So, of course I start to panic. I dump out all the vitamins and count them. He ate about 10 of them. Now I'm REALLY freaking out. I called poison control and told them what happened. Luckily, with his size and weight, he would need about 20 vitamins in order to even THINK about taking him to the ER. PHEW! But, seriously, I was scared beyond belief.
Still being the scared, anal Mommy I am, I didn't go out that night. Instead we decided we'd throw a little party for PIC at the house. DJ's behavior was indescribable. He was talking (he does talk alot, but it's usually about movies or other stuff - narrowed interests), playing, being very very social. Major eye contact, focus, no tantrums, etc. Of course he was up until 3am with all those vitamins in his system. But I was amazed at the difference in him.
I mentioned it on my Asperger support group. I joked around saying I should give him 10 vitamins a day if that's the kind of behavior I"m going to get. One of the fathers on there started telling me about dye free vitamins and how they're really great and show some improvements. He said his daughter was on Super NuThera and there were major improvements.
I tried the regular dye free gummy vitamins. You can buy them at the local pharmacy. Saw small improvements but nothing major. After about 2 months, and many many days of research, I decided to go with the Super NuThera.
He started on Super NuThera caplets a week or two before Thanksgiving. He's supposed to get 3 a day for his weight but being the anal Mommy I am, I started him on 1/2 pill. I increased his dosage by 1/2 pills every few days or so. At the beginning of December, he was up to 3 pills a day. 1 1/2 in the morning before school and 1 1/2 after school.
The most prominent change was in his tantrums/meltdowns, whatever you want to call them. He has a very low tolerance for frustration. The littlest tiniest thing could set him off. I'm talking serious little things, such as picking up his jacket off the floor all the way up to bedtime. He argued with me about EVERYTHING. NOTHING was fair, etc, etc. With autistic kids, once they get frustrated, it's really hard to get them out of that "zone".
The side effects (if you get any) are not severe-at all. One is an increase in hyperactivity. DJ is hyper already so I dont' really see any change in it. He's not hyper in a bad way...just always on the go. It really doesn't bother me. Parents have given their kids magnesia baths 3x a week to get rid of this side effect.
Another one I heard is a tummy ache. Give the vitamins with food! Don't give them on an empty stomach. DJ never had a problem with this because I heard about this beforehand. I always gave it at breakfast and snacktime.
The last known side effect are leg pains which means the dose is too high. I didn't start DJ on a high dose so I didn't have any problems with this. Three are just fine for him.
It's pricey, but they worked for him. They do have trial sizes available for about $10 - they lasted me over a month. Today I just purchased the full size which costs $50 (540 pills). It will last approximately 6 months. But $50 is really nothing to me as long as it works.
DJ can swallow pills, which is why I give him the caplets. He is on no other meds, no other vitamins. I heard the powders and liquids are horrible tasting no matter what you mix them in. One parent I know whose child will not swallow pills takes the capsules. The open up the capsules and put it in a bowl of pudding. No problems.
I was going to start DJ on the Feingold Diet in January (which is a step under the gluten free casein free diet.) His teacher and I discussed and I'm going to hold off on it. She didn't see improvements at first but an adult aspie I know told me it takes about 6 weeks to get them to start working at full strength. He hasn't been on the three pills for six weeks yet and we want to see how he acts on them next month. Maybe there will be more improvements.
There has been one or two days he hasn't gotten his afternoon dose. Watch out! The frustrations come back that easily.
