At Age 51 I Can Finally Tell Friends I Have Tourette Syndrome
Editor: This letter was received from a man who, after successful treatment with nutrients, was just beginning to inform those near to him that he has had TS for over forty years.
I am 51 years old, and I’ve had Tourette syndrome since I was nine or ten. I was not diagnosed until late in my life, and I never took any medications. Until six months ago, I thought I would just have to live with my tics. Now I believe that may not be so.
As a young child, I had severe body tics and I also flexed my jaw, ground my teeth, and jerked my head. As I moved through the teen years, the head jerking stopped and my other tics stabilized, although they still were quite noticeable. Having Tourette syndrome, and not knowing what was wrong with me, seriously affected my social life. I was a loner as a teen; I was afraid to associate with other kids. My reaction to having TS may have been one of the main reasons I have never married. And it probably made me want to overachieve in other areas of my life.
I have a PhD in mathematics, am a former semi-pro athlete and professional league referee — heavy physical exercise always gave me hours of tic free time — and am now a senior executive in the computer software industry. Yet, tics continued to embarrass and inhibit me socially, even after I noticed their severity declining again when I reached my forties. I could not bring myself to talk about my condition with anyone, and all around me were left to wonder what was wrong.
Discovering Supplements
At the urging of my sister, whose 9-year-old child with TS has responded well to vitamins, I began a supplement program. On the first day I noticed a change in the way my body felt — the electric tension in my muscles that has been my constant companion since childhood began to subside. By the end of the first week, my tics began to lessen, and by the end of the first month I was virtually tic free.
When I do have flareups, they are further apart than before and each one is less severe than the last. Now, I have only very minor flareups, and they occur only when I am under extreme stress at work. This change in my condition has made every difference in my life. For the first time, I am telling people that I have Tourette Syndrome. I have told co-workers and I’ve told friends I’ve known for decades, who have always wondered what was going on but were afraid to ask. I’m more self-confident. I’m more comfortable doing public speaking at work and I’m doing more of it. I’m more successful in my relations with my colleagues, with my friends, and with women.
I know that I am not the only person with TS who is having success with supplements. Not all stories will be as dramatic as mine — and some people may have had no luck at all with this approach — but all stories need to be told; it’s the only way to convince the scientific community to begin researching this area.
From the editor: The nutrient/diet approach this man used was similar to that developed by Bonnie Grimaldi (www.BonnieGr.com).
