Tracey111

I am researching PANDAS. I found the flow chart for diagnosing.....I have a sore throat and my son's throat is scratchy when reading. For a week or so he has had tics after 11 months tic free...this weekend they exploded from a minor eyebrow strectch to full head tonight.....the minor tics have been at least a week (?)....and his attitude has gone south for about a week!!! Is it too late to check for strep in a throat culture? Do I need to do blood tests if I go the DR tomorrow? It appears that everyone in the house should be checked? Is there a way other than all of us going to the DR? I know nothing about Strep. I thought if you had it you end up with high fever and throat so sore you can't swallow??

I tried these Market America supplements for my son when he first started cupping. She sold them to me and told me to stop all of my other supplements. His tics got VERY bad and it scared me, so I took him off of them right away and returned them. I don't know if it was the intial detox of the cupping, or the supplement change, or the supplement itself....but it scared me.

Thank you for replying. He is 8, almost 9. His attitude and frustration level have gone downhill as fast as the tics have returned. He is a different child the last week or two....not his easy going self!!! I don't think it is hormones this young. Supplements were GABA, Acetyl L Carnitine, Mag Taurate, Flax Oil, Ester C, Calcium Citrate, NAC.....that is all I can recall from memory. The diet has been very lax for 11 months and no issues with tics....and when I say very, I mean we haven't had to watch anything. Here is the strange thing......I have a horrible sore throat today and tonight when he was reading to me his voice was scratchy, he said it is his jaw. He told me three times tonight that his jaw hurts.... So, yes there is something with his jaw or throat....I am going to research PANDAS b/c this tic outburst came out of nowhere!!!

My son started with eye blink tics two weeks after the Chix pox vaccine.......we spent a year and a half after the vaccine trying to rid the tics......I thought it was TS....now after 11 months of no tics, they are coming back......so I am just starting to research PANDAS..., I KNOW IT WAS THE VACCINE!!! Why else would they show up out of NO WHERE at age 6???

The Epsom Salt Baths helped my son. I made him take them in the summer after he got out of the pool. My older son, who does not have tics, started to ask to take them because he liked the way he felt afterwards ???? I think they helped....but can't tell you the medical reason why. As with the other post on this topic, I think that Magnesium Taurate was a big help as a supplement.

It has been a long time since I have posted. Now, I am looking for anyone with this situation.....especially if you recall my posts from a year or so ago...... My son has been tic-free for 11 months after four cupping sessions....and a dose of antibiotics. We stopped our supplements 11 months ago, which initially I thought were key to keeping tics to a minimum....he has not had supplements or "all-natural" diet in 11 months.....now the tics come back in the same fashion that they first entered. A minor eyebrow lift noticed the last two weeks, but very rare. Then the eyes are starting. Tonight I thought I saw his whole head moving. I figured that the vaccine started it a few years ago.....and after a year and a half we finally figured out that he needed the detox of cupping to get the toxins out. The antibiotics also started the same day his first cupping session started (becase of a severe over-reaction to a bug bite). Was it the antibiotics OR the cupping sessions?????? I don't know if the Dr. would give me antibiotics just to "check and see" if it clears up the tics. I am scared to do the cupping b/c after the first session he started jerking like crazy. HAS ANYONE gone 11 months tic free and had them return like this? 11 months is a long time.....I don't recall ever seeing this. He does not want to talk about it and says he just has "stars in his eyes"........I also don't know how much to "push" it with talking to him about how we are seeing the tics. He is almost 9 and went through SO MUCH for the year and half that he had the tics, and then failed a grade last year which was another blow to him. Any suggestions would be GREAT.....I know that this is the FIRST place I came when I was trying to figure out how to help him two years ago. Let me just add that he has not been sick ALL year....until a couple of weeks ago when he had a problem with a VERY sour stomach. I thought it was a virus.....soon after is when the minor tics started appearing.

http://www.schoolbehavior.com/Files/tips_tourette.pdf Here is a site I found a long time ago. My son qualified for Special Education Services under "other health impared" due to his tics. ESE support can be WONDERFUL. The school is required by law to give your child whatever accommodations are laid out in the IEP. It is a great protection for children in the learning environment. As an educator, the first thing I do with my class rolls is look to see who is ESE and what their "needs/requirements" are!!! I make sure that I know this as soon as I meet the child. Good luck.....whatever you do, don't let the SLOW process get you down...it took over a year for my son to be tested and get services!!! I was so angry because he missed out on a year of services....and when they staffed him I wanted him staffed b/c he can not read, but has a normal IQ they said he didn't qualify under those guidelines (but he had tics so he qualified for services???)....well, here I am with news that he will not be promoted to the next grade b/c he can not read!!!! I requested the tests be done again in February (18 months after the first tests that said he does not know his ABC's, but can read fine!) and STILL no results! Now they say it will have to be the start of the school year when they give me the results........and at the start of the school year they use the excuse that they are all backed up. BE the squeeky wheel!!!!

Hi, I have a male 8 year old. His tics disappeared in late March after a month of weekly cupping, one accupuncture treatment and an antibiotic for a bad bug bite on his hand. We stopped all supplements at that time b/c I wanted to see if the supplements REALLY made a difference. He was sniffling last week and sneezing and we saw him tic a few times but not bad......the physciatrist said it could be allergies, but had no answers ! No more tics this week. GABA, Acetyl L Carnitine, and NAC were the supplements that helped with the eye tics. Low salycilate foods were very important b/c when he had a lot of fruit he got a head jerk tic. I gave him calcium citrate, Ester C, and Mag Taurate also, but found the first three listed here the best for decreasing tics. This is SO HARD and I am SO THANKFUL to this forum for all of the things that I came up with to help my son! I used your posts to find my right recipe!!!

I wrote in about a month ago regarding my son's tics being gone after his three weeks of cupping and one acupunture treatment. We have not been back for treatment since March 24th and he is still tic free with no supplements. I stopped his supplements around March 28th. I have more recently been looking at PANDAS. The item that I forgot to mention above was that he had an insect bite on February 27th that got very infected. We got him antibiotics on this day. This was his first antibiotic treatment since the vaccine/tics over a year and a half prior. I noticed his tics were gone one month after the antibiotics. I think that PANDAS is linked to strep (?)...could he have have been a carrier all of that time? Do PANDAS children have tics only when they are exposed to strep? How long do the tics remain after the antibiotics are given? I am still thinking that it was the detox effect of the cupping for three weeks in a row, but I forgot about the antibiotics. Thanks for any input!! Tracey

It is late at night and I should be in bed, so I read this VERY quickly.....but I keep seeing the word toxins.....I am trying to figure out how it is that my son's tics disappeared over the last two weeks......we did 3 or 4 weeks of cupping once a week and then one accupunture treatment. When we moved on to accupuncture, the Dr said that the cupping is more for detox and the accupunture would help more with his focus......could the cupping sessions have had that big of result???? He has been tic free for two weeks and has not had any supplements in that two weeks....this is a first for us in 20 months! Thanks

He did three or four weeks of cupping and then he did one acupuncture treatment. That was 2 1/2 weeks ago. He has another one scheduled for Tuesday. I still have not seen any tics....I am wondering if the detox of the cupping had something to do with all of this too????? I took him to a psychiatrist today because I have tried the Pediatrition, nuerologist, eye specialist, Oriental Medicine Dr, and have not had answers on his comorbid conditions....tics/focus issues/not reading......the psychiatrist mentioned the waxing and waning, but also talked about auto - immune (?) conditions. I asked if this was the PANDAS that I read about. He said it is a possibility. I have had a couple of people on this site tell me that I should have him tested for PANDAS.....I don't know where to start b/c I am in over my head with searching for the cause/cure to his problems........I am happy he is tic free today and will focus on his reading for now!

I am starting to think that my son's tics are one big puzzle!!! When I changed his supplements to the Dr's supplements a month or so ago, he started ticcing like crazy. I flipped out and went back to his normal supplements. Things improved. Well, it has now been over a week since he has had supplements and he is tic free still??? (I thought maybe I saw one or two today when doing some eye excercises, but that is it in over a week.) This is crazy....I have claimed the supplements to be the control of his tics....??? It must be the acupuncture....we have not done any "gut cleanup"...don't think I would know how to do this. We did do some gluten and dairy free for two weeks a month or so ago, but stopped it b/c we did not see a change in his focus. He even had a hot dog one night last week and that usually triggers the tics....so strange! BETTY - I stopped the B's early on b/c of the taste. The Magnesium is one of the first supplements I gave him and have continued it throughout. Last summer I tried Epsom Salt baths. I don't really know if it helped, but both my boys liked them.

Thanks for the replies. Insurance???? Great Idea! I hope they will cover it....assumed they would not. I don't know what points he did, as I was afraid that my son would chicken out if I was in the room. I was told the head, the back, and my son said one near his ankles. We had done 3 or 4 cupping sessions in the prior month and they did not help with tics or focus....but we were trying the GF/Dairy Free diet plus changed supplements. I almost think that the cupping sessions resulted in an increase of tics in the few days following it....almost like a drawing out??? The week we did the true pure diet his "spots" were a lot less dark. The Dr said it was more of a detox thing and that the acupuncture should help more with the focus. I am assuming that we should go once a month at least. He had no supplements again today and is still without tics today....no stress from school this week, so we will probably give him some this weekend!!! BETTY 04 - Salycilates were huge triggers for my son when we go all natural....as far as supplements, I have posted three or four times as to what my recipe is for him. Click on my name and you should see a couple of posts about this. The main ones were GABA, NAC, and Aceytl - L - Carnitine. Let me know if you can not find my posts.

Betty, I can tell you that when I had too many salycilates my son's tics returned in multiples! They were full head swings/jerks vs. eye blinking. I learne this a while ago. I recently tried to go GF and dairy free for his attention issues.....is tics returned GREATLY...I realized I was high salycilate again. I reduced them and went back to my supplements. It worked...... I think amino acids and low saylycilate are key for my son! GABA, NAC and Aceytl L l Carnitine........I hope this information helps!

Hi all, My son had an acupunture treatment about 9 days ago. We are on Spring Break and have been skipping supplements for a few days. Today I thought about hos he has not had supplements in 2-3 days and has had NO TICS in the last few days. The tics have been very limited lately, but I always link them to supplements. Today a friend even noticed that he has no tics. Well, I have not given supplements much this week and the only change was the acupuncture....where the DR focused on attention issues. Has anyone else seen a decrease in tics due to acupunture? When we first went to this DR the tics greatly increased b/c of she told me to stop his supplements and try hers. but cupping was done at this appointment which draws out the toxins........we returned her supplements and started back on ours...tics gone again. Now there are limited supplements and no tics nine days after acupuncture.............maybe the lack of school stress also???? Thanks for any input you can give me.

Airbucket, Yes he has an IEP...trying with all my might for them to look at SLD, because he is only OHI right now. We have the tics, ADHD, and now some type of vision issue. I find out about the vision issue on Tuesday....but from what I have read it is commonly misdiagnosed as ADD.....the teachers say he can not focus at all....see a lot of that at home, but he could watch five hours of TV or play multiple hours of wii!!!! Focus is slightly better since seeing the Chinese Medicine Dr. and doing an elimination diet...with lots of cheating! One month to try all alternatives before I look at other options...we have acupuncture on Tuesday....my fingers are crossed!!!

Head tics for us started when we went all natural.....turns out we had too many high salycilate foods.....he was eating such good food, but he had a huge reaction.....we also added amino acids NAC, Aceytl-L Carnatine, and GABA to our recipe.....I think removing the artificials was key for us, but that ended up in lots of fruits/veggies and we realized it was high in salycilates.........just a thought....I think that Faith saw this same reaction????

I can not find wheatgrass on the salycilate list...does anyone know if it is high salycilate? My Dr. is suggesting it, but I know that my son reacts to salycilates. Thanks for any input!

http://www.zipworld.com.au/~ataraxy/Salicylates_list.html I found a list like this one to guide me when I started reducing them.

I can tell you that Ginko and Grapeseed have come up in all of my personal (ONLINE) research. I have not added either.....I bought the Ginko, but got scared b/c my son is only 7 and it says not to give to children.......I read great things about both supplements.

Faith, Yes, one day he had high salycilates. I noted this in my tracking. I corrected it right away....wow, that is tough when you are gluten and dairy free! God Bless the moms that handle this so well!!!!! I returned the "Market America" supplements on Tuesday. He has not had ANY supplements since Tuesday morning. His tics are actually getting better (since Tuesday morning). I have concerns of shocking this child's system! I am at a loss b/c I still don't have an answer as to if I give him too much stuff, but remember researching it all when I came up with the doses I give. We had a different Chinese medicine DR on Tuesday, and he said that all the supplements I give are good things to give him....but was assuming that they were all pediatric doses. Blood tests were done Tuesday, but he had been off the supplements for a week! I have the magnesium, NAC, Acetyl L Carnitine, and GABA on the counter for the AM....still don't know how I will get them into him....hates them in applesauce.....maybe I will just pour some maple syrup in a cup and have him drink it ....he started fighting the supplements right before we got the new ones. He is tired a lot lately.....started his anger outbursts lately, and he hasn't had these in a long time! Sometimes it reminds of those first posts I used to do when he was having the screaming fits. Overwhelmed is the way I feel these days....again....but I know it is all going to come together soon! The tics are the least of my concerns at this point....focus, focus, focus....read, read, read!!!!

Thanks for all of the replies. Faith, I totally stopped my supplements... He is still ticcing today and I emailed the DR. I told her the amino acids were what finally took the eye tics away and she said to add them back in, but in applesauce....I am going to keep him off of them for one more week to see if maybe the antibiotics from 3 weeks ago could be part of the problem, or the cupping from last week (his marks lasted all week!). She did talk about not having cold drinks with food, and how the ice cream is also cold and it is not good.....so I guess it must be part of the Chinese Medicine...she talked a lot about how our food starts to break down/digest! The Multi Level Marketing bothers me.....don't like it at all and makes me lose trust! ONE MORE QUESTION - She wants me to go gluten and dairy free.....I am trying my best, but it is so hard when you have spent your whole life not understanding good nutrition!!!! My son is extremely allergic to bug bites and she commented on the fact that maybe there is a food allergy that has not yet been identified.....and that this may be a large part of his focus issue. HOW LONG do you guys suggest I keep him gluten/dairy free? When would I see the focus improve from emliminating the gluten/dairy? Thanks.

Welcome! I can tell you that my son does not take the B complex either, but we tried it for a while. I can tell you that the amino acids worked the best to reduce tics for us. GABA, Acetyl L Carnitine, and NAC. We have used Magnesim Taurate for a long time too...Cardiovascular brand, and I think it did a lot. I started with a new Dr. one week ago. I stopped my supplements and went to hers....well no amino acids/greatly reduced magnesium intake and the tics are back. I hope you find a good all natural path! Most people here will tell you that no artificials/preservatives is also key.....hot dogs are a HUGE tic trigger for my son!! Good luck....keep reading....this site is where I found my son's recipe for reducing tics!!!!

I just read another post from March that says it lowers the dopamine levels.....thanks for informing me, I will research it AND ask the Dr.

Thanks for the input. I have already thought about taking them back.....there was a money back guarantee if he didn't like the taste of them! I have always given him supplements in vanilla ice cream (all natural) to cover the horrible flavor. Applesauce and yogurt didn't work. She told me that b/c it was cream/cold/oily he would absorb hardly any of the supplements......have you ever heard of this? Seems he must have absorbed them b/c he was not ticcing! Thanks