Heavy Metals Part 3: 4 Critical Considerations Before You Detox Metals!

Once testing has been done and you are reasonably sure you are dealing with heavy metals, get them out ASAP, right? No! STOP! Do not pass go!  There are four critical things to consider and to deal with BEFORE detoxifying metals from the body or you can make matters worse!

• address mineral and nutrient levels
• check out the teeth
• control any yeast issues (notice I don't say "eliminate" yeast issues)
• make sure the elimination pathways of the body are open and working
• cleanse the liver

Address mineral & nutrient levels

Mineral and nutrient deficiencies are present if a child is autistic. This is important when it comes time to think about detoxifying metals because the body will not detox metals as effectively while it is severely deficient in minerals and other nutrients. Also, depending on the method of detoxifying metals, it can also pull out minerals. For a child already deficient in minerals, pulling more minerals out of the body can be detrimental. Supplementing with trace minerals for a few or several months before beginning to detox metals can make a big difference in the process.

Check Out The Teeth

If amalgam "silver" fillings are present in the teeth, it can be a wise idea to have them removed. Amalgams are about 50% mercury and they can "leak". If you are going to choose to do something to pull metals out of the body, still having them in there while you are pulling metals could cause additional metals to be pulled out and into the body, creating additional toxicity. If you choose to remove them, don't just go to any dentist and get them taken out. Go to one specifically trained in SAFE amalgam removal where they have specialized equipment that allows you to breath without breathing in mercury vapor that is released during drilling, a rubber dam so no mercury can go down your throat, and other safety measures. 

Experts opinions are divided as to the wisdom of having them removed. One side says it's absolutely necessary, while the other side says, they have a limited life anyway, 12-15 years on average, so when they fall out or begin leaking and need to be replaced, just replace them with a resin filling at that time.

Control Yeast Issues

I say control yeast issues rather than eliminate yeast issues, because yeast and metals go together and until the metals are brought down to an acceptable level, yeast will be an issue in the body. (I'm speaking of pathogenic over growths of yeast, not the necessary beneficial acceptable levels of yeast our bodies need to be healthy.) Yeast binds to metal, so as metal is pulled out of the body, yeast will be "freed" up to set up camp elsewhere and wreck havoc, making the host (you or your child) miserable. If yeast levels aren't under control before starting to pull metal and even more yeast becomes present to cause harm, problems can be compounded.

Open the Body's Elimination Pathways

What in the world are elimination pathways? They are all the ways the body can excrete or get rid of junk. The body has four main elimination pathways: lungs, skin, bowels (liver), and urine (kidneys). If these pathways are blocked the junk stays IN the body, recirculates, and has to be stored somewhere. Now, apply that to doing a metal detox where you are pulling metals out of tissues where they have been stored...but they can't get out of the body. They get deposited somewhere else, causing worse problems than existed before the detox. Some type of fun sweaty movement is great to help the lungs and skin. Drinking plenty of PURE (filtered) water to help out the kidneys and making sure the bowels are moving at least once, preferably twice per day. If it does not empty frequently enough, the metals waiting for elimination will be reabsorbed in the large intestine and recirculated into the body. 

Cleanse the Liver

Metals and allergies nearly always point to a congested liver. The liver is a key player in being able to detox the metals toward the body's garbage chute once they've made it to the blood. If the liver is congested the metals won't be able to leave the body, but will recirculate, be deposited somewhere else within the body and once again, instead of improving health by detoxing metals, it compounds the health problems. 

I've used a variety of herbs and herbal preparations to do this for Jordan and myself.  A simple one or two week liver cleanse isn't exactly going to do the trick either, this could take several weeks. For Jordan, we had to cleanse, then rest and let his body reestablish balance, then cleanse some more, progressively being able to cleanse longer and deeper. These weren't long cycles for us - a day on a few days off and gradually extending and flipping that to a week or two on, a few days off.

For more on heavy metals see:
Heavy Metals & Autism Part 1 - Signs & Symptoms
Heavy Metals Part 2 - Testing

Breaking the Cycle of Developing New Food Allergies and Healing Old Allergies

The very short answer of how the break the cycle of developing more allergies and heal old allergies...heal the digestive system: the gut, the bugs (bacteria & yeast), the immune system (75% of the immune system is in the gut/intestines).

 
The Gut. It's very possible that there is an issue with leaky gut. Where "holes" in the intestinal wall allow large food particles into the blood, where the immune system sees them as invaders (virus, bacteria, or toxin)and attacks, because big things in the blood are virus, bacteria, or toxin, nutrients from food in the blood are suppose to be small. The immune system then says hey, remember that substance for next time and we can conquer it more quickly = allergy reaction the next time the food is eaten. An explanation on healing the gut is in the next section on Bugs.

The Bugs. We all have an inner ecosystem - good and bad bugs in our digestive system. It's not that some are really bad, we need them, we just need them IN BALANCE. Too many of one type becomes a bad bug and can cause lots of problems. The most common culprit: candida, or yeast. It is their job to eat large food particles so they don't get into the bloodstream. Lots of large food particles, means more and more yeast are needed, but in the course of doing their job, they can multiply out of control and actually grow into and through our intestinal wall and get into the bloodstream themselves, and into our other organs, etc when they should only be in our gut and in the right proportion to other bugs there. If this is the cause...digestive enzymes to help digest the food are needed to correct the original reason the yeast overgrew in the first place. Yeast can also overgrow because the good bacteria are killed off for some reason. Things like birth control pills, hormone imbalances, acne medication, and ANTIBIOTICS all can cause yeast to get out of control. (Antibiotics - Think about it "anti" "biotic" or "against life". I'm not saying antibiotics are bad, I'm just saying we need to be aware that they kill both bad AND good bacteria and if we must take antibiotics, to make sure we take probiotics as well to help recolonize our gut with good bacteria after being on antibiotics. Personally, I try to find all-natural antibiotics in the form of herbs, essential oils, and things that help our bodies fight the bugs (thereby strengthening the immune system long term) rather than go in and wipe them out with drugs (which used repeatedly, in the long run weakens the immune system because it gets no exercise or experience).

It can be tough at first, but in the long run it sure pays off. My boys used to catch every little thing going around, and Jordan would be sick and completely miserable for 2-3 weeks every time he caught something. Now that I've been using natural things and have been working to build his immune system (for him that meant keeping him away from other sick kids for about a year - when you're sick, it's hard to heal other chronic issues and strengthen the body & immune system). Last week and this week we've been around hacking coughing kids many times and neither of my boys have gotten sick! It's wonderful!! FYI: it also means limiting (or eliminating) sugar. Sugar significantly depresses the immune system for 5-6 hours after it is eaten.

If there is already an issue with yeast, due to partially digested food, antibiotic, or other medication use. Then it needs to be killed and brought back under control. There are many ways to do this. One of my favorites is by using enzymes and probiotics, another is a combination of anti-fungal herbs in a product by Pure Herbs called Can Sol.  FYI: yeast feed on sugar and anything the body can readily turn to sugar: wheat, corn, pasta, potatos, dairy, maple syrup, etc. While combating yeast it may be necessary to seriously cut back (or completely eliminate) the intake of these foods for several weeks.

Once the yeast is controlled and the gut bacteria balanced, the gut will start to heal. There are things to help accelerate the healing of the gut as well. We've used L-glutamine, also knitbone or comfrey.


The Immune System. This is multifaceted and involved. To be completely honest I don't totally understand this area yet. What I do know is that immune system disregulation is epidemic today, with Th1 and Th2 responses being imbalanced. Th2 is overactive in many, many children (just think asthma & allergies). This means the immune system is always on high alert, fighting, everything. How did this flip happen? Well, it's not the only reason, but the most common answer for that is: vaccinations.

So, the immune system. That bring us back to the basis of recovery from many things (including: asthma, ADD, allergies, autism spectrum):

1)Stop putting bad things in
2)Put only the best things in as possible (food, body products, scents)
3)Get the bad stuff that is still in the body out.

For more information on this check out the pages about causes and treatment, toxicity, and nutrition.

While Working on the Gut, Bugs, and Immune System. If the child needs a greater variety of foods, the best thing I have found to help is called NAET or BioSET. However, the effectiveness of these techniques is very dependant on the skill and knowledge of the practitioner. Try to find one that others have had success through and who won't break your bank with a gazillion treatments.

After balancing the gut bacteria, immune system, and healing the gut, it may be necessary to do a treatment of NAET or BioSET for an existing allergy/sensitivity to clear it from the system and "reset" the immune system so that it no longer reacts.

UPDATE 3-10-12: On the flip side, once all those root causes are healed the allergies very well may just disappear one by one, that's what we are finding is happening for Jordan.

Enter Dr. P - A New Doctor for Recovery from Autism & Allergies

Jordan's typical expression.

We’ve been waiting for a consultation with a new doctor in Pittsburgh. Well, we had that consultation yesterday – we got moved up on a cancellation! Before I jump into that news, I’ll review. 

RECAP
I pursued a new doctor to check into alternatives to the protocol Dr. K had Jordan on. Which was:

1. Nutritional Support – Dr. K added a couple supplements to what we were already doing when we first saw him – that’s it
2. Yeast Overgrowth Treatment - we rotated between 3 different ones, including 2 prescription anti-fungals. The prescription anti-fungals made him regress horribly in his speech and behavior. After being on the prescriptions for a month, I took him off to give him a little break and he started speaking more the first day he was off of them and putting 2 words together again. However, it took an entire month and continuing cranial sacral & chiropractic neurology appointments to regain the lost development of the month on anti-fungals.
3. LDA Shots – That’s Low-Dose Antigen for allergies. It requires prescription anti-fungals and a somewhat complicated 17 day protocol. And total, it takes 3 years. Part of the purpose for these is to calm the inflammation in his body and help to reverse the Th1/Th2 immune response. Jordan has an overactive Th2, and an under-active Th1 – opposite of what it should be and needs to be. This step was required before beginning chelation.
4. Chelation – treatment to pull heavy metals out of his body, which he is toxic with.

So, basically, with Jordan’s horrible regression on the prescription anti-fungals and my refusal to continue to give them to him (without first checking out other available options), he couldn’t get the LDA shots, which means he couldn’t get the chelation. This basically means, he wouldn’t get treated, at least not with this protocol. It all hinged on the prescription anti-fungals. Bummer, huh. Well…maybe not.

In my mind, I thought, surely there is a way to treat the yeast with natural anti-fungals. And are the shots really necessary? Isn’t there another way to go about calming inflammation and reversing the confused immune system? Hence, I contacted Dr. P’s office and we’ve been waiting for the appointment. Everything I could find online about him and his protocols, it looked like that’s how he treats these disorders. But I couldn’t tell for sure… 

NEW DOCTOR – WELCOME DR. P!
Are you keeping all these doctor’s straight? That makes: Dr. R., Dr. K., Dr. P, and Dr. B. And I haven’t mentioned Miss T and Miss K. for his therapies. Okay, moving on. The new doctor – Dr. P…
I filled out a lengthy questionnaire, including essays, fully expecting to have to repeat verbally everything I had written when we actually got into the consultation. Not so! I like this doctor already.
The first thing he asked was, “Where are you at with Jordan’s treatment right now?” So I told him what happened with the prescription anti-fungals and told him I had taken Jordan off of that protocol and was giving Jordan a break while we waited to be able to talk with him. (But had kept Jordan on the other supplements and had just put him back on the non-prescription anti-fungal earlier this week.) Dr. P. said, ”Great. I don’t like the prescription anti-fungals, many kids don’t react well to them. I don’t use them.” Now I’m really liking this doctor! He affirmed my “against medical advice” decision – whew. And, he does treat the yeast, but he uses alternatives, not prescriptions! And he has about 5 he uses, so if Jordan reacts to a couple there are other options to try. That gives me some peace of mind.

Then he went on to explain several other supplements he wants to put Jordan on, what they are, who makes them, what they do, and the order in which to start giving them to Jordan. He asked about Jordan’s diet, said what we are doing sounds great. He emphasized getting good fats in him, using hemp seed oil and nut flours in his diet along with the ghee and hemp milk we were already doing. Does this sound science-fiction yet? I had never even heard of these foods before Jordan. Anyway…
A few of the supplements he is putting Jordan on are specifically to calm the inflammation in his gut & body, help stabilize the cell, and to help switch the Th1/Th2 dominance around. So that replaces the main purpose of the LDA shots!!! No prescription anti-fungals necessary! No shots! No 3 year treatment plan just for shots! No 17 day protocol for each and every shot!

Once Jordan gets established on these supplements and there is time to see how he does on them and make sure he adjusts and isn’t reacting, and then we will start chelating!!! That means getting the heavy metals out of his body, cells, and brain. He is going to use OSR as the chelating agent. It’s new. It is fat soluble instead of water soluble (other chelating agents such as DSMA are water soluble) which means it can get INTO the cell, and get metals and free radicals out of there – very critical. Being fat soluble also means it crosses the blood/brain barrier so it can get the metals out of the brain – also very critical. And it’s totally non-toxic. Very cool. He may use another agent as well, depends on the heavy metal test I do and the results. Yes, me, I do the test. Since Jordan’s problems started so young, it’s a safe bet that his heavy metals resemble mine fairly closely, with some metals from vaccines added to him.

And the best news of all…this is a doctor who “gets me”. In 2 ways:
1) He jumped right in to exactly where we are at with Jordan’s treatment, no more waiting and going through all the first steps of the dietary measures, cleaning up the home environment, etc yet again.
2) He immediately picked up on the fact that I’ve done tons of research, pay very close attention to Jordan and to what is going on in his body, and know what is going on with his treatment. Dr. P. gave me the guidelines – which supplements/medicines to use, what they do, and what order start giving them to Jordan in – and then “set me free” to proceed with Jordan’s treatment. I get to watch Jordan in order to determine which ones Jordan can tolerate or not, how often to rotate the ones that need to be rotated (within guidelines), determine when Jordan is adjusted to the main supplements to where he would be ready to start chelation, etc. Of course, any questions I have they are available to answer them. But it is such a HUGE relief to know that when I sense something is not right for Jordan - I can stop it or change it! No more waiting for doctor’s orders. And when I see something is really good for him – I can keep it up! No more waiting an entire month for the dr’s appointment to get them to change one little bitty thing (or huge thing as the case may be). No more paying lots of money to not be listened to when I tell them something is very wrong. No more not being able to ask, “This doesn’t seem to be working, is there another way to go about accomplishing this goal?” Yes, I’m VERY excited about this new doctor!

After he went through ALL of these things – and there was A LOT, he asked me if I was overwhelmed with it. Nope! Not a bit! It’s so great to have someone who knows be able to tell me which supplements Jordan needs, which ones are the best, what order to do them in, etc. What a relief! I don’t have to figure that all out on my own. Now the thought of that - all the research, all the intricacies of medical treatment and the tremendous load of responsibility - is overwhelming. And I’ve certainly thought it. I haven’t just thought it, I lived it for the first year and half of Jordan’s life and I don’t want to go back. Maybe that’s why I’m so confident moving forward. It doesn’t overwhelm me or scare me a bit to be this involved in decisions about his treatment. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I know Jordan the best of anyone. Who better to see how he’s responding and adjust accordingly. Sure there will be moment of doubt. Moments, even days, of unknowns as we go through ups and downs and when some supplements/medications work, it may look like a bad reaction instead of the good that it is actually doing. I’ll certainly need wisdom. And the new regimen of supplements, timing them throughout the day – with meals, empty stomach, on food, in drink, through syringe, rub on skin – and tracking them through weeks and months for rotating, starting, stopping, restarting, and dosing changes is daunting. But, that’s okay; we’re up to the challenge! It’s way better than figuring everything out on my own! But still pray for endurance, wisdom, and cooperation from Jordan :)  Poor little guy doesn’t always love supplements being mixed into every drink or bowl of food (actually he hates it, but tolerates it as long as he doesn’t have to watch you add it) - although he generally loves drinking anything out of a syringe and having things rubbed on his skin :) Hopefully, nothing we add to his regimen will change that.
I like the new protocol. It addresses what needs to be addressed (same issues as the other treatment protocol), does it with more natural means, and we can begin chelating a lot sooner. We’ll see if it works and if Jordan can tolerate it…

Roadblock! Autism Treamtment and Allergy Shots

We have hit a roadblock in Jordan’s treatment and progress. Jordan’s doctor first wants to treat his allergies then his toxicity issues, including heavy metal toxicity. So we are starting with shots that are suppose to reduce or eliminate his allergies (over the course of a couple of years). For about 6 weeks we’ve been working on a treatment protocol for Jordan to receive on of these shots - an LDA shot. That’s Low Dose Antigen, an enzyme-potentiated allergen shot. In order to receive it there is a protocol he has to meet for the 9 days before the shot. It goes something like this. 9 days before – stop fish oil supplement, start on prescription anti-fungal drug. The day before, the day of and the day after the shot, stop ALL supplements and prescriptions and all food or drink has to be cooked or boiled. Well, we’ve made it through to day 8 or 9 a few times. Day 8 is the day before the shot, day 9 is the day of the shot. Only to have him get a cough or runny nose or diarrhea – all reasons that prevented him from getting the shot.

After the last aborted attempt at the shot, I stopped Jordan’s anti-fungal medication to give him a break and started him on his fish oil supplement again. Guess what…that day he started talking MUCH more again. New words. I hadn’t heard a new word in over a month. Two, three, and four word combinations! I hadn’t heard those in a month either. Jonathan took notice too and we both marvelled at what we heard coming from Jordan’s mouth.

So, which is he responding to? The anti-fungal bothering him, or the fish oil helping him? I’m inclined to think it’s both. And it makes me really not want to keep him on these prescription anti-fungals. I spoke with his doctor, but didn’t receive a satisfactory answer. He said to try Diflucan at 1/2 a dose. The appointment before, he had said never to give him Diflucan again because it was giving him diarrhea…hmmm. It was very yeasty diarrhea so I hadn’t been real worried, I figured it was doing it’s job. So, maybe a 1/2 dose will do the trick. But I’m afraid that somehow it is affecting Jordan’s brain since it is affecting his speech so much.

I feel a bit confused and frustrated. I don’t understand why we have to do the allergy shots in order to detoxify him.  I just know that is the order this doctor does it in #1 nutrition (we were already doing all of his suggestions when we started with him) #2 allergies controlled #3 detox and heavy metals. So, I’ve been back to pulling nearly all-nighters researching, and we have been thinking this over.  Our decision – we are going to follow the doctor’s suggestion one more time and see what happens. For now I’m giving Jordan a little bit of a break from the prescriptions before we give it one more try. In the mean time, I’ve scheduled a consultation (a month from now) with yet another doctor – one in Pittsburgh who treats with natural anti-fungals, not prescription,  doesn’t treat with allergy shots, and jumps on getting the toxicity out right away.  I’m more comfortable with this new doctor’s treatment protocol and feel that he is more up-to-date on his research (quite a feat considering Dr. K is very cutting-edge). However, nothing is guaranteed, so I want to give Dr. K a valiant try before switching mid-stream. I know he is a very great doctor, one of the best, with a great success rate. But, if it isn’t working for Jordan…

That’s where we are. Keep praying!