#Round 9 - FAILED / ABANDONED

                                                -26th Nov -28th Nov -

Feeling all gungho, but not wanting to do split my 150mg ALA into 30 parts, which will probably end up being just a speck or two on the paper, I decided to do DMSA for this round ...

While on DMSA this time round, I decided to omit rice from his diet and just gave Jaden meat and vege for mealtimes.

Well, all I wanted to say was Jaden took the diet well, but I can see that he was craving for carbs, for those sugar -those yeasty monster in him probably was practically begging to be fed with sugar ...

and that of course, did create havoc. The havoc what we parent would call a die-off behavior.

He was rather cranky and would just go weepy or have sudden outbursts of crying session. 

This time, I up-ed his Adrenergize to help with his adrenal stress, which I suspect could have been one of the culprits yet I do not rule out the die-off reaction from no carbs diet. 

I gave him red quinoa though from the second night onwards as I could see he needed more than just vege and meat and going all cold-turkey was not really helping.

In fact, on the second day of the diet, he threw up and seemed really lethargic. I had to cancel all classes for him that day and all he did was sleep or lie down.

I just did not want to let that one day of chelation go to waste, and seeing that he has no fever, nor was he not eating, so I continued with my dosing until ...

I woke up at 730am the next morning after the last 1am dosing on Wednesday morning ... I could have finished the round on that Wednesday 9pm or Thursday 1am but no, I have to be careless enough to set my alarm to ring at 445pm instead 445am to wake up.

I really felt as if my whole energy was drained because of having to abandon this round. 

However, after trying out ALA the week before and this week, DMSA, I noticed a big difference in giving these two chelators.

Jaden seems to fare better on DMSA compared to ALA as ALA causes him to verbal stims a lot. DMSA does not do that to him but he tends to be cranky a little on DMSA. Yeast can be quite an issue too as I saw rashes appearing bits by bits near his crotch area, and that is where they usually attack him too. 

His poo, however on a red quinoa diet, he seems to poo quite frequently, in fact almost after every meal of quinoa. The poo that comes out of him looks nasty, with specks of the quinoa skin that makes it looks as if its a sporadic poo.

It took him about three full days, after stopping the red quinoa to clear out the specks from his colon, back to the normal brown colour stool. *sigh*

Even his therapists commented that Jaden fared better this week compared to last week when he was on ALA. He was just mostly spacing out on ALA .

Jaden, on Tuesday after the puking session, although feeling lethargic, he was still as cranky as ever. I took him down to the playground during the evening and had him played on the swing, for almost 1/2 hour, letting him sweat it all out and well, that really work wonders. He became much more manageable, more calm after the swing. :)

and now he has been having the flu, and I am just taking the advantage of resting much before I continue re-chelating #Round 9 again, on DMSA until my ALA arrives from iHerb.

Once you start, you can't stop ...

#round 8 of chelation week (19th Nov -22nd Nov) :-

##round 1 on ALA 5mg

ALA is known as Alpha Lipoic Acid.

ALA detoxification is effective for the removal of mercury and arsenic from the brain, which means to use ALA as the chelator, it will cross the brain barrier and pull these toxic metals out.

DMSA, on the other hand, does not cross brain barrier and is only effective for the removal of lead, and assists in the removal of mercury.

The reason why parents are advised to do one chelator at a time, during the first few rounds instead of doing both at the same time, is so that they would know how the child reacts to each chelator -the symptoms and such so in future, the parents can pinpoint the problem to the main cause.

We chelated during weekdays again because I find this arrangement sort of works better for me, and I get to rest during the weekend.

During the first day of ALA, the first initial feedback of mine would be I felt that Jaden did better on DMSA (first day) compared to ALA.

He was also constipated on every first day of chelation lately, including this round on ALA.

Jaden was not focusing as well as he did too on DMSA days. He seems to have less eye contact, and always in a daze.

Red dots, which I believed might just be the toxic exiting his body, started appearing randomly near his thighs and crotch area. He, too, started scratching his butt due to a few red bumps appearing over there.

There was an increased of verbal stimming and jumping too. He was just stimming away verbally and hopping around like a kangaroo.

There was also an increased of Jaden licking his palm after touching things, be it the wall, the grill door, whatever that he wanted to feel, he would feel with his hands, then onto his tongue.

ALA seems to have him waking up at nights, when he usually do sleep like a log throughout the night. Somehow, night feedings this time round weren't as smooth as it was supposed to be. He seems to have this sudden crying outburst (somewhat as if he had a nightmare).

Though he was constipated on the first day of chelation, the next two days, he actually have well-formed stools coming out from him, and they seem to not be as smelly. I know, shit are all smelly but the parents that shares the same experience as I do, will know what I am talking about when it comes to the level of smelliness. 

I triggered the second day poo by giving him the Oxycleanse supplement. That supplement do come in handy but if I could choose, I rather give natural laxative inducer such as juice, fruits or vegetables.

Supposedly, metals get excreted out in stools when one chelate using ALA, whereas metals are excreted through urine when using DMSA.

The positive side to the ALA dosing is that I did not see any yeast flare-up compared to him on DMSA.

In fact, I even gave him a shot of 0.04ml of MB12 injection on 21st Nov. I must have done it right because he did not show signs of hyperactivity.

That was my first time injecting his butt after a looooong hiatus that both Mr and I tried on him earlier this year. 

However, the successful injection on the first time did not go well the second time I tried. Instead, the needle bended and I got pricked instead. Guess I still need to figure out how to do it fast and steady on the little cow of mine. 

p/s: to understand what I am doing, do read this . =)

Do you know the works of Calcium and Magnesium?

WHY CALCIUM AND MAGNESIUM AREN'T ALWAYS THE BEST OF FRIENDS

Magnesium competes with calcium for absorption and can cause a calcium deficiency if calcium levels are already low.

excerpted from :-
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/magnesium-000313.htm#ixzz2CGuMsrrO

Most people take it for granted that calcium and magnesium are good for you.

In many ways these minerals are very important; your nerves and muscles depend on them.

Taking too much calcium, or using the wrong form of calcium, **TUMS for example, may lead to kidney stones, bone spurs or calcifications.

Calcium does not work alone in your body. It requires vitamin D, parathyroid hormone and healthy saturated fat in order to be utilized for strong bones, teeth and muscles.

Bone health not only requires calcium, but an array of other vitamins, minerals and hormones to complete that process.

Magnesium is a critical mineral for health. Magnesium is necessary for some 300 reactions in the body, it is used by every organ in the body, especially your heart, muscles, and kidneys. It contributes to teeth and bones as well as activating enzymes, contributing to energy production, and helps regulate calcium, copper, zinc, potassium, vitamin D, and other important nutrients.

Intestinal flu, stomach and bowel diseases, diabetes, pancreatitis, hyperthyroidism, kidney malfunction, and use of diuretics can lead to low magnesium levels. Too much coffee, soda, salt, alcohol, excessive sweating, and prolonged stress can also lower magnesium levels.

Low levels of magnesium may lead to agitation, anxiety, restless leg syndrome, sleep disorders, irritability, nausea and vomiting, abnormal heart rhythms, low blood pressure, confusion, muscle spasm and weakness, hyperventilation, insomnia, poor nail growth, seizures, migraine, asthma, allergies, fibromyalgia, ADD, and nervous disorders.

Foods rich in magnesium include unrefined grains, nuts and green vegetables. Green leafy vegetables are particularly good sources of magnesium because of their chlorophyll content.

Calcium should be taken during the day. Magnesium is best taken at bedtime for better utilization and better sleep. The reason for this is that calcium is antagonistic towards magnesium, as they act biochemically to cancel each other out.

**TUMS is calcium carbonate. This can lead to an imbalance in the blood’s bicarbonate buffering system which may undermine your health.

excerpted from :-

http://blog.seattlepi.com/naturalnotes/2009/09/01/magnesium-and-calcium-arent-always-the-best-of-friends/

Andy Cutler Chelation Protocol #Round 7

We just finished another round of chelation this week, only to realize we are only at #round 7. Despite saying over and over again that I would want to try out chelating solely using ALA, I chickened out and is still on DMSA.

We had a two weeks break from chelation. 

I want to say, it is because I was just feeling really really tired, knowing that I will not be able to bring myself to wake up every 4 hours for the feed for 3 nights continuously but that is just all BS. (*bullsh*t)

Those are just excuses for myself when I am being a selfish mother, taking off chelation week so I can go and enjoy concerts and sleep my ass off... pure procrastination but time waits for no man. The more I keep resting off chelation, the less chance I would be able to help Jaden recover and if he could make decisions, I bet he would want to hurry this up so he could be just like any other neurotypical children out there.

I am glad I have a fellow mummy friend, a good one at that, to keep supporting and pushing me to go on. Since I do see positive results coming from what she is doing for her son, the perseverance .. it is very inspiring to me. *sigh*

Anyway, after the two week hiatus on chelation week, I do feel recharged to take on sleepless nights again and I took the opportunity of the public holidays this week and little classes in between to do chelation on weekdays again. In fact I think its better for me as it enables me to have a good rest during weekends.

I started chelating Jaden on Monday 12th November 1pm and just ended the round today, 15th November 1pm. 

I thought I will have repeat moments like oversleeping again and nearly missing dosage hours but surprisingly, I did well this round. I wake up on time, or even before the alarm rings and got to do all the night feeds successfully. Must be because Jaden had been tired out fully during the day and he sleeps like a baby during the night. Weekdays are good, afterall eh?

Jaden was constipated on the first day of chelation, thus I gave him an OxyCleanse supplement on the second day on empty stomach, two hours after lunch/before dinner. He had a go not long after he had the supplement and his bowel movement have been consistent these two days. Shall watch out for today though because it is very very important that he needs to pee and poo daily especially during chelation to have those metals coming out of him. 

Mood wise, he was pretty ok except for yesterday's sudden crying and looking weepily sad when his friend had an outburst of excitement. Lasted for a short while though. Other than that, he was pretty well behaved throughout chelation. 

He didn't break into giggles like before, or have rashes or red bumps or red rings on anus appearing. The only thing that we could really see evident, that might be also caused by yeast flare-up, though it seems quite minor to me was Jaden jumping like a kangaroo. He was just stimming away, jumping like a kangaroo whenever he could. I am willing to take that over temper issues and red rings/bumps/rashes and giggles anytime. 

In fact, this time round, he surprised both Mr and I with... about three things.

1) Finally picking up the hand signs of "finish" without us having to prompt him

2) We heard him say "Please" albeit not clear but it sounded like that when we asked him to and attempts of making the "P" word.

3) He actually took off his own pants and walked to the toilet (toilet door was opened) and he peed into the toiletbowl without me asking him if he has to pee or bringing him to the toilet to pee. 

Wonderful isn't it when we have positive updates like these from time to time and you know its coming from chelation? or maybe it was partly OmegaBrite's helping too .. still, its the positivity that is driving me to go on. 

Cheers to another week of successful chelation. Now, where's that glass of wine for myself? :p

Andy Cutler Chelation Protocol #Round 6

Since we were away visiting my mother in law last weekend, I did not get to chelate Jaden over the weekend. Knowing that I would be out from the house, away from the boy coming Saturday, I decided to chelate him during the weekday instead.

I started on #round 6 on Monday on Jaden.

We are still currently stuck on DMSA as I am planning to purchase the ALA in 25mg capsules. 

Jaden's yeast attack is quite bad this time round. Although its not attacking in behavioral, its attacking physically on his skin. Itchy rashes are appearing around his thighs, near to his private parts, and sporadic red spots near the bottom.

I am currently trying to keep the rash in control, by applying candelula and diaper cream on him to prevent further rash growth.

He, has been peeing without showing any signs of wanting to go toilet too. He usually will show signs of wanting to pee or he will stand up and take off his own pants but he has leaking pee in class a few times. I wonder if its the cause of chelation or its just him, immersed in work and play that he forgets to quickly signal for toilet time.

I had a missed dosing timing again this round. In fact, it was a bit worse off than previous. This time, it was nearly an hour missed but because of what I was told by other parents, I continued dosing Jaden and went on with my planned 'schedule'. 

Since he did not show any negative reaction and continues to remain all cheerful, calm and better in fact.. I am glad I did not abandon round. If this was my round 1 or 2, I would have most probably abandoned round.

I caught him spitting half his DMSA out too, one time and as calmly as ever, I poured out half the pre-packed DMSA and re-dosed him. Well, 5mg is rather little according to a fellow mother and there should be no harm done compared to large doses of DMSA.

DMSA can be rather taxing on the body organs so I plan to give his body a rest real soon, maybe two weeks to recover while I prep his body with more helpful supplements. 

I just can't wait to tryout ALA, but he might get into a euphoric mode I read... *sigh* Its really true isn't it, no good things will just come without the bad, and the with the bad, comes the good. Depends on which is the greater evil I would rather have ... =)

I nearly got tempted to stop at the 64hour dosing as that was the minimum hours of dosing required but luckily I did not do that. That temptation was so bad as I was really needing the sleep. Must be the time of the month coming for me too, hence the tiredness in me but I psyched myself up, telling me that its only 3 more doses.. 3 more to complete a 72hour round. Since I have already done 64hours, I can hold long enough to last through 72 hours..

Jaden suffered from constipation this time round. 3 days of not pooing at all. Its really amazing where all the waste is stored in that tiny 5 year old body. He farted last night and it was enough to put both Mr and I out, so I can imagine how the smell would be like once I make him poo today, which is A MUST and THE GOAL OF THE DAY for me today.

I have asked some parents for advise on what 'assisting' tools/supps that could help him go and I was recommended the fastest way -glycerin suppository. Of course, there are other suggestions like taking mag citrate instead of mag glycinate, drinking a ripe banana-organic dates smoothie, George's Aloe juice ... but glycerin suppository is the most easily obtained 'tool' for me at the moment so the suppository it is for now. 

Wish me luck that his diaper is big and strong enough to hold those 3 days' waste.

Dividing a 25 mg DMSA

Dividing four 25mg DMSA capsules to last me the 3days of AC Chelation process.

All I need is 19 doses with a spare one, just in case I need them ... 

My style of storing them? Tie 5 folded papers up, and pop them into the fridge until dosing time ... then only I mix them with water / orange juice as when I need them .. as it is advised NOT TO PREMIX DMSA ...

I am going to try ALA soon, maybe this Wednesday as I will be taking a break this weekend and I can't do next weekend so I will be doing the chelation during weekdays. :)

Andy Cutler Chelation Protocol #Round 5

12th October 2012  (2pm) - 15th October 2012  (2pm)

Just that when I thought I had just successfully finished my #round 4 with Jaden and was looking to a few days rest before I begin chelating again, it was Friday again and there I was, sitting at the dining table, cutting up dosages and dividing them onto the folded paper.

I am surprised that I was eager to chelate him this weekend, despite lacking of sleep. The goal I set for both Jaden, 5 years, to see if we can actually feel the light and if God allows, for us to reach that light at the end of this long dark tunnel. 

It gets easier once you pass #round 1 or maybe #round 2, when you finally, somehow created that every 4 hour dosing schedule.

This time round, I had a scare on Saturday morning. Partly my fault for trying to be hero and thinking that even if I clocked in just a few hours of sleep, I would be able to wake up as soon as the alarm goes off and quickly get the DMSA into the syringe and *touch wood* successfully syringing it into his mouth without waking him up. 

It was raining, that Saturday morning. In fact, I think it had been raining for quite some time and everybody knows, its the most perfect weather to sleep in, under the warm covers.. and that was what I did. 

My alarm went off at 950am, and I thought I would just sleep 5 minutes more.. the boy was actually awake by then, and was giggling and playing. 

I really thought that with him moving around the bed like that, giggling away, I would be able to quickly jump out of bed in 5 minutes and get the DMSA ready.

Well, I did jumped out of bed very very QUICKLY... when the clock showed 1040am.

HIS DOSING TIME WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AT 10AM

I TOTALLY MISSED THAT 1/2 HOUR WINDOW ALLOWED ...

so I panic, yet I didn't want to abandon round, thinking that 5mg is still really very little and that I was just 10 minutes late from the allowed window.

So holding that thought, I fed him that DMSA and then panic and stressed myself silly after that, not knowing if I had done the right thing, or I need to abandon the round this weekend because of my greed for 5 more minutes. 

I quickly send out SOS messages to experienced parents, online, sms and calls. 

*phew* turned out that I did the right thing and that my effort thus far was not in vain. 

One that has not gone through this over-sleeping act, will never really be able to phantom that exact feeling I had. 

I thanked the parents who replied my SOS messages.. and found it funny that I could not type " You have no idea what I have just been through.... :)"

I am sure almost every one that replied me had gone through that oversleeping moments and panic as much as I did. This is the type of unnecessary stress I need not, in addition to the lacking of sleep. :p

Seems that Jaden is good on this round too. The obvious signs of him having his yeast flaring up, are his sudden break into giggles and hyperness. *sigh*

Round ended at 2pm Monday and he was pretty fine, throughout the day... and then it all began, the   bad off-round moments.

Started early this morning, when he didn't sleep through the night soundly like what he usually does, waking up at 6am-ish and cried and cried and then played till about 8 before he got a stroke of cane by me and he fell asleep rather fast after that... and the bad behavior mode on, hyperness .. oh boy...

Will most probably be taking a break off chelation for next week and begin the week after... maybe this time I will try using ALA and observe if Jaden will behave much better on ALA alone.