March 22: A Day for More Brooding

I have always been a brooder.  My brain pretty much never shuts down anyway, and once I latch onto something that upsets me, I’m like a pit bull – I don’t let go.  So what am I still contemplating?  (Actually, better said…fuming over?)  Yes, it’s that post (1) by Dr. Mercola last week.  Specifically, this comment of his:  “Although worm therapy may be touted as the best new therapy for inflammation, there are already many proven ways to treat inflammatory bowel disease and some of the other illnesses and disorders very effectively without resorting to deliberately introducing parasites into your system.”

“Some of the other illnesses and disorders.” So, how about the others, like autism (and ALS, and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s…), for which there are NO accepted treatments?

Forgive me for more crankiness. Tomorrow is the 21^st anniversary of my son’s diagnosis.  I remember nearly every minute of that terrible day.  What did the doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital here in New York tell me?  Firstly, that my beautiful baby had an incurable and devastating developmental disorder.  Secondly, that he may not be finished regressing and we may lose more skills (which indeed happened) and nothing could be done.  And third – that medical science had zero answers for me.

And 21 years later…medical science has zero answers for me.

Sure, it is at least now somewhat accepted that many children on the spectrum have GI involvement and yes, there’s some grasp of the fact that the gut biome is altered and the immune system is involved.  (But then again…at my first meeting with Dr. Sid Baker, 19 years ago, he already told me that autism is the result of abnormalities in the gut-brain-immune axis….)  However, in terms of accepted treatments for autism, there is still nothing.

Also, how about Dr. Mercola’s assertion that there are “…many proven ways to treat IBD some of the other illnesses and disorders very effectively”?! Many people do not respond to these treatments.  As one helminth user shared:

“I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease aged 16, have had all major pharmaceutical treatments with little to no sustainable impact, and subsequently had a colostomy procedure in my mid-20s as a result. I was one of the first 20 patients in the world to receive helminthic therapy, and have found through weekly dosages …I have achieved remission with no lasting side-effects.  Auto-immune disorders affect your nervous system, and regardless of all the other horrible symptoms, leave you feeling constantly tense and anxious. To be able to be free from that sensation after 17 years or more is an emotion that cannot be fully understood, unless you have experienced it yourself.”

Like this gentleman Alex’s colitis did not respond to prednisone, 6MP, colazal, pentasa, Gastrocrom and/or Nexium.  It did respond to the “unproven” treatments of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and helminths.  Alex is completely symptom free now, and off all special diets.

Those of us dealing with situations outside medical knowledge are simply not in a position to summarily dismiss anything that is not yet accepted by the medical establishment.  My conclusion is that holding to my mantra remains the best course of action: “When faced with prolonged scientific uncertainty, use your best judgement.”

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1. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/03/13/helminth-therapy.aspx