Soooooo remember how I told you about these Langerhan cells, well in my "langerhan and" searches, I found a connection. I constantly google key phrases together. When I say key phrases I mean whatever new term I am looking into with the addition of "and MTHFR", or "and B vitamins", or "and methylation". Today I googled "langerhan and B vitamins", since that is the major deficiency with MTHFR, and found this......
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9627697
Concluding with :
"It is proposed that the inhibitory effects of the vitamin D3 on Langerhans cells may induce immunosuppression in the skin."
What does this mean? Why should we care? Well remember, Langerhan cells are antigen producing immune cells in the skin. This means they produce an allergic or inflammatory response in the skin. If we have too many of these we have inflammatory skin issues, in our case....eczema. I have noticed a consistent response in J's inflammation with the introduction of D3 drops. The other day I didn't realize the drops started and I gave her too many. The next day she was glowing and so much less red. Does this mean D3 is the cure to eczema, probably not. Do I think D3 is a must for ALL atopic kids, absolutely. I am glad to have found the "why" D3 was such a game changer for us.
In addition, the difficulty with starting to find the "why" in things that are not working correctly, is the common realization of our own role in the "why". I have found many things that I could have done better or different in many aspects of my pregnancy and motherhood. I try not to waste too much time with the "what ifs". What we know to be true is always true until we find out it is not. Hindsight is often 20/20. So please learn from my learning curve :). Here is an article that outlines motherhood D deficiency and fetal immune system. Sure wish I had known I was deficient!
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/81/5/1177.1.full
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Langerhan cells and eczema!!!!
During my obsessive searching for today, I stumbled upon some interesting ideas. We are at the point with our little eczema princess that we pretty much have her allergies understood, to a certain degree anyway. So now I am onto the skin surface area issues. It has always been my strategy to heal J from the inside and then work on the skin. I felt as though I couldn't keep on top of her flares if they kept at the pace they were going. We now have them relatively under control, but she still shows so much dryness in her hands and feet. She still has flares of histamine when she goes out in the cold or rolls on certain surfaces and when she encounters certain things. This I think is due to the fillagrin piece. So I am throwing myself at you Mr. Fillagrin producer, I want to know how you work!!! While reading about Fillagrin and its function, I stumbled upon something called a langerhan cell, yeah I know, what the heck is that right??? Well langerhan cells are ANTIGEN PRODUCING immune cells IN THE SKIN!!!!
http://www.hkmacme.org/course/2010BW10-06-00/derma%20review_1010.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1385540
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/The-Effect-Of-A-Hyperactive-Langerhans-Cell-On-Eczema/192961
So my new quest for information is centered around Fillagrin as well as langerhan cells, how they work, what the body needs to produce/regulate them, how to optimize regulation as well as what causes the deregulation (outside of the immune response due to vaccine adjudvants as previously discussed). It is my experience, that when doctors or science says its "genetic", what this really means is a malformation on a gene. All the reading I have done on malformations tend to be because of epigenetics and deficiencies caused by our toxic environment and food choices. There are obviously genetic pieces besides just malformations due to epigenetics, but for the chronic stuff it seems this is the place to focus If I can figure out what makes these processes work, what genes they are on etc.... then maybe I can figure out some supports!!! Stay tuned because I will share ;)
http://www.hkmacme.org/course/2010BW10-06-00/derma%20review_1010.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1385540
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/The-Effect-Of-A-Hyperactive-Langerhans-Cell-On-Eczema/192961
So my new quest for information is centered around Fillagrin as well as langerhan cells, how they work, what the body needs to produce/regulate them, how to optimize regulation as well as what causes the deregulation (outside of the immune response due to vaccine adjudvants as previously discussed). It is my experience, that when doctors or science says its "genetic", what this really means is a malformation on a gene. All the reading I have done on malformations tend to be because of epigenetics and deficiencies caused by our toxic environment and food choices. There are obviously genetic pieces besides just malformations due to epigenetics, but for the chronic stuff it seems this is the place to focus If I can figure out what makes these processes work, what genes they are on etc.... then maybe I can figure out some supports!!! Stay tuned because I will share ;)
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Going in circles that lead somewhere!!!!
Today I made a decision that I felt would give me peace. I am constantly obsessing over my health and the health of my family. So today I decided to create a power point presentation regarding the genetic malformation that runs in my family (more to come on that) to present at Easter. So I started gathering information. In my quest for information regarding MTHFR I stumbled upon something called Pyroluria. What is Pyroluria??? Pyroluria is a genetic blood disorder, a chemical imbalance, involving an abnormality in hemoglobin synthesis. Hemoglobin is a protein in the body, that holds iron in the red blood cells. The complex process regarding this synthesis abnormality results in a deficiency in B6 and zinc. This disorder comes with these symptoms: severe inner
tension, ongoing anxiety, poor stress tolerance, digestive issues and difficulty
digesting protein, frequent colds and infections, joint pain or
stiffness, acne, eczema or psoriasis, mood swings and reactivity and poor
short term memory.
The questionnaire provided by primalbody-primal mind:
1. Little or no dream recall
2. White spots on finger nails
3. Poor morning appetite +/- tendency to skip breakfast
4. Morning nausea
5. Pale skin +/- poor tanning +/- burn easy in sun
6. Sensitivity to bright light
7. Hypersensitive to loud noises
8. Reading difficulties (e.g. dyslexia)
9. Poor ability to cope with stress
10.Mood swings or temper outbursts
11.Histrionic (dramatic) tendency
12.Argumentative/enjoy argument
13.New situations or changes in routine (i.e., traveling) particularly stressful
14.Much higher capability and alertness in the evening, compared to mornings
15.Poor short term memory
16.Abnormal body fat distribution
17.Belong to an all-girl family with look-alike sisters
18.Dry skin
19.Anxiousness
20.Reaching puberty later than normal
21.Difficulty digesting, a dislike of protein or a history of vegetarianism
22.Tendency toward being a loner and/or avoiding larger groups of people
23.Stretch marks on skin
24.Poor sense of smell or taste
25.Feel very uncomfortable with strangers
26.Frequently experience fatigue
27.A tendency to overreact to tranquilizers, barbiturates, alcohol or other drugs (in other words, a little produces a powerful response)
28.A tendency toward anemia
29.History of mental illness or alcoholism in family
30.Easily upset by criticism
31.Sweet smell (fruity odor) to breath or sweat when ill or stressed
32.Prone to acne, eczema or psoriasis
33.A tendency toward feeling anxious, fearful and carrying lifelong inner tension
34.Difficulty recalling past events or people
35.Bouts of depression or nervous exhaustion
36.Prone to frequent colds or infections
Among the highlighted areas above that affect us, in my recent blood test I had high levels of hemoglobin which usually means high iron level. The allergist once prescribed zinc for J's behaviors. These are the connections that I made today that I am kind of excited about because it puts me on another path for discovery. Pyroluria also presents similarly to histadelia which is high histamine, which is what I started out thinking J had. So alas.....the circle that lead somewhere!!
http://naturalinsight.hubpages.com/hub/Pyroluria-A-Hidden-Disorder
http://www.primalbody-primalmind.com/?p=398
The questionnaire provided by primalbody-primal mind:
1. Little or no dream recall
2. White spots on finger nails
3. Poor morning appetite +/- tendency to skip breakfast
4. Morning nausea
5. Pale skin +/- poor tanning +/- burn easy in sun
6. Sensitivity to bright light
7. Hypersensitive to loud noises
8. Reading difficulties (e.g. dyslexia)
9. Poor ability to cope with stress
10.Mood swings or temper outbursts
11.Histrionic (dramatic) tendency
12.Argumentative/enjoy argument
13.New situations or changes in routine (i.e., traveling) particularly stressful
14.Much higher capability and alertness in the evening, compared to mornings
15.Poor short term memory
16.Abnormal body fat distribution
17.Belong to an all-girl family with look-alike sisters
18.Dry skin
19.Anxiousness
20.Reaching puberty later than normal
21.Difficulty digesting, a dislike of protein or a history of vegetarianism
22.Tendency toward being a loner and/or avoiding larger groups of people
23.Stretch marks on skin
24.Poor sense of smell or taste
25.Feel very uncomfortable with strangers
26.Frequently experience fatigue
27.A tendency to overreact to tranquilizers, barbiturates, alcohol or other drugs (in other words, a little produces a powerful response)
28.A tendency toward anemia
29.History of mental illness or alcoholism in family
30.Easily upset by criticism
31.Sweet smell (fruity odor) to breath or sweat when ill or stressed
32.Prone to acne, eczema or psoriasis
33.A tendency toward feeling anxious, fearful and carrying lifelong inner tension
34.Difficulty recalling past events or people
35.Bouts of depression or nervous exhaustion
36.Prone to frequent colds or infections
Among the highlighted areas above that affect us, in my recent blood test I had high levels of hemoglobin which usually means high iron level. The allergist once prescribed zinc for J's behaviors. These are the connections that I made today that I am kind of excited about because it puts me on another path for discovery. Pyroluria also presents similarly to histadelia which is high histamine, which is what I started out thinking J had. So alas.....the circle that lead somewhere!!
http://naturalinsight.hubpages.com/hub/Pyroluria-A-Hidden-Disorder
http://www.primalbody-primalmind.com/?p=398
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Milestones...
When the clock strikes 7:15 the kids get a second wind of hunger. Last night when they requested a snack I created a "new" treat. We have been recently eating an Enjoy Life new cereal that are cute little balls that have the texture of grape nuts, meaning you could break your teeth chewing them! So I put about a 1/4 cup in a bowl and a couple of blueberries and then poured in a tad bit of coconut milk. The kind with only 2 ingredients, not the one in the box, we aren't there yet. The girls were so excited to be eating "cereal". This made me realize that not only has M NEVER eaten a bowl of cereal but J hadn't had one in over 2 years!!! I was so happy. Here I was watching my girls eat something that I never thought they would be able to enjoy! J had a second serving and then ate the remainder of M's because, lets face it, the little lady is picky as she can be (while still being able to eat raw broccoli for fun).
So not only were the girls eating cereal, but they were eating berries with a non-dairy milk!! There was a time, not too long ago, when we couldn't tolerate anything from a package let alone a milk alternative. This was also the time the only fruits on our plates were plums, pears, apples, melons and banana with the occasional grape. Both girls could not have all of these, this is the whole list for both girls included. Now we have added minimal amounts of blueberries, avocado, honey dew and tomato. I have given myself so much more flexibility when cooking and it seems to be going okay so far. But of course when I write it down the jinx is not far after.
Our animal reactions have reduced so much. At the beginning of our journey J wasn't able to be around a dog for more than 5 minutes on her biggest dose of antihistamine. She is now able to spend the day with a dog on 3/4 dose of antihistamine. At one point she would actually react to sitting on someone's lap who owned a dog!!
After this reflection.... all I can do is thank God and all of those in our lives who have given us strength through our long journey. I look at my girls today and smile... for the laughter that my little M brings and the strength I see in my little trouper J. They are a great example to me about what life is all about and have taught me more about myself and LOVE than I could have ever imagined!!
So not only were the girls eating cereal, but they were eating berries with a non-dairy milk!! There was a time, not too long ago, when we couldn't tolerate anything from a package let alone a milk alternative. This was also the time the only fruits on our plates were plums, pears, apples, melons and banana with the occasional grape. Both girls could not have all of these, this is the whole list for both girls included. Now we have added minimal amounts of blueberries, avocado, honey dew and tomato. I have given myself so much more flexibility when cooking and it seems to be going okay so far. But of course when I write it down the jinx is not far after.
Our animal reactions have reduced so much. At the beginning of our journey J wasn't able to be around a dog for more than 5 minutes on her biggest dose of antihistamine. She is now able to spend the day with a dog on 3/4 dose of antihistamine. At one point she would actually react to sitting on someone's lap who owned a dog!!
After this reflection.... all I can do is thank God and all of those in our lives who have given us strength through our long journey. I look at my girls today and smile... for the laughter that my little M brings and the strength I see in my little trouper J. They are a great example to me about what life is all about and have taught me more about myself and LOVE than I could have ever imagined!!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
First, Do NO HARM....
I haven't posted in a while, the only reason I can give is... life. Through our journey one constant has persisted.....why??? Why us? Why J? Why M? Why did I question the doctor? What is our path? This journey has to have a reason? What is God teaching us? He is calling me to something. I am not sure what, but hopefully it will become clear to me soon.
The other night I was watching a documentary about psychotropic drugs. It ended at about 1:30 a.m. at which time I was enraged with frustration. It made me have such a combination of feelings. I felt so thankful and relieved that something made me question our dermatologist. But it also made me feel so angry that someone would prescribe one of these drugs to my little girl. I was also sad for all of the parents who don't understand that they have the right to informed consent, that may have given the drug and may be suffering without knowing why. I was compelled to write this letter. I needed to tell the doctor what she could have done!!! I needed to feel that I at least put it out there. I wanted to share it with you. I hope I can empower you to look at the package insert, read the side effects and research the prescription. But please do this AFTER you ask the doctor for all available options and talk to them about your family history! We are their consumers, they work for us. We are our own, our children's, our sister's, our brother's and our friends' advocates. Make sure they are treating you with what is best for YOU!!
Dear Dr. -------,
My daughter was a patient of yours over a year ago. We came in to be treated for eczema with extremely high histamine levels, obvious by sight. You were the witts end of our journey to treat her condition, referred to us by a family member. In our first visit you prescribed Atarax, stating that her "issue" is that she needs to be out the minute she hits the pillow because nighttime was when she did the most damage. You even stated the Atarax was a go to for you when you travel with your own kids, I guess justifying to me the safety. What you didn't do in this visit was inquire about the family history that we may be a part of in terms of any health related issues. You also prescribed derma-smoothe again assuring the safety of this very mild steroid. I took both home, with a renewed spirit that maybe my daughter will find peace and our whole family will get the rest we so desperately needed. I used both products ASAP. The derma-smoothe created hives, which you very rudely requested evidence of these hives, I showed you a picture. I tried Atarax for a full month. During this time, my typical 3 year old became scared of the world, paranoid, defiant, restless. This scared everyone that witnessed it. I had stopped the meds by the time our second appointment came. When I gave you the reasoning for our discontinued use you scoffed at me in front of your two medical students, my mother as well as my child. I stated that she woke with a hang over, was wired after 3 hours and completely not herself. You couldn't imagine a hang over after 8 hrs. Well I am 32 and get a hang over 8 hrs after 1 glass of wine. Not only did the appointment start 1 hour after it was schedule, during which time I saw you leave the office for 30 of those minutes and return with a restaurant soda, but you spent all of 10 minutes with us. You requested no family history, questioned my judgement the entire time, made observations of my daughter including "her histamine levels must be through the roof." Then stated to your students "I'd hate to do this, but I think she needs it." Following this up with prescribing a psychotropic drug that is not suggested to be used in kids under18, not FDA approved for kids under 12 to a 3 year old who has a family history of clinical depression and a close relative who committed suicide. I left your office beside myself. I thank God everyday that for some reason I questioned your judgement, because we have a 4 year old today that sleeps through the night, with minimal eczema who was later diagnosed with several food and environmental allergies. On an allergen free diet, she requires an over the counter antihistamine only when she encounters dogs. We were left to our own devices after many doctors failed us. Not only did you fail us, but I shudder to think of where we would be today had we gone down your prescribed route! Every bit of information I read on the drug states that doctors will want to follow the patient weekly during the intro phase and these are adults it was referring to. You prescribed a psychotropic to a 3 year old over a year ago and we have not heard from you since. I called 3 pharmacies in my area and not one of them had ever heard of prescribing to such a young child. Maybe practicing medicine makes you numb to the fact that everyone who walks through your door is someone. Well this child is my world and I thank God that she wasn't lost in your in and out, impersonal and un-proffesional treatment. That I realized that my whole world, to you was just a clinical trial! What happened to informed consent? What happened to first do no harm? What doctors don't realize in their specialized body systems approach is that every aspect of human life works in synergy of the body's other systems. What would I have sacrificed in my child to treat her skin condition? You provided not one other option to me and listed not a breath of what possible and PROBABLE side effects of this treatment were. I am troubled almost daily of the fact that I questioned your treatment, but who out there hasn't? Who has suffered, and conveniently for you, doesn't know the source of that suffering. I hope that my child was the exception and not the rule. I hope that I get some sort of valid response to this email because I will keep trying until I do!
Sincerely,
M
** The author is not a medical practitioner, does not advise to ignore medical attention and is not providing medical advice. Simply suggesting to ask questions and get informed as much as possible.***
The other night I was watching a documentary about psychotropic drugs. It ended at about 1:30 a.m. at which time I was enraged with frustration. It made me have such a combination of feelings. I felt so thankful and relieved that something made me question our dermatologist. But it also made me feel so angry that someone would prescribe one of these drugs to my little girl. I was also sad for all of the parents who don't understand that they have the right to informed consent, that may have given the drug and may be suffering without knowing why. I was compelled to write this letter. I needed to tell the doctor what she could have done!!! I needed to feel that I at least put it out there. I wanted to share it with you. I hope I can empower you to look at the package insert, read the side effects and research the prescription. But please do this AFTER you ask the doctor for all available options and talk to them about your family history! We are their consumers, they work for us. We are our own, our children's, our sister's, our brother's and our friends' advocates. Make sure they are treating you with what is best for YOU!!
Dear Dr. -------,
My daughter was a patient of yours over a year ago. We came in to be treated for eczema with extremely high histamine levels, obvious by sight. You were the witts end of our journey to treat her condition, referred to us by a family member. In our first visit you prescribed Atarax, stating that her "issue" is that she needs to be out the minute she hits the pillow because nighttime was when she did the most damage. You even stated the Atarax was a go to for you when you travel with your own kids, I guess justifying to me the safety. What you didn't do in this visit was inquire about the family history that we may be a part of in terms of any health related issues. You also prescribed derma-smoothe again assuring the safety of this very mild steroid. I took both home, with a renewed spirit that maybe my daughter will find peace and our whole family will get the rest we so desperately needed. I used both products ASAP. The derma-smoothe created hives, which you very rudely requested evidence of these hives, I showed you a picture. I tried Atarax for a full month. During this time, my typical 3 year old became scared of the world, paranoid, defiant, restless. This scared everyone that witnessed it. I had stopped the meds by the time our second appointment came. When I gave you the reasoning for our discontinued use you scoffed at me in front of your two medical students, my mother as well as my child. I stated that she woke with a hang over, was wired after 3 hours and completely not herself. You couldn't imagine a hang over after 8 hrs. Well I am 32 and get a hang over 8 hrs after 1 glass of wine. Not only did the appointment start 1 hour after it was schedule, during which time I saw you leave the office for 30 of those minutes and return with a restaurant soda, but you spent all of 10 minutes with us. You requested no family history, questioned my judgement the entire time, made observations of my daughter including "her histamine levels must be through the roof." Then stated to your students "I'd hate to do this, but I think she needs it." Following this up with prescribing a psychotropic drug that is not suggested to be used in kids under18, not FDA approved for kids under 12 to a 3 year old who has a family history of clinical depression and a close relative who committed suicide. I left your office beside myself. I thank God everyday that for some reason I questioned your judgement, because we have a 4 year old today that sleeps through the night, with minimal eczema who was later diagnosed with several food and environmental allergies. On an allergen free diet, she requires an over the counter antihistamine only when she encounters dogs. We were left to our own devices after many doctors failed us. Not only did you fail us, but I shudder to think of where we would be today had we gone down your prescribed route! Every bit of information I read on the drug states that doctors will want to follow the patient weekly during the intro phase and these are adults it was referring to. You prescribed a psychotropic to a 3 year old over a year ago and we have not heard from you since. I called 3 pharmacies in my area and not one of them had ever heard of prescribing to such a young child. Maybe practicing medicine makes you numb to the fact that everyone who walks through your door is someone. Well this child is my world and I thank God that she wasn't lost in your in and out, impersonal and un-proffesional treatment. That I realized that my whole world, to you was just a clinical trial! What happened to informed consent? What happened to first do no harm? What doctors don't realize in their specialized body systems approach is that every aspect of human life works in synergy of the body's other systems. What would I have sacrificed in my child to treat her skin condition? You provided not one other option to me and listed not a breath of what possible and PROBABLE side effects of this treatment were. I am troubled almost daily of the fact that I questioned your treatment, but who out there hasn't? Who has suffered, and conveniently for you, doesn't know the source of that suffering. I hope that my child was the exception and not the rule. I hope that I get some sort of valid response to this email because I will keep trying until I do!
Sincerely,
M
** The author is not a medical practitioner, does not advise to ignore medical attention and is not providing medical advice. Simply suggesting to ask questions and get informed as much as possible.***
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