JulesLR

My Son had this exactly when he was little, he had been seeing a speech therapist and went through a few different stages..the therapist said this was called blocking..sometimes my boys would stamp his feet because he got so frustrated, sometimes he would sort of reach into his mouth as if to pull the words out! it was very sad to watch...he doesn't do this anymore at all, he did start other tics like eye blinking and a few others but we mainly only get the eye blinking and even that isn't too bad at the moment at all..i am not 100% sure what really helped with the blocking, whether it was the speech therapist or just time, but we had to be very patient with him try not show any frustration for him...they said we had to wait until he got the word out and then get him to say it again if he said he without blocking we had to praise him big time and if he blocked again we just left it until the next word...we had to do this for like 15 mins a day not all day!! hope some of that helps XX

Thank you all for your replies...I may look into the gap diet, but will see the candida diet through 1st for a bit longer I think. I really do try not let Lucas see me upset, more than anything I want him to not feel different, he is the most awesome little boy with the greatest personality..he never gets angy, only when he has to go to bed like any other child, but is fine after he has had his moan lol I did check the ingredients on the bread that i got and it had nothing that he couldn't have, the only thing i could think that it was was the yeast..but then i could still be barking up the wrong tree...all i can go on is he does have quite a white coated tongue so I think it really could be yeast.. I need to find out more about panda's, i guess i ruled it out when the test came back negative..there are so many things it could be, all i want obviously is it to be something I can control...If I gave up on the searching I would feel that I have failed Lucas on some level..i could never do that, so I will carry on and carry on until I find what it is that triggers his tics off. I started him back on the pro-biotics today, the only reason i really didn't give it to him the last 2 days was the local chemist had run out! county towns for you!.. Thanx again every bit of advise is helpful Jules and Lucas

Lucas had tics for a year on and off and it totally broke my heart to watch him, early this year I took him for a blood test which was a huge ordeal he was so scared it finally took a week to get done, I wanted to eliminate strep as a cause, the only thing that came back was he was slightly high iron levels, but they didn't seem too concerned at all. In March I was getting ill because of it, i was so stressed that I had to try something, so i took Lucas for a hair allergy test, it came back that he was intolerant to Wheat, Sugar, eggs and food colourings, we started the wheat free, sugar free, egg free and without reaslising yeast free diet straight away and after 2 days he improved by 95% it was amazing, his teacher couldn't believe it..I was so happy, I had found something that was going to help Lucas..this went on for 3 months (he still had a few really bad days and still had tics almost every day, but he went from ticcing every second to ticcing 4 times a day). About 5 weeks ago i found some bread in the local supermarket that was sugar free and wheat free, Lucas was over the moon we had found bread he could have...over 3 weeks of having this bread every day we slowly started to see his tics get worse so we thought it must be the yeast! so at the start of the new zealand school holidays we decided to start him on a candida detox, we started him on inner health kids probiotics, to be honest we didn't really see a difference at all and this diet/detox was really hard, especially on Lucas. At the end of the 2 weeks we decided to go back to the diet we were on before wheat free, yeast free, sugar free and egg free, but the tics are still getting worse. Today wsa his 3rd day back at school from the holidays and his teacher said he was really ticcing heaps...he doesn't know how much that hurt because on some level i like to think that i'm the only one who can see him ticcing, i love my little baby so much and i am determined to help him and find whatever it is that will either stop him ticcing altogether or go back to them being 95% better I really was happy with that. Do you think it was yeast and we need to stick to a strict diet! but he was pretty good for 3 months on the diet we were on before doing the detox so what happened? Don't get me wrong he is still better than he was, but he really is getting worse and I feel sick with worry. I give him Supplements of magnesium, calcium, Zinc I also give him flaxseed oil and evening primrose oil - should i be giving him anything else? The thing that breaks my heart the most is I have two boys and I feel I treat them differently, which I really hate! my other boy i allow to have late nights but Lucas I panic that his tics get worse if he is tired...I so need help because I am so not sure where to go next... Lukes background is that he was born at 26 weeks, so that could have something to do with why he tics???? His tics mainly started with eye blinking, now he still blinks hard, rubs his chin on his shoulder, sort of twists his arms together, does a few mouth twitches and lifts one leg up.. Please give me some advise I love him so much.. Thanx Julie and Lucas - 8 years old (Born at 26 weeks)

Thank you so much for all your advise We have been on the No sugar, No Wheat and no egg diet for 4 months now but have to say adding the no yeast detox in is pretty hard...at the mo we are going to go hard out on the 2 week detox which says no fruit, no white flour at all (which is one of the hardest because our gluten free mix has potato flour in there as well as corn and rice flour), lucky we have a child who is willing to try anything, good job it's not my other child who is as fussy as they come! At the mo i'm trying Polenta, and trying to master grilling it!!! I am finding breakfasts the hardest.. Wish we had Trader Joes here in NZ, we do have a bed bath and beyond so may look into the Popsicle maker `that sounds awesome. In 2 weeks we will bring the gluten free flour, rice and popcorn (home made) back in..which will certainly make this all a bit easier. I love your Halloween idea, Lucas has a birthday party to go to this Sat so might try saying that if he leaves all the food alone there i will treat him to lego instead!! I think the hardest thing is when you feel you are getting somewhere and then the tics come back but i'm determined to get to the bottom of this and if we have to be on this diet for many years to come then so be it `our children are worth it...do think they deserve a medal. Can i ask what test you did? I think I would like a test done for Lucas but just don't want a blood test, he totally freaks out more than anyone could ever imagin!!! Thanx again - Julie and Lucas (8 years old) X

My little boy Lucas had some Tics over the last year and 1/2, mainly hard blinking, shoulder shrugging, rubbing his chin on his shoulders, lifting one of his legs, sniffing and one short lived vocal tic where he sort of squeaked..in March this year after almost breaking down myself watching him, especially at school, I decided i had to do something other than just reading and researching..so i took him for a hair allergy test (would have preferred to do a proper blood test but blood tests in the past have been so traumatic for Lucas). It came back intolerant to eggs, some food colourings, wheat and sugar, we started the diet straight away..literally in 2 days we noticed a 95% improvement, we were meant to be on the diet for 3 months and then start introducing the foods back, well i wanted to try this in the holidays instead, which meant we were on the diet for almost 4 months, just incase the tics came back in full force i wanted him at home..we promised Lucas it would be sugar 1st as that was the one he was missing the most. 2 weeks ago we found a gluten free, sugar free bread in the supermarket that he could have and it's been great, he has been having it for breakfast and lunch but gradually and very slowly getting the tics back, to the point as we are just about to allow him his sugar treat he is ticcing quite bad (still not anywhere near as bad as he was!) anyway started to think `i wonder if it was yeast all along...he has a white tongue, gets blisters or ulcers in his mouth every now and then, does lack concentration! to start with we would have cut out everything bad that feeds a yeast infection, but gradually got so good at cooking with honey or maple syrup (which we were told was ok) and then adding the fresh yeast...wondering if we were slowly feeding the yeast? Anyway if we do start the yeast free diet! how do we start...does anyone have any good advise for us? basically we are on the school holidays for 2 weeks, really wanting/hoping we can do the really strict diet for those 2 weeks (so really need to know what we can't eat but also what we can eat) I know we can eat veg and meat but what carbs can he eat? then would like to be able to introduce some foods back in to make school lunches easier...so which foods would be ok to introduce back in... What was your diet plan? We got some inner Health pro-biotics today and he did have his sugar treat Friday eve which he didn't get any worse after having, but now want to get back to helping him... Thank you for your help in advance Julie and Lucas

Hi Kristen Wellington was awesome, the Hotel was brilliant, they made Lucas a lovely breakfast! for dinner went to Wagamama and he had Rice noodles and veg...he loved it all so that was great. The hair test only really showed sugar, wheat, eggs, some food colours and a substance that you can find in fly sprays (so we stopped using them). Lucas does still tic but literally once or twice a day if that..I am really not sure what the main cause is but i'm picking it's going to be mainly the sugar!...in mid June we will start in re introduce those foods, I think eggs will be our 1st and see how that goes.. You say Jack gets worse when hungry well i noticed that Lucas got a few tics even into the diet when he was hungry (especially around 2.00 in the afternoon) so I asked his teacher if he would allow Luke to eat something from his lunch box if he needed to..also I went back to see the hair annalist (herbalist) lady and she looked through my daily food diary and told me that Lucas wasn't getting enough protein! and gave me a few good idea's especially for lunch... hand fulls of dates, chicken drumsticks, wraps (which i haven't yet mastered) more like pancakes at the mo...but fully filled! with some of the following - tomatoa, avocardo, hummus, cheese, chicken, salmon, tuna... I make him up veg rice pasta with tomato, cheese and either tuna. salmon or chicken cold for lunch! - she really went on to say make sure he is eating the right food and more of it! she did say nuts...but Lucas hates anything crunchy or really chewy!!!! I give Luke a lot of fruit...especially banana's and his fav are fijoa's..he pretty much lives on pancakes in the mornings! i give him about 2 or 3 with frozen blueberry's and a banana (with a tiny bit of cream)... I do find it still hard but we are experimenting all the time! `More Wilson' are great for all their different gluten free flours etc i wish I could master sugar, egg and wheat free bread but they all taste gross, think i might stick with Scones!! How long do you have to wait for the hair results to come back? I don't think Lucas's tics were / are are seasonal, he seems to have had them through all different seasons.. funny that Jack was great in Canada, but Lucas was the same when we went back to the UK, but saying that his tics had stopped just before we went but came back 2 weeks after arriving back here!... I'm convinced that Lucas's diet is the main reason his tics have gone away...since him eating better we have seen less tics again but still once in a while so i'm thinking there is still something I have missed..if he is ok with introducing the foods back even if he is not! i will get a proper food allergy/intolerant test done...would be really interesting to see if it matches up or gives me another food to take out!, to be honest I really would be happy to keep Lucas on this diet for a good while longer if we had to...it's really not a big issue and it's something I can control. Just one other thing I do give Lucas supplements not sure if they are helping but too scared to give them up...I give him Magnesium (Thompsons Organic - 1 tab a day), Zinc plus (1/2 a tab a day), B Complex (1 tab a day), Flaxseed oil tabs (sometimes 2 a day) and primrose oil tabs (1 a day). Keep intouch Julie

Hi Kristen I had the hair Allergy test done because it wasn't invasive at all, wasn't sure what to think of it all but took Wheat, Sugar and eggs straight out of my sons diet and like i mentioned before after 2 days his Tics were 95% / 97% better...after a couple of weeks we hardly see any Tics, we do still have then (think we tend to have a few when he is very tired or over excited) but compared to what he was like, it's crazy amazing! he was ticcing like 10 times a min before...it was so hard to watch and was breaking my heart. So yes `for us the hair allergy test worked. Julie X

Hi Kristen Just wondered how your Dr's app went yesterday? did they do the allergy tests, if so which ones did they do? when do you get the results? How is your little boy? Things for my little boy are still good with the diet, his teacher was/is amazed with the difference, but we are still seeing a few Tics here and there and weekend just gone we did have a period where he ticced quite a lot at one point, we got told yesterday by the herbalist lady who did the allergy/intolerance test that he needs to eat more nutritional foods! I must admit I was finding school lunches the biggest hurdle! but she gave me a whole heap of ideas, so really hoping this works and we see no tics, but really all in all I can't believe how much taking Sugar, wheat and eggs out of his diet has reduced his Tics, it is amazing. We are off to Wellington tomorrow for the night, staying in a hotel that we booked before starting this diet and it's full buffet breakfast, feel so sad for my little food crazy boy, but the hotel have said they will sort him out `which is so nice! not sure what they are going to do yet for him but fingers crossed he will think it's yum. Julie

Hi Kristen I am also new to this site but have over the past read lots of mothers posts. I have an 8 year old gorgeous little boy who was born at 26 weeks, he went through years and years of speech therapy. Jan 2011 he started blinking lots real hard out blinking, I took him to the Opticians and he said his eye sight is perfect but he felt he needed to have an op to sort out his slightly wondering eye (only ever happened when he was really tired!)..his eye blinking continued and his eye op was scheduled for March, once he had the op i though the blinking would stop, but it didn't, we saw the specialist who did the op and he said he was probably reacting to a stitch that was still in his eye so once again I hoped it would go away, we were booked to go to the UK for 6 weeks in June, and in May the blinking stopped! just like that, it stayed away for May, June, July and came back the 2nd week in August (2 weeks after arriving back to NZ), the blinking was really bad, it was none stop and we had some shoulder shrugging.. I started Lucas on Magnesium supplements and Zinc Supplements, early Nov it went away again, and stayed away this time until mid Jan 2012 when it came back this time he had facial grimaces, shoulder shrugging and all sorts of other tics! I started to do lots of research...and it all pointed to Touretts, the Dr's and Pedatrician said it wasn't that, but he would put me intouch with a child phycologist that we are still waiting to hear from. In the mean time after me feeling so down and sooo sad watching my baby I decided on an allergy test...should have done a blood test but that really stresses Lucas out (took a week to get his last blood test done with lots of tears!) in the end we went for a hair allergy test (I am never a full believer of these tests but was willing to try anything)..the results came back intolerant to Sugar, wheat and eggs as well and some artificial colours etc.. we started a diet straight away, thought there is no harm in trying!!! after 2 days he was sleeping better (he goes to bed real good but gets up pretty early, he was sleeping for at least 30 mins more in the morning...and his tics had reduced by around 97% still having a few a day (where as before it was more like 2 a minute)..we have been on this diet for almost 2 weeks and it's still going fab, still only about 97% better but I couldn't be happier..i'm hoping this is what is helping because I can control this...but it may be worth trying an allergy/intolerance test.. I did up the supplements as well (i know give him Spiralina, flaxseed oil and Evening Primrose Oil)..he still has ups and downs so I feel there is something else his body could be intolerant to or we have something not quite right but after this 3 month strict diet we have to introduce the foods back one at a time to monitor how he reacts, i think then I will get a proper blood test done.. one obstacle at a time!. Where abouts in NZ are you? we live in Carterton in the Wairarapa... Good luck with what ever you try but it is worth trying and researching, you read so many success stories and they were the reasons I didn't want to give up and will never give up finding things to help Lucas..he is bright, funny and totally awesome. Julie