In part 2 of this series on supplement removal and Respen-A, we will talk more about what supplements should be stopped. There has been discussion on the topic of high dose antioxidants as well. Oxidative stress is another issue that is commonly seen in children with Autism and so as a result, you have children who are taking many supplements to help with this. But, it is even hard for doctors to determine exactly how much is enough or even too much, even testing is somewhat inconclusive on this. There is certainly the potential for the child to be taking too much when they are on a lot of different supplements. The Respen-A rule of thumb seems to be to attempt to reduce the supplements your child is taking if at all possible. This gives you and your doctor the chance to see what impact Respen-A is having and how well it may be working. Then if it is necessary, you can always add supplements back in.

What has been found is that with high dose antioxidants, there can be an inhibition of gains when using Respen-A. Certainly there is no issue with the supplements have a toxic effect but they can interfere with the positive gains we usually see when starting a patient on Respen-A. We know that many children are deficient in vitamin D and high dose vitamin D is a pretty popular treatment within the Autism community. But while using Respen-A, there is discussion about reducing that dosing of vitamin D, as well as supplements like GABA and vitamin B6. What I have seen clinically, and feel very confident in saying is that essential fatty acids do tend to interfere with the positive, early gains that we expect with Respen-A. I now check whether a child is taking essential fatty acids and suggest that they not take essential fatty acid supplements for at least three weeks prior to starting Respen-A.

As I stated before, it can take about three weeks after you have removed a supplement to see the positives of the removal of the supplement and then the gains of Respen-A. Certainly as a parent or as a physician there is a lot more to learn about this issue and I encourage you to continue to research and learn more about it. In my last video I mentioned that there is a Facebook page that has been set up for Respen-A and you can ask questions there. You can also find more information through my membership site, www.autismactionplan.com, where I have information as well as a parent forum where you can reach me directly to answer more questions about my experiences with Respen-A and other treatments.