ilovedogs

Faith, I just called my naturopath today to tell them that ds has been getting headaches more frequently and he suggested the NAC. Now, I'm leary of having ds take it since you had such a bad reaction from it. How is your son doing now? Have the vocals died down at all? Bonnie

Hi Faith, I was thinking about you this AM. How's it going, have you seen any waning of the vocal yet? What about school? Praying this wanes quickly so you can figure out if the NAC was the trigger or not. Bonnie

Homemade everything???? I wish I could get to this point! We are constantly on the run and I allow way too much junk in Grif's diet. Would you believe I was actually happy when he got sick to his stomach from drinking a Sprite too fast? I thought it would turn him away for soda for a while, it only lasted a week! OTOH, I don't see food really being a trigger for him. How do you get your 15 year old to eat so well? PS: what benefits are there from the Vit E and Selenium are there specifically? Is there a reason you only keep those 2 supplements? B

Faith, I was looking for a hugging smilie but couldn't find one. Yes, NAC promotes glutathione in the body helping to detox the liver. I can't imagine that one pill could have that reaction. I remember when Griffin was given 5-HTP last summer and his OCD went berserk and it was very scary for us. When I finally realized it was the supplement it took a few days for him to settle down once I took him off of it. Are you sure there wasn't/isn't some other trigger? Environmental allergy, etc? Have you tried the L-carnitine ever for his vocals? I know others have had success with it. But, you may be leary of trying a new supplement right now until a pattern is established, at least that's how I'd be. How does he feel about his vocal tic? I wish I could help you out about the NAC info but I don't give it to Griffin, I take it myself but only when I have Tylenol since Tylenol can damage the liver. Praying it clears up this weekend so you don't have to stress over school. Bonnie

So, the gist is that low carb, high protein can cause seratonin levels to lower? When we're talking carbs here are we talking good carbs like fruits and veggies or does that include breads and starches, sugars, etc? I'm so confused sometimes, guys! Bonnie

No, I didn't. That's weird. I have space in my inbox, too. I'll PM you my gmail account and you can just cut and paste it to there. Thanks, B Hi Bonnie I noticed this thread, and wanted to tell you..... I had sent you a response to a PM you had sent me, not that long ago, did you get it? Because after I sent it, it "disappeared" and I couldn't even find it in my outmail Lynsey Yes I think so! It was on the 16th! I've been meaning to respond to you to say 'Thanks!" Bonnie

This is always a hot topic around here and you can search the forum for other threads about it. I noticed that my son ticced more last year when he went in the pool in May but that it waned just like all his tics do. Then I started thinking maybe it was a photosensitivity thing where the light shimmering and bouncing off the water was causing him trouble instead of blaming the chlorine. I know that Chemar's son reacts terribly to chlorine and has not been in a pool in years. They also use a filter for their showerheads to remove chlorine. On the pool thing, I know there are alternatives out there but I don't know how effective they are. I keep my chlorine levels low, like at 1.0 PPM and I don't allow anyone in the pool for 24 hours after I shock it, which is hard to do in the summer in AZ! My son is also 10 but has all facial tics, no vocals. He has not been diagnosed except with an anxiety disorder and possible OCD. Because of the tics and the OCD type anxiety I wouldn't be surprised if I got a Tourettes diagnosis, as well. My son also isn't bothered by his tics very much. PS: I've heard that giving an epsom salts bath after they go in the pool helps to detox the body from the chlorine so that might be an option to try. Unfortunately for me, my son isn't too keen on taking a bath after going in the pool! Take care, Bonnie

No, I didn't. That's weird. I have space in my inbox, too. I'll PM you my gmail account and you can just cut and paste it to there. Thanks, B

My husband has terrible allergies and asthma and swears by his neti pot which he uses twice a day. He also takes a B complex but says he never noticed it helping his allergies, he takes it b/c he says it calms him and really helps him emotionally. Our naturopath recently put our son on quercetin for allergies. I'm wondering if that would be a good addition to your dh's regimen, too. My son won't use the neti pot so he uses a nasal saline spray called Simply Saline and he showers at night, too. We use a mattress casing, too, that helps keep the dust mites contained and we do this with our pillows, as well.

Yes, Carolyn is a wonderful source of information! We actually take our kids to the same naturopath(she referred us to him). The naturopath has us giving our son the PS 100(we just started this a few weeks ago), the glycine at 4600 mg a day, Vitamin C(I give 750 mg a day), and he has us giving him quercetin for seasonal allergies. We also have our son on a supplement from Neuroscience that's called Kavinace which has taurine and a small amount of B6 in it along with another amino acid for anxiety issues. I do not give magnesium, other than a bath here and there b/c I never saw it help in the past. I know how you feel about being patient and sometimes I feel like giving up. But, I always end up back here or reading books just trying to get a clue as to what I'm missing. Have you tried cutting salycilates from his diet? There's a lot of research on here about how some people may be sensitive to them and it couldn't hurt to cut them out for a few weeks since it's mostly fruits. To be honest about the diet stuff; I tried cutting out preservatives, colors, nitrates, MSG, etc and I didn't see my son wane for months even when I did this. So, I thought that maybe food sensitivity wasn't his problem and I started allowing some nitrated pepperoni, some Sprite once or twice a week, etc(we never did MSG or artificial colors anyway b/c I was a pretty healthy person anyway in how I fed the family), and then he started waning!!! AARRRGGHHH!!! I was so frustrated. Why would he wane when I'm allowing cruddy food in his diet? I still don't have the answers and I still keep a food journal but I've realized that he tics more when he's stressed(both good and bad stress) and that he's worse in the spring(March through early June) so I'm guessing he has a histamine problem as he's always more drippy and snotty with seasonal allergies right now. For the record, my son started ticcing the day after he turned 9 back in Nov. of 2007 so we've been at this for about a year and a half. He had already had an anxiety disorder and I know that this is part of the equation for getting control of his tics. He also started with OCD obsessive thoughts last spring which really increased his tics. Also, we've never gotten a true diagnosis for him and since he's not had any vocal tics I wonder if he'd get a TS diagnosis b/c he has co-morbid conditions like the OCD and anxiety. So, we just keep plugging along! My son is doing great, though, despite the tics and they really are minor now b/c of the supplements compared to how bad they were last spring! Bonnie

Too funny!!! I get Mercola's newsletter but I only read it every so often and I haven't bought any products from him, same as Dr Weil. Since Weil is out of AZ, I have known of him for years before I knew about Mercola. I try to find subjects that they both agree on before taking action ie. changing my pots or pans, etc. B

NO, he won't drink it. Our naturopath has him taking a quercetin powder 2x a day for allergies so we'll see if that helps! Couldn't hurt b/c it's a good supplement to be taking anyway! B

Thanks Chemar. I was wondering about that. Anyone else know about environmental allergies being a problem? And, what do you give your child for them? Are there homeoapathic/natural treatments(other than the NEAT/NAET which we already do) that help treat allergies? Thx B

Ok, I had to laugh about the toilet thing! How weird is that? Yeah, my ds tics when he eats, as I said before, but not all the time. It seems to increase when he's just lost a tooth or has a new tooth coming in. I'm hoping all his teeth will be in within the next year so I can start trying some dietary changes. Although, I think he doesn't react to artificials, MSG, or HFCS like many kids do. I've experimented when he was waning and I saw NO increase in tics after allowing offending food items into his diet. His tics seem to be more influenced by stress, environmental allergies, and to 'eating'. But, stress(good and bad) definitely increase the tics even when he's waning. B

Im going to pick it up now let me now the dosage hes 5'8 130 lbs Honestly, you'd probably have to check with Neuroscience. Right now my ds takes 1 kavinace a day but the naturopath told me that she has most patients on 2 a day and some children are even taking 3 a day for extreme cases. My ds weighs 70 lbs and is 10 years old and I had him taking 2 a day in the beginning. Bonnie

Everything is blooming here! I couldn't ever pinpoint it to one particular thing. Maybe the Acacia trees or the desert cactus like the barrel cactus that are blooming now? Funny, I never had allergies in MD and then I moved to AZ and have allergies here! B

Have a quick question. My ds likes to drink the Hansen's sodas and he drinks the cola. It says that it has caramel color and in parentheses it says 'from sugar'. Is this still considered an additive or preservative? I just realized I was letting him drink these and he's already waxing hard with his tics this month so I wonder if this is causing problems, too? Also, in regards to histamine and allergies: I remember ds had increased tics last April and now I see them increasing again. If it's environmental allergies what can I give him that might help that is dye free, sugar free, etc? Right now he's got 3 tics going on(all facial or eye tics) and I see them increase as the day goes on. In the AM upon waking he is only doing his standard eye winking but it increases as we go through the day. Bonnie

I saw worrieddad mentioned he tried Kavinace with his child and that it didn't work. It worked really well for us and our ds is still on a low dose now and it's been 11 months since we started him on it. He turned into a brand new child within 2 days of starting the kavinace. Most of his OCD was religious scrupulosity and repeated thoughts that would torment him. He'd be in tears daily and was truly suffering. The Kavinace never took away his tics and right now I'm seeing an increase in tics but the OCD seems to be in check. I don't know if you've heard of Kavinace but it's distributed and produced by Neuroscience and they also do neurotransmitter testing, as well. HTH! Bonnie

Thank you, Anne! I am just in setback mode for right now. He was doing so well and yet I wonder if it's the supplements or just a waning period that's making things better. I just get so down for him b/c people ask him what's wrong with his face or eyes, etc. He seems to take it in stride but I don't think he'll be as easy going about it when he gets to his teen years! I keep praying for answers, trying different elimination diets, different supplements, etc. only to come against a brick wall. Sometimes the days seem so long, but the years keep flying by! Bonnie

I wonder about doing acupressure versus acupuncture and I wonder if that would also provide relief? My son has been ticcing like crazy (for him, anyway) and it's all facial stuff especially when he eats. I know that last year at this time of year I saw an increase, too, so I wonder if it's supplements or allergies or something else or a combination? I do know that I put him back on glycine and I saw an increase and then I took him off the glycine about a week ago and I'm still seeing things increasing. He's got about 3 tics going on right now as he eats! I just wish I had the answers! Bonnie

Yes, for some reason when ds is waxing more I see him tic more frequently while he's eating. He even has a jaw tic that I've only seen when he's eating. He also seems to tic from issues with his teeth. Loose teeth or a new tooth eruption seem to make his tics more pronounced. HTH! Bonnie

I noticed that if I keep the chlorine levels low, like at 1.0 PPM, that he doesn't have a problem. If I just shocked the pool, he will tic more. So, we stay away from public pools. It was weird last summer. The minute he made contact with the pool water he started a new tic, but it didn't last for more than a few minutes so it wasn't an ongoing problem, it was just an immediate reaction. My dh even noticed. I really only see an increase in tics if the chlorine is high. Not sure if I helped at all b/c I know that with tics, it's all individual. Bonnie

Well, I am totally disheartened at all the responses here! I always thought that research showed that tics decrease after puberty, but many repliers to this thread claim it wasn't the case for them. I keep praying that my son's tics will always be minimal and that if they continue that they won't be a problem in his future. Sigh! Bonnie

Tracey, I'm starting to think that salycilates are a problem for my child, too. Yesterday, he had pizza with nitrated pepperoni and then had strawberry shortcake for dessert. I started seeing his old jaw/neck tic where he tenses the muscles in his neck and pulls his jaw to the side. He had already had an increase in his eye tics so the naturopath had me put him back on glycine. We also have him on Neuroscience's Kavinace product that has B6, taurine, and another amino acid that promotes GABA uptake in the brain. Is there anywhere where I can find a good list for salycilates? I don't think I can cut them out completely b/c I know he doesn't react to fresh oranges or grapes, but it's pretty obvious that strawberries might be a problem! Bonnie PS: I haven't been here in a while, so hello everyone!!! Bonnie, Have you found that glycine definitely helps with your son's tics? Angela Angela, I think it was a combo of the B6(I only gav 25 mg) and glycine that helped. But, now I don't know if I'm making things worse b/c he's now ticcing more since I started the glycine. Maybe he just needs to re-adjust. I remember that April was a tough month for him last year, too, so I also wonder if it's due to allergies or seasonal weather changes? Bonnie

Tracey, I'm starting to think that salycilates are a problem for my child, too. Yesterday, he had pizza with nitrated pepperoni and then had strawberry shortcake for dessert. I started seeing his old jaw/neck tic where he tenses the muscles in his neck and pulls his jaw to the side. He had already had an increase in his eye tics so the naturopath had me put him back on glycine. We also have him on Neuroscience's Kavinace product that has B6, taurine, and another amino acid that promotes GABA uptake in the brain. Is there anywhere where I can find a good list for salycilates? I don't think I can cut them out completely b/c I know he doesn't react to fresh oranges or grapes, but it's pretty obvious that strawberries might be a problem! Bonnie PS: I haven't been here in a while, so hello everyone!!!