I finally figured something out...

[AustinsMom]

I had one of those crystal clear moments last night, when you really understand something that is going on with your child.

Austin had a GI bug and had diahhrea about a week ago. Since then, we can't seem to get back on track and he is constipated. And so for several days we have had increasing behavior problems, etc. But we had an incident at bedtime that was a mini version of our major melt down last fall. (That I blamed on Strattera).

So now I realize that

1. We had started taking vitamins in August, and taking C and E with our essential fatty acid (which also was helping to chelate heavy metals).

2. The strattera (which we had been on since April) messed with his digestive system. So we had lots of constipation problems--which were most likely holding those heavy metals in his system. He also had complaints of nausea when he would need to go to the bathroom--which he has also had the past 2 mornings.

3. The symptoms he has really coorespond to the copper overload symptoms.

So I'm thinking the anger/rage issues were indirectly a result of the strattera rather than directly, based on what I am seeing now. Who knew constipation was such an issue?? Which all just further highlights the role that heavy metal toxicity has with my son and hopefully indicates I am on the right track. (I feel like I should knock on wood so I don't jinx myself.)

We started the Pfeiffer treatment regimen today. I'll keep you posted.

[catatonic]

Some of the wisest people on earth recognized very clearly the importance of our digestive system to our mental health. Ghandi used to regularly greet his friends with the question:
"Did you have a successful bowel movement today?"

BTW, we suffered through relapses every time we started my son on Vitamin C, until I finally discovered that pretty much ALL vitamin C supplements available out there are derived from corn. Hmmm, maybe not such a good idea for a boy who can't tolerate corn!

Have you tried acidophilus for his digestive system? My son's pharmacist advised me to give it to him as long as he was on antibiotics and said it didn't interfere with the antibiotics' effectiveness at all. Did Pfeiffer look at gut-related issues?

[ohmama]

You are so right! Most diagnosticians do not understand the relationship between the gut and the brain, and they will not lead the family in the direction of gut disorder and therapy. Incidentally, there is an increasing number of disorders for which GI dysbiosis and leaky gut appear to play a prominent role, such as schizophrenia, autism, adhd/add, and possibly Tourette's syndrome.

Gastrointestinal damage in many of children leads to a leaky gut which exposes the developing brain to morphine like peptides, causing delayed and altered maturation. Developmental changes in the limbic and subfrontal systems of the brain directly affect language and social development and impact the autonomic nervous system through limbic brain stem pathways.

Defective digestion causes nutritional deficiencies affecting all systems, but most notably neurological functions and behavior, liver detoxification, immune functions, and endocrine balance. Resulting imbalances of the GI environment lead to overgrowths of unfriendly bacteria, parasites, and yeast, which produce their own toxic substances.(source of this info http://www.lef.org)

I once told an angry woman who was bothering me to go sit on the toilet for awhile. She didn't appreciate it but it probably would have solved her temper problem.

[catatonic]

OhMama,
I am still laughing over "Go sit on the toilet for a while" . I MUST find a way to use that line some day!!!!!!!

*** Excellent website, by the way. I'll be lost there for hours. ***

[AustinsMom]

Great website ohmama. (Nice catch phrase too )

catatonic, yes gut issues, leaky gut in particular have been an issue with my child and diagnosed since he was 2. We do regular rounds of nystatin and sugar avoidance or diflucan, especially before his annual EPD shots, since we have to be as "clean" as possible for that.

I had only connected anger to constipation in a general way last fall (I read something by a naturopath that started me looking at the connection.) I still thought the majority of the symptoms were from the strattera. Now I see that connection with anger/digestion is much stronger in my son than I had imagined.

I got my Pfeiffer vitamins this week and had my results consultation by phone. They did stool and urine tests (Microbial OATS) and looked for metabolites, and yes the yeast connection is still alive and kicking. We are to do monthly rounds of diflucan for several months, then retest for them. They grade the yeast problem as severe. The also rate his copper overload, zinc deficiency, and the ratio problem as severe. His histamine issue is classified as moderate.

My Pfeiffer contact is our nurse, June, and it is so nice to have someone to talk these things out in depth with. We went over their recommendations, and then in our discussion and reacting to other things I am noticing, we added inuflora and lecithin.

We start in stages, with the basic vitamins for a month, then add the new things one month apart. We have several tests done at the 3 month mark, and then we go for a recheck in 4 months. In the meantime, I fill out monthly progress reports, and can call and bounce things off of June if I have questions. We are going to most likely be switching to B12 shots at some point also.

They expect some changes to begin being noticed by about 3 weeks, especially as the copper chelates. The zinc is another crucial issue that may be harder to remediate. The thing that strikes me as I research all of this is how interconnected this whole problem is. Like the malabsorption is due to leaky gut, which is exacerbated by poor zinc, and on and on. Thanks to both of you for your contributions to my understanding of this puzzle.