my2sons

For us diet elimination turned out to be the key. We saw great improvement after eliminating dairy, gluten, added sugar, artificial dyes, flavors, and preservatives. We have seen about 95% improvement in tics, ADHD, anxiety, attitude, happiness, etc. And we are only 5 months in. It seems overwhelming and even impossible to get started but once you do it is not so bad. I read where many think they cannot do it because their kid likes wheat and/or dairy too much but you would be surprised how quickly they adapt and even embrace a healthy diet. Those cravings for sugar and the offending foods diminish. Their overall health and immune system improves

My suggestion would be to find an Environmental physician or a Naturopathic provider to take him to to start with. They can really help you get started on a path that can have many roads. There are some tests they can do to look for vitamin / nutrient deficiencies, food sensitivities, candida, celiac, bacteria, etc.

Food was key for us, too. We went gluten, dairy, low sugar, no artificial anything 5 months ago and the change in him has been REMARKABLE! His ADHD and anxiety are non existent, his learning disabilities have improved a lot and his tics are down to 5 or less a day and he is still improving. It does take time. Can take a yeat to two years for complete healing but it is so worth it. We saw an Environmental Allergist in Charleston, SC, Dr. Alan Lieberman. You can google him. Good luck!

Emik, we too have seen improvement with diet eliminations such ss wheat, dairy, vety low sugar and artificial ingredients. We are 5 months in and we are at about 95% improvement. It is a slow and gradual process. We have generally seen a pattern of three steps forward, two steps back with the tics. Stick with it. It will not hurt and will most likely improve overall health. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. My son is such a good eater now. He eats so healthy it amazes other people. Many of the kids at school are anxious to know what weird food he has for lunch each day. This is amusing considering his food is normal home cooked foods like soups, stews, pork chops, chicken, spaghetti, fruits and veggies.

My ds was dx ADHD at 5 yrs. He is now 10. Starting at age 3 he was over the top hyper, had inconsoleable meltdowns. As yhe years progressed he developed sensory issues, night fears, difficulty falling asleep, irratability, Mild OCD, anxiety, social awkwardness, language disability and evetually, tics. We tried meds for a few years with annoying side affects, until he began ticcing. Then we stoped all meds and took him to see an environmental physician. He treated him with nutritional supplementation and diet changes. The biggest changes in his bahavior have come from diet. He no longer needs the supplements. He is on a gluten and dairy free diet, low sugar, no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives diet. He eats about a 80% whole foods diet with a few minimally processed natural food snacks thrown in. It has been 4 months and his tics are at about 97% improvement from where they were, anxiety...gone, social awkwardness...gone, adhd...95% improved, ocd...99% improved, irratability...gone, night fears...98% improved, language problems...about 50% improved. He's happier, more at ease, mor affecionate, and an absolute joy to be around, he listens better, is more agreeable, less argumentative, more respectful. It 's like someone flipped a switch. Now, some of theses behaviors will return if he eats a forbidden good, but ad time goes by, his reactions are less severe and do not last as long.

The health of the gut can have a profound effect on the rest of your body, so yes, your tics can be gut related. Have you tried a GOOD probiotic? Klaire Labs makes some good ones. Also, you could try a diet of fresh fruits and veggies, water and lean proteins (no processed meats, dairy or grains either) for a week or two and see how you feel. If you eat a lot of chemically enhanced food notmally you will feel crummy at first. My children have tics and have responded well to diet changes. I also get muscle twitches when eating gluten/dairy.

I do not have a dx of TS with my son...not to say that it is not TS...his tics are vocal for the most part...but i have heard him tic while sleeping. As Chemar stated though, very diminished.

Removing dairy and gluten, artificial dyes, flavors and preservatives has made a huge difference for us.

Also, i agree with Cara, i suggest a good probiotic and possibly an antifungul like Candida clear or grapefruit seed extract to aid the gut in healing. You need a probootic with about 25 billion live active cultures of multiple types of bacteria.klaire labs had a good one. Now makes candida vlear.

Emik, it' s intetesting that your daughters tics began when she turned 9... my son's tics started days after his 9th b -day and so did his cousins. I have also read of others saying this. Hmm. Our progress with diet and tic improvement has been similar to Cara's but maybe slower and more gradual. But my DS is older so he has had more time to create the gut damage so it makes since it would take longer to heal. I read on the Web where a docyor advised a mom that neurological damage caused by gluten intolerance or celiac takes the longest to heal. It can take a year to 2 years to heal...longer if the damage is really bad. We just hit the 4 month mark and we are at about 95% improvement.

We have done gluten and dairy free, also no preservatives or artificial ingredients. It has been 4 months and we have seen 95% improvement in tics.

It was the same for us as it was with Cara. We went Gluten and casein (dairy) free, low sugar, no preservatives or colors. Has been almost 4 months and he has gradually improved every since. As a matter of fact, tonight was the first time he fell asleep without ticcing since his vocal tics started in January. Bed time has always been his highest tic time. And it's the night before the first day of school. Diet has ddfinetly brought the biggest improvement.

My ds just tested for metals showing only slight elevations in arsenic, aluminum, and nickle. We started chelation with King Chorella. We have seen an additional jump in improvement since beginning the treatment.

A lot of parents with kids with tics see a great deal of improvement in tics with diet modification. I did with my own son. Removed gluten and casein from his diet as well as artificial dyes, flavors, and preservatives and his tics have decreased every since. He went from ticcing all day, every day to about a few times a day and it has only been three months on the diet. I am hopeful we will see complete remission of symptoms in a few months. If not though i am happy where they are now.

Have you tried diet intervention?

A similar thing happened to my ds. We started him on a high dose multi, borage oil, p -5-p, a probiotic and magnesium citrate and a yeast eradicater per our enviro md. We also started him on a gfcf, no cane sugar, no artificial/preservative diet at the same time. We noticed improvement right away with the supplements. After a month or so his improvement stabilized at a certain level (about 75% improvement) . After another month of this i noticed his tics increasing after i gave him his supplements each day so i stopped all of them except the probiotic. I saw another 10% improvement.( I have to add that his multi is iron and copper free.) He stabilized here for a few weeks then we saw another 5% improvement. We started him on king chorella for metals (he was slightly high in arsenic, nickle, aluminum) and a molybdenum supplement as he was deficient in that trace mineral. Since then we have seen another 10% or so in improvement. He ticced maybe 10 times or less all day yesterday. Bed time was always the worst time for him and last night he ticced maybe 3 times in bed. We started him bavk on his regular childrens multi and he seems fine with it. I was thinking it wss maybe diet. With his improved diet - he is a great eater - eats s very good varietyof all healthy goods- maybe his body just does not need high doses of vitamins /supplements anymore. I am so happy yet scared at the same time. I am gluten /casein intolerant. I have read this is higjly genetic. I am hoping that is what was causing ds 's tics/adhd/anxiety and the new diet is working.

Cara, we tried meds and we have tried natural methods. I can atest the meds helpdd his tics for about three weeks and then they came back. In addition they caused depression, irratability, constipation. My Ds still tics but he is so much happier with diet changes and supps.

How do you know is genetic TS though. Both of my children and their cousin, all boys ages 7 to 11, have begun ticcing but there is no family history other than these three now. Their female cousin, age 8, has rheumatoid arthritis and eczema. This all too coincidental to me.

My 9 yr old started ticcing in August. Now my 7 yr old started. I don' t think I can do this. Does anyone else deal wth two ticcing kids? How do you cope? What is goig on? Before my 9 yr old started ticcing i knew very little about tics and thought they were fairly infrequent. How do i have 2 kids with this condition? They also have a cousin who tics. What is happening with our children?

My son had severe vocal tics during school this past year for a time. I know it was disturbing for everyone. The kids are surprisingly very understanding. And the school worked with us any way they could. The teachers watched out for him and told the other kids they would be disciplined if they teased him. Some still did but most were understanding. We considered homeschooling but just are not financially able. Diet has helped a lot to reduce the tics. He still tics but less frequently.

Thanks Chemar!

I read the die off reaction can be pretty severe in some.

Fingers crossed. DS woke up not ticcing this morning. He did tic a few times after he was up and moving but they were mild. He usually starts ticcing as soon as he begins the wake up process. Withheld his supplements all day yesterday. Going to withhold them today too, except for the Candida Clear and the Probiotic. Hope he continues to show improvement today. Thinking of starting the SCD this weekend. Hoping to see even more improvement with that.

Do you have him on any supplements? Or are you doing diet alone? I am wondering if the supplements could now be triggering his tics? That is great about your ds. I truly hope this is the case with mine as well.

Also we have him on allergy injections. He has bad alletgies.the injectiions have helped tremendously with his allergies. Also have to add he was on adhd meds and three allergy meds for three years. We stopped them all a few weeks prior to seeing our environmental MD.