Re: It's time to decide whether to do this or not...comments, please

[Guest guest]

At 01:30 PM 10/23/2001 -0400, you wrote:

>My specific questions are these:

>Any one out there with a 6 or 7 year old child who is doing this, I'd like to

>hear from you( or a child older than 5). Good or bad or no results, doesn't

>matter.

Hi Judy,

I had the same concerns about chelation for my eight year old. We started

chelating in Feb 01, my daughter was then seven. She had done extremely

well in her aba program and I was worried that we would cause more damage

by trying to fix her. Eight months later I am so glad we went ahead with it.

My daughter has improved so much socially that she looks like any other

child in her class. I just got back from a field trip at her school. I

drove Reagan and two of her classmates . They ALL chatted away the whole 25

minute drive and on the way back took turns telling stories. She was right

in the thick of it. She has several good friends in her class.

In first grade (two years ago) she was so left out socially that I decided

to homeschool for a year and keep her back a year. She is still immature

but fits in well with the kids who are a year younger.

Chelation has also helped her physically. She is on swim team and has now

caught up to her peers who were always faster. She has more stamina and

improved motor planning. She now falls asleep soon after she hits the

sheets and sleeps ALL night! After seven years of disordered sleep that

alone would have made it worthwhile.

We have also seen an improvement in her handwriting and her reading.

I would guess we still have another year at least to chelate, but it really

has gone by so quickly and the changes are so exciting!

My vote is for you to go for it!

Take it slow, keep your dose low and dose frequently and he should be fine.

Lynette

[Guest guest]

Judy,

I *SO* feel for you and your husband; my own DH and I did the same

agonizing for months before getting started on chelation. Our son is

four and we are proceeding with great results, so I'm not qualified

to answer your specific questions, but I want to offer you the

thought that finally did carry the day in our case and impel us to

give it a try.

What if, years from now when all the peer-reviewed studies and

evidence that we as rational parents would like to see right now, are

all in, and it turns out that mercury poisoning DOES cause autism and

chelation DOES treat mercury poisoning. What are we going to say to

our son? " Sorry , you're really too old now for this treatment

to be its most effective; yes we HAD heard of it when you were much

younger, but, well, it was all kind of iffy back then, nothing was

really proven, we just weren't sure, so we decided not to try it.

Guess you're stuck with a worse case of autism than was actually

necessary. Oops. " Couldn't picture it. We felt we owed it to him at

least to try.

My two cents' worth to you and your husband is, give it a try, low

dose, careful monitoring, and see how your child responds.

Good luck to you all.

> I have been monitoring this list for a couple months now, and as my

son is 6

> I realize the clock is ticking if we want to attempt chelation.

Now that the

> chart has been posted that shows thimerisol exposure, I am pretty

sure my son

> was exposed to a significant amount, in fact, he may have even

received an

> " extra " HepB. We have tried everything else that is rational

(except

> secretin), and while he has improved, he still has a long way to

go. Using

> the counting rules, he looks like a candidate, though just based on

the

> scattering of his minerals, not blatant heavy metals excesses.

>

> My hesitancy is this. I don't want to hurt him trying to cure

him.

> Chelation for Mercury is so new, so minimally studied, I am

concerned. He

> has one liver, one set of kidneys, I can't imagine it could be good

for those

> organs to have all this crap pouring out of his body through them

over 6

> months. And at age 6, I question the benefit we would see for the

trauma we

> will all have to endure. Like all the autism interventions, the

younger

> the child, the better the results seem to be.

>

> My specific questions are these:

> Any one out there with a 6 or 7 year old child who is doing this,

I'd like to

> hear from you( or a child older than 5). Good or bad or no

results, doesn't

> matter.

>

> Anyone have a child who has had to quit this due to worries about

the safety

> of their child during the process?

>

> My husband and I are agonizing over this, any feedback would be

helpful and

> appreciated.

>

> Judy McCann

[Guest guest]

Jenna,

I wish my son were still 6 and we were beginning chelation for him at

that age instead of 8. Our son will soon be 9, and we have been

chelating since January of this year. Though we have had ups and

downs, as many have, over all the progress has been worth it and I

wouldn't wait long if I were you. It is most likely that your child

was mercury poisoned and now it is time to get all the mercury and

all the other metals that a have acculated in his system due to

damaged detox pathways out of there. I think you will be so pleased

you have chosen this path, and on this group you will have nothing

but support and great encouragment to help you along. We have not had

any health probles since chelation, only in the beginning there were

alot of what seemed to be cold systoms but after several weeks of

chelation they are no more. Our son has been healthier then he has

been in years. We are seeing progress all the time, and we are so

glad we made the decision to do this for our son, though it may take

long because he is older I am willing to go the length. Blood tests

along the way will assure you that the kidneys and liver are doing

fine and if there is a problem you stop chelation build up the body

and start again. There have been some that are sensitive to the

chelator but over all most the children are doing well. There's no

need for you to agonize, just start slow, one supplemtent at a time.

I think over all you will be pleased you chose this for your son, he

is still young, do while he is young, you will not regret it, Leah

-- In @y..., jmc6511291@a... wrote:

> I have been monitoring this list for a couple months now, and as my

son is 6

> I realize the clock is ticking if we want to attempt chelation.

Now that the

> chart has been posted that shows thimerisol exposure, I am pretty

sure my son

> was exposed to a significant amount, in fact, he may have even

received an

> " extra " HepB. We have tried everything else that is rational

(except

> secretin), and while he has improved, he still has a long way to

go. Using

> the counting rules, he looks like a candidate, though just based on

the

> scattering of his minerals, not blatant heavy metals excesses.

>

> My hesitancy is this. I don't want to hurt him trying to cure

him.

> Chelation for Mercury is so new, so minimally studied, I am

concerned. He

> has one liver, one set of kidneys, I can't imagine it could be good

for those

> organs to have all this crap pouring out of his body through them

over 6

> months. And at age 6, I question the benefit we would see for the

trauma we

> will all have to endure. Like all the autism interventions, the

younger

> the child, the better the results seem to be.

>

> My specific questions are these:

> Any one out there with a 6 or 7 year old child who is doing this,

I'd like to

> hear from you( or a child older than 5). Good or bad or no

results, doesn't

> matter.

>

> Anyone have a child who has had to quit this due to worries about

the safety

> of their child during the process?

>

> My husband and I are agonizing over this, any feedback would be

helpful and

> appreciated.

>

> Judy McCann

[Guest guest]

Sorry I meant Judy, not Jenna!!!!

> > I have been monitoring this list for a couple months now, and as

my

> son is 6

> > I realize the clock is ticking if we want to attempt chelation.

> Now that the

> > chart has been posted that shows thimerisol exposure, I am pretty

> sure my son

> > was exposed to a significant amount, in fact, he may have even

> received an

> > " extra " HepB. We have tried everything else that is rational

> (except

> > secretin), and while he has improved, he still has a long way to

> go. Using

> > the counting rules, he looks like a candidate, though just based

on

> the

> > scattering of his minerals, not blatant heavy metals excesses.

> >

> > My hesitancy is this. I don't want to hurt him trying to cure

> him.

> > Chelation for Mercury is so new, so minimally studied, I am

> concerned. He

> > has one liver, one set of kidneys, I can't imagine it could be

good

> for those

> > organs to have all this crap pouring out of his body through them

> over 6

> > months. And at age 6, I question the benefit we would see for

the

> trauma we

> > will all have to endure. Like all the autism interventions,

the

> younger

> > the child, the better the results seem to be.

> >

> > My specific questions are these:

> > Any one out there with a 6 or 7 year old child who is doing this,

> I'd like to

> > hear from you( or a child older than 5). Good or bad or no

> results, doesn't

> > matter.

> >

> > Anyone have a child who has had to quit this due to worries about

> the safety

> > of their child during the process?

> >

> > My husband and I are agonizing over this, any feedback would be

> helpful and

> > appreciated.

> >

> > Judy McCann

[Guest guest]

My son was 5-1/2 when I started, we are currently in the middle of

round three. He was very low functioning when we started this entire

journey two years ago, and now he is basically recovered. Here is his

story.

http://home.pacbell.net/cscomp/myson.htm

I know where you are coming from tho, don't want to hurt more than

help. Because my son was so low functioning, I did not see that he

could be hurt any more than he already was, and the presence of heavy

metals in my opinion, was more harmful than the removing them would

be. If your child is higher functioning, then I think you have

different issues than I did.

He has not had any issues on chelation that I would consider major,

and each round has been better than the one before. You should start

conservatively, so the first few rounds go okay for you.

Dana

[Guest guest]

Judy,

Jon was six (almost 7) when I started (adjusted dose and schedule from

the Dan protocol).

He was 8 last month. Go to the photo section of the group and view his

remission pictures of Autism.

Although he has farther to go he has stopped all his stims(hand flapping,

head banging, and spinning) and is continually increasing his language. he

was non-verbal when I started and GFCF for 2 years.

Good luck in your choice....but if I'd have known when he was 3 or 4 years

old I would have chelated him then with glee!

He just came off a round of three days and is grouchy/nasty today but still

played hide and seek with me.

[ ] It's time to decide whether to do this or

not...comments, please

I have been monitoring this list for a couple months now, and as my son is 6

I realize the clock is ticking if we want to attempt chelation. Now that

the

chart has been posted that shows thimerisol exposure, I am pretty sure my

son

was exposed to a significant amount, in fact, he may have even received an

" extra " HepB. We have tried everything else that is rational (except

secretin), and while he has improved, he still has a long way to go. Using

the counting rules, he looks like a candidate, though just based on the

scattering of his minerals, not blatant heavy metals excesses.

My hesitancy is this. I don't want to hurt him trying to cure him.

Chelation for Mercury is so new, so minimally studied, I am concerned. He

has one liver, one set of kidneys, I can't imagine it could be good for

those

organs to have all this crap pouring out of his body through them over 6

months. And at age 6, I question the benefit we would see for the trauma we

will all have to endure. Like all the autism interventions, the younger

the child, the better the results seem to be.

My specific questions are these:

Any one out there with a 6 or 7 year old child who is doing this, I'd like

to

hear from you( or a child older than 5). Good or bad or no results, doesn't

matter.

Anyone have a child who has had to quit this due to worries about the safety

of their child during the process?

My husband and I are agonizing over this, any feedback would be helpful and

appreciated.

Judy McCann

=======================================================

[Guest guest]

DID YOU USE DMSA AND ALA OR JUST ONE?

JULIE

I ASK, SINCE EVEN THE VERY FEW REPORTS OF SIDE-EFFECTS FROM DMSA MAKE MY HUSBAND

WANT TO USE ALA ALONE.

Re: [ ] It's time to decide whether to do this or

not...comments, please

At 01:30 PM 10/23/2001 -0400, you wrote:

>My specific questions are these:

>Any one out there with a 6 or 7 year old child who is doing this, I'd like to

>hear from you( or a child older than 5). Good or bad or no results, doesn't

>matter.

Hi Judy,

I had the same concerns about chelation for my eight year old. We started

chelating in Feb 01, my daughter was then seven. She had done extremely

well in her aba program and I was worried that we would cause more damage

by trying to fix her. Eight months later I am so glad we went ahead with it.

My daughter has improved so much socially that she looks like any other

child in her class. I just got back from a field trip at her school. I

drove Reagan and two of her classmates . They ALL chatted away the whole 25

minute drive and on the way back took turns telling stories. She was right

in the thick of it. She has several good friends in her class.

In first grade (two years ago) she was so left out socially that I decided

to homeschool for a year and keep her back a year. She is still immature

but fits in well with the kids who are a year younger.

Chelation has also helped her physically. She is on swim team and has now

caught up to her peers who were always faster. She has more stamina and

improved motor planning. She now falls asleep soon after she hits the

sheets and sleeps ALL night! After seven years of disordered sleep that

alone would have made it worthwhile.

We have also seen an improvement in her handwriting and her reading.

I would guess we still have another year at least to chelate, but it really

has gone by so quickly and the changes are so exciting!

My vote is for you to go for it!

Take it slow, keep your dose low and dose frequently and he should be fine.

Lynette

[Guest guest]

Judy,

My son turned 6 in April (Asperger Syndrome). He had all his vaccines (I

didn't know better) & I had a mouth full of amalgams. So he had his fair

share (HA HA) of mercury.

Although the total toxic representation on his hair test was off the chart,

he didn't just peg the counting rules one way or the other for mercury

toxicity. No one would make the decision for me (darn the luck!), so I made

the most educated decision I could, & started chelation. We began chelation

w/ 18 mg of DMSA in late July (he weighs 108 or so(yeah, that's a lot, but

he's tall)). I feel like I wasted a year though, researching & doubting

myself. I wanna kick myself in the butt for making excuses all this time,

when I could've been getting my son better. We've completed 8 rounds. On

the 3rd round, we increased to 25 mg. I've been going low & slow. He got

sick, so no chelating in Sept, & not in Oct, until this past weekend. We go

every 4 hours, 3 on/4 off, when possible. I'm gonna increase the dose,

because we're having no side effects that I can't live w/ (he tends to pee

on the bed when we chelate, so I put a pull up on him- I can live w/ that).

If I can say anything, it's DON'T WAIT. Just do it. We are seeing small

gains. Just today the classroom aide told me he was more attentive than

he's ever been. She didn't know about the chelation.

What's really surprised me about this whole chelation bit is the ease.

There just have not been any problems much bigger than peeing on the bed. I

thought I'd open a Pandora's box if I started chelating, & I wouldn't be

able to shut it. I was soooo wrong. It has almost been an un-event. And

this is not just for my 6 yo. I've got a 3 yo son I'm chelating, & I'm

chelating myself. We are doing no testing, I'm going by how the boys react.

My boys have exhibited nothing that would make me believe I need to stop

chelating. If sick, we just don't chelate.

I'm ready to add in the ALA for the boys (I'm already there myself). They

haven't had mercury exposure in over a year (a couple of years ago for the

oldest).

Sorry so long winded. My message - Do it, & do it now.

[ ] It's time to decide whether to do this or

not...comments, please

[Guest guest]

>Chelation for Mercury is so new, so minimally studied, I am concerned. He

>has one liver, one set of kidneys, I can't imagine it could be good for

those

>organs to have all this crap pouring out of his body through them over 6

>months.

" Not good " compared to what? Compared to never having been poisoned?

Chelation is clearly inferior. Compared to having mercury STAY in

ones liver/kidneys/brain? -- I think that REMOVING the toxic stuff is

quite superior to leaving it there to continue its damage. And I think

experience (of people on this list) would support this.

>My specific questions are these:

>Any one out there with a 6 or 7 year old child who is doing this, I'd like

to

>hear from you( or a child older than 5). Good or bad or no results,

doesn't

>matter.

If you have not already done so, you can also try reading through

the love_letters file to see if any of the kids there match what

you are looking for. It is located here:

/files/LOVE_LETTERS

>Anyone have a child who has had to quit this due to worries about the safety

>of their child during the process?

There are a couple of items in the love_letters file with negative

results, or people who stopped chelation. (They are indicated in

the index).

As I say in the introduction to the file, the sample is NOT

objective and may not be representative of the list as a whole.

Best wishes with the decision.

Moria

P.S.:

[i'm doing chelation on mySELF, not a kid. And I'm NT (more or

less!)-- so I can't offer any personal info that falls in the

category of what you asked. Except, well, I *am* over 6 years

old (I'm 43) and I *have* had some progress with chelation. It

is pretty slow progress, and I still have a long " wish list " .

But I'm not complaining--- the changes are good, and

I have not had any significant problems with chelation, IMO.]

[Guest guest]

At 02:42 AM 10/24/2001 +0100, you wrote:

>DID YOU USE DMSA AND ALA OR JUST ONE?

>JULIE

>I ASK, SINCE EVEN THE VERY FEW REPORTS OF SIDE-EFFECTS FROM DMSA MAKE MY

>HUSBAND WANT TO USE ALA ALONE.

>

We started with DMSA only and did that for six months. Then we added ALA.

We have been finishing each cycle with DMSA only and that seems to be

working very well. We had no significant side effects from either, other

than a tad bit of exacerbation of mercury symptoms. I think this is to be

expected. At this point we are so excited about the present that the minor

bad stuff is buried in the past for us. Kinda like child birth,

haha! Again, I believe taking the slow cautious route was the key for us.

I was extremely nervous about chelating. Lynette