On this Facebook group I am a part of, I have seen several people talk about a gene mutation(MTHFR) and wondered about getting that tested and where to go. This gene mutation is also linked to depression(mental illness) and so since reading people talk about it, I have been curious since depression is strong on my Mom's side. One day this lady that lived in our old neighborhood emailed me a link to a book that talks about this mutation. She is very big into the essential oils and has cured her self of cancer several times. Before Dylan and Autism, I thought she was a little strange because I was all about doctors knowing what is best for us and they wouldn't do anything to harm us. I still support Doctors but am a bit more weary of some of the stuff now being "born" into the Autism world. I have turned to Chris several times and she has been more than helpful and supportive with choices we have made with Dylan. So when she emailed me this book I decided to read it.
After reading the book I decided to call the Dr that wrote this book because lucky for me, he is in Lindon. He doesn't technically treat Autism patients but was willing to have me come talk to him and see where to go from there. I explained Dylan and the head bonk and told him I am not completely convinced that has nothing to do with this, he responded by saying he is not either! I also mentioned I am nervous to have any more testing on his brain that would have to sedate him because I have read some children have regressed due to anesthetics used. He said they have something they could use that is different and would do no harm there, but he wants to check the genes first. This test he normally runs, he doesn't think Dylan is old enough for so he wants us to do this 23andme genetics test. It is a test that you spit into this vial and then send it in and they come back showing you different genes you have inherited and what they mean and can cause. However, trying to get Dylan to spit into that just might not happen. I thought we could force him by holding his mouth open until enough drool came out(aka: torture him) but then read drool does not work and it has to be full on spit. He has actually been making spit bubbles lately, so who knows maybe he could do it.
You have to spit like 1/2 tsp or something and not eat for half hour prior to collecting the sample, so I don't know that we would be successful. The Dr also told me that I could take this test and that could give him some direction because the mother is always the one that passes this gene down! Not that that is good, but good in the sense that I can do it. He said this gets deep and shows a lot about you and said if I don't mind him looking into my medical well being then he would like me to do it. Of course I don't care what he finds out about me, if it is going to help my son then I am all for it! So I have this test at home but have recently come down with the stomach flu/cold/pink eye combination so I figured it might be better to do it when that is gone. I really could see the depression/mental illness that is in the family being linked to this in a way. But then that is where I get confused because if the Mother passes it on then as far as I know my Mother's Mother side didn't have mental illness but my Mother's Father's side did. So if the Mother carries it on, how did it get to my Mom? I am excited/nervous to see what this reveals about not only me and Dylan but ancestor history as well. Science is really amazing and they have come a long way! Once submitted it takes about 6-8 weeks to get the results, so I can't wait! Hopefully it gives us some more direction too.
One thing I find very interesting is that depending on the mutations you have, there are 2 specific ones he is looking at but could have different combinations, then that determines treatments. So if you have a certain mutation then lets just say that the medication a Dr prescribes most depressed people may actually cause more harm and make them suicidal. If you have a different mutation that same medication may help your symptoms. Or a different set of mutations it may completely wear you out, etc. So if you catch what I am saying if you know the mutation that you have, you can work around it and use different sets of medication or vitamins to help your body function more accurately. He said there are some vitamins out there that they have manipulated for these exact things. So here's to hoping that this really gives us some direction and another path to try!
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