Month 12 Gains - IonCleanse by AMD

One year ago today we did our very first footbath.

Right this minute Dominic is doing another one.  He's done well over 200 this year, tho I've long ago lost count of how many.

I haven't blogged as much this month because we've been so busy, but honestly what's stuck out the most has been the calm.  The quiet.  The lack of meltdowns.  The following directions.

Now, we are not just doing the IonCleanse - we are working a couple of other out of the box protocols... working on healing his organs and balancing his neurotransmitters, while being on a very strict anti inflammatory diet, and making sure all his methylation pathways are working well.  The ioncleanse, tho remains our foundational protocol.  That means the detoxification that it provides is the foundation upon which we are building and we plan to never yank the foundation.  I'm playing with our intensity / frequency right now to see if I can get him to a deeper level of release (and myself too, we'll see how it goes).    I know, because we've been doing them for a year, that I'm not going to throw him into a herx reaction by tweaking intensity and frequency.  I do not recommend this for newer users.

So what cool NEW stuff did Month 12 bring:
Full participation in decorating for Christmas
Spontaneous helping clean up the dog mess
Telling us about an injury and allowing first aid
Excitement for and attendance to opening presents
Learning how to make his bed and change his sheets

A family trip to see the new star wars movie (which I didn't blog about), and at which he did awesome because we had to get there a solid hour early so we could ensure we sat together.  And he did great.

and 2 weeks (and counting) off school in which he is NOT driving us bananas - he is playing quietly with his toys and amusing himself.  Its astonishing. Truly.

Making his bed

I decided to take the opportunity of lots of time over winter break and teach Dominic how to change his own sheets and remake his bed.

We did the sheets together and then i managed to catch this video of him finishing the last touches.

As with everything, repetition will bring success.  I'm very pleased at how well he did the first time out of the gate.

Loot (Christmas picture time)

Big Thanks to everyone who sent presents to Dominic this year.  He got way more cool stuff than we could have imagined and was piled in gifts to unwrap. 

At the moment the planes collection from Grandmother and Grandaddy are his favorites - he has been carrying them around since we got them out of the box. 

Rocks...

Its been a crazy busy few days around here - I spent all day Thursday cooking and then all day yesterday we had a houseful of guests.  So I forgot to post the really cool thing that happened on Thursday.

I sent Dominic outside to play because he was squirmy and it was somewhat warmish out (in Colorado That is relative).  He played outside for a few hours, came inside eventually and we went on about our day.   When I was getting him ready for his shower, I saw a pretty noticable abrasion on his upper thigh that was starting to bruise.  So I asked him what happened.  He looked at me and said "Rocks"

What?  He actually told me what happened?  We have a first.  I called Daddy down to show him the abrasions and he again told Daddy that it was the Rocks.  So he clearly fell on the rocks at some point while playing and then went on with playing.  (as opposed to coming inside crying hysterically).  Maturity, anyone?

THEN

After his shower, he actually allowed me to put some arnica cream on it.  This child is a first aid refuser - and he let me put cream on it.  HUGE.

His footbath yesterday after everyone left was gross.  Solid black. (liver release).  This liver pmg stuff is making a noticeable difference in whats coming out of him as well as in his general demeanor. I haven't seen any non compliance in days and his mood has been very even.

Houston! We have BO!

So last night as Daddy gave Dominic a hug before going to work, he got a whiff.  So he suggested i see if I get the same.

I did.

Body Odor.

Dominic is 10.  This is a smidge early for puberty and there's NO other signs of imminent puberty.

So I texted all of our treatment team members and consensus is - The Liver PMG is WORKING to to take the load off his liver and detox it out.  Body odor is a sign of the liver releasing toxins (ever been to the gym on  New Years day and smelled the booze coming out of peoples pores?  same concept).

this is riduculously exciting to me because we've tried EVERY liver support product on the market going back to DAN days, so easily 7 years.  This is the first one that we are seeing distinct and definite changes from.  And this is on top of pulling toxins out with regularity now for a solid year using the IonCleanse.

Dominic was absolutely offended that he had armpit funk.  Hilariously, he stuck his nose under his shirt and made horrible faces, while saying "EW - DISGUSTING"

Monday we start Neurotrophin PMG.  If we're getting this kind of response 2 weeks into the liver one, I am so excited about what we'll see with the brain one.

Wow, he's awfully calm...

Both my husband and I have been remarking the last few days how CALM Dominic has been since we started Christmas break.  He's not argued when we've turned the TV off, he's amused himself quietly (inside because its been chilly), followed directions, had zero meltdowns, and generally been fantastic.   Verbals seem to be holding steady.

Whats changed?

Well - that requires a history lesson.  4 years ago when we started seeing Dominic's chiropractor, she started doing weekly liver drainage manually on him because every single time she saw him his liver was congested.  We have tried a TON of liver sup's even going back to DAN days and none of them really helped.  The IonCleanse by AMD got rid of the undereye circles he had (which are an external manifestation of a congested liver), but he still tested for her as having congestion.  This makes sense to me because the IonCleanse creates a separate detox pathway that bypasses the normal pathways to get the garbage out. So the analagy is that if the liver was the front door, with Dominic we were throwing the garbage out the window because the door was blocked.

A month or so ago, after attending a seminar that talked a lot about the PMG products from Standard Process, Dr Susan suggested that we start a series of PMG products on Dominic, starting with the liver one, then the brain one, and then the adrenals, and potentially other organs as needed.  Dr Kara agreed they were a good idea, and we muscle tested Dominic for the order to do them in and the dosages.

What is Hepatrophin PMG?   From this PDF: 

Protomorphogen™ extract is the brand name of Standard Process’ extracts

derived from nucleoprotein-mineral molecules. The foundation for the function

of these uniquely formulated nucleoprotein-mineral extracts comes from the

antigen-antibody reaction that takes place during normal cell maintenance.

The antigenic properties promote healthy cellular division, function, and

growth. When a tissue needs support, at least a dozen different compounds

are formed that can cause white blood cells to travel together toward the

compromised area. These compounds include degenerative products of the

tissues themselves. They strongly activate the macrophage system, and within

a few hours, the macrophages begin to devour the destroyed tissue byproducts.

At times, the macrophages can also affect the structure of the remaining

healthy cells. The bovine liver PMG™ extract in Hepatrophin PMG appears to

neutralize the circulating antibodies, thereby contributing to the maintenance

of cellular health

In laymans terms - we are operating under the assumption that his body has decided to attack his liver (auto-immune style), so we are providing him with cow liver extract so that his body attacks that instead of his own liver and allows his own liver to rest and heal.

Dominic also strongly muscle tested for a product called Cellular Vitality, which reads like a mitochondrial support.   Mito has been on my mind for a while, because he's got a couple of the classic mito mutations but he doesn't present like he has mito right now - a virus doesn't cause a regression (anymore.  it used to).   So we started the Cellular vitality, waited 3 days and then started the Hepatrophin PMG.  He actually had a bit of a histamine response to it so we're backing the dose down and watching closely (histamine reaction is red ears, can be the allergy shiners, etc), but as of today Dr Susan says that while still congested, his liver is feeling healthier.

THe plan is to maintain the hepatrophin PMG dosage and add in the Neurotrophin PMG at the point that we'd been on the full dose of Hepatrophin for a solid week.  That puts us adding the Neurotrophin next week.  If all goes well, we will circulate through all his organs. 

As far as I can tell, using PMG's like this is uncharted territory in Autism and we are winging it here.  I think its really tremendously important to document what we're doing, and that we're doing it under the care of multiple medical professionals.  I wrote an article for TMR the other day that talks about the model of care we're using, and this is a really good example of how its working. One provider suggests something and it resonates with me, and the other provider gets to weigh in and we all together have input and feedback - but at the end of the day its up to Mom and Dad if we do it. 

IonCleanse by AMD – written at the almost 1 year in mark.

When we started the IonCleanse by AMD,  we were coming off of YEARS of heavy protocols.   Most specific to this conversation is when we started the IonCleanse by AMD, we were still doing the CD protocol, which for those who are unaware is a protocol around killing off pathogens – it makes things die.  

We started to notice NUANCES of gains in the first month of the footbaths – we were doing the company recommended 30 minutes every other day.   We were also seeing lots of increases in self stimulatory behaviors, self injurious behaviors, and overall hyperness.   There were a few gains that first month, including a massive 16 point ATEC drop. 

We stopped the CD protocol early in the second month somewhat accidentally – my boss was in town for a weeks worth of meetings and due to childcare and other issues Dominic didn’t get doses for a few days.  So I decided to see what would happen if we just stopped.  So we did, thinking we’d start back up if we needed to.  We never saw a need to. 

And Month 2 on the IonCleanse we got a LOT more improvement.  At that point we were doing only the IonCleanse by aMD, an antifungal (candex), a probiotic, fish oil, Vitamin D and minerals.    We stayed with that for Month 3, essentially the very baseline of supplements for my son and again he made HUGE improvements in month 3.

Month 4, we did a 23andMe genetic panel and started some very basic supplements to support his genetic mutations.  Carefully planning each move, we spent nearly 6 months changing his protocol from the above to supplements that support his mutations – added in VERY slowly.  Yes, I’ve tried a number of the new protocols that have come out – kept a couple of them in our regime and discarded most of them.

Here is what I have learned this year.

The IonCleanse by AMD is the single most powerful detox protocol  I’ve ever used or seen and it should be the ONLY detox protocol used when it is used or you really will push into herxheimer land.  Do not stack detox protocols – if you’re going to do the IonCleanse by AMD, give it a true test and have it be the only detox protocol you use for at least the 60 day evaluation window.  (this means don’t do chelation, don’t do Epsom salt baths, don’t do baking soda baths, etc – for the first few months while those detox channels are being created and start to clear out years of built up toxins).

With the IonCleanse by AMD  - supplementation wise – LESS IS MORE.   If I could give myself of 1 year ago one piece of advise it would’ve been to drop ALL supplements except the multimineral and the fish oil for the first 4 months and truly let my son’s body detox out the layers of garbage all the supplements over all those years with no open detox pathways caused.   Take a look – an honest look – at the supplements on your counter from various sources.  How many of them are due to deficiencies in the methylation and detox cycles (if you don’t know what I’m talking about you have some studying to do).  If they are – consider setting them aside for a few months because the IC will make that detox process happen and you don’t have to pour money down your kids throat in the form of supplements.    ***every child is going to have a different set of true basics that keep them stable***.  The other thing we’re seeing is those supplements are in some cases impeding the detox work.  Seriously consider stripping back to basics.

It takes as many shovels of dirt to fill a hole as it took to empty it.  That means – this is not an overnight fix. YES – with the timing tweaking we’ve done and the experience we now have lots of kids see quick ATEC drops.  This is still a marathon.  We have proven that older kids can get better – that there is no longer a window of recovery.  So because of that I say – RELAX already –  give it the solid 2 months trial and then redo the atec and see what you see.  Stop obsessing over not seeing improvements in the first 2 weeks, or even month.  Honestly – if I went based on the first 2 weeks and the negatives we saw, I wouldn’t have kept the machine.  STICK IT OUT.  At least to the 60 day mark, giving an HONEST try to the detox schedule.

The IonCleanse by AMD is not for every single kid.  There are some kids who don’t do well on it, and it is contraindicated in the case of the child being on any medication that requires a stable level in the blood (prescription seizure meds, blood thinners, etc).  The only way to know if its going to be a help for your child is to try it.  We are so grateful for AMD for their 60 day money back guarantee because it means everyone can try it and can be able to return if their kiddo doesn’t do well.

 

The elephant in the room.

Dominic’s in 5^th grade.  He’ll be 11 years old in February.   

Academically, he is in the second half of Kindergarten.  I confirmed with his SPED teacher the other day via phone that he’s approaching first grade work.  This is huge progress.

Developmentally, based on conversations with his private  OT and ST, he’s around age 5.  He prefers to play with younger kids than with his age group.  That’s okay.   There are some things he does that a 5 year old wouldn’t but he is no where near 10 developmentally.

So what am I getting at?

Well – we’ve been bouncing around the concept of middle school and are going to propose he repeat 5^th grade.    Our SPED teacher is coordinating a meeting with the middle school SPED teacher and we will be talking about his program and how it would look implemented at a middle school level. I believe we would be able to make the argument that his least restrictive environment will be elementary for another year.  The argument we face is that there’re more electives / resources at the middle school level.   I’m not sure if our meeting will be before or after the holiday break.

So we will see what happens.  Regardless, we will do what is best for him.  I do not think the place for a child doing 1st grade work is middle school.  I believe that emotional maturity follows intellectual maturity - and we've got a long haul ahead. 

I have reached out to an education attorney to clarify the law, should it come to that. I do know that he gets services until he's 21 under IDEA. 

Cute story from this morning

Today was one of  THOSE days.

I knew it was going to be about 3 minutes after my alarm went off at 445am so I could walk on the treadmill.

I could smell it.

Dog poop.

From Kama’s crate, in Dominic’s room.

Daddy had gotten up and let Kama out in the middle of the night, but apparently he’s got a sore tummy (yes Vet friends, I wormed him after I cleaned up).  At least this time it was contained to the crate and dog.

When I opened the crate, he BOOTED outside, so clearly there was more coming.

I sighed, pulled all his bedding out of his crate, and started laundry.  Then I got the papertowels and 409, took the crate apart and started scrubbing.  At  some point, Kama came back inside, and I sequestered him in the bathroom so he didn’t get anything on the furniture.

I told Dominic – who by now was wide awake and concerned “make sure he stays in there, I’m going to give him a bath when I finish his crate”.

I finished cleaning the crate and headed for the bathroom, giving up on my morning treadmill and deciding to just wash the dog in the shower and get started on my day sans exercise.   When I opened the door, Dominic had taken off Kama’s collar, put him in the shower, started the water, and was outside the shower trying to figure out what to do next.  Kama was looking confused.  

I’m really loving the increased cognition we’re seeing from Dominic even as it turns up in the strangest of places.

 

Chris-a-mus Tree

He asked for it 3 weeks ago.  
If we hadn't been out of town for Thanksgiving, we would've put it up last weekend. 

Here's the annual picture set.   We went with mostly soft homemade stuff because a certain puppy wants to eat the tree.

The usual zip me up request...

Assorted cuteness.

Pushing through vs. backing down

So I know several of you caught my reference in the IonCleanse month 11 post about how we chose to push through the month of stimming we got from Brain Reward instead of stopping or backing down.

Well, I want to share the other side of the coin with you.  Monday morning was Dominic's first morning dose of 2 capsules of mB12.  He was doing AWESOME on 1.  We did 2 and he was a stimmy mess.  I was getting all kinds of verbal stimming, screaming, etc.   My gut said back him down to 1.  I texted our ND and she confirmed to go back to 1. 

Why the discrepancy in how I handled it?

Well - I have 7 + years of experience with Dominic and his body and how he presents symptomatically.  I have learned the VERY hard lesson of listening to my gut as a priority in his treatment.   I have a whole toolbox at my disposal of things like binders, footbaths, mud baths, liver supports, and I know how - and when - to use them.  I learned how to muscle test this past year and its been tremendously helpful as a guide (the book Emotion Code has a basic method that is easy to learn if you are interested)

Dominics reactions to the Brain Reward were not dissimilar to his retracing behaviors last January when we started the IC.  They were hand stims, eye stims, some squealing - all happy.  Dominic's reaction to the second capsule of mB12 was more angry sounds and faces, non compliance, verbal stuff.  So they were different reactions.    My gut said this was too much B versus a detox reaction (aka herxheimer).   Also, the stim presented itself a solid 10-15 hours AFTER the dose, so none of my binders would work.  Burbur might have helped, if the issue was processing through the liver - but again, it was past the window.  We tried a footbath and no improvement so I hypothesized that it was not a detox issue. 

If you don't have a solid grip on how the body cycles work (detox and kreb and methylation), get one.  There's no excuse for not doing the work.  If you don't have a toolbox you have personally put together after consulting with your provider, reading articles and blogs, talking to vendors at conferences - or reading their webpages - then you have work to do.  What should underlay ALL of it is your personal knowledge of your child and his or her symptomatic presentation. 

And that is why sometimes we push through and sometimes we back down.