Could it really be the vitamins?

[OnTheBen10DaysofChristmas]

Having failed to get any of the super-duper supplements into DS, I settled on http://www.seven-seas.com/products/minadex/tonic-orange-flavour-200 Minadex which he has had for the last week without knowing it in his juice.

He has suddenly stopped sensory seeking jumping and running in the house, is communicating with his GPs, has allowed them to kiss him, has been v affectionate with the cats and not hurt them, has sat for an hour at least and made the whole Lego City advent calendar with me and then has actually been playing. It really is a huge difference that we have never noticed during other school holidays.

He is 6, has v restricted diet and has dyspraxia, SPD and suspected HFA/AS. Could just these basic vitamins/minerals make such a difference?

www.seven-seas.com/products/minadex/tonic-orange-flavour-200

Well, since Indigo mentioned vitamins and minerals and DHA I bought the Tinsley House book and have been giving my DS all these things too.

DS has mild cerebral palsy. I wasn't sure if it affected his behaviour or not, but he is/was a right old handful most of the time.

Anyway since giving him these vitamins (mainly prompted by school complaining of his behaviour) my DS has made significant changes too. He is suddenly more mature. He has more in depth conversations with me. If I am trying to get him to understand my point of view (if asking him not to do stuff, or play more nicely with friends etc) he now gets it and adapts his behaviour, in a way that he could not do at all before. Before he was completely impulsive and seemingly had little control over what seemed often to be chaotic hyperactive behaviour. He doesn't seem to be hyperactive any more - or chaotic!

I too think - it can't just be these vitamins and minerals. But I'll carry on and we'll see ... I hope it is. If it is I wonder whether I should carry on forever giving them ...

Wow! To both of you.

Certainly sounds like the vitamins are helping. I think it's more likely that it's helping, than that you've imagined it.

That one you are using Ben10 doesn't have anything in it that I recommended :) so its really interesting that it's helped so much.

Yes I really, really do think simple multivitamins can make a huge difference. My DS2 has improved as much as your kids by these multi vitamins. He used to become cross and upset very easily. Now he's calm and happy much more of the time. We did think he had ASD, but now we think only dyspraxia :). Most of his ASD symptoms are gone.

I wouldn't have tried any vitamins if it wasn't for you Indigo although have so far failed with behaviour balance and Omega 3 . Only Osteocare to try now.

I'm very pleased as he even invited a boy from Beavers to play at our house in January :):):):):):):)

Thank you again and Merry Christmas!

x

I think because he has a restricted diet he is likely to be lacking in almost all vitamins, so any you can get in him are likely to help.

I'm guessing as well that his restricted diet means he has bowel problems, and it's not just that he's not eating the right things - he also probably isn't absorbing what he does eat.

When you feel up to it you need to try gluten free / dairy free :)

My DS1 used to drink a pint of whole milk a day - yet when we did a hair test on him it said he was deficient in calcium! He just wasn't absorbing any of it, instead it was just hurting his tummy :(

Going gluten free / dairy free has really improved him - partly by just improving his bowels so he didn't feel sick/constipated all the time.

If you can't get osteocare or any other magnesium into your DS give it to him in his bath. Epsom bath salts are magnesium sulphate and your skin absorbs it in the bath.

I think via the bath salts you don't get as much In him as via osteocare, but if you can't get him to take osteocare then it's worth doing.

I do think that GF may help unfortunately as poos not that solid but I haven't got the energy at the moment for that! I did try DF (which I know is different from CF) for ages when he was about 3 due to toddler diarroeah (sp!) but it made no difference. I have the Sunderland test here still but am dreading it actually telling me I should do GFCF.

I need the Osteocare myself for my healing so it won't be wasted anyway! Are they chalky sort of tablets? Do they have a flavour? I did see that they do a fizzy version of it which isn't so good but probably better than nothing if he won't take the tablets and might top up the Epsom Salts.

Osteocare comes in loads of different versions. Me and DD take the chewables, which are quit pleasant. DS takes the liquid which is vanilla flavoured.

GF sounds harder than it is. All supermarkets these days sell GF pasta, GF fish fingers, GF chicken nuggets etc etc. check out their free from range.

The only thing DS has really given up is bread. And you can get GF bread it's just not very nice. He's also taken up baking and makes lovely GF cakes.

How bad is his diet now? Can you make one meal GF? Would he have eggs or bacon for breakfast?

Dinners not too bad. Haven't really changed anything.

Lunch was the hardest. DS now has cucumber, tomatoes, babybell and ham.

Anyway, def don't do anything over Xmas :). Then when you feel up to it start slowly. Get one meal GF at a time......

There are no veg in his diet unless it is in lasagne, shepherds pie or spag bol but they can't be visible. Normally he rejects most things unless they are beige or baked beans or ketchup. He has to have ham sandwich every day for lunch. He won't eat eggs at all. I can imagine breakfast would be hard for us but could definitely get one of the meals GF probably dinner if I could really get beige food in GF varieties! GF fish fingers and home made chips.

He is not nearly as bad as loads of the children on here as will eat lasagne etc but it is a bummer after the whole Annabel Karmel weaning thing! Should have just given him waffles and crispy pancakes from birth

Vanilla Osteocare definitely sounds like it might be a goer - esp as could get it into milk.

Thanks again. Happy Christmas

Ben 10 have just sent DH out to buy the tonic on your recommendation you should be on commission. WAlso bought that Brain food book Indigo on your recommendation. We have been given medication for DD but are only going to give as a last resort. Thanks guys what would I do without you ?

Fingers crossed foryou Holy that it works for you too! I've bought orange flavour Osteocare as Boots didn't have vanilla so it will be a Minadex/Osteocare cocktail each morning :)

I have been giving ds behaviour balance and I swear it makes a difference.

indigo I know you've done this before but could you post the specific supplements that your ds takes again?

we do occasionally have the minadex - HV recommended it after i said it was a struggle to get him to eat any fruit and veg at all. it does seem to be the easiest thing to get down them. we did it in fresh orange juice, watered down (which is what tinsley house/robin pauc say to do with juice)

we then went onto omega 3. various forms. some easier to get down him than others. tiny amounts of flaxseed oil in Heinz things (added once cooled a bit) were how we started. now will eat in capsule, but not the one that is the best - too yukky. he started sleeping once we introduced the omega. which was life changing! but he got worse before he got better, and there were some hideous tantrums in the first few days.

his diet is slowly improving. ate a sprout at XMas dinner!

I'm doing epsom salts in the bath and i think i've seen an improvement from that, preceeded by a regression and some tantrums. but Xmas has been better than expected and he has suddenly improved his vocabulary - said 'windowsill' and 'cable' today in the correct context. he also has created a Hama bead mat he's 3.7.

I suppose the improvements might have happened anyway, but I'm defintiely carrying on with those pills!

oh yes, same regime with elder child age 5 with no changes at all, but as he's NT that's fine!

sorry to hear diet is regressing Lenin. always demoralising.

Some very bizarre things on that list! good to broaden the mind/new ideas for me. quite interested in using different types of flours for things. as i've got into baking over xmas.

Nuts are great. I buy monkey nuts and pistachios in shells for extra interest. He also ate pumpkin seeds for a time but he tends to rotate on things and they are currently out.

when i say the list I mean the list of 'sources of magnesium' on the website. Not your son's food list, which is limited but not especially bizarre!

Just wanted to thank you all for all the helpful advice and links re diet and supplements. I went off to Holland and Barrett and Boots yesterday and now am fully stocked with everytime of nut known to man, seeds (which taste yuck) and got the Equason Eye Q capsules which I am currently having to burst open and disguise in Pomegranate juice (so far DD hasn't cottoned on to this yet) I also am trying the wholewheat pasta tonight not sure if I will be wearing it later and have the Epsom salts ready for the bath.
Am going to keep a food/behaviour diary to monitor things.

I definitely think all of this can only help and is a much preferably option than medication which we have on standby. Wish me luck.

I also got some supplements yesterday for ds who is asd. Got epsom salts for the bath and couldnt get minadex for ds as it is not suitable for nut allergy sufferers so got a seven seas multivitamin with omega3 but ds spat most of it out. Cant get him to take the capsules either. Will persevere! Any idea how much epsom salt in the bath?

Anyone tried nut butters? DS's faves are almond or cashew nut butters (health food shop or make your own in the food processor if on a budget). Nut butter on toast and a piece of fruit (if they'll have it) makes a speedy breakfast. DS's dietician loved it "for healthy brain fats".

Magnesium made a massive difference to DS's sleep patterns but it took 12 weeks to "kick in" so do persvevere with any supplementation you try before writing it off as not working.

epsom salts - I think you need 2 cups, several times a week.

I started off with 1 cup every second night.

Epsom Salts Benefits

Add two cups of Epsom salt and soak for at least 12 minutes. Do this three times weekly.

Great thanks. Just got to get the omega3 in him now!

The Omega 3 is hard to get in! It tastes awful.

Now, 2 of mine swallow a capsule - which is great, and DS takes Boots Multivitamin and Omega - which I think tastes foul, but he'll take.

But in the past, when I was really desperate I bought a fishy 'plain' flavoured one and poured it over tuna!