Certainly the Lymphedema would affect your father’s body’s ability to clear waste from the eye, and must have contributed to his eye condition. A great question is: What caused the lymphedema?

I am *so impressed* that the OPC-3 cured your IBS! Wow! Good for you! Nothing like self-empowerment, right?

I have found that stress can exacerbate symptoms. Actually anytime I’m not doing great I can expect that to show up in my eye, and the converse is also true, I have seen improvements when I’m doing well.

I still have good vision in the center of my left eye, but it is tilty, that is straight horizontal lines look raised on the left side. I believe this means I have scar tissue built up under the retina. I am seeing a doctor who has now diagnosed lyme, a few lyme co-infections, and mold illness as well as a staph infection! This is great news in a way, because I now have three or four things I can improve to make myself healthier. The Lyme and mold illness caused damage to my hypothalmus which caused a serious drop in my hormone levels which in turn affected my vascular system. The doctor is treating the co-infections (parasites) first and has me on hormone supplements which have me feeling like a new person. I am hopeful that going after these problems can not only improve my global health but will help heal my eye and reduce the scar tissue under my left retina as well. Better circulation ***works miracles***.

Thanks for your comment. It is frightening to have your vision disturbed. We take it for granted, it’s wonderful, then one day we realize, wow, I want so much to keep my vision!! What can I do?

Of course I am not an opthomologist, just one person who’s studied vision from an alternative perspective for a long time and is feeling her way through some vision problems of her own.

It would not surprise me if your vision problem (“bubble”) was caused by some retinal disturbance due to your car accident. It is great that the disturbance was not at your center of vision, what a blessing! Also if it was caused by a car accident, then you can feel somewhat confident your circulation in the area is normal and it will heal up normally. It is fantastic that you are doing massage, because this will help bring your entire body back into balance and keep your circulation to the area flowing. That is ***key***!!! So keep it up! So, with confidence you have normal capillary action to the area and good blood flow generally, all you need to do is make sure you have great nutrition so that your eyes have all the nutrients they need to do whatever repair is necessary. Make sure you are getting all the good retinal nutrition you need–lutein, Omega 3s and Astaxanthins in particular, and you should be fine. I take Mercola’s Krill Oil (although I am finding it rather fishy, it is a good source of Astaxanthin which is found in large amounts in the retina), Lutein, and Clear Focus drops. NOTE: Just researched Krill Oil to add it to my store, and found there is a better one–how did I miss it before? Red Whale Oil is a great choice, you will find it in my handy a-store!

In the absence of knowing what caused your father’s md, I will go out on a limb and say this regimen should have a preventative effect on the macular degeneration from which your father suffered. Do you know your father’s macular degeneration cause? Did he have diabetes, circulatory problems of any kind, any unusual tendency towards blood clots (antiphospholipid antibodies of any kind), neck problems or pain, or a stooped posture? If you share any of these, you can use these as signposts to help you navigate the waters and avoid problems in the future. Exercise will help you greatly–that reminds me I have to go work out now!

Thank you so much for your comment. It means so much to me to hear from another mother going through this. We are warriors in the Wild Autism Jungle, Barbara! I do personally know a few moms with autistic kids but their experience is different because they are not open to *any* alternatives and seem to worship at the altar of conventional medicine. I don’t know about you, but I am pretty darn disappointed with the progress conventional medicine has made for our kids so far. My feelings about that are hardened quite a bit now that I realize more the impact of politics on autism research. But I will leave that topic for another day. So when I hear from another mom on a journey similar to mine, it is like a rare breath of fresh air. Good to hear from you. Really.

Paul Tom is an energy healer. He is in the San Jose, CA area. He can “see” the body’s energy. He has some neat tricks up his sleeve. He has had some success helping autistic kids, especially those under 5. He sells what is basically a stir stick for water which is energetically customized for autistic kids. He has also had some success with calming kids with this, although I haven’t seen great success with it. He also recommends Adya drops which I discussed elsewhere on this blog, the combo of the drops (small amounts) and the stir wand (he has one for non-autistic people too) causes the body to be much better hydrated, which is key in healing, so I do believe in that solution. Paul’s work on one level is way out there, but he is a scientist by training, and actually has a lot of practical, science-based advice. We like him, we use him, but he definitely doesn’t hold all the answers for healing autistic kids.

I am planning on blogging on this topic, and since I saw your post on an insomniac night (!) maybe I’ll go ahead and get my start in my reply to you. When approaching healing, I believe you need to focus on basics first: 1) What is the quality of the air I (or my child) breathe, and am I taking in oxygen sufficiently into my cells? Are there any problems with the air, such as mold? Small leaks in my roof or house that might be affecting it? Am I sensitive to mold (25% of the population has a genetic susceptibility to mold, making us “sicker quicker” the more we are exposed to it. Mold exposure symptoms can mimic autism.)? How is my posture? Am I slumped over due to poor muscle tone? This will affect our minute-by-minute oxygen intake. 2) Am I drinking clean, floride-free water? Does it have enough minerals? Is the ph of the water I drink neutral or slightly basic? Or is it acidic, making it not very absorbable by my body? If so, Google Paul Tom to see his stirwand solution for making water more hydrating. I don’t get any money from him, BTW, just a fan! 3) Am I eating good-quality non-genetically engineered (non-organic corn, soy, cottonseed oil, canola, only organic meats) food? Is it easy for me to absorb? If not, do I have parasites that are damaging my gut and tweaking the environment of my bowels unfriendly to me? In order to find out, contact Dr. Ibraheem in Nigeria. He is reputed to be the best parasitologist in the world. Do not trust parasitology testing in the United States. We went through Dr. Glenn Wilcox in New Mexico, but it was very expensive–perhaps if you try emailing Dr. Ibraheem (parasitologist) in Nigeria directly you can arrange testing/treatment at a more affordable cost. Once I know there are no parasites, how is my microbiology? Do a stool test at Direct Labs to find out. Do I have a good source of probiotics in my diet, either home-grown (free and interesting but yet another thing to manage) or purchased (take my advice and go *really* slowly in ramping up probiotics. Start with 1/8-1/4 of 1 probiotic, and make sure they are not dairy-based. Kirkman’s is a good brand. Focusing on gut health is, I’m convinced, 90% of the battle. Is my diet strictly gluten and casein free? I realize your son’s is, but this is a very important piece of the puzzle, so it bears repeating. Am I on a rotation diet? I have to be honest, a rotation diet while GFCF is a big pain in the arse!!!!!!!! And I have not entirely figured out how to manage that and stay sane at the same time. Probably others are better at it than me. I have also heard good things about SCD. A rotation diet will allow my body time to clear out any potential allergens in the food before the food is re-introduced, so it is a very valuable weapon in keeping food allergies at bay. The google group GFCF kids is an invaluable resource for people in your situation. Join it, you will be very happy you did. Let’s see, breathe, drink, eat, oh yes. Poop. 4) How is my elimination? Am I sufficiently hydrated to get rid of my body’s waste? Am I constipated? That reminds me, am I taking enzymes (use Houston or Enzymedica) if I eat cooked food so that I can maximize the benefit of my food without overtaxing my body? Enzymes alone can make a big difference for some kids.

If all four of these areas are humming, your health should be pretty good! Couple this line of thinking with a good homeopath, and you should be in good shape.

Which brings me to your other question, which homeopath should I choose? We went through five before finding one who really works for us. Dr. Luc was wonderful, but even he didn’t really zero in on the best remedies for us. Amy Lansky’s homeopath had good luck with her son, but I can tell you we tried him and I’m pretty confident he is not the healer for you. IMO, he is guessing too much for my comfort. We tried Dr. Luc’s protegee, Farah Gron, and at the time she had recently taken over the practice and I feel she was a little overwhelmed, and it didn’t work out that well for us. We are very happy with Kari Kindem. She works very hard, has a structured practice which systemitizes the things that have to happen so your case doesn’t slip through the cracks–very important when working with a busy homeopath. She continually studies with great homeoopaths all over the world. Her practice is constantly evolving, and I think getting better. She is currently using homeopathic facial analysis which finally led her to use a remedy for our son which brought him from poorly focused–he never really engaged with toys–to very focused (finishing a booklet in his mainstream classroom first and also doing the best job in the class even though the environment was noisy, exciting and distracting, making giant leaps in writing ability and mental organization, again, top in his class. It was a little breathtaking to watch. So I highly recommend Kari (www.karikindem.com).

Good luck. I ***shower you with kudos, kudos, kudos for staying on this path to healing your son. You are brave, free-thinking, and an incredibly dedicated mother and *****a total hero!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!****** and **********you deserve a medal for all you do!!!!!!!!!!!!****************

Good luck. Thanks for getting me started on my blog entry/autism lecture circuit talk!

Ann

Your story about your son astonished me. While there are a few differences between yours and mine, honestly, I have never heard someone describe their child as similiarly. The hyperactivity, always chasing him and feeling lonely on the playground or in groups because of the running after him stuff, the chewing, flushing being a problem, the bedtime routine everyone else was using did not work as he could outcry us, etc. Amazing. (I used cloth diapers too LOL). The only problem you faced that we did not is the ear infections. But we had the red anus and all that with the bumps. We too did Berard AIT (and I learned about Luc then a few years ago but I did not try him as I was still thinking DAN was the answer …). AIT helped some with sound sensitivities. We did it two summers in a row. My husband did not like the expense so we did not do it again. I did not know about Tomatis being a complimentary method, at the time the AIT website did not say that. But I know of Dorrine’s expertise so I believe this must be true! Right now, I am thinking of going to Luc’s former student, Farah Gron as we live right near her in MA. I have not tried homeopathy yet, well, actually I did see one person with my son, but felt disappointed when he gave me a remedy for tics (my son has autism, that’s only one symptom, you know?). I had gotten discouraged then because it took time to see this guy and pay him money and then be disappointed. Now, as my son nears 12, and as I get more desperate, I am reopening that door to homeopathy. My son has plateaued the last few years and it’s frightening. He’s in a regular classroom and all that but … we’ve lost our pattern of ongoing personal growth and I can’t seem to get rid of other things like a thunder phobia (tried many approaches) and GI problems (ileitis). I am having a terrible time knowing who to pick. There is Amy Lansky’s homepath, there is Pierre Fontaine, there is Rudi Verspoor, there is Houston Homeopathy and of course Luc’s protege. AHHHHH how am I supposed to know where to go??? Also, I have a question, what is the part of your story about Paul Tom – you do not say what he does? Our biggest problem is my son’s digestion. He is on the SCD diet (after doing GFCF for two years) and he’s been on this for 2 1/2 years yet he can’t expand beyond a few foods without pain. Yes he is ASD, but the digestion is our “chief complaint” as it is a barrier to everything social when he can’t eat pizza, etc. Do you have any comments or suggestions on how the heck I can know who to pick (I am in a hurry when my son complains every day that he can’t do this or that because there will be pizza there, etc.!). Also please explain Paul Tom. Many many thanks – so excited about your success and want the same.

All the best,
Barbara Barker