Chemar

HI what was the cognitive behavioral therapy recommended for? If for something like OCD, then yes, I have heard of good results when it is done by the right therapist.......do be warned that there are some questionable therapists too and you certainly want to avoid anyone who does not display a gentle and compasionate nature. it is also best to also follow a good supplement program in conjunction with the CBT If this was recommended for tics I personally would NOT do it.....tics are a neurological phenomenon, whether related to TS or other factors or triggers, and I have heard serious reports of psycological disturbances caused to children when treatment involves supression of their tics, or attempts to "correct" their tics by this kind of methodology.

HI My son is now 14 and his very first tic was eye blinking....from preK years and long before we knew he had TS (diagnosed at 10yo) he also used to roll his eyes. The supplements have helped him greatly. My very sincerest advice to you is to try not to worry and fret......the nature of TS is such that tics come and go and get better and then seem to get worse......but worrying doesnt change a thing......it only makes things harder to cope with. There are NOT always triggers for tics, although some things clearly do trigger them....but you cant always find the exact cause for them as they are, in a person with TS, a part of their neurological makeup. We have found that attempting to keep a healthy diet and eliminating artificial foods and those that we have identified as triggers, as well as avoiding other environmental etc situations (eg dust, mold, chlorine and strong chemicals, pesticides, perfumes etc)......and by using the supplement programs that are recommended for TS.....all this has helped my son go from a VERY severe case of TS to an extremely mild one.....BUT, he does still have TS, and he still has mild tics every day and we have all just learned to accept them and it really has made life easier! Like BiNa, my son is proactive and tells people upfront about his TS and it has helped him make and sustain good friendships and relationships with others. My very warmest thoughts and heartfelt prayers are with you as you walk this path....be encouraged...things do generally get better with time and living with tics is not insurmountable.... TS people are amongst the warmest and most talented on this earth!

Thanks so much for all the wonderful responses.....my son read them today too and was deeply touched! I have asked him to post his essay to share with you and your children. He is at Youth Group tonight, but will post it sometime soon. He has a deep sense of caring for other kids who are living with differences or disabilities etc and longs to help them accept and be accepted.

oops! Forgot to respond re the tea.......although caffeine is generally not recommended for TS, yet my son too finds regular tea very soothing....he likes it with lemon & honey. I am a big tea fan myself, and especially now that their is so much evidence coming forth on the health benefits of both black and green tea.

thanks for the good wishes efgh. I guess if i were honest, I would prefer my son to be free of any problems.....but I guess then we would already be in heaven eh? I really have seen the fact that he has overcome so much, and learned to accept his TS/OCD etc rather than being unhappy about it, this has made him a stronger and caring person. Now, as to the deworming ...... raw pumpin seeds are best...7 each morning before breakfast and chewed very well. If raw ones cant be handled, then the toasted ones are ok.....just take more. I buy mine at the WholeFoods market, but have seen the toasted ones in the snack aisle of most supermarkets. Healthfood stores probably also carry them. My Natural Remedies book recommends they be taken for 10 days each morning. Hope this answers Heather's question too As to candida......the Caprylic Acid needs to be used in conjunction with the special diet to be most effective. The Solaray one is a blend of caprylate from magnesium, calcium and zinc and so is beneficial to tics too. We used it for one month. It is VERY concentrated, slow release and so is not designed for long term use. I still give all of us a 3 day course once a month to keep the yeast at bay, and we try to maintain a diet that prevents their buildup. Daily probiotics are essential....we take ours in the form of pure, natural yoghurt, made by Stoneyfield farms. Making your own yoghurt is also a great source. DONT use the flavored ones from stores.....full of junk! Kefir (again the plain one) is also good Sweeten or flavor with fruit, honey, maple syrup etc.

Hi all I am bursting with joy as my son has just been informed that he has been awarded the Local Hero honor for our county!! He started in 7th grade at public school for the first time on Jan6th, just before we moved to our new home(he has always been in small private church school before) We were all nervous but he quickly settled in and things have been great! They had to write a lifeSkills essay and he chose to write about living with TS. well, the teacher submitted his essay to the county for this Local Hero Award and today she informed him he had won!!!! He will be honored at the school and in local media at the end of this week. WOW!! I am just so delighted and filled with thanksgiving at this recognition. He has had one very uphill road since his diagnosis when he was 10 and has gone from the depths of despair and depression, when his TS and OCD were severe enough to hospitalize him, plus seriously adverse reactions to prescription meds and now, at age 14, is a wonderfully compassionate and sociable person, with a great sense of humor and a remarkable reduction in symptoms thanks to a healthy lifestyle, supplements etc........and here, as the newbie in this school of 2000 kids, in one of the largest counties in central Florida......he gets this kind of recognition. I just had to share this with y'all.....can you tell i am one happy mom

Hi efgh we had a blood test for candida as it can have overgrowth in many parts of the body, not just the digestive tract.....a stool test would only show that from the gut etc. Deworming meds are not IMHO a good thing as they are mainly poisons I prefer pumpkin seeds.....they are tasty and healthy to humans, but get rid of any worms. Eat on an empty stomach(about 7 seeds per day) and chew well. Other good foods to eliminate worms are garlic and a teaspoon of grated carrot&garlic mix eaten on an empty morning stomach is helpful. Also onions, as well as apples,green peppers,peaches,pineapple,pomegranate, sesame seeds, basil and rhubarb. Hot lemon juice is also good The only way to accurately detect worms is by a stool test as far as i know..although anal itching can be a sign of threadworms, which are the most common human worms.

Our friend Ronna has started a thread on the BrainTalk Forum which she is updating as time permits. It is filled with a numerous links to all sorts of great resources. I am posting the link to the thread here as I believe many of you will find it very useful. Keep checking it for updates. Thanks to Ronna for this wealth of information. What a truly generous use of her time........we luv ya Ronna! Here is the link http://neuro-mancer.mgh.harvard.edu/ubb/Fo...TML/005831.html

Hi Claire what an interesting observation! Perhaps keeping your son on a very minimal dose of Melatonin may be the way to go. Have you ever tried Linden Flower tea as a sleep aid. It is supposed to have no side effects.My son likes it sweetened with honey. Also Passiflora(Passion Flower=Grenadella).comes in a capsule made by Solaray. We used it for a while and it worked great but then seemed to start leaving him a little groggy for school. Since we moved to our new home(been here 2 weeks now) I have noticed my son (and all of us) are physically and emotionally in far better shape than in the older, woodframe house. We had found evidence of mold and also suspected the thick pile carpeting etc of problems. Also the house was in a very wooded area with lots of overgrowth and with spanish moss and lichens etc on the trees. The new home was built in 1997, is stucco and the the area is mainly palm and pine trees.... my son has a large, bright and airy room and is sleeping wonderfully plus loving the new school. They had to do a report for LifeSkills on dealing with challenges, and he wrote on living with TS/OCD....well, the teacher was so impressed that it was read out to all the students and my son has been nominated for something called Local Heroes!!!! You can imagine how delighted he was for the recognition, and many of the kids have come to him and said how much they admire his ability to overcome his challenge etc. This is our first ever venture into the public school system and I am just so very pleased that we seem to have struck gold. i was so nervous at first, but he is finding it easy academically... and making friends, especially as it is a short walk from our neighborhood so he is getting to know the other kids too as they all walk or bike there. All in all...a very good move!

Hi there only people who have allergies to bee products should stay away from Royal Jelly. The very best is Bee Alive http://www.beealive.com/ Pantothenic acid (vit B5) is made by numerous reputable companies. We use thge TwinLab brand. I have also heard of the link between bruxism and mercury, however, it is not the only cause for bruxism. In my son's case, he had no elevated mercury in his system, yet had dreadful bruxism till he started on the pantothenic acid.

Hi we are still in the midst of a house move so i havent been around much but wanted to mention here that a holistic doctor once suggested to me that the car environment worsening tics was an electromagnetic phenomenon in a small enclosed metal area. Have no idea how factual this is, but worth a thought!

hi efgh because of our move, my son has started already at a new school. The day he registered, we went to see the school director etc and his counsellor, and gave them his educational evaluations, diagnosis reports etc etc. along with the educational psychologists report on accomodations that he needs at school. They then had a meeting with all of his middle school teachers and informed them. He has got off to a flying start! I really have found that being proactive and letting people know about the TS as well as any other issues is an essential move.......it seems to pave the way and avoid misunderstandings etc. My son also tells other kids about his TS......in fact, today, at his request, the LifeSkills teacher is letting him talk to his class about TS and OCD......it is amazing how other kids take a whole different attitude when they are informed.....sure, there are always creeps who tease etc......but overall we have found that being upfront is a very beneficial thing to do. For my son, a few years ago when he began to be open about his TS, it was very therapeutic!!

Hi Shirley I have certainly heard of others who have combined disorders as you describe. There is a lot of good info here at ACN/Latitudes on all three conditions and the autism and AD(H)D forums at BrainTalk are also very active and helpful You can find them from the main forum index at this link http://neuro-mancer.mgh.harvard.edu/cgi-bi...passCookie=true

Hi Marretts Chlorella is an excellent supplement for mopping up heavy metals especially mercury. It comes in capsule form. It may cause initial nausea and so it is good to start at the lowest dose and work up from there. We are currently moving from a home that has mold in the attic and behind a wall, and other toxic problems. When we moved in 3 years ago, my son developed a seriously injurious tic within days, and had to be hospitalised, Although things have improved enormously thru his supplement/diet regimin plus my attempts to make the home as environmentally fit as possible....still we felt it was causing problems for us healthwise and are leaving.

efgh tryptophan is banned in the USA because of a contamination problem some time ago. that is why people here now use 5HTP, and it actually seems to be the better choice.

Hi efgh echolalia and coprolalia may or may not occur together but there is no predictibility with TS tics......they come and go...some are simple and some complex and the complexity of a tic does not necessarily mean that the TS severity is increasing.....it is far more the frequency and the serious nature that makes certain tics indicative of more severe TS My son's detox involved homeopathic remedies(Antitox series) coupled with colon cleansing formulae made called UltraClear (made by Metagenics) We did the detox series as a family and all benefitted from it.

The occupational therapy is very helpful, but has to be done by a therapist who actually understands SID and does specific therapy to help it. The group we went to were the ones who introduced us to "The Out of Sync Child" book, and followed the guidelines suggested by it's author. We continue the therapy alone now, like the skin brishing etc. and basically have adapted our lifestyle to suit the situation.... I dont feel OT is "mandatory" and it certainly isnt a "cure".....just helpful, especially in identifying the areas that need attention and then teaching one the skills to help them. I dont think one outgrows this as my husband(who has mild TS/OCD etc) still reacts to similar sensory stimuli and so is SID himself at age 57!

I honestly dont know about age of onset for SID. My son seemed to be hypersensitive to everything from birth!! tho we got a formal SID diagnosis when he was 11 I dont see an overlap with OCD tho...at least not the OCD symptoms my son shows....with the SID it is more a sensitivity to sensory stimuli that is marked...certain textures, tastes, smells, and lights and sounds are just not tolerated well, whereas his OCDs fall more into the organizational and "have to do it just right" category. In my son's case, these do not necessarily trigger more tics ( tho they sometimes do) but mostly he just "cant handle" the sensory input and so cuts the labels out of his clothes, wears socks inside out because the seams irritate his toes, HATES perfumes or other strong smells, etc etc sometimes, in the case especially of light and sound, the hypersensitivity can trigger tics too for him. I know other kids and adults who have SID and in many instances, that is the only "problem" for them.......just extremely sensitive to sensory input.

We did a six week OT course and it focussed on all five senses...sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. SID is VERY different from tics......many kids have SID but no tics and some have tics but no SID. However, from my experience, it seems that many kids with neurological disorders also have SID When my son had the OT, his TS was still in very severe form, and he was still on the nasty meds.

I bought the book at Borders but it is also available online. It is impossible to explain the diet "in short" here as it is a very specific program. That is not the only book that details a yeast elimination diet.....I just found it to be the best

We followed the guidelines in that book diet, detox, cleansing etc plus Capryl and probiotics

My son reacts to both high pitched and deep bass tones. I know other TS people have reported the same. This could also be due to the Sensory Integration Dysfunction that so many TSers seem to also have. As to specific supplements....not that I know of, although there are reports that the L-carnitine plus B6/B1/zinc are especially helpful re vocal tics. My son had a course of occupational therapy that was based on Carol Stock Kranowitz's book "The Out Of Sync Child" to help with his generalised sensory integration dysfunction........we found that his "hyperreactivity" to sensory stimuli was much improved after the therapy.

Brewers Yeast is what is used in baking bread and is also an excellent supplement, rich in Vit Bs...IT IS A GOOD YEAST! It is NOT the same as the parasitic yeast, Candida albicans, which can inhabit the digestive tract and other parts of our bodies. Candida is the bad yeast that needs to be eliminated It is incorrect to call it a "yeast free diet" ...it is a yeast eliminating diet...ie it is a diet aimed at killing of the Candida yeast......the diet is based on eliminating foods that the yeast feed on ie alcohol, sugars and excessive starches. There are also other foods that Candida thrives on and these are detailed in the book I mentioned on Braintalk......"the Yeast Syndrome" by John P Trowbridge Caprylic Acid (Capryl by Solaray) is an excellent supplement to take to help eliminate yeast. Many people get Candida yeast overgrowth from antibiotics use, The good bacteria that would ususally fight the candida are killed by the antibiotics and so the yeast takes over. Probiotics are excellent in helping to eradicate yeast overgrowth, and to prevent it from returning. I really recommend that book! I dont believe that "yeast causes tics or allergies etc" BUT the yeast gives off toxins that are very irritating to our bodies and so set the tone for increased tics, allergies, infections, illnesses etc as the yeast are effectively damping down the bodies immune system etc. Also makes one hyper-reactive to things. HTH

Oh Claire I had a nostalgic giggle when i read this post of yours Deja Vu!!!! My son spent over a year sleeping on the floor when the TS initially manifested 4 years ago. I tried mattresses, airbeds etc, but, what he loved best was a thin, hard "futon" and a soft comforter for cover (He still refuses sheets although he now sleeps on his mattress on the floor!....I have it "allergy covered" and have to wash that cover very frequently.) He hates to sleep up high, and says that he gets tangled in sheets etc. On cooler nights he dresses warmer, but still refuses extra covers. I have heard of this from other TS people too! Another one of those unexplained mysteries that probably have some logical basis re neurological stuff I guess I have learned now that I dont try to question or explain these things....hey! if it means he can sleep or whatever else better......I am all for it

Hi Jean and happy New Year to you too. I honestly dont know how to recommend doseage re chlorella, except that I believe 1/2 the adult dose is usually recommended for children under 12. Chlorella does initially cause mild nausea in some people. I assume you are giving it to help re mercury? Also, with B complex....we find the B co can cause constipation and do better as a family by taking a multi with high B and then adding the essential B's individually. However, some people seem to tolerate B complex very well without this side efeect. RE-TEETH GRINDING My son used to have this really badly until we started supplementing with Vit B5(Pantothenic Acid) It is excellent to stop this bruxism and he does not grind at all anymore. We also give him Royal Jelly capsules as this was recommended as being high in general nutrients, especially the B's and very good for the grinding and jaw clenching too.