Show Notes
Autism blood work rarely comes first. In this solo episode Nadia Elkhatib explains why she now starts with baseline biology before choosing the next specialty treatment for her son Jimmy. For twenty years she worked on Lyme, mold, gut, mast cells and detoxification, and that work helped. What she skipped was the foundation underneath it: thyroid function, sex hormones, insulin and metabolic health, the lipid panel, and nervous system regulation. Nadia walks through the difference between a laboratory reference range and the working targets her practitioners use, how a specialist's lens shapes the direction a family takes, and why anxiety, poor sleep, low motivation or withdrawal deserve a whole-body review rather than being filed under autism. She shares her own family's numbers, including the years when Jimmy's fasting glucose and insulin were drifting while his diet was already completely sugar free, and what changed once they measured instead of assumed. In this episode: Why normal is not the same as optimal How a specialist's lens shapes what gets treated first Why thyroid problems can look like behavior Why fasting glucose alone can miss the metabolic story Why caregiver health belongs in the same roadmap "The specialist cannot decide the entire order for us. That is our job as parents." NOTES ON WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE Jimmy's history includes IVIG. That is one family's experience under medical care. IVIG has no FDA-approved indication for autism. Nadia describes tirzepatide being started with Jimmy's clinical team for a metabolic problem they had measured, and a HOMA-IR that moved from 3.34 to 1.56. Tirzepatide is approved for type 2 diabetes and for chronic weight management in qualifying adults. It is not approved for autism. This is one family's experience under clinical supervision. No doses and no sources are given anywhere in this episode. The optimal ranges Nadia refers to are the working targets she uses with her own practitioners. A HOMA-IR under 1 is her working target, not a laboratory reference range and not a consensus clinical guideline. Working targets vary by laboratory method, assay, age, treatment status and clinician. Reverse T3 is a test many integrative and functional practitioners use, and Dr. Amie Hornaman explains her reasoning in episode 25. Routine clinical guidelines generally do not recommend it for standard thyroid evaluation. Dr. Dayan Goodenowe is a guest on an upcoming episode of this podcast. He researches plasmalogens and also sells plasmalogen products. This episode discusses his published research only. RELATED EPISODES Episode 25 with Dr. Amie Hornaman, on thyroid: Episode 24 with Carole Petersen, on sex hormones: Episode 20, solo, on weight loss and metabolic health: Episode 10, solo, on anxiety: Episode 5, solo, on sleep: Episode 2, solo, on peptides and bioregulators: RESEARCH REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE Sex hormones and autism Croonenberghs J, Van Grieken S, Wauters A, et al. Serum testosterone in male adolescents with autism. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2010;31(4):483-488. PMID 20802443. Thyroid and autism Desoky T, Hassan MH, Fayed HM, Sakhr HM. Biochemical assessments of thyroid profile, serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol and cluster of differentiation 5 expression levels among children with autism. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2017;13:2397-2403. PMID 28979127. Cohen DJ, Young JG, Lowe TL, Harcherik D. Thyroid hormone in children with autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 1980;10(4):445-450. PMID 6927746. This older and larger study found no group difference, and is included for balance. Lipids and autism Kim EK, Neggers YH, Shin CS, Kim E, Kim EM. Lipid profiles in boys with autism. Nutr Res. 2010;30(4):255-260. PMID 20534328. Plasmalogens, autism and Alzheimer's disease Pastural E, Ritchie S, Lu Y, et al. Novel plasma phospholipid biomarkers of autism: mitochondrial dysfunction as a putative causative mechanism. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2009;81(4):253-264. PMID 196083
More from Biohacking Autism with Nadia Elkhatib.
My son was nonverbal. I was told he would never speak, and that if a child does not talk by five, he never will. Jimmy started talking at eight. This is the 11-minute version of my episode on autism recovery: the stories you never hear, what recovery means, how Jimmy started talking, and the five things it takes.
Recovery from autism is possible. I’ve seen it, and my own son isn’t there yet. This is my honest answer after 22 years: the families who got there, why you never hear about them, what recovery means, how my son started talking at eight, and the five things it takes. THE LABS TO START WITH + THE COMMUNITY WAIT LIST https://biohacking-autism.kit.com/d9c8b01fd7 One sign-up. You get the exact baseline panel from this episode in one email, the episode summaries every week, and, if you tick the box, a place on the wait list for the private community. IN THIS EPISODE The recovery stories you never see on social media, and why Two sons, same house, same protocol, one recovered What recovery means and what it does not (the truck analogy) Where Jimmy is today, 22 years in Why there is no one protocol for recovery How Jimmy started talking at eight: Dr. Klinghardt, Babesia and artemisinin The five things it takes, in order Three things to do this week, not five WHAT YOU WILL HEAR Jimmy is not recovered. We have made real progress, and the work continues at 22. Artemisinin was one herb used under Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt’s care alongside pharmaceuticals, for an infection that had been identified. No doses or sources are given, and this is not a recommendation to buy it. The recovery stories are what parents told me directly and what I saw myself. They are not a study. WATCH ON YOUTUBE https://youtu.be/Ib0cyR6MJCE RELATED EPISODES Autism Biology From a Completely Different Point of View (the baseline): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8fnI3xC0ts The 6 Step Healing Order for Sensitive Autism Kids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEbHibq0q9g MENTIONED Jenny McCarthy, Louder Than Words · Dr. Neil Nathan, The Sensitive Patient’s Healing Guide · Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt · Dr. Dayan Goodenowe FURTHER READING Fein D, et al. Optimal outcome in individuals with a history of autism. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2013;54(2):195-205. PMID 23320807. Kang DW, et al. Long-term benefit of Microbiota Transfer Therapy on autism symptoms and gut microbiota. Sci Rep. 2019;9:5821. CONNECT biohackautism.com · [email protected] · Instagram @biohackautism · TikTok @biohackingautism · linkedin.com/in/nadiaelkhatib If you know one parent who was given a deadline and zero tools, send them this episode. DISCLAIMER One family’s experience and what other parents told me directly. Not medical advice, no doses or treatment instructions. Please discuss any testing or treatment with a qualified clinician. I’m not a doctor. I’m a mother who has been doing this for more than 20 years.
Caregiver burnout, chronic stress and brain health: the core conversation in a 34-minute Essentials edition for caregivers who want a focused starting point.
Caregiver burnout deserves more than being dismissed as "just stress." When you've spent years caring for someone else, what questions should you be asking about your own brain health?
This is the Essentials edition, a 25-minute cut of our conversation with Dr. Uli K. Chettipally, MD, MPH, an emergency physician, Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and father of Siri, a non-speaking young woman with autism. For the full conversation, see the full episode of Biohacking Autism in this feed.