I am a Ph.D. biochemist by profession and on the faculty of a large medical school. I am summarizing many pasts posts but most important, I want to mention that I just learned that one does not need a physician to order the test for pyroluria. This is something you can do on your own. For those of you who may be skeptical of vitamin treatments, I have addressed this concern at the bottom of the post.
My son was once diagnosed with TS, ADHD, OCD, ODD, episodic rage tantrums, mood swings (possibly bipolar), learning disabilities (visual processing, dysgraphia, Executive Dysfunction). After eight years of seeking solutions to his problems, he is now completely normal and getting all A's in school- completely on his own, without tutorial help. He is especially good in math, whereas I heard for years "I hate math" on a nightly basis. He has been emotionally stable and episode-free for about a year now.
He had two problems. The first was a tapeworm, picked up when we lived in Europe and this took six years to get properly diagnosed and eliminated. The second problem was a genetic disorder in the family, known in the alternative medical literature as "pyroluria". Individuals with pyroluria have an abnormal pyrrole compound in their urine. This compound is believed to created deficiencies in either B6 and/or zinc. The symptoms depend upon the genetic makeup of the individual and wax/wane with dietary intake.
Although the symptoms are different for each individual, I have noticed that individuals who easily experience side effects to medications, are more likely to have pyroluria because pyroluria can definitely adversely affect the function of cytochrome P450s, the proteins which clear medications and toxins from the body. It is now believed that pyroluria occurs in individuals under oxidative stress, caused by poor genetics (such as familial alcoholism) and/or local environmental problems.
Conventional medicine does not recognize pyroluria as a disorder. Conventional medicine does not refute this disorder either. It simply ignores it. The disorder has been known for over 40 years and the abnormal urine marker if found in 20% bipolar, 30% ADHD, 40% alcoholics, 50% autistic, 60% schizophrenics, and 70% Down's Syndrome. No one has followed the percentage in TS, but I suspect that it is at least 30% if not more.
The newer treatments for pyroluria include about 200 mg of P5P, 50 to 150 mg of zinc, Mg, Mn, antioxidants (particularly reduced glutathione), and primrose oil. The value of each supplement that is needed depends upon the level of the abnormal pyrrole in the urine.
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Testing for pyroluria is extremely easy and inexpensive. The best place to get the urine testing done is the Bio Center Lab in Wichita, Kansas (Phone: 316-684-7784 or 1-800-494-7785). Here is their web site for more information:
http://brightspot.org/biocenter. This lab is considered to be the gold standard for pyroluria testing. You must call between Monday and Thursday and ask that a urine test kit for pyroluria be shipped to your home.
I prefer that the urine sample be collected first thing in the morning before eating, in order to make a valid comparison, if necessary, with other tests. Then you mix the urine with the preservative in the tube and I prefer to cover the tube with aluminum foil to protect against light. You must then freeze the specimen as well as the shipping ice packs (if you haven't already frozen them) and then ship later in the day by overnight express.
I use DHL-Airborne which has special packs for lab specimens. The test costs $36 and shipping from my home now costs about $34. I am happy to say that I was mistaken in past posts. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE A PHYSICIAN ORDER THE TEST. You can order the test yourself. Medical insurance will probably not cover the cost of the test. A level below 10 in considerable normal. Treatment should be considered for a level between 10 and 20 to avoid waxing and waning symptoms. A level about 20 is definitely abnormal and should be treated.
My son has received proper pyroluria treatment for about a year and he has been completely normal since his urinary pyrrole level fell from 60 to below 10 over a 4 month period corresponding to the treatment. Now that I see what normal is for him, I am shocked to realize how mentally sick he really was before. I have notified both family and friends whom I suspect to have pyroluria and many are testing positive, getting the treatment and returning to complete normalacy.
I urge everyone who posts here to consider pyroluria as a potential diagnosis, but it surely won't affect everyone who posts to this site. However, it is simple and relatively inexpensive to rule out as one of the problems. If you or your child does have pyroluria, consider yourself lucky because the treatment works. You can learn more about pyroluria from
http://drkaslow.com/html/pyroluria.html