Hello there,
A quick presentation : I am 30 from france, and i have just discovered that my soon to be wife has the tourette syndrome (although she does not want to accept that she has TS)
-vocal and motor tics since she was 8, she is now 25,
-OCD
- she has two uncles with tics
her tics worsen during the past couple of months and that is why i discovered them... i felt so shocked... i read thousand of articles, web sites, (almost nothing exist in french)... i read about genetics, and got even scared as i have also subclinical OCD since i was 7/8... (i read that OCD as chronic tics or transient tics are also a different expression of the TS gene(s).
anyway... i am still not feeling fine with that news (it was 1 month ago that i learnt that) but i as i said, i read a lot...
if I may, i will post some articles of interest i came over during my search (on alternative treatments)
I will start with hypnosis... not the way i read here, not the stress reduction type...
here is the abstract of a new research article from july 2010 in the "Journal of Development and Behavioral Pediatrics"
Objective: This case series examines the practicality of using a standardized method of training children in self-hypnosis (SH) methods to explore its efficiency and short-term efficacy in treating tics in patients with Tourette syndrome.
Methods:
The files of 37 children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome referred for SH training were reviewed, yielding 33 patients for analysis. As part of a protocol for SH training, all viewed a videotape series of a boy undergoing SH training for tic control. Improvement in tic control was abstracted from subjective patient report.
Results:
79% of the patients trained in this technique experienced short-term clinical response, defined as control over the average 6-week follow-up period. Of the responders, 46% achieved tic control with SH after only 2 sessions and 96% after 3 visits. One patient required 4 visits.
Conclusions:
Instruction in SH, aided by the use of videotape training, augments a protocol and probably shortens the time of training in this technique. If SH is made more accessible in this way, it will be a valuable addition to multi-disciplinary management of tic disorders in Tourette syndrome.
you may want to go read a newspaper article about this article here
"Once the patient is in his or her highly focused 'special place,' work is then done on controlling the tic. We ask the patient to imagine the feeling right before that tic occurs and to put up a stop sign in front of it, or to imagine a tic switch that can be turned on and off like a light switch," study co-author Dr. Jeffrey Lazarus, formerly of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and now in private practice, said in a news release from the journal's publisher"
i read other articles showing some good success rate for hypnosis
however, if i may suggest, if some people are interested, either go see this doctor (not a possibility for me as i am in france and my wife to be is not fluent in english) or choose an ericksonian hypnotist... show the article and they should know what to do... this is what i ll do in france
i will try to post other info on other treatment types... but i dont want to bother... especially as i realize that my english my be difficult to understand... i might try in french
