ilovedogs

What has everyone found to be the bigger help? I know that most of you here do both. I'm just looking for a starting point right now. I am getting pretty good at cutting out additives, preservatives, food dyes, etc. I've even been buying soaps and shampoos that have no color additives, as well. I have started him on a CalMag, vit D, zinc supplement, and Coromega. I've been doing this for a month and haven't seen a decrease in tics, actually they've gotten worse! So, I don't want to change too many things at once. I'm hoping to convince my husband to agree to let me take ds to a naturopath here that Carolyn N. recommended who does the NAET treatments. For now, I'm kinda on my own. His ped just says it's a tic and it will probably go away. Of course, I know better and I'm really hoping to help him this year. I have to admit, though, that I don't want to do gluten free. I've done it myself for a month when I was having some IBS problems and it was SO hard for me, as an adult. I could probably swing a dairy free diet for a bit but I know casein is found in MANY common foods so that would be hard, too! I guess I'm just looking for a good starting point. Thanks!

Carolyn, I don't mean to hijack this thread at all but I was looking for a doctor who does NAET. And, I come across your post that says you go to a center here in AZ. I live in Glendale and have desperately been searching for someone to help us! My naturopath just moved to Tucson so I'm looking for some help with my son's tics! To the original poster: I just wanted to say that I understand. My son just started ticcing a few months ago and I'm doing everything I can to find out how to help him naturally without medications. I feel like I'm always in watch mode, wondering what new tic will be revealed each day. Praying you get the answers you need and find a doctor who can help you with the allergy testing!

We have been using something called Floradix from Salus Industries. My son loves it. He actually takes the calcium magnesium which has vitamin D and zinc, as well. It's expensive but I found it at vitacost.com for a decent price. They also have a liquid supplement for kids that I've been thinking of getting b/c ds is still having trouble swallowing pills and I wanted to get him on Bonnie's soon.

I haven't really gotten to the point of wanting to do elimination diets with him, probably b/c he only has minor tics right now and they don't bother him. If they get worse or change into vocal tics I will probably start looking into diet. Right now I'm focusing on getting him off of any foods with artificial colors, flavors, additives, etc. We were already a pretty healthy family ie: we never ate at McDonalds, don't eat cheetos or doritos or twinkies(my son doesn't even know what a Twinkie tastes like ) I had ds on Juice Plus as a supplement for quite a while but have taken him off b/c I'm going to be starting to limit his salicylates and JP is made with fruit, etc. That's why I'm looking for recommendations of supplements. I want to find stuff that's free and clear of fruits like oranges, grapes, and apples, etc. JennyC: I'm glad that you figured out that casein was a problem for your daughter. I'm slowly finding out that I have to be a good researcher and investigator now. The problem I have is that I'm great at researching a plan, I'm just terrible at implementing it. I could use a little encouragement in that area!!!

My ds(9) had started with an eye blinking tic a few months ago. He also had a hair shaking thing going for a bit but that's gone away for now. I started him on a supplement from a company called Floradix, it's a liquid cal mag that also has zinc and vitamin D. I've seen his tics decrease but not go away completely. I am also training him on how to take pills so that I can start adding in supplements. My biggest question is this: Are all tics Tourette's? Are most cases of tics/ts mild cases? I'm just so scared for him. I was reading some of the stories of kids with OCD and TS and my heart goes out to them. I don't have any of those issues but the more I read about OCD, the more I think my dh might have some issues. I know he's ADHD and he works really hard at controlling it now as an adult. But my mother in law told me that she thinks my father in law has OCD. He's 83 and totally undiagnosed which I find weird, quite frankly. Anyway, I don't want to go into the stories too much here. I will say, though, that ds has always been anxious and suffered from social anxiety and separation anxiety at times. I really want to help him but don't know where to start. So, I want to find out what is an environmental doctor? Are they naturopaths, DO's, alternative medicines, or a combination? How do I find one in Phoenix, AZ? I also want to find out which supplements you all give. Do you do one supplement at a time to see how it's working? Or do you start it all at once? I saw Chemar's list but I'm not sure which brands to buy? Any advice will be welcome, thanks!

This thread has really opened my eyes to the whole food sensitivity and tic thing! My ds just started ticcing in November and I realized that we had just bought some new juice that has no HFCS to sweeten it, etc. My ds really liked the grape juice blend so I started buying it and he's been drinking it every day. He's also been eating a lot of chocolate b/c of the holidays and birthdays we've had lately. I can't wait to start eliminating things for him and see if we see any improvements. It's all so overwhelming and I haven't found an environmental doctor yet. My ds was just seen by the pediatrician who told me that these tics should clear up as he gets older...well, that doesn't help me help my ds get relief from them, does it? I have ds on a fish oil supplement for now but if that doesn't help or I see worsening of tics I may switch him over to a flax oil supplement. Thank you all for this information. I was beginning to despair that there was no hope for us!

I found them on a different website and noticed they were recommended for ADHD. My ds doesn't have ADHD so I'm wondering if this will help his tics? I have to say that I am so confused. The doctor seems to think the tics will go away since we don't have any TS in the families(that we're aware of anyway). Is that true? Is there a chance that these will go away some day??? I feel so hopeless for him and yet, ds seems oblivious. He just goes about being a kid and seems to be enjoying life! I guess I'm doing a good job of keeping my worrying to myself!

Thank you all for your help. Ds went to the dr today and he said most kids outgrow tics. He didn't seem too concerned and he thought that the PS2 causing it was probably coincidence. I think we're just in a wait and see pattern for now. I'm going to start changing one thing at a time for him for now so I can observe if certain things will help or not. This board is really helpful for information!

What is magnesium taurate? I've seen other forms of magnesium and have seen blended cal/mag or mag with potassium. Where do I find this and can I get it in liquid form? Also, what is the best form of Omegas? Is it better to get it from fish oil or is a plant based Omega sufficient?

Hi, just wanted to let you know that you are not alone. I just posted the other day about my ds starting to wink/blink one eye. He just started it about a month and a half ago and had a one week period where we didn't see it all. I am taking him to the dr on Thursday but I'm not sure I'm going to see much help from him, maybe just reassurance that this happens to kids and can sometimes clear up at puberty....it's the getting there that seems to stress me out. This is distressing to us, too. I guess I just wanted to post here to let you know that I know what you're going through and how you feel. So many questions, so little answers, and there's so many theories as to what may or may not help! Right now I'm going to start ds on a good vitamin supplement and add in some probiotics and Omegas. Eventually I am going to wean him off of video games and do some trials with the screen time, etc. My ds does't crave any one food in particuar, either and he doesn't seem to have any compulsions or obsessions.

Thank you for responding! My biggest heartbreak for ds is that people keep asking him what's wrong with his eye, etc. And, I don't know what to tell them or to have him tell them! This whole thing is so overwhelming to me. I've read about some tic disorders clearing up around puberty....is that true or just hype put out there by the medical community who don't want to diagnose TS so much? So many questions, and I'm so unsure of where to start!

Hello, my son is 9 and has recently started an eye blinking tic. It looks like he's winking at you and it's on and off through the day. It started the day after he got a Playstation 2 for his 9th birthday so at first I thought it was related to that. I removed the PS2 from his life and the tic stopped but at the same time I had him on Omega 3 fish oil and cal/mag supplements. I added the PS2 back into his life(in small amounts) and the tic started again. Could this just be a coincidence? He had a vocal tic over the summer that I attributed to his allergies. We were in CA on vacation and we both suffered severe allergies and he started clearing his throat constantly. He has seasonal allergies here in AZ and it was the beginning of that season when we came home from vacation. The throat clearing kept up as well as his allergy symptoms. When his allergies cleared up in August during monsoon season here, he stopped clearing his throat. AGAIN, I keep wondering if that's a coincidence????? He hasn't been to the ped in 3 years but we have an appointment this next week. This whole thing is very freightening to me as I don't handle this stuff very well. I have read about ways to help him through diet and supplements. I'm pretty sure about what the ped will tell me: since this is a recent thing they probably won't diagnose TS, he'll probably tell me that ds will grow out of it, and I'll probably walk out knowing no more than when I walked in! Ds will NOT swallow pills as he has a terrible gag reflux just like me. I have to take my supplements one at a time! So, I'll be looking for liquid or chewable supplements. He currently takes Nutrilite chewable gummy Omega 3's(they're fish oil) and he takes 2 chewable capsules of flax seed oil. I also have him on Juice Plus supplements and a chewable cal/mag. So, I guess I'm here to just look for support and a 'where to get started' recommendation ie. websites, books, etc. Thanks.....B