GErl

I know that in Europe the code for MSG is the code "E 621", sometimes you see only that code on the description on products. Here (in Iceland) MSG used to be marketed as "Þriðja kryddið" (meaning "the third spice"). I don't know if that name's an icelandic peculiarity or not. There is some information here: http://www.laleva.cc/food/enumbers/E541-640.html

Hi John, I can't really tell you anything more about supplements and such things, the people here are much more knowledgeable than I am. I found that in addition to the supplements, a change in diet helped my son a whole lot (he's ten and got diagnosed a year ago, although he has had mild tics since about 7 or 8), we took out sugar, wheat and yeast (we see a lot of difference if he comes home from a friends birthday party having eaten candy and pizza). Anyway, what I was going to talk about was how we dealt with school. The months before he got diagnosed had been really hard on him, his tics were quite bad, some of them quite painful for him, and he got really socially insecure and had problems at school, he complained no-one wanted to play with him and his grades went down. After the diagnosis was in place we started on the advice we found here and in Sheila's book (a real treasure, that book) and things got a lot better. He has a wonderful teacher, and one day she sat down with the whole class and just talked about tourette and explained it to them, my son got to answer questions and describe his experience and after that everything got better. They actually sat down in a group and had a quiet chat, it was not like she had him stand in front of the class or anything like that (which would have been horrible). So, if you think his teacher is responsive to something like that you can discuss this with her/him and see how it goes. Hiding it only makes things worse, I think. Hope this helps. And living in Iceland I can understand the feeling of isolation. Gudmundur

Hi, I want to ask another question about a particular brand multivitamin. I didn't want to start a specific thread for it. We've been giving my son supplements since march this year plus changes in diet and the changes have been dramatic, his tics have almost vanished, he still clears his throat once in a while and an occasional shoulder twitch, but apart from that no problem. However, as these are a whole lot of pills and capsules he has to take every morning and evening, we've been looking for a suitable multivitamin that includes the most important stuff (magnesium, zinc etc.). I was thinking about LifePak Teen from Pharmanex, and was wondering if anybody had any experience with it? Any problems, problematic incredients, etc. (I'm not trying to push this product, it's just that my sister happens to sell it, so it would be quite convenient for me to use it ).

Can GABA, 5HTP and Inositol supplements be found in ordinary health-stores? I've been trying to find some info on the internet, but the info is somewhat scarce. Are there some specific supplements containing these substances or are they only found in medicine?

Hi, and thanks for the replies. About the sugar, we (well, actually, his mom did) discovered one natural sugar-substitute that we could use, Agave-syrup or nectar. It's organic and suitable even for those with diabetes and it's very sweet to taste (more info f.x. here: http://www.shakeoffthesugar.net/article1042.html). We also use raw cane sugar in some instances, but sparely. But I'll try Dr. Duncan and see what he has to say. I'll post it here if something comes out.

Hi all, My name is Gudmundur and I live in Iceland. In january my son was diagnosed as having Tourette's, so me and his mom are just starting to discover all the things connected with it. We just recently discovered this website and the forum and find absolutely wonderful. I'm also discovering that I probably have Tourette's myself, or at least some kind of a tic-disorder, as I had a lot of tics as a kid, and still have a little bit. My son is nine and his tics are mild, and thankfully the specialist who diagnosed him didn't see any reason to put him on drugs. He has motion tics, the usual eye-blinking and discomfort in the shoulders, a few vocal tics that come and go and times there are more motion tics of more variety and severity. Going out for a walk is quite a bother, as he often has this tic to shoot out his hips every few steps, which is very uncomfortable for him. He forgets about it if we manage to turn the walk into a game, run around or play hide and seek and then it usually goes away, but understandably that's not always possible. We changed his diet when he was diagnosed, to begin with we took out sugar, yeast and wheat, cut down on the milk and gave him omega-3 and just these changes have changed a lot for him. The problem is that he is really picky and doesn't eat just anything. But he notices that eating f.ex. sugar makes his tics grow more severe, so he's surprisingly willing to try new things. There is one problem of his that we haven't seen mentioned anywhere, and maybe it has got nothing to do with Tourette's, but I'll give it a try anyway. It's a bit awkward, so maybe that's the reason no one has mentioned it. The thing is that my son has had problem with involuntary penile erection from time to time. It's not really a chronic problem, but there have been times that it has been a real bother for him. When he was a kid, maybe 3 or 4, he sometimes had erections that were really painful for him. Once, when he was four or five, he had a painful erection for a whole night, we had to be with him and relieve it with a cold towels. Finally we took him to see a doctor, but he just found it funny and had never heard of anything like this. It has never been this bad since, but sometimes it's bothersome. We sent him to a yogaclass for kids in february, in case it would help him controlling his tics, and there the problem persisted, he got an erection during class and got really frustrated. Has anyone heard of a similar situation? As he hasn't reached puberty yet, and that the problem began when he was very young, that cannot be the reason. So neurological irreguralities could be an answer. I know this is probably an odd sort of introductory message but anyway, I'm really glad to have found this forum and look forward to learn a lot from you all. Best regards, Gudmundur