Nutritionally depleted

I brought J in for a re-evaluation with Dr. N in May.  During the physical exam, J’s pupils did not respond to light – This was very scary to me….I’m thinking his brain is damaged!  Dr. N ordered an MRI to check J’s brain.  In addition to the MRI, a NutrEval was ordered along with other standard tests and a genetic test to evaluate his methylation pathway — a ton of labs.  We were so thankful to have all that blood drawn while J was sedated for the MRI.  We heard within a couple of days that the MRI came back normal.  Praise God!  We can’t be sure, but my guess is that J must have been in “fight or flight” mode – really scared in the dark room for his pupils to remain dilated like that.

We had to wait nearly a month to get other results.  J’s nutritional evaluation came back showing him to be extremely depleted.  His brain was starving for fuel!  I can honestly say J is my best eater and I feed him good food.  So, when you get results like this you have to fight the guilt.  This is not my fault.  It has to be a gut issue or a need issue – some kids need a lot more support than other kids.  Thankfully, I have remained extremely faithful with the fish oil (we are using the doTERRA IQmega liquid – I put about a teaspoon into the kids orange juice each morning), and his omega 3 levels looked great!  Well I won’t bore you with all the details, but the following levels were EXTREMELY low: Vitamin C, alpha Lipoic Acid, Thiamin-B1, Riboflavin-B2, Magnesium, and Zinc.  This test, the NutrEval, gives recommendations for supplement levels.  I jumped on it that very day mixing up a concoction in J’s orange juice.  Can you even believe that just 2 short days later, J started coloring in the lines?  Previously, we hardly saw anything but wild scribbling, and at OT, his therapist was amazed at the change in J.  On the 4^th day after we began the supplementing, I saw him lying on the floor with a pencil and paper drawing a very detailed rocket!!  When the change is so drastic, it makes you marvel.  What if we hadn’t done that testing? His brain was not getting the nourishment it needs – no fuel – no performance.  It feels amazing to make this forward progress.

The testing also revealed that J has a severely compromised methylation pathway and blood sugar regulation issues.  J’s zinc levels are very low which can alter neurotransmitter synthesis.  Now we have done more genetic tests that are, again, quite revealing.   What is neurological inflammation, what causes it, and what can be done?? J’s glutamate levels were extremely high.  What is that doing?  Like I said, it’s been a whirlwind since I last posted on this blog.  I’ll do my best to fill you in soon because it’s all so important.   Stay tuned.  There is hope for every child!