[Can I vent?]

I hope that all of the input here has helped you! I am in the same boat. I actually have to stay away from this website so that I don't obsess too much. Your story is VERY similar to mine. Did a vaccine come right before the tics started?

 

The "bang swinging" tic started for us while we were on vacation. The following week it got really bad. I too had eliminated all artificial stuff and was doing a "healthy" diet. My diet was very high in salycilates (which the members here brought to my attention). I took him off the spring mix salad, tomatoes, melon, and OJ. The next week the head tics were gone. It has been tough b/c most of the "HIGH" salycilate fruits and veggies were the ones that he eats! It helped. I added organic flax seed oil too.

 

I am new to this, but the above info helped get rid of the bang swinging tic. I hope it helps you!

[Reading triggers eye blinking tic]

My son is almost 7, so he is a lot older. Reading is his BIGGEST tic trigger. He knows he is having trouble learning to read....and is in three reading interventions at school. He will tic when I read to him, when he reads, AND even when he is trying to recall a story that he is telling. (HMMMM..is there a certain part of the brain associated with this?? )

 

I thought it was the stress of knowing that he could not read. I know at night it is exhaustion and being able to relax in bed. Sometimes I wonder how he reads at school b/c he tics SO MUCH while reading!!!

[Where to start with enzymes/probiotics?]

Thanks. I had looked at both of these sites before, but I must have been tired. I learned a lot more tonight. Thanks for giving my your dosage amounts. I emailed the Houston people.

 

I also found an acupuncture /"natural wellness" doctor in my area. I have not made an appointment yet, but I am excited at the possibility of having some professional guidance. My husband freaked out this AM when my son had a niacin reaction! He never questions the pills I give him, but this AM he gave him the supplements and then the reaction happened. "I need to be careful with this stuff" he says.....so professional input would be nice.

 

Thanks for all the help!!!!!

[Starting Bonnies Supp. tonight]

I don't know if you are dairy free or sugar free. I do one teaspoon to one tablespoon of Breyer's vanilla ice cream. It is the "all natural" label and has only the basic ice cream ingredients. I can put 5-6 capsules of vitamins in a little sushi bowl and mix until it is like yogurt. It is a real treat for him, and I don't think a tablespoon has too much sugar in it.

 

Good luck and don't give up!

[Where to start with enzymes/probiotics?]

I am trying to research where to start with enzymes. Can anyone give me some basics? What types do you look for with tics? Does long term use cause digestive problems when not used? Etc.

 

I googled digestive enzymes and children. I seemed to get that they can not harm a child....but this is a pretty major part of the body to mess with!!

 

Thanks for any assistance you can give me on the research!!!!

[Found Taurine in powder]

I have to share that my son takes 5 1/2 capsules in the AM (including a NASTY tasting B vitamin). I put the powder in one tablespoon (max) of Breyers all natural vanilla ice cream and mix until a yogurt consistancy. It is the ONLY way I could get it into him in the AM. I am trying to watch the sugar intake, so I try to keep it between a teaspoon and tablespoon of ice cream.

 

Also, I would love to hear an answer as to if the taurate is the same as the taurine? Thanks.

[No food/environmental allergies/ WHAT NEXT?]

God Bless you Caryn. That corn allergy list is EXHAUSTING! It even lists Calcium Citrate, which is one of the supplements I give my child!!! I can tell you that there were quite a few items on that list that my child has consumed in higher quantities the last two weeks.

 

NOW....the tics are staying at just eye blinks (except two days when I gave him English Muffins). His teacher said this week that his attention and hyperactivity were really off. She asked if I was still following a special diet or not. So, now I need to determine why the tics were OK and the ADHD was increased! It may have been increased sugar....but it could be all the ingredients listed on the corn list.

 

Thanks for all of the input.....you are all a GREAT help!!

[Where do I go from here?]

Wyatt's Mom,

 

My six year old started out with the blinking. Eye doctor said normal. He has had tics since August (2-3 weeks after his Chicken Pox Vaccine!)

 

His tics turned into a head jerk a few week ago. I did the massage at night and it helped. He is a struggling learner and I can tell you that the stress of reading makes his tics go wild.

 

I started with liquid magnesium. I then eliminated all of the junk food. The parents here helped me realize that my HEALTHY diet of OJ, canteloupe, tomatoes, dark green lettuce, peanut butter, etc...was high in salicylates. (I don't even know how to spell it yet!!!) I reduced these foods and picked low salicylate or no salicylate foods and within a week the head jerk was back to just eye blinks. (He gets RARE bits of artificial colors or flavors.) I am having to see if certain foods throw him off. For example, Thomas Grain English Muffins brought back the head jerks within one day. We knew what it was b/c it was the only new thing I gave him. I found lots of strange stuff listed on the ingredients.....I told him ahead of time that this may happen and it did....he now asks before he takes any snack out of the cupboard!!!!

 

We have been to neurologist, allergy doctor, eye doctor, and pediatrician. They all say just tics.

 

If the tics last, use this site to help you out!!! The info has helped me GREATLY! His tics are not gone, but they are better!!

 

Good Luck.

[Magnesium?]

I don't know what other symptoms it helps the kids with....BUT...as a mom it helped me with my mood swings, PMS symptoms, high strung personality, and overall mood. There were so many things listed under magnesium deficiency that I looked at it immediately as the cure all.

 

For my son, Liquid magnesium was the first thing we did (and slightly reduced processed foods/added cashews daily) for the tics. (Before we found this great site!!) After one week the teachers thought we had medicated my son. They said his focus was totally different. He no longer got up and started swinging from the desks/etc. I think the magnesium was a large part of the focus. He had focus issues all of last year too. We have done some form of magnesium all along the tic procees and the focus has been much improved this year. We get no more complaints about it.

 

I hope this helps.

[No food/environmental allergies/ WHAT NEXT?]

Thank you all!!!! I went to a DO allergist. He did explain that he was doing pure allergy testing and it would not indicate food intolerances. He did indicate that maybe I should try a nuerologist he knew of who was certified in this and that and that. He did state that we give kids vaccines and no one is researching the nuerological effects of them. He said he sees my situation all the time. I just did not feel like I got any "answers" on what to do next. There is a natural wellness center that I am going to check out and try to find out what "type" of doctor he is.

 

Faith, no head jerks last week or this week. I think that I have eliminated artificial colors and flavors. I will have to look at his bread and peanut butter again. I bought him kashi waffles, plain oatmeal, apples, lettuce, celery, carrots, organic granola bars, and organic cookies...I think they are all Kashi brand. He still loves his OJ, so he gets about 1/2 cup watered down each day. I have made two trays of homemade brownies from scratch. I have bought Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream seems to be the purest one. He is getting pretzels at school, but who knows what is in those. He does not eat much so it would be easy to track.

 

I will start my more detailed diet research and buy the Feingold just as a start (maybe it will increase focus at least). HOW LONG should I have to eliminate a food before I see an improvement? One, two, three weeks? (The salicylates seemed to improve tics within a week)

 

Maybe I will start with corn. Corn Syrup is in everything...I don't know how you guys do corn elimination. BUT, I do remember one night when we went for Mexican and his tics flared up after the corn tortilla chips....so maybe I need to look at that.

 

Pamela, I don't see any food cravings...but I am going to keep my eye out for it (maybe OJ??). I will look at that other book for some Spring Break reading pleasure!

 

Cheri, I do have a nephew with TS. My sister used to say it came from her husband's side because he twitches some. We have one male cousin who had tics when he was young, but outgrew them. No history on my husband's side. I find it interesting that my older son had childhood asthma and stuttering (both of which I have seen "possibly" linked to vaccines). He outgrew both....but the stuttering was after the kindergarten shots. Interesting......

 

Caryn, I think I will buy the book and start there. I did go gluten and milk free for one week and I saw no change and it was tough on us.....so I quit, maybe too early. The allergist said it may take 6 weeks or even 3 months for an intolerance like gluten to be corrected. Gluten free is tough and I will probably save that one for last.

 

Carolyn, did your naturopath doctor give you that vitamin "recipe"? I have picked up some of them based on Bonnie's formula and based on what I have read. I am wondering if I am missing something....but once my supplements run out I will buy her vitamins, as I think the tics are not just transient. I did eliminate MSG and artificial flavors/colors. Do you give your son GABA? I am wondering how it compares the the Glycine that you mentioned.

 

Thanks everyone. I think I will print out all of your links and then read them over the weekend with a BIG highlighter. I do not intend to give up.....

 

I am a teacher and I pour my heart into my students during the day! I have always begged for the struggling kids that no other teachers want to teach.....so lately I am trying to determine if God gave me my baby so that I could help more students learn.........or did God give me these students to prepare me for this child. I have seen LD kids who struggle and give up. I have seen LD kids who don't have a clue but work so hard that they end up conquering the material! I have told students for years that children do not choose to be born with the issues that they have and that making fun of ANY child is totally unacceptable. I now hope and pray that my hard work of spreading the love and encouraging children is repaid ten fold to my baby!!!!

[No food/environmental allergies/ WHAT NEXT?]

My son had the skin allergy test today. They tested him for a TON of things ($1,000 test!!!). He came up negative to all of the items. The doctor did go through the explanation of allergy vs. intolerance.

 

He did not seem too concerned about the Candida. I don't understand the heavy metal tests. I am a little concerned now that I have been chasing after anything I can find.....and if this test becomes an insurance issue I may be out of pocket a lot of money for no solutions!!

 

I don't have funds for a NAET doctor. I can not find a nutrition specialist in this area (and it is not covered by insurance anyways). I feel like I am on my own without the support of my insurance paid doctors. The tics are better with what I have done, but I feel like I am chasing the newest topic on the forum!

 

What is my question, I don't know...maybe just venting....thought the nuerologist would be the answer, thought the French magnesium was the cure, thought the allergist would find the magic fix.....now I sit looking at an ADHD/Tics-twitches/LD diagnosis with no Dr. direction on which way to go to make it better (but come back when I am ready to medicate this 50LB child!!!!!!!!)...I read and read and read and get more confused as to what "MY" son's nuerological issue may be........Oh, and I have seen what happens to this child in the schools...ughhhh..I am trying to teach him to be a strong child who does not care about what any child says or thinks about him. OH, and I overdid the Niacin this AM and he turned bright red and his ear started burning (mommy and her loco internet research!!!) Sorry to go on and on.....

 

SO.....I am thinking that I should wait on more testing (to avoid being stuck with tons of bills) and go for the Feingold Diet? I don't even want to spend $70 on this program and have another dead end though......the low sacylates/no or limited artificial stuff and supplements APPEAR to have decreased the tics. Maybe I need to adhere more strictly to a certain diet......does anyone have some input on this? Does the Feingold outline the supplements?

 

Sorry to vent so much! Thanks for any help you can give me!

[son doing well]

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!

 

I LOVE SUCCESS STORIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It gives us hope in our hours of research!

 

Maybe it is just spring coming on for the rest of us . My son's tics have been horrible, and now for the last week and a half it is eye blinking (sometimes hard) and one eye blinking. I have read two other mom's emails this week about the "just" eye blinking/winking!!! Maybe the sun is shining again and they are seeing it before we do!!!! (Don't I wish!!!)

[No tics with nystatin & diet]

Kim,

 

Thanks again for all the info.

 

I read before about the "not covered" issues. I am going to go with the fact that at the end of every day my son's eyes are bloodshot...it is actually strange. When he had the head jerking tics he was having bad headaches, and it appears that this was linked to the food he was eating. I am hoping it is all covered. I did check the list from one of the labs, and the doctor was about $350 an hour out of pocket.........hmmm??? I will check the lab list that you sent me.

 

I will push it with the DR, and not mention the TS stuff. I tried to pick a Dr. that has been around a while and who specialized in pediatrics.

 

It was the Varicella that preceded the tics.

 

I find the candida info interesting and I am still reading up on it. We do eat a lot of carbs in our house, and always have. I am wondering if my other son and I don't have a little issue with it b/c we both are carb junkies and I always joke that he and I have the same cravings!! I force him to eat some of the good stuff with the bad, but never any yogurt or "enzyme" stuff.

[Multivitamin with Bonnies Suppl?]

Has anyone ever addressed the high level of Beta Carotene in Bonnie's Vitamins? I was looking up each one individually and this one seemed very high at 25000IU. I read that Vitamin A is stored and can be toxic.

 

I have a 50LB six year old and I am concerned about giving him so many supplements...and if they can lead to toxic amounts, I want to be cautious!

 

Thanks.

[No tics with nystatin & diet]

Kim,

 

I am seeing a DO allergist. I looked for DO listing when I picked my Dr.

 

So, it looks like I need to ask for the IGg, IGe, Candida AB, and a urine test for yeast? How do they test for "heavy metals"?

 

I have just discovered the whole "candida" topic over the last week and a half. I am a carb queen, but my son has always been a better eater. I bought yogurt, but he won't eat the organic stuff. I guess I will have to wait and see if the test shows stomach issues!!!

 

Thanks!

[No tics with nystatin & diet]

Can you tell me how we would do the candida testing? Is this something done at the Ped office? Can the allergy specialist do it? I saw a "spit" test and a questionaire on line, but they both seemed "off" for a six year old boy! Thanks for any info you can give me.

 

We see an allergy Dr. on Monday and an IGg test is the only thing I know to ask for! Any other suggestions as to what I should ask for????

 

I hope that this Dr. will be more helpful than the "just tics" nuerologist (that charged my insurance company $800....to say "just tics"!!!!UGHHHH)

 

Thanks!!!!

[No tics with nystatin & diet]

I am so glad to hear that this is working for you both! Were your children ever diagnosed with TS, or was it just chronic tics?

 

I JUST Finished purchasing all of my supplements and am hitting the saylicalates first. (His head jerks are now back to eye tics, but that is better than the hard head jerks!!!)

 

Is the diet that you are mentioning anything like the Feingold Diet?

 

So many different options, so confusing where to start!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[First Food/Diet Elimination Suggestions?]

Thanks everyone! We eliminated tomatoes, OJ, Lettuce (added iceburg lettuce instead...yukkk), cucumbers, canteloupe, broccoli, red wine vinegar, and MSG this week (which were daily menu items in our house!!!). We started Sunday and yesterday/today his head jerks are much less intense. It is now every so often and not every five seconds like it was last week.

 

We did add B vitamins daily, so I may have to attribute some decreases to that!!!

 

We will continue to keep it low salyclate and see what happens. Thanks again.

[Mag 2/Pidolate de magnesium (France)- Anyone tried this?]

So many changes, so hard to pinpoint!!!! Turns out my "whole foods" diet was very high in saylicalates (?)...and that may be why it didn't help!!!! His tics were horrible, but all he was eating was "very high" saylicalyte foods.

 

We did not take him off of the focus attention plus or the GABA Plus. His attention was fine, but the tics were bad. We did some B vitamins at the end with the mag 2.

 

Now we will try Magnesium Taurate.

 

I was hoping the Mag 2 was the magic mix, but I am still searching!!!!

[Mag 2/Pidolate de magnesium (France)- Anyone tried this?]

This did not work for my son. We are on day 23 and his tics have not gone down. (They are actually worse.) So, the Mag 2 did not work by itself. So, I thought I would let you know!

[First Food/Diet Elimination Suggestions?]

Kelly,

 

Well, if he is sensitive to these....I am going to have to rethink his entire menu. Almost 50% of everything he eats was on that list!!!! This is overwhelming...and I think I just read that this would not show in food allergy testing? He gets a big tupperware of tomatoes for lunch everyday and then steals all of the tomatoes off of our salads before dinner!

OH, and OJ has been his main drink for all 6 years....plus we have 3 citrus trees in our back yard!!!Ughh....

 

THANKS for all the input everyone!!!

[First Food/Diet Elimination Suggestions?]

Thanks Pamela. I can not say he craves the foods. He is a good eater (by mom's standards who lives on diet coke and mac and cheese He asks for some of the packaged foods as a snack, but I tell him it will aggitate his tics and he picks something else. He can not crave the foods b/c we have the same daily routine, except dinner....which I will now change. Thanks for your input!

[First Food/Diet Elimination Suggestions?]

Thanks everyone. I am only on the third response to my email at this point.....but I wanted to ask how fast the head tic comes on after consuming the "BAD" food.

 

Tonight we ate at Moe's after out DR appointment. I let him have a flour tortilla and corn chips. Two hours later his head jerks came back really hard.

 

Now, this could be the start of holding them in and then letting them out when he gets relaxed, but tonight we ate junk....so, could it be the food after two hours?

 

THANKS everyone!!!

[First Food/Diet Elimination Suggestions?]

I have not had food allergy testing done on my son yet. His tics have turned into pretty hard head jerking over the last 10 days. I am going to try eliminating one food at a time. His attention has improved since we have gone to more whole foods. Now I need help with what to eliminate FIRST for tics.

 

His normal daily routine is maple brown sugar oatmeal or semi-sugary cereal with very little milk, peanut butter with some supplements, OJ, peanut butter sandwich with wheat gluten in the bread, more OJ, tomatoes, canteloupe, natural applesauce, cashews, chicken, meatballs, steak, fish, and salad, with more OJ at dinner. We stopped giving him glasses of milk. He does have ice cream sometimes, but not too much other junk.

 

So, does anyone have a suggestion of which items I should hit first?

 

We have starting talking to him about diet and it possibly affecting his tics. He asked (AT SIX) to have a salad in his lunch tomorrow instead of a "gluten" sandwich! He is willing to work with us and is a good eater.

 

Thanks for anything you can suggest!!!

[Anybody been thinking about this?]

CP,

 

These items are a HUGE distraction in a classroom. There are rules that they are to be off and out of sight, but they are on silent. I catch kids texting during class all the time. How can you be learning if you are SO concerned about what the latest gossip is? Oh, and now they have internet access on their IPODS and cell phones....that combined with wireless access in school allows them to check their my space accounts in the classroom (if the teacher is not "on top" of them!). They can text without looking at the letters/numbers. They do it inside sweatshirt pockets.

 

My suggestion to parents would be that they check their child's detailed bill to see if there is any activity during school hours!!!!! I also have the problem of PARENTS texting kids during class. The student will ask to walk outside and call their parent!!!!

 

You are so lucky that your daughter is not crazy about the whole cell phone thing!!!!