My Visit to the Naturopath: Retained Moro Reflex, Pyroluria & Food Allergies

Last Wednesday I went to see a Naturopath, Anne Darcy, who specializes in Biomedical Care for children. I had heard that she also treats adults, has an amazing fountain of information and focusses on digestive system and gut healing. I was prompted to make this appointment because no matter how many foods I seem to remove from my diet, and no matter how long I stay off of them, every time I reintroduce something my system, which is only balancing day by day, goes bizerk. I made a list of all my ‘symptoms’ ranging from the obvious (ie: bloating, stomach cramps, head rushes, headaches, water retention) to the seemingly ridiculous and random (ie: sensitivity to loud noise, easily frightened, itchy legs, high tension dreams, tendency towards compulsive behaviour, to name but a few).

Once I got going at making the list I ended up with so many potential ‘symptoms’ that I was apprehensive of presenting them. I felt like a complete hypochondriac. On top of that my mom insisted that I write ‘excitable’ as well. I had been fighting the term ‘excitable’ and ‘nervous’ for years but seeing as I was trying to be completely honest I put it down ... ugh.

Anne Darcy was/is my last hope. I had the full list of food allergens and followed it to a T but somehow things just weren’t getting completely better ... yes, partly better but never completely and nothing ever changed my random problems like noise sensitivity and high tension dreams (every single night btw) ... and what was the response to my long list of grievances you ask?
Nobody rolled their eyes or told me that it was natural to feel these things ... that mood swings were a part of life, that I just needed to use more moisturizer, that I should try meditation. It was so wonderful for someone to sit down and explain to me how all of my seemingly bizarre and potentially hypochondriac ‘symptoms’ were genuine and instead of being random and hopeless, they all completely link back to a couple key problems ... ... ... which can be fixed - Alleluia! (and believe me, typed words cannot sufficiently express my relief! I just hope that it is true.)

So, word on the street is that my only real food allergy/intolerance is milk. I need to be completely dairy free (which I have always been and will continue being) and possibly eliminate egg whites (as identified by my York Test) and unfermented soy (which I’ve been refraining from, but not eliminating) for the time being anyway ... and I have to say that that sounds more in line with my dietary vision (but don't worry, I'll still try to cover as many allergies and dietary restrictions as possible in Survival Guide!)

Getting down to the real culprits that have been causing my sensitivity to so many foods and creating so many digestion issues it would seem that I have:

mild Pyroluria
and a Retained Moro Reflex

so, that means that I have:
- Zinc deficiency (i wouldn’t my mild stretch marks if I'd enough zinc growing up -damnit!)
- B6 deficiency
- Trouble with inflammation, serotonin levels, digestion and gut, and possibly a toxic metal overload in my system (still have to test for this one)

No wonder I was feeling so rubbish for so long and this also explains why everything started to get worse during a high-stress job I had. But honestly, if I had been left to tinker around with my digestion, diet and health for 50 more years I don’t think that I ever would have pin pointed that one, especially the Retained Moro Reflex (??!?)

The solution is a few prescribed supplements and time. I am to return for a second appointment in one month but since I’ll be in India I will go on my return.
Until then I have to take:

Kirkman: EnZym/DDP-IV II with Isogest
Kirkman: Super Nu-Thera
Douglas Laboratories: Zinc Picolinate
Kirkman: Super Nu-Thera
Kirkman: Pro-Bio Defense

All with specific dosages at specified times of the day. I also have to pick up one more supplement (Nature Plus: Candida Forte) in Health Matters, which I will do today. This amount of supplements also make me feel like a hypochondriac but you gotta do what you gotta do. So far I have had a pounding headache since Wednesday and after my first heavy duty zinc I had major queasiness and the desire to throw up (interestingly I had often thought I had a deficiency in zinc but every time I start taking it I felt sick so I always stopped ... but not this time!) I accept, understand and am not too surprised by most of the diagnosis but its the ‘conditions’ (esp. the Retained Moro Reflex) that have thrown me for a loop.

For more on Pyroluria see www.primalbody-primalmind.com But just for the record, I am not schizophrenic (lol!) and my 2nd toe is not longer than the 1st, which is a common sign.

Moro Reflex is the ‘fight/flight’ reaction in babies. It is natural and healthy in babies but should be replaced by 3-6months with the adult ‘startle’ reflex. If it persists in the older child or adult it over stimulates the adrenal glands, creating too much adrenalin and cortisol which cause fatigue over extended periods that break down the immune system and can lead to chronic illness and allergies.

Symptoms of Retained Moro Reflex:
- Hypersensitivity (tick)
- Hyper-reactivity (tick)
- Poor impulse control (tick)
- Stimulus bound effect – cannot ignore peripheral stimuli to focus attention on one thing, has to pay attention to everything (tick - I sometimes thought this was a talent)
- Sensory overload (tick)
- Anxiety – particularly anticipation anxiety (giant tick)
- Labile emotions (I think F. would be happy to tick this one for me)
- Emotional and social immaturity
- Difficulty getting up in the morning (tick)
- Continuing fatigue not relieved by sleep
- Craving for salt or salty foods (C. who tries to confiscate my sea salt will tick this one for me!)
- Lethargy (lack of energy) (tick)
- Increased effort to do everyday tasks (tick)
- Decreased ability to handle stress (tick)
- Increased time to recover from illness, injury or trauma
- Symptoms increase if meals are skipped or inadequate
- Decreased stamina (a sometimes tick)
- Chronic and recurrent bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma, influenza and allergies. (tick for airborne allergies such as dust and horse hair and some food allergies, but I do have a tendency towards sore throats)
- There is also a connection between retained Moro reflex and low blood sugar. (tick)

For more on the Moro Reflex and a Retained Moro Reflex see
www.totalchiro.com.au ; www.inpp.org.uk and www.epidemicanswers.wordpress.com

Well, that's about it... and fingers crosse that it all gets better soon and that this headache goes away even sooner!
Have a great weekend