Re: Lead exposure - what are the symptoms and signs like?

[Guest guest]

>>It is highly

> likely that my daughter was exposed to lead in our home over the

past nine

> months. Both the stove and refrigerator we used tested positive.

Hi Rima!

The best I can do is refer you to this page. It is not quite what you

are asking tho

http://www.danasview.net/cheltest.htm

Have you tested your new home?

Dana

[Guest guest]

> I would deeply appreciate it if someone who has direct experience

with

> exposure to lead in their home, would post about the symptoms

during the

> time the child was exposed, and during the first days and weeks

after the

> end of exposure. We are awaiting the results of blood tests. It is

highly

> likely that my daughter was exposed to lead in our home over the

past nine

> months. Both the stove and refrigerator we used tested positive.

>

> Thank you,

>

>

> --

> Rima Regas

> Mom to Leah, age 8 (AS, DSI and APD)

> http://www.sensoryintegrationhelp.com

I'm not sure this will help but my kids were exposed to lead from

their bathtub & a lunch box for my dd over about 5yrs. Their blood

test came back negative for lead but lead did show up (high end of

green range) on their hair tests. My ds has AS and my dd has

anxiety disorder. I can't really tell you anything specific in

regards to your question because it was so long before we realized

they were being exposed. I don't recall any change in my son's

behavior after moving here. My daughter seemed fine to us before

moving here though and as soon as we moved she fell apart. We had

her tested for lead at that time as well which also showed up

negative. I haven't really noticed any change in them since they

stopped using the bathtub.

It never occurred to me to check the stove or refrigerator for

lead. I did just now and thankfully they were negative. Could you

tell us what kind of stove and fridge they are?

[Guest guest]

Hi Rima,

My daughter was/is a lead kid. I don't know when she was exposed to

it specifically because we never tracked down a definitive source.

However, we did have a few symptoms of note. The first one that we

noticed was a rash. The dermatologists mistook it for impetigo at

first, so we made the mistake of putting her on antibiotics for it

(which didn't help and made the rash worse). This rash (eventually

given the generic name eczema) got worse and worse until we started

to support her liver with Liver Life and some other digestive

measures that we took.

Another thing we saw was that she was TOO COMPLIANT. I now know it

was because she was " checking out. " She was very content with

whatever you wanted to do. She rarely expressed any specific desire

on her own, and would just sit in your lap with you for very long

lengths of time. We always talked about how she was the " angel baby "

and how I would have a dozen kids if they would all be like her.

Unfortunately, in her case, she was so good because she was beginning

to suffer the effects of brain damage.

She also was not making attempts to communicate. We discovered her

elevated levels at 12 mo., and she was missing some critical

communicative traits for her age such as pointing at objects and

attempting to imitate sounds. She just sort of stared at you

blankly. As she progressed she became a little apraxic (I think this

is the right term). She would communicate elaborately with sign

language (in fact, I have never seen such a young child speak so well

and completely with signs . . . making sentences of them at 14 mo.);

however, she was unable to verbally talk.

She had a very serious case of pica. She was constantly searching

out non-edible objects to chew on.

She also became extremely constipated. It was horrific, and I hope

that you are not experiencing this. However, it is known that lead

does cause constipation very frequently.

I will encourage you by telling you that all of these things have

improved dramatically since we have been chelating. Her rash has

been eliminated. She certainly has a mind of her own at this point

and sometimes will not be swayed to conform to the plans of others.

She is speaking very well now (and I know this was directly related

to chelation because in the beginning she would only speak -- and

then speak amazingly well -- on chelation days . . . it evened out to

non-chelation days too with more rounds and more lead coming out).

She doesn't have pica anymore except on rare occasions like when she

is low on zinc. Unfortunately we are still working on the bowel

issue, but it has improved too.

If I may suggest, please do not delay chelating any longer than

necessary. I think we have done as well as we have because we caught

it right away. Our daughter showed the dumping of mercury and lead

from the first chelation challenge. She has been dumping mercury and

lead in higher quantities than her other metals ever since. I am

hoping that we may also be done with chelation in a quicker time-

frame than the average time spent chelating because she seems to be

releasing her metals well (again, I think do to the fact that we

started early . . . before the metals had much chance to settle into

her brain, bone, and tissue).

Good luck with your little one! I know this is very scary!

Jeni Lynn

>

> I would deeply appreciate it if someone who has direct experience

with

> exposure to lead in their home, would post about the symptoms

during the

> time the child was exposed, and during the first days and weeks

after the

> end of exposure. We are awaiting the results of blood tests. It is

highly

> likely that my daughter was exposed to lead in our home over the

past nine

> months. Both the stove and refrigerator we used tested positive.

>

> Thank you,

>

>

> --

> Rima Regas

> Mom to Leah, age 8 (AS, DSI and APD)

> http://www.sensoryintegrationhelp.com

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

,

You are describing my daughter! All the same symptoms. I,

unfortunately, did not really start addressing the problem until my

daughter was almost 3 (about 1 year ago). It just seemed like a

language issue at that time. Then, in retrospect, I realized she

never pointed and only touched with the back of her hand. She was

very compliant (my " angel " child, just like you described).

She also had the skin rash (thought it was ringworm) which became

eczema. That appeared at 6 months!! Oh, if I only looked into this

more at the time!!! We are currently addressing constipation

problems and seem to be having some success with OxyPowder and No-

Fenol.

She's shown marked improvement with chelation and mHBOT.

How early did you start chelating your daughter, and what method did

you use(are you using)?

Thanks so much for your post about lead symptoms!!

Theresa Trout

mother of (8.5 NT) and (3.9 Autistic)

> >

> > I would deeply appreciate it if someone who has direct

experience

> with

> > exposure to lead in their home, would post about the symptoms

> during the

> > time the child was exposed, and during the first days and weeks

> after the

> > end of exposure. We are awaiting the results of blood tests. It

is

> highly

> > likely that my daughter was exposed to lead in our home over the

> past nine

> > months. Both the stove and refrigerator we used tested positive.

> >

> > Thank you,

> >

> >

> > --

> > Rima Regas

> > Mom to Leah, age 8 (AS, DSI and APD)

> > http://www.sensoryintegrationhelp.com

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Hi Theresa,

I think I recognize your name from one of my other lists . . .

Pecanbread (although I am rarely there anymore) or Open Blooms

maybe? It is so good to find a fellow chelating mommy who is also

interested in the other lists. I frequently feel condemned on those

lists because we are chelating, and yet I stay there because I need

their information too. Please e-mail me personally so that we can

compare notes more . . . jlknopp @ msn.com.

I count myself as lucky and unusually blessed to have caught the

issue of Elle's heavy metal poisoning when we did. I have a very

good friend with a profoundly autistic son. When we learned about

Elle's lead level (17 with a venus stick), my pediatrician wasn't

concerned. He never clued me into any developmental delays and was

curious but not passionate about finding a reason for Elle's eczema

(he left all the investigating to me and had an 'out of sight, out of

mind' attitude towards us). Of course, in the 5 years that my other

two were patients of his, he never seemed clued in to their dropping

nearly off the charts and ADD behavior either. Anyway, my friend

immediately got on her boards and hunted down information for me so

that I could understand this was not something to be brushed aside

for later. After reading the numerous e-mails of parents on her

lists that said " CHELATE! CHELATE NOW! " " GET TO A DAN DOCTOR RIGHT

AWAY! " " YIKES! THAT CHILD IS IN DANGER! DO SOMETHING NOW OR THERE

WILL BE BRAIN DAMAGE! " , I got the idea that I should not take

the " wait and see " approach that my pediatrician and the health

department wanted me to. I am so glad that we didn't.

My friend quickly walked me through some basic ASD treatment

beginning steps as well as put me in touch with her 2 DANs. By a

miracle of God, we were able to get in to see Dr. Megson within 1

week who saw the urgency of the situation and rushed us through

preparation for chelation and began a chelation schedule within a

month (I think).

Oxypowder does work wonders, and I use it when I have to. The reason

I don't like using it is because I feel like I can't get an accurate

reading on her bowels. And -- not so much the case now -- for a

while, when I was trying to track down allergies and discern

tolerance of new foods (SCD process which I think you know), I really

had to gauge that closely.

We use no-fenol too which has been fantastic in expanding my kids

ability to eat phenols (still no apples, though). But we haven't

received bowel help from it. Darn!

I am still trying to find a good supplement schedule for them. I am

having so much trouble with their dosages and all. I have tried a

few of Andy's recommendations but, due to their digestive issues,

they haven't been right for us. Their bowels have always gotten

really off so far. I must be introducing them in a skewed order or

something. But I will keep trucking away at this until I get it

right.

Elle's improvement from chelation has been incredible to watch. Dr.

Megson told us she was in danger of regressing into autism when we

first brought Elle in at 12 mo. old. She is now 21 mo. and there

really is no current sign of developmental delay in any area. She

still has bad gut problems though. I am anxious to be done with

chelation so that we can focus on healing her gut completely, but I

know that first things must be first. My impression is that these

gut problems will never completely heal until we pull the metals out,

so we press on.

I would love to do mHBOT! We don't have the finances now; however, I

hope we do when chelation is over. I think it would be a great way

to help any damaged nerves as well as a great way to initially clear

yeast and bacteria for gut healing.

If I remember correctly, we began Elle's regular schedule at 13 mo.

She was on the 8 hour schedule (I didn't know about the 4 hour

schedule) with td-dmsa for 3 days on and 11 days off. We ran into a

problem, though, where she would regress significantly in between

treatments. So at that point we began a 3 days on and 4 days off

schedule. There was marked improvement. After 2 months her BUN was

just 5 points out of range (Dr. Megson said most likely due to

dehydration . . . she " tinkles " like a fiend from detoxing) so we

took 2 months off. Last weekend was our first weekend beginning

again, and this time I really pressed for a 4 hour schedule (because

I have learned more since then). Today we began round 2 on our new

schedule and I am very tired. But I am also excited to see if we can

pull better with our next urine toxic metals test in 2 months (even

though she was already doing pretty well with her last test

indicating we may be starting to pull deeply).

OK. Well, I certainly have gone on and on. Please e-mail me

personally. I would love to hear more of your story and also know

more about the various things you are incorporating on your biomed

journey.

Jeni Lynn

mom to Margeaux, 6 yr. (ADD, heavy metal toxic, gastrointestinal

problems)

, 4 yr. (risk for ADD, heavy metal toxic, gastrointesintal

problems)

Elle, 21 mo. (risk for autism, heavy metal toxic, used to have

eczema, used to have leaky gut . . . but is definitely improving)

[Guest guest]

Teressa, do you use mHBOT at home or do you go

somewhere to get that? Googling it, it says it

is filtered ambient air, meaning no added oxygen.

Is that any different than just living in a home

that has a hepa filtration system or something

like that, very clean air?

Oxypowder, is that something with hyrodgen

peroxide in it, like Oxy laundry detergent has?

Sounds interesting.

--- Trout <simmonstrout@...> wrote:

> ,

>

> You are describing my daughter! All the same

> symptoms. I,

> unfortunately, did not really start addressing

> the problem until my

[Guest guest]

>

> I would deeply appreciate it if someone who has direct experience

with

> exposure to lead in their home, would post about the symptoms

during the

> time the child was exposed, and during the first days and weeks

after the

> end of exposure. We are awaiting the results of blood tests. It is

highly

> likely that my daughter was exposed to lead in our home over the

past nine

> months. Both the stove and refrigerator we used tested positive.

>

> Thank you,

>

>

> --

> Rima Regas

> Mom to Leah, age 8 (AS, DSI and APD)

> http://www.sensoryintegrationhelp.com

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

When testing your home for lead, don't forget to test your older

porcelain bathtubs. My dd and I got testkits from Home Depot as both

of us have older homes. Hers was negative, mine was positive. Our

DAN! told us that he was treating an entire family for lead. The

lead that was concetrated in their feet. Of course, they all

showered daily.

If your tub does test positive and if replacing it is out of the

question, you can have it professionally resurfaced for around

150.00, of do it yourself for under 50.00.

My dd's window sills tested positive, so until they replace them,

they are keeping the windows closed. Also remember to check any

ceramic dinnerware, especially if any of it is hand painted.

The other thing to look for are small imported metal toys.

It's amazing how over exposed we can be in our own homes!

-Trish

> >

> > I would deeply appreciate it if someone who has direct

experience

> with

> > exposure to lead in their home, would post about the symptoms

> during the

> > time the child was exposed, and during the first days and weeks

> after the

> > end of exposure. We are awaiting the results of blood tests. It

is

> highly

> > likely that my daughter was exposed to lead in our home over the

> past nine

> > months. Both the stove and refrigerator we used tested positive.

> >

> > Thank you,

> >

> >

> > --

> > Rima Regas

> > Mom to Leah, age 8 (AS, DSI and APD)

> > http://www.sensoryintegrationhelp.com

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Don't do that, it would release the lead into the environment :-P

S S

There are days I wish I could just move and <br>

burn the house down.

_______________________________________________

Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

The most personalized portal on the Web!

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Are you referring to resurfacing a lead leaching bathtub? I'm

confused...would that in itself release lead into the air? I haven't

done anything to mine yet. I was getting ready to call in a

professional, but if you have heard anything about the process being

more dangerous, I will reconsider. Removing the old one and

replacing it seems like such an ordeal that I'm just not up to.

Please let me know what you know. I have to do something pretty

soon.

Thanks for any advice!

-Trish

> There are days I wish I could just move and <br>

> burn the house down.

>

> _______________________________________________

> Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

> The most personalized portal on the Web!

>

[Guest guest]

Sorry, no, I was responding to someone's comment that she sometimes wanted to

just burn down her lead-laden house.

S S

<p>Hi , <br>

Are you referring to resurfacing a lead leaching bathtub? I'm <br>

confused...would that in itself release lead into the air? I haven't <br>

done anything to mine yet. I was getting ready to call in a <br>

professional, but if you have heard anything about the process being <br>

more dangerous, I will reconsider. Removing the old one and <br>

replacing it seems like such an ordeal that I'm just not up to. <br>

Please let me know what you know. I have to do something pretty <br>

soon. <br>

Thanks for any advice! <br>

-Trish<br>

<br>

<br>

> There are days I wish I could just move and <br><br>

> burn the house down. <br>

_______________________________________________

Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

The most personalized portal on the Web!

[Guest guest]

Trish, I got mine encapsulated. It doesn't

release any lead in air, it is just a lead free

coating over the lead that is there. If you look

through yellow pages they usually advertise that

service. I don't remember what listing it was

under though, perhaps remodeling or bathroom

fixtures..? If you can't find it, I will look

and see what section I got mine from.

--- Trish <minniemimi1@...> wrote:

> Hi ,

> Are you referring to resurfacing a lead

> leaching bathtub? I'm

> confused...would that in itself release lead

> into the air? I haven't

> done anything to mine yet. I was getting ready

> to call in a

> professional, but if you have heard anything

> about the process being

> more dangerous, I will reconsider. Removing the

> old one and

> replacing it seems like such an ordeal that I'm

> just not up to.

> Please let me know what you know. I have to do

> something pretty

> soon.

> Thanks for any advice!

> -Trish

>

>

>

>

> > There are days I wish I could just move and

> <br>

> > burn the house down.

> >

> >

> _______________________________________________

> > Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

> > The most personalized portal on the Web!

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks, I found a few. They're listed under " Bathroom Remodeling "

I'll call around for some estimates.

-Trish

> > > There are days I wish I could just move and

> > <br>

> > > burn the house down.

> > >

> > >

> > _______________________________________________

> > > Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

> > > The most personalized portal on the Web!

> > >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

" Whew " ... now I can go for whatever is cheaper! I may even attempt a

do-it-yourself kit....or not!!!

<br>

> > There are days I wish I could just move and <br><br>

> > burn the house down. <br>

>

>

> _______________________________________________

> Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

> The most personalized portal on the Web!

>

[Guest guest]

No worry ..I can't afford to burn down this lead trap!

It is only anger speaking!

> There are days I wish I could just move and <br>

> burn the house down.

>

> _______________________________________________

> Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

> The most personalized portal on the Web!

>

[Guest guest]

It cost us about $175 to have the tub done. They respray it with

epoxy. It is called resurfacing or reglazing. Best to let them do

this if you can. It does smell really bad and you don't want to be

there with the kids when it is being sprayed. Once it had dried and

aired out though, it is fine. They also tape and cover everything

and use and air exchanger to take the fumes outside. So the smell

inside is no where what it could be. They are done in a few hours.

Keep in mind that you cannot use the tub for 24 hours or so. Once

you do you can not use cleansers on it and be careful not to drop

things in it. The nice thing is that if you do get a chip down the

road it is fixed very easily with those patch kits from the store.

The tub paint in a nailpolish bottle thingy. You clean it with

something mild like auto dish soap on a sponge. Really easy! We did

ours two years ago, and so far so good. Until you can get it done,

use a large rubbermaid container..the toy box size to bath the kids

in. Just place it inside the tub and fill that instead. That way

they will not have lead water. You could also put down one of those

rubber suction dish mats to stand on for those that shower.

<br>

> > > There are days I wish I could just move and <br><br>

> > > burn the house down. <br>

> >

> >

> > _______________________________________________

> > Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

> > The most personalized portal on the Web!

> >

>