Pilbara

So lovely to hear this. We have a little girl aged 5 from our school currently fighting Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. It just breaks my heart that so many parents are dealing with this life and death prognosis of cancer. I don't know how the parents cope. I know I struggled when my son first developed tics and how devastated I was. It is nothing compared to the heart breaking news that your child has cancer. Great to hear so much money was raised, his school should be extremely proud. Hopefully they find a cure to this curse on children's health.

Does seem to be changing things quite fast. I think it took my son a month or so before I noticed any changes and it was a slow reduction to the tics, not an instant fix. He still has minor tics, but we are extremely happy with where is and know that the supplements do have a positive impact for him.

Teamyoung, I think it is great that your Naturopath is looking into this. I believe this is an evolving area of practice that is very exciting. Neurotransmitters do evolve with the renewing of synapsis (might have spelt that incorrectly). Google the Walsh Institute, Bill Walsh's book on Biochemistry and Nutrient Therapy is very exciting, but a very difficult book to read. Although not purely focused on TS, the comorbid conditions are definitely included and it all occurs in the same part of the brain, so I found it very insightful. It also gave me great hope about the evolution of medicine and I hope many more practitioners start to see nutrients as an essential part of treatment for any disorder. Hopefully you will keep us updated on your results and the recommended plan of action, I'll be very interested for sure.

Hope, I'm sure most of us understand the wish that it would just go away, we totally get what you mean. I'm sure we all hoped the same, I certainly did. But now we are over the 12 month mark and I'm can easily say my son has Tourette's, because really nothing has changed from before. My son also use to chew holes in his clothes, back when we thought it was a habit, he has gone through the stuttering, yelping, various head jerks, nods and turns. Lots of different motor and vocal tics that come and go. I'm sure you have already read a lot on this site that will be so useful, but getting the necessary testing done will help take the guess work out of what you are doing and ensure you target any deficiencies you son may have. I also strongly recommend Sheila Rogers Book "Natural Treatment to Tics and Tourette's" (hope that is correct), that book gave me so much hope when you read peoples success stories. Plus it will help you to understand the number of possible triggers you need to consider. I'm not using an Environmental Doctor at the moment as we are having good success just with a Naturopath. We also go to the regular sessions with a Chiropractor which does provide a good result for us. After one of the Chiropractors made the comment about my son's birth trauma, I've been investigating this more and after reading older posts from Chemar, I'm going to try Craniosacral Therapy in May. Welcome to the forum.

For us, I'd say it took quite a few months to see measurable improvement. But I think it takes time for the body to start to absorb the nutrients, we are also detoxing him from Aluminium very slowly. From the time when we first noticed the tics, for the following 6 months they were at their worse. Since then it has been on a gentle downward slope and at around 10 months it is was my son's first period of being totally tic free, which lasted around 2-3 weeks. He still has both vocal and motor tics but they are not relentless like they use to be. He is really accepting of them and if anyone asked he replies "they are just my noises" or "that just what my body does". But for the most no-one notices them. He's in a good place and I could not be happier with his progress.

My son has also gone through the tic that you have described, plus a violent back and forth motion and a right side turn. I found these tics very difficult to watch. I do take him to the chiropractor weekly initially because I was so concerned what these tics were doing to his neck. We followed a lot of advice from this forum and he is on a supplement routine which has provided dramatic improvement. Tics are still there and they come and go, but nothing as bad as the neck/head ones. I have noticed that since we ceased our Chiropractor visits through the Christmas period, the tics increased in frequency. We are just getting back to regular visits and I do think they make a difference. Chiropractors are not like they use to be, I'm very surprised that all but 1 that rotate through our Practice, follow very alternative routes. But follow the advice you will read in this forum and there are lots of positive improvements. I for one am very thankful for all those that contribute to this site. Good luck.

I can't comment on the particular recommendations that you have been given. Just know that the needs of every child are different, it's also a little trial and error. Importantly there are no quick fixes. It takes time for any supplements to work. I don't understand your particular items, but the brain/gut connection is very important for a whole range of health issues. I presume this is the focus from your doctor. Make sure you also consider any environmental triggers, just in case they may still be present. Just give it some time and then keep reviewing your progress and if needed you can look at other things that may be required. There may be other nutritional items that benefit tics, but I don't want to confuse you or have you doubt what has currently been recommended. The increase in tics may simply be the peaking of a waxing period, try not to get frustrated because things seem to be getting worse. It's to soon to see any benefit yet, so hang in there.

It is very hard to get young children to swallow pills, I tried everything I could find on the internet without any success. My son's supplements are in powder form, so their are options out there. I work with a Naturopath, I think it helps us find the best brands for him to take. The only tablet he takes is to detox his body from Aluminium. I crush it up and add it to his supplement drinks. With food although we have not had to make dramatic changes, there are certainly foods he is no longer able to have (2 minute noodles as an example). I try to change one thing for another, so I found a noddle that has no additives and use broth as the flavour. On other occasions such, like with MSG, it's an absolute no and we talk about his tics (which he calls his "ah ah" sounds) and how this food choice will make it worse and is he willing to have that happen. I give him the choice after giving him the information about consequences. Guess they have got to learn to make choices themselves and gives them a sense of power. Have you confirmed that the food group you are eliminating is required? My son has no specific allergies, but there are food triggers. If I was not getting results with his supplements and other changes in the environment, then I would go back to looking for intolerances. There are also other types of diet such as the rotation diet to look at if taking to much away to fast is not achievable. I did find that it takes a few months for the supplements to start having an impact. Your on the right track, so hang in there. Hope you get some positive results with your son.

Max-Bar If you think heavy metals may be an issue for son, then the best place to start is with a hair analysis. My son proved to be toxic in Aluminium, that in itself lodges in the brain and central nervous system. Aluminium is everywhere from our water supply to cooking appliances, personal care products, food storage, it's the most heavily used metal on earth. If you have gone through this forum, you will find a lot of children with tics also have an inability to cleanse their system from heavy metals due to low glutathione levels. For us, we have had to carefully consider all sources of exposure and either removed or controlled them as much as possible. Epsom salt baths help and my son has been taking Chelatox for the past 6 months. In any detoxing you need to go slow and steady, you want to remove it slowly in order to allow the body to rid itself of it and not cause more damage in the process. Lots of information on the internet about detoxing, so do your research. Rowing Mom has said a lot of what you need to know. I've been lucky and not had to be so extreme with diet, however my son is TS only and has shown no reactions to foods. I personally follow Paleo myself which does tend to flow onto my children. I think we are fairly luck in Australia in that we don't have so many GMO foods, but I am concerned about food quality and buy organic where possible and all our meat is grass fed. Supplement wise my son takes a good quality Probiotic with 4 strains, minerals, a multi, liver and bowel tonic (from herbalist), Magnesium/Taurine in his CalmX, a powder called Gut Health and Omega 3. Everything should be tailored to your child's needs and no two children seem to be on the same routine. What I do find is that when he is not on his supplements the tics increase once his stores start to deplete, so I know everything that he is taking is really helping. Just reading under Rowingmon's post the issues her child has gone through. I just want to say, how amazing it is to read this information and know that her child is currently symptom free. It just gives you so much encouragement that we are on the right track.

I think I am having wonderful success with my son's tics. The worse he has been in when I started seeking help and information about his tics which is now 12 months ago. Through the information and support in the TS community and following their advice, my son has been detoxing from heavy metals and on a program of supplementations. He has continued to get better and his tics are at an absolute minimum and most people don't know he has them. He does meet the criteria for TS with both verbal and motor tics now, but the tics are only a few times a day and mostly I'm the only one who is familiar and notices them. So I would class my son as very mild, he does a hand clap, has a breathing tic and his verbal is a "w" sound. They probably only occur between 5-10 times a day, His improvement has been amazing so have hope. The stories of the people in this forum who have had success is inspirational and is the reason I went the alternative route. Best thing I've ever done.

You will probably need to look into other supplements on top on Magnesium. Best to start with a Naturopath who can have a hair analysis and blood tests done to determine nutrient levels. I think it is best to get assistance rather than guessing amounts to give a child. My son has had tics for 11 months now, so I guess we are closer to getting a TS diagnosis. However when he takes his supplements they are down to an absolute minimum. But when he refuses to take them the tics normally return after 2 weeks when his nutritional stores deplete.

Just a note on supplements, there are good and bad ones out there. Same with probiotics, you should look for a high grade with around 30 billion strains. I've tried several brands before finding one that totally dissolves in water, so I can put it in anything. Great to see some results from the blood work, our members in PANDAS section will be so useful for guiding you through this. I'm glad your not giving up, supplements in my experience have been very useful and I've worked with a Naturopath to tailor a regime for my son which is working. It may be a giant puzzle, but so worth the journey. Good luck and your in the right place to help find answers.

We had the same thing with my son's BMX racing. Only when he had his helmet on would he do a continual head turn to the right and during the race, I always knew where he was on the track due to his yelping sounds. How he ever managed to finish 3rd overall in his age group was beyond me. I'm proud that he kept going and never lets his embarrassment or tics get in the way of what he loves to do. Apparently some kids have the opposite effect and are so focused on their activity that their tics reduce. Now that his tics are minimal, I'll be interested to see if the tics return in intensity once the race season starts again.

At a recent doctors visit I was given a prescript for pain. I gave it back and said, perhaps it is better to wait for test results so we are not guessing. I think I have lost faith in what doctors actually do. No longer do they explore the cause of illness, but just hand out prescripts without any consequence or consideration for the drugs they are prescribing. It is through my son's tics, which lead me to this forum and other sites, that has opened my eyes to alternative view points. I now always search for causes, not look to supress symptoms. What I'm also seeing is a mental shift. No longer do we accept what we are told, but we are open to exploring other explanations. Not only do I see this in this forum but through a wide range of other diseases/disorders. I've moved to a Paleo lifestyle through choice after much research into the effect of foods, and I've come across many who suffer a wide range of health/neurological disorders who are challenging traditional medical practice and finding relief through their own choices. After reading Dr Bill Walsh's book on Biochemistry and the brain, it's encouraging to see practitioners throughout the world now training in his approach to balancing neurological disorders through nutrition and minimal drugs. I am hopeful that the medical/psychiatric professional will change.

I'm sure my son was born constipated. We use a bowel and liver tonic that his naturopath has made up for us. He gets 1ml a day in juice with his other supplements. Now he goes daily and since we have started working on his gut and bowel issues, it is having a very positive effect on reducing his tics. The brain gut connection I guess.

My son has been having multiple vocal and motor tics for the last 9 months, started when he was 7 years of age. He has had so many - hard eye blinking, eyebrow dance, face grimace, shoulder shrug, head whip (up and down), rapid head turn to the right, jutting the chin out, hand clapping - vocals he has had a high pitched yelping (his most consistent tic), stuttering, word repeat (says though, the, oh cool). They have all come and gone. Right now his tics are very minor, we have just had a period of 2 weeks with no tics at all. But in the last few days a fast head shake appeared, but it is so minor. I'm thinking it is the candy canes kids have been giving him at school (corn syrup appears to be one of his triggers). With the course of tics they tend to start mild, increase in severity and then reduce or disappear. Some tics will last longer than others. The journey that every child takes cannot be compared to another, nor can any doctor predict the outcome for your son. It may get worse, but it may not as well, there is just no way of telling. One day it could just stop as well. Tourette's is just a label attached to tics that go over 12 months. I don't worry about the name, I just worry about finding and reducing triggers. The information in this forum is awesome and I highly recommend Sheila Rogers book "Natural Alternatives to Tics and Tourette's". For us we have worked with a Naturopath to get this body as healthy as possible. We discovered he is extremely high in Aluminium (you will find a lot of kids with tics may have high levels of heavy metals in their system), low in zinc. Also looking at gut issues (google brain/gut connection), which I think it really helping. Since working with the Naturopath, I think it is why he is now in such a good place with his tics. Other things I have done is gone chemical free in the home, moved to more organic meat and vegetables/fruit, bought air purifiers and made some diet changes based on observable triggers, for us artificial flavouring and corn syrup are the major ones, so I read lots of labels. You have to play detective, but it is so well worth it. I know you can feel helpless as there is no magic cure for tics. But looking for trigger will give you something to focus on and I can at least say they have made a difference for my son. I found this site helpful just to provide some positive information from people who have gone through Tourette's. You can so easily get caught up in the worse case scenario and it may never happen. After being in the place of panic and tears, I'm now very accepting of what may happen for my son. I'm thankful that it is only tics, when I think about some mothers who are going through far harder things with their children, we are very lucky. It will be a struggle at times, even emotional, but I hold onto the statistics that the long term outcome is certainly in their favour. I can also say that I am thankful for my son's tics. Never would I have learnt so much about our food and our environment and be willing to make changes. It has been an eye opener that has certainly changed my life for the better and my whole family has benefitted. Hope this gives you some hope that it is possible for tics to improve. Feel free to PM me and ask any questions, it was not so long ago that I was where you are now.

Firstly we all know how your are feeling, we have all been right where you are now. It's hard not to question yourself, but trust your guts always as you start on this journey. Your will find that you will become more knowledgeable than the doctors. The information and people in here are invaluable and will certainly help you start checking things off and explore all options. The frustrating thing with tics is that there is just no way of knowing if it will be TS or not, you just have to wait for the first 12 months to pass. My son has had multiple motor and vocal tics for the last 9 months. I followed the advice in this forum and the ACN site. Sheila Rogers book "Natural Treatment to Tics and Tourette's" has been my go to resource. Currently I'm working with an Integrated medical practice that has Naturopath as my primary worker. We have ruled out PANDAS, but we know he has high aluminium in his system which lodges in the brain and central nervous system. This has inhibited other nutrients being absorbed into his body. We have been detoxing him slowly over the last 4 months, working on gut repair and bringing up nutrients and mineral. I also went chemical free in the home and made some minor dietary changes dependent upon what seemed to heighten his tics. Anxiety is very much tied up with my son's tics. I am happy to say that right now there are no vocal tics and motor tics are only very occasional. He still has not had a day that I could say that he has not displayed some tic but he is in a really good place right now and really it's probably only me that notices the occasional tic. I know this may or may not change, we just have to take it day to day. Accepting the waxing a waning is part of the process, but I'm still very hopeful. We are here when ever you need support and advice.

I know you may have already done this, but did you get his hair analysis done? There seems to be a lot of kids with tics have heavy metal in their systems and their body lacks in their ability to detox naturally. For my son it is Aluminium, which does lodge in the brain and the central nervous system. We have got his tics down to a minimum at the moment and after a period of not being about to keep to routine over the school holidays, I can confirm that the supplements and detox he is on is definitely working. I have not gone down the diet path too much at the moment, other than cutting out any MSG and Corn Syrup in products which do worsen his tics. He is a bad eater so it's a slow process to change but I'll have to keep working on it. We have done hair analysis, comprehensive blood work and stool testing. Other than high aluminium and uranium, my son was low in zinc and some other minerals. His routine consists of: Chelatox - detox aluminium Mineral essentials CalmX - Magnesium and taurine Bowel and Liver tonic Gut Relief Probiotics - pharmaceutical grade The other thing I want to mention worth exploring is Irlen Syndrome. Sheila Roger's "Natural Treatment for Tics and Tourette's" book has it mentioned and it is what my son has. Often ADHD is misdiagnosed and can in fact be Irlen. It's also good for those that suffer light sensitivity. I'm a social worker and I never heard of it until this year, nor had his teachers, speech pathologist or occupational therapist. Yep he's seen a lot of people to try and find out why he wasn't learning to read and write. It's just another area of exploration for you. Here is a link for you: http://irlen.com/attention-deficit-disorder-addhd/ Good luck and don't give up looking and adjusting what you are doing. Your on the right track, just keep going.

Hi Danielle, I have a son with tics aged 8. In my journey to help him this forum has helped to direct me on a whole new path of discovery about nutrition and biochemistry. He has definitely benefit from a change in lifestyle, detoxification from heavy metal and upping his nutrients. I have made changes in the home and gone chemical free, as well as dietary changes. Not only have I made changes for my children, but I have also gone on the Paleo diet just for my own health, because when you start to look at what is added to processed foods or GM foods it is freightful, no wonder we are getting fatter and there is an increase in diseases like cancer. My kids are not fully Paleo, but I try to make better choices for them and it's about baby steps with their taste, a lot that I eat, they will turn their noses up at. But welcome to the forum, I hope you gets lots of good information from it. I'm very thankful that it exists because unlike your parents, we have access to so much more information today and not just from experts, but from real people and families going through this.

Time has definitely helped. It has settled down quite a bit now. Not sure if it is the work the Chiropractor is doing in his mouth, pushing on certain points, or the nutritional supplements routine he is on, but definitely seeing significant improvements across the board now with both his motor and vocal tics. The stuttering also seems less of an issue, which I am wrapped about. Everyones feedback has been really helpful.

Welcome aboard, it is really hard when you first starting looking for answers. This forum is sensational and the knowledge in here is incredible. To answer your question, yes some kids do grow out of it, but some do not, Some tics are at their worse when they are diagnosed, but for some they will get worse. I know that this is the hardest part that I have had to get my head around, because I was in absolute fear when I first started to learn about tics. The good thing is that a lot of people in hear are having good results with nutrition, reducing toxicities, food and environmental intolerances. Sheila Rogers puts it perfectly in her book "Natural Alternatives to Tics and Tourettes" - there is either something in their bodies that they don't need, or there is something their bodies need that they don't have. So that is where most of us are working from, identifying the triggers. Although I'm very new at this myself, I can say since we can pinpoint now what was tics earlier this year, my son thankfully has not got any worse, the tics change continually, but I'm very hopeful at the moment. Right now we regularly go to the Chiropractor, I've eliminated all chemicals in the home and making some diet modifications (MSG will definitely give him a bad day). It's like working on a Jigsaw puzzle but seeing little improvements is driving me forward. Feel free to ask any and all questions, the people in here are invaluable.

Aimee, This forum will be amazingly informative for you. As Chemar said you will have to start reading through the threads and you start to learn more about tics. My 8 year old son is currently having the neck tic at the moment, some days are worse than others. I'm taking him to the chiropractor once a week just to keep his body in alignment (I found the tics seemed worse when his neck was out), its just one thing we are doing to look after his overall health. Other things you will learn about in this forum are also being investigated ie. allergies/intolerances, heavy metal in his system, gut health. I'm fairly new to the tics and as yet we don't have a TS or Pandas Diagnosis, but it is a process we are going through. After going through the rollercoaster of emotions initially, now I'm in really good place and I have this forum to thank for that and all the wonderful people in here that have helped. You may want to look into seeing an integrated/holistic/biomedical practice, they are about the overall health of the body and not just trying to supress the symptoms like western medicine.

I enjoyed reading your post. What a journey you have certainly been on and I can't imagine the frustration you must have gone through with the medical profession. Thank you for joining and helping others with your experience. I'm still new to all of this and at the moment, I'm still awaiting blood tests. My son (8) has both motor and vocal tics, at this stage the only comorbid condition that I can see is his Irlen Syndrome. I have to agree with you about all children should be tested, it is amazingly common with children that seem to have difficulty grasping the skills of reading and writing. It took me about 3 years of trying speech therapy and occupation therapy with no success. It was accidental that I stumbled across Irlen Syndrome and I'd never even heard of it before this year. I was extremely sceptical about it at first, but my son has made the choice to use the coloured paper and filter for reading. For me the penny dropped when he asked about the Amsler Grid I use to track my visual degeneration. My son gave it ago and told be he saw running lines. He put the coloured filter over it and then told me he saw boxes (as a grid should be). He is being reassessed next month to get his glasses. It has certainly been a major break through for him and now I see him more interested in reading. We still have a long way to go with writing skills as he can barely get a word spelt correctly, but we have a lot of ground to make up. Just lucky we found it otherwise he would have struggled for the rest of his school years. I'm one happy mum. Now just to try and improve his tics.

Ozimum, do you have any more contact details for Dr C in Perth, Anything that would help me search him out would be great.

Can someone provide advice please. My son gets stuck on a word during a sentence and will repeat that word many, many times and gets frustrated with himself that he can't get out what he wants to say. I thought it was a tic, but now I'm not so sure. It seems like he's stuck and trying to move forward but can't. I ignore all his other tics, but with this I feel like want to say, just stop, breath, relax and try again. Not quite sure the best way to help him, ignore and try and get him to relax and stop. Any thoughts?