Posted by bleauberry on March 27, 2009, at 21:06:03
In reply to High histamine and high noradrenaline???, posted by y120194 on March 20, 2009, at 5:14:06
I like the idea that you are seeking alternative natural treatments and that you have done some detailed testing. But I would be dishonest if I did not offer some polite friendly criticism. All just personal opinions of course.
Risperdal is a heavy duty drug. I do not think the dose should go higher than .25mg for a child, .5mg-1mg for an adult. I am experienced with this class of drugs. If he is not outright psychotic, he has no business being on risperdal. If someone is determined to put an AP in the mix, Zyprexa 2.5mg would be a much better option in my opinion.
Copper...good to test. Low or high is a problem. Glad you ruled it out.
Heavy metals...how exactly did you test for these? If it was a hair test, it is meaningless, unless you know the "counting rules" explained in the book Amalgam Illness by Phd Andrew Cutler. Mercury displaces its own movement into hair, as well as movements of other metals into hair. The only time mercury will show in hair is a few months after a significant exposure. I have/had elevated mercury, yet my hair showed zero mercury. The other metals were all over the map, very unusual, and that was a strong clue that mercury was indeed there. Lead is just as big a problem and much easier to get into a child from our environment and water and food and such.
The best test for both of those metals is a DMSA challenge test. For example, I took a massive 1200mg dose of DMSA and collected urine for 6 hours. In it was a massive amount of mercury and lead, even though my hair showed none. An even better and safer test is to take DMSA 25mg every four hours around the clock for three days, then one large dose, then collect urine for 6 hours, then follow up with 25mg around the clock for another two days to mop up what the large dose dislodged.
5htp. I don't like it. It is usually good for sleep, but not much else. At other forums, it is impossible to find anyone who has had any benefit from it for more than a few months. If you want more serotonin, have him eat a baked potato with the skin on an hour before bed every night. No joke. Check out the book "Potatoes Not Prozac". It explains the science of tryptophan conversion to serotonin, carbs, and how potatoes play a special role.
Taurine and niacinamine. Good supplements. I am not surprised you found them helpful. In the same circuitry you could experiment with magnesium, lithium orotate or low dose prescription. Magnesium glycinate would be the preferred form of Mg, with a second best being Mg Citrate. The glycine is also a good one, and is in the Mg Glycinate.
Neurotransmitters. I am guessing you had the urine test. It is interesting. I had it done too. In reality, it is useless. It only shows the metabolites in our urine. It does not show what is actually going on in our nervous system and brain. The only way to do that is a spinal tap, which I doubt anyone is going to do. More than that, we have no idea whatsoever of what is going on with the receptors involved with those neurotransmitters. Are they damaged? Too high in numbers? Too low in numbers? Their sheath coating not good? Oversensitive? Undersensitive? We have no clue.
The best strategy is to try things to see what is helpful and add to that things you later find helpful as well. Discard the ones that are not. Our own bodies will tell us what we need, what is good and what is bad.
I am a fan of the alternative MDs and naturopaths. I have one myself. That said, they have practically zero science to back up their claims. Their supplements rarely work. Their ideas rarely prove worthy. I give them applause for their efforts, bravery, and theories however. I like pioneers. They will discover great things.
I applaud you for taking a diagnosis of ADD and bipolar and saying, "ok, WHY are these things happening", instead of just treating the symptoms. But we may never know. While continuing to do the healthiest things possible for your child, it might be considered to treat modestly with things that could really help significantly...things like ultra low dose SSRI, ultra low dose TCA, low dose lithium, low dose stimulants, and try to get away from the antipsychotics.
poster:bleauberry
thread:886205
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20090204/msgs/887327.html