Monday, November 27, 2017

To supplement or to not supplement

Hello readers,

As you may know, we started Laksh on a small dose of nutrivene a couple of weeks ago after contemplating for a while. I researched a lot about nurtivene and also spoke to my baby's pediatrician and nutritionist who both said it is safe but because he has had two abdominal surgeries to be a bit cautious. I understand that this is not a "magic cure" for over-expression of the genes and that there is no such thing as curing DS. But what my thought process has been so far is, as long as it does not harm him and may have a beneficial effect, what is the harm in trying?

 All through pregnancy, we are told over and over again to take our pre natal vitamins even if we are eating a varied and healthy diet. So why is it different for our babies? Laksh has beem on a multi vitamin since being discharged from the NICU as he was a premie (and would have been the same for a typical baby as well). Once the first bottle was over, we only changed the daily multi vitamins to nutrivene.  My Laksh will be 4 months in 4 days and he is on 1/8 tsp of nutrivene (https://www.nutrivene.com/view_item.php?id=43)  and 0.5 ml of baby DHA by Nordic Naturals( https://www.iherb.com/pr/Nordic-Naturals-Baby-s-DHA-with-Vitamin-D3-2-fl-oz-60-ml/23058). 

So far I am not going all crazy on supplements and had planned to take it really slow but a concerned mother pointed out some not so good reviews about supplementation which re started this debate in my mind. Here are some articles and sites that talk in favor or not in favor of it. Most mothers have made up their mind but being a new mom I am still on the fence about it. I just don't want to wake up 5 years from now and wonder if there was something else I could have done to give my baby a little something extra. I am somehow not okay with saying, this is how it is suppose to be and just sit on the side. I want to be able to take charge and help my boy as much as I can so I feel like I am not letting him down. I am doing everything I can as a PT. I have him enrolled in EIP and fighting to get more visits, talking to his doctors about enrolling him in swimming, etc  but as a mother, I am still learning. As a mother, I still need guidance and as a mother with a baby with needs that I don't fully understand yet (at a bio chemical level), I need all the help that I can. So dear readers, please take some time to help this mumma out.




Articles leaning towards supplementation:



http://donnachi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Glyconutrients-and-potential-benefits.pdf


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4227691/



Articles leaning against supplementation:


https://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/03/selling-hope-can-48-special-supplements.html?m=1


https://nobsaboutds.wordpress.com/2017/05/16/ask-the-expert-dr-brian-skotko/



These are just some links but there are many more. I just wanted to get an idea as to which side people are leaning more towards. Please leave your thoughts as comments. Would love to hear from others in the same boat or people with more experience in either direction. Thank you and be kind.




Pic added just for cuteness




4 comments:

  1. I was leaning towards trying that product as well and I ran it by my pediatrician who is an extremely good researcher and very well-versed in Down syndrome. Her thoughts were for the price it's not worth it. She has my son on a very very good multi-vitamin with selenium and zinc as well as a probiotic he takes daily. The research she has done shows that our children have a very difficult time absorbing selenium and zinc. And the probiotic is a huge help for gastrointestinal issues that are little ones are more prone to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh really. That is really good to know. Do you have the name of the multi-vitamin? I can run it by my son's pediatrician. I am trying to find one with more experience with DS but so far no luck. Thank you for sharing.

      Delete
  2. congratulations guys, quality information you have given!!!
    supplement manufacturers

    ReplyDelete

To the makers of the movie Mimi

First of all, I would like to thank you for opening the dialogue about Down syndrome in our Indian society.  Thank you for showing that a ch...