Toms_Mom

My son did not do well on the bontech vitamins - did not know why at the time and then a couple of weeks later after he calmed down I decided to try the mag taurate alone and his tics started up again immediately with heavy nodding etc. I believe now it must be the taurate he was reacting to in the bontech vitamins- I believe he has reacted to the l-gluatamine in the mindlinx probiotic as well. I am thinking he may not be able to tolerate amino acids unfortunately. When we got his OAT test results back 2 weeks ago one of the things it said was he has low glutathione and so the dr. has recommended he take NAC - 500 mg. I was excited to try it at first after the success Carolyn has had with it, but now am feeling very hesitant to give it to him - he is doing well right now so I am holding off - I'm afraid he will react to the NAC as well. Mary

michele, thanks for the info re dramimine- I have always had to give that to my older daughter who gets carsick easily on trips. I wonder what it was in the dramimine that caused your son to react like that! I am really trying to avoid giving my son any kinds of medications now because he seems so sensitive to any kind of supplement/medicine. He has a croupy cough now at night and I don't know what to give him. I gave him a childrens homeopathic cough syrup last night and he woke up twice with night terrors - I don't know if the medicine caused it but I'm not going to try it again tonight! bmom, We had an insurance adjuster come out today and he looked at the damage from the toilet leak and he said he honestly doesn't think we have mold. We have a 2000.00 deductible we would have to pay before insurance would cover any damage done and they also only pay up to 2500.00 for mold removal. He also said you have to be careful which company you use because some are just a scam. I don't know where we'll go from here. Are you talking about the hepa filters you put on the vents? We just changed ours today and I think we have not been changing them enough so maybe that will help. Also my husband is still wondering about the mosquito truck that comes by at night and sprays the neighborhood. How safe is that?

I thought of this too, but we only traveled 4-5 hours away- so who knows?

Thanks for your replies! Although he probably did watch less TV both homes have LCD screens so that should be ok right? I always try to limit video games - he doesn't get to play too often. My husband reminded me that we also have a leak from our air conditioner as well as the toilet so he reluctantly is looking into having this mold issue checked out. I will let everyone know how this goes. Some ticcing creeping back in today - praying it stays mild. Thanks everyone.

We have traveled twice this summer and both times my son slowly improved to the point that by the time we got home his tics were gone. We just returned from our second trip and my sons face is completely calm - before he had constant blinking that later switched to different sorts of facial grimacing that were always there. His head nodding also stopped. I am dreading its all going to come back now that we are home. I was able to stay on his diet while we were gone- the only thing I did different on both trips was he had organic wheat bread every day( I usually limit this) because we were visiting relatives and we were eating hamburgers, sandwiches etc. Am I crazy or could the wheat actually be helping him in some way? The other thought I always have lingering in my mind is could we have a mold problem in my house. We bought our house new 10 years ago and over the years we have had a problem with our upstairs bathroom toilet overflowing and then the water leaks through the ceiling and down to the kitchen entrance/hallway. We've never had it fixed and it happens a couple of times a year. I know its expensive to test and treat for mold so have put it off. I have not seen any visible mold in our house. Does anyone know if the test kits you get at Lowes are reliable to tell if we have a problem? Any other ideas? Thanks everyone, Mary

Faith, I am with you about trying to eliminate all of those foods. After 7 days off the wheat my sons tics have increased I noticed yesterday and today. The head nodding is getting more frequent and now he is putting his hand over his stomach like it hurts after he nods- don't know why - hoping he doesn't have an abdominal tic now! I don't think going wheat free is going to do it for us. I really am thinking I need to try some supplements as we are giving none right now. Are you giving any supplements at this time? Carolyn, I would like to try the NAC but waiting on OAT results and want to discuss with dr. which supplements to start. I was wondering if your son ever had an IgG done and was he reactive to any foods or is it only the MSG, HFCS, and artificial colors and preservatives. I was looking at the list of foods you feed your son and it seems like you have so many options. After a year of limiting so many foods and worrying over everything I feed him I am really feeling exhausted by it all. I'm wondering if I can figure out which supplements to give we can go to a more normal diet. Would you mind listing which supplements you give your son? Sorry if you have done this before- my computer is really acting up right now and I can't do a lot of searching. Thanks, Mary

Faith, I did not cut out any other foods - just wheat/gluten. I remembered reading somewhere like bmom that during pollen season there may be an increased sensitivity to wheat. There may have been other foods too- don't know offhand. I really have no idea what else he may be reacting to right now-feel like we should do another IgG- who knows -this can be so frustrating. I was wondering when you did your last IgG did you try eliminating EVERYTHING he was reactive to for a like a week or so? When we did our first IgG after eliminating everything on the list he had zero tics. I know it is extremely difficult, don't if its worth it, but that was what made me believe my sons issues are mainly food allergies and I suppose leaky gut or malabsorption or who knows what - but I'm hoping our OAT test results will point us in the right direction. Mary

Faith, I have taken out wheat/gluten for the past week and the eye tics have gone way down. Before, he was blinking like every second or 2 and nose scrunching and winking. He is still head nodding occasionally- don't know why this hasn't really improved. And yesterday it sort of hit me that he has been calmer the past couple of days. He doesn't have ADD but can be rather hyper/restless at times and very aggravating to his sisters! I wasn't looking for a behavior change, but couldn't help but notice that he seemed easier going. I'm not sure if this is the wheat elimination or not, but just wondering right now. I know from past experience how hard it is to eliminate wheat, we'll probably keep at it a few more days and see how it goes. Just thought I'd pass this along. Mary

Carolyn, The environmental dr. we first saw last Sept. gave me sodium potassium bicarbonate. He was suggesting it for any accidental food ingestions. I don't think for everyday use, but you may be onto something here. This is what was written in my plan from the dr: Clearing symptoms with sodium potassium bicarbonate: Used to help alleviate the symptoms of any kind of hypersensitivity reaction from foods, beverages, inhalants, pollens, or even chemicals. Take 1/4 t. of bicarb in at least 6 oz. of water. This should help alleviate the symptoms of an acute reaction within 10 minutes. If the symptoms persist, repeat the dose up to 3 more times in 30 minutes. Some patients find they experience greater relief by using more than the 1/4 t. of bicarb. Experiment with 1/2 to 1 t. in 16 oz of water. However, take the smallest amount needed to clear your symptoms. We recommend no more than 8 doses per day. How often do you give this Carolyn and when? Mary

Faith, I have told you, but not posted here that my sons bad head tics were almost gone a week after stopping the bontech vitamins. However, I do still see a head nod here and there and the blinking is still constant. I always thought of blinking as a mild tic, but not when they are constantly doing it! I really want to help him stop this! I know I keep harping on this and I could be way off here, but your son Faith seemed to be doing really well throughout the winter months, and he started ticcing around the same time as my son. I read somewhere that kids could be a lot more sensitive to foods during the pollen seasons, which is when I have seen these flare ups - in the fall and spring. (While other times of the year they can have these foods with no problem). Have you seen this pattern with your child? I am wondering if the enzymes do not work as well during allergy season. I also have been giving a lot of wheat lately (with enzymes) I am going to do an experiment and take wheat/gluten out of his diet for a few days and see if I see a difference. I'm not sure, but maybe you have already tried this? I will let you know how it goes with us. Mary

Patty, I also remember he did this mainly at his tennis lessons, so he was outside, which makes me think about pollen etc. Also, I could tell he was breathing fine and feeling fine - it was just a habit. How old is your daughter - if she is older she's probably more aware of her tic and therefore it bothers her. My son was only 5 at the time.

My son had this tic when he was 5 before we knew anything about tics. But I remember it was in the spring and somehow I instinctively knew it was a "habit" and didn't really worry about it. It went away after about a month. I wonder though if it has anything to do with seasonal allergies. When I think back he always had these habits in the spring at 4,5,6 and now 7 yrs. old.

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My son has the exact same tics right now! - the blinking, head nodding and a head toss. It has been constant. I am hoping ours is from the vitamins we were giving him and they will ease up by the end of the week. We are on a strict diet- I believe all of those ingredients you mentioned should be eliminated from your diet. We shop at whole foods and I get other things I know are ok from cosco and publix. We have not been to the pool yet because I didn't want to confuse tics that might be stemming from the new vitamins and seasonal allergies with the pool. It seems like a lot here are going through a flare up of tics and I have to wonder if it isn't seasonal pollen etc.

Cheri and Q's mom- thanks so much for your response. My son does not have a ts dx. He was diagnosed last summer with transient tic disorder- we have no comorbid conditions or family history- but he has had motor tics off and on for almost a year and some clicking (which I assume is verbal?). Since the bontech and magnesium don't seem to be working is this sort of a clue that he may not have ts? Q's mom I do think that he has some kind of seasonal allergies that may make him flare up a bit. But its really obvious to me now that the vitamins are the problem. Looking back to last week I see now he was doing a lot better. I think I was thinking the tics would be gone completely if it was the vitamins after a week off, but maybe he just needed another week to calm down. He also had soy to eat a couple of times last week so if soy is the problem then that sort of answers my question. He has been head nodding and blinking so much the past 2 days I was really worried about sending him to school today. I hope he gets this out of his system fast. I hope I am not discouraging anyone from trying the bontech vitamins because they seem to work for the majority. And I think we are probably the only ones on this board that natural calm isn't helping. Thanks again, Mary

I posted a while ago about how I started my son on Bontech for a minor tic (facial grimacing) and a few days later head shaking and other tics came back that had been gone since last summer. I called bontech and they suggested I cut back to one vitamin a day and add one more vitamin every 5 days. Well my husband was convinced we should cut out the vitamins for a couple of weeks and see what happens. So I cut out the vitamins for 7 days and didn't really see any improvement- maybe a couple of the days he seemed better, but the 7th day it seemed like there had been no improvement. So I decided to start the one vitamin a day like they suggested- on Wed. this week. I also decided to give him 1/2 t. of natural calm at night. He seemed better at first but then yesterday and today- not so. This morning he started another old tic with his neck, so I gave him a 1/2 t of natural calm hoping it would help and this afternoon he started hard eye blinking! I really don't know what to do anymore. I have 2 questions. One- Caryn, you thought he might be having a reaction to the soy in the bontech and now I might have to agree. At such a low dose I don't see how the b vitamins or anything else could be causing the problem. What else could it be? I think we are just going to give up on the bontech. Second, last summer kids calm seemed to work wonders for him! A couple of months ago when I used it, he seemed to actually get worse. So I decided to switch to natural calm - unflavored- thinking maybe he was reacting to something in the orange flavor. Here I am using the natural calm and I'm wondering if it had anything to do with this sudden hard blinking - at the very least it doesn't seem to be helping. Is it possible the magnesium is making him worse? I am so discouraged, my husband is mad I started the vitamins again and I'm just afraid to give him anything anymore.

Faith and Caryn, I did think about calling Bonnie's today, but I've been kind of down. I think I will do it tomorrow and see what they advise. As far as enzymes - we've been doing them since last Thanksgiving and he has been doing really well on them. I would like to have him tested again to see if/how many food sensitivities he has now. We are not gfcf but I do try to rotate his foods still and limit the gluten - he gets very little dairy. That's interesting about the nose bleeds, Caryn-I've often thought he might have malabsorption. Is there a test for that? Also, how did you come up with what vitamins for the compounded vitamin? I'm assuming you have a good dr. you are working with to be able to do that. I really would like to find a good integrative dr for my son. I've posted here before for any recommendations here in South Carolina, but have gotten no response. I'm now wondering if anyone knows of a good doctor in the Atlanta area? My sister lives there and I travel there often. I will do a separate post later if I need to. Thanks again, Mary

Thanks for trying to get me some help Faith. Tics are same- head shaking and then like a nodding of his head while he makes this clicking sound - this one is just constant especially towards the end of the day. I started thinking if I am really going to give Bonnies a chance I should go ahead and try to work up to 6 a day. I don't think 2 is going to make any impact. So today and tomorrow I thought I would give him 4 and then after that start 6. I am hoping it's just a coincidence that the tic explosion happened a week after starting Bonnies- this is the time of year he always had tics before so I keep thinking its got to be something in the air. He had a nosebleed the other day which is something else he seems to get in the spring. If the tics get even worse then I guess I will just stop the vitamins. Mary

I was a little worried about the rotisserie chicken- I don't buy it myself anymore. Caryn, I totally understand about wanting something that would allow your son to have artificial ingredients on occasion. (Please keep us informed with how it goes with the Acetyl-Cysteine) My son was disappointed to miss a b-day party today, but I knew it wasn't worth it to go-I knew he would get depressed about not being able to have what the other kids were having and I just couldn't risk letting him have any junk right now. His tics are getting worse. He is now jutting his neck forward along with the head shaking and the grimacing. He has had a very clean diet this week-the only thing I can think that I've done different this week is epsom salt baths every night. I'm now wondering if it might be making his tics worse- I know someone here before said it made their child's tics worse- not being able to handle the sulfate? So we are skipping the epsom bath tonight to see if that helps. I don't want to give up on Bonnies. I am so hoping they work for him. I am going to keep giving him 2 pills a day for another week and hope and pray things get better. Thanks for the tip about the caramel color- I had no idea and will be on the lookout for that and will also print out your list of msg names to take with me to the grocery store! I will also look for the apple cider vinegar supplement at whole foods. My son can swallow pills which is such a blessing - my older kids could not do it until they were much older. Thanks again, Mary

Lurker, The getaway was a tennis tournament a couple of hours away and they stayed at my sisters house who lives outside of town in the country. My older son who is 17 has played state and sectional tournaments for years, but this time my baby played in his first big tournament. (he was excited and wanted to play)He played in the 7-8 division. I know that was probably stressful to him to some degree but my husband said he handled it really well and had a great time. Also he got to spend a lot of time playing with his 7 yr old cousin who he loves to be with- she's like his best friend. My daughters and I just stayed home to have some girl time which we have never really done. I felt like I needed a break and he would be ok away from me for one weekend and look what happens?! Faith, I agree with you - I will just have to wait this out even though it is so frustrating. Who knows with my husband but he says it was only the one lemonaide. My sister also served rotisserie chicken from grocery store first night with vegetables and he ate at the players party second night - chicken fingers and pasta, but dh gave him enzymes before. I sent his breakfast and lunch and snack items. My sister was there to help out - she is very supportive of what I'm doing. She has 14 ds with adhd and has never medicated but is trying some of the dietary things I'm doing. She also says now she realizes her son had tics growing up. He has outgrown them now. I also remember all the "habits" he used to have. lurker- that's so funny about your husband-mine would love an excuse to upgrade as well!- he's always trying to explain to me why we need a new computer or TV!

Carolyn, Thanks for your 2 cents! I don't know what I would do without you all to turn to. I have a couple of questions for you. My son is also 7 and about 50 lbs. I was also thinking of working up to 6 Bontech vitamins a day because he takes the houston enzymes- AFP and zyme pryme 3 times a day. I also am using the mindlix. Would like to add fish oil. Which kind do you use? Was using kids nordic naturals but would like something without added flavor. I am wondering about your apple cider vinegar supplement. Did you add this and the Acetyl-Cysteine because you were not having success just on the Bonnies and other supplements? I guess my question is how was he doing before you added these supplements verses now. Also, my son has problems with artificial stuff as well as seasonal pollens I believe. Do you believe the apple cider vinegar would help in his situation with the pollens? His histimine levels should be high I would guess. Right now all I've done is run his air cleaner and saline nasal spray. Funny thing is this year he's not showing the usual signs of allergies. No stuffiness, coughing or wheezing, but the tics have come back. Just wondering what might be helpful during pollen season. Sorry for so many questions and thanks so much for all of your help. Mary

Cheri, I have been giving the epsom baths- doesn't seem to make a difference in the tics although I think it is calming and good for constipation issues. I know I should be patient and give this another week, but do you think I should be increasing the bontech vitamins? At 50 lbs. he should be taking 10. I know the tic increase could be caused by lots of things including the heavy pollen. We also have mosquito trucks out spraying at night and I wonder about insecticides he is being exposed to. And of course last weekends infraction, excitement etc. But do you or anyone find that when on these vitamins they help lessen the reactions to these environmental/food issues? I'm not sure if I should just keep the vitamins at 2-3 a day for now and wait and see or should I be upping them? Thanks as always for your reassuring advice Cheri. Mary

I finally ordered Bonnies and started giving them to ds about 2 weeks ago - I started with just 2 a day(1-am and 1 pm) After only 2 days his facial grimacing was gone. Then he went with my husband away for the weekend - I started giving him 3 a day then on Friday. My husband kept up with the pills and enzymes for the weekend and I packed most of his food. When he got home Sun. night he shook head once and I tried not to panic. By Monday he was shaking head all day. Same for Tues and wed. The only thing my husband says he got was a lemonaide out of drink machine. (he misunderstood - I told him he could have Simply Lemonaide!) on Sunday. I would guess it had high fructose corn syrup which he hasn't had in almost a year. I have not seen this head shake since we changed diet last summer. If it was corn syrup wouldn't the reaction be gone after 3 days? I saw a couple shakes this morning on the way to school. It usually is worse in afternoon. Or could it be the vitamins?! I know some people say it gets worse before better, but do you see old tics like this resurface? I don't know what to do. Do I cut back to 2 a day or cut them out altogether and see if it goes away? Thanks for any advice!

This conference looks unbelievable! I was thinking of printing the information from this site to show my pediatrician- it pretty much sums up everything that we talk about here. I wanted to talk to him at my sons yearly check up(in June) about possibly ordering some tests and being on board with what we're doing and really did not know where to begin. I'm hoping he will be open to testing so that our insurance will cover it! Mary

Thanks to Cheri and everyone with your feedback about the seasonal allergies! Patty- How did you go about finding a NAET practitioner? I still have not found an integrative MD. Also, re the new facial grimace- My 12 yr old daughter informed me yesterday that she had one of those 12 pack sacks of Funions stashed away in her closet and 7 bags were missing. We did a search of the house and found empty funion bags under various pieces of furniture! So he's been snacking on these for a couple of weeks. I looked at the label and of course its full of **** including MSG. I normally don't have junk like this in the house but gave in to her, forgot about it and look what happened. I don't really know how to get him to understand the importance of the diet and of course what kind of example does it set when he sees other kids being allowed to eat junk food. I still think the seasonal allergies have something to do with it though. I can remember him having his "habits" when he was little this time of year.