A couple months ago, it was time to get Ethan retested to
gauge how he is progressing with his biomedical treatment plan. This latest round of tests was the most
intensive that we have undergone because we completed 4 different tests at the
same time. Two of which required Ethan to fast before hand. If you know Ethan,
you know that keeping him from eating for the first 3-4 hours of the day is no
easy feat.
Ethan had been exhibiting self-injurious behavior (SIB) for
several months. At Gavin’s 4-year check-up,
the pediatrician recommended we have Ethan’s cholesterol checked. He explained
that kids who have been treated multiple times with antifungals for yeast, like
Ethan, have had their cholesterol levels drop.
Low cholesterol can lead to aggression and SIB in kids with autism. I ignored the doctor’s suggestion thinking
that did not make sense. Over the next few months, I noticed Ethan’s aggression
get worse and worse specifically the SIB.
In my gut, I knew that the yeast was back. I did not want to put Ethan on another round
of antifungals, so I pushed those feelings down deep and ignored them as
well. I paid a visit to Ethan’s
biomedical doctor who also suggested the cholesterol exam. I decided to do my
own research on cholesterol and it turns out, cholesterol
is pretty dog gone important. It is
needed for vitamin D synthesis, hormone production, normal cell function, aids
digestion, and most importantly, it is needed for normal brain function. After learning more, I decided it was a good
idea to go ahead and get him tested. It was a simple blood test. (you know the
one where Dad sits on top of him, pinning him to the exam table, while 3 nurses
draw his blood, simple right) Turns out, his cholesterol is indeed low. We have started him on a cholesterol
supplement. After about 3-6 months, we should begin to see big changes in his
behavior as a result of his stable cholesterol level.
The next test we did was a comprehensive digestive stool
analysis (CDSA). This test showed us
that not only was the doc right about his cholesterol, but Dad was right about
the evil yeast clawing its way back into Ethan’s gut. If you’ve read previous blogs, you know that
we have combatted yeast for a couple of years now. We can’t seem to keep it
away. Usually, it comes back after Ethan sneaks a food that is not good for
him, mostly bread. This time, I’m not sure what allowed it to come back. I
think he did get into the bread, but I thought we caught him in time, maybe
not. I know his levels of good bacteria
had decreased dramatically. A healthy
amount of probiotics in his gut will combat the invading fungus pretty well. Unfortunately, Ethan has yet to establish a
healthy enough amount of good bacteria. Ethan
had 3 days of IV antibiotics in his first week of life. The problem with
antibiotics is they kill good bacteria too. The IV antibiotics pretty much
destroyed the probiotics he was born with.
We’ve been striving to get his good bacteria levels up ever since we
began biomedical treatment 3 years ago. Yeast
will cause all sorts of awful behavior problems from aggression, food
obsessions, fogginess, attention problems, and unstoppable hysterical laughter
that could go on for hours. Yeast will wreak havoc on the rest of the body.
Taking over in the gut, it will begin to destroy the good bacteria that are a
crucial part of the immune system. It will cause digestion problems, absorption
problems, and a throw off various biological cycles.
The CDSA showed us that despite the yeast, Ethan is
beginning to digest his food better. However, he does have trouble breaking
down fat and carbs. While he is
digesting better, he still has a poor absorption rate. This can be somewhat
attributed to the yeast, but it is also another ongoing problem we are
battling. The final item learned from
the CDSA is that a strand of good bacteria was not present in Ethan’s
system. The yeast had eradicated the
lactobacillus strand of probiotics.
Ethan has begun a new round of antifungals to get rid of the yeast. He will continue taking digestive enzymes
with meals that will help him break the food down and absorb the nutrients
better. We are adding a supplement called acetyl
carnitine to help break down fat and carbs.
We started treatment as a
result of both tests about a month ago. We have already seen a dramatic
improvement in Ethan's temperament as well as an improvement in his
language. Those are the first two tests we had ran this time
around. This is enough info for now, so I will get into the next two in a
separate posting.
