ilovedogs

That's wonderful news. How much magnesium are you giving him? I give my ds around 400 mg and I've yet to see a positive change, or any change for that matter, from using magnesium. I give it to him because I believe many of us are mag. deficient but I'm not sure it's ever helped the tics or attention issues.

My ds has been having trouble staying asleep. He wakes up after being asleep for about an hour and has difficulty falling back into sleep mode. He also ends up waking early, which wouldn't be a problem if he hadn't had the sleep issue the night before. We know he has attention issues and OCD anxiety but he says it wasn't because of a dream or a 'compulsive thought', he just states: I can't fall back to sleep and I know it's driving him crazy. I've heard of people using melatonin but I don't know the dosing on it and I've thought about possibly making chamomile tea with valerian in it for him. But, since his problem is night time waking I'm not sure those would help. Any suggestions?

CWS, telling your child to stop or giving them a reward for not ticcing is probably not a good idea. My ds has said that when we talk about the tics he gets the urge to do them more, not suppress them. It really bothers him and I've heard other parents say the same. My ds has gotten to the age where he can talk about his tics on his terms but I've never asked him to stop. Sometimes I ask him if what he is doing 'feels like a tic' or if it's just a habit he's developing. If he says, "I think it's more of a habit and I think I can stop.", then I encourage him to do so. If he says it feels like a tic, then I leave him alone and let it wax/wane as needed. He's hardly ever bothered by his tics but when he expresses concern I always remind him that tics come and go and that he can take an epsom salts bath, drink some chamomile tea, and do some breathing exercises to promote relaxation. This usually seems to work and the next day the tics aren't quite as bad. My ds hasn't had a tic free day in 3 years now and we did have co-morbid conditions.

A few weeks ago, one of ds' friends was diagnosed with leukemia and lymphoma. It's a very aggressive form of lymphoma called Burkitt's lymphoma and so he is already starting chemo round 2 at the end of this week, which will be very aggressive chemo, too. We've known this boy since he was 4 and I remember the first time ds started ticcing and we were at their house and I explained what the tics were to his friend. His friend just said, "What tics? I don't see anything." And, they went on to go play in his room. Ds had just started with tics and I was so worried and anxious about them and about how children would react so I was so grateful that this little boy didn't see what I saw. I spoke to his mother last week and she started to cry. I told her how my sister had ALL(acute lymphocytic leukemia) when she was a child and how it brought our family closer together and I shared our experiences with her. She told me the boy has 2 nodules in his abdomen already from the lymphoma, how he is suffering through severe pain in his joints and needs to be in a wheelchair to get around, how he has migraines now from the chemo, how he slumps into a nap at 1 PM and sleeps for hours, etc. Her words to me were, "Bonnie, this is a child who hardly ever got a cold, never had the flu, has only been on antibiotics once in his life, and was perfectly healthy in September. How does this happen?" I said, "Carol, we can't think about HOW cancer happens. It just does. This very subject tormented my father when my sister was diagnosed. Focus on prayer, focus on enjoying the good moments he has from day to day, and focus on letting God heal him." It was then that I realized that I should heed my own advice, LOL! It's so easy to give advice, but much harder to listen to ourselves, isn't it? Anyway, my point in posting all this was to remind us that in the grand scheme of things; it could be worse for our children and that if we have good health, if we take care of our bodies to the best of our abilities, and if we love our families unconditionally; the rest must be left in God's hands. We cannot control everything that affects us and we have to trust Him at some point. Praying for you all and hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving week next week! Bonnie

When my ds was 6 he started with anxiety issues. Being afraid of movie theaters, making a lot of fearful statements about getting trapped in buildings or elevators, etc. He also went through severe separation anxiety for years. I had him in therapy when he was 8 and the therapist told me he probably has GAD(generalized anxiety disorder), but then the tics started the day he turned 9 and then we had some episodes of severe OCD(intrusive thoughts) and also bedwetting(which we still struggle with periodically here). So, I think I noticed that ds was 'different' by the time he was 5 or 6, but the tics didn't start until a few years later. He's 12 now, by the way. Bonnie

I think we've all been there, done that on how we feel about our kid's tics and co-morbid conditions. I'd love to pray for you! Last month, dh and I went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for vacation and my mom stayed with my ds to watch him for 5 days. When I returned I asked my mom how his tics were and she said, "What tics? I hadn't noticed them." So, I look over at ds and I see his shoulder shrugging, his eye blinking, etc and I wonder how my mother couldn't possibly see them. I mean, the boy hasn't had a tic free day in 3 years. What I finally realized was that I had become hypersensitive to every little mouth movement, every shrug, and every blink. My mom, on the other hand, just doesn't focus on that stuff. I need to learn to take a lesson from my mom. If she didn't even notice them when she was here for 5 days, were they really that bad to begin with or do I just over-react to the severity of them? But, believe me, I'm still learning! Some days I just catch myself staring at him trying to determine which moves are tics or which moves are just him being silly that day, LOL! Bonnie

Hi Bonnie, "Try researching the NAC, it's really been a lifesaver for us regarding congestion and coughs", that is really what we are looking for! My son always has a chear throat type tic, and coupled with a little bit mucous, I don't eaven know it is vocal tic or allergy. By the way, what is NAC? N-ACETYL CYSTEINE (NAC) ? which brand do you suggest? Thanks a lot for helping me. Lele Hi Lele, We use just about any brand as long as it's capsules that can be open. I usually mix the NAC(yes, N Acetyl Cysteine) with juice for ds.

Hi there. My son uses a Flonase nasal spray and I think it's a steroid and we've seen no issues using it. We also tried quercetin in the form of a nasal spray and in supplementation and I didn't see that help his tics or allergies, either. The Flonase periodically along with Zyrtec help the most, but neither really have any affect on the tics. The allergies themselves contribute to the tics, though, so I try to balance natural medicine with conventional meds. We did the NEAT 2 years ago and didn't really see it help with anything(tics or allergies). We use mullein tea to thin out the mucous in his resp. system and I also give NAC along with Vitamin C to help with the respiratory problems. He is not asthmatic but the allergies can be pretty bad seasonally. Try researching the NAC, it's really been a lifesaver for us regarding congestion and coughs. Bonnie

Oh, CP, that is good news. I was planning on starting the krill oil with Griffin after we get back from Mexico. I don't want to shake things up on my mom when she's here watching him. Funny thing though: after we saw you guys and as our visit went on, his tics diminished down to nothing. We got back home and the shoulder tic is back to where it was before we left. So, I'm really thinking we're dealing with some sort of environmental allergy related to being at home. We'll see how the full moon at the end of October affects him. Thanks for letting us know and keep us posted! B

What about early waking, guys? Almost every fall my ds experiences an early waking problem. It's funny because he sleeps well the rest of the year but the change in seasons really gets to him and he wakes around 6-6:30 but would like to sleep until 7 or 7:30. Sometimes it's anxiety related but he also has the same problem as me; once we wake in the AM we don't fall back to sleep. He does not have any trouble actually falling asleep at night and he sleeps soundly all night long. Thanks Bonnie

I know we've discussed this topic, but I'm resurrecting it for the new people. Many of us see waxing around the fall full(harvest) moons. We also see an exacerbation of other co-morbid symptoms in the fall. Last fall my ds had a major anxiety waxing issue. He was early waking and crying about some OCD intrusive fears, he was bed wetting, and he was inconsolable quite often. He's been fine since the end of November 2009 as far as the anxiety goes and hasn't had an issue. Fast forward to last week. It was a full moon and for about a week before the fullness, he was waxing with his tics. Once the full moon passed, the tics have subsided to a waning level and are barely noticeable. But, now he's already starting with the early waking times, LOL! I'm just praying that the anxiety doesn't rear it's ugly head this fall, but I truly believe that the change in seasons, change in allergens, and the full moon cycles in the fall all contribute to a waxing and stress period for him. Would anyone like to add their stories here so newcomers can be a bit enlightened, LOL!? Bonnie

Good idea, CSP, let me know how it goes. I have krill oil that I take but I haven't given it to ds yet. It's small easy to swallow pills but he's waxing now and I don't want to add these yet. PS: I sent you a PM here on the boards and I called your house this AM. Can you tell I'm trying to reach you? We'll be in town on Thursday for a week, would love to see you guys. Bonnie

Faith, I sent you back a PM, did you get it. She told me she's having problems with her inbox, CSP. I told her you were trying to reach her, too.

I didn't know about the program, but I usually don't watch anything about TS. I have a few friends whose kids had progressively worse tics and then when they hit puberty, the tics disappeared. I've also heard the opposite: kids start out mild but get worse after puberty. Every child is different and the media tend to focus on what would be deemed sensationalism. I still believe that a healthy diet, magnesium, and allergy treatment help us. Will they take the tics away? NO, but they will make things more bearable for ds. I totally agree with you: they should do some news coverage on kids who have successfully been treated with alternative medicine but the big pharma who are in bed with our government don't want us to treat naturally or they'd go broke. Now, I'm not saying that drugs or pharmaceuticals are bad: they all have their place and can be used in certain situations including our kids if we deem necessary, but why can't natural medicine and conventional medicine work together? Bonnie

I can't send Faith a private message. Anyone else heard from her lately? Faith, if you're checking on here; your inbox may be full. Bonnie

Lynn, too funny about your husband. My dh says the same thing! As a matter of fact, he said the very thing last night before we went to bed. He knows ds deals with anxiety and he thinks the tics are harmless and doesn't know why I get so frustrated and distracted by them. Ds has started a bit of a waning period this week and I've been contemplating getting Bonnie's supplements and seeing how things go. I like reading these posts so I'm not surprised if things don't go the way I planned. I also understand about the 'wondering if it's a long waning period' thing. Sometimes I think that if I change things up and add something and then he decreases tics, etc then the supplement is working and then the tics will start back up again, and I'll wonder if the supplement was doing any good to begin with or if his waxing would have been worse if I hadn't added the supplement. GAH! So much to think about, and then our better halves say, "What are you worrying about?" LOL! Bonnie

We're really big on natural remedies here for most colds, stomach aches, and flus. Other than a high fever over 102, I don't usually give meds. We use herbals to boost immune system function throughout the fall and winter months: I have ds take esberitox(an echinacea formula) daily and he takes a children's chewable immune booster from Source Naturals. He gets extra vitamin C and also chewable vitamin D. As for fighting the actual cold we use essential oils for inhalation like eucalyptus, clove, ravensara, citrus oils, oregano, etc. We gargle with salt water as much as we can at the start of the cold and also use neti pots or nasal saline sprays. I make them inhale steam from chamomile tea bags with a towel over their heads and hanging the head over a pot of the steaming tea. I make a tincture of herbs that we use and I also purchase something called cold and sinus blaster which contains horseradish root, elderberries, olive leaf, cayenne, boneset, osha root, and other herbals. We use mullein tea for cough and to loosen mucous, my son really likes this tea(I believe Alvita makes it in bags whereas I make mine from loose herbs). For a sore throat we gargle with oil of oregano(not for the faint of heart, btw) or we use the cold and sinus blaster spray(again, not for the faint of heart). My ds doesn't like those because they're too strong so I dilute the tincture in juice for him, LOL! We also take fish oil regularly and take garlic daily. If a cold moves through the house I make a homemade batch of chicken noodle soup with lots of garlic, parsley, oregano, and organic veggies. We also do the wet sock treatment if there is a low grade fever. It's where you wear wet heavy cotton socks underneath wool socks overnight and it gets the body to refocus it's energy to the feet which increases circulation and helps the body lower the fever. I hope some of this info helps someone on here. Since I try to keep out food colorings and artificial crud, it's hard to find cold and flu OTC stuff that's natural. OH, I also use a few natural cough syrups one of which is from Olbas. Olbas also makes an excellent essential mix that we use in a diffuser to help aid breathing during a cold or flu. Bonnie

Keeping a clean diet is always a good start. Personally, I don't see food as a trigger for my son. I've tried elimination diets and found that I can give him all kinds of junk(or non-junk, LOL) over a series of weeks and still not see a change in the tics. I guess I tried my own modified scientific experiments. What we did find is that stress(both good or bad) and allergies(mostly environmental from what we can tell) seem to trigger him the most. Other than that, we just have typical waxing and waning that goes along with all tic disorders. If you want to clean up the diet you'll want to eliminate all food colorings and preservatives including nitrates and nitrites which are mostly found in deli meats, bacon, etc. Also, you'll want to steer clear of HFCS(high fructose corn syrup). You may also want to avoid MSG(this could be big for some folks), caffeine, and even chlorine. Cutting down on screen time could also help. If you want to start with supplements without getting overwhelmed, you may want to start with just adding magnesium in the evenings. It's a great supplement and we all take it as a family as it helps relax the body and replenish minerals to sore muscles, etc. We are a very active family(our son plays competitive tennis, he's almost 12 now) so he knows when he's over done it one day and will specifically ask for an epsom salts bath and to take his magnesium supplement. Please keep posting, I know this can all be very overwhelming but just remember that lots of kids get tics and that this may very well go away on it's own in a few months or so. We know lots of kids who have had tics but they have totally disappeared. Unfortunately, for us, we've been dealing with tics and other co-morbid conditions for 3 years now. Good luck and please keep asking questions.

I buy my oils (they have absolute jasmine or a mix with a carrier oil) from www.birchhillhappenings.com. I've been doing business with them for over a year. They are very knowledgeable, they have high quality oils, and they respond to questions quickly. I just bought some jasmine oil from them this past week. Hope this helps, CP! Bonni

My ds HATES the Natural Calm. I have to force it on him and for some reason he refuses to swallow pills. Has anyone come across another supplier of quality magnesium that comes in a liquid or powdered form? I used to give him the Floradix liquid calcium but it's extremely expensive so I'm looking to see if anyone has a product that they've found that they like. Thanks, Bonnie

I just wanted to add that we've been using essential oils for many things in our home. Mostly to fight colds and flus but also for attention issues. My son finds vetiver very helpful in improving his attention to school work. We diffuse lavender quite a bit in our home! Also, if I need a lift I diffuse orange or grapefruit oils. I also have used clove oil for toothaches and gum pain, numbs them right up! If you want any more information on using essential oils, please let me know. I'm so glad Chemar posted about the jasmine because I haven't gotten around to adding it to our repertoire. Some of the oils I buy from Iherb(the Now brand) but I also visit a website called Birchhill Happenings. They are very knowledgeable about oils and they sell all the glass jars, glass stir sticks, scent pads, etc that I use so I frequent their website, as well. I've even gotten my dh to use them, too! He's always a pretty hard sell, LOL! Bonnie

Hi Cheri, No, we haven't tried the l carnitine. I do have some here at the house but I'm so afraid that it will get worse or that I'll upset his system in some way again. Maybe I'll try it in small amounts over the weekend. I did notice that he started doing it when he had macaroni and cheese for dinner a few days in a row. He was learning how to cook and read directions and mac n cheese was pretty easy to follow(it was organic stuff but still powdered cheese). I'm wondering if he was sensitive to something in the powdered cheese? He tics louder while eating or drinking and the rest of the day it's quieter and less frequent, but while he's eating it's like every 5 seconds or so. So, glad I'm not the only one, ladies! I should try to play music, that was a good idea. Ear plugs may work but I hate the feeling of having something in my ear, LOL! B

Will someone please tell me how you deal with hearing your kids and their vocal tics! This is our first round of vocal tics(he only had a sniffing tic after a cold and it was short-lived) and it's driving me crazy! He keeps clearing his throat and it sounds kind of like a motor. I seriously don't know what I'd do if he had major vocals like words, screams, barking, etc. I know that it's not the end of the world and I know it's actually mild but man, it's driving me crazy! I'm one of those people that can hear a clock ticking 100 yards away from me. I don't want to keep leaving the room because I don't want to isolate him or for him to feel self-conscious about them but boy, I'd like to! Thanks for letting me vent! Bonnie

Awww, where is she going to school? I hope it's not too far away! We're coming at the end of September, as usual, so hopefully we can get together then! I'm looking forward to it. We've been dealing with some issues with my dh these days and I'm really looking forward to visiting my mom and getting a break from the stress here. Life is always good, though, despite our challenges and I just take things one day at a time! B

CP, I'm sorry he's been waxing lately. Totally know how it feels, LOL! I asked ds if he could stop the throat clearing he was doing(which he only does while eating or drinking for the most part) and he said no and that it's really hard to stop and that he just has to do it. So, I'm assuming we're looking at true vocal tics with him right now. He also tics more when watching TV which he wasn't doing for a while. It seems his tics are situational: grabbing his shirt while walking, eyebrow raising for TV watching, and clearing the throat while eating. Yet, he's still not too bothered by them and neither is dh so we just plug along. Like I said above: I really need to just add in the magnesium both in epsom salts baths and in the natural calm. Are you trying any supplements these days? Anything nutritional that you're doing or dietary wise? Bonnie