Biomedical Intervention - How Quickly Before You Know a Therapy is Working?

Over the years I have recognized trends in clinical practice that have helped me to determine early on if a child is going to be a quick responder to biomedical intervention, or more of a slow responder. Ultimately, this does not mean that just because a child is a slow or subtle responder at first that they will not have great success overtime. In fact, many kids who appear to be slow starters with biomedical intervention after many months will be advancing greatly in many areas of behavior, language, social develop, etc. at near or the same level as a child who had immediate positive changes even after a few weeks of biomedical intervention.

An example of this is a child who within a few days of stopping milk begins speaking, has greatly improved eye contact, and starts sleeping through the night. This does and can happen. However, compare this to a child who after three months of the gluten and casein-free diet has no noticeable change behaviorally or cognitively – except slightly improved eye contact, but overall seems healthier with improved bowel movements and less sinus and nasal congestion. Positive changes are happening for this child, but not as obvious. The important thing to remember is success with biomedical intervention is not rated on just a few weeks of using a supplement or making a dietary change, but with many months of use, and in most several years of continual therapy.

What I have recognized is there are key biomedical therapies that tend to give ‘Immediate’ feedback with respects to cognitive and behavior changes such as, better behavior, more awareness, improved language abilities and skills, better health with less bowel problems such as diarrhea, improved sleep pattern, more social, more interactive, etc. I list these as ‘Immediate’ and ‘Long-Term' feedback remedies. These categories are just a guide and should not be considered absolutes for every child. There are exceptions with any therapy, and all things need to be considered on an individual basis, but for many individuals the two categories tend to hold true. Finally, it is important to remember that just because something is listed as an immediate feedback therapy doesn’t mean it will not provide long-term health support. In fact, all of these therapies work best overtime, and the longer they are used – many times in combination - the greater positive effects are seen.

Immediate Feedback Therapies
With many individuals positive changes are seen within 2 to 6 Weeks, on average 4 weeks:

• Medical Diets (GF/CF, anti-yeast, phenol reduced).
• Basic Nutritional Supplements – multi-vitamins and minerals, B-vitamins, essential fatty acids, calcium/magnesium.
• Methylation Support – Methyl-B12, DMG, Folinic Acid.
• Treating Yeast (and bacteria.)

Long-term Feedback
With many individuals positive changes are seen within 6 to 8 weeks, sometimes 2 to 6 months…or more.

• Heavy Metal Detoxification.
• Anti-Viral Therapy – Valtrex, natural antivirals.
• Traditional Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) – clinic based which is normally done over a few month period of time. Exception is the “30 days In-home HBOT Program” which places it is the Immediate Feedback Category – if positive changes are seen.

IMPORTANT: These are meant to be viewed as generalizations and NOT absolutes. Every child and their treatment response are different. Just because a therapy is listed as immediate feedback does not mean it will not give long-term benefits, and vice versa, i.e. in some cases antiviral or heavy metal detoxification can give immediate, recognizable benefits.