Re: epsom salt baths and melatonin

[Guest guest]

Hi Mache,

I know where you are coming from. We use 2 cups of epsom salts in

the bathwater (mix it in real good). We have him play/soak for

around 20 minutes I now have every bath toy made. In the beginning I

even resorted to moving the small TV/VCR into the bathroom (not near

the water though). We don't use the lavender though - bet it smells

good. Some have suggested rinsing your child off when done and using

a good moisturizer (read ingredients). Some have their children just

soak their feet or make a concentrated mixture in a spray bottle and

then spritz them every so often. Others use epsom salt cream

(magnesium sulfate) to avoid the drying effects of the salt baths.

The baths can aggravate eczema or dry the skin. We use this every

other night but some families use the cream throughout the day or

baths from once a week to every night. I think someone mentioned

that the sulfur and magnesium effects stay in the body for about 6

hours, not sure if this is true.

I have found some good recipes for the epsom salt cream off the

enzyme list if you are interested.

Melatonin did not help my son. From others I have heard that the

effects can wear off after taking it for a few months. When taking

it, my son would wake up at 2am wide awake for the rest of the

night. The GABA we started him on has been helping his sleep. We

still have a monitor on in his room and after the GABA, we have even

awakened twice to him talking in his sleep. The first time it scared

me to death. He was yelling " Mama, no, mama, no!!! " By the time I

got back to his room he was saying, " NO Medicine, Mama, you go!!! It

took me a while to catch my bearings and realize he was asleep -

having his version of a nightmare I guess. All my brothers are

intensive sleep talkers. They grew up sharing a room - like the Brady

Bunch - and it could get pretty interesting at night-one was a sleep

walker too. Coming from my son, though, it was weird.

Hope this helps, Theresa, SA

> Hi, we've been having problems with our 4 year old son not

sleeping. So we were told to trt epsom salt baths with a few drops of

lavender and melatonin. My first question is, how much epsom salt and

lavender oil should I put in the bath? Also, is it bad for your child

to give him melatonin everynight? Will it become addictive? He is

taking 1 mg. before bedtime now. Sorry for all the questions! I've

been living with autism for over 2 years now and yet I still have soo

much more to learn! Thanks to everyone in advance. Mache Liu

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I use the cream the salt was too drying. It seems the melatonin works

great for some, but does nothing for others. It didn't work at all on

Matt. I know a parent who says the magnetic mattress pad keeps her wild

man asleep all night. Her husband uses magnetic pads in his shoes (he's

a doctor) and it keeps his back from hurting when he's on his feet all

day. I have not tried the magnetic mattress pad due to cost (800?!) but

I'd be willing to try if anyone knows of a cheaper one. Trina

epsom salt baths and melatonin

Hi, we've been having problems with our 4 year old son not sleeping. So

we were told to trt epsom salt baths with a few drops of lavender and

melatonin. My first question is, how much epsom salt and lavender oil

should I put in the bath? Also, is it bad for your child to give him

melatonin everynight? Will it become addictive? He is taking 1 mg.

before bedtime now. Sorry for all the questions! I've been living with

autism for over 2 years now and yet I still have soo much more to learn!

Thanks to everyone in advance.

Mache Liu

TEXAS-AUTISM-ADVOCACY WEBSITE: http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/autismlist

FEAT News Information:

http://www.feat.org/scripts/wa.exe

http://www.feat.org

" Healing Autism: No Finer a Cause on the Planet "

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/21/02 9:45:30 AM Central Daylight Time,

sherman.c@... writes:

> I know a parent who says the magnetic mattress pad keeps her wild

> man asleep all night. Her husband uses magnetic pads in his shoes (he's

> a doctor) and it keeps his back from hurting when he's on his feet all

> day. I have not tried the magnetic mattress pad due to cost (800?!) but

>

Be really careful with the magentic mattresses as they can cause some

problems in very sensative people or highly toxic people. We tried one for a

week when my son was around 5 and it seemed to have been the cause of a

horrible regression and decline in health that started that week and took

many months to recouperate from. His seizures also significantly increased

during that time. I know the Nikken folks say their beds help people with

seizures and there have been no negative reports, but we reported our problem

at a regional conference of sales people with the head sales guy for Texas

there and they continue to claim there have been no negative reports.

Gaylen

[Guest guest]

The effectiveness of melatonin appears to be as varied as the children

themselves. We have experienced tremendous success with melatonin (average

3-4 times per week). The effectiveness of melatonin, either daily or as

needed, was clearly explained by our physician (also a parent of a child

with autism). It was not explained to maintain sleep through the entire

night. I completely agree with the parents who advocate increase physical

activity prior to bedtime. We have found melatonin and increased activity

to be an extremely effective tools to help my son finally sleep.

On the epsom salt baths, I wanted to comment on Dr. Waring's research on

sulfate in autism, as presented by Owens at the October 2001 Defeat

Autism Now! conference. The experienced physicians appear to be advocating

epsom salt baths (or Kirkmans magnesium sulfate cream) often more than once

a day based upon the following research. In 1994, Dr. Rosemarie Waring of

Birmingham University, England, found that these children are deficient in a

detoxification enzyme called phenol-sulphotransferase-P. There were very low

levels of this enzyme in every child tested, and some children also had a

low capacity to oxidize (add oxygen to) sulfur compounds.

The enzyme deficiency means that they would be unable to get rid of natural

toxins in food, and they would also have trouble coping with many of their

own body chemicals which are broken down by this enzyme system. Basically,

children with autism were found to excrete roughly twice as much sulfate in

their urine, so that they had only 1/5 the normal level of sulfate in their

bodies. As sulfur is an essential mineral, it is mandatory for many of the

functions of the body, including these few examples:

Essential for the detoxification of metals and other toxins.

Needed to release pancreatic enzymes for digestion.

Low sulfur impaired other enzymes.

The perineuronal nets around neurons, which modulate their function, are

primarily composed of chondroitin sulfur. Low sulfur = less modulation

of neurons.

It is needed to sulfate the hormone CCK, which stimulates exytocinergic

neurons to release oxytocin. So, a lack of sulfur could explain the low

oxytocin levels found in autism, which is important for socialization.

And ... Dr. Wakefield's research found that the ileum in the intestine lacks

sulfur which would lead to a " leaky gut " .

Based upon this research, we elected to do a combination of the baths and

the Kirkman's cream to aid my son in the overall recovery to good health.

We consider any positive change in behavior to be a welcome bonus, but the

focus of this treatment is medical not behavioral.

Stormy

[Guest guest]

Stormy,

Wow thanks for the very informative email. I would also like to thank

everyone else on the list for answering my questions.

Mache Liu

Stormy Lester wrote:

> The effectiveness of melatonin appears to be as varied as the

> children

> themselves. We have experienced tremendous success with melatonin

> (average

> 3-4 times per week). The effectiveness of melatonin, either daily or

> as

> needed, was clearly explained by our physician (also a parent of a

> child

> with autism). It was not explained to maintain sleep through the

> entire

> night. I completely agree with the parents who advocate increase

> physical

> activity prior to bedtime. We have found melatonin and increased

> activity

> to be an extremely effective tools to help my son finally sleep.

>

> On the epsom salt baths, I wanted to comment on Dr. Waring's research

> on

> sulfate in autism, as presented by Owens at the October 2001

> Defeat

> Autism Now! conference. The experienced physicians appear to be

> advocating

> epsom salt baths (or Kirkmans magnesium sulfate cream) often more than

> once

> a day based upon the following research. In 1994, Dr. Rosemarie

> Waring of

> Birmingham University, England, found that these children are

> deficient in a

> detoxification enzyme called phenol-sulphotransferase-P. There were

> very low

> levels of this enzyme in every child tested, and some children also

> had a

> low capacity to oxidize (add oxygen to) sulfur compounds.

>

> The enzyme deficiency means that they would be unable to get rid of

> natural

> toxins in food, and they would also have trouble coping with many of

> their

> own body chemicals which are broken down by this enzyme system.

> Basically,

> children with autism were found to excrete roughly twice as much

> sulfate in

> their urine, so that they had only 1/5 the normal level of sulfate in

> their

> bodies. As sulfur is an essential mineral, it is mandatory for many

> of the

> functions of the body, including these few examples:

> Essential for the detoxification of metals and other toxins.

> Needed to release pancreatic enzymes for digestion.

> Low sulfur impaired other enzymes.

> The perineuronal nets around neurons, which modulate their function,

> are

> primarily composed of chondroitin sulfur. Low sulfur = less

> modulation

> of neurons.

> It is needed to sulfate the hormone CCK, which stimulates

> exytocinergic

> neurons to release oxytocin. So, a lack of sulfur could explain the

> low

> oxytocin levels found in autism, which is important for socialization.

>

> And ... Dr. Wakefield's research found that the ileum in the intestine

> lacks

> sulfur which would lead to a " leaky gut " .

> Based upon this research, we elected to do a combination of the baths

> and

> the Kirkman's cream to aid my son in the overall recovery to good

> health.

> We consider any positive change in behavior to be a welcome bonus, but

> the

> focus of this treatment is medical not behavioral.

> Stormy

>

>

>

> TEXAS-AUTISM-ADVOCACY WEBSITE:

> http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/autismlist

>

> FEAT News Information:

> http://www.feat.org/scripts/wa.exe

> http://www.feat.org

> " Healing Autism: No Finer a Cause on the Planet "

>

>

>

>

>