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guy123

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Posts posted by guy123

  1. So apparently some companies sell "Turmeric" and it's just the seasoning put into capsules.

     

    According to the websites I've read, including Dr. Weil's, you want to get Turmeric that is standardized to at least 95% curcuminoids. So check the labels. The first Turmeric I bought just said:

     

    Turmeric - 500mg

     

    I think it was just turmeric without much Curcumin, which is actually the effective substance in Turmeric.

     

    Be aware, also, that some products will have labels that look like this:

     

    Turmeric - 500mg

    Turmeric Extract - 50mg

    (standardized to 95% curcuminoids) - 47.5mg

     

    So what that means is that there is 550mg total of stuff in the pills. 500mg is just Turmeric (likely not very helpful) and while it says it is standardized to 95% curcuminoids, that only refers to the second ingredient which is 50mg of Turmeric. Does that make sense? It's sort of misleading. You see the label and think "cool, 550mg of Tumeric, standardized to 95%." Except it's not. Only the second 50mg is standardized to 95%.

     

    I ended up getting some at Vitamin Shoppe which is 900mg per pill, and all 900mg is standarized to 95% Curcumin (855mg, which is indicated on the label).

     

    It also contains 5mg of black pepper (Piperine) standardized to 95% (so 4.75mg).

     

    The addition of black pepper supposedly makes Curcumin like 1000% more bioavailable.

     

    However, it seems that even taking one pill a day of this (with food) is giving me some intestinal disturbance 3-6 hours later. I may try emptying half the capsule and seeing if a small dose works better. 900mg is a pretty big dose. The label even says "triple strength."

     

    I will update this thread later when I figure out what is going on.

     

    Cliffs Notes on Turmeric/Curcumin

    - Curcumin is the active substance in Turmeric that supposedly has the anti-inflammatory properties

    - Get Turmeric that is standardized to at least 95% curcumin

    - Make sure you check the label to see exactly how much is standardized. Is it the entire dosage? Or is it just a small percentage of the overall dosage?

    - A little black pepper (this may be called "Piperine" on the label) added to the pill = better bioavailibility (supposedly)

    - Take it with food

    - Dr. Weil recommends 500mg 3 times a day. Start small and work up. Don't exceed that dose.

  2. I've recently become interested in anti-inflammatory supplements due in part to a recent bout of tendonitis that I am still recovering from. I've heard that Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory and I wanted to see if anyone here has used it and if there was any effect on tics.

    Note that I'm not taking this for tics, I just want to make sure it's not going to exacerbate them.

    Also, feel free to post your favorite anti-inflammatory supplements in this thread. edit - fixed typo

  3. If you want to go the prescription medication route there are 4 drugs that seem to have a decent effect on tics without all the crazy side effects that most of the others have:

     

    Clonidine - An alpha blocker high blood pressure medication used off label for tics

    Tenex - Basically the same thing as Clonidine but supposedly has less of a drowsy side effect

    Topamax - Anti-seizure medication used successfully by some to help treat tics

    THC/marijuana/marinol - Noted in many cases to reduce tics

     

    There are dozens of medications used to treat tics but many of them are either ineffective or have pretty bad side effects like Tardive Dyskinesia (a facial movement disorder that is sometimes permanent) or sudden death.

     

    If you are going to try the prescription medication thing, try the 4 above first because in most people they tend to have the least severe side effects.

     

    In addition to that, there are some other supplements and things that some people report helping tics. These include:

     

    - B vitamins

    - Magnesium

    - Taurine

    - Magnesium Taurate (Magnesium and taurine bonded together)

    - Quinine (the stuff in tonic water, also available in pill form)

    - Epsom salt baths

    - 5HTP

     

    Some people report "trigger foods" or things they eat which make their tics worse. These tend to vary between people, but some common triggers are artificial colorings, MSG, and sugar. Additionally, some people report other things trigger an increase in tics, such as chlorine (like in a pool).

     

    Be aware however that everyone is different. What some people respond well to might cause another person's tics to get worse, and vice versa. Try everything in small doses and slowly increase over time.

     

    You should also get medical tests to rule out underlying causes, like you mentioned, like Lyme disease. If the tics are caused because of another condition it's best to eliminate whatever the disease causing the tics is.

     

    Here's a list of all the medications that have been tried on tic disorders that I could find. I compiled them by type. You can read about mechanism of action, side effects, etc. Sorry the site is so ugly; I need to redo it.

     

    http://www.tourettestreatment.com/list-of-treatments.php

     

    Prescription medications should probably be your last resort since they tend to be the most powerful substances you can take. But it's a personal choice between not wanting to use prescription drugs vs. living with tics and how severe they are. I'm not saying definitely get medicated, but if you do decide to go that route, do your research so you know what the potential side effects are. Not all doctors are really familiar with treating tics and some may want to use more powerful drugs (such as neuroleptics, which have the strongest/worst side effect profile) as a first line of defense. Do some research (and read the site I posted) so you are a bit informed and can say "hey, I don't want to start with a neuroleptic because it can cause things like Tardive Dyskinesia, difficulty moving, and it can mess with the Q-T interval of the heart and cause sudden death, so let's first start with [some other drug] instead."

     

    I am on a low dose of Clonidine that doesn't eliminate, but reduces the severity of my blinking tic. I know there are other people on this forum who have tried it and even at larger doses have not had much success. And I believe Chemar's husband was on it and got rage side effects. And there was another member whose daughter was on Topamax and was having good results with tic reduction I believe. So like I said above, different things work differently for different people. It's important to keep notes (of diet and supplements) and find out what, if anything, has a positive or negative effect on tics.

  4. Pretty sure I don't have PANDAS, strep titers were negative. Although I did get the strep test 10 years after my tics started so maybe they wouldn't still show up.

     

    I got the pills today. They're 50,000 IU (that's 12,500% RDA) of vitamin D2 (not D3 which is the kind commonly found in supplements) and I'm supposed to take it twice a week.

  5. Hello Guy

    my son had low vit D3 as well and supplementing it worked wonders for him! He likes the one by Thorne Research.

    It helped his Crohn's symptoms very much and had no negative effect on his tics at all. It also helped with OCD/depression/anxiety

     

    I know some have said that D supps cause tic increase for them, but my son has definitely not found this, only overall benefits. Also when he has less stress (which is always when OCD etc is dormant) he tics less so if anything, it helps reduce his tics in that way.

     

    I'm glad to hear it worked well for your son. I'll post my experiences here when I start taking it.

  6. For what it's worth, my tics started around the time I was getting allergy shots (I never finished treatment).

     

    I don't think it was the shots that caused it, but you never know.

     

    Eeek, I don't like hearing that. He got his third round of shots on Monday. There have been some tics. But it doesn't seem like the third round worsened the tics. Just more of what I saw last week, after they settled down after the bad day.

     

    I don't think it was the allergy shots that caused it.

     

    I think it was one of the following that also occurred around that time:

     

    1) my high school had black mold and a lot of people were getting sick. There were lawsuits and they eventually closed down the school. I remember a poster here said black mold has been tied to tics

     

    2) I was using Flonase which is an intranasal corticosteroid which may have pushed me over the threshold for tics (assuming I was genetically close to the threshold beforehand)

     

    Or maybe both of those together.

  7. Note also the newer style LCD and particularly plasma TV's have a very high refresh rate, which gives the brain a lot of information to process.

     

     

    Are you referring to 120/240hz mode? Those can be turned on and off and you can leave a TV in standard 60hz mode if you want. Some people don't like the "soap opera effect" that comes with the 120hz/240hz modes engaged anyway so they leave them off.

     

    Plasmas are said to be 600Hz but it's referring to something different... a plasma TV doesn't display 600 frames per second.

  8. Hi and welcome

    Food aversion can also be a result of the OCD that is sometimes co-morbid with Tourette Syndrome as well. Another important factor to consider is that many kids with neurological problems also have sensory integration dysfunction aka disorder, and so the texture and tastes of some foods can be what triggers the aversion.

    a good website and book for this is The Out Of Sync Child

     

    What about PANDAS made you think your child does not fit the criteria, especially with the history of strep you say she has?

     

    Your link doesn't work. There's an extra http:// in it.

  9. To find triggers, introduce/remove things into your diet one at a time. For example, if you're thinking of trying some new supplements, try them one at a time. If you start like 3 new things and you notice a decrease in tics, you won't know which one caused it. Same thing for removing stuff. If you want to try removing MSG, gluten, and dairy, for example, do them one at a time, and if you notice a reduction in tics you'll know which one it was from. If you do them all at once and notice a reduction, you won't know which was responsible.

  10. If she's saying the words in her head, it could be similar to having a song stuck in your head. In fact, I read something once that hypothesized that getting a song stuck in your head was a "cognitive tic."

     

    The rash is suspicious for Lyme Disease. I would follow the suggestions in this thread because I don't know anything about Lyme disease myself.

  11. What kinds of "signs" does an acupuncturist see that mean you can have a stroke in the future? Did you ask him to list specifically what he saw?

     

    Without knowing much more than the basics of acupuncture, that sounds like a scare tactic. Kind of like how chiropractors always find "subluxations" in your spine... good thing you can keep them in check if you come in once a week for treatments for the rest of your life!! The salesman... excuse me, secretary at the front desk can get you scheduled for your next visit.

     

    Stress can increase tics, but is not likely the cause of them.

     

    Stress tends to cause nervous habits and the burning of nervous energy (tapping your fingers) but those are not tics. But many people report that during times of high stress, their tics are increased.

     

    I went to see my general practitioner and a neurologist to get a better understanding of tics. If you decide you want to try prescription medication, please look over the info on this page so you can have an idea of how the different drugs work and what they do:

     

    http://www.tourettestreatment.com/list-of-treatments.php

     

    Since I made that page, I will give you my opinion. There are lots of medications available that people use to treat tics. Most of them haven't been very effective. In my opinion, if you are going to go the medication route, you should begin with the drugs that have the most mild side effect profile. There's no reason to start with a drug that can kill you if you could get an improvement from a drug that might just make you a little sleepy instead.

     

    The drugs with the least side effects are:

     

    Clonidine

    Tenex

    Marinol (THC/marijuana in pill form; you probably won't get a prescription for it, in fact, I had a doctor tell me to buy marijuana on the street because it's cheaper, lol)

    Topamax

     

    All of those have shown to be effective in various studies. It's important to note however that not everything has the same effect on everyone. Tics have different causes and everyone's chemistry is different.

     

    Beyond those 4 drugs, you start getting into much stronger drugs that can have much stronger, and in some cases permanent, side effects.

     

    If you don't wish to go the drug route, there is some good information on this forum about various supplements that may help. Again, not everyone has the same reaction to everything, so always start with small doses. Some of these include:

     

    Vitamin B

    Taurine

    Mag-Taurate (a combination of magnesium and taurine)

    Quinine (tonic water) is supposed to help

    Epsom salt baths

     

    But to answer your original question, go see a neurologist if you want to talk to someone who likely has more experience with tic disorders than an acupuncturist. I'm pretty sure acupuncturists don't study neurology or neurochemistry during their schooling.

     

    edit - that being said, I believe there are some members here who say their tics have benefited from acupuncture.

  12.  

    We have been on the clonodine for 12 days now. We have slowly increased the dosage to limit the side effects. Right now he is taking .075 (1 pill in the morning, 1 after school and 1 before bed). we have yet to see any improvement. His vocal tic is the worst it has ever been and this has also been the longest waxing we have ever had. I was told by my neurologist that it could take up to 3 or 4 weeks to see if the clonodine is working. I am trying to be patient but this noise is just driving me crazy. If the clonodine doesn't help, i really don't know what we are going to do.

     

    Three Clonidine pills is 0.075mg?

     

    Does that mean they are 0.025mg each?

     

    I take 0.025mg at night but we only have 0.1mg pills so I have to break them into quarters. They have the smaller doses in Canada right?

  13. I'm kind of a language nerd so let me give you my 2 cents.

     

    When I am interested in a language I find that I learn the words/grammar/syntax much easier.

     

    When I'm not really into it, it feels like a chore.

     

    What is giving you trouble with foreign language?

     

    - Is the grammar hard?

    - Is the pronunciation difficult?

    - Do you have trouble understanding it when it's being spoken, even if you know all the words in the sentence?

    - Does it use a different writing system that is giving you trouble?

    - Does it have some aspect that doesn't exist in English (such as noun declensions, pictograph writing, intonation-based words, etc.) that you just can't wrap your brain around?

     

    I think there has been some research done suggesting that your ears "learn" to hear certain sounds during your youth (brain development). By a certain age (I forgot what age), this part of the brain basically has an idea of how words sound, and of what sounds it will recognize. Since not every language has the same sounds, and even when languages have similar sounds, they are still different, sometimes people have trouble "hearing" other languages if they are significantly different from their own. Let me give you an example. I have studied Korean on and off for over 10 years. The sounds in Korean are pretty different from English. For example, Korean has 3 different versions of the hard "G" sound (as in the word "golf," not like the G in "general"). To my ears, they all sound the same. I understand the difference, one is normal, one is tensed, and one is aspirated, but I cannot *hear* the difference. If I try really hard I can sometimes tell them apart if the person is saying them by themselves, but in the middle of a sentence I have no idea which it is. Similarly, I cannot really pronounce them properly, either. Because I grew up speaking English, my brain only understands one hard G sound. So when I try to learn a language that has multiple versions that are subtly different, my brain is like "whoa, what do you mean those are different? They were all G!"

     

    You'll also see this phenomenon in people who learned English as a second language and English contains distinctions that their native languages don't have. For example, some people for whom English is a second language cannot hear (or pronounce) the difference between short "i" (as in "slip") and long "E" (as in "sleep"). But to us, as native English speakers, those two sounds are totally different and we would never get them confused. My Spanish teacher in high school told us she couldn't tell the difference between "V" and "B" (they're sorta similar in the Spanish that is spoken in Chile where she was from). She said sometimes she would mess up and say "bowel" when she meant "vowel."

     

    So I think that's something that can make foreign languages hard. I had similar problems in Korean and Spanish, both of which slur everything together, at least to my ears. I didn't really have much trouble understanding spoken German or Japanese because, for whatever reason, my ears are like "yeah, those sounds make sense. I can hear them."

     

    Spanish was the first foreign language I studied and I remember being overwhelmed at all the verb conjugations. I was like "what is going on? English doesn't do this. Why does Spanish have to do it?" So when I would be writing or saying a sentence, I would have to stop and think "ok, how do I conjugate this verb correctly here." And Spanish has two different past tenses. I was like "come on, English only has one! What do you need two for?" So I'd have to be like "ok, which past tense do I use here?"

     

    Languages can also be hard if they are grammatically or syntactically different from your native language. For example, German nouns do all this goofy stuff that English nouns don't do, so not only do you have to learn new words, you also have to learn new concepts. The form of the noun changes based on what part of speech the word is. Read "The Awful German Language" by Mark Twain for a comical (but true) look at this.

     

    Russian does the same thing but it's even more complicated.

     

    English doesn't have gender. Spanish, French and Italian have two genders (nouns are either masculine or feminine). German and Russian have 3 (masculine, feminine, neuter). So if you're learning one of those languages and your only experience is from English, you have to remember which gender each noun is because it changes how you use the words in the sentences.

     

    See how I just go on and on about this? Foreign languages are interesting to me but I'm kind of a nerd like that. If for whatever reason you don't like foreign languages, that might be part of your trouble. People tend to struggle with subjects they don't like. It's hard to be motivated for something when you just don't care.

     

    What language are you studying and what part of it is giving you difficulty? Maybe I can make some suggestions or something to help you out.

  14. Are you sure it's comfort that causes it? When I would be hanging with my friends or family (in a relaxed, comfortable setting) I would do a hard blink tic every few seconds to a few times per minute. I'm usually pretty nervous when I go to the doctor, but mine tend to reduce by about 90% while I'm at the doctor.

     

    Same thing at the dentist.

     

    Or the eye doctor. I remember before I started taking Clonidine, my doctor sent me to the eye doctor to make sure my blinking tic wasn't actually an eye problem, and the eye doctor couldn't really see it. I had to record a video of myself doing it at home on my phone to bring in and show her. When she saw the vid, she was like "oh, yeah."

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