Heavy Metal Tox Screen & Food Allergies

[jal]

Has anyone gone this route? Did it provide some insight into your difficult child's diagnosis? My difficult child has been diagnosis's ADHD & EOBD. None of the medication regimes have worked. He just started a therapeutic school program and intensive in home services. All the new eyes are thinking Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)/high functioning autism is a distinct possibility. They are advocating a new neuropsychologist evaluation for this. One of the many, many books I have (don't we all) suggests doing a heavy metal tox screen and screen for food allergies. I have had him tested for environmental allergies a few years ago and those were neg. I have suspicions of food allergies though. Has any one done this, what were your findings and how did you approach it? Did you persue bloodwork through a gp, naturopath or other specialist? Has anyone found that attacking it naturopathically gave them more help vs. traditional medicine?

Just trying to decide which route to take this testing and hoping I may find some answers or reasoning as to what is up with difficult child.

Thanks!

 

[Shari]

My difficult child had the testing done, but I have not made a decision regarding the detox. The info is all just so darned iffy both directions.

But I'll be watching for replies to this!

 

[Josie]

I have tested my kids and myself for gluten/casein intolerances at www.enterolab.com. I did this on my own after reading about it on a celiac forum. One of my children had stomach problems which went away after giving up gluten and casein. The other child had mood issues (diagnosis'ed with ODD and depression) that disappear when she is compliant on her diet. She is almost 13 and is prone to cheating so I am seeing the mood issues return, but it does work when she sticks with it.

With a possible diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)/high functioning autism, I would think the girlfriend/CF diet might be helpful for your child.

I also tested my younger child for food allergies with ALCAT. I was able to do this without a doctor, also. I haven't done too much with the results so I can't say how effective it would be. It gave me lists of foods and how allergic she was to each. I was supposed to eliminate the most allergic for 6 months and then reintroduce. My problem was that she is already pretty restricted in what she eats (she is a vegetarian as well as girlfriend/CF) and there wasn't much left for her to eat. Most of the foods she was most allergic to, she already didn't eat.

I then took her to an environmental physician who was helpful. He tested her for allergies in a nontraditional way and was going to treat her. Unfortunately, we found out in his testing that she has Lyme Disease and he wouldn't treat her after that.

I have found the most help for my children's mental issues outside of conventional medicine, though. I think you have to have an open mind and be willing to spend money on treatments that might not work before finding the answer though.

 

[smallworld]

Because of my son's and older daughter's significant mood issues, our pediatrician ordered a heavy metal screening (blood test) that came back negative. So we didn't pursue this avenue any further. My kids have responded positively to traditional psychiatric medications, however.

My older daughter has environmental allergies that were identified by a scratch test on her skin. The same scratch test identified mild food allergies to almonds, peaches and cherries. She avoids these foods. My understanding is that food intolerances are not picked up in the same way.

I think a new neuropsychologist evaluation should be helpful for ruling in or out Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD).

 

[TerryJ2]

Hi Jal,
we have done regular skin testing for allergies, but have not done heavy metal testing. I've often wondered about that.
We have done elimination diets and discovered that our difficult child is highly allergic to wheat (gluten) and milk products. Red dyes are not good, either.
We did our testing locally.
medications have helped our difficult child so I suspect, at least on the face of it, that they have different problems, but still allergy and heavy metal testing can be a good idea.
Best of luck!

 

[BusynMember]

I'm in a group for parents of kids with autism. I never did the testing or dieting because I just don't believe it's the answer, at least not for my kid. He's doing really well without that. I can only tell you that I can't tell any difference, good or bad, between the kids who are given that treatment and the ones who aren't. I don't know if this helped, but my .02

 

[susiestar]

I haven't had the heavy metal testing. I was super careful about surrounding when Wiz was little. We had an older house and had all the paint removed properly before we bought it.

The only food issue with Wiz is that he gets really really MEAN when he gets sugar on an empty stomach. It can look a lot like a mood disorder it is so drastic. He gets migraines from food triggers and is teaching himself what to stay away from.

We emphasize eating a balance of protein, carb and fat (The Zone diet by Barry Sears is the loose inspiration for it. It really does make all of us feel better and function better.). We also try to eliminate preservatives and food coloring from our diet.

ALL of my kids react badly to food coloring. Every once in a while they will beg for Fruit loops cereal, and they NEVER eat even a small box. They can taste the food coloring in it. Even when I decorate cakes I have to use very small amounts of color, because we can all taste it. I do use some natural food colorings, which helps.

thank you is allergic to strawberries, pineapple, oranges and artificial sweeteners. He actually goes into respiritory arrest with nutrasweet. It is scary, because nutrasweet is in every single children's antibiotic, fastmelt tablet, etc... And it is so dangerous for him.

LUCKILY thank you, Wiz and I have the gene that makes nutrasweet taste bitter. It is a genetic mutation (learned this in a college class) and a small part of the population has it.

thank you absolutely HATES the taste of the foods he is allergic to. He learned early that they make him feel bad, and he manages his food allergies very well with minimal supervision now. He luckily outgrew teh sensitivity to tomatoes and dairy.

He still LIKES soymilk and tofutti cream cheese better than milk and cream cheese, and we still buy them and use them. But he can tolerate gluten and casein. It doesn't make a difference in his sensory issues.

I guess I rambled, but I think the heavy metal issue and food allergies/intolerances can make a bigger difference in some kids than we give them credit for. I honestly think it is worth a try for a few weeks or months to see if it makes a difference.

For us, I can tell when thank you has had a candy like Laffy Taffy. His cheeks get a rough texture and his attitude is more cranky. The cheeks are due to the food color, the attitude is the sugar. (Research has proven that most children do NOT have an adverse reaction to sugar, except for weight gain and cavities. But SOME children DO react to sugar. I have 2 boys that do, a bro that does in a MAJOR way - bro was nicer as a mean drunk than on a snickers bar in an empty stomach, if that gives you an example!- but I have a daughter that doesn't react to sugar.)

 

[Star*]

Hi -

We had Dude tested for heavy metals - test came out negative - he was a peach to deal with for the blood work (age 8)

We had him tested for organic abnormalities via an MRI - All other evidence was negative to tumors etc.

We had him tested for allergies and did allergy elimination diets. Never went the girlfriend/CF way - but if I had it to do OVER again? Would consider that as I see more and more parents having success with mood disorders.

Currently we feel in a non-serious mix - he's not a fan of heavy metal, but enjoys Young Jeezy and Paul Wall daily, he does have a brain and he's probably most likely allergic to listening, taking orders, and obeying rules.

The success we had (he's now 18) we attribute to learning HOW to speak to a child who is ED, through effective communication, continued therapy and lifes consequences mixed with tough love.

I was SURE he had copper overload or lead or something in the food that was causing his behavior - truth for us was - sometimes there just is no identifiable reason for how someone behaves. You get a diagnosis based on their behaviors and move forward from there the best way you can.

Dude, like Wiz ALSO is beyond bear if he has too much sugar or no food at all - but then so am I.

Sorry not to be of more help - I even considered....(dont' groan) a conspiracy theory because I see LESS children with ED who are farm raised, farm fed without pesticides etc....or maybe it's that their parents are so busy farming they don't have time to notice the kids behavior - BUT in full out farming communities - ED is NOT as prevalent - and I think that says "SOMETHING" about govt's regulation on pesticides, hormones, in our food. Could be wrong - but that's my best govt. conspiracy theory

That and I'm not certain if aliens didn't land in my back yard, steal my good son and replaced it with this alien child. lol. Somedays ? They bring him back for a visit and I send the badly behaved child off with them.

 

[skeeter]

My oldest is allergic to cow's milk. I suspected it from the first time I gave him a bottle of cow's milk formula - at age 5 months - and he broke out in hives from head to toe. We eventually eliminated it completely from his diet, no food that contained milk, whey, casein or sodium casinate in any amount. He also tested positive by scratch test at age 5 (along with the usual dust, trees, weeds, grass and mold).

He literally was Jekyl and Hyde with milk - I could tell when he came home from pre-school and had injested something he shouldn't. That's why we eliminated it - not the hives, eczema, nausea, or subcutaneous acne. We literally couldn't take his hyperactivity, mood swings, whining, and behavior when he was injesting milk.

He will show slight symptoms of this with his other allergies - but he also was on shots for many years. His worst offender is ragweed and he does go through some boughts of depression in the fall.

My youngest also has the environmental allergies, but not the milk allergy. He has real issues with blood sugar (we have an extremely high incident of diabetes in our family and both he and I tend to be borderline) and needs to have protein. He's very ADD, but we've not found a food trigger that responds or not that way for him.

 

[Laurie W.]

Hi - I'm new to this forum, but am glad I found it! My son has autism and while we were testing for celiac (which my hubby's family has) and dairy allergy we discovered that my daughter is milk-allergic. We have been gluten-free, casein-free for about a year, and it has helped the autism dramatically. It also keeps the zoned-out milk allergy response in check for my girl. In March, we started seeing a St. Louis based DAN! practioner, and began the screening for vitamins, minerals, and toxicity from heavy metals, as well as yeast/bacterial overgrowth in my son's intestines. Turns out he was severely calcium and folic acid deficient, as well as a slew of other nutrients. We also started with the methyl-b12 injections every other day, and these too had a dramatic effect on him. Additionally he had a severe intestinal overgrowth of Clostridia and yeast. We cleared all that stuff out and began addressing the nutritional deficiencies. Our DAN! doctor is very anti-chelation, however we did need to address the heavy metals (which we track through a "hair elements" test through xxxxxxx xxxx/chicago, which shows the level of excretion of heavy metal for the past 4-6 weeks. This is apparently a better measure of the output of heavy metals, as the metals don't tend to show in urine/stool for some unknown reason.) So we are using a series of homeopathic supplements/remedies by "energetix" that have been super effective in helping the body to absorb nutrients at the cellular level and cleansing the body of the heavy metals. One note - the body MUST be in good nutritional state prior to using these so they work optimally. These homeopathics help the body (with the nutrients being supported concurrently) to displace all the toxicity with the good nutrition (vitamins, minerals, etc.) that is supposed to be in there at the cellular level. We've seen a dramatic improvement in my son's behaviors, and overall health. He now looks "on"... very aware, very engaged, and very interested in all going on around him. What can I say - he's 5 years! We still have a ways to go, but he's made such good progress, I'm very excited.

I stumbled upon this forum while in search of information on Food Coloring Allergy, as I now suspect my daughter is allergic to 'blue' food coloring. That - in addition to the milk and penicillin allergy - will be the proverbial 'icing on the cake'. Oh well - I need to give her a week or so "off" of all artificial colors and then will try giving her something blue - like blue Kool-aid, and see what happens. Yesterday, her reaction was SO unexpected! and it was to a purple "Starburst Fruit Chew" and they are pretty much allergy-free and mostly "safe"... figures, she'd be the exception.