ilovedogs

Have you thought of just trying the magnesium by itself? Maybe it's the taurine? I know that when I add supplements I try one at a time and magnesium taurate is 2 supplements in one. I'd switch to just a magnesium or cal/mag supplement first and see if that helps.

Oh, and I did not hear the one about the lamp shade in the funeral parlor. Do tell!!!

Yeah, Faith, I was thinking it was the oil since he broke open a fresh orange or 2...or 3 Anyway, the baking soda will probably neutralize it over time since that's a bicarbonate, too, right? That's probably why the doc recommended it. I was thinking of using some lavender oil or aloe vera gel but I wasn't sure what to start with and I don't want to over use anything since he has sensitive skin to begin with. He always says that he wishes he had my olive toned skin, not his dad's lilly white Irish skin, LOL!!!

I've not had that problem with the mag., but have you thought about his diet in general? What else may have changed? It may just be a coincidence. You could try stopping using the mag and see if the tic subsides or diminishes or you could analyze his diet to see if he ate something or was exposed to something that might trigger a reaction.

Ok, so my goofy kid was playing with fresh oranges the other day. He and his friends were smashing them, etc. My kid gets the fun idea of squeezing one all over his hands and then rubbing the oil/juice all over his face. I see what he's doing and order him to wash it all off. Well, I guess he doesn't know how to wash well b/c he went out and played tennis later and ended up with what looks like burns. He has red splotches on his face and his hands are all red still. He has a line running down his arm where you can see that the orange juice ran down his arm. He says it doesn't hurt and the skin looks healthy except for the redness and drying on the face. Any suggestions? The naturopath recommended we just wash his face and hands with a mild cleanser and use a baking soda cleanser to keep the surface clean but I'm more concerned about healing and scarring. I guess if it doesn't hurt him, I shouldn't be too concerned right? Also, I wonder if this is more of an allergic reaction? The other kids didn't get anything like this from playing with the oranges. Maybe this is telling us something about those salicylates? Anyone else have any stories of the brilliant things their kids have done???? B

LOL ,I was thinking the same thing!!! If it makes you feel any better Faith, my son still needs us to cut his meat for him. Shhhhh, don't tell him I told you all that!

Awww, you guys brought tears to my eyes! We had a great weekend this weekend, too. Ds played in his first national tennis tournament in Tucson, AZ. Kids from all over the country were there and most were very highly ranked. He lost both his singles matches, but one of them was so close. He was out there ticcing away but it didn't stop him from playing his best. He did end up winning a doubles match, though, so it turned out to be a great win for him, too. Ds has added in some shoulder shrugging tics now along with a head nodding and a eye squeeze while he plays tennis. I swear I have no idea how he keeps the ball in play with that eye squeezing tic, but he does and it doesn't seem to bother him. His anxiety was very much in check, as well, and he only got really nervous before his first match. The only supplements I brought with me were the B6, the Kavinace, and glycine. I totally forgot the magnesium. He even ate a bunch of junk food at the player parties and such, and he did really well! The best part of the whole weekend was when a stranger came up to him and told ds that he had seen some of his match. He told ds that he thought ds deserved a sportsmanship award for how composed and friendly he was on court. I also got complimented on his behavior during his matches from the other parents and one father from CA told me that he was going to use my son as an example to his son for how to act on court. I couldn't have been more proud! He may have tics, anxiety, OCD, ADD, etc but people recognize his positive personality and it really makes me proud. CSP: thanks for thinking of me! I'm in the midst of blood tests and third opinions soon. I have 2 totally different opinions right now so I'm stuck in the medical vortex trying to figure everything out. Knowing my body: I'll be some sort of medical experiment with some undiagnosable problem. Honestly, the last doc I saw was just flabbergasted at some of my symptoms and she admitted that she has no answers for me but she started testing for autoimmune conditions, thyroid panels, and many other tests that I can't remember. She even admitted that I'm probably going to be on quite the adventure. I think I'll be getting a brain MRI soon to rule out a tumor, too! OH YAY....so much fun....NOT! Anyway, I'm really just in limbo and I'm just trying hard to get through each day without thinking about it all, LOL! Hope everyone has a great New Year! Bonnie

Hi Rosilee~ I responded to you on the dailystrength boards. I actually was on there b/c of a health issue that I am having and I stumbled into the Tourettes forum so I hope you saw my replies. Anyway, I think you'll find this to be a way more active board especially the PANDAs side which I read often b/c it makes you appreciate how minor the TS really is when you see the kids with PANDAs dealing with other issues, as well. Bonnie

Hi Faith! We're doing Ok but ds just started a shoulder shrugging tic and I'm tired of trying to figure out why b/c I'm caught up in my own medical issue right now. As a matter of fact, I could use some prayer as I'm going to a specialist in the morning and I'm hoping they can help interpret my blood work results. My naturopath wants to put me on heavy duty meds without issuing an MRI so I decided to go the conventional medicine route for now and, quite frankly, I'm frustrated already in dealing with doctors and I haven't even been to the office yet, LOL! I have to admit that I'm now focusing more on myself and I'm not as concerned about ds and the tics or anxiety. I really feel very selfish right now but I think it's good in a way b/c he doesn't have me hovering over him watching every tic he makes(even though I try to hide the fact that I'm watching!).

Just wanted to mention that my son has exacerbations with his tics when he's getting in new teeth, or when he's losing teeth. He just lost his last baby tooth 2 months ago but I saw his panoramics and it looks like those 12 year molars might be coming early b/c they are darn close to the surface. We're seeing an increase in tics for the past few weeks but if it's tooth related it's b/c his eye teeth are coming down now. We aren't PANDAs diagnosed but it's something I'm thinking about exploring soon. Also, our naturopath told me that there will be increase in symptoms when testosterone increases during pre-puberty and puberty for boys. He said that will raise norepinephrine which will, in turn, raise anxiety. Bonnie

Hi all, I hope this week finds you all healthy and happy and enjoying this beautiful time of year! Have a very happy week and a blessed New Year! Bonnie

For us, the only trigger I am 100% positive of is that stress and illness makes the tics worse. Good and bad stress. I think he also tics more when he's out in the sun and when he's playing a game on the computer. We're in a waxing mode right now and he's added a shoulder shrug to the eye blinking with a head nod and I'm still trying to figure out what triggers them. It was weird how his anxiety flared up in October and tapered off in mid-November but all that time the tics were minor. Now, his anxiety is low but his tics are high. Go figure,right!??? The good news is that he doesn't seem too bothered by the tics so I try my best to implement the right supplements (which I still cannot attest to their efficacy all the time) and pray that this episode is short-lived.

I've been reading a bit about B vitamins but I get confused. Some sources say it's ok to take a B complex for tics but others say you need to take differing amounts of B6, B12, etc. Also, can someone break down the benefits of each one and which one is most important to assist in lowering tic intensity? Right now, we're only giving B6 but I'd like to branch out to other B vitamins but I just don't know where to start and I'm pretty sure that most B complexes taste nasty so I'd have to convince him to swallow pills, LOL! B

I can't decide if I should give ds taurine and then give magnesium as separate supplements or if I should just find magnesium taurate by itself. I wanted to know who has had actual improvement with these as a combo? I have been very neglectful in providing my ds with magnesium and we're in yet another waxing mode so I'm back to thinking about what is missing b/c nothing has changed recently. Bonnie

Interesting about the pyroluria and the alcholism. Maybe it's something we need to look into, too. My dad is a self-pronounced alcoholic as are both my inlaws. My dh was an alcoholic by the time he was 15, he hasn't had a drink for 15 years now. So, we have alcoholism on both sides of the family. We also have anxiety on both sides and depression on dh's side so the poor kid was bound to have some sort of issues, huh? Anyway, I'll be at the naturopath's office later and I'll ask him about pyroluria.

Funny you should mention the music thing. My son just mentioned today that he felt he worked better with music on. I have a few classical CD's but I'm not sure that Led Zeppelin or ColdPlay would be good background music, LOL!

Cheri, would biofeedback be good for attention issues? Ds is getting to the point where I have to stand over him to get him to do his work and constantly cue him to get it done. Otherwise, he'd be staring out the window or just staring at the paper thinking about who knows what! It's driving me crazy!

I've heard that the trampoline is great exercise but they do come with some safety risks. What about a rebounder/mini trampoline? I've also read that those are great for adults so I'd think they could work well for kids, too. And, I have no answers for you as to whether it will hinder recovery or delay things for your child. What works for one, may not work for another and vice versa. My son has used a trampoline many times over at friends' houses, etc and I've not seen any negative reaction, unless you count him being exhausted and worn out, LOL!

I have a friend who put her son on strattera and he developed a tic disorder. She took him off the meds but the tics stayed around. That was about 1 year ago, so I don't know if the tics will stop or not but I do know that ADD meds can exacerbate or trigger tics.

Yeah, Cheri, we can't do the fish oils. I should try finding some flaxseed oil or borage for him to try. I've never tried gingko but I'll start looking for something he can take. He still won't swallow pills so I may have to find a tincture. Thanks, Bonnie

My ds has trouble staying on track with things. He also has trouble paying attention and gets easily distracted. Our naturopath told me that most supplements that help with attention will more than likely make his tics worse. How do I balance this? His attention stuff is really starting to get in the way of his school work but also with his sports as he just seems checked out. He also seems to have bad recall/memory issues. Like if you ask him what happened and ask for specifics he will be able to give you the outcome of something but can't remember the details or he gets them confused. Not sure where that falls on the ADD/memory scale, lol! Anyway, any suggestions? Supplements? Therapy, and if so, what kind of therapist? Neurofeedback(does it work)? Thanks, B

Wow, that is really interesting, as usual! I also made a few pumpkin pies and I used the evaporate milk and I didn't see any increase in tics or anxiety. Actually, he's been improving the past few weeks so I've not seen anything affect the tics. I really wish I knew what our triggers were b/c I don't think food additives are it for us. Although, I try to stay away from them in general. B

I feel the same way, Sandy! If only I had a crystal ball and could see the future, LOL! I think alot of us here are in the same boat. I know a few adults who had TS as a child and they all said it was relatively mild and that by the time they were teenagers they were able to control the tics more and then they pretty much subsided by adulthood. I also know of a few teens who stopped ticcing at the age of 14 or so right after bug pubescent growth spurts. For me, it's the other stuff that goes along with the tics that makes our life hard, not the tics themselves. We've been very lucky, too, where the tics have been relatively mild for the most part and mostly isolated to his head and jaw. My son is 11 now and has been having tics for exactly 2 years and he's only complained about them once so I think we've been very blessed! Bonnie Ok: Duh, I had already mentioned a lot of this stuff in my first post on this thread. but, I wanted to encourage you anyway so I left it as is! I think I need more caffeine!!

Hope everyone had a very blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving! Bonnie

Yes, they are fresh and not frozen but I don't remember what the cost was. I try not to look at prices at Trader Joe's, I just go in and start buying and I know it's going to cost me at least $100 each time I go!