Um…is that a worm in my poop?!

Yes, worms! WORMS people! I have always suspected that Aidan had parasites because he fit many of the symptoms (pale, dark circles under eyes, night waking, teeth grinding, anxiety...). We have done parasite cleanses in the past, but I never saw anything come out in his stool (or mine) and I never noticed any real improvement in his symptoms.

Now, before I go into our worm story, I have to say that never in a MILLION years could I bring myself to share this if my blog was not 100% anonymous! I am very shy when discussing things like…um…worms…and…poop. However, I promised myself when I started this blog that I would be completely open and honest because the whole point of this is to help other Autism Moms (and Dads) who might be dealing with similar issues. So, here goes…

Like I mentioned, we have done 30+ day parasite cleanses. We have used tinctures containing things like wormwood, black walnut hulls, clove, male fern, pumpkin seeds, etc. Nothing ever came of it, so I figured I was barking up the wrong tree. Then, two weeks ago, I took Aidan (and myself) for an appointment with a Naturopath who is trained in NAET. I wanted her to work on Aidan’s multiple food allergies, and also see if I had many allergies.

During our first visit she treated Aidan for BBF, and she treated me for fear. We left the appointment, and while we were driving home I experienced a warm tingling going up and down my spine. My neck and shoulders had been tight for days and all of the sudden it was gone. I felt great! I was shocked! 

The next morning I woke up and felt absolutely AWFUL! I had no energy, and my muscles felt so weak and sore. Thank God my husband didn’t have to work because I could barely function! I drank a ton of water with lemon and took milk thistle because I figured that my liver must have been congested. I laid in bed almost the entire day, and even took a nap (and I NEVER nap). The next morning I woke up feeling a little icky still, but not as bad. Went to the bathroom, and there it was…a dead worm in my stool. What the…..!?!?!???! As soon as I saw it, I realized that I was experiencing die off the day before.  I couldn’t believe it! I had done two separate parasite cleanses with NOTHING, but now I have one NAET treatment, and she was able to clear parasites from my body! As if that wasn’t enough, the next day (still feeling a bit icky and tired) I eliminated another one! After that, I felt MUCH better. Clear-headed. Energetic. Happy.  As soon as I had my energy back, I directed my efforts back to Aidan’s biomedical needs. Obviously if I have worms/parasites, he does. What the heck am I going to do to go after them?

I decided to give it another go. I started him on a parasite tincture about a week and a half ago (since we were approaching the Full Moon). The last two cleanses, I have attempted to give him the tincture transdermally. This time around, I am making the poor kiddo take it orally. He hasn’t been too irritated by it, but I know it is disgusting. My husband can barely get it down! I am also hoping that our NAET practitioner will do a fear treatment on him to help clear out anything that’s left.

I am really hoping that this could be the reason for many of his food sensitivities. Ever since I cleared the parasites, I have been able to eat foods that used to give me stomach pains with no problem. Let’s hope it’s the same for him! 

In just one week on the tincture, his mood has evened and the dark circles under his eyes are gone! He also seems to have so much more energy during the day.

I have been reading a great book called, "Guess What came to Dinner?" and it is incredible the amount of similarities between parasite infestation and the common health and behavioral symptoms of ADHD and ASD.  According to this book, everyone is at risk for parasites. If you eat out, have pets in the home, eat lots of fruits and vegetables...all of these things can lead to parasites.

Why don't they cover this in the DAN! protocol? : )

Bacteria rears its ugly head

Oh how I hate you evil bacteria. You have messed up my kid’s head too many times and it is driving me crazy to keep you under control. I am beginning to realize that my kiddo really can’t eat any rice, bread, pasta, etc. I think it is the only way to keep this under control while we chelate.

For the last few months I have stayed on top of giving Aidan natural antibacterials and tons of probiotics, while cutting back on his carb intake (but not eliminating it completely) this no longer seems to be working.

A few months ago, it was attack of the killer Aidan. He scratched up my throat, screamed in my face, and could not be calmed. Once I put goldenseal back into the rotation and upped the Culturelle, he was back to normal…until now. I had to take him off of all of his supplements including all natural antifungals and antibacterials for an entire week in order to complete a new urine analysis and stool analysis. He seemed fine all week but for the last two days he became extremely ADD like. I could not keep his focus on any one thing, and he was perseverating on certain phrases. That was when I started to suspect bacteria, but this morning it was confirmed. From the moment he woke up he was “stuck” on a few different phrases and became aggressive with me over the smallest things. Last night when picking my car up from the shop, he had a complete meltdown because he wanted to get in the car parked next to ours. It took me about fifteen minutes to get him into our car. I tried to explain over and over that we would be riding in our car and that the other car did not belong to us. Of course explaining did not help and he was screaming and crying so hard he could barely breathe. I finally wrestled him into the car and he stopped crying about two minutes into the drive home. Like I said, I HATE YOU BACTERIA!!! Even two weeks ago, I know this wouldn’t have happened.

The thing that makes this so hard is seeing your kid when things like this are not effecting his body, and then watching it take hold of him. It is an awful feeling. Unfortunately it is an experience that you can’t really explain to others because while you have done the research and seen the specific changes in your child when treating things like bacteria, no one else would ever believe that bacteria could effect your child’s behavior that dramatically. But it does!

Seventy percent of our immune system is found in the gut. When we interrupt that delicate balance, it shows up physically and mentally. The analogy I have always loved talks about how we feel after we have a beer or a glass of wine, different, right? I know people who can get downright evil if they have had too much to drink.

Everyone keeps telling me that by round 50 of chelation, bacteria and yeast should be a bit more under control, but it can’t come soon enough!! We are currently in the middle of round 19, and 50 sounds so far away! Looking at the bright side, his gut would not go through these periods of imbalance if we were not moving metals.

Back to increasing the antibacterials and removing all grains this time around. Wish us luck!

Gut Bacteria Influences Brain Chemistry and Behavior

You can read about the study by clicking (here).

Aidan, we are not alone

 "Imagine you are seated at a table among several people. Right beside you, your child is choking helplessly. You are frantic, doing everything in your power to save him. The clock is ticking. He is turning blue and the life is draining out of him. Some of the folks at your table tell you to calm down. Take it a day at a time. The rest? They just look away." 

-Lisa Joyce Goes

From the moment we started Aidan on his biomedical journey, I have read reports from fellow Warrior Moms and Dads about finding heavy metals, oxidative stress, methylation impairment, stealth viruses, and major gastrointestinal issues in their children. Every day since, I find myself carving time out of my day just to obsess analyze what is causing Aidan’s Autism. I know it is something. I know that we had a typically developing child that began to slip away from us over a period of months.  And I can look back at videos and pictures to illustrate my once engaged child turn into a lost boy.

Why doesn’t anyone believe this? Why is it impossible to explain our situation to Aidan’s teachers, therapists, and worst of all friends and family? You get the obligatory head nods and the look of pity when you say that your child’s autism was brought on by environmental factors.

I know that more people like me exist. I chat with hundreds of them on the Yahoo! Autism boards and read their comments on the Age of Autism, but why is it so hard for some people to grasp that a child could be helped by biomedical intervention? My husband has always had a theory that these are the people who believe whatever their mainstream doctor (along with the evening news) tells them. I know he is right and it has always been frustrating to me that there is not more news coverage on families touched by Autism that look like ours. Families that are truly in the trenches trying to help their child in EVERY way possible.  Enter Alison MacNeil on the PBS News Hour. FINALLY! A fellow Warrior Mom who is sharing her son Nick’s story, that eerily sounds like so many others that have gone unnoticed and undocumented.

If you haven’t seen Nick’s story, you can watch it below. Be prepared to cry like a baby. I have watched it about twenty times now and I cry every time! It takes me back to the days of fighting Aidan’s doctors, and getting no answers. 

Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.