Bigal

Thank you for your responses. I'll look into getting the strep test. FWIW, he had been tested for PANDAS awhile ago and it was negative. But I guess that's not what you are getting at. He's been on fish oil for almost 1.5 years. When we first put him on it, his tics reduced by 90%. They stayed reduced for quite a long time. Should I switch to flax seed (or krill) oil? Again though, for 1.5 years it helped a lot. Chemar, what meds was your son on? Have you heard any success stories with Clonazapam or Guanfacine. Anybody have any thoughts about the Bontech products that I mentioned below. Thanks again

My 10 year old son was diagnosed with tourettes almost two years ago. He also has mild/moderate ADHD and Generalized anxiety Disorder. Since the diagnosis, we have managed the tics well with Cod liver oil and occasional epsom salt baths. About 3 months ago, he started getting allergy shots for various environmental, non food, allergies. He usually gets the shots on Monday. His tics would usually get worse on Tuesday and be back to normal on Wednesday. Last week though, his tics exploded on Thursday and have not stopped since. I'm not sure that it is due to the allergy shots. I'm thinking not, but perhaps. It is mostly just one tic. He shakes his head as if to get his hair out of his eyes. This tic actually started about a month ago when we let his bangs get too long. He does it about 8-10 times a minute. I'm pretty paniced about this. I don't want this to be his new status quo. There are several things that I am looking into. I do have Sheila Roger's book and will go through it. But it will take a little bit of time. In the meantime, I've spoken with his pediatrician and his neurologist. I've also done considerable research on this website. His pediatrician is the most caring doctor you could ever imagine, but she doesn't support the type of integrative approachs discussed on this forum. So I don't think she will be of much help. Ok, so here is where I'm at. I'd appreciate any feedback: Prescriptions - His neurologist suggested 1 mg (to start) of Guanfacine and/or .25 mg (to start) of Clonazapun. I really didn't want to go this route, but now that I'm watching my son tic this severely, I just want to get him relief. When I spoke to the Doctor, I told him I'd do some research, talk to my wife and get back to him. But an hour later, when I watched my son still ticcing severely in the schoolyard, I called the neurologist and told his hurse that I want a script for the Clonazapun. Clonazapun appealed to me more than Guanfacine because I would only give it to him when his tics were bad. As opposed to having him on permanent medication. So I asked for the script but I don't have the medication yet. Fish Oil - I currently give him 1/2 teaspoon every morning. Perhaps I should increase that to a full teaspoon. Bontech TS plus control with Vitamin D - I've read on this board that Bontech products have been helpful to some. The Vitamin D part scares me though. Several months ago, my son's pediatrician suggested that he should get more Vit D, saying that children in our area are not getting enough. I found a multi that had 400 (sorry, don't know the unit) instead of 200. His tics immediately increased. Bontech Mag Taurate - I'm all for giving him a magnesium supplment. Epson salt baths worked well for awhile, but he doesn't take them consistently and perhaps he needs a more consistent source. But there are so many types of Magnesium that it's hard to follow. I've also read that taurine can be very helpful, but can be bad for some. So I don't know what to make of that. I'm also wondering about hypnosis/hypnotherapy and metals testing/detox. Actually, my mind is open. So feel free to suggest away. I guess I may also need to try to find food triggers. But honestly, I'm skeptical that food set this off. I don't think he has eaten anything out of the ordinary. Any info or suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks Alan

FWIW, Fish oil and epsom salt baths help my son. I've read on this forum that fish oil can exaccerbate some people's tics. In that case,other sources of Omega 3s are better, namely flax seed oil and krill oil.

Thanks Chemar, that's nice to hear.

Hi Whackomom Thanks for the post. I was wondering though, what is the connection between the co-morbids and growing out of his tics. My son's co-morbids are ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (though I'm not sure that's connected). Do these somehow mean he is less likely to see a reduction in tics after he leaves adolescence. Thanks Alan

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.

Hi Chris My son had his first round of shots on Nov 14 and then his second on Nov 22. He seldom tics these days, but he started ticcing after the second round. He ticced quite a bit about 24 hours after that round. The tics have been slowly diminishing since. I spoke to his neurologist today and the told me that he knows of no connection between allergy shots and tics and found nothing in the literature. Is your son getting allergy shots as well? I'm probably going to bring Wyatt for his shots today and see what happens. Alan

My 10 year old son has tourettes. Since I started him on fish oil 14 months ago his tics have been negligible. But now this week they are back. We noticed them a little on Tuesday, more Wednesday and today. He had his second round of allergy shots on Monday. I suspect the shots have aggravated his tics. Has anybody had that happen? I'm also wondering whether the effect is likely to be long or short term. I hope this presumed reaction to the shots is temporary. If it is temporary then maybe we'll endure the six months of weekly allergy shots. Perhaps it would even serve to lessen his tics because it reduces his sensitivity to these allergens. Thanks Alan

(the title got cut off, the last on the list is "Integrated Listening Systems" Can anybody speak to their experience with these therapies? Thanks in advance alan

Hi DandV There is a lot of good information on the tourettes/tics forum. I can tell you that my son (9 1/2 years) who was diagnosed with tourettes about a year ago has benefitted greatly from Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil. His tics have decreased by literally about 90%. (FYI though, they were never severe to begin with) And his teacher did speak of a mild improvement in his attention. It should be mentioned that some people with tourettes (don't know that your son has tourettes, but nevertheless) react badly to fish oil. But it's really about the Omega 3s. So if fish oil backfires, you can try flax seed oil or perhaps krill oil. I wish you and your family the best. Alan

I guess my post here is late, but can still be usefull for others in the future. My niece has Type 1 diabetes and can't let her insulin pump be out in the hot sun for too long. I've visited Disneyworld twice with her. She and her whole party essentially have a fast pass to every ride. For those not familiar with how it works, it essentially means that your wait for the rides will be less than 15 minutes. For many rides there will be no wait. I've only been to DW twice and each time with her. Honestly, I couldn't imagine doing it any other way.

My 9 year old son has mild ADHD and mild/moderate tourettes. In September, I started giving him Nordic Naturals Cod Liver oil every morning b4 school. After about 9 days, his tics reduced by about 90%. He hardly ever tics anymore. I could easily go a week without noticing any, and I spend a lot of time with him. While my wife and I havent noticed a change in his attention and distractability, his teacher told us that his attention improved. I LOVE the Nordic Naturals cod liver oil. Note though for others with tic issues. According to experienced people on the Tourette's forum, some people have a bad reaction to fish oil and tic more. In those cases, flax seed oil is thought to be the best source of OMega 3s. Alan

Hi LadyD<br>We are using a doctor in NJ. If you want to know more please send me a PM. We've been using him to rule out PANDAS and I think we have. We haven't actually visited him. He prescribes blood tests that we do here and he interprets. I believe he has a deep understanding of the issues at hand. But he is quite unresponsive. It take persistance to get his thoughts on the tests.Best of luck Alan<br>

Hi I wrote several weeks back that my 9 yr old son Wyatt was really benefiting from Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil. I wrote that his tics had lessened by about 80%. Chemar than added though that fish oil makes many TS children tic more. And they benifit from other sources of OMega 3. Soon after that dialogue, Wyatt's tics started to get worse. Luckily there was a post on this forum mentioning that Vitamin D can make tics worse. Just about two weeks earlier, I had started W on a new multivitamin because his Dr said he should be getting more Vit D. So I got a multi that had 100% of his RDA. The tics increased soon after. I didn't make the connection until reading about Vit D. I went back to the old multi and the tics have gone back to the previous mild state. So I'm back to the old multi and I'm not really sure what to do about the Vit D. I'll certainly try giving him more sushi, which he loves. Perhaps, I'll give him one of the high Vit D multis once a week. But the real point of this post relates to the fish oil. I've read more about fish oil, specifically cod liver oil. One of the publicized benefits of fish oil is high Vitamin D content (which is good for most people). However, the fish oil that I'm using, for one reason or another, has virtually no Vit D. Perhaps the reason fish oil has worked well for Wyatt and not other TS children is that the type that I gave him does not have high levels of Vitamin D. Food for thought. Alan

Thanks Lynn and CJ. I'll try to get him in the bath.

Several people have mentioned Epson Salt baths in various posts. Are they thought to actually reduce tics? Or is it just something to help relax your child? Thanks Alan

Our family Dr. said that my son (9 yrs) should be getting more Vit D. She mentioned the possiblity of rickets, I found a multi-vitamin that had 100% of RDA. This was about a month ago. His tics have increased since then. Not dramatically, but noticably. I'm going to go back to the old mult-vitamin and see what happens. Thanks for pointing this out. I hadn't made the connection

There is so much written about natural treatments all over this site. I will say though that my son is really benefiting from OMega 3s. He is getting the O3 from Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil. I've been told though that many children have bad reactions to fish oil and it makes them tic more. For those apparently, Flax Seed Oil is the best source. But read on in this site. There are many suggestions. Alan

Hi Cloudy, Since August or so, his most common tic is a heavy exhale, often when he is eating. Prior to that his most common tic was blinking. He also rolls his eyes and turns his head like he was following a bird in flight. Those are the most common. There have been others. He takes it willingly. It is lightly flavored even though it is not a children's product. He preferred the lemon flavored to the peach flavor we now have. Alan

I had talked about this a bit a few weeks ago in a thread called "Omega 3", but I wanted to make it more visible. In September, I started giving my son 1/2 teaspoon a day of Nordic Naturals Arctic Cod Liver Oil (Wyatt turned 9 in December). It took about a week and a half and his tics lessened by about 80%. I'm truly delighted by the effect. His teacher has also reported that he has been much less distractible at school. I should mention that Wyatt's tics were never too frequent. His TS at this point would be considered mild.

Just wanted to report that since starting my son on Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil about three months ago, his tics have become much less frequent. I'd guess about an 80% decline. There a many days when I don't notice any. Wyatt is almost 9 years old. He weighs about 50lbs. I've been giving him 1/2 teaspoon a day. Obviously, I'm very pleased about this. I hope though that the positive benefits continue. There is a part of me that wishes that I waited on this until he was 10-13 when his tics are supposed to get worse. But hopefully the positive benefits will continue. Alan

From a headline that I just saw on MSN.com, it sounds like Ben R is back.

Friday night Oct 1, he was ticcing quite a bit. Since then not much. The past week very little at all. So he was about 9 days into the fish oil when he waned or it started helping him. Alan

Hi CP, Faith, everyone else Wyatt is doing quite well right now. The tics have really subsided. I'm hoping that's because of the fish oil, but I don't know. He's in third grade and school is also going quite well. He has some learning issues. ADHD, and he was recently diagnosed with Nonverbal Learning disorder (anybody else out there whose child has this). He did pretty well in school in first and second grade, but there have been significant learning/anxiety issues. It seems that things are much better this year. He even said that he likes school. I'm hoping that the fish oil is also helping his attn issues. I'll be speaking with his teacher later today. So I'll ask that. So does anybody know, might the fish oil be responsible for reducing tics after only three weeks. Or is he just waning. CP, no other than reduction in tics I haven't noticed any changes. Wow I had know idea that the moon cycles can affect tics. Is that common? Thanks everyone. I've got much to learn. I seem to go back and forth between Tourette's and Nonverbal Learning disorder. Sometimes I'm trying to learn about one, sometimes the other. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the combination. But I'm doing much better now, probably because he's doing much better now. alan

I've had my son (almost 9 years old with moderate TS) on cod liver oil for about three weeks now. His tics (never too excessive) have lessened considerably. Is this likely a coincidence? I thought it needed a couple of months to have an effect. I'd love to think that the fish oil is helping, not that the tics are just waning. Thanks Alan