My older son got sick a lot, especially after he started preschool when he was 3.
He would go to preschool for a week then be out the whole next week because he was sick; the preschool didn’t want kids coming in who were sneezing and coughing.
When he was 4 years old, he had a severe asthmatic episode after we went to Los Angeles to visit my husband’s family. Read More→
I have a 7 year old daughter and a 5 year old son. Our healing journey really began when they were 3 and 1 years old.
I now know that both of them had gut dysbiosis and dysregulated immune systems which presented in very different ways for each child.
Learning that they had gut dysbiosis and immune dysregulation was like finding the missing link. Learning about these conditions and how to overcome them was what really put us onto the path of healing.
Soon after Alexa was born, she developed oral thrush and was treated with Nystatin. This seemed to clear up the thrush, yet Alexa had “foamy” diarrhea and painful gas constantly.
Nursing became increasingly difficult as Alexa struggled to stay latched on as if she was choking on the milk.
My pediatrician at the time instructed me to reduce my diet to chicken, rice and a couple of vegetables. She also told me to remove dairy from my diet and put the baby on reflux medication. I tried the diet change but refused to use reflux medication.
When nursing didn’t improve, I found a new pediatrician and a lactation specialist that diagnosed oversupply of milk. With their help, the baby was able to nurse properly and seemed healthy. But then the thrush returned and a new round of Nystatin was used.
At about 8 months of age, Alexa began having periodic fevers often accompanied by an ear infection. The fever episodes lasted about 5 days, the fevers would always reach 105 and were accompanied by severe vomiting and lethargy.
The fevers started coming regularly every month and were often treated with antibiotics and high doses of acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Several times, I opted not to use antibiotics and the fevers took the same course as when they were used.
Routine vaccines were administered and the fevers began coming every 2 weeks instead of every month. Repeat blood tests showed inflammation in the body but doctors could not pinpoint where the inflammation was coming from.
We took her to specialists in genetics, gastroenterology and infectious diseases in hopes of finding the cause. All of the time spent and tests performed led nowhere as their tests could not determine anything.
After waiting over 4 hours for a scheduled appointment at a very prestigious hospital, the doctor reviewed the tests and files and actually scolded me for bringing such a healthy child into such a busy place.
The periodic fevers continued and at 18 months of age, white spots began presenting in Alexa’s tonsils. On recommendation from our pediatrician, I began bringing Alexa to an ENT. He diagnosed her with exudative tonsillitis.
At 2 ½ years old, her tonsils were removed and the fevers stopped. Although the fevers were now gone, Alexa had a severely distended belly, pale skin that wouldn’t tan and dark circles under her eyes.
She was slightly anemic and began having rashes and hives. An IgE test was done which showed her to be allergic to eggs and wheat. These were removed from the diet and the hives decreased.
Alexa also had severe reactions to spider and mosquito bites. When she got a bug bite, it would remain swollen for weeks and often become infected because the bite wouldn’t drain on its own. This resulted in more rounds of antibiotics to clear up the infection.
At that time, I thought that these remaining symptoms indicated that she just needed to “catch up” on nutrition. I had never heard of gut dysbiosis or immune dysregulation and I didn’t connect these conditions to Alexa until after my son was diagnosed with autism…
By six weeks of age, Sergio was very gassy and constipated. (This was chalked up to babies commonly having colic…) By 3 months old, he was constipated to the point of stooling only once a week and it appeared to be very painful for him.
My pediatrician advised me to add fiber and prunes to my own diet to help Sergio’s condition through breastfeeding. The constipation continued, and the baby was only sleeping for an hour at a time and had to be held, even while sleeping. He seemed uncomfortable most of the time.
He also spit up or vomited after feedings and the pediatrician suspected mild reflux. She recommended that we try introducing solid foods when Sergio was about 5 months old.
He seemed to like the food, and we were hopeful that it would help the vomiting and constipation. Sergio enjoyed eating fruits and vegetables and ate them happily. He didn’t really take to the baby cereal, and it constipated him even more.
I didn’t make the connection at the time that the dairy and wheat might be affecting him, and so I continued to feed him these foods. By the time he was twelve months, he had given up eating all fruit and vegetables.
He would only nurse and eat bagels and goldfish crackers. The constipation continued to get worse. He was stooling every 7 to 12 days. I know it was extremely painful as he would cry and shake every time. I was frightened but I didn’t know where to look for an answer.
There were other signs that something was wrong with Sergio, but I was in complete denial about it.
He did not smile or make eye contact. Sergio seemed like he was in a fog most of the time. He did not respond to our voices at all.
I almost thought he had hearing issues except that if I ran the vacuum or hair dryer he would run around screaming and banging his head.
I would put my nose to his nose and scream his name repeatedly and he wouldn’t flinch or look at me.
I felt like a bad mom because it seemed like my son had no interest in being with me. I would try to play on the floor with him and he would walk away and put his back to me. The only thing he seemed to like doing was spinning wheels on a truck. Over and over again.
We wanted to hear words from his so badly. At his 15-month check-up the only words he had were “da” and “bye”, and he didn’t use them consistently.
The pediatrician mentioned that he might have a speech delay and told me to track his words until his 18-month check-up and if he started to gain words, then we shouldn’t worry too much about it.
Well, at his 18-month check-up he no longer said “da” or “bye” or anything else. He had no words. He was flapping his arms constantly and moaning.
Sergio could not handle any transitions. Just going from the car into the house caused a complete tantrum. Waking up in the morning and from naps was an instant tantrum. He would tantrum if people came to our house or if he was anywhere crowded. Sergio was constantly miserable.
At his 18-month check-up, the pediatrician introduced us to the M-CHAT (Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers) test. It is a series of questions to determine whether a child should be evaluated for autism spectrum disorder. Sergio failed every question on the test.
I went home and called Birth to 3 to set up an evaluation. I read Jenny McCarthy’s book that night and the comparisons between her son and mine really hit home to me that we were dealing with autism.
This was my first introduction to autism. I really knew nothing about it prior to that day.
I felt completely powerless waiting for the evaluation.
The gluten-free/casein-free diet from Jenny’s book really stuck in my head. I thought I would try the diet since it couldn’t hurt, and it made me feel empowered. It was something that I could do while I waited the endless wait for an evaluation.
To ensure that Sergio was 100% gluten and casein free, I had to go on the diet myself because I was still nursing him.
When you have to do something for your child, it is easy. I would do anything for my kids. Give up gluten and dairy? No problem.
For Sergio, it was not so easy. His whole diet consisted of bagels and goldfish. I found some gf/cf alternatives and hoped he would like them.
Sergio went through terrible withdrawals for about a week. Screaming, crying, shaking and nursing constantly.
It took every ounce of my will power to not give in. After that first week, he decided to try a gluten-free pretzel.
I could have chosen to wean him slowly from gluten and casein, but once I realized that these foods were hurting him, I just couldn’t ever give him another bite.
We were very lucky in that a couple of weeks into the diet, Sergio made eye contact with me for the first time. I took that as a sign that we were on the right path.
Our pediatrician gave us the name of a registered dietician that had experience helping children on the spectrum. She walked us through the gluten free/casein free diet and how to implement it.
She also gave us an education on food sensitivities, nutrients often missing from diet and labs we could do to get a baseline of Sergio’s issues.
With the combined information from Sergio’s medical history and labs, our registered dietician was able to give us a diet plan and a supplement protocol. I tracked everything I could think of – food and supplements taken, stool and sleep patterns and behaviors.
Sergio began stooling every day and didn’t seem to be in as much discomfort. Over time, he stopped banging his head and throwing himself against walls. He consistently made eye contact and kept gaining new words.
By age 3, most of his autistic “behaviors” were gone. He developed the ability to connect emotionally and began to speak in 3 word sentences.
Implementing a healing diet along with several other healing protocols, he’s gone from a child severely affected by autism to a neurotypical, thriving child. He is now indistinguishable from other children his age.
Much of this tremendous progress is attributable to early intervention and sticking steadfast to diet and supplement protocols. It took about 18 months of intense intervention.
Now, at the age of 5, Sergio is truly healed. He has no signs of autism or gut dysbiosis. I believe in feeding him nourishing, healthy foods, but he no longer needs a restrictive diet. Sergio is an extremely bright, insightful and loving little boy living a healthy and “normal” life.
Also, Alexa is really thriving now. Thanks to all we have learned about gut dysbiosis and immune dysregulation through Sergio’s healing journey, we were able to apply similar healing protocols to Alexa with miraculous results.
Her distended belly is completely gone and she is not anemic. We have recovered her from her food allergies and she no longer reacts to bug bites.
Through testing, we learned that she had chronic Lyme disease. Using an alternative healing modality called vibrational therapy, her Lyme was completely eradicated. After applying this therapy, all of her concerning symptoms cleared up.
It has been over a year since the Lyme cleared up and now, at the age of 7, she is truly a happy, healthy little girl.
This document is not a substitute for medical advice, treatment, diagnosis, or consultation with a medical professional. It is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on to make determinations related to treatment of a medical condition. Epidemic Answers has not verified and does not guaranty the accuracy of the information provided in this document.
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by Ayelet Connell-Giammatteo, P.T., I.M.T.,C.
Recently, I visited with my son’s new preschool teacher. One of the first questions that she asked me was if my son had any allergies. I was pleasantly surprised.
Honestly, my biggest fear in having my son begin school was that his food sensitivities would not be accommodated.
When I mentioned that he had gluten sensitivity and peanut sensitivity, she exclaimed, “That’s great! We have plenty of gluten-free snacks in the classroom and the school is a peanut-free zone!”
In fact, she mentioned that the only snacks that they provide to the children in the classroom are those that can be eaten by everyone.
Now, I know that not every classroom is as allergy-friendly as this one. But it leads us to consider a future of more possibilities.
Allergies are becoming so commonplace today. It is a rare family that does not have a child and/or parent with allergies.
There are many signs and symptoms associated with allergies, including: eczema, headaches, asthma, abdominal discomfort, low back pain, chest discomfort, swallowing difficulty, constipation and diarrhea, bloating and swelling, and much more.
These signs and symptoms are diverse and many are correlated with inflammation. Inflammation is at the root of most dysfunctions, including allergies.
Certain foods are ‘pro-inflammatory’ which means that they produce inflammation in the body when ingested.
Gluten is a good example of a pro-inflammatory food. Gluten is found in wheat, rye, barley, and oats that are not certified as gluten-free.
There are many individuals that eat gluten and do not realize that they are sensitive to it because their reactions may not appear related.
According to Dr. Thomas O’Brien, a clinical nutritionist and chiropractic physician that specializes in gluten sensitivity, most gluten sensitivity tests are inaccurate and often lead to false negatives.
Today, there are many options for treatment of allergies, including alternative and traditional approaches.
One traditional approach involves allergy injections, which can sometimes lead to adverse side effects and often presents with no beneficial results.
Another traditional approach involves pharmaceuticals to help combat the effects of allergies. The challenge with using drugs is that they purely ‘mask’ symptoms. When you stop the drug, the symptoms often come back and sometimes with additional issues.
There are many alternative approaches for the treatment of allergies, including NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique), nutritional supplements, elimination diets, and Integrative Manual Therapy.
These alternative approaches are ‘non-invasive’ and when used in combination, can lead to elimination of allergies and related signs and symptoms.
NAET is a comprehensive approach to the treatment of allergies. It involves a series of sessions that utilize a combined approach based on acupuncture/acupressure, chiropractic medicine, applied kinesiology, and nutrition.
Many health practitioners utilize NAET in conjunction with nutritional supplements plus elimination diets to treat and correct allergy dysfunction.
Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT) is a hands-on approach that is practiced by many health disciplines, including physical therapists, massage therapists, chiropractors, and more.
IMT follows the ‘Integrated Systems Approach’, meaning that we are comprised of many different body systems, such as the skeletal system, the connective tissue system, the circulatory system, the immune system, and more.
When we have a sign or symptom, it can involve one or many of these systems.
IMT uses gentle hands-on techniques to correct dysfunction in many body systems.
Let’s consider back pain as an example. Back pain can be a result of joint compression in the sacrum or pelvis; it can be secondary to irritation of the colon, and even inflammation of the ureters (the tubes that travel from the kidneys to the bladder supporting elimination of toxins from the body).
If someone was unaware that they had gluten sensitivity and continued to eat foods that contained gluten, this could cause irritation of the colon or ureters and lead to back pain.
IMT uses a hands-on integrative diagnostic process to determine where the primary site of dysfunction is in the body. IMT practitioners develop an individualized treatment plan for each client that outlines the specific IMT techniques to be performed on the person.
These treatment plans typically include a nutritional program outlining a supplement program along with specific elimination diets that would be beneficial to help correct the body’s dysfunction and reduce signs and symptoms.
Elimination diets are often short term and help to highlight specific allergies in the body as well as provide the body with an opportunity to ‘deload’, or desensitize to a particular food.
Some foods are harmful to everyone, such as gluten. Other foods uniquely affect specific people.
The best way to discover whether you are allergic to a particular food is to perform an elimination diet for four months. During these four months, it is important to 100% eliminate the food. To perform a gluten elimination diet, you would eliminate wheat, rye, barley, and non-gluten-free oats.
During these four months, you may expect to find a reduction in general body aches, reduced headaches and back pain, reduced abdominal cramping and bloating, improved energy, improved mental clarity, and more.
Remember that the signs and symptoms associated with allergies are not always obvious! When elimination diets are combined with IMT, nutritional supplements, and NAET, remarkable changes can be made in the realm of allergies.
Ayelet Connell-Giammatteo, P.T., I.M.T.,C. is the Director of Pediatrics for CenterIMT, Center of Integrative Manual Therapy and Diagnostics, headquartered in Bloomfield, CT.
She is also the Dean of the Connecticut School of Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT). Ayelet has taught courses in IMT nationally and internationally for over 15 years. She is in the final stages of her PhD focusing on autism.
For more information about Integrative Manual Therapy, nutritional supplement programs, elimination diets, and NAET, please visit www.CenterIMT.com
This document is not a substitute for medical advice, treatment, diagnosis, or consultation with a medical professional. It is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on to make determinations related to treatment of a medical condition. Epidemic Answers has not verified and does not guaranty the accuracy of the information provided in this document.
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Ethan appeared to be a very healthy baby at first. Aside from a little baby acne and some toenails that looked a little misshapen, all seemed well with him.
When he was four months old he had a bad reaction to a DTaP vaccine and his doctors recommended that he no longer receive this vaccine.
He developed chronic constipation, chronic sinus congestion, and snoring that was later diagnosed as sleep apnea.
The pediatrician recommended that he go on Zyrtec daily but his mother felt more comfortable with giving him children’s Benadryl instead. He lived on Benadryl for years and his symptoms did not improve.
New symptoms developed. His constipation got so severe, that he would only go once every 5 days or so, and his stools became smelly and loose when he did go.
At age 5, he was diagnosed with asthma, allergies, and sleep apnea. He began treatments with Pulmicort, prednisone, and albuterol.
The pediatrician also suggested that he begin Singulair, but his mother refused because she had heard reports of children developing suicidal behaviors on Singulair.
His last major asthma attack was so severe that the doctor told Ethan’s mother it would take 6 months for his lungs to recover and heal. “Treat it like a broken bone,” he said.
This was the last straw for Ethan’s mother.
She looked into alternative ways to treat her son’s asthma, allergies and sleep apnea. She changed his diet when he was six years old, taking out wheat, diary, eggs, and corn, foods that an IgG food sensitivity test indicated were potentially inflammatory for Ethan.
At this point, Ethan started a gut-healing protocol developed by Russell Mariani, a nutrition counselor in Hadley, Massachusetts.
Ethan also received allergy elimination treatments, both NAET and BioSet and started to eat a more traditional diet, like that advocated by the Weston A. Price Foundation.
Six months after the diet changes and beginning the allergy elimination and gut healing, Ethan’s asthma and allergies disappeared and never returned.
He now has daily bowel movements, eats all of the foods he once eliminated from his diet, and is a talented soccer and lacrosse player.
This document is not a substitute for medical advice, treatment, diagnosis, or consultation with a medical professional. It is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on to make determinations related to treatment of a medical condition. Epidemic Answers has not verified and does not guaranty the accuracy of the information provided in this document.
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My oldest daughter, Avery* began to show signs of gut dysbiosis shortly after birth.
About a week after she was born, Avery developed oral thrush (overgrowth of Candida in the mouth, a sign of gut dysbiosis) that was treated with Nystatin. This appeared to resolve the problem.
However, at about 7 weeks old colic set in; she would scream, writhe, and couldn’t be consoled for hours and hours each day.
This colic lasted until she was 4 months old. This is when I began to notice Avery’s constipation.
Her stools were hard and difficult to pass–a sign that something was not right in her gastrointestinal system. Many times while trying to have a bowel movement should would cry or scream in pain. This chronic constipation lasted well into her third year.
Through the thrush, colic, and constipation, our pediatricians assured us Avery was “fine,” “normal,” and that I myself was “too anxious” about my daughter’s health. Read More→
Anthony was 3 1/2 and he still had no words. That’s how this story always starts out….
He had been in speech therapy since he was 18 months old, and he started occupational therapy when he was 2.
He was diagnosed as having severe speech apraxia, sensory processing disorder, and low muscle tone.
And even though he was receiving therapy, these issues continued to get worse with every month that passed by.
He was 3 and completely non-verbal. He was 3 and drooling, toe walking, lining up toys, not looking at you, couldn’t jump, making really weird grunting noises……. This was not normal!
I took him to many different doctors. They said he wasn’t autistic because he was TOO social (yet he couldn’t speak a word) and they all just pushed therapy.
We were already doing therapy and it wasn’t helping. I felt like I had no other options.
I remember Anthony’s exit report with Regional Center. One of his therapists had handed it to me as we said our good byes. (he was to start up with the school district later that year).
I got into my car and I opened the envelope and read the 3-page report. Tears started flowing. My son was a year behind in development! This was the worst gap I had ever seen. I was used to a few months behind … but a year!?!?
And 1% for speech… what was happening to my son? The only thing I knew was whatever it was, it was getting worse. I was failing my son…. I was confused, depressed, at my lowest when it came to what to do to help Anthony.
But then I had a conversation with a on-line friend I will never forget! Her son had been diagnosed with autism a year earlier and she had disappeared from the web. But when I saw her name come up on my Instant Messenger I said hello.
After talking back and forth for awhile and telling her what had been going on with Anthony, I gave her a call. She told me how a lot of Anthony’s symptoms sounded like her son’s.
And how a DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) doctor had helped him and he had recovered.
I had NO idea what a DAN! doctor was. But the more she explained, the more sense all of this made. Yes, Anthony had always had gut issues. Yes, he had allergies… this list went on and on with the similarities.
So as a test, I put Anthony on a probiotic. And like a miracle, he gained (and kept) 10 words the first week he was on it. This had never happened before! There had to be something to this whole gut theory.
After that I was hooked! I found a DAN (biomed) doctor a few towns over and gave them a call. When I talked to the receptionist I told her about my biggest concern, which was my sons difficulty speaking. That his therapist said he was severely apraxic.
The receptionist said the doctor had a lot of success with treating that symptom (symptom? Yep, its a symptom!). And so we waited till our appointment. Which was a few months later.
Dr. Sletten, gave Anthony a physical/evaluation. He said he was on the Autism Spectrum (sensory processing disorder, speech apraxia, autistic behaviors), and there were some tests he wanted to run.
He ran an organic acids test (OATS), a full allergy panel (IgG, IgE ELISA), and regular lab work up (vitamins levels, CBC, thyroid).
The results came back screaming there was something wrong with Anthony. His thryoid levels were off, his gut was a mess, his yeast levels were through the roof, oxidative stress and neurotransmitter levels highly elevated, and he also had 30 food sensitivities and 4 food allergies.
I was thrilled for answers, but so intimidated on how we were going to treat all this.
We dove in with both feet and stuck to the diet/supplement plan our doctor suggested. Month after month, Anthony continued to improve.
Three months into bio-med, Anthony no longer qualified for occupational therapy, because his sensory issues were gone.
Four months in, Anthony started speaking in sentences. He went from having verbal skills of a 12 month old, to age appropriate in 9 months time!
A year and a half after treatment started, my son is “typical”. He is now 100% therapy free! He attends mainstream school and has made lots of friends.
This all would not have been possible with out Dr. Sletten. He ran all the tests that needed to be run, got my son on the correct supplements, and diet, and released him from treatment because he was doing so well.
We recently re-did his lab work that was done at the beginning of bio-medical intervention, and across the board everything has either completely corrected or vastly improved.
We will always need to keep an eye on Anthony and do annual blood work. But as of today, Anthony is recovered from Autism Spectrum Disorder and has a very bright future ahead of him. You can read more of our story at www.biomedheals.com
- Kimberly Ruckman
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This document is not a substitute for medical advice, treatment, diagnosis, or consultation with a medical professional. It is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on to make determinations related to treatment of a medical condition. Epidemic Answers has not verified and does not guaranty the accuracy of the information provided in this document.
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