Blood Test Results Are In

I finally received the recent RAST/IgE blood test results from mid-June.  Since starting NAET and the last RAST test 22 months ago, all his levels with the exception of egg and peanut have decreased a level.  There's no doubt that he still has lots of IgE, but take a look at a couple of examples:

Honey has gone from 28.4/level 3 to 4.55/level 2

Soy has gone from 24.2/level 4 to 6.87/level 3

Brazil nut was 21.91/level 4, now 5.24/level 2

Tomato and Wheat were formerly testing at level 2 and are now level 1.

The big surprise was egg.  While yolks stayed the same, whites shot up from 12.3/level 3 to 28.4/level 4.  We have a long history with egg, and he's been eating them in baked goods and with french toast for many months now without reaction.  I've always been told that RAST testing produces a lot of false results, and that reaction always trumps the test, so the test can be fairly inaccurate.  In the allergy world, it's one of the main tools available however it doesn't appear to hold much significance from what I can gather due to all the inaccuracies.  I've read that it can take a number of years for RAST results to show a decrease after NAET treatments even though the patient is no longer reacting.  This update was ordered by our Ped, but our allergist is opposed to the test.

Peanuts still tested at 100+/level 6.  We have yet to do any work with peanuts, or any nuts for that matter.  However, all the tree nuts were also down a level from August 2009.  

Vitamin D levels were also tested, and came back as 65 ng/ml, which is the high end of the optimal range.  This is great news, as everything I read says just falling within the range is still too low; D levels need to be at the high end for D to combat inflammation.

Since the MSG treatments, my son has treated for his own blood, my dad's dog, aluminum, and small intestines.  We were able to get a few drops of blood from when he had his lab work done a couple weeks back.  The phlebotomist thought it was a weird request when I asked for a small vial. I told him I wanted to hang it around my neck.  Just kidding!  After I explained we were doing some alternative treatments he obliged.  For years I've said that my son is allergic to his own blood, it's as if he has fiberglass running through him.  He showed weak to his blood sample, so we treated.


For the last month my son has been having issues every time we visit my dad's house, with each reaction proving to be more intense. The first three times it was a mystery.  Finally with the last and most severe breakout of bodily hives and itching my dad made the connection that the dog had been groomed the beginning of June and the groomer applied a finishing spray that in the past has made my dad's eyes itch (and he's not an allergic person.)  I was really hoping this would prove to be the culprit, because if it wasn't that could mean that a new allergy has emerged.  We cut off some dog fur and treated for it last week.  After clearing we made a trip over to my dad's and just hung out in the yard to slowly test for any reaction.  That worked fine.  Then today we ventured back over and spent some time in the house.  NO REACTION!


As for aluminum, I thought this might be a beneficial treatment due to all the aluminum injected via the vaccines.  Our practitioner said this was a really hard one for her daughter, who woke up in the middle of the night with diarrhea after treating for it.  After clearing aluminum, we proceeded onto treating for small intestines.  My son didn't experience any adverse reactions with either.


So what's on tap?  We're looking at treating for DNA, RNA, neurotransmitters, and enzymes over the next few weeks.  

MTV: True Life, I'm Allergic to Everything

This episode takes a look at two young people coping with food allergies.  The one girl actually seeks alternative help that looks similar to NAET and seems to be getting some relief.  From the very beginning of the show when they were showing their pantry, etc I was thinking that she has an MSG allergy.  At the end she has an anaphylactic reaction to chinese food, which convinced me even further that MSG is a major culprit for her.  I was appalled that the head of immunology at John Hopkins had the nerve to tell her it's in her head.  Right, like it's been in the head of my two, three, four, and now five-year old.

I'm glad to see mainstream TV taking on this serious subject.  It really hit home for me, I must have had tears in my eyes the entire time I was watching.  I could totally relate to all the benedryl, inhalers, food preparation, and excitement when a new food is added back.  Fortunately we've never had to use the epi pen.

http://www.mtv.com/videos/true-life-im-allergic-to-everything/1666298/playlist.jhtml#series=2211&seriesId=5232&channelId=1

Going out on a limb

Back in December a good friend of mine was battling eczema in her then six month old son.  I gave her the low-down on my best arsenal of products and routines which included bathing, moisturizing, and diet.  I also told her that if she got desperate enough we could talk about the hocus-pocus called NAET.  I was hesitant because it's weird and one really needs an open mind to take the steps to try it.  I was also hesitant because what if it didn't work for them, and because it's so weird that they'd think I'm a complete nut job.

Well, she did reach the point of desperation and has been undergoing treatments for her son for about the last month.  Yesterday was the baby boy's first birthday party which I attended.  I was approached by the dad and grandma as they were so thankful for the recommendation to try NAET because they are seeing such an improvement in their boy's skin.  WHEW, what a relief!!  The dad has gone to a handful of appointments and said after their first visit he was ready to throw in the towel because it seems like such a hoax.  But, he knows what I've been through with my son and the vast improvement we've seen, my kid is walking proof that this weird stuff works.  Everyone was commenting on how great my kid's skin looks!

What a week

This week started off with a NAET treatment for MSG, which my son woke up in the middle of the night nauseous thinking he was going to be sick--usually a good sign that something is working.  As the week progressed he had 2 outbreaks:  one to vegetable soup at a restaurant which he's never had before, and one to a single blueberry.  Blueberries and him go way back to when he was 12 months old.  They were his first major reaction, triggering asthma and vomiting.  The definition that I've been told of anaphylaxis is two or more body systems have to be involved, so this would classify as such.  He has since had a random blueberry encounter and has been fine.  This week though he broke out in hives all over his face, same with the soup.  I guess it's good that the hives are on his face where they're visible rather than his torso--gotta look for the silver lining in these cases to keep from going crazy.

Fast forward to today.  We went for our second NAET treatment of the week and, low-and-behold, he didn't pass MSG.  The doctor muscle tested my arm three times and I couldn't provide any resistance.  Not passing a treatment or being stuck in a treatment can cause other reactions (so I'm told), which is what he may have been experiencing.  So we re-treated for MSG.  On the car ride home my son was completely spaced-out, said he felt weird which was evident by the look on his face.

Then this afternoon we had his 5-year well child exam with his Pediatrician.  Our wonderful Ped has been accepted into a fellowship program to further his knowledge, so we're going to be losing him for three years.  It's quite a blow to us, but we're now on the right track and will manage.  It's been almost two years since any blood work has been done, so the doc wanted to run another IgE screen to compare.  He's also going to blood test for some other areas like vitamin D levels, lead levels, etc.  We spent about 45 minutes at the lab where they took 9-10 vials of blood.  I was floored at how much they needed.  Last time it was only 4 and I thought that was absurd.  Of course my poor son screamed all the way through it.  Why is it always mom that has to do these awful tasks?!  I'm definitely eager to see what the results determine.

MSG is on tap

MSG has been on our list to treat for via NAET for some time, and the more I read about it the more I want to get this treatment over with asap.  Not that I voluntarily feed this stuff to my kid, but it's so hard to avoid.  Check out this list of ingredients with hidden MSG.  It's almost completely unavoidable unless you're preparing all your own foods from scratch.  I'm pretty good about that these days, making all my own broths and using fresh veggies and such, but it's pretty much certain that anytime you eat out you're going to get some form of MSG, or packaged food for that matter.  


The problem with this stuff is that, according to this article and Dr. Russell Blaylock, a board-certified neurosurgeon and author of “Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills”,  MSG is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites your cells to the point of damage or death, causing brain damage to varying degrees -- and potentially even triggering or worsening learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease and more.


Some of the adverse reactions to MSG include:

• Cardiac arrhythmia
• Obesity
• Eye damage
• Headaches
• Fatigue and disorientation
• Depression

The FDA acknowledges that “short-term reactions” known as MSG Symptom Complex can occur in certain groups of people, namely those who have eaten “large doses” of MSG or those who have asthma.

According to the FDA, MSG Symptom Complex can involve symptoms such as:

• Numbness
• Burning sensation
• Tingling
• Facial pressure or tightness
• Chest pain or difficulty breathing
• Headache
• Nausea
• Rapid heartbeat
• Drowsiness
• Weakness

Knowing how sensitive my kid has been to everything, MSG is definitely on the radar.

Where are the environmental allergies this year?

Do I dare say it out loud?  I've been thinking it for some time, especially as I've had 2 spring allergy colds and have heard from many others about the tough spring they're having.  But my DS has been great.  No sniffles, no post-nasal drip, no cough, no asthma, and no eczema!  Oh yeah, and NO ZYRTEC!  Can this be the same child?  I'm so happy for him; all of his hard work is paying off.

We've been targeting NAET treatments that tackle the remnants of his itch.  His latest treatments were for Fungus (which his eyelids immediately lit up beet red, but were back to normal the next morning) and thyroid.

Did I mention we've been eating tons of pizza around here?  The other night my kid ate 3 pieces with pepperoni from a restaurant without issue, so maybe the processed meat treatment combined with heat worked?  However another night we were over a friend's house where he had a garlic breadstick, and his privates itched right after for a couple of hours until he fell asleep.  I wish I knew what was in the garlic butter.

We've been introducing more and more foods lately.  Broccoli, the once forbidden favorite, is now a common staple.  He's also been eating provolone cheese with his wheat wraps, and has done well with cornbread muffins and Trader Joe's version of Oreos made with wheat.  Recently we've treated for histamines, cow milk from home, chemicals (consists of detergents, soaps, and chlorine bleach), and today was lymph & lymph vessels.

After the first trial of milk that lead to a stomach ache, we treated with the actual milk and are slowly trying to reintroduce it again.  So far he's been able to tolerate a few sips without any issues, we'll get a better idea over the course of this week.

All of this hard work is paying off, he's grown a couple of inches this year and has put on some weight recently.  It's such a relief to watch him enjoy food.

Birthday Boy!

  

Happy 5th Birthday to my son!  We celebrated with LOTS of pizza.  For one party he had pizza from Whole Foods, as we're confident that he's doing well with the more natural stuff.  For the other party he had 2 pieces of Chuck E Cheese pizza, and did fabulous--I was shocked that there wasn't any itching.  We did skip the pepperoni just to be safe.   Check out his clear skin, it's wonderful!

After all the trouble with processed meat that he was having, we did a combination treatment for heat and processed meat.  We haven't tested it out yet.  He's also been eating yogurt every day for the past 4 weeks, and is tolerating pure cheeses (still some trouble with shredded that has additives.)  He's been persistent about wanting to try "cow milk" as he calls it, so we finally did yesterday.  There was no skin reaction as in the past, but he was almost in tears over a stomach ache.  I'm a bit disappointed as I even bought Guernsey milk as the proteins are easier digested by some than Holstein milk (A1 vs A2 proteins.)  And on another occasion he tried cottage cheese, and complained of his lip itching.  It's clear we have more work to do with milk.  I'm thrilled with his progress, I just wish it was faster.

Salicylates

It's been a few weeks since I've posted as we were out of town, and quite frankly I need a break from the allergy world from time-to-time.  Although it's impossible to fully escape it at this point, we're getting closer.  There were a few reactions while out of town.  It's clear that my son has an issue with processed meat as he reacted to conventional pepperoni and mild italian sausage.  He does fine with certain brands like Applegate Farms pepperoni and Whole Foods sausage, but breaks out in hives to the regular stuff.  I'm thinking there's an issue with nitrates, so that's on our list of things to treat for.  He also got a hold of a juice box with splenda, which he's never had before.  I totally detest artificial sweeteners, but I had left without his Honest Kids juice box and all the other kids had one so I caved--immediate hives.


The good news is that he ate plenty of broccoli without issue after I did a home treatment (we have a long history with broccoli, my kid's most favorite food in the world.)  I also attempted to treat him for blueberries and cumin which we have yet to try.


Our last treatment was for Salicylates, as they're natural chemicals found in most fruits, vegetables, and various other food and non-food items.  According to this WebMD site, Some people have a low level of tolerance to salicylates and may have reactions if more than a small amount is consumed at one time. Symptoms of a salicylate allergy vary but may include:

• Asthma-like symptoms, such as trouble breathing and wheezing
• Headaches
• Nasal congestion
• Changes in skin color
• Itching, skin rash, or hives
• Swelling of the hands, feet, and face
• Stomach pain

In severe cases, a salicylate allergy can lead to anaphylaxis, a life-threatening reaction involving a severe drop in blood pressure, loss of consciousness, and organ system failure. Avoiding products that contain salicylates is the best defense against an allergic reaction--I'm hoping NAET is actually the BEST defense!