Chemar

san insurance should cover chiro care, tho they sometimes limit how many visits per year NUCCA chiros are especially good as they are very gentle and specialized in cranial chiropracty. they are also real good with kids first visit is usually longer as they take x rays to set a baseline and then do primary manipulations to put the vertebrae back in place. the xray plus their examination will indicate if vertebrae are out after the first visit they usually suggest weekly or fortnightly for a few weeks to keep things aligned monthly "maintenance" visits are a good idea for anyone with tics that can cause continuous spinal misalignment My son had once ticced so bad that his atlas vertebra had moved!!!! and our NUCCA chiro gently moved it back.Much relief of pain for him!

myrose have you done a strep culture at all since this started again a flag just went up when you said she started the confessing/reporting thing

good to hear the salt pool is helping I know how very surprised we were to learn of chlorine's big trigger effect on my son's tics. It was way before I ever found Latitudes/ACN and shortly after he got his dx. He got out of the pool one time and was ticcing real intensely and then broke out into hives!! I started keeping a log of his bf and after pool tics/behavior. It became so clear how much of a trigger it was for him.

((((((myrose)))))) I hope and pray it gets better honestly I dont think it is clearcut that being off the topamax is why the tics have come back there have been major triggers in the form of the head injury, teething, MSG and other chemical intake in the snacks she got. she is stressed, you are stressed and we all know that stress is numero uno tic trigger too because of all those variables there just really is no baseline to be drawn as far as individual triggers go IMO if you were to restart the topamax again, and if the tics immediately wane, then I think that would give indication of its importance (or not) to her I hope the tic tamer arrives quickly and will help praying for you and her

he may well need chiro adjustment . my son has frequently gone "out" on his cervical vertebrae from tics best to choose a NUCCA chiro ( http://www.nucca.org ) rubbing some epsom salts cream in may help to sooth. also soaking a cloth in warm epsom salts water and rest it on the neck

my son does not seem to tic when driving, at least not that I have noticed. he has always ticced less when very focused hubby cant drive anymore as too ill, but I dont recall tics for him driving either

myrose *all* of the above are potential tic triggers so it would be very hard to single anything out IMO, altho teeth stuff and MSG are sure always biggies for my son and the head trauma could likely have set something off too. Did they check her for any signs of concussion? all you can do for now is maybe try to add some good supps, especially the magnesium and wait for things to stabilize again ((((((myrose))))))) so sorry to hear of this set back as you were being so very careful to try to set a baseline. Hope she heals quickly

it really doesn depend on the root cause of the tics if tourette syndrome, then removing a trigger may reduce tics but not necessarily take them away completely Flintstones vitamins are full of artificial stuff so big trigger potential and chlorine is known to trigger tics for many

2 cups epsom salts in tub of warm water, soak approx 15-20 min, is what we have always used my son's chlorine sensitivity is so strong tho that he totally avoids chlorinated pools, and we have shower filters in our home too

Carolyn, my son had anaesthesia for his colonoscopy altho it left him feeling ick, as anaesthetic usually does for most people, he didnt have overly high tic waxing afterward...and he is mega sensitive to all the chemical stuff! He did tic a bit more...but it wasnt extreme and waned fast. the grogginess lasted a while tho

I hope they are starting the antibiotics etc immediately for Lyme left untreated it can begin to cause many serious complications praying for a rapid healing for your son ps there is some helpful info on Lyme at NeuroTalk http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum91.html

Hi my son uses 12-16 gm Inositol for his OCD daily (split into 3 doses) and that is the only dose that works for him so it is very variable. when he was younger 500mg worked best have you tried melatonin for sleep? as it is also part of the serotonin metabolic pathway it is often very beneficial for people with OCD anxiety and insomnia. there is is highly recommended to start at the very lowest dose of 300 MICROgrams and work up only if needed. some people start high on it and find they are edgy and groggy, while other need higher dose. there is also a great product called Natural Calm, which is ionic magnesium citrate. A teaspoon in a cup of warm water at night works wonders to relaxand promote peaceful sleep some people like the herb valerian for sleep but it has an awful smell!! and some dont tolerate it as with all supps, dose and tolerance is trial and error hope that helps and that you find something to promote good zzzzzzs

it's an amino acid why it helps some people for tics and why specifically vocal is not scientifically documented as far as I know here is iHerb's Health Enclyclopedia Info on Carnitine

yes we had it and we were actually rather amazed when we later had blood tests at how accurate the hair analysis was however, some people have been less impressed with their results so not sure if it is related to methodology in samples taken or labs testing etc

sorry Peg but I dont remember the exact dose as it was about 9 years ago.It was a low dose tho, that I do remember

he was given it to try to stop the severe injurious tourettic OCD. it made him very sick, nausea and terrible stomach pains. he was sweating profusely and rapid heart rate. His liver enzymes were up according to blood test. he felt very disorientated too they told us the symptoms would disappear but they did not so after 3 months we said no more. my son does have extreme hypersensitivity to meds, possibly related to his multiple chemical sensitivity as I mentioned above, I know people with Multiple Sclerosis for whom low dose naltrexone has been a life saver so it clearly has benefits there. MS is autoimmune. I have never heard of it being given for tics tho.

Hi Kathy I have always found it best to just let my son know that if he wants to talk...I am here. But never to force the convo on him because yes, drawing attention to the tics can trigger them more however being available for him at all times if he wants to talk about it is essential my son was dx while still in elementary and he decided he wanted to open the discussion on TS with his peers so I helped arrange for him to be able to tell his grade mates about TS, with me then also doing a short talk although it didnt stop all the teasing, it really helped with most of it and most of the kids were very accepting. by middle/highschool he already advocated for himself and still doesnt hesitate to gently but firmly address any negativity toward his tics by explaining what they are so it is a fine line between trying to "ignore" when beneficial to them ie not to keep asking abouit the tics etc yet having them feel the security of being able to open the discussion on it anytime they need to I feel for you ((((Kathy)))) I know the tears I (and he) shed when others (including some adults!) were unkind about his tics....but I see now how he has built character and compassion from it all...he truly did let it make him better not bitter I pray the same for your child.

Melanie I know I likely sound like I harp on about the side effects ....I am not just "anti-med" with no recognition that they do help people as well. My position just comes from being at that point of desperation too and it was in fact my son, then 11, who asked to be allowed to try meds. For us we had meds causing side effects and not much help, beyond the initial phase. when the side effects started, all the docs would do is to try a new med or add on another med to try to deal with the side effects. with more side effects.......... it took a year of going round in circles with meds to realize that for us they were not working worth the side effects they were causing. as many of you know, my son nearly died when they finally put him on zyprexa and it was the final trial at his wellbeing's expense. it wasnt till he was titrated off the meds that we started seeing the full benefits of the diet, supps, acupuncture and transdermal biofeedback resonance therapy he was already getting. I am honestly not trying to suggest that there are not times when meds are needed, nor deny that they do work very well for some people! It's just for some the effectsthey have can be serious. And I dont feel the warnings are clearly given by many attending physicians/pharmacies etc who tend to downplay them IMO Ionly wish I had had someone harping at me to look deeper into the "rare" side effects and be fully informed on potential dangers before agreeing to some of the meds they tried my son on. but as others here have already remarked, this med had a time of helping their kids. and seemingly without bad side effects. I hope that is the case for your child too.

Hi my son has developed tics in areas of irritation...maybe your son scraped his knee during practice? or pulled a muscle/tendon there? another thing that has been noticed by some parents is that their kids may tic more after sports on fields that have been recently pesticided

Hi Kathy I am going to move your post over to our Tourette/tics forum as it will get more relevant replies there rather than here in ADHD my son was on Haldol when first diagnosed and it had very severe side effects for him on the TS forum we discuss many other treatments that may help without the risky side effects we also discuss the many other causes and triggers for tics I have a link in my signature that lists the treatments that helped my son

hi increased prolactin causes breast development this can be a VERY embarrassing side effect of this class of drugs when used in boys!!! that is the mild side the FDA has a black box warning for Risperadal and it has the potential to cause diabetes plus, as myrose mentioned, we now have this alarming report on sudden death, possibly cardiac related, in youths on some of these meds there was a boy in my son's class who nearly died on Risperadal after horrendous side effects boys may be at greater risk than girls when it comes to some of these side effects if you feel you need to use it, miminum dose possible would be wisest IMO

glad to hear it isstill going well myrose

kalik, I have not heard it being taken for tics per se but rather to boost serotonin and so help the comorbid depression/anxiety/OCD. However as we have all learned, what relaxes usually also helps tics so perhaps that is why some use it for tics my son used to take 5 hydroxy tryptophan (5HTP) beneficially. But when he tried it some years later he said it made him feel spaced out and edgy. so we tried tryptophan and he did not like the effect....made him very groggy.

I have been discussing this with my son and he says he can sure see where some tics originate in his jaw area... but what doesnt make sense to either of us ishow this would explain the many triggers, and the waxing waning cycles characteristic of TS with tics coming and going in different parts of the body and with different vocals. how does this theory explain tics like coprolalia and also the OCD behaviors, which clearly respond well to increased serotonin also why would magnesium bring such immediate relief of tics if this is a structural issue. Bonnie Grimaldi's research shows magnesium deficiency is a common denominator for people with TS. for my son just putting his feet in an epsom salts tub brings tic relief!!! anyways, I am sure you are all rolling your eyes at me going on about this already. I just dont like to see false hope held out, and would feel much more comfortable if this was being touted as a way of relieving certain TS tics for some people rather than hyped as the only cause of TS and therefore the only cure when my son saw what the procedure involved his response was that would trigger tics for him! but my hope remains that this will be very very beneficial for all of you who plan to try it and I will be following the development of this theory with interest

we certainly all hope it will be a successful treatment for your child ccc and look forward to hearing your updates nomatter my feelings about what I see as possible hype in claiming a "cure all" ....nothing would please me more than to see another potentially helpful treatment produce positive results !