Chemar

Hi suzs my son cant tolerate Bcomplex so he gets his B's fromhis Jarrow Multi Easy shake, as well as extra B6(P-5-P) and methyl B12, and when needed B5 the best help for vocal tics that we found was L-carnitine. As with all supps, some people react better than others to it

MSG???? hope things calm soon Faith. We have never used NAC so I cant comment on that

Hi suzs good to see you posting my son's problem with increased tics related to metal in his mouth resulted in no braces and for years he only ate with plastic utensils. he seems ok with metal utensils now and thankfully the need for braces is no more as his teeth seemed to have grown out just fine with no orthodontic interference not sure if I mentioned in the PMs that vitamin B5 really helped my son with teeth tics, especially his grinding and snapping tics

Hi and welcome although diet and other factors may contribute as triggers for tics, yet IMO if you have a family history of tics and tourettes, then you are likely seeing genetic TS manifesting, and sometimes it is very hard to pinpoint just what the trigger(s) may be for the genetic "switch on" I personally think it is a combination of things, including internal biological factors eg the hormonal changes at and during puberty, when it seems the tics are usually at their worst. The other factors like vaccines, diet, nutritional deficiencies, candida, strep and other infections etc etc are without a doubt very important in the manifesting of the symptoms. But our own experience has taught me there must be more going on in genetic TS/tic conditions There does not necessarily have to be any co-morbid condition with the tics for a TS diagnosis just an FYI that we have many reports here about fish oil, which is usually an excellent and healthy source of Omega fatty acids, yet seems to trigger tics in some people with TS.My son is one of those. He can eat as much fish as he likes without a problem but if he takes a fishoil supplement his tics immediately begin to wax. You may want to see how your child does without the cod liver oil for a few days. we use flaxseed oil instead it's good that you are looking into all these factors and trying to eliminate triggers. that protocol has really helped my son who also has genetic TS. Our experience has shown tremendous improvement for him but I have also had to accept that he tics. I am just thankful that it is now so mild that it doesnt bother him or us.

when tics reduce after antibiotics it is very likely that they were being *caused* by a microbe I agree you should look into PANDAS (strep) etc Maybe members on our PANDAS forum can provide additional insight as well http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showforum=17

Plumsmart is very good! also, the magnesium citrate in Natural Calm helps too

Hi Richard and welcome just wanted to also leave you the link to our PANDAS forum in case you need it as well. http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showforum=17 my son has genetic Tourette Syndrome and Chrohn's Disease and I have also been reading a lot of info on theory that mycoplasma pneumoniae may trigger some Crohn's onset He also has OCD and has had an aversion to giving blood for a while now so has not been tested for any pneumoniae infection, but he had bloodwork and cultures done when we suspected PANDAS in 2001 and we were told he was -ve Correct supplements and diet have made a world of difference to his condition(s) and he also benefits greatly from acupuncture. we have never used the BonTech supps, but I based my son's initial treatment plan on the old formula that Bonnie had posted about that helped her loved one many years ago, long before she had BonTech. I know magnesium supplementation (oral and transdermal) has been key in reducing my son's tics, and the addition of other supps that he needed helped maintain that and also keep his OCD low and manageable. In the past that was far more bothersome to him than just his tics alone ( I have a thread in my signature link that tells how we started out on a natural treatment plan for him) I think treating both the strep infection as well as any deficiencies is a two pronged plan that can IMO only be beneficial, although you may find less than optimum effects from supps until the strep and pneumoniae is under control. You may also want to look at the theory on PITANDS in addition to the PANDAS component Kim is so right about starting supps low and then working up...also it helps to start individual supps one at a time so you can track progress or adverse reaction and so know which supps are helping and which may be a problem. My son cannot take high Bs in a B complex for example but benefits from some individual Bs and also has all the B's in his multi shake. If he takes B complex it isnt good for him. Also re omega3 from fishoil....he and many kids with TS seem to tic more with fishoil supps(even tho they can eat fish without problem) and so we use flaxseed oil instead those are just examples of individual variations so where most TS kids will do great on the BonTech supps, some may react to one or more of the individual ingredients. But if your child responds well to them, it is a great way to take the problems out of having to find the right combinations hope things start to improve soon for your child.

I dont have the links handy but I know there was info about people on low carb diets suffering more depression likely as a result of the lowered serotonin this caused

Hi Pat I just replied to your PM too I cant comment on amox as we have never used it...my son has a penicillin allergy as long as your child isnt allergic to pen it will hopefully only attack the strep and not aggravate tics hope he recovers quickly

welcome to the forum Bas we look forward to getting to know you and hope we can be of help and also learn from you.

Hi Pat *completely* under control is relative in our case.....I know he still deals with some OCD stuff but honest, compared with what his OCD used to be like....it is like nothing now to us. It used to be very very severe and really disabled him far more than his tics or his Crohn's. on his current program, which in addition to those OCD supps I mentioned above, also includes his daily Jarrow multifood shake and Natural Calm for extra magnesium to control his tics (+ taurine when waxing), flaxseed oil, plus the anti-inflammatory/GIT healing supps he takes for the autoimmune stuff from the Crohn's (boswellin, curcumin (extract from turmeric), DGL-liquorice root, slippery elm and white willow bark) I also cook with a lot of garlic, ginger, flaxseeds, turmeric. I forgot to mention before the daily extra vitamin D that he takes...he really feels that contributes to the overall improvement of his OCD. He hasnt had methionine levels checked but the improvement in his wellbeing when on it is very noticeable. samE is supposed to be the optimum form of methionine but it really is so pricey and he has always seemed to do well on methionine. Altho he takes the inositol,P-5-P and methylB12 daily, he finds he prefers to take the methionine "as needed" when he senses it's time. Now that he is 19yo he really has taken charge of his supps and seems to be very "in tune" with what his system needs and when Interestingly the boswellia is known to not only be a superb anti-inflammatory but also shown good results re OCD so that gives a double bonus I think all of his supps working together with a very healthy diet totally free of processed or additive chemicals has had such a good effect on his entire system that this in turn minimizes the symptoms of his various disorders. that and the fact that we attempt to maintain as stress free an environment as possible

Hi Lynsey substitution is one of the techniques my son learned during Cognitive Behavioral Therapy *really* helped him when he was going thru coprolalia he has developed remarkable ways of coping with his tics in public and even tho he only had a very short period of formal CBT when he was much younger, the coping skills he learned will last a lifetime good for you on helping your kids learn to substitute instead of suppress. SO much better for them as the tic can still release that way without the physical & psychological stress of suppression

Hi Peggy I got your email via latitudes, but it had no return email address so am replying here My son does not have a PANDAS dx but has TS with OCD we did try Luvox and other meds to help but things only got worse. he uses high dose inositol/P-5-P/methylB12 and methionine now and does not have any gas problems with it. some years back, after he was weaned off the meds, adding 50mg 5HTP each evening was the only thing that helped control the OCD that was consuming his life. some people do get edgy on it tho so start low The Natrol brand comes in a tiny capsule so may be easier for your child to swallow. Some people prefer tryptophan to 5HTP and I think that comes in a powder hope that helps

to read the rest of this commentary by Jim Carrey on today's Huffington Post please go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-carrey/t...s_b_189777.html

Melanie I have only heard negative things on HRT re true Tourette tics some report an increase in OCD when this is tried I dont know what techniques they use where you reference, but I would still be very cautious if it were my child as Patty says, TS tics are NOT a habit. they are involuntary neurological reactions Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT is a far better way to go to help teach coping skills for those tics IMHO

lol the humor is that altho I agree Dr Mercola has *some* very good info, I am personally deeply disappointed that he has become so commercialized and alarmist on many issues. I also flat out disagree with some of his stuff so yup...I usually go check out anything he says at my definite "first love" Dr Weil I still get Weil's daily newsletter but long ago unsubscribed to what used to be a good one from Mercola, which has sadly become just another salespitch from him IMO

do ask them to check into possible Crohn's or some form of IBS my son's symptoms started in a similar way and we had almost 2 years of mis-diagnosis so the situation got a lot worse. a correct dx would have saved him a lot of agony and brought faster healing good news is that even the Crohn's has gone into remission for my son with correct diet and supplements let me know if you need more info

do ask them to check into a possible Crohn's or some form of IBS my son's symptoms started in a similar way and we had almost 2 years of mis-diagnosis so the situation got a lot worse good news is that even the Crohn's has gone into remission for my son with correct diet and supplements let me know if you need more info

mrsD just updated a thread at NT on meds for TS/OCD etc with some info on why these drugs may be such a problem for kids http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post498216-8.html also go to the beginning of the thread for more info that she posted re abilify

Hi Dee as far as i know Rice Milk is fine when we did our trial dairy elimination we used goats milk which my son enjoyed. we got it (along with goats milk cheese etc) at Wholefoods or Chamberlins Goats milk is fine when needing to eliminate dairy products

I dont know specifics on DAN docs as we havent ever used one but am interested in what kind of stomach complaints your son is having?

Hi Melanie yes, I mention those additional therapies in my first post on this thread my son has acupuncture, reflexology and biofeedback from the same therapist. these have always been his personal preferred treatments as he finds immediate and long lasting relief we do not do any neurofeedback tho. he also benefits from gentle NUCCA chiropractic and when he was younger he had a series of occupational therapy sessions tohelp with his sensory issues. he learned some good skills from that and still uses them we did CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) for the OCD and the therapist taught him great coping skills do remember my son has genetic Tourette Syndrome with the spectrum of co-morbid disorders that often accompany it. so what works for him may not always work for others. I found I needed to keep tweaking his regimin as he got older and with the various waxing and wanings of his symptoms.....and now that he is a young adult, he does so himself so that his treamtment plan vaies with his immediate needs. The basics remain the same tho.

Hi Wendy if you do a search of other threads here you will find many parents who discovered that their children were making those hmmmm sounds and the eye blinking etc related to allergies. Looking at what your child eats this could very well be a possibility. My son doesnt have dietary allergies, but does have multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) so that chemical food additives are a big trigger for his tics and OCD issues. we dont go near McDonalds, but I think their chicken nuggets may have MSG in them which is a known tic trigger. If you are using strawberry syrup for that milk then it likely has red40 and or other chemical food coloring in it which is another big no no! If you are using Pilsbury toaster strudels, again, those are loaded with artificial coloring!!! however we have many reports here of parents who found dairy intolerance was causing their kids to make the hmmmmm sounds. also many whose kids cannot handle the salicylates found in strawberries and some other fruits. some have also found that gluten intolerance is causing problems for their kids in addition, there are many kids who develop tics and mood/behavior issues from strep infection. A condition known as PANDAS can result. maybe take a look at our PANDAS forum too http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showforum=17 we also have documentation on kids whose tics escalated after vaccinations my suggestion would be to read through past posts here by using the search field for keywords that are relevant to your child and then ask as many questions as you can think of. we have a wonderful membership who are so willing to share their experiences to help others hope you find answers here to help your son too ps I forgot to mention another biggie which is candida albicans, commonly known as "yeast" infection of the GIT. a lot of our kids showed improvement when candida issues dealt with

Hi Wendy not sure if you were trying to add a reply I will be back a bit later to check in again so try without the +quote or "reply button...just use the add reply button at the very bottom of the post

I havent heard of those links to sensory issues but sure know of the dangers of plastics the stores often leave the pallets with water bottles standing outside in the heat another reason we have our own reverse osmosis system and store out water in glass bottles, not plastic