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Carolyn, THANK YOU! These junk food holidays are so stressful for me. It is very easy for me to rationalize that any dietary restrictions I have placed on my family are overwhelmingly beneficial, but when the holidays roll around and my kids don't get the special treats that others do, it starts to feel cruel and unusual. I propose we start a thread for every major candy/food holiday and exchange recipes and ideas. (I'll bet Caryn knows a thing or two about St. Patrick's Day.) Thanks. I'm off to cyber-order candy. Tami

Heather, You mentioned that your son was dx'd with Tourette's. Is there any family history of tic disorders? Without a positive history, I find it very coincidental that he would have both an intracranial tumor and a de novo case of Tourette's syndrome. This diagnosis seems to be applied to symptoms without regard for how they evolved. With what his little brain has been through, I'm sure it will take time to heal. I would search around this site for ways to reduce inflammation and stress and build up his immune system. I think the thing all of our kids have in common is that they are more fragile and vulnerable to their environment. To whatever degree you can improve his environment by boosting his immune system, reducing his allergens and toxins, optimizing his nutritional status, reducing his stress, and increasing his exercise and sleep, he will become stronger and more resistant. I would take things very slowly with your little guy. You might want to start by getting all the synthetic chemicals out of his diet. You mentioned magnesium -- according to a lot of sources we are all deficient and the rda is too low. Seems like a safe place to start. Goodnight. Tami

Heather, Welcome. I am so sorry I don't have time to respond to you properly now. I can later tonight. In the meantime, I will assume that your boy has been on both antibiotics and steroids during the events surrounding his neurosurgery. You may want to look for a pattern of tic supression while on either of these. My thinking is that the tumor may have caused some general neuroinflammation; steroid treatment may have quieted it. Did cessation of corticosteroids occur in March? Also, did you mean "September of 2006, when he was 7 years old"? You are in my thoughts. I'll check back later. Tami

Oops! MindLinx.

Solutions, Welcome. I'm new too, and I've been dealing with this for six months as well. My naturopath has my son on Mindplex (probiotic mix) and Saccromyces Boulardi. I don't know what their effect has been as I started vitamins, probiotics, stress reduction, and dietary reform at the same time. On the bright side, something is working, as he is doing much better. As far as doctors, if you can find an environmental doctor or naturopath, you may not need others, as this person can acquisition all of your testing. (An allergist, I don't believe, will order strep titers.) Read as much as you can on this site. These people are brilliant. They are parents, not doctors. As far as the change in diet, I inflicted it on my whole family. (husband/five year old with mild tics/seven year old) My husband is a free agent at lunchtime. He just doesn't bring any of it around the house. I have found that solidarity is very important to the little one. I expected the worst and anticipated weeks of ######. It was really only about three days. Surprisingly, after that our tastes started to recalibrate. If I taste the old commercial spag sauce I used to use, it triggers my gag reflex. I can actually taste the sugar in it, as if I added Sweet-n-Low or something. My kids get excited and say, "thank you" when they get pineapple yogurt or fruit for dessert. It used to take ice cream with multiple toppings. Trust me when I say this, Solutions, your family's eating habits could not have been worse than ours when we started. We were what I call a "McFamily". I know this is easier if children are younger, and it was admittedly harder on my seven year old. How old is your child? And also, if I may ask, what is "eye focusing"? It will get easier. Tami

Jasminky, I followed your link, and it looks good to me, but I've been drinking!

Trader Joe's has it. Vitamin section. Next to fish, flax, borage, etc. White bottle/orange label.

Ilovedogs, I know exactly how you feel. My son's tic disorder began the last week of September. Two months later, after making so many positive healthful changes (most of which were expensive and inconvenient), I saw NOTHING. Watching for change is a lot like watching something grow. It wasn't until about the four-month point that I could look back and see a dramatic difference. Someone recently mentioned an immediate response to Taurine and another to fish oil. That happens. My friend can tell if her kid hasn't had his fish oil that day (He has different issues); but I have repeatedly read that it takes two months just to see benefits from fish oil. We are all so different. My son had good days and bad days, better weeks and worse weeks. When I look back from this point (He still has mild tics.) what I see is that his good days and weeks are better, and his bad days and weeks are no where near as bad. It is definitately moving in a downward spiral. It takes time to heal. Tami

Epsom salt baths are known for their ability to relax and detoxify. I think most people here use them because they are an excellent source of transdermal magnesium. Sometimes when the digestive system isn't working so well, one can absorb more through skin. Please sternly warn your child not to drink the bathwater. It's not dangerous, but it may cause diarrhea. I don't know what others do, but I alternate between Natural Calm (oral mag.) and baths, so as not to do both the same day. We ALWAYS do them after chlorinated pools to remove the chemicals.

I know my son started it at bedtime reading, but he did carry it over to other reading including storytime in preschool. Now I'm really curious. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that listening to a story really requires complete physical inactivity and our wiggly kids have more trouble settling into stillness. Any other restless listeners?

CARYN!!!

Nan, What state are you in? If you are near a major metropolitan city, you may be able to find a Naturopath. I found a great one, so I am biased. As a general rule -- and they are not all created equal -- they tend to look at the entire patient. Mine spent two and a half hours with us on intake, and when he says, "feel free to call if you have any questions," I think he means it. I live in California. Here, he is able to prescribe and order tests. He is a doctor. Having said that, I think the environmental doctor may be a better choice than the allergist. Let us know what you decide. Tami

I have seen a lot of preschoolers during storytime at my son's school. I see them twisting their hair, cuddling their jackets, even thumbsucking. I think that reading triggers their sleepytime rituals too. I would still bet it is an exhaustion/bedtime thing that has become a Pavlovian response. Tami

Betty, My son used to tic during reading. Lots of kids tic at bedtime -- so I've heard. I think it is because they are physically and emotionally exhausted. My point is this, if you are talking about bedtime reading, I think the real trigger may be exhaustion. What time of day are you reading? I hate the idea of not reading too. I ended up taking a two-week hiatus, where I told stories with props (stuffed animals/action figures). He never ticced during that. WARNING: He does not tic during reading anymore, BUT now he insists on getting what he calls a "mouth story" every night too. Tami

Faith, It's mild right now, to the point where no one would notice but me. The overall pattern seems to be winding down. Tics are lighter, more subtle, less frequent. When he has a tic, it is more of an isolated event instead of a bout of tics. Also, he got a new one just the other day. Based on previous experience, I would have expected to see much more of it and expect it to last for weeks (at least). It was mild, infrequent, and lasted a day. I would like to think that it is due to something I have implemented. I've made so many healthy changes in his/our lifestyle, but it may just be that it has been six months since that #%#@ vaccine. It is likely that his system is just calming down. He has been on an anti-inflammatory diet for a while now, and a lot of foods are eliminated, so it could also be that he has not come into contact with something he's allergic to. Tami

Jasminky, I don't have Kid's Calm because Whole Foods was out of it when I went there. I was manic, so I bought Natural Calm. It is the grown up version. It is straight magnesium citrate, nothing else. The dosage is one to three teaspoons, so I give him slightly less than one. I do it about an hour before bedtime, as it is supposed to have some sleepytime benefit. I have not experienced any negative reaction. In retrospect, I'm glad I got the mag citrate alone instead of combined with calcium as I seem to recall someone here linking to a study that suggested cal and mag be separated by several hours when you suspect mag deficiency because they compete with each other. Tami

Jasminky, My son's titers were negative too. I have not tried antibiotics yet. Please excuse my question, it may be ignorant, but could there be a bacterial infection that responds to antibiotic and rebounds after discontinuation that is not strep? I'm just trying to explore possibilities here. Have you tried probiotics yet? Maybe it is a gut bacteria. By the way, we have the same pattern of worry. My son is doing well now, so I am a mess, waiting for the shoe to drop. Tami

Lovemommy, My friend's daughter did that. It was the exact same pattern you describe. She has done it since she was a baby. At around five, she was diagnosed with a "stereotypie." I think that is the same as the "stimming" Faith mentioned. The doc said that many autistic kids do it, but some regular (for lack of a better word) kids do it too. She's nine now, and only does it briefly when very excited. She is able to catch herself and stop. If you are asking about a behaviorist for this particular behavior, I think she is way too young to be able to control it. My friend started gently prompting her daughter to "settle down" when she was eight. She is just now gaining some awareness and control. If there are other behaviors that concern you, I would request a developmental evaluation since she is only three. Tami

I can't believe I forgot peanut butter, Carolyn. I put two tablespoons of peanut butter, a banana, and milk (or a milk-like substance in the bullet gizmo. Again, serve it with a spoon and call it "dessert;" eventually she will believe this. Also, I was advised not to do peanut butter more than every fourth day, but to buy cashew butter, almond butter, peanut butter, and macadamia butter and alternate. Apparently peanuts are much more inflammatory and more likely to become allergies in sensitive kids. My kids finally started asking for "nut butter" because they don't know what they'll get. Tami

I forgot ... I hate to endorse a product here, but since I had to learn to cook from scratch, the Magic Bullet gizmo has been invaluable. It is a personal blender that comes with about eight attachments. I do all the berry smoothies for my kids in it. I actually bought it last year because they were Jamba Juicing* me to death. It is so much easier to clean than the big blender. *expensive retail fruit juice smoothie shop Tami

Jasminky, Clearly this won't work for everyone, but I have a little man with a big attitude. My husband and I very obviously swallowed large vitamins in front of him. He inquired. We told him they were for grown ups and we didn't think kids could swallow them. He proved us wrong by swallowing six of them! If that doesn't work, yogurt-banana may not be strong enough to mask it. I use a frozen berry medley from Trader Joe's. Blend the frozen berries -- strawberry/blueberry/raspberry -- with some liquid (rice milk/juice/yogurt). I usually throw in a half banana for texture. Serve it with a spoon so it looks more dessert-like. Tami

Help! My son developed a new tic today. It can best be described as a "gasp." I know many of you can guage by urination frequency or hyperactivity, but has anyone seen this before? EVERY TIME he gets a new tic, he precedes it with a recurring pattern: Two days before, he starts crying easily about things that formerly wouldn't have upset him; Those same two nights he has night sweats approximately 30 minutes after he falls asleep, which are resolved within an hour. (Don't laugh, I hover when I worry!) He has allergic shiners for the forementioned two days and the next day without sleep deprivation or deviance in his diet. On day two I notice a "preview" of the new tic (several times throughout the day). Day three: tic-fest. We are currently on day three. Scared mom

It'll be expensive, but ... wallpaper? My kids are much younger, but I was 16 once. If I recall, I thought I was bulletproof and Mom worried too much. Try to offer her some choices so she knows she's being heard and doesn't take matters into her own hands. I'm going to go call my mother and apologize.

Emma, It's not petty. You could arrange to have the room painted as you are leaving for a weekend, or have her spend the night at a friend's house, or if you want her to have the autonomy of painting her own room, I believe Home Depot rents equipment for this -- some type of mask thing for toxic jobs. (I know that last part sounds like a joke, but I'm serious.) In any event, after the room is done, move her out of it for a while, open windows, put a fan or two in it, put a towel at the base of the door, and turn the central air system off. Tami

Debbie, From reading other people's posts, it seems many of us have had the opposite experience regarding doctors. I can certainly see why you prefer M.D.s. Your neurologist sounds very enlightened and open-minded. Since you asked for my opinion, here it is: Run, don't walk, to the Holistic nurse practitioner. Your NEUROLOGIST recommended him/her. I have to assume that his patient's referral would be meaningless to him if he had not observed some improvement firsthand. As far as the other DAN doctor, they are not all created equal either. I would trust your instinct and steer clear of this one. It may just be that he is more interested in treating autism cases. Tami