Allergist/Immunologist follow-up appointment
I met with Dr. on Thursday to review Hunter's additional viral testing and the NutrEval. The only other test that had a positive reading was the Coxsackie screening- basically hand, foot, and mouth disease. If you have had small children in preschool or daycare, you know how contagious this is! Basically, his numbers, although elevated, only indicated that he has had it in the past.
I asked Dr. again to confirm what I concurred from the last visit...in so many words, I asked him if we were chasing something that was not worth the chase. He stated, again, that most of his patients diagnosed with Autism do not have a significant health history like Hunter, with a known event that changed his functioning. We are now trying to decide if we start a course of antibiotics to see if it can clear the strep that appeared high on his last blood testing.
I put a call into our pediatrician to get her opinion. The two side effects of the doxycycline are photosensitivity and the possibility of discoloration of teeth. He would start a trial- most likely for up to thirty days of antibiotic. The doxycycline is an anti-inflammatory that would hopefully wipe the strep out of his system. Peter and I are still debating if we want to go this route or not.
His NutrEval was a comprehensive diagnostic to determine the functionality of the amino acids. There were two areas of high need- his CoQ10 and Zinc were both low. Not being familiar with the first, I googled them and they were both repeatedly found to be low in children with Autism. http://healingautismandadhd.wordpress.com/supplements/zinc/
This blog explains the importance of zinc and according to the NutrEval, Zinc plays a vital role in immunity, protein metabolism, growth and development, digestion, and antioxidant function. Zinc works best at night, so we might try this supplement (on an empty stomach) at bedtime. Zinc is mainly found in oysters, organ meats, soybean, wheat germ, seeds, nuts, red meat, chicken, milk, yeast, and leafy and root vegetables.
CoQ10 is a powerful antioxidant that is synthesized in the body and contained in cell membrances. It is also essential for energy production and pH regulation, according to the NutrEval. Low levels may aggrevate oxidative stress and neurologic diseases. The main food sources are meat, poultry, fish, soybean, nuts, and whole grains. Hunter does not like to eat meat- we try and supplement black beans as often as we can and offer a meat every night- he will often refuse it in any form.
So why would we supplement anyways? Studies have shown greater oxidative stress in children with Autism. Oxidative stress occurs when oxidants exceed the anti-oxidants...leading to free radicals and peroxides that damage components of cells and can cause toxic effects. Oxidative stress can also cause disruptions in cellular signaling. If you look in Wikipedia, oxidative stress is "thought to be involved in the development of many diseases or may exacerbate their symptoms." We want to decrease oxidative stress to improve the function of all organs.
Peter and I both feel that we need to try one supplement at a time to determine if it is really making a difference or not. It's hard to tell what is working when some doctors recommend an array of supplements at the same time. Dr. agrees with our philosophy and didn't recommend any other supplements, even though some of his levels were borderline. He said we could safely increase the Omega-3's we give him and give a probiotic (beneficial bacteria that add healthy bacteria to your gut). The probiotics keep bad bacteria and yeast from growing in your intestinal tract- however, if you have a good amount of stress in your life, are on antibiotics, or make poor food choices, there could be an imbalance of bacteria. Therefore if we start Hunter on the course of antibiotics, we will most likely supplement with a probiotic daily to encourage the growth of the friendly bacteria.
Leaving a doctor's appointment with a head full of amino acids, antioxidants, omegas, and fatty acids....that's enough to cause not just oxidative stress, but mommy stress. Not quite sure which is worse.
I asked Dr. again to confirm what I concurred from the last visit...in so many words, I asked him if we were chasing something that was not worth the chase. He stated, again, that most of his patients diagnosed with Autism do not have a significant health history like Hunter, with a known event that changed his functioning. We are now trying to decide if we start a course of antibiotics to see if it can clear the strep that appeared high on his last blood testing.
I put a call into our pediatrician to get her opinion. The two side effects of the doxycycline are photosensitivity and the possibility of discoloration of teeth. He would start a trial- most likely for up to thirty days of antibiotic. The doxycycline is an anti-inflammatory that would hopefully wipe the strep out of his system. Peter and I are still debating if we want to go this route or not.
His NutrEval was a comprehensive diagnostic to determine the functionality of the amino acids. There were two areas of high need- his CoQ10 and Zinc were both low. Not being familiar with the first, I googled them and they were both repeatedly found to be low in children with Autism. http://healingautismandadhd.wordpress.com/supplements/zinc/
This blog explains the importance of zinc and according to the NutrEval, Zinc plays a vital role in immunity, protein metabolism, growth and development, digestion, and antioxidant function. Zinc works best at night, so we might try this supplement (on an empty stomach) at bedtime. Zinc is mainly found in oysters, organ meats, soybean, wheat germ, seeds, nuts, red meat, chicken, milk, yeast, and leafy and root vegetables.
CoQ10 is a powerful antioxidant that is synthesized in the body and contained in cell membrances. It is also essential for energy production and pH regulation, according to the NutrEval. Low levels may aggrevate oxidative stress and neurologic diseases. The main food sources are meat, poultry, fish, soybean, nuts, and whole grains. Hunter does not like to eat meat- we try and supplement black beans as often as we can and offer a meat every night- he will often refuse it in any form.
So why would we supplement anyways? Studies have shown greater oxidative stress in children with Autism. Oxidative stress occurs when oxidants exceed the anti-oxidants...leading to free radicals and peroxides that damage components of cells and can cause toxic effects. Oxidative stress can also cause disruptions in cellular signaling. If you look in Wikipedia, oxidative stress is "thought to be involved in the development of many diseases or may exacerbate their symptoms." We want to decrease oxidative stress to improve the function of all organs.
Peter and I both feel that we need to try one supplement at a time to determine if it is really making a difference or not. It's hard to tell what is working when some doctors recommend an array of supplements at the same time. Dr. agrees with our philosophy and didn't recommend any other supplements, even though some of his levels were borderline. He said we could safely increase the Omega-3's we give him and give a probiotic (beneficial bacteria that add healthy bacteria to your gut). The probiotics keep bad bacteria and yeast from growing in your intestinal tract- however, if you have a good amount of stress in your life, are on antibiotics, or make poor food choices, there could be an imbalance of bacteria. Therefore if we start Hunter on the course of antibiotics, we will most likely supplement with a probiotic daily to encourage the growth of the friendly bacteria.
Leaving a doctor's appointment with a head full of amino acids, antioxidants, omegas, and fatty acids....that's enough to cause not just oxidative stress, but mommy stress. Not quite sure which is worse.
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