Caryn

Char, Just quickly, Wanted to note that the Bonnies vits did not give us significant results either when we were on a healthy but not gluten free diet. Eventually we discovered that our son was undiagnosed celiac and we had to change his diet. Gluten intolerance that also causes intestinal damage (thus the possible overgrowth of bacteria in the gut) will cause malabsorption of nutrients. If your child has absorption issues even while on high doses of vits then I would highly suggest a celiac or gluten intolerance test. I am not sure what you are doing at the moment, but gluten healing takes a long time. In our case it was about 9 months until we saw a tremendous effect on our son's digestive issues. He had many but I won't go into all that now. Gluten intolerance can be present without celiac and also without noticeable digestive issues. Definitely investigate that. Anemia, or low iron in the blood despite iron supps is one major red flag. I am not sure if your testing revealed poor iron absorption or not. Once we got the tissues saturated with the vits we saw a great reduction in symptoms. He is not symptom free but tics are not daily and go under the radar now-- no one but hubby and myself ever notice unless he gets exposed to a food allergen. Then the symptoms flair and reside within a few days. Caryn If you want more info or have more questions you can email me off list for info on tests, etc....

Corn, huh? Wow.

I agree with Faith. Ceramic tile is probably the most cost effective and non-toxic. As far as floors go, you could get a pergo wood floating floor that just snaps together and is glueless. It depends on what you like. If you have hardwood and want to refinish there are green ways to do that and materials that are less toxic, etc.... A kitchen needs materials that will hold up to wear and tear, especially if you have pets and little kids. Not familiar with bamboo, as we are in the midwest, but am familiar with cork, etc.... The grout used in ceramic tile is cement and sand. Some are pigmented. There is latex in some of the mixes, so if you want to avoid latex you need to do your research. Non-dyed grout is grey naturally, and in my experience the best tiles to choose are ones that match the grey grout, as it looks more uniform. As far as counters go, you may want to consider stainless steel? Granite is a natural stone and bacteria will soak into it. There are other eco-friendly options in counters-- glass is one. Caryn

I'm sure most of you all know that Brad Cohen's movie is going to air Sunday night on CBS. In October I interviewed him and wrote a piece about his biography and upcoming Hallmark Movie. Since then I had the pleasure of meeting another teacher who suffers from Tourette Syndrome. Jonathan Friesen. He has written a wonderful romance novel for teens that is a must read. I really, really, enjoyed it. I have written a summary of it and also got some other info out of Mr. Friesen to share with readers. Please consider buying this book for your teens. It only costs ten bucks. It is uplifting and will inspire them. Jonathan Friesen publishes Jerk California, a gripping new coming of age novel about a teen with Tourette Syndrome

Is he involved in sports? Maybe a sport that requires skill/concentration might be good, even if it isn't 'physical' like for instance golf or chess. My ds started a chess club this year and he loves it. Music may also be a good outlet for stress. You may consider having him try an instrument, or at the very least encourage music for leisure by getting into bands, sounds, genres, etc... with him and using it when he is really worked up about stuff. I think it is fantastic that you homeschool. I have a couple of friends that do, and they have very busy social schedules. We may get there someday too, as ds reads at a fourth grade level and is only in kindy. For right now he's enjoying himself and he has matured a lot socially. We do games and silly stuff when he gets wound up about things. He responds well to it. We also pillow talk about 'stuff' and that helps. Your ds is 10, a lot older than 5, but since you homeschool and are together a lot he may be more open to talking about 'stuff' with you if you approach it in non-threatening ways when he is calm. Learning to cope with stress is a personal thing. Your ds just needs to find what works for him. Our son is sensitive to 'junk' on T.V. too. He is disturbed by things that his 4 yr. old bro takes in stride. Does he often have friends over? Sometimes being around a laid back kid helps. I swear that works. Last year our neighbor's got into a pinch when the husband had to work double shifts for about three months. They had a baby and the wife was working part time for insurance. I offered to pick up their son and bring him to my house to play 3 days a week so the father could sleep at the same time as the baby. Ds was more anxious and not too social at the time. He really enjoyed having a same age friend to play with and really matured because of it. The other boy is a second child and as a result more mature and laid back. It was a nice combo. Now they are best of friends this year at school.

here's a link to the slicer: http://www.amazon.com/Choice-610-Premium-E...r/dp/B0002AKCOC Not that I'm advertising Amazon, but I bought it through them (I have Amazon Prime) and I get a whole lot of bulk GF flours and other stuff through them. With prime everything is free 2 day shipping (and it really is only 2 days!) I recently ordered a huge box of chocolate cake mixes and the Pamela's 4 lb bags of GF flours. It is a really good idea for anyone trying to save a few bucks in the long run. I end up getting extra bags for 'free' that I wouldn't have if I had gone to the store and bought them. On average the mixes are 1-2 bucks cheaper each this way. I have a deep freezer and just store them in it.

Try Jones brand sausages. Our local grocer carries them. www.jonesdairyfarm.com Not the same as a hotdog, but still something fast and easy to make. Also, Costco has naked nuggets. I don't buy them due to corn allergy, but it would be worth a look if you are a member. Costco also sells coleman brand bacon that is preservative free and uncured. They also sell a maple ham that you buy fully wrapped and have to slice yourself at home. It is also all natural. I bought a meat slicer last year for under $100 and use it constantly. Love it. You may be able to find preservative free hotdogs at your local health food store. Many carry gluten free, etc... in refrigerated cases.

Myrose Hebrew International I believe has nitrates in it. It has been a while but I know we did buy them at one time and then opted for Trader Joe's as it was a better option. Han's all natural is through Coleman products and might work if you can find it in the stores. We use Hormel all natural lunchmeats in the prepackaged deli section. They have turkey, ham, and my son's favorite, salami. All are gluten free and w/o preservatives. The come in a brown colored cardboard box. We make rolls out of them. We add lettuce or cheese, or pickles, whatever, on them and then roll them up. I bought little plastic toothpicks with characters on them and I just insert it in the middle and it holds the roll together nicely for ds. It's like a sandwich without the bread. Caryn

Pat, Our Dan doc prescribed Gaba 1 1/2 yrs ago after his dx. We used it for about a year and now have phased it out. I just wanted to add that he specifically told us to only give it 6 days a week. He wanted to be sure I was clear on that. Never found out why. You know how it goes when you get 15 minutes and then sit into the car with three more questions. I know some folks will read this thread and may try Gaba on their own w/o a doc's advice (which I wouldn't advise), so I wanted to relay this info. Maybe you could ask your doc about this and see why I may have been told this?

For anyone doing GF diet or any avoidance diet, really. Talks about other companies as well, but Wellshire gets scathed. I summarized it and link to the original article (long). http://healthy-family.org/caryn/964

Tracey, I did much the same as you after the initial onset of tics. I was looking for the catalyst and trying to pinpoint it on something prenatal etc.... My ds was not fully vaxed and never got the MMR. I had preeclampsia in the last 2 mos of pregnancy but delivered naturally. I had no epidural or pain killing medication. (Nuts, I know.) I only got magnesium and pitocin. Labor was nine hours and there were no complications at birth. My blood pressure dropped pretty fast after delivery and I passed out. They had to stop the mag quickly. He was jaundiced and colicky for about 2 weeks. I blamed myself a lot in the beginning and really felt that I must have done something wrong to 'cause' this. I don't feel that way anymore. After reading and posting for as long as I have on this board and others, I have really come to understand that each situation is so vastly different-- causes, catalysts, everything. I tried my best to do everything right while pregnant and in delivery with Tigger, but things unfolded in a way that I had little control over. I am a proponent of natural childbirth and have given birth three times without an epidural or narcotics of any kind. I also nursed exclusively for six months with each child, and didn't wean until they were a year old (except the last one). I was careful not to fully vax on the recommended schedule because I had worked with children with autism and I knew the statistics. I did all of this, and my oldest son still developed tics.... So I say this to you to help you release some of that 'mommy guilt'. My SIL is expecting her first and was just informed that she needs to undergo a scheduled C because the baby is breech and hasn't yet turned. She already is full of guilt about lung development, etc.... and is worried about harming the baby from an epidural. I tried to calm her fears. I told her that how her baby comes into this world doesn't matter as long as she arrives safely and in good health. Bad things can happen either route but what we ultimately have to do is put our trust in God that things will go as planned, and that's it. I used to lose sleep worrying about how my little boy was going to cope in school and life with those awful tics. I had been a special ed teacher and had students with tics. I was so devastated at the time. Now I look at my boy and I see a really great kid who has a lot of empathy for others-- a gift that his tic disorder has given him. He is popular with the girls in kindy and has two that are always asking him if they can come over and play at our house. One wants to marry him when she grows up. This is not how I envisioned things when we first saw symptoms or when we first got the diagnosis. I still don't know what caused it. I have my suspicions, but that's all they are. I know what works to keep him symptom free and do my best to follow through with that, but he and I are good with it. And it feels good now. If I could offer any advice at all it would be to just let it go-- all of it-- the guilt, anxiety, frustrations, anger, disappointment. If you believe in God, just put it in his hands. I'm a Catholic and every year we have a healing mass at our parish. Last year I went with Tigger (and at the time he was well on the mend). I went so that he could get annointed with oil. He did. The priest annointed him and then moved on. After all the sick were annointed Fr. Pat asked if anyone was left that hadn't been annointed. I raised my hand. It hadn't dawned on me until that moment that I should even consider myself. I realized as I stood there with my hand in the air and everybody looking at me that I had been denying myself for over a year in order to 'save' my son. The experience was very powerful for me and when he annointed my head and placed his hand on it and prayed for me I finally forgave myself and just 'gave in'. I felt such a tremendous feeling of love and acceptance that it made me cry. So I went there with the intention of helping my son but I left having been healed myself. From then on I have had a different attitude about everything. I say this for all the moms out there lurking who never post, not just for you. Don't let the guilt eat you up inside. It is what it is, and in some ways these tics make our kids quite extraordinary for having this 'cross to bear'. A lot of negative energy gets wasted on guilt and regret. Caryn

Found this from the vitamindcouncil.org site today: Bruce Hollis, professor of pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina has long said the recommended daily allowance—200 to 400 international units per day—is a joke. Instead, he suggests supplementing with at least 2,000 IU's or higher, especially between October and April for Chicagoans. They also have a D test for $100 bucks.

Yes, Cheri, Dr. Hoekstra says as much in his thesis. I think it is a must read.

Myrose, I found an interesting thesis from the Netherlands on the subject. I will post the conclusion and a link. (It is long, 171 pages, but all available online for free if you have the time to read.) http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/facul...stra/thesis.pdf and on pg. 95 (Chapter 8) he writes about the common cold and exasperations of tics 4 wks later: And more, Sorry so long....Chapter 10 is about IVIG. "Lack of effect of intravenous immunoglobulins on tics: a double-blind placebo controlled study" pg 119 for anyone interested. More available online......

IgE is an allergist test. They look for histamine reactions. IgG looks at delayed reaction. It is a white blood cell test. It could be done through naturopath, pediatrician or G.P. (if they are game) or Dan Doc. I don't know of any allergist that does such a test. They don't believe in it. If you look at the criticisms of the IgG there are many 'experts' that say it is not scientifically proven. We decided to try it anyway. Now I really believe it worked for us as we would have never in a million years figured out the corn allergy otherwise and it is his major trigger. It was nice having a list of things to avoid. We did follow their protocol to the letter-- full avoidance of all allergies for 3 mos, inclusion of low alleriges on rotation at 3 mos, then medium allergies at 6 mos, and finally testing of major allergens on rotation after six months. We learned that the major allergens were not okay, even on rotation so we kept that diet for the next 1 1/2 years and have been successful with keeping the tics at bay. We also do supps and probiotics and are committed to a low sugar diet overall. We do as organic as possible but with food prices and economy that may change in time. We found the IgG test online and then asked our ped to write a script. He said no. Our chiro heard the story when I complained about it during an adjustment the next week. He said, "I'll do it!" (Thankfully he had adjusted Tigger a month earlier for his neck injury and he was already a patient). He knew the symptoms were pretty bad and sincerely wanted to help us get answers. My current G.P. would have no problem writing the script for us if I asked. He has been awesome. Here is a critical view of the different food intolerance tests: http://breathspakids.blogspot.com/2007/02/...lerance-is.html It certainly isn't foolproof. I was told that a previous food avoidance could skew the results, showing an avoided food as a non-allergic one when in fact if it had been eaten in abundance prior to the test it would have shown up as an intolerance. As with any test, it is good to weigh the pros and cons. For us it worked, but to play devil's advocate, I could say that it was 'dumb luck'-- My instinct tells me otherwise. Caryn

Whole foods sells some in the cans that are in their natural juices and have less sugar. I just put them in those little rubbermaid containers and refrigerate them at night so they are cold for his school lunch. I also pack him frozen blueberries and strawberries and these are a big hit with him. They are still cold for lunch and they are a lot more 'saucy' than fresh. He will eat them with a spoon. Was an after thought on my part one day when there wasn't any fresh fruit left. Now I prefer to do it, to be honest. Have bought frozen cherries from Trader Joe's but haven't yet offered them to him. Will let you know if he likes them. On the upside, doing it this way saves a lot of bucks. Those fruit cups are pricey for what you get.

We use goat products all the time in lieu of bovine. If you are used to cow milk you may find the taste and odor of goat products a bit strong. Many of my adult friends have curiously tried it and their reactions are almost always the same.... They want to spit it out! LOL. My kids don't notice because that is all they get. We have used feta cheese made from sheep milk and it is much milder than goat feta. We do buy the Goat Kefir from Whole foods and it is very good, even by my standards (I cannot stand goat milk). I will drink goat milk in my tea (Husband is Irish and milk in tea is the norm). Goat milk in baking is great and you don't notice it. We have used it to make rice milk, but I prefer using coconut milk instead as it tastes better. I am not familiar with goat milk whey powder in particular but Meyenberg makes a powdered milk in a can that you can find at Whole foods. This might be a good option for you. Mixed with water it tastes the same as the fresh stuff (which I don't like). You can also add flavors to the milk to make it more palatable. We use it in breakfast smoothies (the Kefir) and I have added sweeteners to it like honey or maple syrup. Not the healthiest idea, but sometimes the kids won't drink it if I don't and it is expensive (3.50 a quart is the cheapest I've found) and healthy for them. Trader Joes sells it at a good price. Our local grocers also carry it but at 1.00 more per quart. You may find it cheaper at a co-op if you look into it. I found a Wisconsin farm that delivers to area stores and sells for $5.99 a half-gallon. My kids drink a lot of it so I bargain shop. They sell low fat and regular. You can also get goat milk yogurt for $2 a container. Tasty but really sweet and expensive. I make my own yogurt out of the quart container and add my own fruit to it for a fraction of the price.

Loads-- We use that lab. They are great, and their genetic test is non evasive. We have not done the stool test, but gastro docs in general don't like it because they say that it finds stuff when a blood test won't, thus widening the pool of folks for diagnosis. Most think Celiac is still quite rare. Dr. Fine is a pioneer in the field and he is regarded highly by Dr. Rodney Ford, a gastro ped in New Zealand who has a more liberal approach and uses the gluten free diet as a preventative measure. Rather than waiting for damage to the villi he encourages parents to start a gluten free diet w/o a Celiac dx as he believes it is a regressive condition and that the gluten intolerance is there from birth. Whether or not the celiac gene is 'awakened' depends on many things. I emailed him a few times with our situation and he offered very sound advice. He has published several books and writes articles for Celiac.com. Great person who offered me his time (for free) through several email conversations. He has since become quite busy but has a forum now for folks with questions. He has no expertise with tics per se as far as dx and treatment protocol. He only says that kids with gastro issues and tics have seen a reduction in tics after gastro issues were resolved. He did nothing to treat tics, only treated the gut issues (as he is a gastro). Many celiacs use enterolabs and I have not heard any complaints. Test results usually take about two to three weeks.

Faith, Yes, our Dan doc said autoimmune. I think we fit in the autism spectrum at the time of dx, but without the high metals. He didn't fit the criteria for autism or aspergers, but he did have what I would consider ADHD symptoms (he was never dxd) and had some gross motor and fine motor issues (still is not 100% but is improving and doesn't need OT/PT). What made us stand out was the Celiac thing-- another autoimmune disorder. But yes, autoimmune. Lyn, For us the signs were heavily related to gut imbalance. We saw a lot of gut related issues way before any neurological stuff surfaced. Looking back on it I think he was on a slow train. I had preeclampsia in the last two months of the pregnancy. He was colicky at birth and very jaundiced. He was vaccinated as an infant and nursed (contributing to a vitamin D deficiency, as I never supplemented him and was of the opinion at the time that the sun was dangerous and damaging for babies 2 and under). I introduced him to solids at 6 months and by nine months his favorite snacks were what I later learned to be bad choices for easy digestion. I did the usual: cheerios, goldfish crackers, bread, all the brand name finger food baby snacks by Gerber. Also fed mainly jar foods. Most of which had gluten and milk as main ingredients. He began getting reoccurring infections at about 9 months. He had ear infections, chest infections, croup, weird viruses that the doctor would label 'unknown'. He had a really bad back to back to back episode around the Christmas holiday season where he was sick for almost 4 weeks and on antibiotics twice for what was considered a 'rebound' This was a croup type thing. We were on vacation at the time and away from home. We actually had to put back our flight due to a severe ear infection. Upon returning home our doctor suggested a milk allergy and so we promptly went off of milk but not all dairy. In those days I was very uninformed. He got better and was fine for a while (summer months). You know the rest, as far as how he was diagnosed, etc.... If not, I have written about it at: http://healthy-family.org/caryn/704 and at: http://healthy-family.org/caryn/289 So I guess the signs would be chronic reoccurring illnesses and gut related issues throughout childhood that worsen over time. Our son had creamy-colored, foul smelling diarrhea on various occasions. He used to poop undigested food in his toddler years. He used to run low grade fevers from time to time that were inexplicable and dismissed by his ped as normal childhood stuff. He was chronically anemic despite kiddy vitamins. He had a terrible, terrible appetite. I could count on two hands the things he would eat. He had a huge Buddha belly that was hard to the touch. Oh gosh, I can't think of much more right now. But all these things pointed to digestive issues..... Myrose, All I can say is that you may want to try an anti candida diet. We never did do candida testing in the beginning. We went straight onto a diet (Blood type diet) as prescribed by our original Naturopath who did not do any diagnostic testing first. She assumed he had heavy metals. I panicked when she gave me chelating meds and decided to see a Dan Doc first who would do diagnostic testing. Was glad I did as he did not have metals. When we finally tested for candida three months later he tested negative. Even without having had candida, the candida diet is a good cleansing, anti-inflammatory diet. We saw some improvements in our son at that time but we were not truly gluten free and we were giving him very high doses of vitamins and minerals-- so it is hard to know what helped and what didn't. But for your own piece of mind you may want to have testing done to determine what may or may not be infecting the gut. Could be strep, h-pylori, candida, gosh, I don't know what else. We do not stay strictly on a sugar free diet (or even low sugar diet) anymore. Our son seems to be tolerating the sweets now just fine. He also has very healthy bowel movements and has a great complexion-- loads of good color. We eat organic and raw and do not rely on heavy supplements. I don't think he is 'cured' by any means. I think of it as remission. But we are diligent and strict. I absolutely do not allow any cheating and he has learned to comply and now is an evangelist of sorts at school (which can embarrass at times, especially at class parties). He's only 5, so things may change. His classmates have been educated about it and the girls especially watch out for him. It is cute to see. I have been driven to make his life seem as normal as possible and work very hard to make alternative foods that look and taste as close to the real thing as possible. I always try to duplicate what his friends and classmates are eating. The teachers are very helpful and supportive. On the up side, my son has not been absent once this year and has not gotten so much as the sniffles. This doesn't mean he won't get sick, he has since the dietary changes, but he is undeniably more healthy than he ever was. We have no issues with ear infections, sinus infections, croup or chest infections, diarrhea or constipation, etc.... Most notably, his mood and behavior is much, much better. He is happy because he feels good. Imagine what you would feel like if you constantly had digestive problems and your body wasn't absorbing nutrients properly. Little kids find it so hard to cope with their immaturity and impulsiveness. Add to that a major digestive problem and you have a child with little patience and a propensity toward tantrums, can't sleep and doesn't want to play with others. That was my son before his diet. I could go on about that-- Okay, I've rambled enough. Caryn

Thought I would start a new thread as the topic has wavered toward probiotics... I have read a lot on probiotics-- some sources say that you need to continually 'change them up' to keep a balance of the flora. This article just intrigued me because it named a specific strain that was shown to be beneficial. I really do believe that our son's tics are autoimmune-related. I cannot commit to saying that all TS is autoimmune. I would not presume that, especially when there is such a lack of research and so many possible causes. But in our case when we have his immune system balanced he is symptom free. We still see slight ticcing when there is ingestion of corn and it is usually occasional and is only one movement (like a shoulder shrug or evening eyeblinking). I can't even begin to explain why I think this is. I really have no idea but I know it is true, as we keep careful tabs of what he eats and have seen the pattern re-emerge time and time again as we have weedled out foods that he shouldn't have. Case in point: we would give him a product to sample and then he would have slight nose twitch afterwards (maybe hours, possibly the next day). I would then call the manufacturer of new product and after inquiry find out that the vegetable glycerin is derived from corn. A day or two later the twitch would be gone again. When his gut was destroyed by diet in the beginning he had chronic ticcing and multiple movements. I just recently found a video from his 4th birthday. When I look at that and then at his keyboard practice for his recital 9 months later he looks like a completely different kid. This is why I feel so passionately about it. I know that sometimes I may come across as a polyanna but that really is not my intention. Somebody out there somewhere has got to have a kid who tics too, for the very same reason my son did. Maybe it is only a small percentage, maybe not. I am constantly in awe as to how or why this happened. At first I was naive enough to think that if it worked for me it would work for everyone. Not so. Then I got nervous and was waiting for the shoe to drop. Never happened. Now, as time marches on and I see more and more of the same pattern emerging I gain more and more confidence and understanding into what makes him tic. I just want to share this with anyone that is feeling particularly down or overwhelmed. I don't mean to offer false hope or to presume that this will work in all cases. I always add that disclaimer to every post. Part of our cure in the beginning was using Threelac as a candida cleanse, then we moved on to Healthy Trinity, and fiinally, goat milk kefir (found at whole foods). I have also made my own homemade kefir as well. I started with that before we ever went gluten and corn free. That diet actually helped him quite a bit, and now I can see, through this study, why that may have been true. I just found the article interesting because it confirmed for me the possibility of why these things helped my son. I think a lot of the time we do things and then think that these things have helped the symptoms but in reality it was something else. This study shows that synergistic treatments are necessary to heal the gut in the case of Celiac. Many Celiacs that just try a gluten free diet do not find success. The same would be true for my son's tic disorder if all I did was avoid wheat and corn.... The gut has to have the right balance to do its job. The liver had to have the right support through a low toxin diet. The immune system had to have time to recover from the assault that caused this disorder to develop. This study made me feel hopeful, and also maked me want to commit long term to the use of probiotics as a preventative measure. Something that I have easily dropped and picked up again over the months and years. We live in Chicago and I believe our latitude is the cut off point for D deficiency problems-- anyone as high or higher is at a greater risk. But foks that are indoors all the time and folks that use sunscreen are at risk no matter where they live. Sitting in front of a window isn't enough. We started 'a diet' and probiotics in March of 2007 (heading into summer and sunshine) and continued 'perfecting' the avoidance and allowance food list from May when we found out about the gluten and corn through November of 2007. By January of 2008 we saw a major turn around and have not ever gotten 'as bad' since, even when my son got about 8 oz of freeze pops in 2 days loaded with food coloring and HFCS (his major allergen). Sorry so long.....

With all the talk going on these days about strep, pitands, h-pylori, et al, I thought I would post a link to a recent article from celiac.com. I follow Roy Jamron's articles and the last one talked at length about vitamin D deficiency and the proliferation of gut bacteria leading to the onset of Celiac disease and other autoimmune disorders. Folks reading this that are also dealing with reoccurring bacterial infections may want to 'think outside the box' and consider some of what is laid out in this recent study. The more I read about gluten/corn/ grains in general, the more I come to understand that the diagnosis of Celiac really isn't necessary for trying a gluten free diet. It may not be necessary to 'rule it out' or to decide not to try the diet based on a negative Celiac test. I see it as a chicken/egg thing and have come to realize that the real enemy is the overgrowth of bacteria, and part of the healing process involves the use of bifidobacterium-- Perhaps why the Kefir helped my son when he was healing his gut 1 1/2 yrs ago.... More is out on the subject with a new study on gut bacteria and celiac disease. The role of antibiotics and the consumption of gluten in the diet then leads to inflammation. More Evidence Links Gut Bacteria to Celiac Disease If you haven't read his original article on Vitamin D deficiency that is a good one too. He links the D deficiency to the onset of an autoimmune disorder. Those in northern climates need to really read up on D. Lots of info on that (M.S. is linked to D deficiency, for example, and is more common in northerly climates.) I would be curious, how many here have diagnosed kids in climates that receive less direct sunlight (more rainy weather, colder, less hours of sunlight a day, a childhood of sunscreen, an infancy in the shade or lathered in sunscreen, etc....) Just curious.... Maybe I will start a thread on that if there is interest.

Pat, Maybe it's the xylitol? It is almost always made from corn these days and is derived from China too, nearly 100% of the time. (And I don't trust China after the big melamine in the formula fiasco.) Most folks say that xylitol is safe and good for diabetics. There are some reports that it can raise your blood pressure. I don't like any artificial sweetener, period. I just don't trust them. There are no reports that xylitol is dangerous for humans but there are threads upon threads about how they can be deadly for your pet dog. This is enough to give me pause. With our son's corn allergy, we were forced to give up on all corn sweeteners. Corn Sugars 101: What You Might not Know about How Corn Sweetens our Food We use maple syrup (not good for candida), honey (good for candida in small amounts), and evaporated cane juice (on specila occasions). Caryn

Char, Our son's IgG intolerances were foods he ate multiple times a day every day. We did not see a 'detox' period, so to speak, but his intolerances caused major gastro intestinal issues that took a long time to heal. It was five months before we saw decent improvements (partly due to my ignorance on how to avoid corn), and after nine months he was a completely different kid, IMO. He remains tic free as long as he avoids his allergens. He used to be very reactive when slightly exposed to allergens but now his immune system is much stronger and I do not see multifocal tics anymore. Even when he had a major exposure to HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) at the start of the school year he only had an eyeblinking tic. He used to have six at one time and they used to look like a chorus of ticcing-- the gestures would kind of morph into new ones and some were almost simultaneous. He originally had 17 intolerances and now we just stay away from gluten, corn, and wheat. We never did IgE on him. It would have been interesting had we done that. We've been on our diet since April of 2007 and would never think of going back.

I agree, this was the best place for us to help cure our son when we were searching for triggers, etc... in the beginning. There are many folks here that I met in the very beginning that have really helped me to understand tics/tourettes/pandas better. Cheri is also a very wise sage and has to be acknowledged for all that she does as a moderator, coach, and cheerleader for new and old members alike. Don't give up on the other boards. I belong to a few like the ones you described. Just keep sending your message. You never know who might be hearing you in silence and listening. Healthy disagreements are good. They challenge what we think we know and also help us to gain better insights into why things are the way that they are. Cheers!

Mary, We did the IgG testing through Alcat worldwide. There are other companies that do as well. It is a controversial test and a lot of doctors are critical of it. In our case it was the one test we did that helped figure everything out for us. Our son had chronic multifocal tics for five months straight, and one was a neck tick too. Then after we changed his diet (and did the supps as well) we saw a gradual improvement over the next 5 months. Nine months after we changed his diet he was symptom free. We only see slight ticcing now when he has ingested an allergen, and we keep diligent watch on his food intake so that happens rarely. What we see now is an increased 'light sensitive' blink (normal movements, no exaggerations but just infrequent)-- usually happening with tiredness, or a series of nose scrunches. Nothing is chronic anymore and his teacher does not see ticcing at school. If you are dealing with dysbiosis and have some severe intolerances that have led to gastrointestinal problems the cure rate is not going to be immediate. Depending on how much damage there is the recovery can take quite a while. The nice thing is, once you finally get there you see that 'light at the end of the tunnel' so to speak and there is a sense of 'control' over the tics. At least this is true for us over the last year-and-a-half. In our case I do not know whether we have genetic T.S. Based on Cheri's criteria I would have to say no as we do not get waxing and waning for no apparent reason. We do have genetic Celiac in the family and my son has it. Caryn Link to tests that we did and other info on our son's treatments.