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Brainstorm Health practitioner Coriander first met eight-year-old Katie seven months ago. Katie had had an adverse reaction to nitrous oxide several years previously and had undergone a further regression following a trip to a swimming pool. Katie was very withdrawn and distressed, unable to interact with her family and spending most of her time in her room. Read on to discover how Coriander helped Katie to overcome her health issues and flourish into a bright and sociable little girl.
Hi Coriander. Tell me a bit about your patient and the symptoms they first came to you with
Katie, aged eight, came to me with limited speech. She had sentences but they were basic and were needs-based only, or echolalic - there was no conversation. She had had a bad reaction to nitrous oxide at age six and had then severely regressed once again after a trip to the swimming pool. Since this time she had been very sensory-seeking. She would apply deep pressure to her chin with her fists or her knee, and would also bite down on things. She was highly sensitive to noise. Katie also had poor risk awareness, low social awareness and extensive stimming. She usually stayed in her room and often felt distressed.
Katie’s parents had already done a lot to help her. She was on a range of antioxidant powders, but they sometimes seemed to make her toileting accidents worse. Her parents had removed gluten and dairy from her diet before I met her, which had led to some improvements in her speech, but they reported no impact on her symptoms when they were reintroduced.
How were these symptoms impacting the family’s lives?
Katie’s sensory sensitivities made it very hard for her family to interact with her. She often shut herself in her bedroom, and it was hard for her family to touch her, make noise, or even talk without her flying off the handle.
She had never interacted with or allowed her little brother anywhere near her in the five years since he had been born. She seemed so distressed most of the time, which was heartbreaking for her parents.
What were your initial steps in helping Katie?
We removed dairy and gluten again and increased Katie’s dietary protein intake. We also ensured that glutamates were kept to a minimum. We introduced bentonite clay and Epsom salt baths to help with chlorine detoxification and I recommended the AMD IonCleanse machine to support detoxification once we had done some initial work together. We worked on mineral balancing and I recommended a wholefood vitamin C supplement and a binder.
What lab tests did you do? What did the tests reveal and how did that shape your therapeutic approach?
We did some basic bloods through Katie’s GP as well as a stool test, urine organic acids, hair mineral analysis and mycotoxin (mould toxicity) test. The tests revealed some liver imbalances with raised AST (a marker of potential liver stress), as well as genetic variations impacting Katie’s capacity to detoxify. The hair test revealed that her adrenal glands needed support, as well as some raised levels of toxic metals. In her urine, we found evidence of significant oxidative stress, and several elevated mycotoxins. There were low levels of beneficial gut bacteria in her stool sample, and evidence of parasites. These results told me that as a priority, we needed to support her detoxification capacity and adrenal function to allow her to gently mobilise and eliminate her toxic load. I took her off the antioxidant powders as I felt they were pushing her detoxification pathways too hard at this stage.
How long did it take before seeing positive changes to symptoms?
Katie responded brilliantly to the early interventions. At her the first follow-up appointment two months later, her Mum reported a reduction in all of her symptoms. She was happier in herself, the pressure-seeking behaviours had reduced and noise sensitivity was also much diminished. She seemed to enjoy being around people more. She was interacting better and her conversation had improved.
How long have you been working together now?
Seven months.
What has been the biggest ‘breakthrough’ moment on Katie’s journey?
Witnessing Katie open up to her family has been wonderful. She can now be downstairs with them and spends much less time in her room. Seeing Katie start to interact with and hug her little brother was the best change we could have hoped for.
How is Katie doing now? What will you focus on next if you continue working together?
Katie is doing amazingly well. Overall she is calmer than ever before and her Mum says “life is so much easier now.” She has stopped all pressure-seeking behaviours on her chin now. Some biting remains but at a much lower level than before.
We are now focusing on the IonCleanse therapy, and optimising the metabolic pathways that are impacted by Katie’s genetics. I am really excited to see what further improvements these interventions will bring. Her parents have worked so hard at helping her and I am really proud to be working with such an amazing family
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