Originally Posted by Momtezuma Tuatara

All you can say is that no matter how you feel about your decision, the fact is that Quinn would never have had the "life" he was meant to have. And maybe the purpose of his life was to get you to the point where you really, truly, thought about many things, so that his death's mission was to make your future family a lot lot safer.

It may be a concept that sound's like the death of one, to save many, and not one people can handle... but I believe that good always comes out of adversity and that we should concentrate on that, and the positives, because an oak tree,... grows from a tiny nut. And sometimes this is what it takes to make us really analyse things.

I'm glad you said it. Are you? s:

I agree with you on that - that good can come from adversity. And that there is something to be learned from everything. Its how we handle situations, our reactions, that shape our lives. And having Quinn REALLY had me take into account just how strongly I felt about life being natural - all of it. It seems that we are designed to be complate. That this planet offers us all we need to live, be, stay healthful and strong - so why did we have to go and muck it all up by thinking that man could do better by creating artificial anything to introduce into a natural world?

That question leaves me shaking my head over and over...although I will concede to computers and the internet.

And yes, I'm glad I said it - I felt as I was writing everything that it was a sort of catharsis - I have not been able to say to anyone before just how much of a connection I saw in all of my circumstances and Quinn's heart. And how much it pained me to offer him over to the medical establishment because that was the only way I knew to save his life. Because I was not then confident enough in my knowledge to say, "Okay, well, you can do some things but here is where I draw the line, this is where *I* get to say no." I mean I did to an extent but I felt like I had no other choice but to trust them, and it felt like an all or nothing proposition. And now I know better.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

s: :

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by Momtezuma Tuatara

In England they do it this way:

http://www.biolab.co.uk/docs/kelmer.pdf

Thank you but this is the very dangerous "Challenge Test"

Pass!

Hey maybe I know more than I thought...