Chemar

mix about half cup epsom in a tiny bit of hot water to make a paste and then blend in with a pure lotion or creme (one that absorbs water is best)

if you are salicylate sensitive you need to eliminate them to see full benefit. my son actually benefits from them so it really is very dependent on individual metabolism/biochemistry I am not sure if you can have testing done to determine sensitivity but an elimination trial would sure show if they are a culprit re your tics

I know nothing of American Ginseng Patty my husband takes Panax Red Ginseng and we dont think it has affected the tics (ie hasnt made them any worse than they have been since the steroid burst) He takes it for stamina and for bladder problems my son tried it but found it aggravated his Crohn's

alcohol is a known tic trigger combining it with clonidine could be really bad for you I agree with Kim. you should consult with your doctor or pharmacist before combining these as the mix really could be very dangerous

PLEASE be very careful of a steroid burst IF your child has TS as this can cause a MAJOR waxing of tics!!!!!!!! steroid burst seems helpful for people with PANDAS but you need to be very very careful with this if there is also TS . I speak from experience as a steroid burst has done what seems to be irreversible damage to my TS husband

Hi and welcome so sorry you are experiencing this intense waxing with your son. For those of us who live with TS in family members...we sure can understand your frustration as often it does seem that altho we are doing everything "right", yet something triggers the waxing when my son has had such intense waxing it is usually exposure to something in diet/environment or an illness (especially anything microbial.) He also always had waxing when teeth were coming out or in strange as it sounds, waxing moon has also always resulted in waxing tics for my son, altho it is much much subdued in the years since we have had him on his natural treatment protocol. This harvest moon time of year has been characteristically worse for him always my son has been thru the "screaming" tics and I know how hard that one is. you mention GABA and serotonin....where GABA is helpful for anxiety etc and serotonin elevation is used to treat OCD, depression etc...these dont have a direct tic reducing effect, altho it may be secondary as when the stress of anxiety, OCD etc are lifted, then often tics wane too. There are a number of supplements like inositol and tryptophan etc that increase serotonin, but again do be careful there as unless your child is known to have low serotonin (usually manifests as OCD, depression etc) then you dont want to supplement to increase it I have a link in my signature on what we have done to help keep his TS/OCD under control (it used to be very very severe and now overall very mild, even when in waxing) hope that helps a bit

http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/10/28/an...ystem/3212.html

bumping up by request

here is a place to start identifying triggers http://latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm you may also consider getting Sheila's book http://www.latitudes.org/book.html if you check the link in my signature you will also find some info on things we have found helpful

sounds like what we call tics and OCD "morphing" into each other this has always been the most bothersome for my son

Hi Misty and welcome I have both husband and son with TS over the years I have learned to act like it doesnt exist *unless THEY* want to talk about it. People with TS find their tics etc get worse when they become aware that others are focusing on it I try to keep their diets and environment as free of their known tic triggers as possible and keep the supplements etc available to help them.

Hi Marie and welcome glad you have ordered Sheila's book as that really does provide so much info that can help you sort through the many things that can cause childhood tics. my son has genetic Tourette Syndrome (see my signature link for what we have done to help him) and we definitely found that cleaning those food additives out of his diet was a primary foundation for everything else to work better. here is that link to our original treatment plan from 7 years ago http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=687 many members here have found that epsom salts baths along with magnesium supplements are a helpful first step in tic reduction. A lot use the Kids Calm version of Natural Calm (cheapest at iherb.com and vitaminshoppe.com) which is ionic magnesium citrate. I know you will find a lot of info here. Here are some helpful threads http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2459 things to also consider are possible "yeast" ie Candida gut infection, heavy metals especially mercury, pyroluria, and also the possibility of any vaccine and microbial impact on the onset of the tics. do also take a look at Sheila's article on tic triggers http://www.latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm hope that helps a bit

yup

interesting myrose our first doc always told him to rinse in shower after the tub but second said to leave the salts on o/n (as with the cream and footbaths) both however said not to use soap after the epsom soaks

hi bmom first my son was "prepped" in that he had resonance biofeedback therapy (along with his acupuncture/reflexology) and was also on some specialized Antitox remedies from the naturopath. then we started chlorella. We were recommended to start at very low dose and then go up, and he took it on alternate days, 3 x week. It was recommended we increase dietary cilantro at that time too, but my son really does not like the taste or the aftertaste so we didnt do much of that. The ALA followed after his test showed his mercury levels were substantially reduced. I honestly dont remember exactly how long we did this but it was a number of months he continued the biofeedback/acupuncture/reflexology and varied antitox remedies throughout, along with daily epsom baths and a lot of RO water its believed my sons high mercury came from my many dental fillings and likely leeched when I was carrying him and then nursing there is a lot more known now on heavy metal chelation, but that is the protocol we followed back then

ALA is excellent but because it crosses the BBB it was recommended to us that it be used last in the chelation process so as not to carry bound metals into the brain

and thank YOU Carole for sharing it here

my son can eat lots of fish without problem but reacts negatively to fish oil supplements with increased tics. I have not tried the salmon oil CP mentioned my son uses flaxseed oil and eats wild Alaskan salmon for his Omega3 (*not* farmed salmon as they add antibiotics and color to their feed)

Hi I believe itis recommended one should wait at least 3 weeks to see effects although for many they become evident within a couple of days

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081022/ap_on_..._food_allergies

detoxing from mercury can sure go a long way to alleviating tics. if it is the primary cause for your tics then they would likely get much better once it is out of your system. If some other root cause for the tics then you may see much relief but not complete remission without also tackling the other issues. If you have TS then it gets more complex than just detoxing

Guy I do think you misunderstood my comment which was not in any way a "censoring". You are very welcome here and free to discuss any and all things related to tics/OCD, whether alternatives or meds. There is absolutely no ban on discussion of medications, and scientific back up info is strongly encouraged! ps just wanted to mention as well that naturopathic and alternative treatments are not all "homeopathy". Homeopathic remedies are very different from nutritional supplements and herbal remedies. Supplementing vitamins, minerals and amino acids, neurotransmitters etc is not in any way the same as the principles employed in homeopathy, where miniscule quantities of substances that would ordinarily cause symptoms are given to alleviate them. Homeopathy also looks at the total constituion of the patient, rather than just specificsymptoms. Also herbology is a totally different branch of naturopathic medicine than homeopathy. Although some of our members here use homeopathic treatments, the vast majority follow nutritional treatment plans with some of us also using alternative/complimantary treatments like acupuncture etc, which again arent "homeopathic".

some people have found relief from eye tics with L-carnitine (some prefer acetyl-L carnitine, my son used regular L0 also we have found the P-5-P form of B6 the best

my son used to have a shower first to clean up and then took his Epsom soak. Its important for the salts to stay on the skin and soap would remove them

some research info gathered by Buster to provide to doubting doctors http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3911 Buster's link to PANDAS summary article http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3980