recovery stories Archives - Epidemic Answers

Where Do I Begin?

Where do I begin? Should I start with my being pregnant and working at a stressful job in New York City? Maybe I should first write about my family history of celiac and not knowing that having undiagnosed celiac/gluten intolerance can have major consequences to your unborn child. Maybe I should begin with my son’s delivery. I describe the aftermath as being a crime scene, (sorry for the visual). Let’s just say it was the perfect storm of two injections of an epidural, lots of pitocin and a forceps delivery. The Crying Began As soon as our bundle of joy came home…the crying began. The doctor diagnosed him with having an awful case of colic, the worst she had ever seen. He was prescribed a cocktail of Maalox and Zantac for the first year and a half of his life. No other suggestion was made other than medicine and changing his formula. Throughout all of this I was trying to…

Change: Notice It, Adapt to It, Anticipate It, Go with It!

By Patricia S. Lemer, M.S. Bus., NCC Everything changes: winter to spring, summer to fall, youth to adolescence, health to illness. We expect, accept and adapt naturally to the irreversible cycles of the seasons and to aging. Changes from health to illness and illness to health are not so predictable and irreversible. We can benefit from fine-tuning our responses to these changes. How people deal with change is the basis for a profound, little book, “Who Moved My Cheese?”, given to me by my dear friend Diana Henry, OTR. Cheese, a metaphor for what we want in life, is elusive. As I read the book, I saw how its wisdom can help us attain our “cheese” — good health and function for our kids. Change Happens; Notice It Health changes appear first in those subtle differences in skin, digestion and behavior. Do those little bumps persist? Is elimination less regular? Are sleep patterns disturbed? In many children these early warning…

A New Model Offering Hope for Autism Recovery

Gail Szakacs, MD and Nancy O’Hara, MD offer us a new model offering hope for autism recovery in this article. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an increasingly common disorder characterized by impairment in social interaction and communication, as well as restricted repetitive and stereotyped behavior patterns. CDC data before 1990 reported approximately 3 cases per 10,000 children. The CDC now reports that the rate is 1 in 68 children. These alarming numbers signal a widespread epidemic and mandate a change in how we approach the evaluation and management of these children. The older model of ASD confines it to a brain disorder that is genetically determined and offers no treatment other than behavioral, speech, and occupational therapy. What Is Autism? The newer model suggests that ASD is a systemic disorder that affects the brain. There is a genetic predisposition with one or more environmental triggers that act as a tipping point into illness and result in whole body dysregulation characteristic…

Curious How Our “Evening of Inspiration” Went?

It was fabulous! The Harmonie Club is a beautiful venue, and it was a fantastic setting for our “Evening of Inspiration”, which benefited the making of our Canary Kids Film Project, in which we will be taking 14 children with a known diagnosis of autism, ADHD, asthma, atopic dermatitis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, mood disorders and type 2 diabetes and providing free healing and recovery services to them while we film them for 18 months. You can check out pictures of the event here and here. We honored Ken Cook of the Environmental Working Group, Deirdre Imus and Harvard pediatric neurologist Dr. Martha Herbert, author of “The Autism Revolution”, for their work in protecting the health of children. Dr. Herbert and Dr. Russell Jaffe will be heading up the film’s medical advisory board. Ken Cook wasn’t able to attend in person, but he made this thoughtful thank-you video for us that we are proud to share. Many members of the film’s…

NAET for ADHD and Autism

by Devi S. Nambudripad, DC, LAc, RN, PhD Alexander has dark circles under his eyes and a constant “cold.” After finishing off macaroni and cheese, he throws a temper tantrum when asked to hang up his jacket. He wants ice cream; his mother promises it after he finishes his homework. He throws his book at her. His doctor has diagnosed attention deficit disorder. Is that the problem, or is he allergic to milk products? Treatment for Allergies Conventional western medicine diagnoses allergies with skin tests and blood analysis. Treatment by desensitization, using injections of allergenic substances over extended periods of time, is effective in some cases. Drugs such as antihistamines and steroids can alleviate symptoms. The only sure and completely effective option is total avoidance of the substance. Abstinence, of course, does not correct the underlying problem. Furthermore, with substances such as grass, milk, and wheat, abstinence can be difficult to impossible. Years ago, I resolved to find a cure…

Announcing the Documenting Hope Project

14 children, 18 months, 1 goal: RECOVERY The Documenting Hope Project is a documentary brought to you by Epidemic Answers. In this film, we will be documenting the potential recovery of 14 children from autism, ADHD, asthma, atopic dermatitis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, mood disorders and type 2 diabetes as they work with integrative health practitioners for 18 months. These children will be receiving free medical services, healthy food and supplements during the duration of the project. The Documenting Hope Project was born of one simple gutsy observation: In spite of what most parents are told, many of these children can get better. We have the tools. And by demonstrating how they get better and how to protect their health we have the opportunity to create a better, safer, healthier and more sustainable future . . . for all of us. Our “big idea” is to create a successful, grassroots, crowd-sourced model for improved health outcomes for children affected by chronic…

The “R” Word: Sensory Processing Disorder Recovery

You may or may not know my personal recovery story. I have recovered my 2 sons, now ages 5 and 7, from sensory processing disorder (SPD), asthma, allergies, acid reflux and eczema with a biomedical approach, which means correcting nutritional and hormonal deficiencies, removing toxicities and correcting gut dysbiosis. Most people don’t know that sensory processing disorder recovery is possible, but my sons have recovered from it. I’m still working on failure to thrive, mitochondrial dysfunction, hypothyroidism and persistent eczema in my older son. In addition, they both had developmental delays, and my older son had severe hypotonia as a baby. I have recovered from immune dysregulation, in which I had shingles twice, the worst case of poison-ivy ever, bronchitis (which I’d never had before), constant sinus infections and constant colds that would last 3-4 weeks at a time. My older son had immune dysregulation, too, when he was younger: he would go to preschool, get sick and be out…

The Journey to Conscious Creation

By Nina Antolino Let me tell you about my journey to conscious creation. In life, millions of moments sadly pass unnoticed. We are not awake to our experiences while they are happening. We often walk our path habitually, building deeper grooves in our minds and reinforcing our deeply entrenched, self-limiting beliefs about who we are and what is possible. We are pulled outside ourselves for the answers we seek, rather than trusting our inner guidance. We vacillate between trying desperately to control everything in our life on the one hand, and completely abdicating to some outside authority on the other. We pay attention only to that which supports our thinking and ignore any evidence that stands in contrast. Moments That Cannot Be Ignored But every so often there are moments that cannot be ignored. Moments that have the power to wake you up, propel you in a new direction, help you to see your life and your Self in a…

Mia: Recovery from Autism

I am releasing this story here as a means to get this story out to as many people as possible. I am a physical therapist for 14 years, a healthcare provider; I am a husband and a dad. I do not work in pediatric physical therapy. That particular patient population is not my clientele, and I do not plan on specializing in pediatric physical therapy in the future. I have nothing to gain from this at all except for my colleagues in health care and the doctors who refer to me to think of me as a quack or a nut. That being said, I feel that it is my moral and ethical duty to share this story to you and anyone willing to take the time to read it. It may help them or someone that they know. My wife’s sister’s son is autistic, I had an entire pediatric internship in pediatrics dealing with developmentally delayed children, some who…

Jacob: Recovery from Aspergers

Here’s the story of my oldest son’s recovery from Aspergers. Symptoms included: Chronic explosive diarrhea from age 18 months to 6 years Multiple food allergies and chemical sensitivities, that lasted until 6th grade Candida, yeast overgrowth Facial tics Night terrors Several violent tantrums per day from about 2 ½ to 3 years old. Took up about 3 hours of our day trying to calm him down. Difficulty transitioning Sensory Integration, or SI Literal interpretation of language ADHD/ODD/Depression The major healing elements: Strict diets I designed specifically for Jacob using muscle testing to watch for food sensitivities, and very few chemicals/preservatives/artificial ingredients of any kind. Limiting his exposure to environmental toxins. Homeopathy Chiropractic Emotional healing (NET, EFT, NLP) The right supplements The belief that your child can heal. 3rd grade was the official diagnosis. Broke my heart. Broke my heart a million more times, learning about SI, and finally understanding why he was so whiny, angry about sensory issues. Learning about…