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6 y.o. son's teacher says ADD ??

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Posted 11/10/2011 2:07 AM (GMT 0)
Hello All,

My 6 y.o. son is having a really difficult time focusing at school. He rarely gets his work done during class. He's constantly off in la-la land if the subject doesn't completely interest him. He only gets assignments done when someone is there to refocus him. He's not hyperactive but falls under the inattentive category of ADD. When he's really motivated to get something done, he'll do it in a minute. But if he's bored with it, it's like pulling teeth to get it done.

His first grade teacher has brought up "getting checked out" by his pediatrician a couple times now. She stressed not wanting to "label him" which I appreciated. But of course I'm extremely concerned this is all Lyme related.

I'm assuming he has congenital Lyme since I've had it for 10+ years undiagnosed til just 3 yrs ago. I delivered 6 -8 wks early with no apparent cause. Developmentally and behaviorally he has been normal til now. He did attend pre-school and kindergarten without any abnormal issues. He did have a hard time focusing the first couple weeks in kindergarten. But the teacher thought that was normal boy behavior.

Has anyone had or have similar situations as this? I'd appreciate your comments and opinions and experience.

I did find a pediatric specialist in developmental spectrum's that tests her Autism patients parents for Lyme. I know.....I couldn't believe it either!!!! www.developmentalspectrums.com I haven't made an appointment yet cuz they don't take insurance. Sound familiar?? I'm tempted to use our regular doctor, but I know that's going to be a waste of time.

Comments and prayers please,
Lisa
Posted 11/10/2011 2:14 AM (GMT 0)
I think it is common for certain problems not to arise until that age. There is such a variety of behaviors and abilities at young ages, but as kids progress in the school systems, deviations can become more pronounced as classes become more structured.

That is great that you found such a pediatrician - but sadly unsurprising that she does not take insurance. I think a regular doc would be much more likely to jump to ADD and start prescribing meds that your son may or may not need. I don't believe regular family doctors spend enough time with patients to really get to know non-physical health problems.

I'm sorry I could not really offer advice, as I don't have children. But I wish you and your son the best of luck.
Posted 11/10/2011 3:27 AM (GMT 0)
My oldest son is A.d.d, he was oxygen deprived during birth.. He is very smart but has very obvious attention problems.. I myself struggled with A.D.H.D most of my life although the cause was not determined.. But having gone through that I would be very careful labeling any child A.d.d.. Most kids that have this label are not A.d.d at all, they are coming from some form of dysfunction in the family- divorce, parental alcoholism, addiction or abuse. Also IQ can play a big role. Boys in general are bored in school and if their IQ is high this only increases the problem.. In most cases I have seen teachers push for kids to be tested for A.D.D. because really they want their job to be easier.. At one point my sons school claimed to be having so many problems with him that they were going to expel him. The amazing thing was after I met with them he never had one more problem...
Now that being said when you say you believe your son has congenital Lyme does that mean he has birth defects from your lyme not that he has contracted lyme from you? Or if you believe he has lyme has he been tested?
Posted 11/10/2011 3:59 AM (GMT 0)
i have had two children since infection...i just got diagnosed last month and trying to get over the hump before i have my whole family tested....but my seven yr old has ocd issues...focus issues and started complaining with his stomach always hurting....he says his face always itches....and this week he started complaining with his ankles hurting.....i am scared to death...but me and my husband have discussed that he needs to go ahead and be tested.....we cant wait for me to feel better....and its hard for me to even get up out of the bed....my daughter is in nursing school...and for the past six mths been complaining of her right shoulder hurting and having headaches and napping with every chance she gets....and now my husband is complaining with fatigue irritibility .....i need a lyme intervention at my house......but i understand ur concern with your child.....i dont know how me and my family is gonna deal with all this....i wish some of those doctors that kept telling me nothing was wrong...could see where im sitting right now.....
Posted 11/10/2011 4:05 AM (GMT 0)
He hasn't been tested. I had undiagnosed and untreated Lyme before pregnancy. I Had joint issues for years prior, but no other significant symptoms during pregnancy. I don't know how active (bacterial load wise) your Lyme infection has to be to pass through the placenta. So the theory is infants are either born with active infection or they are carriers of the disease. Other than being premature, he has no birth defects that are expressed. He also had a tick bite on the back of his neck with discoloration at age 3. 2 months before my symptoms were FULL blown. So I didn't know enough about Lyme then to get him treated.

thank you both for your comments. it's always helpful!
Posted 11/10/2011 1:41 PM (GMT 0)
Knowing what I know now I would never let any tick bite go w/out being tested and most likely treated.. I was very careful to examine every tick and the one that got me was not a deer tick.. Because I was under the misconception that I only had to worry about deer ticks I didnt attribute my problems to lyme. If it was me I would want my child tested as soon as possible. God bless
Posted 11/10/2011 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Lupner,

You must be very worried. I would say for the sake of your son and for your own peace of mind, you should get your son check out for Lyme. There seems to be a lot of pressure for parents to treat their kids for ADD, but very little encouragement to seek out the causes.

Have you check out this site? It has a lot of info on pediatric Lyme:

www.drjoneskids.com/

Good luck, and keep us posted!
Posted 11/10/2011 4:14 PM (GMT 0)
Lupner:

I live in the same city that Developmental Spectrums is located and in-fact, I was seeing Dr. M when I first started having symptoms. It's kind of a long story, but I originallhy went there because I was feeling so awful - but before my neuro symptoms started. I thought I had Tardive Dyskinesia (a movement disorder caused by certain drugs - in this case, I had been taking Reglan after my gallbladder surgery). Anyway, I started having tingling, numbness, pulsating, crazy symptoms literally overnight.

When I saw her, I was quite literally FREAKING OUT!! I told her that the neuro I had seen (I had only seen one at this point) told me it was anxiety. She said, anxiety may make whatever it is worse, but there is an underlying condition here. "I think you might have lyme disease" she said. She wanted me to go on a month of ABX treatment before getting tested and I refused because I didn't want to put anymore drugs into my body. Ohhhh....how I wish I'd listened to her...I would have been a whole year further into treatment than I am now. I went an entire year before finally being tested!!!! (I didn't have to take ABX to get the positive test).

Anyway, I think about her all the time and wish I'd listened to her!!! She is very very thorough! Her history is that she used to be a physiciatrist...(sp). She got into this line of work because her son had autism and one thing led to another... I've been thinking about calling her again because she does a lot of things to support lyme disease. She told me way back when, that if I tested positive for Lyme that she doesn't treat it because it's a very complicated disease but that she would point me in the right direction.

So....I really like her!!! Good luck with that. I hope you son gets the treatment that he needs and keep us updated!
Posted 11/10/2011 5:08 PM (GMT 0)
HI Lupner,
I am so sorry to hear of this!! I am a mother of two adult children that were infected because I was un-dxed and un-treated for so many years as well. I have one in denial and one that is getting treatment with my doc, so I understand your concerns.

I would strongly suggest that you get your son evaluated by a doc that understands that passing these infections from mother to child is not only possible, but happens before allowing anyone to 'tag' him with a bunch of other conditions that might label him throughout his schooling.

At least if he has a TBI, he has a hope of getting much better!!! I would agree with Achievinggrace, please read through Dr. Jones site, as it has a lot of great info there - and not all of it pertains to only children!!

Please be sure to let us know how things go as you find out info and decide how to approach this. We are all here to help support you!

(((hugs)))
Posted 11/10/2011 9:46 PM (GMT 0)
wow, thanks so much everyone!!!!!

I am going to make an appt with Dr. M at Developmental Spectrums and I'm so glad you put the dr. jones address up. I was trying to search for that!!!

I think I'm going to take my son and my husband to IGeneX for testing also. My husbands been having joint and disc issues the last year that's now giving numbness in three different areas. He's had multiple tick bites from hunting and fishing too. Yes......Lyme is all over California.

thank you all again for your comments and suggestions. where would we be without each other?????

God Bless, Lisa
Posted Today 1:25 AM (GMT 0)
Son's update:

I took him to Immune Matrix in California for BioSet testing. (electral dermal testing)

He tested positive to Deer tick virus' and Ehrlichia, but no others in the Lyme family and no active infection. But this does prove congenital Lyme. His neurotransmitter responses where all normal. So no "chemical" ADD problem. Then was tested for molds and food allergies.

Low and behold!! Major mold and gluten issues. The doc told me that almost all ADD symptoms are caused from food and/or environmental allergies. She just went to a conference on the long term mental affects that gluten has on the brain. Especially all the new GMO stuff!!! Gluten can have a neuro toxic affect for up to 6 months from just one serving.

Since I'm gluten intolerant it wont be hard to add him to the list. We are having our HVAC inspected and cleaned and will have a mold inspection done. Which I'm worried about being told to pull up all the carpeting. We don't have the money for new flooring right now!!!! I'm paying $1200 a month now for my IV meds.

anyone have any suggestions about asking his school about having mold inspections done? What if the school has a major mold problem?

I'm just so relieved he doesn't have any active Lyme infection!!!! Thank you God!
Posted Today 3:38 AM (GMT 0)
Lupner
When i first read your post my thought was allergy, food or MOLD.

I think the mold exposure is major issue for alll of us.

Its good you are tuning into this now while he young
and not just medicating.

If you suspect anything about your carpet think about
Removing it.


I just bought a Miele vacuum which is high rated for
Removing infectious air and not recirculating.

They have a $299 model now plus $50 for hepa filter.

I have friends that swear by this vacuum for allergies.

Its good to hear from you again, Lupner. Im sorry to hear
about this situation.
Its late but tomorrow im sending you all i have been doing and discovered
about mold/ lyme.
Posted Today 3:44 AM (GMT 0)
I too suspect that my 8 year old son might have congenital Lyme.  He has been diagnosed with ADHD although he has many more problems than that, including encopresis, enuresis, various autistic-like sensitivities and habits, rages.  He had been prescribed ADHD medications.  We had tried them 2 years ago, but they helped only short term.  He started loosing weight as a side effect of the medications, and his behavior started getting only worse, so we stopped it.

We started gluten-free diet about 2 years ago (suggested by a nutritionist), and it made quite a difference for him, but he still relapses regularly with his various symptoms.

Since August we have added some cranio-sacral therapy, homeopathic medication, also we started enforcing gluten-free and MSG-free diet more strictly.  I am not sure which of these helped, but the last 3 months have been the best ones in years.  But I am still fearfull about relapse.

I am planning to do Igenex testing for him (Western Blot and C6 peptide assay).

Posted Today 3:49 AM (GMT 0)
That is great news that your son doesn't have active Lyme!

I worry about my children too. Between 3 of my children and I, we have been bitten 6 times just in the past 13 months! What's amazing about that is we don't even get out that much and are still trying to figure out where the ticks were coming from.

Will the rest of your family be tested?
Posted Today 10:54 AM (GMT 0)
Scarlet,

The main carrier of the deer tick is actually the deer mouse. They can be living in your yard -- or anywhere you frequent.

While you can take steps to get rid of the mice around your house, the best defense is to use tick and insect repellent.

Don't let that stop you from going out. Outdoor exercise is one of the best things for the immune system and mental health!! Go outside and play!
Posted 12/2/2011 3:19 AM (GMT 0)
thanks for all the great comments.

I'm sure we really need to take out the carpet, but have no money right now. And I wanted to knock down a family room wall before the new floor goes in.

I've heard of that vacuum before. Heard it's good.

My husband still needs to be tested but he's in total denial and keeps putting it off.

For those of you with kids in the Autism Spectrum disorder realm check out ImmuneMatrix.com and read about how neurofeedback helps. In the beginning of my Lyme treatment, my brain frequencies were far worse than ADHD or Autism. I did neurofeedback on my head and it made the hyperactive frequencies mellow out. A normal brain alpha to beta frequency is 1:1, severe ADHD is 2-4:1. Mine was 12:1. This causes major fatigue cause you're never getting any REM sleep. Also check out www.developmentalspectrums.com This doctor tests all her Autistic patients for Lyme and other brain affecting diseases.

bucci, I'm looking forward to your email. I'm having problems opening my email and can't figure out whats wrong.
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