Nate

Thank you. Lots of prayer and work. Of course, with wrong factors she's still susceptible...

Conanjaguar, Yes, we now realize after years of trial and error with many environmental variables that her tics are primarily diet related. Although her diet isn't very diverse anymore, being tic free is worth it. She will have to make her own decisions as she gets older...

Katreya, We noticed the same thing when my daughter had tics. They would go away during time of sickness. We now think that was because she wouldn't eat or would barely eat when sick...

Hey MLee! Thank you! That was one of the numerous things we tried. Tried none to very little salicylates on two occasions. Some improvement but not lasting. I'm guessing some improvement due to cutting out salicylates also eliminates some produce. Edit: I do lean towards the real issue deals with bacteria and ripening(fermenting). Eating only fresh cooked meals is a necessity for her. Makes me think the issue with produce is the fact that it is constantly ripening.

Hey Chemar! Agreed. I think every person probably has different things that the body views negatively. Yes, she doesn't do well on organic produce. She grew up on strictly organic produce. Interestingly, she would often seem to do well with produce that wasn't organic at something like a wedding reception. I sometimes wonder if it's because organic is often more ripe (started the fermentation process). But, we still notice the beginning of negative affects (irritability) with eating fresh picked fruit from our trees. I know we don't have everything figured out. Perhaps she can handle certain produce, maybe cooked produce, etc..., but we are extremely grateful that God has given us direction to figure out enough for her to be tic free.

Hey MLee! We had to greatly restrict produce and incorporated lots of raw milk. We spent years journaling everything she ate and when. Tried rotation diet, no casein and gluten diet, elimination diet, gut health... For her the triggers are fermented, aged, leftovers, produce foods. It doesn't make sense to us (especially since raw milk is so beneficial), but she went from hundreds upon hundreds of tics a day to none. She may be fine on cooked produce, but we haven't really tested it since she won't eat them cooked. Grew up eating lots and lots of raw vegetables and doesn't want them cooked. She did always like cooked broccoli, but we haven't tested it lately. She does fine on potatoes. I should be more specific in that her diet basically consists of meat, wheat, and dairy. Minimal raw fruits and veggies, some fries, cheese must be cooked.

I'm of the opinion that vaccines can be very harmful, however; my child suffered with tourettes/tics for a few years and had never received a vaccine. As posted elsewhere she is now tic free as long as we stay on top of fragrances and diet.

Any fragrances (plant based) used in car? Are you wearing perfume, strong deodorant, laundry detergent, or dryer sheets on clothes?

We saw food changes have an impact the very next day. Major impact...from 20 or more tics per minute to 0 the next day. Just my suggestions....cut out almost all processed food. Loaf bread (nature's own works for us) is ok. Eliminate fruits and veggies for a day. Very limited plant foods including rice and potato. No whole grains (including oats and rice). Feed him peanut butter sandwiches, meat, bread, and raw cow milk. I would be surprised if you didn't see dramatic improvement next day. Also make sure no exposure to fragrances, essential oil, or other cleaners (always plant based). I truly feel for you. Most stressful years of my life. We went from a 10 to 0.5 on a scale from 0 to 10 in regards to tics. Most all days are now tic free at 10 years of age.

I hope this helps someone out there. After many years of horrible (yes, horrible) tics, sensory issues, and emotional instability my daughter is basically tic free, happy, and calm. We tried so many things that we read here and elsewhere. From supplements, fragrances, different diets including gluten and casein free for months, throwing out furniture and decor, ripping out all insulation and duct work under house, eliminating all screen time for over a year, we left nothing unturned. What have we found was the culprit? Plant based foods and fragrances of any sort. She grew up with a diet primarily comprised of organic fruits, veggies, and meat. Had white sugar the first time about 1.5 years ago. We cleaned with vinegar. She drank nothing but water. Her diet was "perfect" yet our lives became so stressful. Now she is tic free as long as we severely limit the fruits and veggies as well as whole grains. Raw milk is a miracle drink. If she's emotional or having slight tics due to too much plant food or fragrances then milk saves the day. If we go somewhere too long with essential oils being diffused then she will be irritable with possible minor tics for the rest of the day. I know this sounds crazy, but if you are stressed and tried everything you know to try, it can't hurt to cut out plant foods and all fragrances for a couple days...meat, homemade bread, peanut butter, raw milk work for us. Obviously you still need to include some plant food for nutrition long term. I know this may seem contrary to most all advice out there, but it is a true miracle in our lives. Our daughter would have hundreds if not thousands of tics a day...basically nonstop. Raised arms, eye slants, jerk back head, shoulder shrugs, deep breaths, and on and on. Magnesium seemed to help for awhile, rotation diet helped a little, eliminating screen time seemed to help, but none of these brought lasting relief. She now gets regular screen time and takes no supplements. A focus on strictly limiting most plant based foods and absolutely no fragrances has been a miracle. We go months with no tics. They come back slightly if we start allowing too much plant food (she loves veggies). Update: We have been able to allow more produce without any tics if she has been in safe environment away from any fragrances or chemicals. We also haven't retested eggs in the diet so don't really know how big a factor eggs are. She will let us know if she feels like she wants to have eye tics so we cut back on produce before tics start. From what I've read she is at the age (10) that should be the worst yet she has been basically tic free for the past year. Probably the best thing we did was to quit cleaning with vinegar. May the Lord comfort you and give you wisdom during your trial. Blessings, Nate

I hope this helps someone out there. After many years of horrible (yes, horrible) tics, sensory issues, and emotional instability my daughter is basically tic free, happy, and calm. We tried so many things that we read here and elsewhere. From supplements, fragrances, different diets including gluten and casein free, throwing out furniture and decor, we left nothing unturned. What have we found was the culprit? Plant based foods. She grew up with a diet primarily comprised of organic fruits, veggies, and meat. Had white sugar the first time about 1.5 years ago. We cleaned with vinegar. She drank nothing but water. Her diet was "perfect" yet our lives became so stressful. Now she is perfectly normal as long as we severely limit the fruits and veggies. Raw milk is a miracle drink. If she's emotional or having slight tics due to too much plant food then milk saves the day. If we go somewhere with essential oils being diffused then we will pay the price for the rest of the day. I know this sounds crazy, but if you are stressed and tried everything you know to try it can't hurt to cut out plant foods for a couple days...meat, bread, peanut butter, raw milk work for us. Obviously you still need to include some plant food for nutrition long term. Blessings, Nate

I hope this is posted correctly and helps someone. For the past couple years my wife and I have tried "everything" for our daughters tics. Getting rid of decor and furniture, removing duct work from house, no fragrances whatsoever, food rotation, no gluten and other dietary regimens, magnesium, and many others. I have had gout for the past 15 years and daily check my uric acid with a home meter. It runs in my family as well as migraines and vertigo. We recently figured out that if my daughter and I eat a very strict low histamine diet that her tics are much much better and I can keep my uric acid below 6mg/dl. Raw goat milk is the mosy beneficial food for both of us. Our diet consists of fresh beef, eggs, einkorn flour(not whole and no yeast),raw honey, kale,bok choy,cucumber, frozen blueberries, apple, watermelon, dried and boiled fresh pintos (no leftovers), corn, and a little potato. Many things raise our histamine such as exercise and fragrances. The diet allows us to keep histamine lower. Her tics were horrible (constant jerking head back, eyes, sniffing, shoulders, and others) and she would get extremely emotional and irritable after eating anything with citric acid. There is clearly a genetic issue with breaking down histamine (mthfr?). Eating low histamine has been miraculous for both of us! She had always eaten a healthy no processed diet so this shook us. She has never even had processed sugar. I hope this helps someone else.