ilovedogs

It's this forum, just the autism/asperger's section. Just go back to the main ACN forums menu and you'll see the category for autism/asp. Hope this helps!

Thanks again for your encouragement, Carolyn. He was ticcing really heavy today. Lots of fast winking and blinking. I had started the kids calm a few days ago and was trying to figure out why he is ticcing badly today. I am guessing it was the hot dogs my husband fed him last night for dinner. They were NOT nitrate free! It's hard to get my dh on board b/c this is all so new to us. I guess only time will tell!

You know, I've been thinking about getting him off of salicylates, Tracey. He loves pizza so that has tomato sauce, of course. And, he drinks a lot of juices that mostly have apple or grape juice as a base. He doesn't seem to crave any one type of food, though. Maybe I'll give the salicylates a try!

Hey Carolyn, I always notice tics before he starts breakfast. Actually, I can't recall the last time we've had a tic free day. Most days it will fluctuate from day to day in severity but it's always there. As far as the allergies go: I think the HEPA filter in his room is helping and yes, we spend a great deal of time outdoors this time of year. Not sure about the allergies this time of year as I know that something gets him from May to early August. I can't remember what is actually blooming then that doesn't the rest of the year, though. Maybe one of the trees like the acacias or eucalyptus trees. Right now I'm not seeing any allergies that are noticeable in him. Now, I, on the other hand, have been miserable with my allergies!

Not Nan here, but I just started giving ds a 1/2 tsp dose 2 days ago. I didn't know about how to increase it so I'm wondering when you should start increasing. Maybe take the increases weekly to give the system time to adjust? I'm hoping I see some changes/decreasing tics, too.

Thank you for replying, Calicat! We hadn't seen too many tics over the weekend but this AM it's been all day long, nonstop eye winking. So, I am planning on starting the taurine this week! I read your other post about the whole OCD/Tourette's thing and that's something that I muse about quite often, too! Of course, I know that there are cases of TS that aren't genetic anyway but since I'm dealing with mild tics so far I'm not inclined to say TS right now.....maybe just a transient tic issue for now? Who knows, really?! It's all a guessing game to me right now!

Thank you, Nan! I've gotten some great feedback already, thanks! Bonnie

Hey, Faith, I thought the same thing about the hair tossing thing! I've already checked on the eye allergy thing with the eye dr. and they've also said it was a tic and that everything was great with his eyes! I forgot to mention that he was doing a throat clearing over the summer( (I had originally attributed it to allergies) for about 3 months. At the time I didn't think anything of it, but now I'm starting to tie it into the eye tics. You're right about one thing: all the things I'm implementing will definitely help his health overall anyway. Oh, to answer your question: there are no tics or TS in either family. My father in law is obsessive compulsive(undiagnosed) according to my mother in law. My husband is ADHD and had LD's as a child. I didn't think you were saying that I was giving up....although, that would be the easy way out wouldn't it! Thanks so much for your help!

Caryn, just to answer your question on the bedwetting: Never have had a problem with this before, ever! He was potty trained at 3 and I can count on one hand how many accidents we've had. I do not see an increase in tics after pizza, either. He just had some last night and I haven't seen him tic at all today. Some days I don't see tics until later in the day, though.

Hi Caryn, The only food my son eats on a regular basis is pizza. He is a pretty good eater and will try all vegetables I put in front of him. He is partial to carrots, peas, zucchini, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, broccoli, and even eats spinach if I cut it into slivers and mix it with rice or orzo pasta. We have never been the type of family that ate doritos or ring dings. My son has NEVER had a Twinkie in his whole 9 years. But, I did allow HFCS in the form of sodas when we ate out and I allowed hot dogs and deli meats with the nitrates. I've switched us over to nitrate free meats and I now buy Blue Sky or Hansens sodas. I have not tried dairy free for him but he's not a milk drinker, never was. He gets his calcium from cheese and yogurt and supplementation, and sometimes Breyers ice cream. I still have a 1/2 gallon of milk sitting in the fridge that's over a week expired and it's 1/2 full. No one in this house drinks milk very much and we don't even add it to our teas or coffee. He's also not a huge peanut butter eater, either. Right now I've got him hooked on my BLT sandwiches, I make them with the Applegate Farms bacon. I think he was just happy that I was allowing him to have bacon! Also, my son doesn't have the allergic shiners, no mood swings (he's the most level kid you'll meet), he's never tired during the day and sleeps like a rock at night. I'm really looking forward to getting him allergy tested to see if I can get some answers but right now I'm trying to put aside the money for it!

Faith, I've seen 3 tics so far with him(all started about 4 months ago): hard eye blinking, eye winking on the left side, and a head tossing (like trying to get his hair out of his eyes as his hair is growing out now....I think it's the new thing with boys these days). He is 9 and he has not played on his playstation for about 2 weeks now. I stopped giving him the multi about 1 1/2 weeks ago and have purchased the kids' calm so that I can give him magnesium without the calcium for now. BTW: I'm not giving up(despite how I wish I could!) , I'm just frustrated! So, currently we are giving him just the cal/mag/zinc/vitamin D liquid supplement from Floradix. I have removed the multi and the omegas from his supplements for now. I also purchased taurine but have not started giving it to him yet. Yes, we've had both our dogs since before our son was born and they do not sleep in the bedrooms. He and I both have seasonal allergies but nothing more than minor runny noses and some sneezing. I also have a HEPA filter air purifier set up in his room and I do think it's helping with his allergies as he's not waking up all snotty, KWIM? I am planning on getting him tested in the next few months for allergies and food sensitivities, etc.

I've been really good about what I'm feeding my son. Keeping him away from additives, preservatives, food colors, vanillin, MSG, soy sauce, etc. This has been going on for over a month. I've been giving him a cal/mag supplement and omegas for 2 months now and I've seen NO CHANGE in those darn tics. Nothing! They still come daily, some days more than others, but still there! I thought maybe the omegas were causing trouble so I took him off of them 3 days ago and have not seen a change. I've even switched 'some' of our meals over to gluten free hoping to start reducing our gluten intake. Not sure if we're ready to go 100% on that one, yet. I just feel like ds is getting frustrated with all the changes I'm making and he sees no change. Also, the tics don't bother him. They seem to bother me more than anything so I wonder if I'm doing all of this for myself!? But, then I remind myself that I'm still improving his health along the way. It's just so hard to tell him NO all the time when things weren't like this just a few months ago. Can anyone else relate??? I just feel like I'm going in circles. I tried the epsom salts in the bath but I thought I saw increased tics the days after, but then again that could just be a waxing thing!??? Again, it's so confusing to me! I'm planning on adding taurine to his supplements and then eventually try Bonnie's. But, I wanted to do one supplement at a time for now so that I could see if there is improvement. I guess I just need to know that eventually I will see results. That this will not all be in vain. I mean, how long does it take to see a change, just a change? I'm not talking a complete cessation of tics but just some sort of positive result that I can cling to? I'm sorry if I'm going on here but I just don't have anywhere else to go! My friends don't understand and my husband just figures it's no big deal and that he'll outgrow the tics so I should stop worrying, etc. Thanks, all for listening!

So, should I split up his calcium magnesium? I have been giving ds a cal/mag supplement in the evening for the past 2 months and I haven't seen any change in the tics. Actually, I've cut out all MSG, HFCS, colors and additives, etc...even in our hair products and body washes and I still haven't seen a change. He just keeps ticcing away! From what I'm reading here, I should be giving the magnesium separately from the calcium. Bumping this up!

Hopefully you'll get a few responses here from folks who have seen tics in their kids similar to your son's. I am new here, too, and just wanted to let you know that you are not alone. My son started with facial tics back in November and yes, it did scare the cr*p out of me! The pediatrician didn't even suggest a neurologist and said it was just a childhood tic and that he would out grow it most likely. Right now I see eye blinking, eye winking, and sometimes head tossing. Most neurologists will order the EEG so that's pretty standard stuff. What you will find here on these message boards are folks who are trying to help their kids with natural and alternative methods in order to reduce or eliminate tics. It will take you some time to gleen all the information from this site but I encourage you to take some time to read through some threads just so you know you're not alone! I'm finding that my son's tics don't bother him as much as they bother me, LOL. So, hang in there and be patient with yourself as you search for answers both here and in the medical community.

So, should I split up his calcium magnesium? I have been giving ds a cal/mag supplement in the evening for the past 2 months and I haven't seen any change in the tics. Actually, I've cut out all MSG, HFCS, colors and additives, etc...even in our hair products and body washes and I still haven't seen a change. He just keeps ticcing away! From what I'm reading here, I should be giving the magnesium separately from the calcium.

Tami...she actually wanted to swallow them. She tried so hard!!!!!!! I myself have a hard time sometimes. She will keep trying to swallow them. In the meantime I will your suggestion tomorrow and also maybe some all natural ice-cream that another posted. Thank you so much for your reply! My ds has had some success with using a straw. We're in practice mode right now so I get him to swallow his chewable probiotics by using a straw to help it go down and he says it works for him. I also am training him to swallow pills by using white tic tacs(probably not the best choice but they are a bit slippery). I've been really lax in working with him on this so you've reminded me that I need to get moving here!

Source Naturals also makes a taurine powder that I was thinking of getting. I found it online for $4.74 for 3 oz. It's a 675 mg per 1/4 tsp doseage. I should check locally for the Now stuff so I don't have to pay for shipping. I was thinking I would mix it into juice but it's good to know that there's not much taste! Thanks!

Ack, I just read this! I just started ds on Country Life Target-Mins and one of the magnesiums in their liquid is aspartate. I bought it b/c they also included mag tuarate(sp). I'll have to keep an eye on him b/c I just started this 2 days ago.

Hi Nan, We are new to this journey as well. I haven't seen this suggested yet but I'd start by keeping a food/activity journal. And, then start cleaning up the diet by removing MSG, additives, preservatives, colors, etc. Noting behaviors, sleep patterns, and activity levels also will help you see patterns. I also note my own stress levels since my stress can affect my son's tics, as well. I have not tried the Kid's Calm so I can't comment on that for you. Right now I have ds on liquid cal/mag from Country Life. It's their Target-Mins calcium magnesium with Vitamin D. I give ds a 1/2 serving which is 250 mg of magnesium(citrate, aspartate, taurinate,etc) and 500 mg calcium(in various ...ates). It's blueberry flavored. The only thing I wasn't sure about with it is that it has sodium benzoate in it. I haven't researched this additive yet. My ds has trouble swallowing pills so I try to find chewable or liquid supplements for him first. I have also tried an expensive calcium magnesium supplement from Floradix but it wasn't as high in the cal/mag as the Country Life. My ds really liked the taste, though. Also, I have found this advice to be extremely helpful here: Do one thing at a time. Don't change too much or do too many supplements at a time b/c then you won't know exactly what the positive/negative change can be attributed to! I have learned that I need to take my time and be patient. Even though I want to fix it NOW, I know that this is a process and that it will take time. There are a lot of us here in this boat, you are not alone. It seems we have new posts almost daily of moms/dads who are looking for answers to our childrens tics. Hang in there, we will all find the answers some day!

Hey Carolyn, we used to have Henry's here in AZ but they closed all 5 of them down. I loved shopping there. I wanted to add that Sprouts has a supplement that has saved us from severe colds and flus, it's called congesteeze and has licorice root, ginger, oregano oil, echinacea, garlic bulb, etc. My dh(who has severe allergies and asthma) swears it has helped him get over colds quickly. I keep the oscillococcinum around just in case I need it. I've heard you can take it as a prophylactic if you know you've been exposed and I've read on another forum that you can take it for colds and other respiratory illnesses. Unfortunately, we all know that what works for one person may not work for another but it's nice to know that people can find healing in some of these alternative products!

Thanks for posting, Bmom! I am new to this forum but am finding so much information here that is helpful. I am spending a lot of my time reading a lot of old posts and trying to figure out the best answers to help my son. Right now we're in a mild tic phase. The last time he was tic free was for the first 2 weeks of January, since then he's been mildly ticcing(mostly eye blinking and hard blinking). But, I am hopeful that we will get to the bottom of this! I lean on God daily and I spend a lot of time allowing my son to be a child, while I do the adult thing called worrying! Thanks again for posting!

Chemar, when I was in college I did an internship for a company named Rhone Poulenc Pharmaceuticals. They made vanillin. The interns got to take a tour of the plant and it was then that I realized that some of our food was NOT really food at all. I couldn't believe that vanillin was made in a pharmaceutical factory and was being chemically processed! To this day I watch for vanillin in everything and try not to buy it. That's why I was surprised when I saw it in the Coromega. I did switch to Nordic Naturals yesterday but I'm thinking of taking him off the fish oil omegas anyway. After reading back through my food journal for him, I noticed a new tic the day after I started the fish oil omegas. Not sure if it's coincidence yet, though.

Hi Bcase, Is the Kefir to help rebuild the flora in the gut? I just bought some and thought it would be a good start for ds, as well. I just posted a question about the fish oil since we both seem to have the same concern!

I started ds on coromega this week and noticed a new tic the day after. He started hard blinking which I've never seen before. He was also doing his regular eye winking on one eye. Could this just be coincidence? Should I switch to a flax seed based omega for a while? It's so hard to tell if what you're doing is helping or not b/c of the waxing and waning issue with the tics!

So, does going anti-candida mean no bread? I would assume that candida feasts on yeast or most yeast products. I really need some tips and tricks to get ds to take pills! We were working with training him but his gag reflex is so severe that he really struggles. I need some other options or advice. I'd like to start him on mag taurate and on some yeast fighting supplements.