Chemar

Energy drinks are not a good idea IMHO as they can have ingredients that trigger tics! Some amino acids are helpful for people with TS but others are dopaminergic and so trigger more tics. Also, although B vitamins are good, if he is taking a super multi plus the energy drinks he may be taking in too much and upsetting the balance. The "super" multi may also have stuff in that is contra-indicated for TS as tics are involuntary, not all are preceded by an awareness although some are it is hard for people with TS to control the tics for any length of time, as suppression often results in a bigger burst of tics later

By bookmarking the main board index page, one can then easily click through to the various forums here, and so click back and forth to stay updated http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php

I disagree with guy on clonidine not having potentially troublesome side effects. It made my husband psychotic! People vary in their reactions to meds and so there is no way to generalize that any med may have "least" side effects also, recent studies have linked an increase in schizophrenic symptoms with cannabis use in susceptible individuals so that needs to be something to note

Hi and welcome I also have husband and one son with TS I have a link in my signature below on what has helped my son (hubby has implemented some of these things too) the one dietary change I would absolutely recommend is to eliminate all artificial foods ie coloring, flavoring, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, etc including things like aspartame/Nutrasweet and sucralose/Splenda If your husband has any food allergies or is intolerant to certain food groups then it is wise to remove those, but if you dont notice him ticcing more after eating these then it may be more bother than it is worth, altho doing a food elimination diet can help to determine even subtle intolerances Magnesium supplementation seems to be beneficial for most people with TS, as is getting the right balance of B vitamins My guys like the Natural Calm magnesium and now use Royal Jelly (not the gelatin, the product made by bees) as a major source of their B vitamins as they both found B-complex upsets their systems our admin has written a book that you may find helpful http://www.latitudes.org/book.html and here is also an article she wrote about triggers for tics, based on an informal survey done here http://www.latitudes...ng_triggers.htm do also take a look at our Helpful Threads http://www.latitudes...?showtopic=2459

I posted to another thread on this as well but do just want to mention it here again although fish oil undoubtedly is the best source of omega 3, please do also note that there is a growing amount of anecdotal evidence that for some people who also have Tourette Syndrome, even though they are able to eat fish, something about fish oil supplements seems to greatly trigger their TS tics. my son and husband both experience this and there are many related posts from others about it on our TS forum here, as well as on this forum I forget the threads that have some links to studies on why this may be, especially as many of these people can eat fish without problem, but there does appear to be a genetic basis, and may also be related to the fact that most fish oil is derived from the liver. When I have time, I will try to find those links you also said in a post above So this is just a caution that it should always be remembered that the people represented on these forums may be dealing with more than one health issue and so what works well for some, may not work for others, and may even be detrimental. Fish oil, as beneficial as it is to most people, can be a problem for others! My son uses flaxseed oil and other omega 3 sources very successfully for his anti-inflamm diet I am personally very cautious about calling anyone "the" expert on anything! nomatter how many books they have written or what their credentials are. There is always more to learn and there are always exceptions to the rule IMHO

Hi Hierge sorry but I respectfully disagree my son has Crohn's Disease and uses flaxseeds (and other non fishoil Omega 3 sources) as part of his anti-inflammatory nutritional program with much success what you may not be aware of is that many people who have Tourette Syndrome (as my son and others here do have) cannot tolerate fish oil. It makes them tic more. There are many posts about this here We try to allow people to discuss their opinions and experience openly here, with the absolute understanding that what works for one person may not be suitable for another. One always has to be very aware of the fact that many of the kids represented here may have more than one issue impacting their health and this again makes it risky to suggest that because something works well for some people, that it will therefore be ok for everyone! There are many books around about many things. Just because people state things in books, does not make them THE expert, nor does it mean they know *everything* thank you

Hi Wendy you will find that many of us here have a negative view of many of these drugs as we have seen firsthand the bad side effects they can have I have no personal experience with adderall but I know of some people who actually feel it induced BiPolar type symptoms, so I would personally be very wary of it

Hi Mary we found that increasing omega 3 and adding the herbal supp ginkgo biloba was most helpful. My son has also found that methylB12 helps his focus other supps help too but those are the primary ones that helped his ADD. Studies with Borage oil suggest it is an excellent add supp as well (we had an omega supps that had flax and borage combined) I have heard mixed reports on the Native Remedies products, some people feel they are very beneficial and others feel they did nothing. No personal experience tho

Hi sorry to hear your son is in hospital and hope he will soon be feeling much better i do not shop at Walmart so really do not know their own brand products but basically the only way to totally avoid MSG is to make as much of your own foods as possible and avoid packaged, processed foods with loooong lists of ingredients. if you Google "hidden names for MSG" you will also come up with a lot of info

my husband was punished & ridiculed for his tics, called "habits" and had no name for what he knew was wrong with him but everyone else seemed to feel was just lack of self control yes, tics are sometimes hard to handle, but imagine how much harder it is for the person doing them when they become aware that we are being irritated or frustrated. Plus, reacting to someone's tics can actually make them tic more so I learned early on that I had to keep my reactions to the tics under control! for my son's sake.

Hi Megan we avoid supplemental probiotics and instead use only natural food sources like kefir and plain organic yoghurt. my son always seemed to have issues with any other form of probiotic

Hi and welcome I honestly feel that supplements and diet are very individual specific , apart from cleaning out all the artificial additives, which I feel everyone benefits from! however, it does seem that if one had to single out one supplement that helps most with tics it would be magnesium, which I dont see on your list? many of us find the ionic form found in the natural Calm/kids Calm products work quickly and well, but there are other forums that are also good. Avoid mag oxide as it is so poorly absorbed that it is a waste of money! I have a link in my signature on what has worked for my son over the years (we have been on this journey for 10years and he uses far less supps now than he used to and gets most of what he needs from his diet)

Hi and welcome looks like you are off to a good start to answer your questions It should not as long as it has no additives that may be triggering. Are you using the Lids Calm that is just magnesium? Chlorine is known to be a big tic trigger it cant hurt to eliminate dairy to see if that helps, but is an unnecessary elimination if your child is not reactive to it we use turbinado sugar, honey and maple syrup with no problem Dark choc has health benefits in moderation, provided one gets pure dark without additives Some people are allergic/reactive to soy so that depends. Also would depend on how the soy milk is being flavored...real choc or artificial Probiotics are usually a good idea but I personally feel they should be food sourced rather than supplements ie best to use plain kefir or pure organic yoghurt. They do help with" yeast " ie candida, but are not able on their own to eliminate it sadly Jarrow has discontinued their multi mix They do have a similar pill form but it is high potency and has a lot of additional stuff in it which may be generally good but ...... re Royal Jelly...it is good to add only if no allergy to bee products and primarily as a source of B vitamins and other nutrients. My son is currently using it, along with specialized diet, as his "multi" zinc is very important to get in enough either via diet or supplemental form but if you supplement, be sure to use chelated zinc like the opti by NOW hope that helps...this is based on our perspective so your child's individual needs may differ

Hi Bonnie I really do feel that any plan is very individual specific. as you know, I feel magnesium is a key supp and that keeping diet clean is essential. We may not always immediately see the "evidence" of artificial garbage triggering things but I feel it is a cumulative negative neurotoxin all the rest is dependent on your child's specific needs

have you been giving anything to help with the die off (herx) reaction? Die off toxins are likely what have increased the tics

if you do a search on this forum you will find posts about abilify I would be very wary of it as it is one of the meds that has an FDA black box warning related to the potential severe side effects especially in young people The search should bring up a post by Sheila linking the FDA warning

Hi Emerson including your email in a post on a public forum really is inviting spam! are you sure you want to leave it public like this? I would suggest you edit it out and rather send it to others via PM

Hi CP Her box may be full you can send a PM by clicking the little envelope below her user name on posts or click thru to her profile and then onto Send Message

Hi try to find an Integrative physician (a qualified MD who has also specialized in alternative medicine) They do exist there as I had one when I lived in London during the 70s/80s I dont know if you have any DAN doctors but they are also up on alternatives, as are naturopaths and environmental physicians Bonnie's supplements are primarily for Tourette Syndrome Your docotr's attitude is so closed....my son suffered with severe OCD and the so called tested and approved drigs only made things far worse for him! since we have been using natural supplements for the OCD past 10 years there has been remarkable improvement!

Hi I dont know if we have other members in your area who can give personal recommendations but here is our pinned thread on Finding Medical Help http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=565 you can also Google DAN doctors for your area as often there are local databases hopefully someone will be along soon who may have experience in your area. ( I am going to remove the duplicate of this post that you made on our Helpful Threads as that is just for links rather than questions)

Hi and welcome some people do great on Bonnie's supps...tho some just dont handle them so it is trial and error. They really are very helpful if tolerated. I based my son's supps on her program, but tweaked to fit his specific needs....see link in my signature below we found L-carnitine, and amino acid, very helpful for vocal tics, and magnesium by far the most beneficial supp for tics in general

Hi remember you can also see an Integrative MD, environmental physician or even a D.O. and they would likely be covered by insurance! sorry if you have already posted this and I missed it, but do you have an actual diagnosis for your son?

yes, new carpeting is considered a vary big tic trigger!! we have a number of threads here about it. One parent even had all the carpeting removed because it was so bad!! There are a number of chemical factors in the new carpet itself and adhesives used when laying it that cause this. I believe that formaldehyde is one of the biggest problems in that it vaporizes and so is being breathed in continuously ps new paint and woodwork can have a similar effect as can a new motor vehicle! all chemical related

? did you mean to post a link? but yes, there has been discussion that Mycoplasma, as well as many other sources of infection, can be one of the many triggers that exacerbate TS symptoms in those with the susceptibility/genetic predisposition from my understanding tho, a large % of the population has been exposed to mycoplasma and so will show antibodies to it when tested, without meaning they have active infection

seams are known to be a big issue for people with sensory integration dysfunction (aka sensory processing disorder) which many kids with neurological issues have that, along with those labels, plus the texture of some fabrics can be very irritating to someone with SID! since my son had occupational therapy when younger, and learned a lot of self help techniques, he seems not to be as bothered by it a good book and website is The Out Of Sync Child http://www.out-of-sync-child.com/