Featuring Madiha Saeed MD, Director of Education, and Heather Tallman-Ruhm, Medical Director, both of our Documenting Hope Project.
We started today’s House Call with a question that came in from a father during our most recent Community Q&A Call. We wanted to ask the doctors for their thoughts on this for the father to listen into the replay.
The father’s question: “We think our son is having “breath-holding spells.” When sitting at times, he will stop breathing -if we ask him to breathe or move him, he will start breathing again. At first, we thought these were silent seizures; however, these only happen when he sits for a time like on the couch. It looks like a new behavioral tick. His diagnosis is epilepsy and autism. Any thoughts?”
- Dr. Heather and Dr. Madiha both felt they didn’t have enough information to really offer as much as they could if this father were available during the call to answer follow up questions (ex: age of the child, how were seizures ruled out, etc.)
A mother asked: “I have been reading about abnormal sulfate metabolism and acetaminophen (we have a Tdap vaccine today – worried and trying to be cautious). 1. Is there a way to identify if my child has abnormal sulfate metabolism and 2. what support can be given to kids with this condition (we are doing GF/CF, but sounds like other foods can be an issue too)”
- Dr. Heather: Genetics is worth exploring but you won’t be able to do that before the call today. Sometimes there are clues in what your child can handle from a sulfur standpoint, like a response to things like eggs, onions, and sulfur rich foods or maybe they don’t do well with supplements like glutathione or NAC or other things.
- Both Dr. Heather and Dr. Madiha shared information regarding when they consider use of acetaminophen.
Another mother asked: “I’ve been debating about the genetic testing. My child is a teen and I’ve never done testing. Do you think that’s helpful enough that everyone should do that?”
- Dr. Madiha: This is not where I’d start with most patients but it can be helpful in some cases, it depends where you’re at, what you’ve already done, what’s going on with your teenager.
- Dr. Heather: Genetic testing results can be overwhelming to interpret. Another caveat: Interpretation is nuanced.
- Dr. Madiha: There’s a lot you can do with bloodwork and other biomarkers before having to do extensive genetic testing. There are also many nutrition and lifestyle basics to solidify and work on regardless of what your genetic testing uncovers. Don’t forget about those important basics and implementing them into your families life.
- Beth: Book recommendation by Dr. Ben Lynch – Dirty Genes: https://epidemicanswers.org/suggested-books/dirty-genes-a-breakthrough-program-to-treat-the-root-cause-of-illness-and-optimize-your-health
A mother asked: “What do I need to know about testing for celiac? 14 y.o. boy in managed recovery from all the developmental things, currently struggling with clostridia, no gluten allergy detected. We eliminated gluten, and he had more energy, less brain fog. Added gluten back in and he reports feeling sluggish. Celiac? We’re happy to go gluten free without a diagnosis for obvious reasons, but I’m learning that there are certain advantages to having that dx when it comes to asking for dietary accommodations at public events.”
- Dr. Madiha: Celiac testing can be beneficial in some cases, however, there are a lot of people who are sensitive to gluten who do not have celiac disease. Go based off their symptoms vs. Taking the testing as the definitive answer to whether or not the individual should not eat it.
- Dr. Heather: Honor the language of the body. That’s the gold standard. Consider nuances of testing as well.
Another mother: “My son is 4 years old and has been regressing lately. He was potty trained and is now peeing in the house and outside. His speech has become less clear and he is skipping words when he is reading. He gets into this slap happy laughing fit where he is rolling around and laughing non stop (over nothing), and seems to be stimming more as well. Is this type of regression common or do you think something is causing it?”
- Dr. Heather: Urination accidents could be related to mast cell activation and/or constipation. Is it possible there is mold in the environment? Mold can release histamine; certain foods, especially in excess, can release histamine reaction. Consider food/mood journaling to see if you find any patterns over time.
- Beth: Food sensitivities can trigger histamine reactions and bed wetting in an already potty-trained child. Removing food sensitivities can help support bed wetting.
- Dr. Heather: Continue to focus on the gut. Food sensitivity testing can be helpful but keep in mind these tests are a snapshot in time. Keep thinking about how to get to the root causes.
- Dr. Madiha: Any new stressors… emotional or environmental?
- Shandy: The slap happy laughter can sometimes be a clue that there’s a salicylates processing issue (think red pigment in apples, berries, tomatoes, etc.).
- Info page: How Phenols and Salicylates May Be Contributing to Your Child’s Mood, Behavior and Hyperactivity
Mom: “Daughter has autism/Lyme. Is it possible if her oat test came back high in yeast she has yeast infections. Her genitals are very smelly no matter how hard I try to neutralize the smell. She is also very itchy, but her PCP said it’s impossible for a 2-year-old to get a yeast infection?”
- Dr. Heather: It is possible for your 2-year-old to get a yeast infection.
- Dr. Madiha: It is absolutely possible. Focus on overall microbiome health. A fishy smell could indicate there is a bacterial vaginosis present.
- Dr. Heather: A yeasty smell could be more indicative of a yeast infection. Can use systemic support to help her overall health and overall microbiomes. Blood sugar regulation could also be supportive for overall support.
- Book recommendation: https://epidemicanswers.org/suggested-books/glucose-revolution-the-life-changing-power-of-balancing-your-blood-sugar/
- Dr. Madiha: Saccharomyces boulardii can be helpful for yeast overgrowth
- Dr. Heather: With the involvement of yeast and autism/Lyme, also consider the possibility of heavy metal involvement. Make sure excretion and pathways of elimination are open, etc.
- Dr. Madiha: Find a doctor who is on the same page and can help you move forward with testing and supporting you.
A mother asked: “I have a WES for my 5-year-old from Genedx where we got the information about a SCN1a deletion. Is it possible to get other information from this data? We did it through children’s hospital Boston.”
- Dr. Heather: If you can get a CSV download of the data, you can put it into Genetic Genie. There are also other platforms are out there to help you interpret the data, but it may still be difficult to interpret if you don’t have additional knowledge.
A dad asked: “General question on receptors. Are there certain things that can be observed physically in a child that would clue some sort of general receptor issue? and 2nd) I remember hearing about the FRAT test on an earlier call, to see if a child has a difficulty involving the folate receptor. Are there other receptor medical tests that exist / have importance / to consider to see if that or those are an underlying key element to their struggles?”
- Dr. Heather: Genetic reports give all sorts of insights about receptors. The FRAT test is a unique test that reflects folate receptors in the brain specifically. Not aware of other tests to consider similar to receptors in this way.
A mother asks: “Can malabsorption be caused by genetics? My son is being treated now for that with digestive enzymes and probiotics. I see his agility has gotten better. He now climbs on things and moves more which tells me his pain due to GI problems are improving but I don’t think his intellectual abilities are improving yet. He is 2.5 years old. He can’t follow instructions. I have him off processed foods, dairy, and gluten.”
- Dr. Madiha: Genetics can be a factor relating to malabsorption but there are other factors to explore as well… food sensitivities, sugar, high histamine foods, enzymes, digestive support, etc.
- Dr. Heather: Discusses importance of stomach acid, enzymes, organs involved in the digestive process, etc. All these things are important when thinking about malabsorption. Supporting gut health to support brain and overall health. The genes do not necessarily cause the issues, but the environment can exacerbate the issue.
- Book recommendation: “Why Stomach Acid is Good for You” by Jonathon Wright, MD
- Dr. Heather: We’re so proud of you for showing up and helping each other and helping each other learn. This is a process. This is a community process. This is a collaboration. We’re so proud of you for showing up and helping each other and helping each other learn.
A mother asked: “Question about Teens and ultra processed foods. — Loaded question, but any suggestions for massive pushback when trying to remove processed foods, gluten and dairy with teens.…. any webinars out there targeted towards teens to help them “buy in”?”
- Another mom offers: I made documentaries like Irresistible: Why We Can’t Stop Eating part of my teen’s science curriculum. We homeschool, so I can do that. But if we didn’t homeschool, I wouldn’t be above bribery.
- Dr. Madiha: Teenage appropriate books or podcasts. Shared about The Holistic Kids Show with HolisticMomMd’s Kids’ (a podcast hosted by Dr. Madiha’s sons!). Created for kids by kids. Educate them about what is going on in the world. Teach them about the ingredients they’re reading.
- Dr. Madiha: We were not given an instruction manual to raising the beautiful children. We’re all just doing our best.
The information in these calls and recordings is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please see our Disclaimer.