CarolynN

Hello Fellow Arizonan: I am in Goodyear. It was exciting to see your post and know that someone else is here near me on the forum. Here is the information regarding the doctors I have used for my son. I have used two different ones. The first one is the one that does the NAET type treatments. I highly recommend her for allergies. I have referred many people to her. Her name is Dr. Orona (Naturopathic Family Care at 32nd Street and Thunderbird) 602-493-2273. To do the NAET type system it is a series of four visits I believe. The first is a general visit, the second is testing for environmental allergies, the third is for chemical allergies, and the last is for food. The whole treatment runs around $500-$600. The only other thing is she may recommend some supplements to help with allergies and she will suggest you go to a health food store or she will sell them to you at her office. She is familiar with tics in general but she I have found that in certain areas I have more information I have found by my own reading. She is amazingly good with children and I cannot say enough about her! Also when you are dealing with tourettes usually you are also dealing with allergy. So she would be a great option and she is just a great overall doctor too. She is hard to get into. You probably would have a least a months wait. The other doctor who is great is Dr. Profluck. He is at Total Wellness and he is at 9887 W. Bell Rd. Phone number is 623-977-0077. He is VERY good and can tell you more then you can ever imagine on how the body works and what it needs. He is $200 an hour (yikes!). The reason I started going to him is my friend had SEVERE migraines to the point she wanted to die. She went to him, based on a recommendation of a mid-wife, and he immediately told her what to do naturally to get rid of them and it WORKED!!! So I called his office a while back to see if he worked with Tourettes and he had seen many cases. So I knew he was my guy in helping with the Tourettes in general not just the allergy portion of it. The only thing I will tell you, and my friend told me prior to going, is he looks slightly different. He has a real long beard. But I am telling you he is the nicest man you ever met and you feel like he is completely paying attention to every detail of what you say. The other doctor, who I have NOT Gone to is Dr. Cindy Schnider (Spelling?). She is a DAN doctor and sees children with tourettes. She is $500 for the first visit. I think she is then $150 per 1/2 hour after. Her phone number is 602-277-2273. I believe you have to process your own claims through her too. My friend whose son has autism went to her and said she was really good. She ended up switching to Dr. Orona after she had all the blood tests done and had things more figured out for her son. Dr. Orona has been able to take her son to another level beyond what Dr. Schnider was able to do, but to get the ball rolling she would probably real good because she runs all the standard tests where Dr. Orona does some tests but is not familiar with all the ones standard done for Tourettes. Dr. Profluck has done no tests. It has all been verbal understanding and him telling me what supplements standardly work for tourettes. I hope this helps. If you need any more information please don't hesitate to ask. Enjoy the sunny Arizona Day (I think we are in the high 60's for those of you in snow country! Just had to throw that in. I know in the summer you can make fun of us!) Carolyn N.

Pamela Kay, I am sorry I missed your note to me. I had my setting on "outline" and I missed reading what you wrote. Thank you for your nice comments!! Also I forgot to mention I give my son Omega 3. I use "Nordic Naturals" Omega 3-6-9 Junior. My naturopathic doctor told me this is her favorite brand. I should also mention you can poke the little gel like capsules with a corn in the cob holder, and squeeze it into the "Simply Lemonade". You cannot taste it mixed into the Lemonade. Have a blessed day! Carolyn N.

Wendy, I was so excited to read your post. I am so glad that the information gave you hope. You have every reason to be hopeful. I really do believe, from everything I have learned over the past 1 1/2 years, that there are indeed answers and your daughters reduction in tics, on the Nasonex, is indeed very encouraging. Shelia Roger's book "Tics and Tourettes" was such an inspiration to me. She has stories of people who finally had figured out what is "triggering" them and by getting on the right supplements their tics are greatly reduced. I by no means think tics are just a "happenstance". As so many people on this forum can attest, you can get to the root. Whether you can control every tic, that is very difficult, but you can certainly drastically reduce them. Never give up on thinking you have come to a dead end road. My son Daniel is seven now. I first noticed tics at the age of 3. His tics are now very minimal. I really think my friends think I am crazy when I tell them he has tics. But I have 100% no doubt if I had not made the changes in his diet and added the supplements his life would be very different now. When he gets MSG in his system, which is by far his the worst offender, he cannot control his eyes and he cranes his neck. Now just think if I did not know this and had him on no supplements I would be feeding him a diet full of MSG (this is the American standard). I seriously do not even like thinking what his life would be like but by the Grace of God He has shown me answers!!! Regarding the Hepa Filter, I think that is a great move to help with allergies. I have heard only great things from using them. I cannot remember where I read this, but I remember one mom posting that once she installed a Hepa Filter her child's tics reduced dramatically. I think you are VERY SMART to make the changes gradually. As you said, otherwise it is very difficult to pinpoint what made the difference. I know I have a tendency to want to throw everything at Daniel just to make the tics go away. But ultimately that does not give a clear picture plus it is very $$$$$$$$$$$$. I would just recommend getting a journal and start making notes each day as you make changes. This way you have something to reference as to her progress or regressoin. I know, for myself, it is hard to remember details from a month ago and it is handy to be able to read my notes. How to test for allergies? This is difficult for me to answer because I only know of one way and that is by doing NAET. Now that by no means that there are not other numerous ways to test, because I know standard medicine has methods, I just have been in the naturopathic world for the last 7 years of my life and am unfamiliar with those other tests. My son has gone through a process very similar to NAET called NEAT. What I love about it is it test for hundreds of allergies, with no pain, in just three office visit (environmental, foods, and chemicals). So I get answers very quickly as to what is bothering him and also in this treatment they desenstize you to those allergies with not medicine. They use accupressure. It is very difficult for me to explain but somehow it "tricks" the brain around the allergy. The unfortunate part for most people reading this post is this NEAT process is only in Arizona I believe. It is performed at Naturopathic Family Care (my doctors office) and by the Doctor who developed it Dr. Conrad Kail who also practices in Arizona in Scottsdale (I hope I spelled his name right). Now with this said the, other system I referenced NAET, is not so fast in answers (this is just from my understanding I may be wrong). But I believe they hone in on various allergies and it takes much longer to go through the treatment. But I can say I have read many testomines that state it has worked for various people in desensitizing them. I think the key is getting a good doctor who really knows how to perform the NAET correctly. If you look at the website http://www.naet.com/ you can review the doctors who perform it and how many NAET seminars they have been through. The NAET doctors are all over the country and I believe in other countries too. I can say, from my own experience, and those others I have refered to my doctor in Arizona (Her name is Dr. Orona at Naturopathic Family Care) that is really does work in helping desensitize the allergies. Unfortunately, for my son Daniel, the MSG, does not respond as well to this treatment. Dr. Orona told me this is because it is a "toxin" and not a true allergy. I would suggest, if you need to get additonal information on allergy testing, starting a new post and ask people on the forum how they got to the root of what allergies where triggering them or their child. You might get a better understanding of what is available. My last thought, is remember epsom salts baths (2 cups epsom salts). These epsom salts directly help the sulfation system of the body by riding toxins out of the system and this has a direct impact on tic reduction. You can also make lotion out of the epsom salts here is a quote from Karen DeFlice book "Enzymes for Autism and other Neurological Disorders" 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." Keep up the hope! God Bless, Carolyn N.

Hi Faith, Good to hear from you and thank you for your encouragement. I LOVE learning and reading about medical information. I really think God put that desire in my heart so I could understand this puzzle of tics. I just find it all very interesting and also I realize at the same time I am helping my son and others too (which is such an amazing blessing to me). Regarding the enzyme website and the book by Karen DeFlice, I have not done a lot of comparing but from what I remember it is very similar information. However, in the book she explains her story with her two sons and the journey they were on finding answers. Here are some samples of her chapters "What to Expect When Starting Enzymes", "Nutrient Deficiencies and Mal-absorption", "Guidelines for Giving Enzymes", "Magnesium and Neurology", "Enzymes and Disease", and "Food and Its Effects on Neurology, the Brain, and Behavior". There are 21 chapters in all and 382 pages. Regarding the Candida Clear, how I know it is working is because I get "white thrush" on my tongue with candida. This is candida overgrowth. After being on the Candida Clear, even for a few days, it is a noticeable difference and my tongue does not have the thrush anymore. However, candida is very stubborn and will give a good fight to come back. When I start eating high carbs again or especially if I am on an antibiotic it comes back. I then have to retreat myself. I also use probiotics too for myself. Thank you for your advice with the enzyme capsules. That is good information! Have a great day! Carolyn N.

Lenny, My son Daniel, can eat, even a few chips and get a reaction. I remember one time we gave him perhaps 6 "Funions". He started cranning his neck back so hard and started walking into things because he was not able to keep his head straight. What you have to keep in mind is some products will contain higher concentrations of MSG then others. So it could be just a few chips in that particular brand, could be enough to really escalate your sons tics. I can tell you my son one time had four "Tyson Chicken Nuggets from Costco" which has MSG in it set off a weeks worth of high level tics. If it were me, I would look for that bag or when you go to the store next time look for the brand. Quite often you can find the ingredients for various food doing a search on the Internet.. Do you know what brand it is? I think if you can find out the ingredients and if one of them matches up to one of the MSG names you will have a piece of the puzzle for your son figured out. Here is a link I put together with the various names of MSG http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...aded&start=. Just to give you one more example, the brand "Sun Chips" have MSG in the ingredients of the flavored types. Even something you think is healthy eating has MSG! It is really frustrating. I am guessing, if it is MSG that triggered your son, is those chips had a higher level then his body could tolerate. Carolyn N.

Imcquill, Will you do me a favor and list the ingredients of the onion chips. I would not be surprised in the least bit if MSG is not hidden in them. As I have posted many times this is my son's BIGGEST tic trigger. I have even found MSG, usually as autolyzed yeast extract, listed in numerous products at "health food type stores". Anything "flavored" like that is almost a slam dunk guarantee it has one form or another of MSG! We have to avoid any and all flavored chip type products. Also does the sour cream have something called sodium cassienate or calcium cassienate. These are another form of MSG found in dairy. When my son has MSG, and he is on Bonnie's vitamins", it takes about a week to calm down from the tics. My thought is it takes his sulfation system a week to process out the "toxins" and excess dopamine that has been created and also to rebuild the sulfate ions back up to do their job again. But I have to say he does not have as big a reaction, then prior to Bonnie Grimaldi's vitamins. I would highly suggest you do some epsom salts baths (2 cups of epsom salts) or make some lotion with epsom salts. Here is the link that I just posted as to how to make them http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...d&pid=20327 . I really am curious as to those ingredients in the onion chips. Because this very well could be your answer. You will also know, if this is the case, that you son is reacting to MSG products like I suspect many people with tics do. Carolyn N.

Thank you Calicat for your kind words! I just know how it feels when you feel like things are so out of control with your child and getting information that can help them is such a huge relief. So the more information we can get out about the true causes of these tics the better. I thought I would add this one other thing on that has helped my son. I read about 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." We have done this for Daniel and it is very convenient and a simple way to help his sulfation system. This way if you do not have time for a bath you can lather up. It makes quit a bit of lotion mixture. The only thing I have noticed is it is a bit watery when it is fully mixed (perhaps this is just the kind of lotion I am using). I found the epsom salts take a few hours, after being in the lotion, to dissolve all the way. So be patient when you first mix it and see lots of pieces of salts. They will dissolve over time. I have used a spoon to help mix it to help crush down the salts a bit. But like I said it takes time to dissolve in the the lotion one way or another. God Bless, Carolyn N.

Hi Wendy, Boy I feel for you! I know how hard it is when you are trying to figure out how to get these tics under control. But you have HUGE CLUE her tics went down when using the Nasonex. Nasonex has a direct impact on lowering histamine levels http://www.spfiles.com/pinasonex.pdf (read I believe it was five paragraphs down). Histamine levels have a big impact dopamine levels. Elevated dopamine is the main reason for the tics occuring. So my point is if you can figure out what allergy is triggering her I think you will make major leaps. Don't just think it was a coincidence her tics subsided when using an allergy product. I don't know if you read but I found that giving my son Benadryl decreased his tics. Here is my post regarding this http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2946 . Have you considered giving her Benadryl, at night time since it makes people sleepy, to see if she has a reduction in tics? If you are concerned about any possible drug interaction, with the Benardyl, I am sure you could check with a pharmacist. It would be interesting to know if her tics decreased using it. I know I am not the only one of the forum who noticed a decrease in tics with Benadryl. You will read about that in the above mentioned post. Also please note a few people, like Chemar's son, have reactions to anti-histamines. So be aware to observe her for any increase tics, if you decide to try it, just in case she is one of the few who would react negatively. Have you checked into NAET treatments for allergies? You can do a search on the forum and read the success stories with NAET helping reduce allergy symptoms with no medicine at all. We use Bonnie's Grimaldi's TS-Plus and have had great success. However, if my son is exposed to those things that effect him Yellow 5 and 6, Red 40, MSG (major trigger), caramel color, vanillin, or high fructose corn syrup he still will have tics but not at the same intensity. So my point is it needs to be a combination of vitamins and diet change. Here is a link that explains the other vitamins we give my son http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3010 . We started out the TS-Plus slowly and worked our way up to 10 a day. I would say I noticed an impact for him about a month after taking them but I know for some it is sooner and some later. I really believe the magnesium taurate in the product and the B-vitamins are very helpful! I believe the reason some people react to Bonnie's TS-Plus is because of one of the B vitamins in it that some people do not tolerate well, I don't remember which one it is but perhaps someone can post this information if they know the answer. Hang in there. Keep a log of what you think might be triggering her and make some observations. I really think once you can figure out her allergy/allergies you will make a massive leap forward in helping her. By getting those histamine levels down which will lower her dopamine. By the way vitamin C is a natural anti-histamine. So giving her additional vitamin C would be great. The only side effect is taking too much can give you diarrhea. God Bless, Carolyn N.

Hi Jennifer, I just wanted to say welcome! I know it is a lot of information to process on this forum. It takes many, many hours to get your "head" around what you are reading. But hang in there. You are doing your daughter a GREAT service by becoming educated for your daughter while she is so young. This will only be to her advantage. Regarding the enzymes, I would highly recommend you purchase a book called "Enzymes for Autism and other Neurological Conditions" by Karen DeFlice. It really goes into depth regarding why enzymes work and what enzymes to take. Dr. Houston's company is who I have used for my son and they do a great job in answering questions. So you may want to e-mail them. Just for your ease here is the website http://www.houstonni.com/ . There are many other enzyme companies out there it is a matter of finding the ones that work for your daughter. There are enzymes for breaking down proteins, carbs, and veggies/fruit/artificial colors. Some of the enzymes are very specific and some are combo. I would also offer the advice of start out slow and easy with enzymes. Don't just jump in with both feet because enzymes not only break down foods but they also help get rid of the "junky" stuff in your intestines like candida. So when this happens toxins can be released from the "junky" stuff and the body has to process this out. So if you go full force you could see an increase in tics. I know I did with my son. I would expect your daughter will at least have a slight increase in tics, one way or another, when starting the enzymes while her body adjusts. From what I have read it can take around 2 weeks for the young and as you get older it takes longer to see the true benefit from the enzymes. I have been throwing away alot of the enzyme product I ordered because I am only, at times giving my son, 1/4 to 1/2 capsule. But again I am taking it slow and easy! My biggest suggestion to you, is if you do nothing else, is get rid of the artifical/chemical/msg foods from the diet. These are VERY hard on the nervous system. Included in this, but not complete, would be yellow 5, yellow 6, red 40, caramel color, vanillin, high fructose corn syrup, and MSG. I have found absolutely these case tics in my son. When I get these things out of his diet about a week later his body settles back down. Here is a list I compiled of foods I feed my son that are free of these items http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2976 and here is a link I did regarding the various names MSG is under and how to look for it in foods http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...p;mode=threaded . By far MSG is my son's biggest enemy. If he has any amount of MSG he will tic for days and days. I often think about these poor people who have tics, and are sensitive to MSG and do not realize it, and eat meal after meal just loaded with it. In other words, their bodies would not get any kind of break to even begin to get their bodies to calm down. MSG is hidden everywhere and unfortunately hidden under numerous names. If you do not know what to look for and someone eats the standard American diet, they are eating MSG at least once if not more in a day. MSG is used as a flavor enhancer in numerous foods it is just not true, by any stretch of the imagination, that is it is a Chinese Food product only. Here are the supplements that I give my son who is 7 and is 52 pounds. We have Daniel on Bonnie Grimaldi's TS-Plus (I cut back to 6 a day, we were giving him 10, because the enzymes in theory should be helping his body absorb the nutrients better I am going to discuss this with his doctor at the end of this month), additional Magnesium Taurate (200 mg. You can purchase this through Bonnie Grimaldi's website or vitamin shoppe), Glycine 4600 mg a day (Amino acid to help neurotransmitters), additonal 750 mg of vitamin C a day, Dr. Houstons No-Phenol for helping with his problem with artificial food colors (we are only doing about 1/4 cap one time a day to start), Dr. Houstons AFP-Peptizyde (1/2 capsule a day for now but will increase over time) for processing protein's, including milk, and carb's/gluten , phosphatidylserine 200 mg (this one my Naturopathic doctor really thinks is beneficial to the brain. He said he has seen tremendous results in many different cases. But it is not an overnight result it takes, I believe up to two months to build in the system. Also it is rather $$$$$. I read it also helps counteract the some, but by no means all, of the side effects of MSG), and a pro-biotic called MindLinx. We break up his vitamins both morning and night. This way it stays more consistent in his body. Also he is getting GABA to help with anxiety. You may be wondering how in the world do you get all that in your son in one day. Well it had been a challenge, up to about a month, ago when he started swallowing pills. The way we use to do it was mixing the GABA, additional magnesium, and Glycine in a little bit of a lemonade called "Simply Lemonade". The TS-Plus and phosphatidylerine in peanut butter (we would make little balls out of it and sprinkled raw sugar on it). Obviously, someone with a peanut allergy could not even consider this option. Some people find they can make a "smoothie" type drink for their children but my son would gag horrible on this (the TS-Plus is very strong in flavor and it is hard to disguise but the peanut butter does a fairly good job at hidding the flavor). You would want to divide up, what ever vitamins you decide to give your daughter, in at least two doses a day to help keep a consistent amount in her system. I would also recommend doing a food journal to help figure out what foods are really bothering your daughter. It took me several months of doing this to start seeing the pattern and also by reading Chemar's posts about MSG that really put the whole piece of the puzzle together. For your daughter it could be dairy, gluten, artificial or a combination. But also keep in mind it could be something environmental that is bothering her like seasonal type allergies or even the smell of scented candles or laundry detergent. This is where Shelia Roger's book "Tic's and Tourettes" comes in real handy in understanding what may be causing the tics. It is also real inspirational to read the success stories in the book. Epsom salts baths are very helpful in helping the body calm down with tics. You would use 2 cups epsom salts in a bath. You might want to start out with less just to make sure her body does not increase in tics from the epsom salts (this would be very rare but possible from what I have read on the forum) The other thing to really consider is does she have candida. Candida is the overgrowth of yeast in the intestinal system and other parts of the body. Candida is very hard on the body because the sulfations system, which processes toxin, histamine, neurotransmitters, has to now process out the toxins from the candida, and hence cannot keep up with what else is coming at it. Does your daughter happen to have a white coating on the back of her tongue because this is one sign of candida? It certainly is not the only. This sounds gross but it seems like a fairly accurate way to check for candida. I have candida and tried it and it showed I had candida. You can read about it at this link http://www.adhdrelief.com/CandidaTest.html . If your daughter does have candida, you need to make sure you kill it off very slowly and carefully. Otherwise she will have a surge of toxins hit her body from the candida dying off and hence more tics. It seems like candida is a VERY common problem for someone with tourettes. I know Chemar recommends a product called Candida Clear by Now. I tried it and it works great. The only thing is I don't know what age you have to be to take it. One thing I like about it is it helps to eliminate some of the side effects from when you are killing off candida. Also pro-biotics, like the Mindlinx mentioned above, are key to helping clear the candida out of the system. Jennifer, I know it seems very overwhelming I was in your shoes just 1 1/2 years ago. But I can tell you I have learned an enormous amount of information to help my son. If anything I can tell you I truly use to feed my children a horrible diet (lots of process foods and LOTS of artificial). We have completely done a 180 and I know eventually these tics will diminish as my son ages, from all I have read age of 10 seems to be the peak, but these healthy eating habits will last for a life time. Perhaps this change in our diet will keep one of us in, our family of five, from getting cancer or some other detrimental disease that would be far worse then the tics. As our Pastor tells us it is all in the perspective! I would also just suggest that you become familiar with PANDA's because a lot of people on this forum are dealing with this other form of tics (the nervous system reacting to the strep virus or another virus). The last piece of advice I would give you is, and I am not trying to convince you either way, but PLEASE read up on the increase of tics after some children are vaccinated. Vaccines can be very damaging to people who have issues with their nervous systems. Just recently their has been a lot of discussion regarding this topic in this particular link http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2978 . But this link certainly is not the only on this forum. You could simply do a search using the word "vaccination". I have chosen not to do vaccinations on my son and all I have to do, and from my understanding it is the case in all states, you have to just sign a waiver for the school. Certainly you could also get a note from a doctor, who understands this issue, to excuse your daughter from additional vaccinations. Hang in there! There certainly is something triggering her tics and takes a lot of observation and also change to start getting to the root of the problem but it is worth the effort even when you feel like you are at a dead end road. I have consistenly found when I feel like I am at a dead end, I pray about it being that I am Christian, and low and behold I find another piece of the puzzle (thank you GOD for answering my prayers!!!!!!!!!!!) God Bless, Carolyn N.

Hello, I just wanted to say hang in there. I know life seems very confusing right now. I thought I would attach a post I did to another person a few months ago that I thought might help. http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2623 . I also wanted to say don't be afraid to ask for help from a professional counselor. We found a great Christian counselor for my son by doing a search through our insurance company. God Bless, Carolyn N.

Hello, I just wanted to say, that prior to Daniel being born back in 2000, I had heard a Naturopathic Doctor on the radio warn parents to look into the vaccination issue. I never thought twice about vaccinating prior to this. My dad was in the military and we had all kinds of shots. Well once I started reading into the information as to how many children are effected by these shots but yet it is not well publicized I was in shock. I probably read every piece of information I could get my hands on because I was in the same boat as everyone else thinking what is worse not immunizing or taking the chance with the shots. We ended up having Daniel immunized with only the Polio and DT (Diphtheria and Tetanus). After reading the literature a thousand times (ok maybe not that many but it felt like it) I took the advice of a doctor that I was going to at the time to do just these two shots. The biggest regret I have for him is I did these shots. I really do think this is a big part of Daniel's issue. Obviously I can not prove this but I certainly don't think it helped by any stretch. I am sooooo thankful I did not do the other shots on Daniel. I sometimes wonder where he would be if we had done the other shots for him as a baby with his very sensitive nervous system. Here is a website I found very useful when I was considering to vaccinate or not. It is think http://thinktwice.com/ . This website, which I have posted on other posts, goes into detail as to autism and the MMR http://www.newtreatments.org/fromweb/sulfur.html . This is a quote from this article... "William Walsh, senior scientist, Health Research Institute and Pfeiffer Treatment Center of Naperville, Ill., in his study of 503 children with PDD, Asperger's, and autism, found all but four were missing MT, which the body needs to bind with toxic metals-like mercury-so it can be excreted before it damages the brain and gut. Walsh believes a child who lacks MT may develop any of these developmental conditions if he gets mercury in his system. This may explain why some children become autistic after receiving a mercury-enhanced vaccine. It also explains why autism hits before the age of 3. After that, the brain and the gut have matured enough to withstand further doses of mercury, although the child may develop ADD and lesser developmental problems." This is the conclusion I came to from many discussions with various practioners and again lots of reading. We obviously live in a very sanitary society in America. We do not have to worry about open sewers, dirty water, and basic filth. If you live in a country where these are the conditions, disease spreads very easily and certainly your immune system would benefit greater from having the shot then not. But we do not live in this kind of situation anymore. The average person in America, unless they have a compromised immune system, can fight off these viruses naturally. Not only this but naturopathic doctors have remedies to help your body fight off these diseases. There is a another Naturopathic doctor, I have gone to in the past, who I have had discussed in detail about immunizations. This was his exact quote to me "I am not joking when I say dog vaccinations are cleaner then human vaccinations". How scary is this? He has done a lot of work in his practice developing "cleaner" vaccinations. When I see him again I am going to ask him what I should do if Daniel is to need a tetanus shot again at some point in his life. I am really frightened to give one to him after now knowing his nervous system is already having problems. My other two children have not been vaccinated at all. They are VERY healthy children and they barely ever ill. All I have had to do is sign a waiver to the vaccinations for public/private school. It just states for personal reasons I have chosen not to vaccinate. Here is some information as to how to handle getting around vaccinations http://thinktwice.com/laws.htm#2 . I certainly would never out right tell a parent not to vaccinate but the life long effects of the vaccinations is something that truly needs to be considered verses dealing with a disease for a few weeks for the average person who is fairly healthy. Carolyn N.

tlk, Thank you so much for your encouraging message to me. It means a lot to me! I truly do share in your frustration of this whole food issue living in America. Like my Naturopathic Doctor told me Daniel would do real well just living on a farm. In other words, he needs to eat as to how God created us to eat and not what we have changed food to be for our own conveniences in America. In regard to your son's dairy allergy I have to tell you I think the "Enzymes for Autism and Other Neurological Conditions " book is going to give you a lot of hope for the dairy allergy. From what I have read in that book and also on the Internet it opens up a whole new world for people who have a dairy and gluten allergy. You obviously have to be on the right kind of enzymes and the book covers exactly what kinds of enzymes exist for what kinds of problems. As you may have read from my previous posts, I am learning to take the enzyme thing slow and easy. Because of the function of the enzyme in getting the "gut" healthy again in the midst toxins can be released which can cause a surge of tics or other problems. So taking it slower would be better. According to the above referenced book most people, especially the younger you are, will see results starting in about two weeks. Some people take longer, even months, because the "gut" needs a lot of healing. Especially for a "leaky gut". The key is finding the right enzymes. The author of the book uses Dr. Houstons enzymes just as I have ordered. Dr. Houston's company was real good at answering the questions I had. But there are a lot of enzyme companies it is just finding the right enzyme for your child. Perhaps a good Naturopathic Doctor would be a good source too. My friend, who I referenced in one of my previous posts whose son is autistic, told me enzymes have made a HUGE difference for her son. It has opened up so many more possibilities for him to eat and he is doing really well (she is still at this point keeping gluten out of his diet). She and I have also had our children go through the program similar to NAET called NEAT. I have posted about that several times on the forum. I REALLY think this helped Daniel and her son too. The key is is finding a good doctor who knows how to perform the NAET correctly. There is a website for NAET at http://www.naet.com/ and it list the practitioners who perform it and how much training they have had. For any one in the Phoenix, Arizona area I would highly recommend my doctor at Naturopathic Family Care. Her name is Dr. Orona. She had done great things for my son. The only problem with these treatments is $$$$. My son's treatments, for just the allergies, ran about $500. She does it in a series of four visits where I know the NAET program takes a lot longer and I think even more $$$$. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I do. It is so nice to know that there are answers and this is not all just a dead end road! As I learn more about the sulfation pathway, that I have been posting about, I will keep updating. I am planning on getting an appointment with a doctor who I think can help me understand how to build up that part of Daniels body with supplements. God Bless, Carolyn N.

Sorry I double posted the last post somehow. So I just deleted it.

Mom2Three, I just wanted to share, just in case you did not see, that I created a list of foods I feed my son Daniel. I thought this would help you figure out where to start in helping your daughter with dietary changes. You may find out that she has an allergy to say dairy or wheat but this list is a list of foods that contain no MSG, High Fructose Corn Syrup (they may have regular corn syrup but few of them do), or Artificial Dyes. It does not take salicylates into consideration. Here is the link http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...amp;#entry20053 . I know how overwhelming it is to try to figure out this great big puzzle. But I do believe keeping the MSG, High Fructose Corn Syrup, or Artificial Dyes out of the diet is one way or another a necessity when dealing with an neurological situation such as tics/tourettes. If it were me, I would start with eliminating these "big guns". See how your daughter is doing in a month or so and then you may need to see if she is also reacting to salicylates. By then you will have a good idea if these other items are the main problem. Here is a list of common foods with salicylates just in case you want to go over these too http://www.zipworld.com.au/~ataraxy/Salicylates_list.html . Take a deep breath and know you cannot do all this over night. It takes time to learn what foods can be tolerated and I also had to learn to cook for my family. In the past we did A LOT of processed foods (primarily that was our diet) so this was a huge change for me. I would HIGHLY recommend a food log for your daughter. Keep track of what she is eating and how she seems to be in the morning and at night. I have a system of a 1 to 10. 1 being very low tics and 10 being very high. Every day morning and night I make a quick note of the foods he has eating and where he is from a 1 to a 10. God Bless, Carolyn N.

Hello again! Mom2three's posting about what foods have hidden MSG in them gave me the thought to compile the list of foods I have found, over the past 1 1/2 plus that my son Daniel can tolerate. These foods do not have any MSG, HIGH fructose corn syrup (they may have regular corn syrup but very few of them), and no artificial dyes (obviously this information is all based on the best of my knowledge. So make sure you read the labels for yourself!). These foods do not take in any consideration of any other allergies. They also do not take into consideration salicylates that some may be sensitive. As always keep an eye on the labels over the years because ingredients do change in foods we buy at the grocery stores. I compiled the list in five sections (Breakfast) (Lunch and Dinner) (Snacks/Desserts) (Beverages) and (Eating Out). I also included on the list the places I purchase my food at so hopefully these stores are near you! At the bottom of the post is information about MSG in general and what to avoid. Also some helpful websites I have found. There are several stores I do the vast majority of my shopping Costco, Sprouts, Trader Joes, and Wal-mart. Lunch/Dinner *Spaghetti Noodles (any regular brand) *Egg Noodles (any regular brand) *Pasta Noodles of any sort (any regular brand) *Chicken (I prefer Sprouts all natural chicken but regular chicken is ok too) *Organic Free Range Chicken Broth (Costco) (DO NOT buy any regular chicken broth. It will have MSG (autolyzed yeast extract. You need to buy organic and still make sure to check the ingredients) *Peanut Butter any brand regular kind *Jelly (I have been using Flavor Swiss Preserves but just look for one without colors or high fructose corn syrup) *Homemade Salsa *Sprouts Lil' Smokies (do not buy any Little smokies or any other sausage that does not say MSG free I guarantee it has MSG in it) *Frigo String Cheese (Costco large pack) (probably any brand string cheese is ok) *Cheddar Cheese (All natural no yellow dyes. Does not say artificial coloring. The kind I buy almost always say annatto used for coloring. Just as a side note Costco has a large block of cheddar cheese that says "All Natural" but when you read the ingredients it says artificial coloring) *Tortilla's *Homemade Pizza (I use Hunts's 100% Natural Tomato Sauce with just a teaspoon or so of white sugar mixed to make sauce) *Hormel 100% Natural Deli Meats *Parker House Style Frozen Rolls (Wal-Mart freezer section) (I love these rolls. They do have other additives but they do not seem to bother Daniel. I use them to make homemade donuts (After raised poke hole in the middle and fry them in canola oil. Cover in white sugar or make a cinnamon/sugar mix yummy!), little individual pizza's, hot pocket type sandwiches with the Hormel Deli Meats and cheese inside, and obviously dinner rolls) *Hamburgers (I like Sprouts Ground Beef. I wait until the beef goes on a great sale like $1.89 or so and we BBQ (be careful not to use BBQ sauce unless you read the labels real well for unfavorable additives). We individually wrap them and freeze them. Then we just bring them out and heat up for a quick hamburger. Also I cook up a bunch of the ground beef and store it individual ziplocks. We freeze it and then we can quickly defrost it for making taco's, spaghetti, or lasagna) *Lasagna Homemade (do not use Parmesan Cheese it is naturally high in MSG) *Roast Beef *Homemade mashed potatoes *Ore-Ida Fast Food French Fries (Walmart) (I am avoiding tator tots because they are "seasoned") *Trader Joes All Beef Hot Dogs *Homemade fried chicken *Homemade biscuits *Trader Joes Pancake Mix to make biscuits *Fresh Fruit *Fresh Vegetables *All Natural Butter (Wal-mart or Costco) *Bread (I buy mine at Sprouts cracked wheat) (Look for one without caramel coloring or high fructose corn syrup) *Olive Oil (Trader Joes has great prices) *Canola Oil (Wal-Mart has cheap off-brand) *White Flour *Wheat Flour *White Sugar *Brown Sugar *Jasmine Rice (Trader Joes and Wal-Mart) Breakfast *Great Value Homestyle Waffles (Wal-Mart freezer section) *Trader Joes Uncured Bacon *Applewood Bacon (Trader Joes) *Trader Joes 100% Pure Maple Syrup (I think Costco also carries a 100% product) *Jelly (I use Flavor Swiss Perserves but just look for one with out high fructose corn syrup and no artficle colors) *Trader Joes Honey O's cereal *Eggs *Kix Cereal *Cascadian Farms Vanilla Almond (Wal-Mart) *Envirokidz Koala Crisp (Whole Foods) *Cream of Wheat Regular (Wal-mart) *New Morning Fruit O's (Sprouts) *Cascadian Farms Oat's and Honey Granola (Walmart) *Homemade French Toast *Cheerios *Honeynut Cheerios *Cream Cheese Regular not flavored *Bagels (make sure they do not have high fructose corn syrup. Trader Joes does not I am pretty sure) *Fresh Fruit *Fresh Vegetables *Brown Sugar (for toppings) *Trader Joes Pancake Mix *Any fresh plain meat. (Make sure it is not "seasoned" from the store and be careful of breading unless you are doing this all yourself) Snacks/Desserts *Homemade Popcorn (we have a "Whirley-Pop" pan and we add our popcorn/canola oil/olive oil and salt after. Makes great popcorn. Our family has become quite famous for this when our friends come over) *Pretzels (Wal-Mart Great Value Brand. They are $1 a bag) *Unflavored potato chips like Lays Original or Ruffles Regular (ALWAYS unflavored chips anything else I can bet $$$ on will have a form of MSG. Also avoid any Doritos lots of MSG) *Oyster Crackers (I buy Trader Joes) *Saltine Crackers *Organic Quack N' Bites (Whole Foods). (Can you believe that good old regular fish crackers have MSG (autolyzed yeast)) *Cashews with salt (Costco) *Peanuts with Salt (Costco) *Almonds *Corn Chips with Flax (Trader Joes) (Do not buy regular corn chips because they are made with corn oil which has an MSG type of molecular structure) *Joe-Joes cookies chocolate or vanilla (Trader Joes) *Cheese Puffs Reduced Fat (Trader Joes) (DO NOT buy regular cheese puffs they have yellow dyes and I think they might have MSG I would have to read a bag to see. It has been a long time since I bought regular) *Cheetos All-Natural cheese puffs (Wal-Mart)(again DO NOT but the regular) *Mi Ranchito Blue Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips (Costco) *Raisins *Trader Joe's Vanilla Chocolate Chips (my son loves to eat these just like candy) *Trader Joes Peanut Butter Cups *Great-Value Brand Peanut Butter Cups (Wal-Mart) *Rice Cakes Lightly Salted (Wal-mart or Trader Joes) (DO NOT buy seasoned rice cakes MSG) *Ghiradelli Chocolate Chips for baking or for just eating (just don't over eat chocolate because it does have tyramine's) *Cat's Cookies (they are like animal crackers) Trader Joes *Cape Cod Potato Chips Regular (Costco) *Waffle Cones Keebler (Wal-Mart) *Breyers All Natural Ice Creams *Homemade crepes with white sugar and lemon juice *Blue Berries Frozen (Costco) (My children love eating frozen blue berries - they are just very messy and if you are sensitive to salicylates these could be a problem) *Claussen Deli Style Kosher Dills (Wal-Mart) *Cottage Cheese Regular *Kozy Shack Puddings *Squirrels Nest Candies (I have not ordered but other's on the forum have) http://home.squirrels-nest.com/ *Use real vanilla when making cookies *Use all natural butter Beverages *Hansen's Regular Soda's drinking 1/2 can. Whole can has a lot of sugar and I noticed increase in tics after drinking whole can.(Costco, Trader Joes, or Sprouts) (NEVER DIET because of the aspartame) *Simply Lemonade (Wal-Mart near the orange juices) *Capri-Sun All Natural 100% Juice (Costco. Make sure you do not buy the regular Capri-Suns because they have high fructose corn syrup) *Milk (I am learning you want to use 2% or higher because the lower the fat the more the milk is processed which can create a molecular change. My son seems to tolerate the 1% but I am switching just to get it out of his diet anyway) *Donald Ducks Orange Juice (Wal-mart) *Crystal Geser Juice Squeezes (Trader Joes) Eating Out *I have attached a link that I found helpful to avoid MSG (I don't know if the author took in consideration with the dyes or high fructose corn syrups) http://www.migraineweb.com/page6.html. *What I have started doing is going to the restaurants web sites and reading the ingredients lists prior to going. *One thing Daniel seems to tolerate is the Burger King Kids Hamburger Meal with French Fries. Get the regular milk instead of a soda. The bun does have high fructose corn syrup though! *The other thing we are doing, lets say we go to the mall, is taking a Hansen's Soda with us. This way he feels like he is getting a "soda". *Harkins Theater Popcorn (Do not use butter topping or any special salts just regular) *Cold Stone Creamry Ice Cream (Regular Sweet Cream only (no low sugar)). You will need to check the ingredients on the mix ins you would want to add. ******************************************************************************************************* Here is the information about MSG that I said I would include. Here are the common names for MSG. I would keep a card or piece of paper with them on so you can carry them around to check labels *** MSG, Monosodium glutamate, monopotassium glutamate, glutamate, glutamic acid, gelatin, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP), autolyzed plant protein, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, textured protein, yeast extract, yeast food or nutrient, and autolyzed yeast. I have to say I have yet to figure out exactly what yeast food or nutrient would be. Gluten products do not seem to bother Daniel so I am a bit confused by this name. It must be something that has been used on a label at some point to disguise MSG. Here is a link I created on Latitudes about MSG http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...p;mode=threaded . You really want to avoid anything seasoned, canned soups, ANY soy sauce product (this includes any products with Soy Sauce at Trader Joes/Sprouts/Whole Foods. It is naturally high in MSG even if MSG is not added. It is the way it is manufactured), parmasean cheese (naturally high), and pretty much any thing processed. You really need to also avoid school lunches. School lunches prepared at the school are more then likely going to be high in MSG. You need to go in and look at the labels. Don't trust that the "lunch staff" know that they do or do not have MSG. I tested this out at my son's school because they thought there was no MSG. Probably 70% of the lunches had hidden MSG names (no fault of the lunch staff they were purchasing what the State of Arizona government told them to buy!!!!) Here is a link to companies claiming there food is MSG free but are not http://www.truthinlabeling.org/nomsg.html . This explains what MSG does in the body http://books.google.com/books?id=UxDNkhvIc...qDkVbrdH-X-fsTc . Here are some other websites that might be helpful http://www.msgmyth.com/hidename.htm , http://www.msgtruth.org/sulfite.htm , http://www.msgtruth.org/whatisit.htm , http://www.msgmyth.com/discus/messages/247/247.html , http://www.msgtruth.org/why.htm I hope this list helps some. I know it is VERY overwhelming trying to figure out what to feed children who do not want to feel like they are being left out. But the effort of making the changes is SO WELL WORTH IT!!! Carolyn N.

Hi Suzie, I just wanted to say what a great mom you are to seek answers for your son. I have OCD and it was very severe as a child. I know exactly what it feels like to feel like you have to do something over and over even when you know inside your mind it makes no sense. I also know what it is like to have God show you the way out of this and it was through His hand that I have ultimately learned how to handle OCD. So I will be praying that your son will seek God's guidance in His life. I was also thinking you might want to check out the Pfieffer Treatment Center. They might be able to give you some guidance. They deal specifically with what your son is dealing with .... OCD and behavior issues. Here is the link http://www.hriptc.org/ . From what I have read it seems like they are credible but I have had not personal experience myself with them. I am understanding OCD more and more and I understand that it can be helped. There are so many options in supplements, dietary changes, cognitive behavioral therapy (huge in helping out OCD), checking for candida (overgrowth of yeast in the intestional system), seeing if you have heavy metal toxicity, avoiding MSG and Aspartame, avoiding foods with food dyes, and checking to see if PANDAs has become an issue (PANDAs is the strep virus that has turned to cause neurological problems). I thought this might be helpful. This is a post by Chemar. Her son had severe OCD and he is know doing very well http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=687 . A really good naturopathic doctor could be of a real good thing for your son to go to. A naturopathic doctor can help figure out what supplements can help out and run tests to rule out possibilities. Also many people on this forum use doctors called DAN doctors. They deal with austism but many people have found these doctors to be very knowledgeable with OCD and tourettes. Here is a link to look up information regarding DAN doctors http://www.autismwebsite.com/aRI/dan/dan.htm . Also I wanted to share with you what God has shown me how to handle my OCD. I was responding to a woman, and you will see her post first, as to what I have learned. It is a long post so hang in there http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2623 . There is so much hope for your son. It is just getting to the root of what is going on within him. Hang in there and I will be praying for you! Carolyn N.

Mom2three, I have been thinking about your daughter today and what I have learned regarding the sulfation system of the body. This is what I have been posting about, for the past week or so, and how I think this is the key to my son's issues. But the one thing that kept going through my mind today is this sulfation system also has to process hormones. So I was thinking if your daughters sulfation system is overloaded and cannot keep up with the hormones, because it is already overtaxed, then it would make complete sense she would have problems (since she is right at the age of puberty). So then you add to the fact that this system also is responsible for handling toxins in the foods, neurotransmitters, and environmental factor and all of a sudden you have one very overworked system. When this system gets overloaded it cannot process the excess neurotransmitters like it should. So what happens is you get an increase in dopamine. This dopamine is ultimately what causes the problem in the brain with tourettes/tics. So then you add MSG or aspartame into the situation and now you have just one boiling pot of problems for the sulfation system. I keep posting this link on various posts, so you may have already read it, but it is VERY informative. It is very complicated but hang in there and just keep going over it. I think you will learn some really interesting things. http://www.newtreatments.org/fromweb/sulfur.html . The good news is there are things you can do to help the sulfation system. The first is avoiding those things that tear it down like chemical foods, tylenol, chlorine, and salicylates (if you are very sensitive). Also epsom salts baths (2 cups espsom salts in bath), use something called the "Showerwise" to help filter chlorine out of tub water, using enzymes to help process foods, the Feingold Diet is designed for this problem so you can check into this, magnesium taurate helps support the sulfation system, using enzymes, and there are other supplements I am still researching. So it is by far not hopeless. It is just understanding it and jumping in with both feet and getting going in the right direction. If you read the article I stated you will see other suggestions that the author gives in supporting the sulfation system of the body. I have told a few other people on this forum about a book I am reading called "Enzymes for Autism and other Neurological Conditions" by Karen DeFelice. I seriously cannot say enough about it. She explains so well the sulfation system of the body and also how foods, toxins, etc effect it. Also she explains how she used enzymes to turn her son's lives around. I am going to study this book like crazy because I think she knows exactly what to do and I want to copy someone who has had great success in helping their children with an neurological condition. I think it would be great for you to obtain. I got mine through Amazon I think. It was a used copy and it was fairly inexpensive maybe $10 or so. The last thing I wanted to add, I forgot to put this on my last post, that I can give Daniel all the vitamins that I know to help him (he is on Bonnie's vitamins) but they still do not offer protection against MSG. I know I saw your posting that Bonnie's vitamins seem to not be working but it simply could be because her diet has not changed enough to make the ultimate difference. I am on a mission, as I have already posted, to help get the sulfation system running better in Daniel so he can tolerate more foods. So hang in there. You will get to the bottom of this and soon it will be a thing of the past! Have a great day! Carolyn N. P.S. Thanks Chemar for the encouragement. I really believe with all my heart that anyone who has tics should avoid MSG and aspartame like the plague. There is absolutely no way they add any value to the situation they can only be a massive detriment. I just really want to get the word out there to the truth of these very destructive toxins.

Patty, I found the name of the enzyme company that does not use fruit derived enzymes for those people sensitive to fruit but need enzymes to help with processing proteins, etc. The company is called Enzymedica. I found this in the book I keeping referencing "Enzymes for autism and other Neurological Conditions". Carolyn N.

Faith, I forgot to mention, although you probably know, the No-Phenol product by Dr. Houston was designed just for people with problems with salicylates. So this could help your son out. Just slow and easy remember. Faith, I think you should get the book "Enzymes for Autism and other Neurological Conditions" by Karen DeFelice. It really is very good and has helped many people understand how all this works together! Carolyn N.

Faith, Daniel is using both the No-Fenol and an enzyme his doctor gave him called Similase Jr. The doctor told me to give him one Similase Jr. prior to eating protein. But I am just giving him one in the morning and one at night because of the increase in tics. It was with in about 40 minutes of taking the No-Phenol, for the second dose, that he had this huge upswing in tics so I attributed the upswing to the No-Phenol. But he seems to be tolerating it at the lower dose so I will work its way up (1/8 capsule once a day). As everyone on this forum knows the frustrating thing with trying to figure out what is triggering tics is our environments and foods change continually. So to truly try to pinpoint can be difficult but it seems awefully coincidental that it was right after the No-Fenol we saw this reaction. Just to recap for someone who might be reading this for the first time and trying to understand what terms are being used when I refer to salicylates and phenols they are one in the same. Faith it does sound like your son could be sensitive to Salicylates. Here is a couple of websites for your to read. Blueberries happens to have on of the highest contents of salicylates http://www.zipworld.com.au/~ataraxy/Salicylates_list.html also this web site was helpful http://www.danasview.net/phenol.htm . What I find interesting with the milk, I have read so much this couple weeks and cannot remember where I saw this, but from what I remember people sensitive to salicylates/phenols and MSG can react to "low-fat" milk products. It is because of something they have to do to change the milk product to the lower levels of fat. The more a food is processed the more it changes the molecular structure. So the point was, in this article, giving milk that is not reduced in fat but regular milk may make a difference. But it is also possible he is just plain sensitive to milk itself. This would also include not eating lowfat cheeses or yogurt, etc. Faith, this post really caught my interest http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...amp;mode=linear read the second post on this link. It was the first part that really caught my interest regarding MSG and salicylates needing to go through the same process to rid themselves out of the body. If it really does seem that it is salicylates being a big problem for your son your probably want to try the Feingold Diet. The whole purpose of this "diet" is to get salicylates out of your body. Also Epsom Salts baths would help too. This article really helps explain the process of the PST system of the body. When someone has problems with salicylates or chemical foods it is called PST intolerance http://www.newtreatments.org/fromweb/sulfur.html . It takes a lot to get through this articile because it is very complicated but once you do you will learn A LOT. The article, at the end, suggest ways to help out your sulfation system and this is what I will be trying to get to the bottom of for my son. I am going to make an appointment with a doctor I think might be able to give me some answers. Once I have the appointment I will post what he tells me. Carolyn N.

Pat, I would say I say a fairly immediate decrease when we decreased the enzymes. But what is hard to say is I am also doing the Benadryl and giving Epsom Salts Baths (which I had never done before). All this timed at the same point. This is the problem when you throw lots a things at a child at once to fix something. It is difficult to exactly say how each product is specifically addressing a problem. I do know the Benadryl seemed to help calm him down a lot too. But I do have to say I really think Daniel has got something major going on in his intestines, like candida. The enzymes and probiotics should help him. I would love to put him on Candida Clear by Now, that Chemar uses (I have used it for myself and it is great stuff, thx's again Chemar for the great advice). I just would want to discuss it with his doctor prior to putting him on it since I have him on so many other supplements. I was thinking about why your son's tics increased at first and it makes sense to me that the enzymes probably were contending with some sort of bacterial overgrowth. But it is possible, if you look at the ingredients, , that they could of contained saliylates, because some enzymes contain these (some enzymes are derived from a fruit base, like pineapple). Your son might be sensitive to saliylates and so he did not respond well to the enzymes. So my thought is perhaps it was a reaction to what was in the enzyme itself. I know there are enzymes that do not contain saliylates by certain companies, but of course I cannot remember where I came across this information. If I can find the name of the company I will post it. There is of course the No-Phenol which helps address saliylates by themselves (this is the purpose of the product) but what I am referring to is other enzymes to help process other foods like proteins. What is certainly confusing is why his body did not recover after stopping the enzymes. I just wonder if the enzymes did not start addressing a problem in his system and then when you stopped perhaps whatever he has going on just got an upper hand. I have no idea. Has he been tested for candida? Also Patty what brand of enzymes was he using? Carolyn N.

I just wanted to update that Daniel is doing much better and still is using the No-Phenol but I back way back. I have been giving Daniel an 1/8 of a capsule, just at around dinner time, and he seems to be doing real good at this point. I will steadily increase it as time goes on (the directions state 1/2 capsule 1 time a day when first starting out). I just have to say I e-mailed Dr. Houston's company regarding this issue with Daniel, seeming to have a reaction to the No-Phenol. I got almost immediate reply back including from Dr. Houston. I was very impressed! I also called my Naturopathic Doctor and she said when taking enzymes at first you are going to see reactions. It is the toxins leaving the body and your body having to adjust to this process. So the increase in tics did not surprise her. She said if this all keeps up for a while then I need to go back to see her. Anyhow, I just did not want to discourage anybody from using the product. I think it will really help my son out after his digestive track gets "cleaned out and healed". But I think the key is slow and easy! Carolyn N.

Mom2three, Can I just recommend one thing that could be a real possibility for your daughter and that is MSG reaction. MSG causes MAJOR reactions in many people. Some people get horrible migraines, some people get diarrhea, some people have severe pain in other parts of their bodies, and some people like my son get very strong tics from eating it. His tics last for over a week once he ingests just a little bit (I really mean just a few bites). Unfortantely, most doctors have no clue about this being such a problem for people. I have read, on MSG websites, about some people with SEVERE fibromyalgia and they are in horrible pain. They give up eating MSG and guess what all the symptoms go away. I have read more then one place that fibromyalgia is probably directly linked in with MSG/Aspartame as to being the root of the issue. I literally read every label like my son's life depends on it. I have to research which restaurants we can go to. We are going to Disneyland, in a few weeks, and I had to call up the head chef and ask all kinds of questions. You know what is amazing, in my conversation with him, he did not realize all the different names MSG is hidden under. It is Disneyland's policy not to add MSG to food but he did not know it came under different names. Another example, I was at "Sweet Tomatoes Restaurant" and I asked if they used MSG in their soups. I was told absolutely not. Well I asked to read the ingredients and there it is under "autolyzed yeast extract". I would say when you go to restaurants you have to read every label because the people working at these places just plain don't realize it is hidden under various names. Mom2three, I cannot even begin to stress the impact MSG has on my son. It very well could be your daughter is getting MSG in sources you have no idea. For example, I gave my son a whipped topping one time and he reacted. It had something called Sodium Caseinate (spelled correctly?) and it is MSG. Parmesan cheese and soy sauce are both very naturally high in MSG. What occurs is as this products age in manufacturing process something called "free glutamate" in the food occurs. These "free glutamates" get absorbed VERY quickly into our bodies and extremely quick into the nervous system. I have seen it referenced on the internet as "Free Glutamate Intolerance". Both MSG and aspartame have "free glutamates" Russell L. Blaylock wrote a book called "Excitotoxins the taste that kills". MSG and aspartame is very scary stuff one way or another! Also I was reading in another book by Dr. William Walsh "The Food Allergy Book", that he would work with his patients to get them all sorted out regarding allergies and they would still have severe reactions to certain foods. He could not figure out what was going on with them, because he was trained that MSG was safe to take in, and then one man who had a very severe reaction to a sausage changed his whole perspective. Dr. Walsh read the ingredients and realized the only possibility was indeed the MSG. That man gave up eating MSG and his severe cluster migraines went away. He then told his other patients to avoid it and guess what the headaches and other aliments started disappearing. As big of a problem that MSG is, to so many, I think you would be doing your daughter a great service by learning all the different names of MSG. I created a post a while back where I discuss a lot of the different names http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...aded&start= . Also keeping a food log may help you see a bigger picture. I remember when I first read that MSG was one of the main tic triggers it did not really come to my mind as a possibility for Daniel. It was then from one of Chemar's posts and by me doing a food log that all of a sudden, it was like fireworks going off, I knew it was my answer. All the days he had BIG increases in tics he had had MSG! Like I said it takes my son a good week to get MSG out of his system and to calm back down. So lets assume your daughter is eating MSG and/or aspartame every day or even every other, because it is in so many products and most people in America do, then your daughter's body is never getting a chance to recover. I would say Daniel's next biggest problem is Yellow Dye #5 and #6, caramel colors and red dye 40. So avoid these too. Just try for say three weeks to get every bit of MSG /aspartame out of her diet, including school lunches, and just see where she is at. You may be surprised to find out she is doing much better. I don't mean to overstate something but I have done enough reading about MSG and aspartame to know it really can be a massive problem for someone who has a sensitive nervous system. It just is about the worst thing you could consume. I hope MSG/Aspartame is your answer. It has taken A LOT of work to get this out of his diet but I had not choice and it has been such a massive payoff for our family. You should spend just even an hour on the internet looking up reactions that people have to MSG/Aspartame and I think you will be shocked at what you will find. I am also trying to understand ways to help Daniel to help him tolerate some MSG, since it is in so many of our foods, and this is one of my goals is to find an answer to help him. I really do believe, as I have posted on another link, that the sulfation system of the body is my answer in getting to the root of this issue. I will certainly pass on any information I find on this forum that I think would help. It really can be horrible thing for so many people. This food additive and also the aspartame is literally ruining many peoples lives unknowingly. It just makes me SOOOOOOOOOO MAD that the government does not require foods to be labeled clearly that they contain MSG. As a matter of fact, there is a website called Truth in Labeling, and they list foods that even claim to be MSG free but if you read the label there it is hidden under another name. It is truly frustrating problem but I really feel I am getting a handle on what to look for and what foods Daniel can safely eat! One last thing, even if your daughter did not show an "allergy" to this, if you had her tested, you have to realize like my Naturopathic Doctor told me, it is not an allergy but a toxin. So it would not necessarily show on an allergy type of test. Have a blessed day! Carolyn N.

Mom2three, I have given Daniel more Benadryl, at night time only, and it really does seem to reduce his tics the next day. I know Chemar's son did have reaction to anti-histamine so if you have not used it on your child before you might not want to give the full dose at first to make sure it can be tolerated. I also started giving Daniel vitamin C three times a day in 250 mg doses (total of 750 mg). The reason I am doing this is vitamin C helps keep histamine down. I wanted to suggest to you a book, if you did not see it earlier in my post, and it is called "Enzymes for Autism and other Neurological Conditions" by Karen DeFelice. I ordered my book used, I think off of Amazon, and it was not too much. But it is a great read. I am really learning a lot from it. I think you would too and it could really help you understand how enzymes could be used to treat your child. She touches on this book the sulfation system in the body that I reference in my first post on this link (you will see it referenced as PST and also sulfate ions) I have to say the more I study about PST intolerance the more I am convinced this is indeed the core of Daniel's issue. This link I have attached, thanks to a post by Kim, really helped me understand more about PST intolerance. It is complicated but if you print it off and go over it several times you will start understanding it http://www.newtreatments.org/fromweb/sulfur.html[/url] . I am bound and determined to get the root of how to improve that system in the body. What I learned from this article is, the sulfation system of the body, not only filters out toxins and excess histamine, but it also filters out excess DOPAMINE. So when the system gets out of whack it cannot keep up with what it needs to do with keeping the dopamine in check. Too much dopamine is believed to be the root of the issue, in the brain, with tourettes. Also I learned this system filters out excess hormones. I was thinking, in regard to the tics peaking at age 9-11 area, is it because the hormones are getting going and this system of the body is having to try to keep up with this extra demand on it. So hence it is being overtaxed even further? Another very interesting thing is, and this is a huge issue for so many with tourettes, is the toxins from the candida choke this sulfation system greatly. So if you have candida you are over taxing this system of the body that needs to "clean out" other toxins from your body including from our food and environment. So basically the candida toxins are taking up space in this system that will make it dysfunctional. All this back up with the toxins again will not regulate the dopamine or your histamines correctly. This is why it is so important to get candida under control and hopefully keep it under control. I also learned, from the same article, that chlorinated water, like when you go swimming, is very hard on this system of the body. It really knocks down the sulfate ions needed to process toxins. So the doctor, who wrote the article, suggest epsom salts bath right after getting out of the pool. She also stresses the importance of not bathing in water that has high chlorine levels and she suggest ways around that if your tap water is high in it. I remember Chemar's son has problems with chlorine I wonder how many other people have noticed this? If you read the whole articile it is recommended to buy something called the "Showerwise" to help filter out excess chlorine in taking showers. Also Tylenol is VERY hard on this system of the body. I can't remember exactly what she said but I am pretty sure she states it completely wipes out all the sulfate ions for a period of time. In the book I mentioned above by Leslie DeFlice she highly recommends epsom salts baths (2 cups in a bath) because it really helps the body remove toxins when the sulfation system of the body is not working correctly. It is a way to really help boost this system of the body. Leslie DeFelice also says you can make homemade lotion with Epsom salts. I quote from her book "this is my favorite at the moment. 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, handcream, cocoa butter, body lotion, aloe vera cream, whatever I find that is on sale or inexpensive without the chemcials I am trying to avoid. Apply to skin anywhere as often as desired." The book also says that "because the sulfur is already in sulfate form it does not need to be converted like other forms of sulfur do. Sulfate is thought to circulate in the body up to about nine hours. Any Epsom salts left on the skin may continue to be absorbed as long as it is still on the skin, offering continuous "timed-released" input into the bloodstream-like medicatins given through skin patches". If you do decide to do the enzymes I would just personally recommend starting out very slow. I don't know if you read my post but my son had a dramatic increase in tics after starting one of them. I believe I gave him too much and his body was dealing with a "die-off" reaction to candida. Meaning the enzymes were doing a great job by killing off unwanted bacteria in the gut but in the midst of that "die-off" toxins are released. I believe my son's sulfation system, as discussed above, could not keep up with these toxins. So I backed off and just going ever so slowly and building him up. I read other forums where other mom's did the same because of "reactions". But it really is all a good thing because you realize there is something that needs to be contended with and the enzymes are getting the job done. It is just getting through that initial time period. My naturopathic doctor also told me there is an adjustment period at first when getting on enzymes and to expect this. Well I hope this helps some. Have a blessed and great day! Carolyn N.

Patty, It is funny you ask about the shower head because I just read in the article I was referencing above, regarding the chlorine information, that the "Showerwise Filter" is a good product for filtering out chlorine. I just did a quick search on the internet and found this link http://www.fernsnutrition.com/showerwise_shower_filter.html . It looks as if a lot of on-line stores do carry it. Hope this helps and thank you Patty for your kind words. I really believe there are answers. I am so driven to understand this part of my son's life. So the more I find out I will certainly keep posting it to help other's too find answers! Carolyn N.