Histamine is responsible for your allergic responses – sneezing, watery eyes, a rash. Histamine is also involved in our tear production, our pain response and our sex drive. Having too much or too little in your brain chemistry can really cause problems.

Back in the mid- 1960s, Dr. Carl Pfeiffer discovered that many people with schizophrenia had abnormal levels of histamine in their blood…either too much or too little. Over the last four decades doctors have come to believe that about 2/3 of all those with schizophrenia have histamine problems. And Dr. Pfeiffer’s... more

The Stinky Cheese Monster is not to be confused with the Stinky Cheese Man, which is a hilarious fable book for older elementary children.

The Stinky Cheese Monster revealed herself yesterday, but not before she put another hole in our dry wall, bit LuLu and kicked and scratched Super Dad. LuLu admitted to going out of her way over the last few weeks to sneak bites of cheese at every place possible. After having been on a casein-free diet for about 20 months now, she... more

The researchers at the University of Western Ontario released a report last week on studies done of rats who were injected with propionic acid, a short chain fatty acid, which in addition to existing in the gut, is commonly found in bread and dairy products.

The scientists observed repetitive behaviors, hyperactivity and impaired social behaviors in these rats. When the rats’ brains were examined, they showed signs of inflammation similar to those of autistic children.

This study, if it can lead... more

Are you challenged by desserts because of your child’s special diet? Me, too. Last year I made a milkless, eggless cake. And while it was “ok” – it truly wasn’t that yummy and no one, except the birthday girl, was interested in eating it. So I decided to try something else. LuLu and I concocted cups of dirt to share with her friends for her birthday. You may be familiar with this, but if not…it’s a good party idea. Our version is casein-free, so the pudding was made with rice milk instead of cow’s milk. And the basic recipe calls for Cool Whip, and I could... more

A few weeks ago we received word that LuLu tested positive for Pyroluria. Because LuLu’s biomedical test results are often unexpected, and sometimes mixed (leaving even the most veteran doctors a bit baffled because she doesn’t fit any usual patterns), I was almost happy to get the result that showed she was clearly Pyroluric.

What is Pyroluria? As I blogged about before, it is an extreme vitamin B6 deficiency in which too many kryptopyrrole... more

Lately I’ve been finding benefits from taking 5HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan). I was contacted by a fellow adoptive mom who has done extensive research on biomedical alternatives for her children about a study showing 5HTP as being helpful for weight loss in women. This study was of obese women who lost significant weight by taking high doses of 5HTP.

As my middle age, stress-related pudge was continuing to grow, I was intrigued.... more

New research just released from Denver found that children on the autism spectrum who had 40 sessions in a mild hyperbaric oxygen chamber (mHBOT) had significant language gains compared to a control group.

This research, led by Dr. Dan Rossignol, found that not only did HBOT help with language issues, but also with sleep and intestinal issues. Rossignol has been researching the use of HBOT to improve the lives of autistic children for some time. The hypothesis of why... more

This headline caught my attention, because I’m a believer in the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (especially mild HBOT), but also because I have had Bells Palsy.

What is Bells Palsy?

Bell's palsy is a form of temporary facial paralysis resulting from damage or trauma to one of the two facial nerves. It is the most common cause of facial paralysis. Generally, Bell's palsy affects only one of the paired facial nerves and one side of the face, however,... more

A story in Reuters Health on Friday, June 22, 2007, By Anthony J. Brown, MD says that new research is suggesting an effective treatment for chronic recurrent headaches, in children and adolescents, involves training them in self-hypnosis. Two doctors in Minnesota assessed the outcome of training to deal with headaches through self-hypnosis of 178 young people, with an average age of 11 years.

A report in The Journal... more

For years LuLu’s behaviors have waxed and waned with no rhyme or reason and no predictable pattern. This has been highly perplexing and has driven many a professional to become frustrated when I’ve told them (and shown them the logs) that I can’t find a reason “why” While there is still much more to figure out, through the biomed interventions we’ve done over the last couple of years, we have learned that she is greatly impacted by changes in her environment of all types (diets, supplements, routines, sensory input, our emotions and the anxiety... more