CarolynN

Hello, I thought this might be of help to some people. It seems to me it was Jeff, and I may be incorrect, that posted a while back about this company called "The Squirrels Nest" . They sell all natural candy. The neat thing is they have specialized candy for different holidays including Easter. I thought I should just let you know if you are looking for candy for your child, who cannot eat all the artificial candy that is most readily available, this might work for you. I just ordered my candy for Daniel for Easter and be aware they have a deadline for Easter orders. I believe it is March 8th and also note some of their Easter items are already sold out. Anyhow, here is the link http://www.squirrels-nest.com/index.cfm?ac...p;categoryID=42 . I have to say, being this is my first order, I have no idea how it will taste. But from the post I recall it seems that it was satisfactory. I was just excited to actually be able to get candy for an Easter basket that I do not have to worry about the chance of dramatically increased tics (mind you high levels of chocolate for some can be an issue so keep that in mind). Hope this helps those in the same situation as me and not being able to just go to any old store and buy all the standard stuff. Speaking of standard stuff I am a HUGE Easter Peep candy fan. I think they are either one of those things you absolutely love or cannot stand even the sight off. Unfortunately, I know they are so full of artificial stuff. So it will be my first official Peep free Easter for me since my son cannot eat them . The things we moms and dads sacrifice for the love of our children ! Carolyn N.

You know I have noticed, when Daniel is experiencing tics, when he first gets up would be one of his biggest burst of tics and the other would be when he is relaxing in bed to go to sleep. I just wonder if the morning tic is because when we wake up our body gives off some adreniline to get us up and going. I am assuming this would then effect the neurotransmitters. Now with all this said if he is ticcing in the morning I can tie it back to something he ate the day before or several days before. I also have noticed when Daniel eats he does not tic at all. No matter how dramatic his tics have been. I have been curious as to why he does not during this activity but for some reason he does not. Hang in there. There are answers. It has been so amazing to see the difference in reducing his tics, over the past 1 1/2 years, of this journey of realizing I was dealing with food issues and deficiencies with vitamins/minerals/amino acids. The journey was hardest at the beginning when I was trying to get my head wrapped around this. But know I look back and am amazed at how much healthier we are eating and how much knowledge I have gained about the body. You will too I am sure. Carolyn

Hello to my fellow Arizonan, I just was wondering what he ate this morning? Did he wake up with the tics or did they come on after he ate? When I was so desperately trying to figure out what was going on with my son these were always the "ahh-ha" moments for me. I would start thinking "ok he didn't have tics yesterday or the day before but he does now". So what things have changed in terms of food and/or environment that could have created more tics. This is also where food logs come in so handy because you forget all the foods a person ate over the past few days. So you can go back and say "that's right he had that and I am starting to see a pattern from the last time he ate it". I think it is real important to come up with some sort of scale. I used 1 to 10 to rate the tics for the day. I got to a point when I would give him a morning and afternoon rating to hone in even more as to what was triggering him. I am fortunate because my son reacts very quickly to those foods that bother him. I know for many this may not be the case. One thing I am curious about, as you know, it was extremely windy this weekend in our area (for those reading this we only live about 25 miles or so from each other). Anyhow, I know quite a few people who have had a real problem with their allergies this weekend. It was from the combination of the winds and also with all the pollen from the heavier then normal rain fall this past winter. So my question to you was he outdoors for any amount of time this weekend? Because to me this would be a clue that you are probably not dealing with "seasonal" type allergy tics if he was indeed spending time outdoors over the weekend. Again being that you did not see an increase in tics Saturday or Sunday. If there was one time period when you would find out if he did have "seasonal" allergies inducing tics, it certainly would have been this past weekend. Now he could have environmental allergies to indoor items such as carpet, candles, laundry detergent etc. I am really curious as to the events of this morning and whether he woke up with them or it was after breakfast. Have a good evening, Carolyn N.

Hello Faith, Eve went through these treatments based on my recommendation. She has been real impressed with the results. She ended up doing the treatments herself and having her other son do the treatments because of the results of her son who had very severe allergies. I can tell you one of my other friends had a chronic cough for years. After the treatments the cough was gone. My daughter, as a baby, had to have her nose suctioned every day. After I had the treatments on her that all went away. Another example, another friend of mine took her son who has cerebral palsy and has severe allergies. It was so bad he started severely scratching his eye area. After the treatment this went away. Another friend of mines daughter had VERY severe dairy allergy. After the treatment she was able to tolerate milk in small amounts. Her son had VERY severe seasonal allergies and after the treatment it was the first time in his life he did not have to take allergy medicine in the spring time. The only thing I cannot answer for you is I know that NAET is very similar but I do know there are some differences. For example, with NAET they test for just a very few allergies per treatment. I think it can take many, many visits to get through the treatments. My doctor does all the allergies in 3 visits and uses a computer with a "rod" that touches your hand and the computer tests for the allergies. She then from the information she gathers does the acupressure and desensitizes with homeopathic beads (I know it sounds so bizarre but it works. I didn't really believe it until I saw the results). Also know that the treatments my friends and my son went through are not necessarily permanent. It is sort of like a chiropractic situation where the body may try to start rebuilding the allergy after some time. Some people could go years with out needing to be retreated and other may have to a few times a year. Regarding the MSG in the enzymes. What I have read is MSG can possibly be in the enzyme called protease. Protease, from what I gather, helps break down proteins. But with this said I e-mailed Dr. Houston who has devoted his career to developing enzymes said no this is not the case at least in his products. But I did read about the MSG link to protease to a book called "Excitations the Taste that Kills". It is all about how horrible MSG/Aspartame is for out bodies. If this helps any, as you know, Daniel's greatest sensitivity is MSG. So you could say if anyone would be a good test person for MSG in a food it is him. He has never reacted to a food that had the word "enzyme" in it unless it happened to have other ingredients in it that would bother him like food dyes, high fructose corn syrup, or of course MSG in another part of the ingredients. He did react to the enzyme "No-Fenol",which I use as a supplement to help process artificial food colors, but this absolutely has no MSG in it. He reacted because it was killing off toxins in his body and his body was have to process these toxins. I just had to back down on the amount I was giving him and he is doing great. Going back to the NAET treatments I think that most important thing is finding a doctor who is very experienced. From what I understand you can get a big difference in results if the doctor does not know how to position the body correctly. If you go on the website at www.naet.com, you can pull up the list of physicians that perform it around the country. You also can review how many "training sessions" they have had. Some of the doctors you will see have had many and some very few. Have a blessed day, Carolyn

Ariel, I am so glad this helped you. You are right on track by getting into His Word (the Bible). That is where you need to be. I heard a Pastor say, on the radio, when someone is going through something where emotions are really clouded the first thing he asks is "have you been in the Word". He said consistently the answer is no. I know this to be true for myself. When I do not stay focused on the Bible and renewing my mind with God's truths it is when I am most easily vulnerable to "believing my emotion of fear". One suggestion I have for you is to keep a journal. When God shows me truths and I get that moment of "wow that makes sense" I write it down. This way when I am going through hard times again I can reference back. Otherwise I forget and that "gem of truth I learned has escaped me". Also many Christians also keep prayer journals so they can go back and really get a good picture of what God has done for them. The last thing I wanted to say, and I was thinking this last night after I posted, is I have had obsessive thoughts since I was around 7. So I am know 37. For thirty years I have had a track record of these thoughts. So if you were to add up the hours upon hours of obsessive thoughts it would easily be in the thousands. Now I can tell you not one of my obsessions proved to be correct. That is not exactly a good track history. In other words, that emotion of fear has been incorrect 100% of the time. So why would I consider that "feeling" inside me to be reliable. I mean, truly, how sensible is that to rely on the fear emotion to run my life when it has been so wrong for so many years. The answer is not relying on that fear but pushing past the fear into truth. In other words, what does God say about the situation. The only way you will know is by studying the Bible. I focus particularly on the New Testament of the Bible (for those unfamiliar, who are reading this, it is the part of the Bible where Jesus comes to Earth and also after His death and ressurection. The Old Testament is prior to Jesus coming to Earth. It is setting the stage for His arrival). We are in a Bible study and I have learned soooooo much through this experience. I can say it has been one of the best experiences of my life. Also getting involved in a good Bible based Church is so key. I am very blessed to be part of a fantastic nondenominational Christian church in my area. Have a blessed day Ariel! Carolyn

Tami, You are absolutely correct that rotating the "nut butters" is the better option. With my son I tried one of the other butters and he gagged horrible and begged me not to give it to him again. But I "justified" doing the peanut butter every day with him because I had him going through the treatment similar to NAET that desensitizes you to allergy. But the peanut allergy buildup was certainly a concern in the back of my mind. It never did happen but that is not to say later in life we will not see a rebound effect. But, again, for us it was a life savor because we where able to get it in him. Thanks for you suggestion I am sure that will help others. Carolyn

I have to respond to this post. This was the past 1 1/2 YEARS OF MY LIFE. Disguising TS-Plus! I tried EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING. Only one thing worked for me and that was peanut butter. It really does hide the taste. What I would do is get Styrofoam bowels from Costco, we bought large quantities because we did it twice a day, and I would put five capsules of the TS-Plus in the bowel (remember when starting TS-Plus you have to work up to the recommended amount). Then I would get about a teaspoon and 1/2 of peanut butter. I would get a little spoon, like a baby spoon size, and basically grind it into the peanut butter. When it was really mixed, it took at least a good 30 seconds or more to grind it into the peanut butter, I would then take my fingers and make little peanut butter balls out of it. It would make around eight. Then I would get some "raw sugar" you can buy it any grocery store in a brown box and sprinkle it on top of the peanut butter balls (the sugar really helps cover the taste even more). All I can say is it worked. I have to say, my son was absolutely sick of peanut butter after a 1 1/2 years of doing this but he did it and I am proud of him for sticking with it. Finally, I convinced him, after the 1 1/2 of trying, to stop chewing the peanut butter balls just swallow them. Finally he did it! It was about a month after him getting the hang of swallowing the peanut butter balls that he was able to swallow the capsules whole. What a day of rejoicing that was! It has been such a relief that he can swallow pills now. He is seven and I really didn't expect him to swallow pills until closer to ten! So now you know my life with TS-Plus and Peanut Butter But I am very thankful for TS-Plus it has helped tremendously. I hope my suggestion might help you. Carolyn

Hello again! Well I am not so sleepy now, like last night at 1 a.m., and have been thinking and praying about my response to you today. I truly do pray that God will show you the answers and make it clear in your heart. You are a Christian so you are able to listen, in your heart, as to how God is directing you. The other day, my Pastor said something that really put my emotions in perspective. He said "trying to change your emotional state is like trying to capture the wind with your hands". In other words, you just cannot force yourself to change your emotions. But what he did say you can do is "change your perspective". The change in perspective will ultimately change your emotions. Ariel, please rest assured I have lived this practically my whole life, that you are dealing with an emotion of fear and nothing else. You said that you read the stories about people becoming suicidal and it put thoughts in your mind about "what if". With obsessive type thoughts it is ALWAYS the "what if" that captures your emotion. Every time I start obsessing over something I always have the same thing happen to me. I start thinking about x,y,z and all of a sudden my stomach sinks and then I feel a rush of fear come over me. The next thing I know I cannot stop thinking about it. It is like a self defense against the fear. But what I can tell you, is every time this has happened to me, once I do get the right perspective on the matter, it completely calms my fear down. Just like my Pastor said. I can tell you the fear of harming children has been one of my biggest fears in my life. As a matter of fact, this past week I started fearing again with a certain thought about my children. I had to go back through and remind myself of all the truths I have learned. Once again I am calmed down but sometimes these things capture us in a moment and you wonder "now why did that thought not bother me yesterday but today it got me?" Normally I find it is because the day it captures me I am having other anxieties happen around me that heighten my sense of fear in general. Then I have a yucky thought enter my head and boom I am back into obsessing on x,y,z. What God has shown me with my fear of harming others is our imaginations can come up with all kinds of unpleasant things. The problem is our emotion of fear does not realize it is an imagined event so it "feels real to us". Just like I referenced before with going to the movies. Our emotions believe these things can really happen like when we watch a scary movie and then are afraid to even walk outside the theater. So what I have had to do is start forcing truthful thoughts over those emotions. For example, I would say to myself "how many thousands of children and adults have I been around and ever done x,y,z to?". Of course the answer is none. Another example would be saying to myself that God has given me the ability not to do these things to a child or adult since I obviously do not desire to do so it is actually the exact opposite I detest it. I trust God's workmanship of me to know that since I don't want to do x,y,z I certainly will not. Using scripture to speak truth to your emotions is a great. The Bible tells us very clearly to "Renew our minds with His truth" Romans Chapter 12 verse 2. I have found time and time again when I stay focused on His truths my anxiety is next to nothing. It is when I take my eyes off His truth that I get in trouble. It is very important, as I stated in my previous post to start thanking God for the blessings in your life. This to me is really key. It will start putting those emotions back in place. Start thanking God for even what we would consider basic in our lives. But really is not basic when you stop to think about it. The ability to see, hear, walk, have food to eat, have a place to live, etc. Ariel, can I tell you the fear of hurting our own children is far up on the fears for new mothers. But the good news is the love you feel for that child ultimately outweighs the discomfort of the fears. You will look back on your life, when you are a grandma, and think "yes that was stinky and yucky that I had those fears but the love, for my children, wow that is AWESOME and something I glad I did not miss out on". The truth is Ariel you will more then likely have these fears with a new baby and even as they move out of babyhood BUT you are prepared already to expect them. I didn't know this and it came as a huge shock to me. Here I was with a brand new baby and terrified to hold him for fear of harming him. But God spoke into my heart, days after he was born, that I was not going to harm my baby and just to settle down. It took the fear away in an instant. So if you start fearing in a moment ask God to calm your heart. No one knows better then God how to do this. Again, referencing my Pastor he said something that really puts life in general in perspective (again here is that word)! Think about what our God our creator made. The universe! To put the universe in somewhat of a perspective of size it would take 17 YEARS to fly to our sun in a standard commercial jet. Now consider the billions of stars He made. In the book of Isaiah, in the Bible, chapter 48 verse 13 it says "My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens". In Isaiah chapter 40 verse 12 it says "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens". My point is we are talking about our God, who is far beyond our ability to comprehend His amazement, and this God cares and loves you Ariel!. He can walk you through this and anything else that comes your way. He is very powerful! How can a God that can create something so magnificent and so beyond our ability to understand it not be able to help us with a problem such as yucky thoughts? I wanted to share something else with you that really helped me. When my obsessive thoughts get going, again they still do at times, I go to the book of the Bible 1st Corinthians Chapter 13. It is all about how love is the only thing that will last forever and truly matters in the kingdom of God. So what that you think all kinds of yucky thoughts in your head, WE ALL DO, but what God is looking at is what IS TRULY IN YOUR HEART. He knows your true heart of not wanting to hurt people! The other thing that came to me this week, and I just wonder if this is part of the reason I fear hurting others, is that if you met me you would say I am an all around "good" person. I really try to help others and deeply care for others. I think part of the fear for me is "if this did happen where I hurt someone" my goodness would be gone, in my minds eye, and that is a HUGE part of my identity. So in other words, I could never look at myself ever again the same and it would change completely my existence of who I am as a person. So the fear remains of the "what if" because I don't want to change who I know myself to be. But you know that God is truly the only one who can be considered good. Jesus told us that in the Bible. So am I trying to make myself like God in perfection by being able to only think perfect thoughts? So I wonder if it is not partly own self identity that is afraid? But the truth is, one way or another, I am a completely forgiven person since I accepted Christ's sacrifice on the cross for my sin. This is for past, present, and yes future sin. What good news is this and no matter what my self identity wants to come up with I am forgiven because of His Grace and not because of the good things I have done in my life. (Colossians Chapter 2 verse 13-15 and Ephesians Chapter 2 verse 8-10) I also had a Pastor, a while back tell me, when you are trying to get to a place of peace and joy in your life you cannot target these things as your goal. There is an avenue to take before you can get there. It is called trust! He said you ultimately have to trust God before these things will happen. So I always try to remind myself to ask God "what is it that I am not trusting you about in this moment of time"? He has always shown me the answer when I truly seek His guidance. Ariel, if you are having a really hard time with your thoughts you might want to consider going to a Christian counselor that does cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). I found one, for my son, by doing a search on my insurances website. Many people on this forum have found CBT to help them get over through these kinds of thoughts. The last thought I wanted to leave you with is something I read on another Internet site. As ridiculous as it sounds, I have this HUGE fear of throwing up. I have a panic type attack when I think it is going to happen. Anyhow, what I read is the main problem for people, with this fear, is that throwing up just does not happen very often. So for most people it can be years and years of not happening but yet anticipating it. So what happens is you never get the opportunity to "face the big giant fear in your mind" to actually realize it is only a tiny little ant. When I do end up throwing up I always have the same reaction "That was not such a big deal so why did I fret on this sooooooo much?". As a matter of fact, I start feeling ridiculous about myself after it occurs. My whole point, of this is, it's the same with all these obsessive type of fears. We make them out to be this really big Giant when the reality of the situation is they are little bitty ants. It is the anticipation that really is the worst part of fear. This is why it is so important to change your perspective, and understand the truth, on the fact your will never harm a person intentionally because the reality is that it is not going to happen. You will never actually "face this giant" you will always be in anticipation mode. I know this was long. Let me know how you are doing! Trust in God and realize He truly is in control. I love Psalm 139. You should take time to sit down and read it over. It tells us so clearly that God is with us every second of every day and how He formed us. It also tells us that He has every day ordained for us from the day we were born to the day we die. HE KNOWS IT ALL!!!! I also have thought to myself do you realize God still remembers that fear x,y,z I had back, say 5 years ago and long forgotten by me, but He still remembers it and He still loves me in spite of it! These fears will pass but His love for you will not. "Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans Chapter 8 verse Chapter 39. Have a wonderful day! Carolyn N.

Tracey, Here is a website that has a lot of useful information regarding enzymes http://www.enzymestuff.com/ . I have been using Dr. Houston's products for my son and so far, other then the increase in tics at first from the toxins dieing off in him, have seen him improving. Here is the website for them http://www.houstonni.com/ . You can e-mail them with your questions and they will get back with you. The did with me very quickly. My naturopathic doctor told me there is absolutely no reason not to be on enzymes. She said that they would greatly benefit my son. She did tell me to expect a reaction for the first few weeks because of the process of the enzymes killing off the yucky stuff in the intestional system. This is why you want to go slow at first introduction. The probiotics is really important and I have been using a product called Mindlinx for my son. You order on the internet and they ship it to you with cold packs to keep the probiotic in good condition (at least that's how I have received it from the companies I ordered it from.) It comes in capsules and powder. It really seems to be a great probiotic. Carolyn N.

Ariel, Thank you sooooo much for sharing this helped you. That really means a lot to me. I just wanted to let you know I am going to respond in more detail to your post tomorrow night. I just saw you posted and wanted to let you know that I saw your post. It is getting close to 1 a.m. and I want to reply to you with an awake mind not a sleepy one . Any way I wanted to copy in a post from another posting I did to a woman who was so afraid she was going to hurt her child. So this is part of the response to her but again I will respond to you tomorrow night after my children are in bed. So here is the copied over response ................................................................................................ First please take comfort in knowing you are not the only mother that has had these thoughts about her children. I have had similar circumstances in the exhausting effort of fighting back unwanted thoughts about my children. Let me tell you there is so much hope for you. I understand you are in such a moment of great despair and have been for quite some time. What I really want you to understand is the reason the fear of these thoughts, is so great in you, is because you are thinking thoughts that are the exact opposite of who you are as a mother. You have to realize that when God made us He also created our brains with an imagination. I know this may seem real basic but please hang in there with me. What happens with in this cycle of unwanted thoughts is an unpleasant thought enters into our imagination then our emotions follow with the feeling of fear and now anxiety hits hard. Our emotions do not understand that it was in our imagination and just a thought. So now that sinking feeling enters into our stomach because the fear of "what if I could do that to my child" starts. Believe me I know I have been in your shoes so I completely understand what you are feeling. What you HAVE to do is tell your emotions the truth. You can't just let that emotion of fear run wild. When you start telling that fear you know you would never do that and it is just in my imagination it will make a big differance. I want to share with you that I have been a Christian since 1993. I cannot even tell you how far I have come in this fear of unwanted thoughts cycle. God has taught me so much about how to handle these unwanted thoughts. I think the biggest thing that has helped me is when I start thanking God for those things about me that I know would never allow me to do such horrible things that are in my imagination. For example I would start saying something like "thank you God that you gave me the ability to be able to hug my daughter without doing anything to her". "Thank you God that my daughter realizes I am a safe mother to be with and she wants hugs from me". You need to realize when God made you and I He also made us with freewill. This means we have the choice to choose to do something or choose not to do something. I can tell you 100% that your freewill inside you would never allow you to do what ugly thoughts are in your head. It is not in you to do these things and that is the exact reason it bothers you so much. It is because you are such a loving mother. The other thing I want to share with you, that made a big differance for me, was I realized I was not trusting the way God created me as a person. Let me explain to you what I mean. I was believing that just because I had a thought enter into my imagination meant I could possibly act out that thought. This was even though I knew it was exactly against my character. You have to realize God made us to be able to have a thought in your head but also the ability NOT to carry out the thought with actions. Let me give you some examples. What keeps you from just throwing yourself into walls as you walk even if you pictured yourself in your head doing so? What keeps you from not closing doors on your hands even if the thought enters your head? What keeps you driving on the correct side of the road even if you picture yourself on the opposite side? What keeps you from not going through red lights as you are driving even if in your imagination you are picturing a green light? All of these things do not happen outwardly because God designed us so amazingly that even though you can imagine something does not mean it is to be acted out. Again it comes back to freewill. You are believing that because you have an ugly thought you may compulsively act it out when in reality God gave us the ability not too. When you really think about it we are so amazingly created. So I want you start thinking about the fact that there are differant parts of our brains that constrain us for doing those things we do not want to do. I want you to right now to not think about a blue dog wearing a bright pink hat. My point is when we try not to think about something it does the exact opposite. It gets ingrained into our brains even more. So by trying not to think about your daughter and these thoughts you are actually forcing more thoughts into your head. The only way around this and again, I tell you from experience, is start having a thankful heart and speaking truth over your emotions and it will make those emotions pop like a balloon. I understand you are feeling a great deal of guilt for even letting these thoughts enter in your head in the first place. I believe that you are thinking that a good mother would never even think a thought like that and that leads to more fear. Let me reassure you that I have talked to COUNTLESS mothers who have had unwanted thoughts about their children. As a side note, I mention unwanted thoughts to a lot to new mothers because I dealt a lot with this when my first baby was born. I was at a point where I did not trust myself to touch my new born baby. I was in so much torment. So now I want to help reassure new mothers that these thoughts are nothing to be fearful of just realize they happen because we love our children so much that the thought of doing these things just disgusts us. I always get the same response from mothers when the topic comes up "I have had those same types of thoughts". I think we have to realize that we live in a society where we are very aware of the evil that some people have committed against children, because of mass media and obvioulsy for you because you went through something so horrible as a teenager. So of course the thoughts are going to collide in our minds of "what if I could do something like that". It is a perfectly normal thing for a mother to go through this process. Now the other part of this comes down to even when you "feel you conquered this emotional cycle of fear and anxiety" don't be surprised when you have a thought enter your head again that your emotions will try to resurface. I have had this happen even a year or so after I feel like something has been defeated within me. So I have to start the process over of giving thanks to God for the truth and speaking the truth over those emotions. It is a cycle but it is a cycle with a lot of hope. You will learn so much from this and will be able to help others. I don't know if you read the posting, on this website, I did to desperate. I put in this link a lot of my story and what has helped me overcome my battle with unwanted thoughts. Also, there is a person who posted a response in this link about his battle with unwanted sexual thoughts and fear of molesting a child. That person has now been healed. I also address in this posting unwanted thoughts against God because I have had those too. I thought I would attach it here just for ease of access http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2623 I know you don't know me but please know I have walked in your shoes and I can tell you 100% you will never do what fears are running wild within you. It is just what a Pastor of mine called "stinking thinkin". It is just like when you go to a scary movie and all of a sudden your emotions are believing that what is happening on the screen could happen to you so your emotions start getting fearful. This may seem like a crazy statement but if you really think about it our emotions are not exactly smart. Your emotions can easily be deceived and we need to hold a lot of caution in trusting our emotions over God's truths. I also wanted to recommend a tape series that helped me sooooooooo much. It is called "Victory over Depression" by Bob George. I believe it is a series of 6 cds (they all come packaged together for the price). The first cd may seem a little long and slow but then He really gets going on why we let our emotions get so far out there. I would really recommend this for you. http://store.silaspartners.com/merchant.mv...duct_Code=CDVOD . Also he has a book on the same topic at http://store.silaspartners.com/merchant.mv...oduct_Code=BVOD Trust in God and the way He made you, thank Him for how he made you with constraints, and thank Him for giving you such a blessing in having a child. He wants the best for you. God loves you so deeply and loves you daughter too. I will be praying for you! Carolyn N.

Hi Wendi, Here is Eve's response to your questions. Again she e-mailed me these answers since she is not a member of the forum......................... Wendi, There are many different types of tests. My son has done blood, saliva, urine, and even stool (to look for parasites and yeast). Each type of screening shows provides different information. All of the tests that I have done have been covered by insurance. Your doctor would be able to guide you in the right direction based on your sons symptoms. Many of these tests are not done in your typical doctors office. They have been done by DAN Dr. and naturopaths. They look so much further into your system for the problem than the standard blood tests. Also, regarding allergies. I dont know if you have ever heard of the NEAT program or the NAET program. My son has gone through the NEAT program and I have found it to be very beneficial. It is a very non-evasive test that combines kinesiology and accupressure. It is a pretty amazing procedure. There are no needles involved. NOthing would hurt your son. There is also the SAGE allergy testing which is done through the blood. It shows not only allergies but sensitivities and not only immediate reactions but also delayed. Again, there is only the blood test and no poking on the back. Both of these methods provide far more possible allergens than your traditional needle poking method. Hang in there, Eve

kallik, I would suggest, if you have not gotten it already, getting the book "Enzymes for Autism and other Neurological Disorders" by Karen DeFlice. It really does a good job explaining the different type of enzymes. I have my son on two enzymes. One is a more general enzyme for protein and carbs called AFP-Peptizyde developed by Dr. Houston (it comes in a capsules but for those that cannot swallow capsules it comes in a good tasting chewable. The chewable has Xylitol though. One of my children breaks out with red marks on the face with xylitol and cannot take it because of this). The other enzyme also by Dr. Houston is for helping him process fruits/vegetable (salicylates that so many have trouble) and it also helps to some extent with artificial food dyes. It is called No-Fenol. My suggestion is taking enzymes slow and easy. You certainly could see an increase in tics at first use of enzymes. Enzymes not only help process food but they also help "clean out" your gut. When this process initially starts you have a lot of junk that needs to be removed (including candida). This junk, aka toxins, can cause an increase in tics as it is removed from the body. But this is a VERY GOOD thing. Get it out of the body! Here is the website for Dr. Houston's enzymes http://www.houstonni.com/ . I also have to say their customer service is really good and they were GREAT at answering my questions and concerns through e-mail. Here is a website that goes into some great detail about enzymes and also references the book I mentioned http://www.enzymestuff.com/ . One other product I am very impressed with is a product called Mindlinx. Here is a website that explains it http://www.rockwellnutrition.com/product.a...CFRkGagodIDwqeQ . It is a very powerful probiotic. I would venture to guess it would be hard to find a probiotic that would do a much better job for the need of people with gut issues. Although it is about the most $$$$$ one I have ever bought. It truly seems to be worth the money though. Also this website I referenced does not show it comes in capsules but it does on other websites. Probiotics have completely different function then enzymes. Probiotics are feeding in the healthy bacteria your intestines need to keep balanced correctly. Enzymes help with the break down of food so your body can process it correctly. In my opinion you really need both when dealing with gut issues which I think a vast majority of people with tics are dealing with on some level. The last thing to mention about probiotics is they mix in very easily into yogurt or applesauce. You can EASILY disguise it unlike many other supplements. Have a blessed day! Carolyn N.

Hi Wendi, I asked a wonderful friend of mine, whose son is autistic and has had TREMENDOUS success at treating him, if she would respond to your question. She is not a member of the forum but she e-mailed me. I have to say she has been such an inspiration to me with my son, who has tourettes. She has dedicated herself to finding answers for her son and she has not only helped her son but so many others. So I have attached what she e-mailed and here is her response .............. Wendi, First I want to tell you that I know exactly how you are feeling. It is scary and overwhelming to say the least. My heart breaks for you. There is nothing worse that knowing that your child needs help and not knowing how to go about getting help. Have you taken your child to a developmental pediatrician for a complete screening? Has anyone spoken to you about your son possibly being in the autistic spectrum? I know that autism is a scary "word" however, the spectrum is very broad. I have a son who is considered high functioning autism. I too, know what it is like to know in your gut that something is wrong, and to be looking for answers. Not knowing your son, I can only tell you what I have done for my own son who in the past 3 years has improved dramatically! Have you ever heard of a DAN doctor? DAN Drs. treat children with neurological disorders biomedically. There are key things that seem to be common in children with neurological disorders such as: Vit B deficiency Zinc Deficiency Enzyme Deficiency GABA, TAURINE, other amino acid deficiencies Gut problems--inability to absorb nutrients from foods Allergies to gluten, corn, soy, dairy etc. Yeast issues These are just a few of what come to mind but there are definitely more. The DAN doctor will help you heal your child's gut, identify deficiencies and allergies, and provide supplementation. Naturopaths and Homeopaths can be very helpful as well. I am happy to hear that you have found a medicine that is helpful. However, in the mean time, you may really want to get to the bottom of why he needs the medicine. The biomedical and natural approach will help you do that! So that you can help heal your child rather than just survive the symptoms. Also, as far as the attention issues go. There are a few natural supplements that are incredible for attention issues. PS100 (phosphatidylserine) and GPC (GlyceroPhosphoCholine) In addition, finding a developmental eye doctor as well. These doctors not only do your typical eye sight screening. They also have found a connection between the way that the eyes work and how the brain works. My son wears glasses. Not for sight but for vision and focus. It sounds very confusing but he actually has prisms in his glasses that help him focus when his eyes want to wander. They have found that these prisms actually relax the brain and allow the children to focus. I don't know if anyone has told you about how drastically changing your sons diet might change his life. For many children gluten and corn act like morphine in their bodies and therefore you find the erratic behaviors of a drug addict. Changing my sons diet was the first step in changing his life. Was it difficult? YES, I wont lie to you. Was it worth it? YES Would I do it again? YES You do not want to do the diet without being under a doctors care because other deficiencies can develop. It is wonderful that he is receiving therapy for sensory issues. Sensory is often affected greatly with these children. So much of the biomedical therapies can help with the sensory issues as well as anxiety issues. GABA and Taurine made an incredible difference in the severity of my sons anxieties. My son HAD severe obsessive compulsive, ADD, anxiety, explosiveness, sensory issues, and impulsiveness. After 3 years on a very strict diet, 2 years seeing a DAN Dr., two years seeing homeopaths and naturopaths, biomedical treatments, enzyme therapy, and allergy elimination. I now have a very different son. It has been very overwhelming and exhausting and expensive but so worth all of the sacrifices. I feel like I have recovered my son! I know that your head must be spinning right now with all the information I have given you. Not being a doctor I cant tell you what your child needs. However, I can suggest where to begin to find it: 1. Find a DAN Dr. 2. Find a developmental pediatrician 3. Find a developmental eye doctor 4. Find a naturopath/homeopath Unfortunately, the answer is not to just choose one. All four of these avenues working together should be able to help your son. I know how overwhelming it all is. Just take one step at a time. Ask a lot of questions. Take notes each time you talk to a doctor. Listen to your gut. You know your child better than anyone else. You are his advocate. You DO have the ability to help him. You just need to keep looking until you find the right people. I know how exhausted you must be emotionally especially being a single parent. But keep pushing for your son and it will be worth it! You can change his life. Early prevention has proven to be VERY beneficial in helping these children. The sooner their developing bodies receive the help they need the better chance they have of a full recovery. Getting a diagnosis could also get you help from DDD which would provide you with services such as therapies as well as respite care which would give you a much needed break. I apologize for all of the typos. It is late and I don't have a lot of time and my mind was going much faster than my typing fingers. I wish you the best. Hang in there. You and your son WILL get through this! Eve

Hi there! I am sorry to hear your son is dealing with theses things. I know it is hard. But I promise you there are ways to help! My son Daniel has made noises since he was three and started doing facial movements at four. But the funny thing is I never tied his shirt chewing / cloth chewing into the whole mix until about the age of 5. Daniel would chew on clothing and pillows horrible. He would also chew on toys. Anytime Daniel starts getting overloaded with artificial food dyes he starts the chewing. As soon as it clears out of his system it all comes to a stop. Over Christmas, for example, I let him have way too many treats that contained artificial food dyes and the chewing all started up again. I actually read on Dr. Fiengold's website that chewing cloth is one of the indicators that a person is having a reaction to artificial food dyes. It was from reading this that I started putting together the fact the chewing was tied in with tics. The main food dyes/chemicals that bother my son are Yellow #5, Yellow #6, Red #40, Caramel Color, Vanillin and High Fructose Corn Syrup. The one that brings on the tics the hardest is MSG. I have done many postings about this because MSG is my son's biggest enemy. MSG is hidden under many different names. Here is the link I did to the MSG information http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...p;mode=threaded . Along with the dietary changes we have Daniel on a lot of supplements. One of the most important is Magnesium Taurate and also B vitamins. These both help the nervous system. We use a product by Bonnie Grimaldi called TS-Plus that is balanced especially for people with Tourettes/Tics. Many people on the forum use it. A few experience an increase in tics because of one of the B vitamins in it. But most people seem to tolerate it well. Also getting Omega's going are really key too. Nordic Naturals makes a really good Omega product for children. We use many other supplements to like pro-biotics to give him good bacteria in his gut and enzymes to help him digest food better. Very few people know he has any tics at all. It has been a major effort but worth all the time I have put into it to understand how to help him. I am starting to wonder if my 2 year old daughter is not developing tics. She is starting to blow her lips a lot and she chews her nails horrible. I am so hoping she does not but at least I understand a lot about this and I can be prepared to start her on the same regimen as my son. Have a great day and I will be praying for your son. Carolyn N.

I have to share this that has been a great benefit of using magnesium. My son Daniel use to grind his teeth HORRIBLE at night. After about a month on magnesium it stopped. Here is an article that explains this http://www.is.wayne.edu/mnissani/bruxnet/ploctran.htm . My naturopathic doctor also told me that magnesium deficiency can cause teeth grinding at night. I know that it was not just a coincidence that his teeth grinding stopped after a month of using the magnesium. Carolyn N.

Tracey, My vitamin regimen came from two naturopathic doctors primarily. I had read about Bonnie Grimaldi's vitamins and ran it by both of them and they both agreed it would be a good multi to be on. The others just developed over time but the "formula" seems to really be working. It is such a shame it costs so much but it is worth it. The money we are now not spending on eating out, because of Daniel's MSG issues, is now being spent on vitamins. But it is sooooooo worth it! The Glycine has a function of helping neurotransmitters function more efficiently overall. The GABA is for anxiety and yes Daniel is on GABA too. I forgot to put that one on my list. It does seem to work. The glycine came as a suggestion from one of the naturopathic doctors. It is fairly inexpensive. We use a brand called "Carlson" and buy it at the Vitamin Shoppe. The GABA I get straight from my doctor so I don't know what brand of GABA is a good brand just to outright buy. Have a blessed day! Carolyn N.

Tracey, I noticed something that Faith referenced. That when you took out salicyates you noticed a change in a tic. Well from what I have read it seems to indicate that when you are sensitive to salicyates then you will also be sensitive to MSG and food dyes. They use the same system of the body to process through called the sulfation system. So if you have a "faulty" sulfation system you are going to experience problems with these foods. This is what I am convinced is the root of the problem with my son. I am going to a doctor, in a few weeks, that I am hoping to get some answers to how to improve the sulfation system. I know one way is epsom salts but I want to see what else I can find out. This is an old post from Latitudes that discusses this. Look at the second posting on this http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...amp;mode=linear . I also did a post a about a month ago where I discuss this whole sulfation system http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2946 . One product that helps with salicylate intolerance is No-Fenol by Dr. Houston http://www.houstonni.com/products/ . There is also evidence that it helps in general with process food dyes. So I have Daniel on this. I just would caution going slow and easy with enzymes because it can increase tics at first. The enzymes also clear out the "junk" in the system so when this happens toxins can get released and hence more tics at first. I would again reference the book by Karen DeFlice "Enzymes for Autism and other Neurological Conditions". It is a great book to understand how enzymes work and why they work. Carolyn N.

Tracey, My son is highly sensitive to MSG / Yellow Dye #5, Yellow Dye # 6, Caramel Color, Red Dye #40, and High Fructose Corn Syrup. The thing is I don't think these would show up on an allergy test. Like my doctor said they are not an "allergy" they are "toxins." All I can say is the difference with my son has been nothing short of a miracle by getting these out of his diet. He is 7 and 50 pounds. These were his main culprit. I also started a vitamin regimen that has helped him enormously too. This includes Bonnie Grimaldi's TS-Plus 6 a day, Additional Magesium Taurate 200 mg a day, Additional 500 mg of vitamin C a day, Glycine 4,600 mg a day (Amino Acid to help with Neurotransmitters), Phosphatidylserine 200 mg a day (this really helps promote brain function), Dr. Houstons Enzymes AFP (1/2 capsules 2 times a day), Dr. Houston No-Phenol 1 time a day 1/2 capsule, mega 3's (I use Nordic Naturals), and I give him MindLinx Probiotic. I cut back on Bonnie's Grimaldi's TS-Plus from 10 to 6 because the enzymes should be helping his body absorb the vitamins better. I have to say he is just doing great on this combination of vitamins. I know it is a lot and it costs me over $100 a month to do this for him but the results have been great. I should add we break up his vitamins so he has 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 at night (other then the No-Phenol we just give at night) With all this said and done I could give him all the supplements in the world but without the diet changes he would still be having tics. Tracey, there are answers. I believe in all my heart, because of what I have seen with my own son, that many people in our country are experiencing reactions to the chemicals in foods but they are coming out in different ways. For example Fibromyalgia has been linked back to MSG intolerance. Also some Migraines are caused from these chemical foods. I did a link on the different names of MSG http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...p;mode=threaded . The food industry has gotten very tricky at hiding names. I have become like an eagle when I read food labels. I learned the all the names of MSG and I make sure Daniel does not get this in his diet. This also includes school lunches of course. Believe me it is there too. I found it in about 70% of his lunches at school. Also here is a list of the foods I feed Daniel that he does not react too http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2976 . I can only say as strong as a reaction as my son has to MSG, and I also know Chemar's son reacts too, I can only imagine many people on this forum are also dealing with MSG and the other artificial things as huge problems. When you have a nervous system issue adding things eating things the diet that "naturally" (I say that word loosely) excite the nervous system in people are not going to help people with nervous system issues. It would be like adding fuel to the fire. I really think one of the main problems is people, including myself a year ago, do not realize how much MSG we are eating every day in our normal everyday foods. Simply because we do not know what to look for in the ingredients since the names are hidden under unusual names. It is a very frustrating problem but not an impossible one by any means. So don't be discouraged if the allergy test did not show anything. My guess is you are dealing with chemical type foods like I my son is and many others too. Just take it one day at a time. Read, read, and read more labels. Be careful about eating out and check the internet sites for ingredients prior to going to the restaurant. My son may not be happy at times with not being able to have "everything" but he would choose not having the foods over the tics. The thing is most of grew up thinking eating "Lucky Charms" and drinking soda products are just a "normal" way of eating and drinking. When the fact is it is so far from what God created us to eat. Like my naturopathic doctor told me if Daniel could just live on a farm he probably would have had a lot fewer problems. In other words, eating as God intended us not what we have created through chemicals to eat and drink. Carolyn N.

Chemar, That is such an amazing answer. That will help so many people! The song you referenced is one of my favorite songs too! Carolyn N.

Thank you for the other suggestion for colds. I love getting products that truly help my family. I know that you can purchase the "Blockade", which by the way is Elderberry Extract, and also the "Oscillococcinum" at Sprouts. I am sure they carry it in many different vitamin type shops or order over the internet. One other product we have used with great success for colds is "Umcka". It helps get rid of coughs faster. It does not stop the cough from happening. It just helps in the healing process. Carolyn N.

I just wanted to share this but these products saved our vacation to Disneyland last week. We surprised our children with a trip to Disneyland and I am not joking within minutes of telling them we were leaving Daniel started getting that glassy look in his eyes and needed to lay on the couch. The respiratory flu has been going around like crazy in his school. I knew it was a matter of time. I just had hoped it would be after we got back. Well we managed to get to Disneyland area and he seemed to be doing well. But the next day it all turned around he had a high fever and just kept asking me over and over if he could go to Disneyland. I ended up going to a place called "Henry's" in California which has a vitamin department. I spoke with a woman that was soooo helpful. She told me to give him a product called "Oscilloccinum" which helps alleviate flu symptoms and also a product called "Blockade" that helps fight viruses in the body. You can give both these products to adults and children. The long and short of it the next day he was able to go to Disneyland with no fever and very little coughing. I used Germ-X on him like mad because I did not want him passing this along to anyone and I also made sure he coughed into tissues. But he really did do an amazing turnaround in just a short time. I gave the product to everyone in our family. The other two came down with it but not nearly as bad as Daniel did the first day. It was short lived. I started getting a cough and it just basically passed me by. I just wanted to share this with everyone because the respiratory flu is really bad in Arizona. We are then number 1 state in the country for it. I am sure it is heading other directions. I just thought it might help someone else like it helped us. The only draw back to these products is they are $$$$$$$$. I spent about $100 for enough product for our entire family to take over the week. However, it saved our trip and that was worth the money. I hope this is Ok I posted this. I really thought about it because I know we are not suppose to promote products but I thought with as bad as the flu is this year it might well really help someone especially those with young children. Chemar, if it is not Ok to post please feel free to delete this. Again, I just thought these products might help another family like it helped ours. Carolyn N.

Judy, One other piece of information I found was a list of Integrative Doctors in Arizona that Chemar also suggested looking into. Again, unfortunately, there does not seem to be any in your area . I have no idea how comprehensive this list is and what organization this is but I thought it might get you started somewhere http://www.acamnet.org/site/apps/kb/cs/con...242497&raw= Carolyn N. CSP Neat to hear you lived in Arizona too. I have lived here since I was 11 and cannot imagine living anywhere else. I am sort of strange but I actually enjoy the heat of the summer. I love getting in a swimming pool that feels like bath water. I am a real baby when it comes to being cold! I know when I visit my in laws, who live in Oregon, in the summer I just freeze up there. So I think I will be here a long time.

Judy, Chemar posted about the DAN Doctors. I looked up on the list and did not see any in Flagstaff. Here is the list. Just scroll down and you will see the ones in Arizona. One of my friends did go to Dr. Cindy Schnider and liked her a lot. http://www.autismwebsite.com/practitioners/us_lc.htm . Have a blessed day! Carolyn N.

Hello! Greetings to a fellow Arizonan. I am in the Phoenix area and have been seeing two doctors here for my son with tics. There is one doctor in the Sun City area, his office would be about 2 1/2 hours from you, but I have to say he is a great Naturopathic Doctor. I was thinking you could possibily call his office and do a phone consultation to get some suggestions. His name is Dr. Profrock at Total Wellness (phone number 623-977-0077). The address is 9887 W. Bell Road . I know he is familar with PANDA's. I cannot tell you how familiar. He does work with a lot of people with tics and that is why I go to him. My son is not a PANDA's/PITANDS child. Also I don't know if he would do phone consultations without meeting in person first but it would be worth a try. He is $$$$. I think for the first visit he runs $250 for the first hour. The next visits run $200 per hour. Also I was thinking of another doctor who might possiblily do phone consultations. I have no idea but it could be worth a try. I saw this post regarding PANDA's and a doctor in Chicago who is very familiar with PANDA's. Anyhow here is the information http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3002 . The other thing I was thinking, I don't know how much it would help in his situation, is doing Epsom Salts baths or making an Epsom Salt Lotion. This seems to really help a lot of people with tics. I read about this in the "Enzymes for Autism and other Neurological Disorders" book by Karen DeFlice. She has a suggestion of making homemade lotion with epsom salts to have another way of getting epsom salts into your system to help out with the sulfation system of the body (the sulfation system helps process out toxins, histamine, and also helps with processing neurotransmitters). This is from her book page 244 I quote "Cheap and easy. Heat some Epsom salts with a little water to dissolve them. I put about one teaspoon of water in three tablespoons of salts and microwave for a minute or so. Add more water if necessary. Then mix this into around four ounces of any lotion or cream you like. I have used suntan lotion, hand cream, cocoa butter, body lotion, aloe vera cream, whatever I find that is on sale or inexpensive without the chemicals I am trying to avoid." If you do the Epsom Salts bath you would add 2 cups of Epsom Salts into a full bath tub. I will be praying for your situation. I would also recommend doing a lot of reading up on vaccinations, prior to doing any more shots, because it seems a lot of people on this forum notice an increase in tics after shots. Carolyn N.

How wonderful of you to be concerned for this boy. It very well could be that he has a tic. But the good news is most tics are what would be considered "transient". Meaning they don't stick around very long. I know a friend of mine told me her son had a throat clearing sound all summer and then it just disappeared. I think I read that 10%-20% of children experience some sort of tic at some point in their childhood. Obviously, with tourettes or chronic tics, these do not stay short lived like the transient ones. You could gently mention to her, if you feel comfortable, that you are wondering if it could indeed be a tic. You could also mention to her that tics are generally caused by an allergy to a food or environment factor. As in my son's case, it is to artificial foods. It may be informative to her to pay attention to when he eats and when the "tic" emerges. I also have to mention, with tourettes, a lot of what I read is it starts with excessive eye blinking. However, this was not the case with my son. His started with vocal tics like the throat clearing. If I am wrong on the eye blinking information please someone correct me. I just seem to remember reading this somewhere. Also I want to mention when my son goes to bed his tics increase right before falling asleep. So if you notice the sound increasing right before following asleep it probably is a tic. If you are noticing an increase in tics right after eating, say within 30-40 minutes, you can pretty much guess it is a food allergy that the child is dealing with. The good news is there are answers for that and that is what this forum is all about. God Bless and keep up the good work in teaching our young ones! Carolyn N.