JTs-Mom

I ordered a Lyme test kit from igenex.com, and I was planning to just get the IGG and IGM Western Blot, but the "Complete Lyme Panels" also includes Lyme IGG/IGM/IGA IFA Screen and Lyme Multiplex PCR Serum & Whole Blood. The Western Blots are $200. All of these tests combined cost $475. Can anyone tell me if the IFA and PCR are really worth it? Most of what I've read online with regard to Lyme testing references the western blot.

I suspected a yeast issue with my ds (age 5.5) and I have been giving him Candex (purchased from iherb.com). The capsules can be opened and poured into a drink or mixed with food. I mix it with apple juice or orange vitamin water... 1/2 capsule in the morning and 1/2 in the evening.

Thanks for sharing your experience with Clonidine. It makes me a little less afraid of what's to come knowing that there are options that are working well for some. My ds is only 5.5 and his tics don't seem to bother him at all right now, so we are holding out as long as possible before considering meds. Still, your experience gives me some hope for the future.

I read your previous thread and it's a very interesting theory. My ds has had allergies since 2 (he's now 5.5) and we've used Zyrtec periodically. I haven't noticed much effect on his tics, but I'm wondering if it would help to up his dose a little. Did the No-Phenol help? Are you still using it?

Cheri - Thanks for your reply! I do plan to order Sheila's book. We have already changed diet (gone organic, avoid HFCS and MSG). We also started a multi vitamin and mag taurate supplement, plus occasional probiotics. The reason I suspect TS is because he has had 2 other tics that have come and gone (one motor, one vocal) in addition to the mouth opening tic (the one that has been constant). He had a grimace tic in Feb. that lasted about 2-3 weeks and a breathing tic in Aug. that lasted approx. 6 weeks. I just thought it was odd that he has the one tic that is constant while the others have come and gone. Has anyone else had this experience with one tic persisting while others come and go?

I’ve been reading these forums for the past year now (without ever registering to post) and I’d like to say thank you to everyone who has posted valuable information on this site. It is such a great resource. My ds developed a tic (opening his mouth really wide) in mid 11/08. I started researching online after Thanksgiving of ’08 and came across a site that said it could be a tic. The docs assumed it was transient and would go away (if it was even a tic). We decided to go ahead and get his school vaccinations done during that visit. (Wish we hadn’t.) About 1.5 - 2 weeks later, the tic was off the chart... many times a minute. That severity only lasted a week or so, but he has had this same tic ever since he started ticcing over a year ago now. He had a grimace tic for a few weeks in February and a breathing tic in August, in addition to the mouth tic. So, we are now expecting a diagnosis of Tourette’s when we see the neurologist in a month. I did consider PANDAS because his tic followed an illness, but his tics are not episodic and he has had strep (10/09) with no exacerbation of symptoms. I convinced the doc to do a titer test in late Dec. ’08 (approx. 6 weeks after the tic started) and it was normal, though I’m not sure the timing was right. (It was an ASO.) I’ve read that some kids have tic free periods. He hasn’t. I’m curious how many others have the same tic continuously with no remission. The severity has waxed and waned a little (from every 2 minutes to every 10 minutes... sometimes 15 minutes), but that's about it. Other than the period in December, it has remained fairly constant. Is this normal for some? This was really out of the blue for me and my dh, as neither of us has any family history of tics or TS, though there is other related stuff …anxiety and some OCD-like tendencies (very mild though… not sure they would officially qualify as OCD). Thankfully, we haven’t seen any OCD in my ds. Thanks for any feedback.