elizabeth

Hello. I am looking for help on which direction to take. We live in the UK. I posted here about 6 months ago about my 9 year old son who had squeaking tics and other motor tics. In the last six months we have been through several types of vocal tcis and motor tics, changing every week. We tried dairy free for about two weeks with no effect. We started on fish oil in March, a multivatin tablet, and trying for a healthier diet (less sugar, less artifical foods etc). The fish oil seemed to help. Have been doing epsom salt foot baths, but they don't seem to make any difference and gave him atheletes foot. I felt the we were containing the tics because they stayed at a relatively less noticable/low level from April through to recently. However going back to school this September we are experienceing an explosion of tics. He is now doing a very loud shouting tic. It was every second last night, and I am feeling desparate about doing something to help him. I would be very interested to hear from others in the UK on who they see for treatment. I would like to find a doctor who will explore the link between diet to tics with me, but have not found anyone yet. I feel very confused about all the informaiton on the internet and I have done a lot of reading. Have read sheila's book, but wonder where the best place is to start again. What tests should I look at getting done. The list of possibilities seems overwhelming - dairy, gluten, corn, NAET?, Kinesology, yeast?, Salicyates, chemicals, mineral deficiencies, acupunture, special supplements? Who should I see to identify which areas to look at first. My son is reluctant when it comes to diet changes since he is a very picky eater so I want to avoid making unnecessary stress for him. I want to avoid medication if at all possible. What is an environmental doctor? Do we have the equivalent in the UK? Many thanks for any help.

Thanks chemar Have just had reults of my sons RAST blood tests for allergy to milk, egg, gluten and soya. My DS is coming out as weakly positive to milk and soya. Would a weak positive have an effect on tics? It looks like the next step is to try cutting out the soya as well as the milk. An allergy to soya would explain why the new rash has appeared. Now I am looking very closely at labels I see that soya is in lots of products. How do you compensate for calcium in the diet when cutting out both milk and soya products? Not sure if the stress of enforcing a new diet can contribute to an increase in tics too? I am trying to cut down the amount of sugar DS is consuming in addition to the dairy but this is causing tears and anger. Prayers for all.

Hi again. Thanks for your support. My DS has been on dairy free for just over a week now. I have not noticed any improvement yet, infact if anything the touching head tic is worse. His vocals are about the same. How long before we should notice any change if this is going to make a difference? I have been giving him soya milk instead of cows milk and I wonder if he has a reaction to that. His rash actually seems worse on the diary free than before - I was hoping it would disappear - and he has developed a new red rash behind the knees. We also discovered at a dental check up that he has an infection under one of his teeth. Its not hurting him - but could this be a contributing factor towards the tics? Not sure if we should go to teh doctor for antibiotics - the dentist just suggested leaving it unless it started to hurt. Any suggestions/advice welcome?

Thanks for the welcome. Yes I will look at trying a dairy free diet - I have booked to chat to our GP about this tomorrow - we are not due to see the pediatrician again for another three months. It would be good to get DS tested generally for allergies. Not sure if they can do this for dairy. I am also starting to wonder about ADHD - DS is very very impulsive - always has been. If he has some money he has to spend it - it doesn't matter on what. He cannot wait. Does this sound like an ADHD symptom? He finds it hard to bring himself to concentrate on mental tasks that require some effort. Maybe his difficulties at school are down to ADHD rather than memory problems? The whole area is very confusing - I would have thought that the medical profession would have more understanding of these problems - but the attitude is one of just wait and see. Also they see the educational difficulties as being the school's problem - not a medical one. It would be interesting to hear how others in the UK have found the system here, and any hints on how to progress. Many thanks for your help and prayers for everyone.

Hello I am hoping that someone will be able to give me some pointers on where to go next - have been reading all the posts on here and am feeling rather confused, but also hopeful that there is something we can do to help my DS. My DS is nine and a half. He has had one or two vocal tics ( throat clearing, humming) since he started school at 4 years old. In the past they have lasted just a couple of months and then disappeared. The doctor just said to ignore them which is what we have been doing. They were low level and noone outside the family noticed them. Just before christmas this year he started a much louder sqeaking tic and at the same time some motor tics ( eye brow raising, left eye blinking). He was very excited about christmas and it seemed to be linked to this since it got steadily worse up to christmas and then slightly better afterwards. Going back to school however it got much worse. The squeak has now got better, but he has developed a new gulping sound and is also touching objects to his head. So overall I the tics are not improving just changing. Is the touching objects OCD or is this a tic? Is the changing tics something that happens in TS? We have been back to the doctors several times and have been referred to a peadiatrician. The peadiatrician has recommended a wait and see approach saying that this might be transient tics. I am not sure what our treatment options are but I am not keen on going down the medication route. I would like to look at alternatives. We have not seen a specialist at this stage - not sure when or if this will happen or who is best to see. We are in the UK. What has been the experience of others in the UK? I found it interesting to read on this forum about dairy allergy, since I have felt for some time that my son may have an intolerance to dairy. I am wondering if I need to speak to the doctors again before trying a dairy free diet, what other treatments/supplements would be suggested. I am worried about his calcium intake if I eliminate all cheese/yogurt since he hardly has any other milk. Not sure if there is a history of TS in the family. My grandmother apparently had a facial tic for about a year at the age of 15 after an illness, but I don't know of anyone else. I don't understand what PANDAS is? Is this something I should be thinking about? I have also read on one website that there can be a link between learning difficulties and TS. My son has problems at school with memory with regard to spellings and maths so this rang bells with me. Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks for any suggestions on next steps.