31 for 21: Re-blog: Through Uncharted Waters

Well, my mom was looking through old blog posts about Longvida Curcumin. And she was wondering when we started O on it and when I first blogged about it. It's amazing how fast the years have gone by.

This whole year, I've been thinking it's just been a year and a half or so since we started using Longvida Curcumin with O. But, looking back at blog posts, it was not May of 2011...no, it was May of 2009 that we started using Longvida Curcumin. Wow, it's been THREE years and 5 months since O started taking Longvida Curcumin. Simply amazing. It feels like just yesterday that I was researching all the details of LC, where to get it from and all of that.

So, I thought it would be good to re-blog a blog I had written in November of 2009. It was titled "Through Uncharted Waters" and was in response to a letter I received from a professor of Medicine and Neurology at UCLA. He had questions and was cautioning about us using Longvida Curcumin with O, because he had DS and was young.

I received an email today from Greg Cole, a professor of Medicine & Neurology at UCLA. He works with Sally Frautschy on Curcumin and other things. He was emailing in regards to Longvida Curcumin and our use of it.

His email was a word of caution. A caution to realize that we are "experimenting" with Longvida Curcumin, as it is not clinically proven to help individuals with DS. There have been no clinical trials done on it's safety & use in people with DS. This is a great concern and word of caution and I totally understand where he is coming from and agree.

Whenever we use a supplement that is not clinically proven in people with DS, we are going through uncharted waters and "experimenting." We always need to be cautious and aware of what we are doing. Aware of any changes that are seen with a certain supplement, be it good or bad. And aware of the dosage we use, whether it is too high or too low, or just right.

We've been on the path of using various supplements and "experimenting" with Osiyyah since he was 8 months old (he's 4 1/2 years old now). The way we feel, is that we have to do everything we can for him. Even if something has not been proven in clinical trials. If the research looks promising, is something that looks like it'll benefit him, and as best we can tell is safe to give him, we give it a try. Of course we don't jump into giving him anything unless we have thoroughly researched and am convinced that it is safe & good to try.

It would be wonderful if clinical trials are done, but we can't wait for clinical trials to be done. My brother's life & understanding is on the line. He needs the help right now. This is why we, and many other families of children with DS, take the initiative to use certain supplements well before they have gone through clinical trials.

If we were to wait until something was proven to help children with DS, it would be YEARS and the most crucial time of Osiyyah's development would be gone. I want to do all I can to help my brother reach his fullest potential. That's what I determined from the time he was born and we knew he had DS. To do any less, would not be beneficial to him.

I am so incredibly thankful that we have taken many out of the norm, against the grain steps, because Osiyyah has progressed so well and benefited from them so much. I am convinced he would not be where he is at today had we not started this journey of research back when he was 8 months old. I know that because he visually, before our eyes changed and was a different child, when we started him on the first supplement back then. Granted, that first supplement is Nutrivene-D. But, still, there are MANY people who advocate not to use that supplement, because it is not "clinically proven." If we would've listened to many of the "professionals" in the DS world, we would not be giving Nutrivene-D. I'm so thankful we didn't listen to them.

There is so much that many families use with their kids with DS that are not clinically proven in DS. But, why are they used by so many families? Because someone took the initiative and stepped out of the box and decided to give that particular thing a try. Those who have taken the initiative into uncharted waters have benefited many families. To name a few, Dr. Turkel, Dixie Lawrence, Dr. Leichtman, Teresa Cody, and others.

Our family will always be thankful for the work of people like Dixie Lawrence & Dr. Leichtman in regards to Nutrivene-D. It changed Osiyyah's life. He is not the boy he was before Nutrivene-D.

Or mom's like Chris Hempel, whose twin daughters have Niemann-Pick Type C disease. That's how we found out about Longvida Curcumin. Longvida Curcumin has changed Osiyyah's life also. He can communicate & understand so much more than he was able to 5 months ago. It's amazing.

We will gladly continue to go through uncharted waters and step out of the box to be able to benefit my wonderful little brother and others with Down syndrome.

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