I have an 11 year old with whom we have struggled for years with regard to behavior. He has never had an actual "diagnosis" but we took him to see Dr. Kendal Stewart of the Neurosensory Center in Austin, Texas. The doctor put him on a protocol of the mentioned medications for 3 months. He thinks that a virus or some viruses may have entered his body when he was vacinated. PLEASE give me your experience with this protocol...with these medicines....etc.
Any info. would be greatly appreciated.
Get some 2nd, 3rd, 4th opinions. These are strong meds. I wouldn't give my child anything without completely knowing why, what the desired result was, what time frame can I expect results, and what happened with the vaccinations? Did he have issues immediately? I hope you get some answers. GL
M
That's quite a cocktail of meds, eh?
Each one combats something different.
This doc is covering his bases with possible herpes or the zoster virus, yeast infections, fungal infections, etc.
Long term, any combination of these virus could reak havoc on one's immune system, stressing them out and possible causing behavior swings.
Has your son ever had a serious and series of shingles, or canker sores? Has your son been ill in the last couple of years with severe fly like symptoms and not recovered in a normal time frame?
Long term, none of the drugs are super harmful. But honestly, that doc is just playing 'shotgun' approach. Meaning, he has no idea what is causing your son's issues...so let's just treat a whole bunch of imaginary symptoms with this magical concoction...
These type of non-academic medical centers are known for coming up with interesting treatment guidelines.
Did the doc do any tests to confirm that your son has any active infections or viruses?
My son saw the same doctor. We did give our son a similar concoction, prescribed by Dr. Stewart (with the exception of fluconazole). He was tested for yeast and it came back normal. There were never any ill effects. I have taken Amantadine, when I had the flu; I had no side effects and recovered far sooner than the rest of our household. I had the same concerns with all of the meds but I chose to trust Dr. Stewart (even though I was very skeptical). Our son had a weak immune system and was sick all of the time (just your typical kid illnesses but he would be affected so much worse than the average kid). He had behavioral concerns as well. The Hydrocortisone was only given for 2 wks (Dr. Stewart said you don't want them on this for long periods of time). The two antivirals were for several months, I think. I can't tell you if they worked or not but he never had any bad side effects, fortunately. I think he was almost 5 when we did this. He had some serious behavioral issues and they were always worse when he was coming down with something. Other than that, he would have great days and days I wanted to give him away. ....and parents of a typical child have no idea how horrible it was, when I say this. It's not your typical bratty kid kind of stuff. I could never figure out why he would have a great day and then a terrible day. No rhyme or reason. He was also known to have hive outbreaks from various viruses that he picked up from his friends and were no big deal for them to kick. The hives would start in the "Christmas Tree" pattern across his torso/back (right where the nerves were) and then spread from there. This only happened 2 or 3 times. Dr. Stewart's theory is that this is the Chickenpox virus being released from the nerves when the immune system is already stressed from illness (I think I'm messaging this correctly). I was skeptical at first but now I believe in his theory. We know the chickenpox virus stays in our body forever (otherwise shingles wouldn't occur later in life). I forget which one but the Amantadine treats one type of virus (RNA, maybe??) and the Acyclavir treats another (basically, one is for the chickenpox and one for the measles). So, in a nut shell, I can't be certain that these medicines helped him but I did feel like he was getting sick far less often while he was on it and from there on out (I was still skeptical). It's been about 2 years now since he was on this stuff.
When I really saw a difference was when Dr. S tested him for various things and discovered he had a severe B vitamin deficiency and has a wheat sensitivity. Once we took him off of wheat/gluten and started the B supplement, we've seen a huge improvement. He's still a quirky kid but has much less irritability, better self control and not sick as often! This is when I stopped feeling so skeptical. My pediatrician was stunned when he saw the blood work and was maybe a little embarrassed that he'd never dug deeper to see why my child caught every viruses under the sun and ended up with ear infections every time! Life is better now. I'm still a skeptical person but I'd maybe give Dr. Stewart a chance, if I were you. His approach is different but he's the only doctor that I've found who tries to get to the root of the problem and not just treat the symptoms, like your typical Western medicine does. Good luck to you. It takes some time to find out what works best for our children.
I think you need a second opinion. All these drugs can have severe side effects. It's weird that a doctor would prescribe these meds on what they "think" instead of what they "know". Get some testing done.
Acyclovir is a herpes medication. It's given typically for oral and genital herpes. But also used for chickenpox, shingles, herpes in the eye (it starts with an E). herpes on the brain...and anywhere else you can get herpes. (which is pretty much anywhere).
It's an antiviral medication. Your son could have HSV1 (which is generally cold sores), but a doctor won't know unless they do an actual blood test for Herpes. The western blot or an IgG test.
And btw, canker sores aren't herpes. Cold sores are. Theres a difference.
My son was literally JUST sent home with the Acyclovir. We gave him the first dose he needed yesterday and he lost control of his BM's. He couldn't even get up off the couch fast enough to try and get to the bathroom. In my mind it is the ONLY reason he had to go back to the Children's ER yesterday after noon.
I have no idea about the protocol he was given, but when we talked to a different Doctor at the ER yesterday afternoon and I mentioned the BM control loss happened AFTER the Anti-viral was given, he told me NOT to give it too him again.
I am not in any place to tell you NOT to give your son the medication. After seeing what it was capable of doing to my kiddo though, I will NEVER use it again...And I was really excited when we got it the night before from the ER. The though of having something KICK a virus for me...cool.
My suggestion is to do alot of research on what they are giving him. When I looked up the side effects for the AV my jaw dropped...and it is not a sure thing it will even get the job done. You can take it for however long you need too, and it still could not actually kick whatever it is they are trying to kick.
Before you give it to your kiddo, please look into the AV medication. I dont know anything about the other two medications. But I know too that if the other two medications also have really bad side effects you have the potential for a VERY ill kid on your hands, when it is suppose to be helping:)
Good luck mama:)
Momma of one wrote it very well....because this is like reading a page out of my weekend...My son was just diagnosed with Herpes Friday. And yes it is to help suppress them:)
I agree get another opinion. You should research any drugs/medications they give your child before you give them. Good Luck.
These are all types of medicines for bacterial/fungal infections. However, I would definetly take him to get a second opinion. Can they identify the actual virus/infection?? Not sure if I would give my son medication unless I knew exactly what type of infection he had or has. If it's a virus, then it needs to run its course, most antibiotics do not cure a virus. However if all of these medications are in a low dose and do not counter act with one another, it is possible that he is one the right protocol. I would do some investigation on all of thse medications to see exactly what you are dealing with..
I don't know about the other meds but I am diabetic and when I eat too much sugar :( , I get a "yeast" infection. My dr. prescribes Fluconazole and it takes it right away
There is no medicinal cure for viruses, only, in some cases, medicines that will reduce the symptoms. What viruses did the doctor say your son has? Does he know, or is this a "cure all" prescription?
Here is a long list of possible side effects from
Acyclovir (used to treat symptoms of Herpes)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000533/
Amantadine (used to treat Parkinson's disease)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000564/
Hydrocortisone is a treatment for itching, swelling, and rash from various causes.
Has your son had a complete evaluation done by a qualified psychologist?
with regards to the side effects of acyclovir, my best friend took that when she was 19 for genital herpes. to this day, and she is now 49, she has EXTREME sensitivity to light. she stopped taking the acyclovir after the first two months because of the sensitivity to light and was told it would go away over time. it never has.
