Ped. won't sign for DD to take enzymes at school :-(

[Guest guest]

I saw dd's pediatrician today. DD has strep (3rd time in 3 months).

I told her that I had considered a special diet for DD but didn't

want to exclude food groups so had tried enzymes for 7 weeks. I told

her that we were seeing significant improvement in DD's behavior,

sleep, stimming (DD has SID and ADD tendancies). I told her I did

not want to take the medication route yet for the ADD issues.

I had printouts from Houston's site, an exerpt from 's book and

a list of studies that show enzymes are not harmful (from 's

enzyme stuff).

I really like my ped. She was great when I had post-partum

depression after birth of my ds. She always takes time to answer my

questions and is never condescending but now I think I need to look

for someone new.

Ped. did not read the literature I brought with me. She said that

there haven't been enough studies to indicate that enzymes helped

with SID, ADD etc. and until the use of enzymes became mainstream,

she could not put her name on a document. Then she talked to me

about her experiences putting kids on ritalin, etc.

I'm sure that she is worried about liability and can respect that

but, I need a ped. who is willing to look at biomedical interventions

for my dd and she is not, at least until she reads about the usage in

a medical journal.

I'm know I'm going on and on here but I'm pretty disappointed. I can

pack the enzymes mixed in choclate in DD's snack and lunch (when she

goes through the cafeteria line) but she isn't getting enzymes before

snack at the after school program. Sometimes she doesn't eat her

chocolate at snack time because she doesn't have enough time. I've

tried freezing them in ice cubes for her drink but she can taste them

and won't drink.

Okay, so how do I find a peditrician who will look at biomedical

interventions? The local naturopath only uses NAET. There are no

DAN doctors in town (at least not listed on the autism website). I

live in Lexington KY so there are a lot of doctors available. Has

anyone dealt with this and what did you do? Do I just start calling

ped. offices and ask if the doctor uses a biomedical approach to

autism spectrum disorders? Any advice would be appreciated.

What's causing this 3rd round of strep and will the Houston enzymes

help?

Ann

mom of 6 yo DD and 16 month old DS

[Guest guest]

Two topics that really get my attention!

First, regarding the strep, are you using the same antibiotic each

time? Some pediatricians are more likely than others to try

different types of antibiotics. Some are under the misconception

that, for example, amoxicillin is always the answer for all cases of

strep. Some parents have to go through two or three types of

antibiotics. Also, have you thrown out the toothbrush after being on

antibiotics a few days? Using a new cup to rinse after brushing? We

have gone round and round with strep at my house this winter and it

can be very hard to get rid of - our area has had a terrible epidemic

of it. There is more strep info here

http://www.enzymestory.com/PANDAS.html. Scroll down to Information

About Strep Throat.

Second, the fact that the doctor did not take the time to read the

info would send me to someone new too. Whenever I've needed a new

specialist, I ask my friends if they know of someone who is a good

listener. I would not assume you have to go to someone " alternative "

like a naturopath. I very much like our pediatrician even though she

is " mainstream " . I consider her to be very bright because she

listened to me when I brought up enzymes - she thought they sounded

like something worth trying.

If you want to continue to see your doctor, you could try the

following to convince her enzymes are more " mainstream " :

Go to http://www.eparent.com/magazine/feb04_magazine.htm and try to

order the Feb 2004 issue which has another excellent article by one

of the Exceptional Parent staff, Steele Reid. It includes some

quotes by Dr. Houston, D (and mentions her book), and other

parents. This magazine's editor-in-chief is Rick Rader, MD.

Go to http://www.aspergersdigest.com/ and click on the March-April

2002 issue of the Autism Asperger's Digest to order it. It contains

an older, but very excellent article by D about the history of

enzymes and the new application for autism issues.

I know she is wanting something more along the lines of an AMA

publication, but these might help since they are the two premier

autism magazines. I would mention that, " The two premier autism

magazines have published articles on enzymes for autism. " I would

ask her that even if she still doesn't approve of enzymes, could she

please put those articles in your child's medical file along with a

note that your request was denied in spite of improvements from

enzyme use at home. I used to be a special educator and whenever a

parent refused to cooperate with a suggestion, I would very nicely

agree and mention that I would note the parent refusal in the child's

file. It gets them thinking....

I would think the doctor would be worried about the liability of a

parent asking for approval of a safe and simple enzyme therapy that

she refused.

I copy off stuff I want my pediatrician to read, put it in a large

envelope with a letter from me and hand deliver it. I write

something like, " Please read for discussion on our next appointment

on .... "

Also, I always make a point of emphasizing Devin's credentials, you

can find them on his site and copy that off.

Good luck finding a better doctor, they are out there.

> I saw dd's pediatrician today. DD has strep (3rd time in 3

months).

> I told her that I had considered a special diet for DD but didn't

> want to exclude food groups so had tried enzymes for 7 weeks. I

told

> her that we were seeing significant improvement in DD's behavior,

> sleep, stimming (DD has SID and ADD tendancies). I told her I did

> not want to take the medication route yet for the ADD issues.

>

[Guest guest]

I just have a couple more thoughts. had great suggestions, as

usual.

First, I am really glad the enzymes are helping, and hope the strep

gets beat off.

Since you really like your ped, you might not have to give her up

entirely. Because of all the lawsuits and malpractice issues doctors

face, they might not want to say okay to an area or

supplement/treatment they aren't that familiar with. Even if there

were 100 or 1000 studies in the literature, if the doctor isn't

personally comfortable with it, or knows about it, they may not

recommend it. The same is true for alternative health professionals.

Does that doctor HAVE to be the one to sign off on it? Is there

someone else you could ask? You might look for a nurse or health

professional who will sign off on the enzymes for school, and see

her/him for some things, and keep your current doctor for other

things.

Digestive enzymes are mostly non-prescription, although some are

prescription (Creon for example). Your doctor might be equally

uncomfortable prescribing bottled water over tap, or yellow apples

instead of red apples. It isn't an area they usually study or get

into.

Maybe you can ring up the doctors office on Monday and ask if she has

read the literature you left. Say you still need a doctor to sign off

for the school and could she get back to your really soon (like

Tuesday or Wednesday). 's suggestion is great to send the info

ahead of time. The doctor may feel like something she didn't know

about was sprung on her. She didn't want to be backed in a corner

just because time was pressing.

Another thing to keep in mind is when you bring up enzymes, remember

that anything to treat or cure autism isn't that accepted. There is

no one known cause and one known treatment. So talk about enzymes in

the context of helping with food digestion, digestive problems,

stomach bloating, etc. People understand enzymes for digestive

problems and this is in the medical literature. So you aren't

treating autism or anything else, you are treating the person's

digestive problems - and if some of those unpleasant behaviors go

away too because of it, well, that's just a bonus,

So maybe if you ask again using enzymes as a digestive aid, getting

the note might go over better. I get good results by matter-of-factly

stating, " My son will get migraines if he eats as 'regular' meal. He

needs to take these enzymes to prevent the migraines. " Most everyone

understands a migraine, and they understand how food triggers

migraines.

Best with this. Giving the enzymes as you can is better than not at

all.

.

[Guest guest]

>> I can pack the enzymes mixed in choclate in DD's snack and lunch (when

she goes through the cafeteria line) but she isn't getting enzymes before

snack at the after school program.

I've read several other posts over the last 4 months where the mom found out

that the enzymes were being taken after meals at school and not before and

they still got good results. Maybe you shouldn't worry too much whether she

takes them before.

My son doesn't take enzymes with all snacks and he seems to be fine.

Requirements vary from one child to the next - just see what works for her.

If she is fine, don't worry about the missing enzymes with some snacks etc..

Abby