Taurine

After almost six years of getting up at night with Liberty...I have at last found something that makes this child sleep.

Although Liberty did begin sleeping better when I took him off of gluten almost exactly one year ago today, he still has some times where he wakes up for no apparent reason. I have been reading a lot about undetected seizures being a possible reason for the wakings and unexplained crying, and have decided to go to a new pediatric neurologist and get the MRI and another EEG and find out if perhaps Lib is having seizures that could account for his lack of speech development. (I tried to do that a couple of years ago but the so-called expert here in this town pretty much pegged me as an idiot for doing a gluten free diet and giving my child supplements like cod liver oil and vitamins. He basically told me Liberty's EEG was abnormal in the occipital lobe and that he didn't know what it means except that he could have a seizure at any time or convulse and die but that I should go have myself a nice day).


Recently, I began Lib on an amino acid supplement Dr. Bock recommended. I could not remember what it was for as he added three new ones from our last follow-up appointment.

The dose was supposed to be one capsule twice a day. The first day I gave him one capsule at 2:00 PM. He fell into a deep sleep at 4:00 and did not wake up again until around midnight! The next day, I gave him one capsule at 4:00. He fell asleep at 6:00 and did not wake up until the next morning on time for school! Now, I can give it to him at 6:00 with guaranteed bedtime at 8:00 and wake-up time around 6:00 in time for school. Perfect.

I just cannot believe it. Other parents who have their children on taurine tell me that it has a calming effect, but it has never, in fact, knocked them out. I began to wonder if this is some missing ingredient that his little body needs.

I called the doctor's office in NY and they said that they, too, had never had a child react like Liberty to taurine. They said to just back it off and start slowly. So, now I can give about a 1/4 of a capsule and it is calming. One half capsule and he goes to bed for the entire night!

Taurine - my DREAM DRUG - mother's sleep-in-a-bottle.

So, I did a little digging around for information on this amino acid. Here is what the literature said:

- that it is one of the oldest treatments given to children with autism.
- that it is a powerful antioxidant.
- that it was given to control tics.
- that it prevents seizures and is given for epilepsy.
- that over 60% of children with autism have a taurine deficiency.

Here is an excerpt from an article on the role of taurine:

-Acts as an antioxidant
-Has anti-inflammatory effects
-Stimulates biosynthesis of lipids that are important in maintaining cell membrane integrity
-Can be neuroprotective by counteracting excessive levels of excitotoxic amino acids such as glutamate, and deficiencies can result in impairments in energy metabolism.

Sounds pretty good, huh?

I can't tell you how many people have asked me if I've taken it myself yet. Apparently, there are a lot of people with insomnia!

If anyone has had any experience with taurine, please comment. I could not find anything adverse about it anywhere.

Mother's sleep-in-a-bottle. Yes indeed.