Dr. C does think we have finally found a piece of the missing puzzle. Dominic has allergies, big time. He is now taking allergy drops (yes drops, not shots) three times a week.

He is seeing a special LLMD that does these allergy drops and he works hand in had with Dr C. Dominic was doing wonderful. He was only on 1/2 of 250 mg flagyl twice a day and something at night to help him sleep.

In July when we were in MO we ending up getting into seed ticks... like Dominic had over 100 on him. Even though he has not shown any real flu like sickness Dr. C put him on Doxy for 14 days like 2 days after the bites.

He was/is still doing good, looks good ect. So whats the problem??? When do you know if he is back sliding again or if he is just being a kid?

I mean he can go from being angry to crying in a matter of a few minutes (but not all the time). He seems to have trouble with talking alot, I tell him stop talking and he just keeps talking about everything and anything.

School has just started last Monday and all week he has been complaining of his legs hurting. Is this because of him getting into a new routine and the physical education class and kick ball at recess??

Dr. C wants Dominic to be tested for Amino acids tyrosine and 5-hydroxytryptophan. My ped said that if amino acids are low they can cause ADHD problems and sleep problems and even the OCD. It looks like Amino acids effect everything. Dr. C gave me a handout that that goes into great detail explaining the amino acids.

I was just wondering what ya'll experience is and if i am just a mom freaking out??

I am not a mother so I can't answer on that front, but I have lots of experience with amino acid problems with my husband.

I am not sure which lab Dr C is using for the amino acid tests or if he is testing blood or urine, however if the test results indicate a problem then I would say definitely take supplements.

There are many labs and several testing methods, but for the most part the results usually parallel the symptoms -- at least we have found that to be so with my husband.

Longterm antibiotic use almost always has some negative effects on gastrointestinal function and I would think that the fact that your child is growing could compound the problems.

Amino acids are simply the breakdown results of protein consumption and none of us eats a perfect diet. Antibiotics could also affect liver or pancreatic function as well and enzymes are required to process nutrients.

Mood swings could definitely be caused by a serotonin deficiency which absolutely would affect sleep as well, but I think in a child you would need a test result to be able to determine that whereas in an adult it would probably be easier to spot.

Let us know how the test turns out.

So sorry to hear Dominic is struggling.

I think you are wise to jump on this since you "know" Dom so well. Remember last Sept. when you had an intuition something was off and it turned out you were sooo right?! From what I remember about Dom, these symptoms don't sound typical for him.

Don't forget, long term abx cause depletion of essential nutrients and can themselves cause side effects. I don't say this in a perfunctory way, either.

Is he still on the flagyl? Just a note of caution for the kiddies: JC was on it for over 6 months and it fortunately contributed to a marked reduction in the bacterial load but unfortunately a progressive, unremitting psychosis. We're still climbing our way out of that three months later...

When things go south with the kids they usually present with things like "tired", "cranky", "adhd", "crying". They just don't have the self-perception or frame of reference to analyze what's going on physically or the verbal skills to communicate it.

Besides the obvious possibility Lyme & Co are up to their usual mischief:

The loss of magnesium from both lyme and abx is hard to keep pace with using multis alone. And magnesium deficiency causes all the symptoms you mention. Might be a common denominator.

Along that line, you might want to give him some nice epsom salt soaks for his tired little legs; can't hurt.

I have no experience about the amino acids but have heard from reliable sources here that they have found remarkable improvement after being tested and treated for same.

I have also heard good stuff about the Pharmanex brand of multis and want to try them for JC. From what I understand, the company offers free testing for deficiencies. Others will know more than I do about that.

So sorry you've hit a rough patch. And of course you're not freaking out; you're an awesome, level-headed MOM.

Lots of hugs and kisses to both you and the little sweetie.

It is so good to be back, for a while i was just lurking, but i am going to start posting again. I have made thing slow down in my life. I am now only working 3 days a week...yeah.

Bea I think i will order the first test Monday. So far all i know is that we have to have him tested every 3 weeks while he is on Amino Acids. Of course with Dominic being a child (Can you believe he is going to be 9 next month.) He is going to be a tester sorta.

Even our peditrician down here wants to see all the before during and after test. He thinks it is a wonderful idea. Said he read reports in medical journals stating all the good of amino acids but most people don't want to pay out of pocket for them.

I will let you know what type of test it is when i find out.

Andie, you have such a wonderful memory!! You are very right this is so not like Dominic's moods. He was on Flagyl in Feb. 04 for about 4 months and had awesome recovery.

Then when he started back sliding again in Feb. of this year he was put back on it again. He had been on low dose 1/2 250mg tablet twice a day. Feb to July.

By the way we are doing the epson salt baths, I think the legs are from all the activity he has started at school because he is saying it is more in his muscles then the joints Thank God.

I am going to have to spend some of my down time catching up on you guys to see how ya'll been.

I hope you figure things out soon so that Dominic can have a good year!

I'll be in touch!

For the life of me I can't think of the "proper" name for them. They are baby ticks who have not found a host yet.

The way Dr C explained them it is pretty much a "nest" that we rubbed up against.... darn blackberries!!!

They are extremly small and the only way we saw them (they were on for less then 4 hours) is due to the large amount of them on us. Most of the time they come of with just water no rubbing or using a tweezer.

This time a bunch did come off but we still had lots and lots on us. Dr C said it looked like fire ant bites on Dominic's legs due to the pimple like bumbs where some attached.

So lesson learned: Don't go blackberry picking...lol. Seriously we just jumped out of the truck and didn't even think about using any protection from the ticks. That will never happen again.

Hopefully someone will come along and tell you the real name for them, i will see if i can look it up too.

Hey Lymetoo!!! Sure did miss talking to you!

Starr

Interesting story! Nicole is doing so much better but does the crying thing too. She's the same age as Dominic and I have to wonder if it's not a lyme symptom.

Some children are extremely sensitive so you have to ask your self if Dominic is a sensitive child or if you think it's something he doesn't usually do.

Your right Flagyl does wonders...worked great for Nicole.

My husband and I had amino acid testing done and it was out of wack...surprise surprise. Nicole didn't have any testing done yet.

Have you asked the nurses about these particular symptoms at Dr. C's?

Glad to hear everyone is doing better.

BTW...we have a package for the kids that I've been meaning to mail since May.

Procrastination or lyme...not sure which one it is.

Take care!