ilovedogs

Hi Tom's Mom! I'd start with 25 mg and see how he does and then increase to 50 mg if you don't see a difference. We did 25 mg and that was enough for my son. Didn't completely stop his tics but I also wasn't giving him magnesium either. We're at a point where he has been without tics for a while and it's b/c I took him OFF the B6. He started increasing his tics from November through January so I tried taking the B6 out of his supplements and sure enough, the tics started decreasing and then ended up pretty much as nothing. I see a 'movement' every now and then that I might 'think' is a tic, but don't we all have twitches and facial movements we make at times so if I don't see it more than twice a day I try not to focus on it. I have also taken him off of the glycine b/c his naturopath said it seems like ds is stabilizing for now so he wants to see how we do with minimal supplementation. If things pick up again, we'll start adding stuff back in. Bonnie

Well, I'd say that many 'people' are fidgety, not just those who tic. I am a fidgeter and so is my husband so I don't expect my son to sit completely still if he's ticcing or not. I know that the omega oils can help with ADD and similar symptoms but I don't have any of us on them currently. My dh(who's ADHD) has said in the past that the combination of Vitamin B complex 50 and Omega's helps with his concentration and remaining calm. He calls the B vitamins his Happy Pills! Anyway, you may want to see if these things could help if you're not doing them yet. My ds was on B6 for his tics but then I saw an increase in them over the past few months so I took him off the B6 and his tics slowly faded down to almost nothing. So, for now we're not on any supplements for the tics, just for the OCD and anxiety. Bonnie

So glad to hear that she is improving. It's interesting to hear that removing wheat helped with the co-morbid conditions. I might have to try that some day! If I could just get my son to give up standard pizza and try the cornmeal crust ones! He's not a big bread eater, otherwise! Well, this website may have helped you out, now you will be helping others with your encouraging posts and words of wisdom, too! Bonnie

Well, we're canceling the contract for the carpeting for other reasons so I guess I don't have to worry about it right now. Thanks, Chemar, for the heads up! Bonnie

Has anyone seen a reaction from their kids when they have gotten new carpeting? I have been putting this off for years but it has to be done. OUr carpet is de-laminating and it's falling apart literally at the seams. It looks good on the surface but underneath it's a mess! So, we're having new carpet installed next week. That means lots of dust, chemicals, etc. so I was wondering about reactions you may have or have not seen? Thanks, Bonnie

It may be my messed up body chemistry but when I was taking probiotics every day it seems to CAUSE gastrointestinal distress. Now that I've cut back I'm feeling much better. I wasn't even taking a lot, either; just a single serving of Kefir every morning. Could it be a problem with dairy, not the probiotics in general? Try switching to refrigerated probiotic capsules and see if you have the same problem. I personally don't care for Kefir and I get bored eating yogurt daily so I take a supplement.

Hey Csp, Try having him drink apple cider vinegar(Bragg's brand) mixed with lots of water and honey and ice. Even if it's a gastro bug, this may help the symptoms. Also, try giving him activated charcoal after his meals, this will absorb some of the acid that may be upsetting him. It could be a bug, or it could just be something he ate that he's having trouble digesting, etc. I get this way often b/c I have IBS and these things I mentioned work wonders for me. Also, if you can find some candied ginger or ginger tea(if he can stand the taste of ginger...I love it) might help if he's having nausea. Hope he's feeling better soon! Oh, and don't forget to give him probiotics daily to help replenish the good bacteria in his gut which he probably needs if his GI tract is upset. Bonnie

Just wanted to say this, "Who of us is REALLY normal?" I mean honestly, when you really look around you, people may appear normal on the outside but the longer I live on this earth and the more I get to know people and their quirks, habits, mannerisms, expectations, etc. I realize that there is no such thing as normal. Please don't get so caught up in your tics. They make you an individual. You may know someone who has habits that they hide from others and they don't tell you. I know I do(and I'm not telling..hehe). Anyway, I know you're only 20, but believe me: You are as normal as your best friend, your boss, your mother, or your girlfriend. You just haven't developed the relationships with people where you see their quirks and habits as abnormal, KWIM? Anyway, hang in there! Try to focus on the good stuff in your life and take this adventure into your 'tic world' one step at a time! Bonnie

Well, since most of us here are not doctors and each case is individual, I suggest you find a naturopathic doctor and read, read, read! Everyone's case is different and many folks here see different causes for their kids' or their own tics. Some have Tourette's Syndrome, others have a chronic tic disorder, some tics are triggered by environmental allergies or allergies in general, some are photosensitivity, and some are caused by strep induced PANDA's(totally separate cause and we have a section here for PANDA's). While others have heavy metal toxicity or candida(yeast) overgrowth which is causing absorption problems in the GI tract, etc. Since we don't know you or your history, I suggest reading on your own and finding a helpful natural or environmental doctor. Write your questions down, make a list of supplements you take, and start showing your parents your research. Good luck, I'm sure others will come on and encourage you. B

My ds is tired of me pushing pills on him, telling him he can't eat this or that, making him take epsom salts baths when he'd rather shower, etc. What do you do? Honestly, his tics are pretty mild and we have LOTS of cheating on the 'diet'; I allow a few Sprites a week, nitrated meats about 2x a week, etc. The only thing I'm extremely diligent about is the food coloring. NOthing has changed in our lives the past 2 months but I've seen his tics steadily increasing since late November. I allow the video games, computer games, and some of the junk food occasionally just as I had been before so I'm trying to figure out why he's ticcing more. He's added an eyebrow raising to his eye winking. He keeps getting frustrated when I want to add in more B6 or make him drink the Natural Calm, etc. He says the tics don't bother him so why are we doing all this?? ARRGGHHHHHH! It's driving me crazy. I'm trying to find that fine line of keeping him on the right track while not pushing to hard so as to have total rebellion on my hands! How do you get your kids to take all their supplements??? Bonnie

I'm sorry you're suffering with your tics. My son (he's 10) has mostly just facial tics and they don't seem to bother him for now. I'd never tell him it's all in his head,though! There are a lot of people on the board who say that fish oils aggravate their tics, my son is one of them. I switched him over to Omega's from flaxseed and try to make sure he eats salmon for the fish Omega's. Recently, I was at my mom's accordion concert. It was a 50 piece orchestra and one of the men there had major tics and he's had them all his life. He's married, had kids and grandkids, and had a successful career. His tics are VERY noticeable yet he doesn't seem bothered by them. I keep reminding myself that tics are not a death sentence, just a minor inconvenience for most of those who suffer with them. As for supplements: you'll see here that most people start on magnesium and some amino acid therapies or vitamin B's. You may want to research the amino's you are taking to make sure they are not increasing your tics. I know that our naturopath has ds on glycine but we found out that L-glutamine would aggravate the tics. So, you may want to do some research here on this site or get hooked up with a naturopath in your area for some testing and recommendations. Welcome to the board! Bonnie

Resurrecting this thread for new people! bonnie

Hey all, check out this article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,484088,00.html

Nope, shouldn't give you a problem. Just make sure he's ok with swallowing the pill, etc. You should be fine to start it. B

We don't use a multi but I do give my ds a chocolate greens drink that I can mix his glycine into. I have also given him a reds drink that has lots of antioxidants and I make that mix with lemonade to give him his B6 pill and his probiotics. That's about it. I try to keep things simple b/c he gets tired of taking supplements and he hates swallowing pills unless they're tiny like the B6 we get. B

Hi all, I was wondering if any of your kids get headaches. My ds gets them periodically and they will happen on and off for a few days. I have not been able to determine a cause except that maybe it's seasonal allergies. I had thought he was dehydrated so I've been increasing his liquids especially water. I haven't called the naturopath in a while to check with him but I thought I'd check with you all to see if you have any remedies or ideas. I don't think it's from supplements as nothing has changed in months, etc. So, for now I'm giving him ibuprofen which works, but I always like to explore natural treatments too! Thanks Bonnie

I give my ds about 4600-5000 mg a day of glycine. I probably could up the dose if he was ticcing quite a bit. We've had no reactions to it whatsoever. HTH Bonnie

Just wanted to add that I don't think a bloody nose is a side effect to any of the supplements you are trying. It's always good to err on the side of caution but I don't remember anyone mentioning this. As for what my son goes through with his friends, it's been hard sometimes. He's old enough now and knows they are called tics so he tells them that's what they are. Most kids just leave it at that. Honestly, he's never been teased. Mostly the kids just want to know and once they know, they take it in stride. Keep asking us all questions, it's the best way to calm your nerves and to realize that others are either going through this same thing or have been there, done that! Bonnie

Hi there! Just wanted to chime in about the Kavinace. It didn't help my son's tics. It helped his OCD anxiety. For the tics, we use vitamin B6 and magnesium primarily and glycine. We are in a waxing phase right now with his eye winking tic(which has been the predominant tic for him) so I'll be calling our natural doctor to see if he has any other suggestions. My ds started ticcing the day after he turned 9. We've mostly seen eye blinking, eye winking, jaw stretching, hair tossing, finger smelling(more of an OCD thing), and now he says he has a breathing tic which I have yet to witness. Anyway, they've mostly been mild and he's only had mild pain from the jaw tic so we're hanging in there and have not taken him to a neurologist for a diagnosis nor have we considered meds. I'm sure you'll get other responses here. Bonnie

Faith, my ds has the same issue about other people singing or humming. It's like he as an elevated hearing sensation. He also says stuff to me if I an deep in thought and I am breathing weird. I never knew I had a breathing thing until he brought it up. I only seem to do it when I'm deep in thought, like I would be while typing this email(hehe). Anyway, he just told me today that he has a new tic. A breathing tic, but he seems totally fine with it. He said you can't see it, but he knows it's there and I haven't pressed him for explanations about it yet, either! We don't have the issues about the clothing but we have issues about food. You should have seen him trying mushrooms for the first time! OI! You would have thought I was asking him to try worms! Anyway, some of it I chalk up to just being a kid. And, some of it I chalk up to the tics and OCD, it's a fine line, though! Bonnie

Amy, Just wanted to add that CSP and Chemar's boys both have inherited TS. I have a 10 year old boy and I'm still trying to determine the cause of his tics and OCD. I know how hard it is to watch your child tic and to not know what to do about it. As Cheri mentioned, many of us have found relief with diet cleanups and magnesium supplements. I try not to allow my son to have ANY food colorings, no MSG, limited high fructose corn syrup( I allow a Sprite here and there), no nitrates(although I truly haven't seen him react to it, I think it's just a bad preservative for any human not just those who tic), etc. We also see a wax and wane and I'm still trying to put the pieces together these past 14 months. What I'd suggest is keeping a log: a diary of his tics, frequency, etc. and also of the food he is eating. Then if you start supplements or vitamins you can start writing those down, too. We saw an immediate help from magnesium in the beginning but I don't see it helping as much now, I know this b/c I can go back through my record keeping. I have yet to get my ds a diagnosis. Personally, we have no family history of Tourette's on either side of the family. Both my family and dh's family has history of anxiety disorders and depression. But, I also look at the fact that ds had a bad birthing experience and had nerve damage on his facial nerves from the forceps. He also stopped breathing in the womb so I wonder if any of those things caused neurological complications for him. All in all, though, he's a great kid! Totally normal and loves sports and hates schoolwork! Most people don't even notice his tics right now, but during football he reacted to his mouthguard and had an awful tic. It would last for about 2 days after the game and then fade away, only to come back again the day of practice. It was really weird. But, many moms on here will tell you that things that deal with the teeth may trigger tics. So, that's something else to be writing in your log. I noticed that his jaw stretching tic this summer was b/c of a loose tooth he had all summer long it seemed. Once the tooth fell out, the jaw tic stopped. Weird, isn't it??? Anyway, I hope this was helpful. I know there's so much to think about and we're all on this journey in a different way, but together, as well. Bonnie

Geez, Faith, it's amazing how our kids can all have certain things in common yet be so different in the behaviors they exhibit. Take my ds: I know he has OCD but his is all intrusive thoughts and needing to be ON time for everything. But, since I HATE being late I figured that I taught him that behavior(which I probably did). Anyway, we don't have the erasing problem but we deal with the spaced out issue all the time. Although we homeschool I still expect him to finish his schooling in a certain period of time, etc. I don't like dawdling or staring out the window when he's supposed to be working on his math page. I have to stay on top of him constantly. The funny thing is: he is really great when I ask him to do something around the house. If I tell him to do something, he does it. NO backtalking, no attitude(well, a little bit...he is 10), and it gets done in a timely manner. I just don't understand how he can't do his schoolwork in the same manner as cleaning my sliding glass doors, etc. I guess it's all in the thought processes! Also, I wanted to add that lately my ds is getting into a silly phase. Just tossing his body about all crazy and giggling and making up weird voices, etc. He drives me crazy with these but I know it's an age thing. I remember my sister being like this around this age(we're 8 years apart) and I would hide in my room from her or my mom would send her into the basement to go roller skate around the pool table to 'work it out'. And, when I ask ds to stop and tell him that's enough, he is able to stop and control himself, thank goodness! Of course, we have the anxiety issues here which are the biggest issue we deal with. So, back to how I started this post. We all have kids with 'similar' issues: tics, OCD, anxiety, ADD(or some variation of it), maybe even dyslexia, anger issues/exposive incidents, etc. Some kids represented here have only 1 issue while others have all of the above. I'm just glad we all have somewhere to come and ask our questions and discuss these things with parents who understand. They may not be experiencing the exact same thing as you are, but we can commiserate with eachother as we understand how exhausing it can be trying to find the answers, the supplements, the routines, the patience to assist our children and guide them into adulthood. Does that make any sense? My family is yelling at me as we're heading out the door so I apologize if this is jumbled thoughts! Bonnie

Faith, He had OCD intrusive thoughts that brought him to tears. They consumed him and made him especially fearful of his own mind and that he was going crazy. It was awful. The Kavinace erased these issues within 3 days. We did start counseling and are currently still in counseling once a month for situational anxiety. For example, he's still having separation anxiety and has mild agorophobia and social anxiety. Honestly, these things haven't improved much but he likes going to therapy and having someone 'else' to talk to so I allow him to continue with it. I figure it wouldn't hurt since our insurance covers most of the cost. HTH Bonnie

I did not find it helped his tics. It helped with the OCD he was having. We still have a lot of situational anxiety, though, and he still has tics. If you search the threads by Pmoreno you'll find other parents who are using this product and you might be able to PM them to see if they've had different results. Bonnie

Char, PMoreno had a few threads on this going on the PANDA's board. I responded quite extensively over there. Try doing a search on the website and you'll find stuff. I just don't have the time to post the whole thing right now as I'm running out.