Gut flora is extremely important!

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/09/24/one-of-the-most-important-steps-you-can-take-to-improve-your-health.aspx

http://www.culturelle.com/your_health/culturelle_for_kids

                Horribly common problem for kids with autism is bowel trouble. Or I could say bowel trouble caused problems for my son’s autism because it actually induced some pretty strong side effects. I have written about this before but I constantly see cries for help on this issue and I know exactly how hard it is to see your child struggle with this problem. I also know a lot of medical providers or other parents will give advice that is a quick fix and long term is what is needed.

                Our son had some pretty serious bowel problems for at least a year. I am not talking about discomfort, but problems that were debilitating for him. We had to actually plan life around his bowel system. Meaning if it wasn’t working we were not leaving the house until it did. It would literally take a week sometimes or longer for relief and what I noticed during that time was not only was our son going through hell but it had a strong effect on his mind. The only way I can describe it easily is the autism traits were intensified and the light in his eyes would go away. I also noticed it wasn’t a matter of him not wanting to, it was a matter of him not being able to.

                I did what everyone says not to, researching on the internet because sometimes you just have to. I was told more water, a laxative, suppository, and all of the things I was told could have been a quick fix but none of these things were addressing the problem.  I read a ton of articles and took a little bit of information from each one, especially when the immune system was mentioned. I already knew his immune system may have not moved the vaccines along so there had to be a connection to this problem, meaning his body was lacking what it needed to get the job done.

                I knew nothing about gut flora and how it affects the system and not just the bowel system but the mind as well. The link above is one of many parents should read who are facing the same problem but I chose this one because it’s easy to follow and understand. I also know this isn’t always the answer but for our son it was.

                I started giving our son one dose of kids Culterelle probiotic every day. I included the link for this product but there are a ton of options out there to choose from as well. This is just the one we found to work for our son.  Within 24 hours we saw relief and a long term difference. Without that discomfort his focus was better and he was making more progress. Constipation can have a toxic effect on a child’s body because it is just sitting in the body releasing toxins into the blood stream and I do believe that was affecting his mind. It was actually hindering him from being his best physically and mentally and it was not just because he was autistic like so many people would tell me. He is autistic and if that is neurological, than why was it so clear this was a physical struggle having a neurological effect? This was not his mind not understanding what to do; this was his body not being able to.

                Since the addition of a simple probiotic every day Phillip has been able to make progress without the physical set back that was grabbing a hold of his mind and body. A probiotic is a natural treatment by the way as I know many parents want a natural option. The only thing that is unnatural is the body isn’t able to produce enough good bacteria (Gut flora). That problem goes way beyond autism and is affecting a large amount of people. For now, I strongly encourage parents who are trapped at home for a week waiting for relief to get educated on gut flora and how important it is for the entire system. Personally I have no idea how we would have gotten past this problem if at all without learning about this connection.

 

Are doctors afraid of autism?

                Yesterday was a day of enlightenment for me as a mother and some disgust as well. Took my little man in to check his ears after the doctor gave me some advice to use drops for a while. I expected when we went in she would in fact be cleaning his ears out. An odd thing and I was a little worried she was doing more than necessary just because he has never had an issue with his ears. No one has ever mentioned anything in regard to his ears unless it’s asking if he can hear. It appeared he could hear just fine. In fact the health of his ears has been awesome because my older kids had constant problems with their ears when they were little and it was a nightmare.

                We pulled into the parking lot and Phillip went into meltdown because at this point he has an intense fear that has grown towards clinics.  A fear largely based on touch and the process of checking his vitals. After wrestling him into the lobby I took him into the bathroom as his screaming was a lot for the other people to take and the receptionists couldn’t use the phones he was so upset. He didn’t stop and for a moment I thought, maybe we should just leave and call the whole thing off. I couldn’t imagine a little ear wax was worth what I was putting him through but they called his name so we pushed on. The whole time I am wondering if any of it is needed in the first place. Sometimes you run into those doctors that just go a bit overboard and other times you run into the ones that don’t do enough.

                Finally Phillip calmed and his doctor said it was time to clean out the ears. I wanted to leave the room at this point but four people were needed to hold him down so I held his arms, one nurse held his legs, and another held his head. In the meantime I am fighting back my tears successfully by the way. When the doctor pulled out the problem all of us were blown away by the extreme blockage in the first ear. The next ear was no different and that is when all the doctors that I have encountered in the past year flashed through my mind and not in a positive way. I would have put an R rating on this blog if I told you exactly what was going through my mind.

                I asked his new doctor why on earth this has never been mentioned to me by any other care provider. It’s a problem I can’t see, he never expressed discomfort and I imagine because he was used to it. He probably felt that was the way the world was supposed to sound. The doctor eased my anger a bit by telling me things work out for a reason and she is actually pretty skilled at removing the problem so it may have been better she did it than a doctor who could have harmed him. Good point and she was right but that didn’t exactly take away my disgust. That would mean 1 in 5 doctors are skilled enough to remove ear wax…think about that. Scary thought isn’t it?

                I have a child who can’t speak clearly and he has made huge progress. I also have a child who I have been told needs hours of speech therapy so my question was how can doctors push this and not address a hearing issue? Of course he is autistic but how in the world is he supposed to reach the speech goals they put on him if he can’t hear the words properly?

                I don’t care if a doctor would have said to me, he has blockage in his ears but I am not sure I am the one to remove it, let’s send him to someone who can. The slightest mention is all we needed to help him. I spent the better part of the day making myself physically ill thinking about how long he may have been dealing with this. Thinking about how so many care providers knew he was challenged with his autism and let him walk away with a separate challenge of not hearing well. I thought about all the things doctors have avoided simply based on his autism and not wanting to deal with him because yes it takes 4 women to hold down a 28lb boy. How many things I have had to figure out on my own because medical providers don’t seem to know how or want to. He used to get constipated for weeks a time and each time I mentioned it, well it was just a part of autism they always said. Not so, but I can say that problem made his autism much more difficult to manage. No one helped me figure that out for him other than sleepless nights and reading a ton of information.

                So many people are just flying blind with autism and not just because it’s a mystery to parents but because it’s a mystery medically. People wonder why autism parents grow so frustrated with finding quality help and this is one very good example. We do now have someone who is not willing to just let us walk out of the door blind to an extra challenge that isn’t necessary, and thank God for that! That doesn’t mean she understands autism completely it just means she isn’t afraid to deal with it because his quality of life is the priority. Then again aren’t we supposed to feel that way about the majority of our medical care providers instead of the minority?

                When we left the clinic I turned on the music in the van to the classical Phillip likes and his eyebrows went up like he hadn’t heard it that way before, meaning clearly. He stopped in the backyard because some small birds were in the tree chirping. He stood and listened to them and gently touched his ear. The loud sounds he typically makes all day are gone as of the last 24 hours and I can whisper I love you and get his attention. He would have typically ignored all of these things and most people would have said it was because of his autism which he still has of course only now he has autism and a new level of hearing. One good doctor who saw his quality of life as priority was all it took.

               

No labels for GMO? Are you kidding me?

              Well the election is over and last night was spent on the edge of my seat waiting like most of America. I was disappointed Obama was given four more years but another issue weighed on me like a 600lb man, literally

               Proposition 37, which was a bill in California the whole country should have been voting on to label GMO food and it was shot down. A label, just a little notification to Americans the food they are about to consume has unknown consequences. When I discovered this was voted against I was completely shocked as this was an American choice. I had to wonder if people know what GMO is. Or what I really wanted to now was why on earth people would not want to be informed. Are we so secure in out of site out of mind we actually don’t want to know?

                GMO’s have been in nearly everything we eat for ten years mostly unknown to the greater population but becoming more understood. This is what I know personally from my own life that makes me so passionate about the cause. I have two older kids both born before GMO was introduced to our systems. My older children do not have autism and yes they have received all of their vaccinations to date. During that ten years my thyroid stopped working which at one time I healed by adding algae to my diet. When I stopped my thyroid also stopped. GERD was introduced to me and I had to medicate to repair possible holes developing in my stomach lining. Then I discovered I was pre-diabetic and had to limit my sugar intake on top of avoiding acidic foods. Now we have Gastric Reflux, hypothyroidism, and pre-diabetes at 29 years old and 115lbs.

                During my pregnancy with Phillip I had to keep track of my pre-diabetes to make sure we did not go into full on diabetes. I was able to manage that without any kind of intervention from the doctor and then I have a healthy 7.7lb baby boy. I breast feed him like all three of my kids to give him the healthiest start in life I can. He cries a lot but not colic. He hates loud noises, being held by anyone but mom or dad, and seems to already take comfort in a system as an infant. He is vaccinated and at 16 months he begins to fade. At two I realize my son has autism and begin endless nights of research.

                If you are wondering if I am targeting vaccines I am not. Although if his system was compromised in a way we can’t see on the outside, yes I do believe vaccines would not have been allowed to flow through him properly. Around this time I am fighting allergies. A new fight I have never experienced in my life. Allergies at 33 years old and no doctor can pin point what I am allergic to. We ensure nothing in the house could be the cause. Get rid of a bird, bleach the hell out of everything, and I vacuum every day in case it’s the dog. Although I have been around dogs my whole life so I had doubts it was her at all. When you’re sick with no answer you will blame everything.

                Today I have an autistic child who just had an allergic reaction to the only antibiotic he has ever taken. He needs a probiotic to have a bowel system that works properly and an algae supplement seems to giving him some ease neurologically. I take an allergy pill every day of the year and I have no idea why. All I know is I can’t function if I don’t have relief from whatever allergy I have. All of these things pull my brain towards GMO. Only two countries do not require a label and that would be America and Canada. Some countries have demanded a label or have flat out said no to GMO without a vote by their citizens even required because common sense and consequences stepped in before a vote was ever needed.

                I have no understanding of why in the state of California, where the doors for same sex marriage were opened, a label to give us a choice was turned down. Are we so selfish in our out of site out of mind culture we are willing to gamble with our own lives and our children’s lives? We will legalize marijuana, we will fight for same sex marriage, we want free health care and we will hold on to a failing economy. We will complain about our health and the effects are right in front of us in society every day but we don’t want to know what is in our food? That is devastating insight into the priorities of way to many Americans. That alone will keep you from sleeping sound at night.

 

Spirulina or a blessing? Either way it's mind blowing!

            http://vitamins.lovetoknow.com/Spirulina_for_Autism  

 

                This week has been a real eye opener with new things coming at us from every direction. One of the new things happening here is only what I can call my son busting out of locked doors autism has been holding him hostage behind. I have always been a big advocate for the genetic side of autism and still am but over the last three years it has been hard to ignore some of the medical clues thrown at me.

                From constant bowel problems, the lost look in his eyes, and the way his mind would not allow him to communicate. Yes he has physical ways of communication but at the same time, I could always see the desire in him to verbally communicate. My son has had basically no therapy to this point with lack of resources and the ones we did have were just not effective from day one. Twice he regressed from even attempting to utilize what we did have available to us. Heartbreaking both times and one of the biggest setbacks with this was therapists putting his frustration level to the test. To learn his limits and a tactic I can’t understand. A child who lives on the brink of frustration every day is taken into a room with a stranger only to be pushed beyond what they can tolerate for a test? This never made sense to me at all and clearly he felt the same way.

                We solved the bowel issues for the most part with a simple probiotic given to him daily but when life changes a bit that issue does come back. I can say that is stress related and doesn’t seem to be related to his digestive system like it used to be. We tried gluten free for some time and although a good diet for anyone, he is very thin and again lack of resources sent us back to regular but healthy eating. Gluten free was good for him, but the picky side of him or sensory side of him limited his food intake to a point of concern. Then we had the allergic reaction to the only antibiotic he has ever taken which again sent me into research mode and the medical side of autism.

                Late nights of reading until my eyes begged me to stop I found myself researching Spirulina. A blue algae supplement with a ton of benefits. Just to name a few, anti-inflammatory, balanced immune system, protein up the ying yang and so much more. It is even thought to fend off those GMO active DNA cells that sit in our system.  Very much worth reading about for anyone who is looking into taking back their health. I take this every day now and fatigue is no longer my side kick.

                I also starting giving Phillip 1/8^th of a teaspoon in his juice every day and he doesn’t seem to mind the taste one bit. The protein benefit is a God sent alone just because tapioca and bacon are not cutting it. There are also some changes that have come quick in the last week. First change that was a bit shocking was a new show of emotion and if you are raising a child with autism you know sometimes the only emotions that are clearly expressed are joy and anger. On day two I told Phillip it was bedtime and typically no reaction to this comment but to our surprise he whimpered. A typical three year old reaction that did not escalate into tantrum and it blew my mind. The same day he ate his dinner and more. Something he has actually never done. The next day we heard a few new words come from him while playing. Four, total for the day and again my mind was blown. Now let’s move onto day five and we have eight sign language and words come out of his mouth. Please, thank you, ball, eat, book, all done, more, and help.  He hasn’t said these things or signed them but knew them. Something opened the door to let them out all together.

                Was it Spirulina? I don’t know for sure and wish will all my might I could know for sure. We are going to continue using it every day and see how changes play out. Getting ready for a huge move and if the doors are in fact open then his reactions will be different through the changes. If he is able to communicate emotions in a healthier way then I will have to credit Sprunila for creating some kind of balance in his system. Until then it is a blessing and taking it in as I watch it happen, thankful for every moment.

                 Aside from autism I would suggest anyone look into Spirulina and do some research. The above link is just one break down of the algea but there is much more info to look into.

 

Hypersensitive immune system and autism and we are 3 today!

http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/study-finds-children-autism-have-more-active-adaptive-immune-system

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-multi.pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2898160/

              Today is Phillips third birthday and we will be spending it trying to gain our strength back from two days of an antibiotic his little body didn’t like. I have learned so much in the past three years and even now I wake up every day with a new lesson coming my way.  I can’t avoid it, he won’t let me and I say that with gratitude and humor at the same time. We aren’t doing anything today but resting and waiting to have a party for him when dad comes home in a week. I can’t let the day go by with nothing so he does have some presents and the old inflatable birthday cake I have used for everyone for years is up and running in the living room.

                I was up last night until 3am researching things I hadn’t come across yet on this autism journey. It seems just when my mind is completely made up in regard to the difference something jumps up and tells me to read more, because I am missing something. I have always stuck very close to my genetic difference idea and even after hours of reading last night I still believe in the genetics of autism. Even when it comes to genetics we do know carrying a gene for something doesn’t always mean it’s going to be an active one. Then I begin to think about what pulled the trigger as you will hear so many scientists say. I haven’t been a huge fan of Autism Speaks because of all the money raised for research and very little being put into resource but being humbled is an important lesson in life we all need to embrace from time to time.

                My son’s immune system is exceptional and rarely is he affected by sickness or any physical problems that could be associated with autism. It has all been neurological to this point which convinced me this is just a genetic difference. This weekend when he was given his first antibiotic ever for a bladder infection he actually did not have I was paying attention. His reaction to the antibiotic was a difficult one from throwing up, fever, chills, swollen lips, swollen throat, and what appeared to be pain in his stomach. The reaction began on the morning of day three and he had taken only two days of this medicine. Why is it a child with an impeccable immune system would be affected so horribly? A foreign substance in his body that kicked his immune system into overdrive and overdrive is what causes the body to go to war with what it doesn’t recognize. A hypersensitive immune reaction and the first time I have witnessed this happen to him, I think.

                We focus so much on genetics and vaccines or at least the general public does, I am now leaning towards genetics and a hypersensitive immune system which also would involve how his body can or can’t process a vaccine. Not one certain vaccine like so many people blame, but all of them. The vaccine process begins at birth and during the first two years of life we are given a strict timeline to get them. For good reason and I would never say not to get vaccines because it is needed to a certain point. Here is where my mind has evolved to in the last couple of days and researching until three am last night. If a child carries the autism gene and is born with a hypersensitive immune system the process of his body going to war with foreign antibodies could begin from day one. Each time receiving a vaccine could certainly have an effect. This would not be vaccines causing autism; this would be autism losing a battle with the process of vaccines. Or for that matter any foreign substance the immune system goes into overdrive to get rid of. If the medical community could find a safe way to test an immune system from birth before giving anything that may kick it in to overdrive, could it possibly keep the safety on that autism trigger?

                Once again this journey has made me change direction in my thinking but not one way or the other, just a new road that seems to make the most sense to me. In fact I am surprised my children didn’t wake up to papers spread all over the house with crazy random facts written all over the walls this morning from my intense desire to learn more last night and having the evidence sleeping peacefully in bed. As much I enjoy being humbled, I really don’t like changing my mind unless I feel 99% confident in why. When it comes to autism 99% percent confidence is kind of a funny statement to me no matter how much I research.  One thing autism has taught me is that I will change my mind to many times to count and I have to be able to accept it.

                At this very moment I have an adorable birthday boy sitting next me with a sour look on his face. He has managed one piece of toast and three big swigs of water to begin what may turn into a birthday to remember. No matter how much I learn, change my mind, and research he still just needs his mama to tell him it’s all going to be ok. I don’t know about you but even I need that to this day in my adult life and the journey continues.

 

Do You Understand Gut Flora and Probiotics?

http://www.pointofreturn.com/probiotics.html

            The link above is an easy to follow read about probiotics and getting your gut flora healthy. My son used to suffer from extreme constipation, to the point a week would go by and his physical discomfort was horrible for him to endure. I was told this is unfortunately an autistic trait but I just couldn't settle for that. Autism is a neurological difference and considering the gut is sometimes called a second brain it seemed to me, this problem had to be affecting his brain and not the other way around. The toxic affects of fecal matter sitting in his body for way to long was to much for me to ignore and just push through the problem.

             They say a probiotic is important after a round of antibiotics because antibiotics will eliminate the good bacteria, the gut flora. My son has never been on an antibiotic and for the most part he is very healthy but what kept weighing on me was what if what he is not digesting properly is causing a toxic effect? I began to give him a daily probiotic called Culterelle and quickly I saw a change. For a month now he has not been constipated one time and because of that he is able to get rid of toxins and hopefully digest nutrients regularly. He focuses better and the hand flapping stopped all together.

             There is a reason I chose this article and it's because it points out one fact most do not. What we consume, meats, milk, eggs, preservatives etc... Antibiotics are in these products along with many other things we shouldn't be consuming daily. It's my belief over time, consuming these things will affect your digestive system and although it's not a immediate affect like a prescription antibiotic, we have to consider the long term effects of the small doses in mass produced food we eat. After all if we know these things harm our system with a large dose all at once, why would we assume small doses over time won't harm us?

             Go organic as much as possible and add a probiotic to your daily routine! I don't know exactly how my son feels because he can't tell me but I can see it's had a positive affect. I now do the same and I can say I feel better then I ever have in my life with this small change.