Faith, Pat et al.,
I so appreciate sharing information and experiences and wish I'd joined this forum long ago.
My son's tics began when he was 3 (he's 10 now). We've seen a variety of physical tics over the years that come and go, wax and wane and have been mostly unnoticeable to the casual observer. Late February and early spring were always times when his tics would suddenly flare and eye tics would worsen. We recognized an allergy connection and went through food allergy testing (Immuno), which proved helpful for the tics and ended his stomachaches.
In May of 2007 (age 8) he developed a head nod tic which was very noticeable, especially while playing baseball. His eyes (pupils) were rolling a lot and for the first time we had to explain to others what was happening. Since then he has not had a break from having one or more obvious physical tics. Not terrible tics but obvious ones. This led us to try a low dose of Clonidine in September, hoping to give his system a break. After 1-1/2 to 2 weeks on the Clonidine, a new vocal tic emerged and became a nightmare. The neurologist said Clonidine was not helpful for vocal tics but that it surely didn't bring on his vocal tic. He wanted to increase the clonidine until we reached the appropriate level. This didn't feel right to us and with support from our pediatrician, we discontinued clonidine and went back to the 'ole drawing board.
Over the years, we've tried IgG food allergy testing, NAET/muscle testing (years ago and now we're back at it), vitamin/mineral/amino acid supplements and probiotics, chiropractic, acupuncture, neurotransmitter testing and supplementation (5-HTP, taurine, etc.), anthroposophical tinctures and remedies, craniosacral therapy, and some amateur homeopathy. Some of these things may have helped him and I always hoped that, if nothing else, we were strengthening his system.
As we could have predicted, a flare up of vocal and physical tics started at the end of February. He missed a few days of school due to an uncomfortable vocal tic. Here's what we're doing now: 1) a more scholarly job of identifying and recording possible triggers, 2) continuing with NAET, once per week since January, 3) giving Bontech ts-PLUS supplements, calcium/magnesium and a probiotic, 3) osteopathic manipulation (had first session last week and will continue once per week -- our insurance covers it which is wonderful), 4) mineral baths before bed, 5) avoiding dairy as a possible trigger, 6) air purifier in bedroom, and 7) crossing our fingers. I'm trying to move slowly but, as many of you must know, that's difficult when you're in a crisis mode.
Faith, we have had some interesting observations with NAET and I'll relay them to you in other messages.
Jill
