Sensory processing issues and supplements

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those using carnitine. Where do you get it? I have only seen gelcaps and my son can not swallow those yet. What dose? He is 7.
thanks!

I'm the PP above who recommended Attentive Child for magnesium, which I erroneously claimed contained B6. That was incorrect, the other important nutrients are Zinc and grape seed extract. We use L-Carnitine liquid, which is what contains the B6 supplement in addition to B5 and we also get that through Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/L-Carnitine-Liquid-1000mg-Tropical-Punch/dp/B0009EXZ7W/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1266001838&sr=8-10

[Anonymous]

My son has ADHD (inattentive) and also has some processing issues. I had seen several posts about carnitine on this board so I mentioned it to my pediatrician (when we were in for a sick visit) to see if she could order blood work to check his levels. She looked at me like I was crazy and told me to be careful what I read. Is that a typical response of pediatricians to supplements? We get his ADHD medicine from a psychiatrist but I haven't mentioned supplements to her yet (this is all fairly new to us). If not the psychiatrist, where do you go (other than Kelly Dorfman) to find out what supplements are medically appropriate for your child?

[Anonymous]

I think that is a pretty standard response unfortunately.

She can order the blood work and it can be done through a basic in network lab like Quest or Lab Corp.

I think it has typically been naturopaths or DAN doctors who have looked at treating underlying metabolic deficiencies. Pam Compart is a name I hear mentioned a lot. I'm not sure someone like Kelly Dorfman can order tests, since she is a nutritionist.

[Anonymous]

are there any other pediatric specialists knowledgeable in this field besides DAN doctors if autism isn't necessarily the problem?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:are there any other pediatric specialists knowledgeable in this field besides DAN doctors if autism isn't necessarily the problem?

DAN doctors also cover ADHD... which is considered by some to be on the spectrum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son has ADHD (inattentive) and also has some processing issues. I had seen several posts about carnitine on this board so I mentioned it to my pediatrician (when we were in for a sick visit) to see if she could order blood work to check his levels. She looked at me like I was crazy and told me to be careful what I read. Is that a typical response of pediatricians to supplements? We get his ADHD medicine from a psychiatrist but I haven't mentioned supplements to her yet (this is all fairly new to us). If not the psychiatrist, where do you go (other than Kelly Dorfman) to find out what supplements are medically appropriate for your child?

Very common. Big Pharma spends a lot of money on studies and advertising, sponsoring conferences and sending their reps to visit physicians. There's no significant industry money behind nutritional supplements and they don't come under FDA regulation. Consequently, there aren't research dollars that get poured into studying the effects of certain supplements. There's no infrastructure to back them. It doesn't mean they're not useful - but money talks and the money isn't there. So, there's a lot of trial and error and guesswork (just because something works well for my child doesn't mean it will for yours - and there's no study to control the variables). It takes time for individual practitioners to develop the experience whereby they observe certain results to certain supplements.

[Anonymous]

OP here and that's the reason I started this thread. Since we get low-quality information from our regular pediatrician specific to nutritional supplements, I thought I'd poll this forum and see if anyone had anything to add.

Most of what we've tried is as a result of fishing on the internet. Some supplements have made an observable difference. Not all of them of course, but I'm glad to have tried them.