Our new supplement adventure with Grace

We are on a new adventure with supplements with Grace.  Her behavior over the past 6 weeks has gotten so bad that I was at the end of my rope (as was everyone else in the house).  The school was telling us that they were having significant difficulties with her as well and, just like at home, they were not able to make progress with her educationally.  In my January blog post I did a synopsis of how things were going and her behavior (check that out if you didn't read it yet).  We have all been very stressed.

When I went to the Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) training at TCU just over 2 years ago I learned about neurotransmitter testing.  I was very interested in learning about the neurochemistry of kids who have prenatal exposure and early exposure to trauma (traumatic births, early hospitalizations, early trauma/abuse, etc).  The effects on a person's neurochemistry can be altered in a way that we see a lot of "behaviors."  TBRI taught us how to work behaviorally with a child/family to help alleviate behaviors (mostly with "trust" interventions), but it also taught us about the building blocks of a person's behavior being neurochemical.  So...I did not know how to go about testing our kids for this.  I knew about the company but not how to find a provider.  With several cases that I am dealing with right now I consulted with several people who use it in other states (in particular with kids with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome) and they had very promising results.

We decided to try it with Grace.  We are at a point where we are grasping at straws for out household's sanity.  I contemplate writing a post about the realities of living with a child with ADHD but just can't quite pull it off yet without sounding like I am complaining.  It has been a very, very hard month and I was stretched very thin.  Since we did this testing and Grace's behavior has improved so that she doesn't need as frequent of interventions and the household as a whole is calmer I have made a huge dent in my project list and life feels calmer for all:)

Essentially, a person submits a urine, saliva, or blood sample to the lab company (we do urine).  The test kit is dependent on exactly which neurotransmitters are being tested.  Everyone has both inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters.  Think Serotonin and and GABA as "calming" and Histamine, Dopamine, Epinepherine, etc as "exciting."  The lab then gives a specific recommendation of supplements that work directly on the neurotransmitters.  These aren't vitamins but are specifically targeting neurotransmitters.  

When we got Grace's results back to say I was shocked was an understatement.  I knew the results of others' profiles coupled with their behaviors and they had 2 or 3 neurotransmitters either too low and/or too high.  We tested 9 for Grace...and all 9 of them were extremely high...way too high.  We started the recommended supplements and for the first week there was no change at all.  We were very disappointed.  The second week we doubled them...and thankfully we have seen some very calming results!  

The times of the day that have always been the worse are before the ADHD med takes effect in the morning and after it wears off around supper.  Those times have seen the biggest improvement.  Her nightmares are less frequent so we are all sleeping better.  A huge problem has always been the morning as she wakes early and cannot be quiet (or compliant) so disrupts the household and gets the day started on the wrong foot for everyone.  She is now calmly and quietly (yes!! I said QUIETLY!!!) laying in her bed until I get up and she helps me make breakfast/reads the Bible with me/etc.  Her nighttime temper tantrums are less frequent.  It so much more pleasant to not have her screaming for 30 - 90 minutes at bedtime preventing others' from falling asleep.  She has been on two sleep medications for 9 months that have greatly helped with this as well, but recently it was worsening again and her general agitation at night was escalating.  In AWANA (after supper) she has been very disruptive and cannot recall her verses (if she has actually even been able to memorize them).  She hasn't been to AWANA since we started this so we will have to see if this is better.

Over the past 6 weeks the time frame she is actually on the ADHD medication has also become increasingly difficult.  Home school and the time she is at the public school for intervention has been almost a futile effort.  She simply cannot sit still long enough, and cannot focus at all, to be able to retain information.  She is also getting more emotional and lamenting and understanding more that she hurts others and cannot control her impulsivity and hyperactive behavior.  It is affecting how she thinks about herself.  It is affecting how she feels about herself.  It is very hard to watch.  She was hurting her siblings with her inability to think ahead that behaviors may be dangerous, she was much more argumentative than usual (ALWAYS present but it was more exhausting than usual), and so many more behaviors than I have the energy to go into now.  

So, we will continue to watch this and pray that it helps her neurologically so that we have more real change than just a bandaid for the problem.  We are hopeful that if she can be biologically calmer then we can have more impact behaviorally and spiritually.

This neurotransmitter testing can be so helpful for so many types of symptoms and behaviors.  Depression that is actually biological, those on the Autism Spectrum, ADHD, survivors of various types of trauma that has affected their biochemistry, etc.  I am very hopeful.  My DVD's on the topic are loaned out to a psychiatrist right now who is very interested in this and I am hopeful that he will also be able to impact others with this option.  

We shall see...but in the meantime I am soooo thankful for a week that has been calm (for our house) and everyone's agitation has come down from about a "10+" to maybe a 7 or 8 just with Grace being calmer.  It has been delightful:)