Cj60

Here's a little about what we experienced with food sensitivities. Before we changed diet, my son was experiencing a number of tics, which, in retrospect, I now attribute to a probable genetic predisposition that was exacerbated by poor gut health brought on by poor diet (even though we though we had a pretty healthy diet!). Since his tic condition problably caught our attention only after it was exacerbated by years of deteriorating gut health that went unnoticed, improvement has been associated, in my non-expert mind, with improved gut health, which has taken time. So some tic improvements may take time. Nonetheless, once we decided to take long term steps (diet modification and supplements) and really focus on food triggers, we found ourselves picking up on foods that were offenders pretty easily. That is, his normal or "baseline" ticcing got noticeably worse fairly shortly after consuming a trigger food. This would tell us what to eliminate from his diet, and would also quite often land him in a bath of epsom salt, which has always been pretty effective at bringing tics back down to his baseline level. Slowly but sureley, his tics have become less and less, due, again in my non-expert opinion, to gut health which has improved slowly but surely, and a few key supplements. Now, when we allow him (ocassionally) to have foods that were once triggers, he tolerates them with no noticeable tic increase. But we are still vigilant and still restrict what he eats. One anecdote I have concerns one of the last truly noticeable differences in his level of ticcing. After a good year or so of the new diet, we were all at a comfortable spot with the improvements we had noticed. But we were still working. One day, I noticed my son's tics increase after eating an orange. Should have picked up on that before, I guess. It just so happened that I was giving him his multivitamin (one of the most notieceably beneficial supplements we use) in orange juice every morning. Stopped that the very next day, and within a week we saw a very noticeable decrease in tics. Hope this info helps answer your question. - Chris

Once we had our son tested for food sensitivities, and dairy came up as one of them, we cut out all dairy (not just milk but all dairy). At the time we were also starting the magnesium and multivitamin supplementation, along with a couple others that I learned about here. While the mag and epsom salt soaks would definitely show signs of lessening tics when they were waxing (typically in the evenings), it wasn't until we had implemented the new diet (eliminating all identified sensitivities, preservatives, artificials, etc) and a regular supplement routine for a couple of months that we could say that we noticed a definite improvement. Even if some might find that eliminating offending foods has a quick and noticeable affect, addressing food sensitivities should probably be looked at as a long term adjustment, since many times improvement is associated with improved gut health, which may take a while. Remember also that the magnesium is serving as a detoxifier and may result in some waxing. I recall noticing it with my son when I first started, but kept up with a regualr routine which has greatly benefitted. Good luck! Chris p.s. Supplementing a good potent multivitamin is also something to consider.

It was noted on this forum some time ago that Miralax was associated with instances of tic onset. You might want to do a search to pull up what the literature was. I paid attention to it since my son also, years ago, had constipation issues which we addressed with Miralax. - Chris

Hi, I found that the first step toward feeling better (and I sure did feel depressed about things!) was doing something. That is, getting on this forum, getting Sheila's book, finding a supportive dr., starting meaningful dietary changes and supplements, etc. all helped me get back on my feet. So it looks like you are on your way to feeling better! Hang in!! Chris

We don't do them.

Jennifer, Congratulations for being so proactive in the health of your grandchild. Such changes seem drastic at first, but after a while they are manageable. And if after a while you start to see the benefits, it is, of course, so worth all the trouble. Best of luck, Chris