difficult child's Hair Test Results are in!

I got a call from the Naturopath at 9:00 last night. It was amazing because I had called the normal pediatrician at 10:00 am and HE hadn't called me back yet......never did - typical!

Well - the results of difficult child's hair test had come back. He is extremely concerned. difficult child's hair indicates that he has LEAD POISIONING! He said that Great Smokies had actually called him about the results - they wanted to know if the hair had been collected at a Barber Shop and could possibly have been contaminated with hair that has Grecian Formula on it! Well - no - I collected it right here in my living room - giving difficult child a few bald spots in the process!

He says the hair has the highest level of lead that he has ever seen in ANYONE and it is a shocking amount in a 5 year old. It is also very high in Antimony - another trace mineral. It is extremely low in Magnesium and Chromium, which are nature's calming Minerals. We can't supplement those because his body is so full of lead that it wouldn't do anything!

The results are so bad, that he wants us to do another test from another lab as a second opinion. He also wants the rest of the family to have the hair test. The lead could come from dirt, water (lead pipes or lead solder on pipes) or could have been passed to him from me in utero. difficult child has ALWAYS played in dirt. He has "digger sites" all over the place. Every year my kids have a state mandated lead poisioning blood test (finger prick) at their check-ups. There has never been any indication of any problem. He says it is because the blood only shows a recent lead exposure. Hair shows what is actually in his tissues.

He needs chelation therapy. I have to meet with the Naturopath tomorrow to get started.

He said if these results are real - and he truly has this level of lead that that explains his problems. He is getting brain damage from this level of lead. His actual word were that this is a "Phenomenal Diagnosis". Once the treatment begins he should be a different kid in 6 mos. Please let THIS be the answer.

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Me - Katie, 35
Him - John, 41
Johnny, 18 easy child from prev. relationship (born when I was 17)
Scott - 5 - ADD, ODD, Regulatory disorder
Jenny - 3, easy child

 

WOW!! that is scarey!! but hopefully if the test was accurate then you have found the problem. Maybe it was just an error in the testing.

Hubby says they have lead test kits at Home Depot. So if the test is correct I'd get one and see where it's comging from! EEKS..

Let us know what the second test shows!

------------------
7 yr old girl Bipolar/ADD/ODD
Currently on a new natural treatment (wish me luck)
off ALL medications!!
Fav. Funny quote- "Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. Tomorrow I'll
probably still be a dog. <Sigh!> There's so little hope for advancement."
- Snoopy

"With out God, my life would fall apart"

 

Chinakate - Stephi's levels are like your son's! Only she can't detox or chelate as her bowel and intestinal track are in major trouble. Blood is dangerous as well. We are just got her test results in yesterday by fax. I am still waiting for the mailed copy today or Monday. Danielle rec'd 14 pages of results and is very concerned. It would appear that we have an extremely sick daughter with major food allergies being the very least or her problems. We have an app't with pediatrician on wednesday. I am researching PANDAS, streptococca, and Sydenham's until I can't see straight. Will post when I know more.

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At home mom of 3 daughters, middle one ADD/ODD, happily married 23 years,
Holistic, with big Akita dog and small cat!

 

Wow you guys! I also have a heavy metal overloaded child. High in lead, mercury, aluminium. To name a few. We don't do soy or peanuts anymore - they dredge up all heavy metals from the soil. We are chelating, but began is after we started treating for yeast. It appears that you can't get rid of the yeast unless you get the heavy metals under control. We are on our second round of chelation. Mercury levels have dropped (due to no fish diet) - use a Cod Liver Oil from Kirkman Labs who test for heavy metals. I can't work out where the lead exposure came from - no lead paint, we checked with those kits. I will tell you that her ability to concentrate and understand has improved out of sight since we have been chelating. I have begun a Heavy Metals Detox myself. 30 day program. You should have seen me that the supermarket today - I can't deal with hydrogenated oils anymore - nearly everything was loaded with one kind of hydrogenated oil or another. I only buy bread without it, or make my own. An elderly lady was trying to get to the cakes and I was blocking her way reading all the labels. I apologized and moved on.

Hang in there.

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difficult child heavy metals, yeast, leaky gut sydnrome, behavioral issues, food allergies, chemical allergies.

 

Ozgirl - I'm so glad you replied! I think you are our resident expert on the heavy metals! Did lead or the other overloaded minerals seem to affect your daughter's behavior? Was she nasty and mean like my son is? He so far seems not to have learning disabilities - unless you could consider not ever learning consequences for his actions and that sort of thing a disability. He has fine motor delays, and the sensory dysfunction. He does seem to be doing well in school however! Any info you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks, chinakate for sharing! I had Kevin tested for lead poisoning with a blood test, and it showed that he was okay. Now, I'm wondering. I have an appointment with his regular pediatrician next week to discuss getting tested for allergies...I might mention this test. Would a regular pediatrician do that test or do I need to find a naturopath...doesn't seem to be one in our area. Strange, since I live right by a metropolis! autumnmom

 

When we got the results of Kyle's hair test last year it showed low lead but high aluminum and antimony. We started using bottled water (I rotate the brands) because I couldn't imagine where it was coming from except in our water. this is another good reason to rotate foods (hard to do with picky eaters) because even with fresh fruits and veggies you never know about the soil they were grown in.

------------------
Me - 48, going through menopause; on HRT
husband - 47 Bipolar
Kyle - age 6 diagnosed ADHD Sept 1998 after MMR booster (?)
5 MG Ritalin AM; 25 mg imiprimine PM
Takes vitamins/minerals
and essential fatty acids
and no artificial
ingredients in his diet

 

Chinakate, my son also has lead & other heavy metals & we are trying to chelate with vitamins. We've been trying for over 2 years. It isn't easy.

This is my understanding (we can't figure out where he gets lead from, either). We are all exposed to heavy metals & lead, etc. Some children's bodies just "hang onto" the metals, where the rest of ous exrete them (our bodies are supposed to exrete them). So change to distilled water & try to eliminate all lead sources (food from cans with lead soldier) & anything else you can think of.

Lead doesn't show up in the blood, autumn mom. It is only in the blood with recent exposure, or under stress. Lead is stored in the tissues (hair, bone, nails, other tissue) & only goes back into the blood under stress (rage, new environment, mom saying "no", etc.). Traditional doctors check a blood level & say, "nope, no lead". You can only get a reliable result on a hair or nail sample. If your doctor checks the blood, they are not up on the latest (or correct) way to detect it. Even now, though, medical scientists are admitting that the previous 'safe' levels traditional medicine believed was safe is still way too high.

Chinakate, you still (& me, too) have to balance & correct the body to get it to excrete the heavy metals on its own. I haven't been able to do that yet with difficult child. I know you need lots of calcium/magnesium, because the body sometimes confuses lead with calcium & hangs on to the lead, thinking it is calcium, if you don't have enough calcium. That is why you must supplement with calcium & magnesium.

It is never easy, is it. Please post whatever your naturopath says to do to try to get these metals out. Like I said, we haven't been successful after two years of vitamin chelation. I hope we don't have to do the IV chelation, but we may have to & I don't know anyone who does it.

Straw

 

this heavy metals stuff is really heavy. She has had difficulty concentrating, absorbing information, not drifting off into another world, and rages. I firmly believe the chelation therapy has done her wonders
(failed Stanford 9s prior to treatment now scoring on the 97th percentile for math in the nation. I think the chelation has helped her concentrate and retain information. We were doing a herb treatment but her gut could not deal with it so we went to medications (Chemut once a week). Some folks in our group are now talking about another type of drug that allows you to cross the brain barrier to drag out the final heavy metals. I am not sure what this drug is and have to do some more research. We are trying to get someone to talk with our group about it. We got a "no response" from Dr Peter Gent so we are going to try another doctor who does chelation. It is complex and I feel that I need to really understand it just in case we have to do that final piece of therapy.

I also rotate the water bottles. The kids aren't able to take glass to school and the plastic leaches a chemical into the water. Can't win. It is better than the cess pool that is the water fountains at school though.

There is a challenge test that you can do - it is a urine test conducted by Doctors Data - it lists all the test results so that you know where you are. When the lead and mercury levels went down the aluminium levels were high. I was told that the true levels show as you start treating, the aluminum levels could have been disguised by the high levels of mercury and lead. We will do another test in the new year and see how we are doing. I have also been told the blood tests only show recent exposure, hair and urine show true levels - although contamination is always an issue in hair samples due to hair products. I think my hair would glow in the dark with all the dyes and products I use.


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difficult child heavy metals, yeast, leaky gut sydnrome, behavioral issues, food allergies, chemical allergies.

 

FYI. Here is some info on lead sources. A while ago I was told that ceramic dishes and crystal glasses have high lead contents. Also, candy wrappers (Sneakers) contains lead.

Sources In the Home
Lead-Based Paint-Present on many surfaces in homes not recently rebuilt or remodeled
Lead Pipes-More common in older homes
Lead Solder -On pipes and water heaters
Enameled or Ceramic Pots and Dishware
Improper glazing can leech lead into foods
Paper Wrappings-Holiday paper and party decorations (10g/kg)
Food Packages-Polythene plastic bags, flour bags(20mg/kg),cardboard boxes with dyes (50mg/kg)
Candy Packaging-Candy bar wrappers(7g/kg), Colored sports trading cards packaged with gum(88mg/kg)

Although lead paint chips are still the most common source of acute lead poisoning, candy wrappers and food packaging are of particular concern because they are in direct contact with immediately consumed items. It is important to keep these items from being consumed, chewed or licked.

Does it seem odd that we're hearing about an increase in lead poisioning? Suddenly, this has become a renewed interest from pediatricians.

Any input is appreciated.
-----

 

Also, some candles have lead in the wick's so.. make sure if you use candles alot? I dont but lots of folks do.

------------------
7 yr old girl Bipolar/ADD/ODD
Currently on a new natural treatment (wish me luck)
off ALL medications!!
Fav. Funny quote- "Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. Tomorrow I'll
probably still be a dog. <Sigh!> There's so little hope for advancement."
- Snoopy

"With out God, my life would fall apart"

 

Well I met with the Naturopath yesterday. As usual it was amazing! This man is just brilliant - I am so in awe of his knowledge, professionalism, and willingness to help me! He is handsome too - which doesn't hurt! LOL!!!

We discussed Scott for an hour. He was truly concerned about the lead levels, and we went over the hair results line by line. The results truly show WHY Scott has so many problems. An elevated level of lead can cause depression and a deficiency in chromium causes violence and aggressiveness and aberrant behavior. Also - fine motor delays (which Scott has)! Overall - he said that ADD and ODD are really blanket diagnosis'. All kids who fit the very loose criteria are diagnosed with this and medicated to calm them - when really there is a biological cause for their behavior, and once treated they can begin to lead normal lives. They are truly unhealthy - not just mentally challenged! Scott's diagnosis should be changed to Lead Poisioning, Candidiasis, Magnesium and Chromium Deficient and Gluten Intolerant - NOT ADD!!! I like these diagnosis alot more - they are treatable!

He gave me bottles of a Homeopathic Chelation Therapy. He doesn't do the EDTA in children at all.

We are to do the Chelation for 48 days - There is one bottle which he gets one teaspoon 2 times a day - every day through the procedure, for system support. There is another bottle he gets 1 tsp. at bedtime for 12 days for organ cleansing. There are two more bottles he gets for days 13 - 36 for lead cleansing to which he added another homeopathic remedy to cleanse the antimony and another mineral out. There is another bottle which he will get 1 tsp. for days 37 - 48 for the yeast and other fungus. Through all this I need to supplement the chromium and magnesium. The stuff tastes like water and is clear. He also needs to continue with the yeast treatment (those 18 pills a day). He said it is important to drink alot of water throughout the therapy to flush all of the systems out. I asked if any of these problems that Scott has are related to each other - he said not really, although one causes the other to be worse. The yeast can be treated without chelation, but your immunity is so compromised with the heavy metals, that the yeast treatment can't work if your body isn't strong enough.

I am to call him in two weeks and report progress. I had asked for another homeopathic remedy for Scott. The Nux Vomica that we gave him before DID work - but not to the degree that we had hoped. It enabled him to treat his sister like a human being - (not beating her daily), he can admit he is wrong, and can lose at a game. These are strange successes - but true improvements! Dr. Z said to see if the detox and supplements help - he may not even NEED another Homeopathic Remedy - it may not have been able to be effective because of the lead!

He said he presents this information to doctors at conferences. They are amazed at what the hair tests show. These hair results are now admissable in court! The blood test shows only recent exposure to lead - and if you got it in utero, it will never show in blood - so it is completely unreliable. Also, my kids get the test at their yearly checkup - once a year! This is state required - but useless! So - if the exposure was a month previous - it would not show! He did say that Scott WILL show an elevated lead level through his blood during the chelation therapy.

He is sending me a bunch more hair kits. Due to the extreme level of lead - he wants us all tested. The city I live in used to be very industrial and the soil or water supply could be contaminated. We did put a filter on our water supply a month or so ago - but the lead has been in his body for a long time before that! We lived before in an older house that we rented - and had paint chipping from the ceiling. Perhaps he ate some?!?! I also used to work in an old industrial building. Perhaps I am lead contaminated from being there and passed it to him?!?! I have Corelle dishes - never use candles (difficult child loves fire!?!?!) The hair test for us all should show. We are also going to get the test Dogchopper mentioned from Home Depot!

All in all - this is not cheap! The testing and doctor visits are covered by my insurance (THANKFULLY) but the Chelation Therapy I bought yesterday was $110.00 !!! Also I have spent at least $100.00 on those pills that he takes, and now need to go buy the Magnesium and Chromium. Does it make ANY sense that Ritalin would be covered by my insurance?

I am thinking of asking Dr. Z to review this forum. He may be able to offer advice to us - especially those of us who can't find a Naturopath. He is a professor at a University and maybe could have some of his students help us too! It is really hard for me to ask him (I am neurotic sometimes) - but I think he would be soooo helpful - and genuinely seems to want to help children! He has two that are the same age as mine - I met them yesterday and they were great kids! Just the way that he is helping me to get Scott to be!

I am at work so I don't have my test results with me, or the chelation therapy bottles. I'll check them out and see if there is any other important info I may need to edit this post with.

I am so thankful to you guys. I am blown away by all of this - I had no idea ANY of these medical problems even existed before I came here. I KNOW this is the answer. I KNOW that my kid is going to get better. No longer do I trust the regular medical community - who do not even look beyond their knowledge. They want to put a band aid on a sick child - never bothering to find the cause of the problem. I spoke with my pediatrician for 1/2 hour the other day - and he said that perhaps Scott has something that no other child has had before - that's why nothing we have done has worked so far. I thought to myself - if that were true - why are their 3500 members of theis site??? At that point I completely lost my faith in him.

------------------
Me - Katie, 35
Him - John, 41
Johnny, 18 easy child from prev. relationship (born when I was 17)
Scott - 5 - ADD, ODD, Regulatory disorder
Jenny - 3, easy child

 

what amazes me about this whole conversation here is that when you have a kid with this bad of a lead level and all the other things wrong and you take that kid to a doctor or a psyc doctor. they dont EVEN LOOK for stuff like this. They just give you useless counseling and a script for medication!!
I think it borders on malpractice !!! this poor kid can be suffering all his life with these problems that are FIXABLE because of stupid doctors that think they know it all!!!
Ok sorry.. Lost my temper there. But it sure is annoying!!!

------------------
7 yr old girl Bipolar/ADD/ODD
Currently on a new natural treatment (wish me luck)
off ALL medications!!
Fav. Funny quote- "Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. Tomorrow I'll
probably still be a dog. <Sigh!> There's so little hope for advancement."
- Snoopy

"With out God, my life would fall apart"

 

I personally think this is scarey!!!!! I am so concened now about Nate having this lead too that I am going to contact Great Plains..they don't take Nate's insurance but I am going to find out how much it cost and borrow the money...fudge on going through the dr...he has also had the blood testing which showed negative for lead. When he was a baby the house we lived in was very old with old metal pipes...since he was a problem baby...gee how could any baby be a problem...well not stop crying for one thing...I got worried about what was in the water and started buying the bottled water at the store while he was still on forumla.

When his dad lost his house (the same one) and moved out into the country the farm house Nate went to every weekend was way over a hundred years old and some of the rooms upstairs were literally falling apart...I mean you could see through the walls to the outside! Wasps and flys would get in upstairs this way. Nate slept upstairs there too. The barn roof is caving in....well you get the idea. So many of our kids have the same behavior and other problems I would bet Nate has way too much lead in his system too.

------------------
Julie with son named Nathan which mean a gift from God. Some gifts are hard one. He is allergic to eighteen different airborne things including mold, some grass, trees and dogs.Also food allergies: milk, eggs, soy and yeast. Motto: There is light at the end of the tunnel, you just have to find the right tunnel.
Nathan my difficult child, diagnosis with a senory intergration disorder and disruptive disorder, autiory processing disorder, gross and fine motor delays. Allergies medications only., now five yrs old. Ketcup makes him rage..now know because of the vingear in it (yeast)
Me, mom currently no medications. 39yrs old, an older mom but don't seem to be any wiser.
DEX: Nate's dad sitting in jail where he belongs.

 

please excuse my ignorance, but could someone comment on chelation -- how many ways can it be done? Are there any side effects or risks? Is it used for anything other than heavy metals? For those of you who have experience with it -- what kind of results did you get? Anyone with any bad experiences? Again excuse all the question but this is new to me.

------------------
mom 37 y/0
husband 40 y/o
son 4 y/o ?diagnosis
son 2y/o easy child

 

Chelation is a system cleansing. There are at least two ways that I know of - the EDTA which actually removes blood and cleanses it then returns it to your body. This is done by IV's (somehow) -not at all appropriate for a child! The other is the one my son is doing - which is all natural and contains natural substances like parsley garlic etc. The ingredients are all listed in their latin names on the bottles and are all found in the Materia Medica - a homeopathic guide. I think Ozgirl mentioned another way with Vitamins - but I don't have info on that!

My Naturopath said that he tries to get ALL his patients to cleanse their systems as a New Year's Resolution. You can cleanse viruses, bacteria, heavy metals and other toxins from the body this way. Fasting can also cleanse the body of some toxins. This is all still very new to me, but if I get more info I'll be sure to post it.

The fact is - if I had not come to this site I would NEVER have learned this information, and my son would probably ended up medicated to calm him and help us cope with his behavior. He is truly different than my other children and it has been an almost 4 year search for the answer. I have been to every kind of specialist there is and the Naturopath is the ONLY one who looked for a CAUSE rather then a quick fix. I will bet that Nate does have it too - especially because of his past homes and the similarities between him and my son. I wonder if we contacted Great Smokies would they do some testing for free? Once my son is better I do plan to spread this word! I will write something to EVERY one of the dam* specialists who were happy to take my money - but left me with a kid who was exactly the same. I will write to the newspapers - perhaps even a book like Karen Seroussi did! We HAVE to let other moms know!
------------------
Me - Katie, 35
Him - John, 41
Johnny, 18 easy child from prev. relationship (born when I was 17)
Scott - 5 - ADD, ODD, Regulatory disorder
Jenny - 3, easy child

[This message has been edited by chinakate (edited 18 December 2000).]

 

Not to throw gasoline on this fire...Oh, what the heck...kaboom!

If the blood tests for lead do not give accurate readings...and are SO COMPLETELY INVASIVE....why the HELL are we MANDATED to subject our children to this? GRRRR...

When is the medical community going to get with the program?

(thank you, now I feel better)

 

Those results were amazing! He is so right about the immune system being depleted by heavy metals, therefore making it difficult to get other things under control. There are a variety of ways to chelate - chemicals and herbs. The main herb for chelation is garlic (not well tolerated by my difficult child) which is why we use chemut. Side effects of chemut - kidney damage if the kidneys are not flushed adequately. Which is probably why we only do once a week.

I am a week into using a herbal/vitamin therapy for chelation and am feeling a tad fuzzy lately. I am hoping this is the effect of chelation. I am waiting for the fog to lift.

Good luck with it all, the results will floor you.

------------------
Webmaster for Parents Of Allergic Children in Richmond Virginia.
difficult child heavy metals, yeast, leaky gut sydnrome, behavioral issues, food allergies, chemical allergies.

 

According to Dr. Z - flu like symptoms are common with chelation. Hope you feel better soon!

 

I thought some info I got from the naturopath might be helpful or imformative to you - so I am copying it here (Hope I don't break any copywrite laws)

DID YOU KNOW:

Women's PMS headaches are often caused by too much copper

Adolescent acne can be caused by lead, copper poisioning or zinc deficiency

Hyperactive children often have too much lead in their systems

Magnesium supplements may prevent brain damage of alcoholics

Zinc is essential for male potency

High levels of copper and iron can cause migraine headaches

Adequate zinc can help to regulate blood sugar levels

Lead Toxicity is linked to Multiple Sclerosis

The mineral lithium is being used to alleviate many problems associated with manic-depression

OTHER CONDITIONS WHICH MAY RESULT OR BE AGGRAVATED BY A MINERAL IMBALANCE

Depression, Hair Loss, Musculo-Skeletal Disorders,

Hypoglycemia, Anemia, Thyroid Disturbance,

Hyperactivity, Prostate Issues, Digestive Disturbance,

Hypertension, Diabetes, Skin rashes,

Arthritis, Emotional Problems, Allergies


BODY CHANGES INDICATING A MINERAL IMBALANCE

White spots in fingernails - Zinc deficiency

Logitudinal ridging in nails - iron deficiency

Brittle hair and Nails - calcium and copper imbalance

Deep Grooves across nails - calcium deficiency

Stretch marks - zinc deficiency

Lack of growth - zinc deficiency

Mood swings - possible toxic metal accumulation such as lead, mercury or cadmium.

The above indicators are early signs of metabolic disturbances and may lead to serious problems if left unchecked.

WHY A HAIR TEST

Hair is a soft tissue of the body. A hair sample is a mineral biopsy or cellular mineral sampling. The hair is technically dead, however minerals deposited in hair when it is formed remain locked within the hair structure. The average level of minerals is about 10 times as high in the hair as in the blood. This makes minerals easier to measure accurately in the hair.

The site of metabolism is in the cells. Blood is excellent for many tests but does not measure accurately at the cellular level. The blood is the highway of the body. The cells are the chemical factories of the body. The final destination for all vitamins, minerals sugars, fats, and hormones are in the cells, not the blood. It makes sense to measure the cells directly to determine whether these substances are actually reaching their final destination.

Blood minerals are maintained at fairly even levels at all times. If blood becomes low in a mineral such as calcium - calcium is removed from the bones or other tissues to replenish the blood. A person can have osteoporosis but their blood levels of calcium can be normal.
Hair is an excretory tissue of the body. Anything that is deposited in the hair will be lost as the hair grows and is cut off. Thus minerals present in excess may be deposited in the hair to be excreted. Minerals that are deficient are often not deposited in the hair so they will be retained by the body. An elemental hair analysis will reveal any mineral deficiencies or excesses.

------------------
Me - Katie, 35
Him - John, 41
Johnny, 18 easy child from prev. relationship (born when I was 17)
Scott - 5 - ADD, ODD, Regulatory disorder
Jenny - 3, easy child

[This message has been edited by chinakate (edited 18 December 2000).]