Chemar

I use Hain Sea Salt (uniodised)

this is what iHerb says re the correct doseage for DHEA A typical therapeutic dosage of DHEA is 50 to 200 mg daily, although some studies used dosages above and below this range. . Physicians sometimes check DHEA levels and adjust the daily dose to achieve blood levels of 20 to 30 nmol/L. being a hormone, you may notice a reaction to dramatically stopping it after taking such a higher dose for a while, and so you may want to just stick with a lower dose of say 50 or 100mg a day....... I always try to start a supp at the lowest dose and then move up gradually if necessary.....it is amazing how often the minimum dose does the job!

hi jujubean and welcome that is a tough one ! perhaps it would be a good idea for your Dad to carry a note with him, preferably signed by his doctor, explaining his OCD and the fact that his current medication makes it more intense. That way, should an incident arise, the note can be produced for verification so that no one gets upset by his actions. there are some good websites about OCD that can give you the basics so you can help your dad to understand it too. this is the one from the NIMH http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocd.cfm#ocd1 There is also a very active OCD forum at BrainTalk http://neuro-mancer.mgh.harvard.edu/cgi-bi...er=68&SUBMIT=Go BTW, there is a really great website for TSers that has a good focus for teens it is called Life's a Twitch, and Dr Dunc has TS himself and is a really nice guy who emails you back if you contact him. He has good info on OCD too http://www.lifesatwitch.com (I just checked and it looks like the site is down, but do keep trying as it is a special place) I am so glad you have found Latitudes, as it is a really great place to share info and experiences and with many caring people. Please stay in touch with us. I hope your dad makes a speedy recovery. He is blessed to have such a caring child to look out for him.

with pleasure Ronna

Hi Searching and welcome! My son had extremely troublesome OCD and has found the MOST benefit from 5HTP He is 14yo, and weighs about 145lb so that is a factor in doseage. He takes only 50mg 5HTP at night...this BTW is the recommended doseage on the bottle. i have heard of some who take more, but we started at the single dose and it had such a dramatic effect that their was no need to increase. He also takes St John's Wort (one capsule, 300mg=9mg hypericin) in the mornings We do this combination as that was our physician's recommendation...but, especially as you are taking a higher dose of 5HTP, you want to be v ery careful as you can spike seratonin too high and that can bring a whole bunch of new problems. That is why one should NEVER take 5HTP or SJW when on precription meds like the SSRIs(paxil, prozac,zoloft,luvox etc) here is the iHerb info on 5HTP...as you will see, they suggest 100-300mg per day...so you fall into their recommended range http://community.healthgate.com/GetContent...d=/tnp/pg000141 and St John's Wort http://community.healthgate.com/GetContent...d=/tnp/pg000919 I dont give my son DHEA only because I avoid giving him hormones because of his youth and puberty...so I dont want to mess with his endocrine system. I have heard it is good for depression, but havent heard reports re OCD for it Here is the iHerb info http://community.healthgate.com/GetContent...d=/tnp/pg000497 He takes 500mg Insositol daily too...it is the twinLabs brand enhanced with VitB6 I know Bonnie also recommends Inositol for OCD Here's the iHerb link http://community.healthgate.com/GetContent...d=/tnp/pg000671 We recently added GABA, as, although it isnt specifically recommended for OCD, it does help re anxiety he takes the NOW brand, 500mg http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/subs...5,10027,00.html I also recommend Methionine (also comes as SAM-e, but this can be pricey) My son takes 500mg, only when needed(which these days is hardly ever ) along with B6 and B12, which must be taken with it It is recommended for depression and mood swings. I should point out that in conjunction to these, my son also takes a bunch of other supps that are recommended for Tourette Syndrome and general health and immune system boosting. All the best to you...keep us posted on how you are doing........by the way...the iHerb encyclopedia of supps and conditions is an EXCELLENT resource http://www.iherb.com/health.html

Claire did you see those interesting links that chagitb posted on that complementary treatments thread on the braintalk ts forum after you posted about the photosensitivity. Certainly supports a lot of what you notice with your son

that is where the porcelain coated stuff is useful efgh...both the pans and baking sheets dont have a sticking problem.

Hi again the fungus on food is usually penicillin type, not candida. Still nasty, but a different nasty! I toast bread in an electric toaster and use copper bottomed stainless steel pots and pans. I also have porcelain coated pans and baking sheets that are non-stick. My baking grilling etc stuff is ovenproof glass. I use a mix of butter and olive oil to coat. Wooden cutting boards are my choice and I scrub them often with hot soapy water. I NEVER cut meat or poultry on them tho....i do that on a square glass plate

Hi efgh my naturopath advised us to stay away from non-stick coated cookware as they do apparantly "give off" stuff. I know there was a recent health alert on this somewhere and i will post it when I locate it. I use only stainless steel cookware and utensils. I also dont use aluminum foil, or anything else with aluminum in it, and also try to stay away from cling wrap etc. I have no firm evidence on this avoidance...just guidelines by the health "experts" we have consulted along with personal preference. Also, just a note on yoghurt...it is my understanding that, because of the lactobacillus & acidophilus cultures, yoghurt is ok even for people who avoid dairy. You may want to check me on this...but I do have a friend that is dairy free, yet can eat yoghurt without problem

Hi Claire thankfully the PassiFlora from Solaray at WholeFoods is pure passion flower and not mixed with anything else.....350mg per capsule. Ever since my son started the 5HTP at dinner time, he just doesnt seem to need anything else. Occasionally, he will ask for some chamomille-honey tea. I guess his system just needed the seratonin elevation in the form that 5HTP produces it. remember that he also takes the 300mcg St John's Wort in the mornings , so there is a cumulative seratonin buildup. Also, because of the other supps he takes (including mag/zinc/cal and separate taurate...I guess all these things have an overall effect. Still, it is definitey the 5HTP that gets him drowsy enough to sleep at night..and of course, as i mentioned before, my husband cant take it, but takes 600mcg SJW at night and finds that helpful. all so uniquely made, arent we

Jean I still believe the best and safest probiotic is natural yoghurt...we use Stonyfield Farms...it has more than SIX active cultures that cover a wide range of the spectrum. You can flavor it yourself by adding honey, maple syrup, fruit , cereal etc.

Feather pillows are known to make allergies and asthma WORSE we only use hypoallergenic cotton/polyester fill pillows

monkeygirl.....it is a great pleasure to read your posts you have a great attitude and are clearly very talented. My son is 14 and also very musical along with a bunch more special talents and a really great sense of humor plus a deeply caring nature...he firmly believes his positive, upbeat attitude has helped him most to live with Ts/OCD......when he went on Haldol 4 yrs ago (ugh!!!) it robbed him of those traits and really zombied him, along with a bunch of other nasty side effects...he HATED it and came off meds after the docs had experimented with a few others and he just went from bad to worse! Since being off meds, on supplements and mostly, just "moving on" he is doing wonderfully academically, socially and in all the areas of life that matter to him. He will be delighted to read your posts when he gets in later.

efgh I cant comment on asthma as we dont deal with that, but my son's snoring and stuffiness diminished drastically with the specialized cooton/polyester covers and frequent bedding laundry, plus other anti-dust mite measures that we took for his room. We initially had a complimentary "breathe-right" pillow cover and he sweated and slept horribly with it...it had the plastic inner lining......after that, I checked into the all cotton/polyester ones and am very satisfied.

Claire, yes, all those are available at WholeFoods. Keeping your family in my prayers...for a speedy recovery for your son, for rest and strength for you, and for your husband too...that he will be at peace knowing you are following good treatments for your son. it really does sound like a food reaction to me. much love Cheri

efgh my mattress and pillow guards are the pure cotton weave/polyester blend that Claire mentioned. Polyurethane, being plastic, gives off stuff, as do all plastics. Also, it would, IMHO, cause sweating/overheating. My naturopath is very against all plastics, and even doesnt like that my son uses plastic utensils, but, as metal sets off his bruxism, we had to make a choice. I have no knowledge of plastics re tics, but as a rule would not want to use them unless necessary and certainly not to sleep with. I would return those polyurethane containing ones and request only the tight cotton weave/polyester. That will also eliminate the noise from the plastic, and it is much easier to wash the plain ones.

ooooooh! I just noticed your post on the fact that there is polyurethane???? My naturopath would go apoplectic at that!

efgh I only use a mattress cover and one for the pillow......they are very soft and dont make a noise........ I use cotton duvet covers for the comforter and change them often and also wash the comforter frequently.......my son refuses a top sheet so he just has a fitted sheet...again frequently washed. The comforter itself is very thin (all my son will tolerate....has to be ultralight bedding) and it is made of hypoallergenic material, as is his pillow. he has a futon style mattress, and box spring base, flat on the floor. (ie no bedframe.....he hates to be up high when asleep, and this method also prevents the usual dustbunnies from accumulating under the bed)

Hi Claire so sorry your little guy is going thru so much! Do reassure your husband that good supps cannot make anyone that sick. It is possible that your son is having a detox reaction with yeast die off if you are treating that?? It really does sound more like a "bug" to me....there is a lot of it going round (we call it change of season flu) and i had my son home with 101 deg fever,nausea etc last week I must also concur that we have had situations where we have had one family member get sick from seafood while the others are ok.......crab is very rich and it may just have been a combo of that plus the mega wheat overload??? all this is guesswork.......thankfully your doc will be in tomorrow and will hopefully have clearer answers big hugs to you and your son

I think the darkness is something that is "programmed" into our systems for sleep....so I am not too sure whether your son,s need is anything specific to the TS or if his sleep requirements within his body are such that he is sensitive to light.....which would be "normal" based on the pineal/melatonin set up. I do know that, from the anecdotal evidence, it seems as if it is a generalised trait that people with TS do struggle to get to sleep and then to maintain deep sleep.

hi efgh interestingly, the natural melatonin that our pineal glands produce is ONLY secreted correctly in total darkness. As soon as there is light, even if we are asleep, the release of melatonin stops and this can sometimes cause us to wake up and then struggle to get back to sleep. My son however likes to have a blue nightlight on....I use mini blue Christmas lightbulbs in a heavily shaded nightlight so that it gives only a very soft blue glow....dont ask me why, but this is a "must" for my son....for him, if the room is totally dark, he just cant sleep

Hi patkay has started a thread on BrainTalk on Complementary(Alternative) treatments that have WORKED... here is a chance to pass on the good stuff that so many here have found to work and help others learn more about natural treatments the thread on BrainTalk is http://neuro-mancer.mgh.harvard.edu/ubb/Fo...TML/005871.html

What would we do without hope! I can clearly recall those early days when I was in such despair over what was happening to my son, and torturing myself over what I could have done to prevent it.....I too had been very nauseous thruout that pregnancy and he was late, so the OB insisted on inducing birth....OH MY! When his tics and OCD started, I went thru such a time of self recrimination, blaming myself for everything and feeling so hopeless for my dear son! Then, after being literally bullied by the doctors to start him on the meds, when he only got worse and then developed all the serious side effects....more guilt and depression ! But, thanks be to God, the light was shining at the end of the tunnel and, after so much trial and error..we relied on MUCH prayer and Hope....... he came off the meds,started the supplements and dietary changes etc.....and made the determined effort to meet the challenge of TS......... and look at where we are now..... On that Local Hero Award cerificate that my son got there is a quote that reads: "Courage is not the lack of fear. It is acting in spite of it"

Only very good feelings Heather

???not sure why that last post of mine came out anonymously ??? Sorry about that.