Re: solution for picking fingers???

[Guest guest]

It may seem cruel, but you could put some Grapefruit Seed Extract on his

fingers. It tastes terrible!! Please don't despair about the yeast issue; it

is worth the battle to defeat its power in our kids lives. Absolutely no sugar

is my first motto, including fruit sugar except for pears and blueberries, and

lots of good probiotics. Good luck! Dr. JM solution for picking fingers???

My 12yo has started something new - I think it is attributed to the

yeast which I am battling - not sure if it is a losing battle. He has

started to pick his fingers and has the skin pealed quite a ways on at

least 3 fingers. I wrapped guaze around them - he can pick that but his

fingers might start to heal.

Any other ideas? Are there simple gloves that he could wear?

Lynette

Many frequently asked questions and answers can be found at

<http://forums.autism-rxguidebook.com>

[Guest guest]

wish that would work :-( he is picking them with his fingers. I am

a bit discouraged about the yeast but continue to battle. We are

following BED and the only fruit allowed there is a bit of lemon juice.

-Lynette

Jaquelyn McCandless wrote:

>

> It may seem cruel, but you could put some Grapefruit Seed Extract

> on his fingers. It tastes terrible!! Please don't despair about the

> yeast issue; it is worth the battle to defeat its power in our kids

> lives. Absolutely no sugar is my first motto, including fruit sugar

> except for pears and blueberries, and lots of good probiotics. Good

> luck! Dr. JM solution for picking fingers???

>

>

> My 12yo has started something new - I think it is attributed to the

> yeast which I am battling - not sure if it is a losing battle. He

> has

> started to pick his fingers and has the skin pealed quite a ways

> on at

> least 3 fingers. I wrapped guaze around them - he can pick that

> but his

> fingers might start to heal.

>

> Any other ideas? Are there simple gloves that he could wear?

>

> Lynette

>

>

>

> Many frequently asked questions and answers can be found at

> <http://forums.autism-rxguidebook.com>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Lynette:

I'm not recommending this as a solution for finger-peeling, but I

thought I'd share what we are doing. My 9 year old was ripping his

fingertips to shreds, all fingers. I had thought it was OCD-behavior,

but after talking with some doctors, it seemed to be more related to

anxiety. We tried a number of different reward systems, as well as

giving him squishy-balls to fidget with, but nothing really worked.

About 3 months ago we started him on Reminyl (galantamine)--an

alzheimer medication that has been tried experimentally by Wilens et.

al. at Harvard/Mass Gen for ADHD, and most recently reported on at

IMFAR by Nicolson using it with an autism population. It is an

acetycholinesterase inhibitor and a nicotinic receptor modulator. We

have never had him on any medication before, but we decided to try

this after reading that it helped with attention, executive

functioning, memory, etc. We titrated the dose VERY slowly, taking

almost 2 months to reach an end dosage of 8mg, twice a day. He's been

on it at full dose for about 6 weeks now, and we are seeing a lot of

positives. More attention, more inquisitive, better classroom

interaction, etc. One of the unexpected, but great side benefits, has

been that he has stopped picking at his fingertips over the past 3

weeks. It is too soon to say if this will continue, but at least for

now it is nice to see that his fingers are getting a chance to heal.

Galantamine is something that can be purchased OTC, but we are getting

it as a prescription, in oral solution. I believe that by titrating it

very slowly we were able to avoid some of the negative side

effects--e.g., nausea.

Our doctor is consulting with Dr. Jefferson Prince at Harvard/Mass

Gen, so we feel that while we are moving in somewhat uncharted waters

with this drug, we at least have some guidance.

I'll be curious to see if anyone else comes up with ideas for how to

diminish the finger picking behavior.

Gaynelle

>

> >

> > It may seem cruel, but you could put some Grapefruit Seed Extract

> > on his fingers. It tastes terrible!! Please don't despair about the

> > yeast issue; it is worth the battle to defeat its power in our kids

> > lives. Absolutely no sugar is my first motto, including fruit sugar

> > except for pears and blueberries, and lots of good probiotics. Good

> > luck! Dr. JM solution for picking fingers???

> >

> >

> > My 12yo has started something new - I think it is attributed

to the

> > yeast which I am battling - not sure if it is a losing battle.

He

> > has

> > started to pick his fingers and has the skin pealed quite a ways

> > on at

> > least 3 fingers. I wrapped guaze around them - he can pick that

> > but his

> > fingers might start to heal.

> >

> > Any other ideas? Are there simple gloves that he could wear?

> >

> > Lynette

> >

> >

> >

> > Many frequently asked questions and answers can be found at

> > <http://forums.autism-rxguidebook.com>

> >

> >

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Our son started gnawing his knuckles, some times until they were slightly

bloody. A new doctor pointed out that it is a known side effect of adderall,

and we took him off of it, and the habit (with started when he'd started, but I

missed the connection) stopped. I'd attributed it to his seeing his cousin do

this. The adderall probably created the underlying compulsion, and seeing his

young cousin get Band-Aids for chewing her knuckles triggered the habit....

Glad that one is over. Now he just chews his finger nails, like almost every

male I know.

--Ann

solution for picking fingers???

My 12yo has started something new - I think it is attributed to the

yeast which I am battling - not sure if it is a losing battle. He has

started to pick his fingers and has the skin pealed quite a ways on at

least 3 fingers. I wrapped guaze around them - he can pick that but his

fingers might start to heal.

Any other ideas? Are there simple gloves that he could wear?

Lynette

Many frequently asked questions and answers can be found at

<http://forums.autism-rxguidebook.com>