Chemar

Carolyn I voted a yes for my son who does well on 5HTP with B6 and a no for my husband who has bad reaction to it the side effect my son gets is sleepiness which is good as he takes it in the evening as needed He takes Inositol and methionine daily for serotonin maintenance and the 5HTP only if OCD anxiety depression flare he used to take the 5HTP daily when his OCD was severe 50mg per day seems the right dose for him...any higher and he gets edgy my husband gets edgy and restless sleep on even 50mg

the health stores carry some really good and healthy lip salves and balms...the bee propolis ones are good and so is pure aloe vera gel this could well be what I call a linked TS/OCD tic , where one triggers the other and so a tic becomes OCD or an OCD becomes a tic etc is he taking INOSITOL? or Methionine (or samE ) those can help with OCD and so that may help both are best taken with vitB6 or better yet P5P if that isnt already in your supplements hope that helps (there are also natural scar removers should any occur) so good to hear the L-CARNITINE is helping with the vocal tic!

this is from The Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates http://www.bodyecology.com/06/11/23/myths_..._connection.php

Faith what this report shows is that it isnt just the adjuvants (eg mercury or aluminum or formalin) that are doing the damage but the actual live vaccine itself! from my reading yes, since vaccinations became so plentiful and mandated, there has been a rise in dx of neurological conditions in kids. now...can one say that the vaccine caused this...nope...there isnt enough evidence and there are clearly also other factors at work eg the genetics of susceptible children along with other environmental etc issues BUT that these vaccines are doing harm in susceptible kids is something that I think is a very real possibility...

well....at least this is receiving Headline attention in the UK now....hopefully the story will be picked up by USA media too

good point ortho.....the hot springs that are so very theraputic are also sulfur containing so it makes sense that the sulfate in the epsom salts would also be therapy here re magnesium oxide....from what I have understood...mag oxide is the poorest absorbed form of magnesium intestinally....is this different for dermal absorption as per your post??

Hi Patty I would suggest the spring allergies.....my son is having a flare as well and doc checked him yesterday and found his respiratory allergy indicators high I dont believe yoghurt causes a die off reaction in that way............just do be sure to check the ingredients in the yoghurt to be sure there isnt an offending agent there

Patty you mention yoghurt...have you checked the ingredients on it to be sure there is nothing but yoghurt in it...ie no artificial fillers or color or flavor? it has always been my understanding that it is very important to try to balance calcium and magnesium intake in an approx 2:1 ratio my son has had some muscle tightness, sinus pressure and light headedness lately, all seem related to the very very high pollen etc levels we have here currently due to a drought.

Patty the Epsom Salts bath and the oral intake of magnesium are different IMO the amount of magnesium absorbed thru the skin during the bath does not equate to the amount taken orally and absorbed intestinally into the bloodstream my son takes his daily magnesium supp (balanced always with 2xCalcium ) and takes the epsom salt bath when he needs it...either for aching muscles or to relax, or if tics are in wax mode if he skips a bath, or doesnt take one for a while, that is ok but if he skips his supp for more than one day, we see an increase in tics

Patty.. it really depends on the root cause of the transient and chronic tics and what is triggering them. As the trigger(s) come and goes, so the tics can have the appearance of waxing/waning when in fact it is a clear reaction to the trigger(s) whether environmental, food etc or internal mechanisms (hormones, metabolites, stress, deficiencies etc) Just what makes TS tics wax and wane characteristically is still a subject of research....yes, sometimes we know that this is also a trigger reaction.....but as those dealing with TS know all to well....sometimes it just seems to occur out of nowhere. Faith my son used to have TS/OCD symptoms that were totally debilitating and very severe in that injury sometimes resulted. When he was still on the meds and before, these waxing periods were very scary and he was once hospitalized because of it. since he has been on supps and acupuncture/chiro and had all the yuck eliminated from his diet and yeast cleared etc etc the waxing phases involve simply an increase in tics...........not an alarming on, and it seems to also wane again quickly my son has never had just one tic at a time and so for him waxing and waning is a complex issue where sometimes all will elevate and decline and sometimes it will be a particular tic that waxes and wanes the major difference as I mentioned before is the severity, intensity and duration of waxing...whether for a single tic or for multiple ones.....before we started on the natural treatments, waxing was a time of major stress and anxiety because of how severe the tics were......now it is just a few more sounds or movements and they pass quickly that is about as clearly as I can explain it ........just having lived the before and after....I can assure you the improvement is remarkable! and especially the OCD is really mild.........we have long known that for my son the OCD and tics used to fuel one another, which doesnt happen anymore

Patty when one is dealing with actual TS as opposed to chronic or transient tics, the waxing and waning continues. However, where my son would have long and very intense waxing phases before the supps, afterward the times of waxing have been far less intense, and the actual tics themselves less severe He still tics....we have NOT found a total remission from TS tics........however it is all MUCH less than before he started on the supps, careful diet, etc etc

John it is my understanding that azith works best because it is more effective in destroying the strep, and in addition has the immuno modulating effect that Alison noted

Patty for us the difference when my son started his supps etc was that the frequency and intensity of the waxing periods diminished with tic triggers, there is an almost explosive waxing

(((((Giselle)))))) we have had three days of upped tics here too and I know it is related to our unusually dry conditions (much pollen) as well as brush fires burning a distance from us but near enough to catch that acrid smoke smell deep breath and repeat after me "This too WILL pass!"

Hi Mufan many people do find this sudden switch on of OCD symptoms I am not sure if you have ever heard of PANDAS which is a situation in kids where strep (not just strep throat) can cause a dramatic and sudden onset of OCD and /or tics You may also want to look into Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which is a really effective method for learning coping skills with OCD Qualified psychologists offer this therapy

that is interesting info Kim I guess it may be worth trying my son on krill as well...even tho he cant take regular fishoil supps....but I am always looking for additional ways to help with Crohn's inflammation

Hello Mike and Welcome to Latitudes/ACN so sorry to hear what your little guy and you have been through. yes, it sure sounds like PANDAS I am not knowledgable beyond the basics on PANDAS or PITANDS but we have a number of members here who have a lot of info and experience with PANDAS and so hopefully they will be stopping by soon to give their input If you enter PANDAS in the search box top right of the page here, you should come up with a lot of threads filled with helpful stuff for you Just re the antibiotic...from my understanding the antibiotic being most appreciated by PANDAS parents is azithromycin (zithromax) rather than the penicillins and Keflex, Cephalexin etc...tho some do have success with those but best if others explain as they know personally on this all the best and we look forward to getting to know you and to try to offer support and information for you anytime

thanks for letting us know Carolyn

*sigh* another attempt to whittle away at freedom to heal naturally and effectively! compounding pharmacies provide a very valuable and often life saving function for many patients (and for our pets too!) why on earth would they now want to restrict this service

Dear Patty many of us know exactly how you are feeling now having also been on that roller coaster with still tics waxing and waning despite our best efforts at all the good treatments and changes still................I think you summed it up at the end of your post when you said that is what keeps our eyes always fixed on that light at the end of the tunnel

tarabeara iron deficiency can be detected by blood tests (full panel) and some people do need a trace amount of iron supplement my son has Crohn's Disease related anemia and has to have his gentle iron supplement once a week most people do not need any iron supplement and I agree that for some to supplement with iron can cause health problems....but there are most definitely some who need it

i agree with carolyn there hope the baseball goes well

Hi Spartan Oreck products are usually good tho expensive just a point to note...it isnt the same for everyone, but our family cannot use air ionizers! we all, but especially my son with TS, get negative reactions in interior ionized air we use simple air purifiers with washable filters that clean the air without ionizing it re the cal/mag/zinc combo..............my son used Country Life Target Mins Calcium Magnesium Zinc from iherb.com there are other good ones, but important that the mag should be in forms other than just mag oxide as it isnt well absorbed

ah ok John...a swab can come in negative and yet the blood can show loads of strep antibodies! even if no actual illness is present so just remember that if this was PANDAS testing, a swab is not going to give full results...only for strep throat not PANDAS

Hi John amazing isnt it how doctors shut their minds so often to anything that isnt in their own particular frame of knowledge thank goodness he at least agreed to run some tests for you I am so glad to hear too that you have got the tics into perspective with the rest of life so true how we can let them become our only focus and forget all the great stuff that is still going on keep us posted on test results and progress Cheri