Cum Passus

Faith, That sounds just like my son at that age. He would be lucky if he grew an inch in a year. Now having said that he has always been zinc deficient. Maybe that is why he was so slow to grow. I did not start the zinc until this past Jan. I think you have such a good chance in fending off some of the explosive tics because of how early you have started giving his body what it is lacking. I just have to believe that after the improvement in my son from the mag and B6. I never would have known what he needed unless I had those tests done. Glad to hear he is doing nicely. C.P.

Hi Teresa, I'm one mom who can really relate to your anxiety. I'm a fix it mom too, and when I realized I had no control over this situation I was more anxious. Every feeling you have are ones I also felt. I also felt like a bad mom, but I found it helped me to leave the room. I came to see that I was getting mad at him a lot. Sometimes his actions were wrong, and others were me just not dealing with the TS. I can tell he is happier now that I do find ways to escape the noise. I don't snap at him like I did before. It is hard when they are teenagers, and I have to remember these are tough years anyway. I sometimes would think he would not love me anymore. I was nervous that he would think I didn't love him because I had to leave the room or listen to music. It just took time, and I would rather remove myself then be upset with him for something he didn't do, and all I was doing was taking my frustration out on him. (lesser of the two evils was my thinking) It is very natural to be irratated, and you being aware of that is good. If I had told people it didn't bother me I would be dishonest with myself, and don't think I would have ever healed. I know there are people who can deal with troubles that come their way much easier, I'm just not one of them, but my husband is one of them, and I do draw strength through him. I do believe the best thing you could do for yourself, and your son is fine natural ways to help him. It will give you such a good feeling to know you are the one who is helping him. And for us fix-it-moms that is good therapy. I now see that is what I needed was a little control back, and things don't bother me like they did. I do have to pray a lot, and ask God to forgive me that I did not trust He would take care of my son. Beg forgiveness that I only felt better when I saw the TS symptoms were getting better. Thank you for being honest, it helps all to know our feeling are not just confined to oneself. And I like that carolyn can give us moms a sense of how our children deal with TS, she would not be able to give that advise unless someone spoke up. THANK YOU! C.P.

Hi guys, Yesterday had to take our son to the Dr. for a skating fall. (Thankfully no fracture) Anyway he has grown 3 1/2 in and gained 16 lbs since Aug. (weight could be from the risperdal or the weight training) tho he is 86 lb not much for 13. Aug is when he started with the screaming. Had a loud vocal before that, but not a scream. He has not grown much last month (March) so really in 7 months 3 1/2 in seems like a lot. Just wanted to share since your sons are at that taking off in growth age. (looking out for why they might wax) I'll keep tracking since he is doing good now, would like to see if his growth slows down along with waking. C.P.

I find the whole PANDAS, TS and tics very interesting. I have wondered if in all the years my son had a sore throat, and swab test came back neg. if he did indeed have strep. I asked my husband if he ever had strep as a child, he said, "No." What I would like to know is, what if a child did have PANDAS and never knew it. Do they grow out of it? Does ones body take care of it on its own? I just don't get it. I never heard of strep when I was a child. I had plenty of sore throats and never saw a Dr. for them. C.P.

Kitty, So glad to hear he like it, thats half the battle. Good luck with the diet, that is so important, health benefits, mood, and studies. C.P.

Faith, All last year when my son was sick I too would hear nothing,(no vocals) since he does not have motor tics not hearing him was a big suprise. For him it is hard to say if he got worse during recovery or was it just going back to the way it had been. Now this year he has been sick with a minor cold twice, and he has one now. He has not waxed or waned since the B6 was introduced. The weather has been crappy from the Nor-hurricane on the east coast, and he has played ball in some cold and very windy days. I have been looking to see if he will wax during this recovery, but have not seen any change. (still good) I really can not tell if he is getting over the worse part of the TS because he is growing out of the puberty stage? It all could really be because of the B6. If he is high in Xanthurenate (impaired tryptophan metabolism) and if tryptophan is a precurser to serotonin, that is a B6 deficiency. If he is kynurenate high (recepter antagnost) B6 is needed for that too. If he is vanilmandetate high (EPI & norepinephrine turnover stimulation) from stress. His brain is making to much of some neurotransmitters and not enough serotonin. B6 should help all that. So I'm looking at B6 as the miracle vitamin for him. Having said all that, is the B6 helping with the cold, or is he not going to wax during recovery as he gets older? C.P.

Faith, Oh I see... Well then... I hope the paddle that is in your hand has some holes in it (stings more) I think thats a great idea. gives you awhile to get all your ducks in a row. And I like the fact you are telling them, that you will be taking steps as needed. (letting them know you're not going away) C.P.

Hi JMT, I wanted to welcome you. Glad you are here. I think faith said she was from NYC so I hope she can help with the Dr. questions. I was wondering if you have tried anything natural that has been suggested on this forum? Let us know, so we can be more personal, and not just list off a bunch of things to try, that maybe you have done. Don't want to overwelm you either. C.P.

Hi Faith, I can't remember if you told us if your son goes to a public or private school? I remember talking to a friend of mine last year when it was our first year in public school. I was worried about everything. She told me that around here the teachers are afraid of the parents. I did get the same answers you did about my son not needing an IEP, I made many calls to the parent resource center to get a lot of advice. I only decided not to push it because my son handles thing very well. He is very bright and can put most thing in the right prespective. I do believe I would demand an IEP if I noticed thing were not going well emotionally. I do believe his father has a lot to do with his attitude He sees how well his dad has out grown TS, and all the sports his dad plays. I think he looks up to his father and wants to be just like him. Thank goodness he does not want to be like his worry wart mother. [Emoticons] Good luck C.P.

Carolyn, Do you take the Carnitine because you had tests that show you needed it? How long have you been taking it? I ask because I'm hoping my son will do ok on it because his profile has carnitine down to help with the Fatty acid oxidation. What I mean is, I'm going to try carnitine because it will be helpful for something. Not because I want to take a chance on carnitine to reduce vocal tics. (hoping no negitive reactions if his body could use it) If that makes sense. Thanks C.P.

Faith, That's great! I hope you NEVER have to go through anymore then what you have been through now. I agree with Chemar (you know the squeaky wheel gets the oil). I'll leave you with what my son's Rel. Ed teacher always tells the kids. IF WE DON'T ATTEMPT THE RIDICULOUS, GOD WILL NOT DO THE MIRACULOUS. God Bless, C.P.

Chemar, Did you read that book? If so does it have Interstitial Cystitis (IC) or Cytolytic Vaginosis (CV) in it? I have heard of children getting IC and it is sometimes mis-diagnosed as kidney reflux, and some IC patients feel they have a cronic yeast infection. I believe IC does not respond to antibiotics, not positive though. CV is often confused with yeast infections, but I don't remember if children can get CV. I just wanted to mention those. You never know how or why God puts people together. I have a friend who has IC and she just found out her ex-husband's wife has it. It is rare and most Dr. don't know what it is. C.P.

Loren, What did you mean that the Dr's could not diagnose your daughter? Does she have other symtoms besides the yeast? Like does she go to the bathroom a lot? Does it burn when she goes? C.P.

Loren, This lab was done by my son's Intergrative Dr. From what I understand Each person's cells are constantly subjected to free radicals, causing oxidative stress. (air pollution, chemicals, heavy metals, ect...) Free radicals are less hameful with the use of antioxidants. His chart shows he is 69.4% Antioxidant function which is average for a normal healthy person, but she wants him above the 75% because of the TS. C.P.

Just a visual for you all... I'm jumping up and down in my chair my arms are flying all around. I DID IT!!! I FIGURED OUT HOW TO USE THE SMILIES!!! Have to stop now my daughter thinks I won the lottery.

Faith, I'll be the first to admit I'm an amateur, so take this info for what it is worth. My son's chart have cell regulation markers, and he needed mag for immune support. He also has Oxidative damage do to oxidative stress. If mag is vital for cell function, and he needs vit C to repair cellular damage, could this be how the two work well together? It is interesting that his tests show he needs all the vitamins that most TS people find helpful. OK... I welcome all to knock me down a peg, kind of scares me to think I might be understanding some of this. Thanks colleagues, DR. C.P. OOPPS... I mean C.P.

Kitty, OUCH!!! 5x as much. Now I feel bad I suggested it. I'll be praying this works. C.P.

First, welcome Kitty, The Kids calm could well worth a try since your son is so young. It sounds like meny parents are having luck with it for their young children. aj104, I tried bonnies and it did not work, only made things worse. I do believe that was because we used it before we found out about his soy allergy. If the Natural calm is working real well for alot of kids I would say start there. (only because Bonnie's supps don't work for every one) I believe it helped me to clear my thoughts of things being hopeless. C.P.

Thanks for asking that question, I couldn't figure that out either. C.P.

KKver, I did notice an increase with C, but I think it may have been that I gave him too much to start. I was going to give it another try only go with very little. I use KAL (Calcium Citrate) I crush it and he mixes it with the kefir. C.P.

thanks guys, Faith, I'll be praying for you, let us know how your meeting goes. The meeting was to see how he was doing with the weening of the medication. I think they want to make it easy for my son, and also help his new teachers. We all remember all to well how bad it was. (tic wise, grades have always been on the good side) I said a prayer this morning before we left and asked God to open my mouth when needed, and close it when not needed. The friends was the only thing I asked for. I got the feeling they were so glad to hear we were doing everything we could that was in our power to help him. You should have seen their faces when my husband brought up the raw milk. C.P.

Patty, I'm so glad you are having luck with one of those. I hope it is the Natural calm, (only because I would be thinking about the check book) It feels so good to get to a point were you can introduce things, and not feel like everything in the world makes your child tic. C.P.

I can't tell you all how happy I am. The school is so pleased with our son's progress, and they are setting in place so many options for him for next year. He will be in 8th grade, but the county took the 8th form the middle school, and the 9th from the high school, and put them together in an intermediate school. So he has to change schools. They are going to hand schedual his classes, put him with the best team of teachers, and best of all they will make sure he is with his closest friends. (couple other things but I'll keep it short) With 1200 students in just 2 grades I thought they would not do any of this for him. (you know to many kids to worry about) I'm so happy they are doing so much for his transition, and he doesn't even have an IEP or 504 plan. Just wanted to share, I couldn't contain myself. C.P.

Juls, How you decribe your son's TS as mild is very much how I would say my son was when he was around your son's age. It was so mild his tics were like a day, then they would be gone for a long time. I think this is why I never knew he had TS. I think the homeschool is great for your little guy. I really believe my son was so calm at home with me that he never had stress induced tics. Keep up with what your doing, hopfully when your son gets to the preteen/teen years all your hard work will pay off (and some prayer) your son's TS will never be as bad as what mine when through. C.P.

Juls, Welcome! I'm so glad you have shared your story. Carnitine is one of the supps. I will get to just have to go slow. His comprehensive profile shows high Adipate, and carnitine & B2 are options to help. I'm thankful you told us how much he is taking. It really helps me out. My son is 90 lb too, although 13 you have given me some options. I homeschooled my kids, and sometimes I wonder if sending my son to public school last year has so much to do with his stress. I do remember my son would (what I use to call) beat a dead horse. We would have to repeat over and over why we did the things we did. I though back then it was because he liked to hear himself talk. He does not do that anymore thankfully. I didn't know anything about ocd then, and now I don't remember enough to say it was some kind of ocd, I just remember it BUGGED me to no end. So hopefully this will pass with your son too. C.P.