Following The Routine Isn't Always Routine

It seems we're always giving out advice to special needs parents.  Feeding issues, sleep troubles, allergy  problems.  Not because we're perfect in ANY way or such great experts, but simply because we have a fairly well adjusted and VERY happy little boy, and people are always out for our "secret".  So it just seems kind of funny to me that we've been up since 4AM for not following our own advice, especially when I just finished telling a friend yesterday about how great our routine works for us in keeping him sleeping through the night!  Just what is that routine, read on and we'll tell you everything.

Just to let you know, we didn't come up with this overnight, It took a while and it evolved over a couple of years and will probably be different for every child.

It seems Jonathan had tummy troubles since the day he was born, he was a couple of months "undercooked" and because of that Mommy was having a bit of trouble getting production flowing, so the doc suggested artificial milk as a supplement and gave him a Soy based formula.  That almost immediately put him in distress and required a few more days in the hospital.  Little did we know that his tummy troubles had just begun.

Fast forward a few years later and in addition to the Autism, it turns out he's allergic to Milk Protein, Soy, Egg and Peanuts.  It wasn't until he developed an allergy to horses though, that I started wondering what caused allergies.   (He had been riding for YEARS with no issues)  Turns out it's caused by things like Tylenol!  There's also a link between gut flora imbalances and allergies as well.

Now the routine.
Breakfast was hard, with him being allergic to almost every breakfast item, so we usually give him a combo of Bananas, Pears and Cherries blended with two heaping tablespoons of Organic Oatmeal. After heating this to a boil, I pour it into a bowl and add cold "Oat Milk" (It's actually Pacific Oat Beverage) since it's usually a bit  too thick.  I then put in a capsule of Florajen 4 kids Since we don't want to bore him with the same thing every day, we switch things up with Apple's, Blueberries, Mangos, Strawberries ... the combinations are endless.  The staple is the Oatmeal

since it helps keep him regular, or as I like to say... Premium!

After breakfast I'll give him a blend of Green Pasture Fermented Cod Liver Oil in Licorice Flavor and Scotts Emulsion Cod Liver Oil (Though I'm replacing the Scott's with the better rated Carlson Brand).  The Green Pastures version is superior but the taste is too strong for my son to handle so I mix it with the regular Cod Liver oil.  What's great about the Green Pastures version is that it's produced the same way Cod Liver oil was produced centuries ago, and since it's not pasturized, it still has the CoQ10 along with dozens of other enzymes and beneficial bacteria that are all destroyed with the pasturizing process all other Cod Liver oils go through.

Lunch varies, but we try to always give freshly prepared meals since prepackaged foods don't seem to sit too well with him.  Usually give him NAC after lunch so it doesn't affect his appetite.
Dinner is similar to Lunch, then about an hour later we give him Natrol Melatonin (I think it works better than the Animal based version) with Oat Milk then let him soak in a tub with a cup of regular Epsom Salt, for at least a half hour.  Considering that our kids are usually sensitive to a lot of things out there, I wouldn't go with the ones who add Lavender or other things, keep it simple. To keep the water from getting cold, what I'll do is put him in when the water is about a 1/3rd full, then have hot water just trickling out of the spout, I'll then read a book for the next half hour to an hour or so. Once he's out of the tub, we give him the Cod Liver Oil blend again and usually he'll go to sleep within 15 Min. or so and sleep through the night.

So how did we screw up?  We only put him in the tub for about 10 Min... Not nearly enough time for the Magnesium in the Epsom Salt to absorb into his system, so now we're paying the price for that rush through ... Oh well, Live and Learn.

Epsom Salt for Autism?

We're always looking for light reading between tasks on what we can do for our son to overcome the negative effects of Autism, and so I was intrigued when I found an article on Epsom Salt.  I guess what kind of stuck out in my mind was the fact that lately, we've had to give him Miralax for constipation and I know that the active ingredient in Miralax is actually Magnesium.  Well, Epsom Salt is not really salt, it's really just Magnesium Sulfate.  Not to go too much into another subject, but another article we wrote here, about a Tylenol and Allergy Link, it turns out that the Sulfates in Epsom Salts, can replenish the Sulfates used up in the Liver, due to taking Tylenol.  It should be noted however, that some studies make it unclear if both should be taken at the same time, so talk to your doctor.

To make a long story short, I've been putting a cup in Jonathan's bath every other day and I've found that he sleeps better, has less allergic outbreaks and seems to be able to concentrate on tasks we give him a bit longer than before.  The only thing I would like to say though, before continuing on to read the article, is to double check with your doctor, since the Magnesium or the Sulfate might interact negatively with Medication your child might be on.

Here's the Article, and you decide.

My mother taught me about Epsom salts for aches and pains. She would swear by it and I would ignore it; chalking it up to another old wives tale she told me. But then autism entered our lives and suddenly I was reading about the magic of Epsom salt baths. Could my mom actually have been right about this? Well, yes.

The reason I learned about Epsom salt baths for my son with autism was due to the research I was conducting on some of his physical and behavioral symptoms he displayed. It turned out that he has trouble with his PST (phenol-sulfotransferase) system and the processing of phenols and salicylates.

Symptoms of PST/sulfate deficiency (problems with phenols/salicylates) are reddened ears, hyperactivity, inappropriate laughter, night sweats, black under eyes, excessive thirst, eczema, facial flushing, trouble falling to sleep, disturbed sleep and odorous bed-clothes.  Your child doesn’t have to exhibit all of these symptoms in order to have trouble with phenols.  My son gets most of these symptoms and he not only becomes very hyper, but he starts to stim and he has trouble with emotion regulation.

Ready for the medical science behind this? One very important sulfotransferase enzyme is the one that attaches sulfate to phenol compounds, called phenol-sulfotransferase (PST). The PST is under active in the majority of autistic children. Without the PST enzyme working properly, the liver will have trouble eliminating the phenols in food.  PST is a Phase 2 liver enzyme that detoxifies leftover hormones and a wide variety of toxic molecules, such as phenols and amines that are produced in the body (and even in the gut by bacteria, yeast, and other fungi) as well as food dyes and chemicals.

OK, so what are phenols?  Phenols are present in food dyes, artificial flavors, preservatives and in highly colored fruits and vegetables, in bioflavonoids, and in carotenoids (carotene, lutein, lycopene, xanthophylls, and zeaxanthin).  Almost all foods have phenols, but in varying amounts. Salicylates are a subgroup of phenols.Salicylate is a group of chemicals related to aspirin. There are several kinds of salicylate, which plants make as a natural pesticide to protect themselves.  Foods high in natural salicylates are tomatoes, apples, peanuts, bananas, oranges, cocoa (chocolate), red grapes, coffee, all berries, peppers (bell & chili) to name a few.  My son can’t tolerate too many phenols/salicylates. He reacts to tomatoes (yes, ketchup and pasta sauce!), chocolate, red grapes, and artificial colors/flavors.

Most children on the autism spectrum are very low in sulfate due to a deficiency in this PST pathway.  Since sulfur intake is low, and its oxidation is slow in many autistic children, phenols and salicylates that requires or uses up sulfate ions during its metabolism, will make the situation worse.  Tylenol is phenolic and one or two minutes after a dose of  Tylenol, the entire supply of sulfate in the liver is gone!

So, what’s a mother to do? Well, listen to their mother. Epsom salt baths. One way to enhance detoxification is to supply more sulfate.  This increases the amount of toxins processed out. Sulfate ions may not be absorbed well from the gut, so simply giving more sulfur directly by swallowing supplements may not produce satisfactory results.  This may be because their body is unable to convert the sulfur to the needed sulfate form. Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate which is readily available to support the PST pathway. You can purchase Epsom salts at Costco, Wal-Mart or your local grocery and health food stores. Be sure to purchase U.S.P. (United States pharmaceutical grade).

When given an Epsom salt bath, the magnesium and sulfate in the salts are absorbed into the body through the skin. Because the sulfur is already in the sulfate form, it does not need to be converted like other forms of sulfur do. Sulfate is thought to circulate in the body up to about nine hours. Any Epsom salts left on the skin may continue to be absorbed as long as it is still on the skin, offering continuous ‘timed-released’ input into the bloodstream.

I put 1.5 to 2 cups of Epsom salts in hot bath water to dissolve and then add the cold water to balance the temperature. My son will soak for about 15 minutes before I use natural soaps or shampoos. Others add baking soda and lavender oil to enhance the relaxation effects.  I give my son an Epsom salt bath at least 5 nights a week, others do less.  It really soothes and calms him for bedtime.

I’ve finally decided to take heed to my mother’s old wives tales she’s been sharing with me for the past 40 years. There is something to be said about listening to your mother.  But perhaps we should refer to them as “old wise tales” from now on.