I became severely stressed when I began taking care of my two boys without any help because that’s when my older son’s sensory issues and “fight, fright or flight” issues really kicked in. [Read more…]
May 16, 2013
ADRENAL FATIGUE
April 25, 2013
WHAT IS GUT DYSBIOSIS?
Gut dysbiosis — this topic is the motherlode. It’s one of the two core (in my opinion) reasons for the explosion of chronic childhood illnesses we see today.
Gut Dysbiosis: A Common Link Among the Epidemic of Children’s Chronic Illnesses
First, let’s discuss the numbers behind this epidemic: How many kids did you know when you were growing up that had autism, ADHD, acid reflux, allergies, asthma, developmental delays and/or mental health issues? [Read more…]
April 21, 2013
RETAINED REFLEXES, LEARNING AND HAPPINESS
My older son with sensory processing disorder (SPD) benefited greatly from going to a land-based occupational therapist (OT) for six months. I asked her what we should do about him learning to swim, given that he had such a bad experience with it when he was 2 years old.
You might remember that he was so overwhelmed by the lights, sounds, the way the water felt, and his gravitational insecurity in the water that one day after class he came home and wiped down half the kitchen to relieve his stress. That’s a pretty strong reaction from a toddler. [Read more…]
April 18, 2013
SCARED TO BE IN HIS OWN BODY
When my older son was 3-1/2, I finally learned that he had sensory processing disorder (SPD); this realization let me recognize the signs later on that my younger son had it as well.
My older son began seeing an occupational therapist (OT) when he was 3-1/2 years old. Before his first visit, she had me fill out two questionnaires: a sensory profile caregiver questionnaire and a foundational listening skills assessment sensory checklist. [Read more…]
April 17, 2013
How I Finally Got Help for Sensory Processing Disorder
Here’s how I finally got help for Sensory Processing Disorder.
For my older son, I had a litany of signs for 3-1/2 years that told me something was wrong, despite reassurances to the contrary of his doctors.
The Tipping Point
It all hit the fan when our nanny left to have her own baby shortly after my oldest son turned 3. Yes, I was extremely fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom with a nanny; but, looking back, I really needed the help.
My older son had been used to having either me or the nanny completely to himself. All of a sudden when she left, he was forced to share me with his baby brother. So what did he do?
He cried. And cried. And cried. And cried. And cried. Over EVERY little thing. 
[Read more…]
April 15, 2013
Antidepressant Side Effects
A few years ago, when I was going through an extremely stressful time with my older son’s worsening Sensory Processing Disorder, I became very irritable and cranky. I also developed middle-of-the night insomnia, where I would lie wake for 2-3 hours at a time in the middle of the night.
I went to my gynecologist, who was my primary care doctor at the time, and he put me on Zoloft, an antidepressant. It definitely helped with the irritability but it, and the Ambien he gave me, did nothing for my insomnia.
I wasn’t crazy about taking pharmaceuticals. Antidepressants come with many possible annoying and/or dangerous side effects, about which Harvard Medical School published an article: “What Are the Real Risks of Antidepressants?” Possible antidepressant side effects are:
- Insomnia
- Skin rashes
- Headaches
- Joint and muscle pain
- Stomach upset
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Reduced blood-clotting capacity
- Stomach bleeding, especially if taking NSAIDs (aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen)
- Uterine bleeding, especially if taking NSAIDs (aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen)
- Tics
- Muscle spasms
- Repetitive muscle movements
- Parkinsonism (rigid and trembling limbs, a shuffling gait, loss of fine motor control)
- Compulsive restlessness
- Anxiety (ironic given that antidepressants are often given to people with anxiety)
- Low libido or performance
- Discontinuation symptoms
- Self-destructive thoughts
- Suicide
My search continued because I was also experiencing a whole host of other health issues: shingles, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, irregular cycles, bronchitis and constant, lingering colds and sinus infections.
Given my own issues and those of my son, I researched the gut-brain connection, especially to find out what effects digestive issues, which my sons had had since birth, had on Sensory Processing Disorder. The gut is called “the second brain”; most neurotransmitters used in the brain are made in the gut.
This concept was popularized by Dr. Michael Gershon in “The Second Brain: A Groundbreaking New Understanding of Nervous Disorders of the Stomach and Intestine“.
Digestive issues can also create nutritional deficiencies, many of which can contribute to the initial conditions that an antidepressant was prescribed for in the first place.
Given that neurotransmitters are made in the gut, it stood to reason that working on digestive issues would help all of us, and it did. I began to sleep through the night without taking medication, my sons’ sensory issues improved (as did their acid reflux), and I was no longer a cranky mommy.
March 22, 2013
Acid Reflux Medication Dangers
Believe it or not, acid reflux medication dangers are real, and these medications do major harm to your body. Shocking, right?
It’s true. All of those medications (Prevacid, Nexium, Zantac, Prilosec, omeprazole, even Tums) reduce stomach acid, which is what they are designed to do.
The problem is that acid reflux is actually caused by TOO LITTLE stomach acid, not too much. Counter-intuitive, right? So what happens when you have too little stomach acid? For starters, you can’t properly digest food, leading to nutritional deficiencies, particularly magnesium, calcium and vitamin B12.
A magnesium deficiency is linked to:
- Anxiety and panic attacks
- Asthma
- Blood clots
- Bowel disease
- Cystitis
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Dysmenorrhea
- Fatigue
- Heart disease
- Hypertension
- Hypoglycemia
- Inability to detoxify
- Insomnia
- Kidney disease
- Liver disease
- Migraines
- Musculoskeletal conditions
- Nerve problems
- Premenstrual syndrome
- Osteoporosis
- Raynaud’s Syndrome
- Tooth decay
A calcium deficiency is linked to:
- Delayed development
- Dermatitis
- Lethargy
- Mental confusion
- Muscle cramps
- Numbness or tingling of the fingers
- Osteoporosis
- Poor appetite
- Rickets
- Skeletal malformations
A vitamin B12 deficiency is linked to multiple neurological disorders, including
- Abnormal reflexes
- Anemia
- Anorexia
- Apathy
- Ataxia
- Balance problems
- Dementia
- Depression
- Developmental delay or regression
- Difficulty walking
- Dizziness
- Failure to thrive
- Fatigue
- Forgetfulness, memory loss
- Generalized weakness
- Hallucinations
- Hypotonia
- Impotence
- Involuntary movements
- Irritability
- Language delay
- Lower IQ
- Macrocytosis (enlarged red-blood cells)
- Mania
- Mental retardation
- Numbness or tingling
- Pallor
- Paranoia
- Personality changes
- Poor head growth
- Poor motor skills
- Poor socialization
- Poor weight gain
- Psychosis
- Restless legs
- Seizures
- Shortness of breath
- Speech problems
- Tremor
- Unsteady or abnormal gait
- Urinary or fecal incontinence
- Violent behavior
- Visual disturbances
- Weakness
Not only do acid reducers cause nutritional deficiencies, but they also take away an important component of our immune system. Stomach acid is used to kill nasty bugs, viruses, parasites and bacteria. Without enough stomach acid, guess what happens? That’s right – infection.
By prescribing proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), doctors are putting their patients at a higher risk for infections like pneumonia and gastroenteritis, as well as getting more colds and stomach bugs.
In addition, by taking acid-reflux drugs, you’re more likely to get sick more often because your immune system can’t fight off these offenders. It also makes the rest of the gastrointestinal tract susceptible to bacterial overgrowth.
Is it worth taking acid-reflux medication? I don’t think so, and I can tell you that, as a mom, I was furious at the doctors who prescribed them to my boys for their acid reflux after I found out how truly dangerous these drugs are.
March 18, 2013
HEALING ECZEMA WITH THE GAPS DIET
My sons have had eczema their whole lives. It has ranged from cradle cap (did you know that was a form of eczema?) to itchy bumps in the creases of the knees and elbows to full-blown bloody red rashes on the arms and legs.
Pediatricians, as usual (sorry!), were useless in treating eczema. Their standard advice was to “put a little cortisone cream on it”. I did try that a few times at first with my older son, but I quickly grew worried about the effects of it on his already-poor immune system. [Read more…]
February 12, 2013
METHYLATION: THE HIDDEN LINK AMONG ALCOHOLISM, AUTISM, CANCER AND MORE
Methylation is a subject that keeps coming up again and again for my sons and myself. It’s one of those all-encompassing issues like toxicity or gut dysbiosis because so many diseases and conditions are linked, directly or indirectly, to it or rather, a lack of it.
What is methylation? It’s the chemical process of donating a methyl group (CH3) to a molecule or compound. This doesn’t sound like much, but this little group is very important to how our bodies function, as I’m finding out.
It not only helps with energy production and builds immune cells and neurotransmitters, but it also processes hormones, detoxifies our bodies, puts protective myelin sheath on our nerves, and can be responsible for epigenetic gene regulation.
Because of its association with all of these essential processes, an inability to methylate is linked to a whole host of diseases and conditions. Methylation defects are linked to: [Read more…]
February 9, 2013
RECOVERY FROM SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER, REFLUX, ASTHMA, ECZEMA
My Children: Recovered from Sensory Processing Disorder, Acid Reflux, Asthma and Eczema, and getting healthier everyday!
(NOTE: This is a blog I wrote for Epidemic Answers, a 501(c)3 non-profit of which I am a Board Member. We let parents know that recovery is possible from autism, PDD-NOS, ADHD, allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases and other chronic children’s health disorders.)
I have recovered my sons from sensory processing disorder (SPD), acid reflux, asthma and eczema. [Read more…]
