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Yes most colleges require this vaccine before students can attend, due to close living proximity in the dorms. Anna

Hi, my daugher has experienced tremendous muscle pain from ticcing in her shoulders. The pain was very severe because of constant muscle contracting. What helped us eliviate pain mostly was accupunture, deep tissue massage, epson salts bath- she soaked every night, for a few months. Eventually ticcing became less, after a few months of being on glutten free diet and overall healthier way of eating. Anna

Hello, everyone, I haven't posted in a while. I wonder if anyone had experienced their children complaining that their food taste funny? My daughter has been complaining for the past couple of days that her taste buds are off, that the food tastes spicy or different, yet I taste it and it is ok. (No, it's not me:)). Just wonder what it means. Her tics have been more pronounced too. Thanks everyone!

Myrose, I was curious, how old is your daughter? My daughter got noticable tics for the first time when she turned 12 years old. Thank you. Anna

sorry...did not answer the q fully- we saw the tics starting to diminish about 2.5 mo after going glutten free. However, we were doing the diet at the same time as intergrative manual therapy. Anna

Hi, Faith, No we never used enzymes. You can look at my profile to see our whole journey so far, but basically we did all supplements first, prior to gluten free diet and there was absolutely no change. My child just turned 12 at that time. We started gluten free diet out of sheer desperation, after saying goodbye to all traditional doctors and going thru the accupunture, homeopath and intergrative manual therapy ((still continue with homeopath and IMT). Anna

Debbie- hi, just wanted to mention - we have been glutten free since the end of November. My husband who used to blink a lot and clear his thrroat - does not do it any more and feels so much better overall. My daughter, who is almost 13 (because of her extreme tics and related pain last year we began this journey) is hardly ticing at all. If someone does not know, they would probably not even notice it at all. We went away to the Islands last week, to an all inclusive resort, and she ate very little gluten for the first time since Nov. Towards the end of the week, her tics were more pronounced. We are back and will continue with the diet, it definately gets much easier as you learn how and where to shop. She had IGG test in Oct last year and it showed nothing that was of use to us, the doctor who prescribed though, did not even mark gluten as one of the indicators it should test for (there is a separate box on the form for that). Good Luck! Anna

Bcase, We are also due for 12 year old shots in a couple of months. But someone suggested here for me to contact our State Dept of Health Services to see if Meningitis vaccine is mandatory (NJ). I did and they told me that it will become mandatory for children entering 6th grade after 9/08, since mine is already in 6th grade- we don't need to get it. They even faxed me a list of mandatory shots that I might bring with me just in case to the pediatrician. or, I am considering may be not going at all I don't know what use she (the pediatr) will be for us at this time . Good Luck, Anna

Lenny, I am curious- in regards to "His diet is basically GF now, but he had a lot of gluten Monday", couldn't having Gluten again be a trigger. My 12 yr old daughter has been GF since end of Nov and is doing significantly better now. I am curious and concerned what happens when we reintroduce the gluten, will the tics return in great severity again? How much is ok? Lenny, how long was your son GF and when did you reintroduce it back into his diet? Thank you so much for your reply and I hope you find your answer. Anna

Debbie, Welcome. I think you will find this forum extremely helpful. Our journey began in August last year and I don't know if I would have kept my sanity without the help of wonderful people on this forum. We live in NJ and so we have contacted the doctor you mention. We actually made an appoint but ended up cancelling (the doctor sees new patients only on certain days and only during the school hours). They were not in our network and even the bloodwork they do themselves would not have been covered for us. We ended up gping to our regular allergist who ran some tests for us and everything came back negative. That was our last stop with traditional medicine doctors. I noticed that Dr. Wojcik is mentioned in Sheilas book (in one of the personal stories). Good Luck, I hope you find your answers soon.

C.P. Thank you for your suggestion. we live in NJ and I contacted the state health department just now. Apparently, since my child is already in 6th grade she does not need to get meningitis shot at 12. However, all kids entering 6th grage in 9/08 will be required. So, we missed it and I will simply decline when we go to the pediatrician. Thank you! Anna

Hello, all, As I posted before, my then 11 year daughter began ticing this summer and is doing much better now. She is now 12 and in a couple of months we go for an annual exam and she needs to get 2 shots - tetanus and meningitus. I have read so much about pros and cons of vaccinatins but since she has been vaccinated up to now, I am really afraid to make a decision not to vaccinate any longer. SO my question is- do these 2 shots (tetanus and meningitus) have as an adverse effect as all others? Any advice, should we may be spread the 2 shots to 2 different visits and if yes, then how much time should pass in between? Thank you all, finding this forum has kept us sane. Anna

Hi, there, yes, beleive it or not the vitamins I used to give my child originally had wheat listed in "contains" description. would you beleive that I also had fish oil purchased from GNC and looked at the back closer and saw that it said "contains wheat". I buy vitamns now from whole foods that say gluten free but I am sure there many other brands that do not contain preservatives and coloring and wheat. funn though, these gluten free vitamins do not taste as good as others did, so both of my kids complain. But that's just too bad .

Hello, just wanted to share how frustrating it was to go gluten free at first - but it got so much easier. Once we decided to go gluten free, I was certain that I'll walk into a supermarket and they'll direct me to the right isle. So, I went to Shoprite and asked where they have gluten free items. They handed me about 15-page photocopy listing all the items they sell that are gluten free, without listing isle numbers. What a joke! I spend about 3 hours (and this is after working for a whole day) in a store looking for these items, 3 hours later, I made it thru 3 isles at most. It was beyond frustrating! Then, the next day I went to the Whole foods market, they have much bigger selection, and actually have someone who can help you in each isle. They sell gluten free soy sauce and many other sauces, including gluten free pasta, breadcrumbs, cereal etc….Did you know that many vitamins have gluten? Mine did. After visiting Whole foods, I tried Shoprite again since it is much cheaper. Eventually, I learned which isles sell which items that are gluten free. We have been on this diet for about 6 weeks now and I can make my shopping now with confidence, so don’t give up! I found Red Mill makes wonderful mix for gluten free pancakes, and we bake gluten free cookies. Making lunch for school was another dilemma, but once you do it for a little while, it gets so much easier. Just don’t give up and try to do shopping by yourself in a beginning, without taking your child with you.

Jenny, I don't think that lack of gluten would cause the tics to increase. It is probably something else that is causing ther eaction. I would also suggest that you give it a chance, we have been gluten free for about 6 weeks now, it is hard sometimes as my child is 12 and wants to be able to eat what her friends eat when they go out. But, most definately her tics have diminished significantly since we went gluten free and she does not complain of pain any longer (the pain which was extremely severe in her muscles just months before). Good luck to you and I hope you find answers, it definately gets better. Anna

Here are some glutten free wensites that a friend sent me www.everybodyeats-inc.com www.marthasglutenfree,com www.thegrainlessbaker.com www.legardenbakery.com www.mrritts.com www.dietspec.com www.celiacspecialties.com www.glutenfreebakehouse@wholefoods.com www.sunshineburger.com www.againstthegraingourmet.com www.latotillafactory.com www.foodsforlife.com www.foodsbygeorge.com www.sillyyaks.com www.bubbiesicecream.com www.celiacchicks.com www.glutenfreemall.com www.glutino.com www.outsidethebreadbox.com www.sorellabakery.com www.usmillsinc.com www.glutenfreepantry.com www.kinnikinnick.com or 1-877-503-4466 The Soy Nut Butter Co. at 1-800-288-1012, excellent corn flake crumbs to make chicken tenders, etc. www.lundberg.com www.ricepasta.com or www.tinkyada.com www.barbarabakery.com www.biaglut.com www.schar.com www.maplegrovefoods.com Pomi’ Sauces, produced by Parmalat are excellent as a base and they have a marinara version. www.edward&sons.com www.sheltons.com www.pereg-gourmet.com www.pacificfoods.com Westbrae – 1-800-434-4246, carry GF cans of different kinds of beans ww.ener-g.com I don’t care for this company, their breads are horrible, but you never know they may have improved. www.kariout.com GF soy sauce packets and can order very cheap at this one place called: Minore’s Meats Inc. at 1-800-421-6623, 100 packets for $10.90 whereas if you get packets at other places, they are charging as much as $1.00 per packet! www.organ.com www.thninkproducts.com good health bars that are GF. www.iansnaturalfoods.com Wonderful new line of French bread pizza’s….end of list for now. Annalise Roberts, chef and author of Gluten-Free Baking Classics, is interested in providing a gluten free cooking demonstration geared toward children and their families. If your child is interested in attending a cooking demonstration, please respond to this email and indicate the ideal amount of time for the demonstration (e.g. 1 hour, 1 ½ hours, etc.). I’ll forward your feedback to Annalise. If you are interested in learning more about Annalise, you may visit her website at: http://www.foodphilosopher.com/ Hope this helps!

Dear mom2three, I posted an update to my daughters condition, see http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...art=#entry19158 Since we started with a gluten free diet, her tics have been very mild. I feel so bad reading your post- we have also gone thru so much pain, on stand by to go to emergency room for the most of Sept and Oct of this year. My daughter's tics began right before her 12th birthday, no shots, no antibiotics, nothing at that time. I am so hopeful now that we are on a right path and I really hope that you will find soon what is causing your daughter's tic explosion. I did not beleive it when I kept on reading here that it gets better, but it seems that it really does.

Hi, Maryanne, I was wondering if your daughter wears braces. Mine has braces and the homeopath thought that a nickel in braces could be a contrubiting factor to arguvating the ticks, Does anyone has any experience with this? Anna

Hello, everyone. If you remember I posted a month or more ago about my 12 year old daughter who developed constant twitching in her shoulder blades (like wings flopping) at the end of August and with its constant movement, also experienced a lot of pain because of the constant movement of muscle. Prior to that, at the end of 2006 she had a fell while ice skating, then had a very bad virus, and immediately afterwards developed a twitching in both of her legs. At that time, we thought it was because of the fall, went to the orthopedic doctor and physical therapy for about 2 months, eventually it went away, although occasionally there is a tremor in a leg. Besides this we never saw anything else, she is a happy child, who was also nervous about starting middle school in Sept. When twitching began in shoulders we tried everything, 2 neurologists, who suggested more and more drugs to make her comfortable, we did not give any, we did cat scans, igg, xrays of spine, etc, biofeedback – 6 times, physical therapy 6 times, acupuncture 6 times and massage therapy 6 times so far (helped alleviate the pain), chiropractor 2 times. Chiropractor told me that she is misaligned and that is why she is ticing. Funny to note that everything that insurance does not cover seems to help more than the services they cover. I tried supplements magnesium with calcium, taurine, omega 3 for over 2 weeks and did not see any changes. About 1 week ago we went to the homeopath. In addition, in this office they do manual integrative therapy. Their website is http://www.centerimt.com/what.asp. I don’t have anything concrete to report yet, but after going thru extensive questionnaire and manual feedback, I was told that when she was sick with a virus, the bacteria remained in her stomach (forgive me for not being precise here) and it is traveling up her spine and manifesting itself in the nervous system making her shoulders contract. I was given homeopathic medicine and was told to place her for at least 2-4 months on strict 100% gluten free diet. In addition, I have scheduled weekly appoint for this manual integrative therapy. It was interesting to note that their approach is a focus on wellbeing on the whole body and the energy/balance. I must say that since we tried all the traditional medical specialties already, where for the most part we have either been offered drugs or been looked at like we have 2 heads, I am willing to give this a try. I am curios, I know a lot has been posted here about gluten free diet, but has anyone taken this approach with homeopath as well. Please give me your feedback. I’ll keep you posted on the progress, if any. In a meanwhile, I can not even begin to express how helpful this site has been to keeping me somewhat sane. Thank you all!

Hello- how does one find NAET doctor, what does it stand for. Thank you all. Anna

Maryann, Coromega is just a brand name, I guess, but it is Omega 3. It tastes good, but I am still confused if to give it to her or not. I am so very new to this. I think I might have found an environmental allergist in my area, I will see if we can get an appoint and have her tested. I know she is allergic to pennicilin because years ago she had hives when took antibiotic with pennicilin. Did anyone ever use olive leave extract to get rid of toxins in the body? Thank you all Anna

I just got a call back from the neirologist. She told me that this test means nothing, that my daughter probably had mono in a past and this elevated levels have nothing to do with ticcing. I wonder should I go to the pediatrician?

Hello, I have been writing here in other posts how my 12 year old stared twitching both shoulders since the end of August. Lat week I insisted on getting a second bllod tests done. The results came back EBV AB VCA, IgG is at 2324 high and EBV Nuclear Antigen Ab, IgG is at 835 high. while I am waiting for my neorologist to call me back - can someone explain what this means and if it can possibly relate to tics? Thank you

Dear Maryann, I went to the health food store and the Nature's plus, Source of Life Animal Parade. What seems to help her pain a lot is a massage therapist who actually told me that she thinks my daughter's muscles in her neck are a problem, that they are so tied up in her neck and upper shoulders, and as a result, she thinks I am seeing the movement in her shoulders. I also started her on coromega (plus calcium magneseum liquid by Bonnet), but I read such conflicting comments, that Omega 3 sometimes increases ticks- that I am sonfused- to give her Coromega or not...so far I gave it to her 3 times, every other day.... should I now give it every day, one packet per day? The therapist suggested we see a chorporactor also. Any thoughts? Also, silly question.. to find out food intolerance, etc - do you go to the allergist? I spoke to my son's allergist who told me that food allergies can not cause tics. Thank you all, this site has been a godsend. Anna

Hi, Maryanne, I can REALLY sympathize. I posted my daughters story who is now 12 under ticks/childs ticks. This is also so very new for us. I am beyond scared, frustrated with all the tests, doctors and really do not know who to go to next and how to help her to go back to where she was just 2 months ago. I ordered Sheila’s book last Fri and am anxiously waiting for it to arrive. Our ticking started at the end of August and due to the constant twitching in her shoulders, the pain has also been severe. All the tests were negative. In the past 2 months, we tried physical therapy, biofeedback, acupuncture, massage (still doing it) and I will also take her to the chiropractor since now her neck is out of whack with all this muscle twitching. She is devastated because the kids are asking all the time what is this twitching. She started Middle School this year. On Sat, I started my daughter on liquid magnesium, tourette vitamin, coromega and good multi from the health store. No significant results yet; just she is not so much in pain anymore, which could be a result of acupuncture and massage. How do you find a wellness doctor, under what category? We live very close to NY City, in a highly populated area yet I am unable to find a doctor who can look at the whole picture. Also, how long have her tics lasted? Thank you. Anna