Gina

Hi, My brief story is: I have an 8 year old stepdaughter who I have been raising since she was 5. She has shown ADD symptoms since she started kindergarten but we knew that because of her difficult childhood that some of her "issues" could be due to her past and not necessarily ADD. Well, she has come a long way but is still struggling with focusing and paying attention in school. She is extremely bright, kind and really an easy child. She just cant focus and the teacher (and also myself) is getting pretty annoyed with redirecting her constantly. Also, because when she is corrected or makes a mistake she shuts down (her survival mode) and she is being accused of being disrespectful. (ugg) Anyway, I am new to ADD but not new to Latitudes; It has been around 8 years since I have been on this site and It was in regards to my Son with Tourette's. I got amazing help here and found such relief in knowing that there was a way to figure out how to help my son without using drugs. And I will say he is now 19 yrs old and in his second year at college living and loving life. Yes, he still has Tourette's and always will but he knows what to do when it gets bad thanks to me learning so much on this site. Soooo, where else would I go when needing help for ADD and my daughter. I am looking for a place to start. I am aware of the no artificial colors/additives, good multi vitamin, and structure at home. So now I am looking for some good information directly about ADD. starting with what the heck is the difference in treating ADD and ADHD. (my daughter is not hyper-active but I would say she hyper focuses) Maybe some info on good books to start with, any more vitamins to add, or any other info that you all may think will be helpful. Thanks Gina

C.P. It's funny you bring this up about the growth spurts and tics. Dan will be 12 in July and I was just talking to my husband about how he really has not grow much this year. I have noticed his friends are all starting to hit these growth spurts. Dan is on the younger side of his peers so I am assuming he should be hitting a growth spurt real soon. I strongly believe that growing just like losing teeth, going through puberty, stress, illness and anything else that puts the body in some sort of tailspin always brings on some type of ticcing issues. At least thats what I have noticed in the past with Dan. I thinks the reason behind the fact that most cases of TS the ticcing mellows with age is becasue the body is not going through as much change as they get older. Thats just my thoughts on it.... Thanks Gina

Hi Faith Thanks for asking about my son, things are still the same he is ticcing like crazy.... But its only been a week that I have him back on his B's and his Mag-Taurate so I will give it at least another week before I make any changes. Also with this being our week of spring break we havent exactly been eating smart or having things in the normal routine. (lots of late nights) But tomorrow its back to normal. I will keep you posted on his progress Thanks, Gina

Just a quick question, All those that are using the Natural Calm are you still giving cal/mag supplements in addition or are you just giving the Natural Calm. I am giving Mag. with Taurine to my son right now. Thanks Gina

BIG Thanks to you all, I have some great info here to work with. This is why I always end up back to this board. Great People and Great Information I realized that before I had started Dan's heavy metal detox and all of his supplements changed he was taking more B1 and B6 which I did not put back into his daily routine. I guess I forgot???? So I will start those again and get him into the Epsom Salt baths to help him relax. We will see how that goes and take it from there. Regarding the Juice Plus, Dan takes the capsules they were recommended by his Dr. My daughter takes the gummies, she has no signs of TS but she takes them because she is such a bad veggie eater. My Mom knows more about them than I do so I will have her look into the MSG question and see what she comes up with. Thanks again for all the information and suggestions. Gina

Chemar - I kind of thought it might have to do with the whole hormone/puberty thing but I wasn't sure. Just what we all need another reason to hate puberty...... What exactly is an epson salt bath and how and why does it help? Also I will try the Bachs Remedy, I suppose I can get it at a health store. Anything to help ease the stress for him certainly can not hurt. What I have Dan on now as far as supplements are Multi Vitamin Childrens DHA (arctic Cod Lover Oil) Juice Plus Garden Blend (veggie) Juice Plus Orchard Blend (fruit) Mag. Taurate Calcium Chews He just finished a detox for Mercury and Lead and we used the following (As I posted earlier no difference in tics throughout the process) Captomer (DMSA) - 3 days on than 11 days off Heavy metal support (days when he was not taking the DMSA) Liver Cleans Nutra Flax Juice Plus Childrens DHA Faith - Hi nice to meet you, I'm glad it was comforting for you so see how well my son is doing socially. That is the reason I say it (not to brag) I know when he was first diagnosed and I was dealing with all those emotions that for me I hit such a depression because I thought my son would never be "normal" and I was dealing with a loss which was not really a loss but at that time that is how I saw it. I still get emotional during times like this when its so hard to see him ticcing away but as Chemar said "this too shall pass" (although its never quick enough) I ended up not sharing the tape with the school only because it was my sons request. But when his TS first came about it came full force during our spring break when he was in first grade. He left for spring break fine and when he came back to school he had a leg kicking tic and an arm raising tic. Not anything he could hide in anyway. He had a wonderful first grade teacher that when I spoke to her we agreed that she should talk to the class without Dan in the room. She spoke to them at thier level and gave them just enough information that a 7 yr. old can handle and those kids have never teased or given Dan any grief. Now that he is in 6th grade some kids will ask him questions and depending on who it is or what kind of mood Dan is in he might explain it or his standard answer to "Why do you do that" is "Because I can" (thats the smartass 11 yr old in him). I do think that it has made school life easier for him to have his classmates know what was going on and it also made it easier on his friends when someone would ask why does your friend do that? They say, he has Tourettes. Dan has never had any type of educational plan because he has never needed it. I have just always spoken to the teacher myself and explained to them that you will see my son ticcing and thats what he does please just ignore it. I have not had any issues with teachers, they have all been great. But I am also very involved in our school so I make sure he is in the class with a teacher that I know will be a good match for him. Next year is Jr. High and its all up to him...... He can't wait and I'm scared to death! Thanks and talk to ya later, Gina

Hello All, It's been a very very long time since I have been on the site. Mostly because we have had things under control but for the past 6 months or so things are a bit crazy. My son in 11 (12 in Aug) and in 6th grade. He was diagnosed with TS at age 7. He has had some major tics on and off in the past 4+ years. He has only motor tics and an ocassional vocal tic of throat clearing. He has no learning disabilities or OCD, ADD, etc.. He is actualy a very smart kid has a 4.0 GPA, is Student Body President, has lots of friends, loves to argue with his sister and his parents. A very "normal" kid, he just has some crazy tics..... This past 6 months or so things have been really bad with his tics. They are painful and very noticable where as befor we actually had them under some form of control where they weren't so bad and if they got bad we were able to figure out why (something he ate, stress, allergies etc.) Well we can not pinpont these ones. He has a really bad neck/head tic and a hand/fingers tic both of which are really painful for him. He wont go to a chiropractor because he doesn't like the cracking and I have taking him to one that dosent crack but its a 2 hour drive and not convenient at all. Looking but still havent found one in our area. I have had him on his vitamine regimine and we finally found a Dr. that is a Natural Medicine doctor that we have been seeing but its getting really expensive and I am not seeing any changes. My son just finished Heavy Metal Detox due to High levels of Mercury and Lead in his system according to a test done by the Dr. Still no change in his ticcing I have to call his Dr. today to see what the next step is. Here goes more $$$ with still no results. As you can see I am starting to get very discouraged and now so is my son. I am not sure what else to do to figure this all out. He has been food allergy tested with the results of a food sensitivity to egg. We took egg completely out of his diet with no results and slowly added it back in with still no results good or bad. He has a lot of seasonal allegies to trees and grasses but they never seem to show up in a typical allergy way (stuffy nose, sneezing watery eyes, etc) they show up in tics. Every year around April he get tics that are intense and constant and usually a new one shows up for a while and than disappears. We have learned to accept that knowing that its what happens around this time of year. But now he is ticcing so bad and on top of that he has new tics due to "april" and I am ready to scream. I can't even imagine what he is going through. I know he is frustrated because by the end of the day he is very short tempered with me, Dad and sister. Anyway what I am looking for here today along with the great support that always make me feel better is .... What should I be looking for that maybe I'm just missing. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I am starting to feel so helpless again and I have not felt this way for such a long time about his TS. My son asked me the other day if we could just put him in a full body cast for a while to make it all stop . My heart sank even though I know he was just kidding, I know he needs some relief from all this. Thanks for listening, Gina

Thanks for all the information ladies.... I will try the flaxseed oil when we get back from Disneyworld. Unfortunatly Dan will not go to a chiropractor. I took him about a year ago and they cracked his neck and he didn't like it one bit. He was so mad at me and the chiropractor that I don't think he will ever go back. When we were visiting my Mom a few months ago Dan did go to a chiropractor that dosent crack and he loved it but there are none by where we live. I can't even get him to go for a neck massage. Can you imagine turning down a massage.......... Thanks again for the info. Gina

Hello All, It's been a long time since I have posted here. To recap, I have an 11 year old son (Daniel) with tourettes. He was diagnosed at age 6. We have had things pretty much under control until the past few months. He has a really bad neck tic where he thrusts his neck foward and to the side. It's been really hard for him because he hasn't had real noticable tics in a while and on top of it looking strange and people asking him why he's doing that it has also become painful for him. I had to pick him up last week from school because he had a migrain for the first time. I think its because his neck is all out of wack. I know with most of the information that I have read this is the age where tics can become bad due to puberty but I dont know if thats it . I hate the guessing game...... Well I started him on Fish Oil in addition to his other vitamins (Nordic Naturals - Childrens DHA) that we got from his doctor and I think he might be a bit sensitive to them. It seemed like his neck tic got worse and he added some facial/eye tics too. I know some of you here have used other stuff when fish oil cant be taken but I can't remeber what it was. And to top it all off We are heading to Disneyworld on Friday which normally I would be saying "Yea! "but I know between all the rides and excitment he is going to tic more which will result in intense neck ticcing and more pain for him. Not to mention the food issues. I'm hoping to try and stay as artificial/preservative free as we possible can. But its going to be hard I'm sure. Any suggestions???? Thanks Gina

Hello it has been a very long time since I have posted. I get on once in an while to read and get info but havent posted. Up until a few weeks ago things have been pretty good. My son is 10 yrs old and was diagnosed with Tourettes at age 6. We had some bad times and good times as you all know with TS thats how it is. Recently my son has started a tic that is really painful for him. He is thrusting his head forward several times a day. We havent seen a big one like this for some time. I had to take him home from school today because it was so bad. He is in actual pain. As this time he is taking a multi, B6, B1, zinc, mag taurate and calcium. Those vitamins and a semi-no artificial flavor and color or HFC diet. He is probably on a 80% no preservatives diet. We can usually pin point the triggers but with this tic I am at a loss. I am wondering about seasonal allergies - can they appear in tics and not the normal stuffy nose kind of way. The reason I ask is because every April since he was 6 his tics increase for about a month and than they subside agian. But this year here in California (bay area) we have had a bizarre weather cycle with it raining almost the whole month of April so now things are in bloom and going crazy and so is my sons tics. He was allergy tested a few years ago and he is allergic to some trees and grasses etc. but he never has the typical allergy symptoms. I sent an e-mail to a NUCCA Chiropractor this evening and hope to hear back from her to see if she can help my son with the pain in his neck. I am holding back the tears eveytime I see him tic. It's been so long since I have felt this useless for him with his TS. I hate this...... Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated. Thanks Gina

Hi Everyone, Just checking in to see if anyone saw the HBO special on Tourettes this weekend? I just went on the TSA website and ordered a DVD ($9.99 plus shipping). For those that have seen it, would it be something you would sit and watch with your kids? Maybe even show it in the classroom to better explain it to schoolmates? My son (10 yrs old) is having some major ticcing going on right now and it might help to have his classmates understand whats going on. Just a thought and curious to hear what you all thought. Thanks Gina

Thanks everyone for your replys. Sometimes its nice to hear a reminder that it really isn't the end of the world. Even though at times it does feel that way. I think things have been a bit laid back with our food restrictions and also I think this past week with Halloween the candy has been everywhere even though its not in our home. Unfortunatly at 10 yrs old I need to allow him a bit of space to make his own choices instead of me doing it for him, even if that means watching him fall on his face (or skip around the playground) Maybe this is what he needed to get that reality check..... Oh how I wish we could put them in that big plastic bubble and protect them forever. I guess I will get strict on the food again and make some changes to his Vitamins. I still have had no luck in finding a Alternative MD. Unfortunatly there are many here that are not an MD which I personally would prefer and also my insurance would possible cover some of the costs. If anyone knows of any Dr's in or near Fremont, California I would love to know. I know that there was a post here (I think from Claire) that was about testing that could be done that didn't need a Dr. authorization. If anyone can bump it up for me that would be great. Thanks again, Gina

Hi All, Glad to see the forum up and running again. I dont post much but I try to read a couple of times each week here. I have a few issues I could use some advice on. Well my son who is in the 5th grade this year has had a tough year so far with his ticcing. I think it might have a little to do with his age and hormones but its been really crazy. He has now started a tic which is kind of like a hop and skipping. I know that dosen't sound to bad but when your a 10 1/2 year old boy its not to cool to be skipping around the playground..... he also has a head/neck tic but that one has always been around and it comes and goes, he has had a smelling tic (he smells everything he picks-up) for a while but this one seems to be getting better. Any advice would be appreciated. And to top everything off my daughter who has shown no signs of TS has now started ticcing. She is in the 3rd grade and has no other issues but a tic where she is swallowing a lot and making a hum sound as she swallows. She has no clue it's happening except when she swallows so much it makes the back of her throat soar. I have gotten past the devestation part of having another "ticcer" in the family but I am starting from square one with her and would love to know if anyone has had an luck with certain supplements for this type of a tic. Thanks for listening Gina

Decorah, I think we can all relate to your pain. We have all been there and ocassionally revisit those feeling as TS has such ups and downs. I understand not wanting to give your child things that you don't fully understand (ie herbal remidies/vitamins etc) I was there not long ago and I sat and read posts on this site and took notes and cried and laughed all to myself for months before I ever posted a word. I too was very weary about using vitamins and herbal remedies. What I did do that was very helpful was diet changes. So out came the artificial colors/flavors, corn syrup, caffiene, I limited sweets, and try my best to go organic and preservative free. Now that was by no way the easy way out especially for me who had to spend hours reading labels in the grocery store. But it got easier and I knew that there was no way it could harm my son by making these changes. I also started giving my son a good multivitamin. Those changes alone made a great improvement on his ticcing. It's a great place to start. From there you just take it at a pace you and your child can handle. Just know we have all been there. Thats one of the great things about this board, it has a ton of info. and a whole lot of heart!! Best of luck, Gina

Thanks Chemar, I was thinking the same thing about the smelling "tic" being more of an OCD thing but we have never had an actual OCD issue before. Which are the best supplements for OCD? I have had Dan on Omega Fatty Acids befor and it didn't seem to make any changes with his TS so we stopped them. Do you thing it would be helpful with OCD? I also give him the L-carnitine when he has any type of eye tics but stop it when the tics have passed. Unfortunatly we have no NUCCA chiropractors here by us but My Mom goes to one and when we visit her (about 2 1/2 hours away) Dan likes to go to see him. Unfortunalty its not enough to really help but he feels better after seeing him for a day or 2. Thanks Again, Gina

Hi All, Well in a past post I had mentioned how my son decided to go off his vitamins and that was for about 2 weeks. It has been about 2 weeks since he has been back on them but there are 2 tics that are really noticable and we can't seem to get them under control. 1) He is constantly smelling his hands everytime he touches something - (This one bothers me more than him. It was really grossing me out when we went Bowling and he kept putting his hands in that ball and than smelling them. I never really thought about what could be in those finger holes until now. YUCK!) 2) A Really bad neck/head tic. He completely bends his head almost to his shoulder and only to one side. This one is making his neck hurt but he wont allow me to massage it he said it makes it worse. Any ideas would greatly help. He is currently taking a multi, B6, B1, Mag Taurine, Calcium and zinc. Thank You Gina

Hi everyone and thanks for all your kind words and info, Well it has been a little over a week since Dan has only taken his multi vitamin. I notice a bit more ticcing. Even my husband noticed and he never notices when my son tics more. What I was wishing would happen is that my son would notice the increase and say "hey I should take my vitamins again" He says he dosent notice the increase at all. Maybe he is just to young to notice. Well my deal with my son was a 2 week break so a few more days to go and than I will slowly add them back in. I do have a question in regards to the B vitamins. I had my son on individual B's but would like to try a B combo to narrow it down to 1 pill. Any suggestions on which ones to try? Thanks Gina

Thanks Sydsmoms & Chemar! I will mention to her about the artificial flavors & colors. I think thats always a good starting point. Chemar - Where can I find more info about "Cognitive Behavioural Therapy" Do you have a website or a book that I can recommend to her instead of going blind through the internet which I know can be so overwelming. Thanks again, Gina

Hi Everyone, I don't think I have ever posted here I usually read and post on the Tourettes Board. But I have a question that maybe someone might know info about here. Has anyone ever heard of ODD (Oppositinal Defiant Behavior Disorder)? I have a friend with a 10yr old boy who was just diagnosed with this and they want to medicate (the meds seem to be the same as what is prescribed for ADD) She really does not want to medicate her son and would love to try a natural approach but is not sure what to do or where to start. (haven't we all been there!) Any info would be appreciated. Thank You Gina

Hello Everyone, I just have a question. Has anyone here ever heard of ODD (Oppositional Defiant Behavior Disorder) This is a new one to me. I have a friend whos 10yr old son was just diagnosed with this and she really does not want to medicate. From what she has said it sounds like the meds are the same or similiar to what Dr.'s prescribe for ADD. She would love to try natural approach but dosent know where to start. I thought if anyone here has heard of this and can give me any onfo that I can pass on to her would be much appreciated. Thank You Gina

Hello Everyone, Well my son Dan (who will be 10 this week) has requested to stop taking all of his pills.... He says he wants to see what would happen. Since it is summer I have decided to allow him to do so (with much anxiety and stress on my part) I told him he still has to take the multi-vitamin and he was ok with that. So now my question is how long until these are all out of his system? (he was taking along with his multi - B1, B6, mag taurine, calcium, zinc, and at times L-carnitine) and how long should I allow him to ride this rollercoaster befor suggesting he start back-up? Thanks Gina

Hi All, I just recieved this book this week. Plan on trying to read some this weekend if the kids will let me.... I ordered it from Amazon.com ($17.50). Thanks for the info on the Montel Show I put it on my calendar to remind me. Thanks Gina

Robin, My son (9 yrs old) has Tourettes and had a head shaking tic a few months ago never figured out why but it lasted a few weeks and than disappeared. I chalked it up to just part of the waxing phase of TS. Sorry, I wish I could be more help but I just wanted to let you know that your not alone. I know how annoying it was for my son. (and for me to watch) I would rub his neck to help him relax the tic. I don't know if it helped but he liked the neck rub... Re: L Carnitine - My son has been having some eye tics for the past week or so. He blinks one eye and than the other and repeats that a few times. I had just picked up some L-Carnitine. It is 5oo mg in each capsule. How much do you who use it give your kids (my son is almost 10 and about 95 lbs) For those of you that did not have luck with it what was your alternative for eye tics? Thanks Gina

KJS, We are not on the Fiengold Diet but we did eliminate a lot of things from my sons diet. Something I know that helped with eliminating foods from my son (9 yrs old) was to take it slow and not pull everything all at once. I gave him a list of things that we were going to take out of our diets and let him choose which 2 we would take out first and as time went on he choose the next 2 to take out and so on. I think its was easier because it was his decision instead of me making demands on him. But I know that at school parties and functions we let it go because the stress of having to turn something away in front of his peers was also making him tic. I hope as he gets older that wont be the case but for now he makes his own choices at outings. He has also become aware at times when those choices he made were not the best ones. It will eventually get easier as time goes on. Take Care, Gina

Thanks, Diane, Chemar, mmazz & Guest, Big sigh of relief!!!! It's nice to know my son is not the only one going through this. All your kind words and suggestions have put me a bit at ease. Diane - I will check out the book. Thanks Thanks Again, Gina