azhorsegal

Claire, I actually tried that bread mix from Gluten-Free Pantry, but I don't think I let the bread rise enough, it was a little to compact if you know what I mean, but it was better than my first attempt when I tried to make the bread from scratch. The bread came out like a brick, lol. But with practice I know I'll get it down, especially if I can get a bread machine, what do you use? My daugther's stomach was hurting again this morning and she had waffles (with homemade syrup). So I'm thinking I'm going to have to try going Gluten free just to see if I can stop the stomach pains she's having. She never had them before, but after going gluten free for about 5 days and then putting her back on gluten, she's been complaining of stomach pains, even though her tics have taken a vacation. So now I'm just scratching my head trying to figure it all out. I feel like as soon as I solve one problem another one pops up.

Ortho and Kim, thanks for the great info. Definitely something I will check into.

Yeah, that was my biggest worry. I was very happy to see her tics go away even while she was eating gluten/wheat. I have noticed today that her tics are back but still not nearly as bad as they were. I'm pretty sure it's the donut, with sprinkles, she ate yesterday given to her by her Sunday School Teacher. I'm going to have to buckle down and tell her school teacher and sunday school teacher, to not give her anything without my approval. Even if she didn't have a problem, at her age I would have never given her a full size donut, but instead give her only half. And to make matters worse it was just before lunch time!!! Thanks for making it harder on me to get my daughter to eat her entire lunch (which she wasn't able to do). I also gave her Kool-aid the day before, on purpose, to see what would happen. That plus the donut I think made her "bucket" overflow, so no more processed sugars for a while, especially since school is starting on Wednesday.

Thanks Jeff, and that sitting on your lap story really hit home. It was heart breaking to feel her little body just jumping all over and her inability to sit still, but I just ignored it best I could, knowing it wasn't her fault. Now, these past two weeks, it's been really nice to hold her and I will feel one tic every once in a while, but her body is at peace compared to just two weeks ago. Thanks for your encouraging words and I also wish your girls the best. Edit: Oh, I found ketchup with NO corn syrup in it, Heinz Organic Ketchup. I know you said one of your daughter's has a reaction to tomatoes, so she probably can't have any, but maybe your other daughter can. My daughter doesn't have a reaction to tomatoes, but does with corn syrup, so I was VERY happy to find this. Just wanted to pass on the info.

LOL, yeah I've had that reaction to, "What, no apples!?" I was not really happy when I picked her up from Sunday School class this morning to find a glazed sprinkled donut in her hand. Teacher had passed one out to every child. She had it pretty much eaten by the time I saw her. So far I haven't seen any effects. I did make the comment that I was trying to keep her away from sugars and you should have seen the looks I got, like I was neglecting my child or something. Funny how the one person that looked at me has a son that to me has ADHD, but the mom has yet to test him, nor has kept him away from sugar, sodas, and all those other foods that is making that poor boy bounce off the walls. My daughter doesn't like mango's so I've allowed her to have strawberry jam with no perservatives, artificial colors, and flavors, and so far she doesn't show any signs of reactions to it. But if I can find pear jam or pomegranit I'll switch. I'll have to try and find that 365 Brand of soda as my daugther loves Sprite, but hasn't had any in about a month, so that would be a nice treat for her. Thanks for getting back, have a great vacation.

Since my 7 year old daughter's tics started back in April they increased as the summer went on, almost every muscle group and one going just about every second. Looking back they actually started with eye rolling a few years ago, but didn't recognize it until now. I have been trying different diets and this last one, the Feingold diet, taking out all artificial coloring and flavoring, and certain perservatives, and corn syrup, her tics have pretty much gone away. It's still to early though to know if it's the diet or the tics are just on vacation, but I am happy to see my daugther get a few weeks rest from them. I have slid a bit on the diet allowing some things to come in, just to see if it triggers any tics, so far nothing has happened. My heart wants to leap for joy and say "they are gone" but I know that will more than likely NOT be the case. That's probably the most frustrating thing for me as a mom, WHEN are they coming back? Again not "if" but when. My daugther has not been diagnosed with "TS" but instead a "Childhood Motor Tic Disorder", but in reality I don't see much difference, except she has not had it for a full year yet. (She does have verbal tics at times, but those are pretty mild at this point). She starts school on Wednesday, and I'm a little nervous about what might happen, but her teacher is aware of her condition, and is actually a teacher I specifically asked for. She used to be my daughter's kindergarten teacher that is now teaching 2nd grade. I figured if she had a teacher she knew, and liked, then it would be less stressful on her. We also found out on Saturday, during the school's open house, that two of her best friends are in her class, so that should help. She is also moving to a new swim team starting this week and if all works out will probably be with this swim team for a long time. When she's walking around the pool you can tell she has tics (except these past two weeks), but when she starts to swim, you never see them, she's one of the best swimmers there and her coaches are always saying she's very pretty to watch because she really knows how to reach out and stretch. Even though the tics will more than likely be back, her swimming is a time she can get away from them. We are changing swim clubs because she's basically out grown this old program, and the new swim club has swimmer's all the way to adulthood, some have even qualified for the Olympic Trials. My thought is to get her really involved with a club now, so when puberty hits, and her tics may increase, she's around people who already know her and what tics are, hopefully not making a big deal out of it.

Just bumping up to see if Jeff can answer my questions.

Well her last vocal tic was about three weeks ago, so looks like we have a long wait. So what's up with the MMR Booster at age 12? My daughter is 7, should I be concerned about this booster?

Hi Jeff, thanks so much for joining the discussion. And you are right, it's pretty overwhelming at first, but like you said, I'm just taking one step at a time and eventually we will be on the right track. With that said however, I have already noticed a difference in my duaghter's tics, she still has them, but not nearly as bad as she did. It might just be the tics are just in the down cycle at the moment, but I'm pretty sure time will tell that it has in fact made a difference. I do have a question for you though. The hardest part for me is getting rid of apples and berries, and even apricots. I'm finding it hard in finding a fruit spread she can have. I know it says pineapple and pomegranate jelly, but trying to find it is another story. What do you use? The other thing is bread. I have not been able to find any of the breads they list, though I did find one at our Health Food Store (and luckily it's also at my local grocery). It's called Grandma Sycamore's Home-Maid Bread (100% Honey Whole Wheat). It had the least amount of ingredient, but I'd like to share them with you and see if you see anything "bad". Ingredients: Whole Wheat Flour, Water, Soybean Oil, Honey, Sugar, Contains 2% of less of the following: Salt, Yeast, Dough Conditioner (DATEM), Corn Sugar, Soy Oil, Vinegar, Calcium Propionate (Preservative), Calcium Sulfate. I'm thinking maybe the preservative is bad, but I just don't know what else to use. I was happy it didn't have corn syrup in it (but is corn sugar the same?), which is one of the main ingredients I'm trying to avoid, next to artificial food coloring and flavoring. This bread is actually made localy (I think) because it says Packed by Capistrano Bakery, Inc. in Tempe, AZ. Side Note: I did say I was going to go Gluten Free too, but I quickly gave up on that as it's way to hard to do AND do everything in the Feingold Diet. So if this doesn't work after doing it for a month then I'll go Gluten free, still trying to impliment some of the Feingold Diet (maybe by then I'll have a better handle on it). Thanks Jeff, in advance for answering my questions. It's nice to know someone else has found success with this diet and I'm hopeful we will to. If nothing else, I'm happy with the much healthier diet we are eating. I even make homemade syrup now and my kids love it!!!

I second that Kim, Cheri said it very well, what you highlighted in red. I for one have personally found that statement to be true, as depressing as that is. BUT, have found hope by being a part of this forum, and no matter if my daughter as transient tics or TS (Nuero put it in a "over a year" box before he'll give it that diagnosis), she does in fact have tics. Oh, she also has verbal tics at times, so I guess that leaves me out of the article, lol.

Sydsmom, thanks for the encouragement. Sounds like my husband will need to see physical proof just like your husband, so hopefully with time he'll be more open minded. Claire, thanks for the additional clarification (lol ). I was going to just do the Feingold Diet and see what happens by avoiding all the food additives, artificial flavors and colors, aspartame, and Natural Salicylates. But maybe I should also go Gluten free and that way, like you said, at the end of the month I can reintroduce something and see what happens. It would be quicker than trying just the Feingold Diet for a month and then go Gluten Free for a month. I'm positive that the combination of the two is a much healthier diet, so it's not like I'm hurting her. The one thing that does make it a lot tougher though, is the Naturopathic doctor said she was also sensative to corn , which makes it even harder to stay gluten free. BUT, I did spend a lot of money two weeks ago on Gluten and corn free products (flour and baking mixes) that I probably have enough things to get by for a month. With that said, her tics are more this morning than the last few days, but still pretty mild compared to prior of starting the diet. She did have her swim club last night though, so maybe it was the chlorine. I'd prefer the gluten and additives to be the culprit though, as she LOVES to swim, she's a fish, and starting on a swim team, so I'm not sure what she'd do if she was told she had to stay out of the water. OK, so it's going to be hard, BUT the only way to get to the bottom of it is to start her on the Feingold/Gluten/Corn free diet now, and in one month, start adding foods, give it one week and see what happens. My head hurts just thinking about it, lol. (It was a good thing I didn't buy that horse last month, and stopped my riding lessons, because this is going to take all my time, lol ) Edit: Oh, KGeorge, thanks for the encouraging words, it really helped.

carolyn_Isc, on the fish oil, I actually have not given it to her in the past week, just been bad in remembering. So not sure if the fish oil was actually helping or not. Kim, no environmental tests were done, just food. So that's certainly a possibility we might need to look at. Chemar, thanks for the clarity between hypersensativity and allergy (didn't realize there was a difference), I will do my own test with food elimination to see what my daugther is truely reacting to. Will just take a little more time, but well worth it once I come to finding out the results. Is anyone familiar with the Feingold Program? It was mentioned in Sheila's book, so I became a member and got my packet today. I will start both my daughters on the program, including no corn syrup and see what happens.

Hi KGoerge, I myself am new to all this. My daughter started showing signs of tics two years ago with eye rolling, but it would go away for months at a time, so we didn't really worry to much about it. Starting this past May she started showing the head tics and now it's pretty much in every muscle group in her body. She has been diagnosed by a Neurologist with having a Motor Tic Disorder, but to early to say if it's Tourette's. Chemar is right, take a deep breath. I know for me it's been an up and down roller coaster and in reading Chemar's message to you just now, I'm reminded I need to slow it down, not get all worked up, and just take it one day at a time. And realize I still have my daugther, and I should not let all these tests and food changes effect her being a kid. After all, I think I'm having a harder time with it than my daughter is. Even though her tics can be very active at times, she doesn't let it get in her way, she's such a trooper. I can't give any better advice than Chemar gave, but to just say welcome, and you are not alone. This sight is great, because you can "vent" and talk to someone who will actually listen, unlike some doctors (at least in my case). God bless and I will pray for your family and your son. (Oh, I would highly recomend getting Sheila's book "Breakthrough Discoveries in Natural Treatments - Tics and Tourette's".)

OK, most of you know that my daugther saw a Naturopathic doctor and we were told she was allergic to gluten, corn, and Equal. Well, with my husband's request I took her to an allergist and had a scratch test done, and his finding is that she is NOT allergic to those foods. She had a slight reaction to egg white, but the allergist said it wasn't big enough to keep her away from it. The week earlier she tested negative for Celiac Disease. With that said about a week ago I took her off the gluten free diet and the avoidence of artificial colors and flavoring (including corn syrup) and the last two days her tics have been really bad, pretty much all muscle groups have been involved. When my daugther is "active" her tics are going on pretty much every second. Yesterday she would avoid standing because she would just bounce from the tics in her legs. Today she doesn't seem to be as bad, but she still has tics every 5-45 seconds. So I'm not sure if it's the artificial coloring and flavoring and corn syrup, or the gluten back in her diet. What I was thinking I could do now is take the next two weeks and avoid all artificial coloring and flavoring and also avoid corn syrup. Then give her a tall glass of Kool-aid and see what happens. During this time I won't worry about the gluten free diet. If I don't see any results then I'll take two weeks and give her a gluten free diet and then at the end of those two week give her wheat and see what happens. I'm not sure what else to do, after going to the allergist I've been a little discouraged. Not that I WANT her to be allergic to those things, especially wheat, but I feel like I've come to another dead end on what could be causing my daughter's tics. Has anyone out there experience what I'm going through, Naturopathic doctor tells you one thing and an allergist tells you another. I'm pretty sure once the report gets back to my daughter's pediatrician he's going to think I'm a crazy mother, putting her daughter through all these tests, and probably wasting my money. I for one don't think spending time and money on my daughter is a waste, but it's still hard knowing someone probably thinks that of you.

Claire, no offense taken here. I've learned a long time ago on forums things can get misunderstood SO easily, that a person really shouldn't taken offense to anything. If you feel you've been misunderstood then just try and re-explain youself, without getting all upset that the other person didn't understand the way you thought they should, especially when we can't hear each other's tone of voice, which I think is a real BIG disadvantage to email and on-line chatting. BUT, with that said, I'm VERY grateful to this forum, as without it I'd really be at a loss as what to do and how to help my daugther. So I'll definitley take being misunderstood a few times over not having this info at all. You sound like a great person Claire, thanks for understanding.