In my last post, I wrote about how amino acid supplements have had a huge impact in our daughter's anxiety and behavior. We have also seen great results from using supplements with our son who has sensory processing disorder (SPD). I share this, because for some reason, there seems to be a perception that sensory processing can only be addressed with therapy...even though there has been a tremendous amount of research using supplements in children with autism and ADHD, two conditions that often come with SPD, too. In fact, ALL kids with autism have SPD. So it only made sense to me that some of the supplement treatments researched for autism might have a positive impact on kids who have just been diagnosed with SPD.
Our journey into using supplements started about 8 months ago. Last March began a very painful period of trying to figure out how to get our son to stay in his bed and go to sleep at night. It has always taken him a long time to go to sleep, but historically he seemed happy to lay in bed and talk or sing until he eventually went to sleep. Shortly, after turning 3 that changed. He was very comfortable getting out of bed. At worst, it could take 3 hours to get him to go to sleep. I thought I was going to lose my mind. So I turned to Google and found that apparently this is a common issue with kids who have autism and SPD. It's been studied quite a lot in autistic children. While scientists don't exactly know why autistic kids have trouble sleeping, they know that taking 1 mg of melatonin nightly seems to be very effective.
So we started giving him melatonin and it worked instantly. He could fall asleep in 5-10 minutes. That had NEVER happened in his entire life. Suddenly, he could sleep for 11.5 hours a night, no problem. Seemed amazing. That additional sleep also seemed to have an effect on his cognitive abilities, which makes perfect sense. It actually made me wonder how much of his developmental issues were tied to him just being sleep-deprived.
Now I will say that while melatonin worked fantastically for our son, I have since read more that has led us to make a switch to 5-HTP (tryptophan). Tryptophan has been studied more widely in kids than melatonin. Tryptophan helps the body produce serotonin, and serotonin produces melatonin. Scientists know that children with SPD, ADHD, and autism typically have low serotonin levels. Therefore, studies have been conducted and proven that these children have broader improvements, including sleep, when taking 50 mg of 5-HTP instead of just melatonin. We now give our son 50 mg of 5-HTP (mix it up in his milk) at dinner time, and it works great.
The next issue we faced were meltdowns. Soon after turning 3, he began having more severe tantrums, and they happened everyday. They routinely lasted 45 minutes. And he would consistently ask for us to calm him down. After having endured this with our daughter, I just couldn't face it again with another child, so I began searching for new answers. I came upon the recommendation of using either magnesium or Omega 3s. Most children eating western diets can benefit from magnesium and omega fatty acids. It's critical for brain health and development. Omega 3s have been proven to improve mental skills and remembering in patients with ADHD as well. So I decided to give them a shot. We started with magnesium, but I didn't seen a change. So I added fish oil. 720 mg of EPA/DHA. Instantly, the daily tantrums stopped. Don't get me wrong, he still throws tantrums, but now they typically last 3-5 minutes, not 45 minutes. (BTW, we use Barlean's Omega Swirl Fish Oil. Our son likes it and thinks it tastes like lemonade. However, our daughter who is super sensitive to smells can smell the fish oil, so she won't take it. We use Coromega 3 with our daughter.)
Fast forward about 6 months. We've made definite progress with therapy, sleep, and nutrition. But at about 3 years and 9 months, he stopped napping. He wouldn't go to sleep at school or at home. Within a week, his behavior had regressed significantly. It was like it was 6 months ago. I thought, "Oh no, no, no. This can't happen. I have to get him to nap again." We still happened to have the magnesium oil around, so I pulled it back out. We started using it twice a day, applying it to his feet. In 24 hours, he was napping again. In fact, his naps increased from 1 hour to 1.5-2 hours. Amazing. He was back to the good, happy place.
At this point, I thought, it can't get better than this. Okay, not really, but there wasn't an issue so pressing that it sent me scouring the internet. However, as I mentioned in my last post, we accidentally stumbled upon the benefit of amino acids (l-theanine) for our daughter's anxiety. That led me to wonder what impact do amino acids have on SPD? One of the key issues with SPD kids is they usually have too many glutamates. Glutamate is the most excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain! Geez. That explains so much. So if you can help the brain balance that neurotransmitter, the child's overexcitabilities and anxieties can be reduced. L-theanine (Relaxsaurus) can help reduce glutamates. (Here's a great chart that helps break down brain chemicals and nutritional support.)
It's not like it cured him, but small wins are critical. For example, I typically have to remind him every time to walk to the left side of car where his car seat is. Otherwise, he just wanders or goes to the right side of the car. Since taking this, he walks to the left side every time without being prompted! Another example - in the car one day, I said, "On the way home from therapy, remind me we need to stop and get gas." This was really a test, because I knew he wouldn't remember that. Usually, what would happen on the ride home is this - I would say, "What were you supposed to remind me?" He would say, "What?" I would prompt him again and he would say, "I don't know." This time I said after we got back in the car after therapy, "Hey, what are you supposed to remind to do?" He proudly said, "You are supposed to get gas!" I was stunned.
I'm very excited to see how this progresses. But given that Thanksgiving is next week, I say make your kids eat lots of turkey (which has tryptophan in it) and hopefully, you will have a calm, relaxing holiday!
Some added notes:
I also give him a probiotic. I can't say that I have seen a direct difference in his behavior, but from everything I've read, it's highly recommended for SPD and autistic kids. A substantial amount of the neurotransmitters used by the brain are produced in the gut. Therefore, if there are imbalances and shortages of neurotransmitters, it could be because there is bacterial imbalance in the gut. Taking a probiotic help ensures the digestive system is balanced and functioning properly, thus improving brain function.
Also, I found this post to be really helpful and easy to follow if you want more information.
http://brainblogger.com/2015/06/20/the-role-of-serotonin-and-glutamine-in-aggression/
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
I'm Thankful for Dinosaurs
On this day after the election that didn't go as I had hoped and as Thanksgiving is approaching, I reflected a bit on what I have been thankful for this year. One thing that comes to mind is I am incredibly thankful for dinosaurs. Dinosaurs? Yes, I know that sounds weird, but let me explain.
I've written before that our daughter has generalized anxiety, which has symptoms such as chronic irritability, fatigue, restlessness, anger, and hypervigilance. And our son has sensory processing disorder, which in our son's case, means the sensory input from the environment and from his body are poorly detected. Both of these conditions, anxiety and SPD, are neurological. Their bodies were made this way. But what does that mean for helping them?
For this post, I'll start with our daughter and anxiety. When we first started down the path of addressing our daughter's chronic anger, irritability and meltdowns, we pursued traditional psychological therapy. It was definitely helpful. We learned how to better parent her, we learned how to establish more boundaries and rewards in our house to help her, and we learned how to give her more coping skills. She made dramatic improvements forward. But she still had that edge that made us walk on egg shells. She still sought attention the moment she felt insecure. She still craved sugar regularly to cope with stress. We were managing things, but we always knew we were just 10 seconds away from anxiety-induced chaos.
Before school started, I decided to add magnesium/zinc to the vitamins she takes each morning (she also takes a multi-vitamin, Juice Plus, omega 3, and a probiotic). Most kids in western cultures can benefit from magnesium and omega 3 supplementation. They are critical for brain development and most kids don't get nearly enough in their daily diets, and they are known to have a calming effect. I wasn't sure I would observe a behavioral change, but I figured in the long term it would be beneficial. But I also added something I found on Amazon, called Relaxsaurus. Yep, that's right. It's a dinosaur vitamin for relaxing. I thought it couldn't hurt, but to be honest, I didn't research it a great deal. Nor did I have high hopes for a pill that came in the form of a dinosaur. But it didn't look like there was anything harmful in it, so I decided to give it a try.
So the new school year kicks off, and low and behold, she appears to be mostly anxiety-free. No meltdowns. She spoke pleasantly to her family after school. She happily went to her after-school activities. She didn't freak out about grades or tests. She was sleeping well at night. She didn't ask me for a treat 10 times a day. All in all she was doing great. I thought wow, she just loves the structure of 1st grade and maybe that magnesium is helping some, too.
Fast forward two months, and we ran out of Relaxsaurus. I really didn't care. I didn't think it was doing anything any way. Boy was I wrong. Within 48 hours, her sleep deteriorated. She was angry. She was very controlling, and she had 3 major meltdowns in one weekend. I was stunned. What happened? Well, it turns out it was that little dinosaur pill I didn't think was doing anything. So I decided to do some research on it's primary ingredient - L-theanine. And I bought a whole lot of that little dinosaur pill...pronto.
L-theanine is an amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, and muscle tissue. Many physiological processes relating to bodybuilding from energy, recovery, muscle hypertrophy, fat loss, and strength gains are linked to amino acids. Amino acids are also needed to make neurotransmitters, which are chemicals in the brain that either excite or inhibit neurons. Amino acids can cross the blood-brain barrier to stimulate the synthesis of most neurotransmitters, which affects brain chemistry and impacts mood. And there are several neurotransmitters gamma-aminobutyric acid, serotonin and norepinephrine that are all thought to be involved in the development of anxiety disorders. So it makes sense that increasing a key amino acid could help resolve the brain's activity that is causing the anxiety behaviors. And it turns out L-theanine calms neurotransmitters that can cause anxiety. That's amazing.
Okay, I know that was a lot of science, so I'll wait while you take a moment to digest and maybe have another cup of coffee...
I truly can't believe this has existed all of this time, and we never knew it. Well, it made me think more about the root causes of her anxiety. I found this very helpful blog that helps connect symptoms with the biological issue - http://blog.radiantlifecatalog.com/the-unspoken-solution-for-anxiety-individual-amino-acids. My daughter clearly exhibits the symptoms of low GABA or low serotonin, too. So I purchased another dinosaur called Focussaurus. Focussaurus contains L-glutamine and GABA (as well as other vitamins needed to synthesize these amino acids). L-glutamine (combined with GABA) can actually cross the blood brain barrier and stimulate GABA production. GABA allows your brain to turn "off." It allows your brain to not constantly think and become overwhelmed and anxious.
Low and behold. She got even better. She willingly picks up her toys now without a threat. She talks nicely to her brother even when he is not talking nicely to her. She is able to let little things go even if she perceives they aren't exactly fair. She says please and thank you without being prompted! She asks if she can help with things. It's amazing. I kind of want to run and shout, "See, I'm not a bad parent. Her neurotransmitters just needed a little help."
I must say discovering the impact amino acids can have on anxiety has relieved my anxiety, too. Not because I'm taking them. But I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief. Even though her behavior had been much improved this school year, I thought it was because we were perfectly balancing life for her. So I feared will she regress if the balance suddenly isn't perfect any more. Now I know this improvement isn't just about life balance, it's about brain balance. And I feel like that's something we can control and I don't have to worry if today is the day we fall out of balance again. That's an amazing feeling. I feel like I can enjoy her instead of feeling on guard. And that just makes everyone even more relaxed and happier!
Now, of course, L-theanine and L-glutamine don't fix every brain or every case of anxiety. As you can see from the product reviews, some people love it and others see no change at all. I am not an expert on this, and I would advise you discuss this with your doctor or your pediatrician. But it has really opened a whole new world to me for helping our daughter deal with anxiety without pursuing medications. If you or a loved one is struggling with chronic irritability, anger, sleeplessness, sugar cravings, etc., investigating amino acids or the lack thereof is definitely something to look into.
I'm including a couple of other sites I found to be helpful as well:
http://www.drdavidgersten.com/AMINO-ACID-Rx.html
http://www.dietcure.com/aminoacids.html
One other caveat. If you have a child who takes SSRIs, do not give them these supplements. It could cause them to produce too much serotonin, causing not only behavioral issues but serotonin toxicity which can be very dangerous.
I've written before that our daughter has generalized anxiety, which has symptoms such as chronic irritability, fatigue, restlessness, anger, and hypervigilance. And our son has sensory processing disorder, which in our son's case, means the sensory input from the environment and from his body are poorly detected. Both of these conditions, anxiety and SPD, are neurological. Their bodies were made this way. But what does that mean for helping them?
For this post, I'll start with our daughter and anxiety. When we first started down the path of addressing our daughter's chronic anger, irritability and meltdowns, we pursued traditional psychological therapy. It was definitely helpful. We learned how to better parent her, we learned how to establish more boundaries and rewards in our house to help her, and we learned how to give her more coping skills. She made dramatic improvements forward. But she still had that edge that made us walk on egg shells. She still sought attention the moment she felt insecure. She still craved sugar regularly to cope with stress. We were managing things, but we always knew we were just 10 seconds away from anxiety-induced chaos.
Before school started, I decided to add magnesium/zinc to the vitamins she takes each morning (she also takes a multi-vitamin, Juice Plus, omega 3, and a probiotic). Most kids in western cultures can benefit from magnesium and omega 3 supplementation. They are critical for brain development and most kids don't get nearly enough in their daily diets, and they are known to have a calming effect. I wasn't sure I would observe a behavioral change, but I figured in the long term it would be beneficial. But I also added something I found on Amazon, called Relaxsaurus. Yep, that's right. It's a dinosaur vitamin for relaxing. I thought it couldn't hurt, but to be honest, I didn't research it a great deal. Nor did I have high hopes for a pill that came in the form of a dinosaur. But it didn't look like there was anything harmful in it, so I decided to give it a try.
So the new school year kicks off, and low and behold, she appears to be mostly anxiety-free. No meltdowns. She spoke pleasantly to her family after school. She happily went to her after-school activities. She didn't freak out about grades or tests. She was sleeping well at night. She didn't ask me for a treat 10 times a day. All in all she was doing great. I thought wow, she just loves the structure of 1st grade and maybe that magnesium is helping some, too.
Fast forward two months, and we ran out of Relaxsaurus. I really didn't care. I didn't think it was doing anything any way. Boy was I wrong. Within 48 hours, her sleep deteriorated. She was angry. She was very controlling, and she had 3 major meltdowns in one weekend. I was stunned. What happened? Well, it turns out it was that little dinosaur pill I didn't think was doing anything. So I decided to do some research on it's primary ingredient - L-theanine. And I bought a whole lot of that little dinosaur pill...pronto.
L-theanine is an amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, and muscle tissue. Many physiological processes relating to bodybuilding from energy, recovery, muscle hypertrophy, fat loss, and strength gains are linked to amino acids. Amino acids are also needed to make neurotransmitters, which are chemicals in the brain that either excite or inhibit neurons. Amino acids can cross the blood-brain barrier to stimulate the synthesis of most neurotransmitters, which affects brain chemistry and impacts mood. And there are several neurotransmitters gamma-aminobutyric acid, serotonin and norepinephrine that are all thought to be involved in the development of anxiety disorders. So it makes sense that increasing a key amino acid could help resolve the brain's activity that is causing the anxiety behaviors. And it turns out L-theanine calms neurotransmitters that can cause anxiety. That's amazing.
Okay, I know that was a lot of science, so I'll wait while you take a moment to digest and maybe have another cup of coffee...
I truly can't believe this has existed all of this time, and we never knew it. Well, it made me think more about the root causes of her anxiety. I found this very helpful blog that helps connect symptoms with the biological issue - http://blog.radiantlifecatalog.com/the-unspoken-solution-for-anxiety-individual-amino-acids. My daughter clearly exhibits the symptoms of low GABA or low serotonin, too. So I purchased another dinosaur called Focussaurus. Focussaurus contains L-glutamine and GABA (as well as other vitamins needed to synthesize these amino acids). L-glutamine (combined with GABA) can actually cross the blood brain barrier and stimulate GABA production. GABA allows your brain to turn "off." It allows your brain to not constantly think and become overwhelmed and anxious.
Low and behold. She got even better. She willingly picks up her toys now without a threat. She talks nicely to her brother even when he is not talking nicely to her. She is able to let little things go even if she perceives they aren't exactly fair. She says please and thank you without being prompted! She asks if she can help with things. It's amazing. I kind of want to run and shout, "See, I'm not a bad parent. Her neurotransmitters just needed a little help."
I must say discovering the impact amino acids can have on anxiety has relieved my anxiety, too. Not because I'm taking them. But I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief. Even though her behavior had been much improved this school year, I thought it was because we were perfectly balancing life for her. So I feared will she regress if the balance suddenly isn't perfect any more. Now I know this improvement isn't just about life balance, it's about brain balance. And I feel like that's something we can control and I don't have to worry if today is the day we fall out of balance again. That's an amazing feeling. I feel like I can enjoy her instead of feeling on guard. And that just makes everyone even more relaxed and happier!
Now, of course, L-theanine and L-glutamine don't fix every brain or every case of anxiety. As you can see from the product reviews, some people love it and others see no change at all. I am not an expert on this, and I would advise you discuss this with your doctor or your pediatrician. But it has really opened a whole new world to me for helping our daughter deal with anxiety without pursuing medications. If you or a loved one is struggling with chronic irritability, anger, sleeplessness, sugar cravings, etc., investigating amino acids or the lack thereof is definitely something to look into.
I'm including a couple of other sites I found to be helpful as well:
http://www.drdavidgersten.com/AMINO-ACID-Rx.html
http://www.dietcure.com/aminoacids.html
One other caveat. If you have a child who takes SSRIs, do not give them these supplements. It could cause them to produce too much serotonin, causing not only behavioral issues but serotonin toxicity which can be very dangerous.
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