Current supplements required [all are oral]:
Cal/mag: My #2 son does not really like to drink milk, altho the other kids enjoy it.
B50 plus extra B6, B12, and folic acid: These are very helpful for focus/attention. B6 for the physical "calmness" and better sleep. B12 and folic acid for language. He will script videos with less than 3000mcg of B12 per day. This also reduces his writing letters in the air. Helps #4 to stop asking the same questions over and over and over. For some strange reason, these vitamins also reduce the rashes on #3 and #4. [Combination of these B vitamins and biotin, plus mixed carotenoids below, has entirely eliminated the remainder of #3 and #4 rashes].
Biotin and magnesium [biotin depletes magnesium and causes constipation and muscle cramps without added magnesium]: This is helpful for #4's eye which will look slightly to the side without biotin. Also helps with rashes, and language issues [scripting and asking too many questions].
CLO: My son needs this every other day or so [maybe 3x per week] to keep the visuals under control. Less often, or more often, than this, and the visuals will increase and his focus/attention will decrease.
Mixed carotenoids [primarily beta carotene and lutein]: My kids were lutein intolerant. They did not tolerate luteins in foods they ate, and then I removed them, until chelation removed that problem. So after chelation, they apparently needed supplementation of luteins. Plus, giving vitamin A every day would increase my #2's visual stims after about 2 days. The body needs zinc, vitamin C, and thyroid hormone to convert beta carotene into vitamin A. So I gave the mixed carotenoids with a small sprinkle of zinc and vitamin C. This has been helpful to stabilize my #2's visual issues, plus for some strange reason, it entirely removed a nasty rash on #4's outer thighs, and mostly eliminated my #3's rash he has had on his outer arms forever.
Glutathione: Adding this supplement [along with the B12 above] entirely eliminated my son's behavior of "writing letters in the air". It also caused him to be more social and affectionate with his siblings, more spontaneous language, and better articulation [it is easier to understand him].
ALA: I give daily low-dose ALA, to keep the metals down.
Fish oil: I am currently experimenting with this as an EFA, because I can't give CLO every day.
Current supplements and the improvements they cause:
Cal/mag [plus extra magnesium for the biotin below]: My #2 still does not prefer to have dairy products. Altho he no longer has any diet restrictions and he can eat anything he wants, milk will still cause excessive ear wax, so I don't push it.
Anti-virals: Lauricidin, olive leaf extract, protease enzymes. Nice improvements with hyperactivity, focus and attention, and loss of stims.
Anti-fungals: Viral die off causes yeast for my kids. The yeast we experienced with sugars/chelation was controlled by GSE, but this viral die off yeast requires GSE, uva ursi, caprylic acid, garlic, and No-Fenol enzyme. If I remove even one of those, the yeast comes back.
B100 [multi B vitamin] plus added biotin and folic acid [B vitamins which are not very high in the multi]: Giving just B12 caused scripting. B6 helps but not in all areas. However, B100 helps with hyper, attention, focus, body awareness, language, AND visual stims [very strange, but definitely related, because if the visuals come back, I give a B100 and they disappear in 30 minutes]. Currently I am using 5 B100 capsules per day, and will be experimenting with 6.
Multi-minerals: This helps with language for my kids. They do need to keep a balanced zinc/copper ratio tho. This multi contains 100% of zinc, but only 50% copper. Before I noticed this, my son regressed and became VERY hyper, plus he started grinding his teeth. My #1 developed leg cramps. Adding copper so the zinc/copper ratio is back to 100% for each, removed those problems. For most kids, adding zinc causes the improvements in hyper and teeth grinding [as well as oral behaviors such as mouthing and eating objects and chewing shirts], but because my kids are fully zinc-loaded, they need the proper ratio.
Mixed carotenoids: See description above.
TwinLabs Allergy A: I discovered my kids still don't do well with CLO, so we are back to TwinLabs, maybe 2x per week. I am currently experimenting with a general multi-vitamin that contains a small amount of vitamin A palmitate, but my son still can't have that every day, or he will develop toxicity rash and his visuals will return. His body still does not convert beta carotene into vitamin A, because despite quite a bit of carotene, he still needs the occasional small dose of straight vitamin A.
Anti-oxidants: Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and daily ALA, to keep the metals away.
Glutathione: I had to remove this to figure out certain regressions, I will add it back now and see if it still causes improvements.
EFAs: I had to remove the flax/borage, it was causing oppositional behaviors.
Another update [November 2004]
My son was regressing, which generally means I need to remove a supplement. After experimentation, I determined that I needed to remove Lauricidin. Once I removed that, I was able to remove ALL FOUR of the yeast killers I was using. After a few days, he was "off" and I added back the garlic, because it is anti-yeast and anti-bacterial, and he improved again.
Once the Lauricidin was removed, my son broke out in HUGE hives, they looked like major mosquito bites. They would break and ooze, then dry into a dry red head. After discussions with a few people, I determined that this was most likely viral "die off". I increased the olive leaf extract to two capsules 3x per day, and the rash really increased, altho he improved quite a bit in other areas, like language, pretend play, and social interaction. I have no idea why he would suddenly have viral die off AFTER I removed Lauricidin, but this is exactly what happened.
After discussions on one message board about my son still not converting beta carotene into vitamin A, it was recommended that I add selenium. I had removed this a few months back, because it caused regression, presumably when he was fully loaded. However, I did add back USRDA to see what might happen. Here are the improvements just two days after I added this, which is entirely too coincidental to the timing of adding the selenium, altho it can possibly also be attributable to the olive leaf extract and viral die off, or a combination of both:
1. He needed ten B100 capsules per day, 4 in am, 4 at noon, 2 in pm, to maintain body awareness, focus, general calmness, and to keep the visual stims away. After selenium, ten capsules caused MAJOR hyper, and I reduced the B100 to five capsules, half the dose I had given him previously, 2 in am, 2 at noon, 1 in pm. A few days later, I reduced it to three B100 capsules per day, 2 in the morning and 1 in the mid-afternoon, and he is doing fine. [I also added selenium for #3, who went from needing one B100 each day, to needing half of a B50 and he is fine.]
2. He is not as dependent on TwinLabs Allergy A as he was before. Previously, he was hit/miss on how much I could give him. Too much caused toxicity and return of visuals. Too little caused return of visuals. Now, too much causes toxicity only, not return of visuals. I did not give him any today [altho he gets a small amount in his multivitamin, palmitate] and he is just fine. Still not sure whether or not he is converting beta carotene [the multi also contains that], but I can see that the possibility is there.
3. MAJOR increase in language [loss of the residual echolalia caused by the B12 in the B100, too much B12 causes echolalia for #2 and #3, but now that I don't have to give so much B100, echolalia is gone unless they are playing a game with eachother], pretend play, social interest, affection, etc. [#3 asked me "mommy, you go to work today?" and I said "yes", and he said "did you have fun?" which is an abstract concept that he has NEVER asked before. My kids are very concrete, no abstract thinking yet, altho this sure sounds like the start for #3]
4. MAJOR viral die off rash all over #2's body. Poor kid, he looks like he was attacked by *Africanized mosquitoes* LOL. Large welts, many with red crusted heads, all over his belly, back, legs, arms, and a few on his face. They come up, break and ooze, and go away. [Last night after his bath, I noticed this rash appears significantly reduced.]
Now the only supplements I give my kids are:
Cal/Mag, because we are not big milk-drinkers here.
B100 plus extra biotin and folic acid.
Selenium, for reasons stated above.
ALA, and vitamin C and E, as antioxidants.
Olive leaf extract, as anti-viral.
Garlic, because they seem to do better when they get it.
Multi-vitamin, primarily for the minerals.
Occasional TwinLabs Allergy A, still experimenting, see above.
My webcounter says you are visitor #
since March 15, 2001.