Rick43

An elimination diet (at least the way we were taught) is eliminating a specific food group for a period, and then reintroducing it to see results, not eliminating most food altogether! It is not too late to start over as right now you are in a waxing mode so setting a new baseline is not a bad idea I hope the epsom baths relaxed you enough to give a peaceful night Thank you Cheri. I talked to my wife and we are going to add a number of items to my diet (beans, grains, veggies, fruits, other meat options) -- however, will continue to ensure we stay away from the list of most common triggers (dairy, preservatives, artificial flavor/color, etc) - so will keep a number of fruits out, no potatoes, etc. I obviously misunderstood the elimination diet. I thought you cut back to the bare minimum food items and slowly added things to see if it set you off. I admit I'm still a bit confused in that if I still have issues after I expand the diet, I won't know for sure if one of the foods I am currently eating is causing hte trouble or not. I'm hoping to spend some time finding a naturopath this week - it's been too hard to spend any time on that this week with all the tics. I'm also going to get some jasmine oil and that "Natural Calm", and Taurine that you mentioned. If anyone else on this forum has further thoughts on how they made the elimination diet effective for them I would love to hear about it. Rick

Agree - it's very sparse. I did it that way because I was under the impression that the elimination diet meant cut down to the bare minimum and slowly introduce new foods and food groups. I would love to add foods, but feel I need to have tics under control first so I'll know if a new food sets me off. the buttery spread we bought on purpose for this diet, as it was certified non-GMO, gluten free, lactose free, and vegan. It does however use expellar-pressed natural oil blend (soybean, palm fruit, canola, and olive oil) as it's first ingredient - and it does contain soy. I haven't used very much at all (2 tablespoons total), but clearly there is soy in it. I somehow missed that before. I've no issue with rice in the past. I would love to add needed nutrients via an expanded diet, and my goal has always been to expand the diet, but I just cant seem to get there tic wise. Ohh, and as far as bontech goes, I've been on it for 3 months, and have been very careful to not miss a pill (TS-plus control, TS-plus EPA/DHA, TS-plus Grape-X, TS-plus EPA/DHA, TS-plus mag taurate). And just took my epsom salt bath.... (2 cups of epsom salt, 25 minute bath) I don't understand what's making me go nuts here. thanks, Rick

Cheri, Do you think the fact that I started this food elimination 8 days ago is potentially causing this severe tic (motor/vocal) reaction? I am on my 3rd day now of going absolutely crazy with tics. I didn't even go to work today (worked from home) as it is so bad right now. I was wondering if it's just because I made such a "cold-turkey" switch right when I started. Either that, or one my foods I've been eating is just not working for me. I have been eating ONLY skinless/boneless chicken breasts with brown rice pasta or brown rice and steamed, fresh broccoli. The chicken is not organic, but says on it very clearly that it's "locally grown, always fresh, always natural with minimal processing and no preservatives/no additives." Other than that, it's been oatmeal, organic evaporated cane sugar, and organic rice milk and some "earth balance natural buttery spread". (I eliminated the organic tomatoes and blueberries 2 days ago). Decaf coffee in the AM, and that is it. I can not think of any time of being around perfumes, pesticides, or even mold, dust or cleaning chemicals at all. do any of these foods above seem like an issue? lastly, to be clear, when you say you were advised 3-4 weeks, do you mean only add one new food or food group every 3-4 weeks? Wanted to confirm, as that will obviously take quite awhile if I'm adding blueberries on week 4, then not until week 8 do I add something like tomatoes.... and so on. Thanks Rick

Hmmm. That certainly could be it. I looked at the feingold list above again and realized "berries" are on the list --- maybe the daily blueberry smoothie wasn't a good idea after all. That is a bummer, as I really was hoping that one was ok. This food elimination is definitely a bit of a challenge Anyone else on this forum have issues specifically with berries? Or tomatoes? The salicylate list is pretty large.

it looks like I need to go through your thread again as there were obviously a few mistakes made. Somehow my wife must have written down rice vinegar and cider vinegar - and instead, she should have written brown rice only. by the way, I found that list of salicylate high foods from feingold (thought I'd post here) -- so maybe it was the tomatoes giving me tic issues. Food Sources of Salicylates Almonds, Apples, Apricots, Aspirin, Berries, Cherries, Cloves, Coffee, Cucumbers, Currants, Grapes, Nectarines, Oil of wintergreen, Oranges, Peaches, Peppers (bell & chilli), Pickles, Plums, Prunes, Raisins, Rose hips, Tangelos, Tangerines, Tea, Tomatoes

Thanks Cheri. I will check out that site for salicylates. I will update my internal list based on your son's diet and replace "organic animal protein" as you stated. I will also note that he doesn't eat dairy or soy. AS you can tell, I'm using this as a baseline for building up my diet plan. Do you think your son would have had an issue with organic soy if he chose to eat it (ie, since I believe it's not genetically modified?) You are so helpful -- I want you to know again how much I appreciate all this help. Rick

wonderful -- I really missed the blueberries. I tried searching on the internet about Salicylate in tomatoes, but don't see anything so far. my wife compiled a list of what triggers your son, and what he can eat from your links you sent us.. so we had it in one place. hopefully we captured it correctly. I may not exactly know what "organic animal proteins" means, but I think this means meat, dairy, and eggs - but doesn't seem to match the remainder of your list. Also, I don't speciifically see Soy called out as a trigger, or a fodd he eats, so wanted to ask if that is an issue - as I'd love to add back in soy if I can. RICK From Cheri's links: Triggers were: Artificial foods Colorings Sweeteners High fructose corn syrup MSG Grapes Pineapples Corn Potatoes Pesticides Chlorine Mold Ate: Omegas--flaxseed oils Brown rice Quinoa Vegetables Salads Fruits Organic animal protein Healthy fish Garlic, ginger, turmeric Rice or apple cider vinegar plain yogurt used instead of milk for cereals, and in sauces instead of cheese or dairy, wheat free miso /soy products, coconut milk and oil and spread, green tea, pure chai, some pure fruit juices, lots of reverse osmosis water

Thanks for your reply Chemar! I have reviewed that list, and also we have purchased the book you refer to. I'm still reading it, as I find myself looking through it for ideas, so still have a ways to go. hmmm, nothing seems to stand out in terms of triggers, just yet, when I look at that list I copied below. I am using some (not much) unrefined sugar on oatmeal in the morning, but that's about it. I was worried that it was the blueberries I was eating in a smoothie with organic rice milk, so I cut that out. I didn't see blueberries mentioned as a trigger, so I hoped that was safe. Same with the tomatoes. I asked my wife to help me go through your list of supplements your son was using earlier and now (since we have written down both lists). I'm mainly just on Bontech as my starting point (TS-plus control, TS-plus EPA/DHA, TS-plus Grape-X, TS-plus mag-taurate), and when we look at Tic reducers, it appears I should also add: (natural Calm, a cal/mag/zinc supp, epsom salts baths, footbaths, soaked cloth application, in addition to dietary magnesium intake) * taurine (main tic reducer) note: I just added L-carnitine today for the first time (as I am having bad vocal tics as well), but noted that you said it made your son edgy, so may discontinue if I see an issue. Thanks for your great tips. I will order the jasmine oil and bach's rescue remedy today. If stress is an issue, I want to reduce that, as I know that sets me off. I just didn't think I was stressed over the weekend. Rick Most Common (in alphabetical order): Alcohol Artificial colors and flavors Cleaning chemicals Caffeine Chocolate Dairy Dust Excitement Infections (bacterial/viral) Molds Perfumes/scented products Pollens Preservatives/MSG Stimulant medication Stress Sweets/sodas/cane sugar

CP, I do exercise about 3-4 times a week, as I know that is a stress reliever. I also just started (yesterday) the epsom salt bath. will probably ensure I take that bath at least 2x a week (unless someone tells me more often is needed). I'm currently only on the bontech vitamin plan, and she has stated that tyramine is not good, so I doubt there is tyramine in her supplements. And I avoid all foods that contain tyramine. I used the list on wikipedia as a guide to foods with tyramine. I don't think it is the coffee, as I was pretty minimal on the coffee to begin with. OF course, I realize I've only been on this diet a week, so maybe I need to give it more time. However, any thoughts at all on what I need to add to keep stress under control will be much appreciated, as I know that is a big trigger for many (myself included). My concern was that I didn't think I was stressed this weekend, but maybe I was, and just didn't realize it. Thanks Rick

Hi everyone. It's been a week now of the elimination diet. I know, not alot of time just yet. I have been extremely good at sticking to it. I have not had any coffee. Or alcoholic drink or dairy, wheat, soy or any artificial/preservative. Yes, it's tough, but I am encouraged by e eryone here who has made it work. At first, it was going great, but my tourettes (motor/verbal) exploded this weekend. My wife was worried it was the tomatoes from my organic salsa. So I cut that too. Note that I Am on the bontech supplements, which seems like a good place to at least start while I figure out what I need to tweak. I'm also on inosotal, as it seems to help with OCD. I plan to keep pushing on the diet, but wanted some help in better understanding the stress trigger. I am starting to wonder if my explosion over the weekend was simply stress. I have been very good with the food elimination. I have 3 young kids, and believe me I love being with them, but now as I sit here feeling fine again finally (everyones in bed) I'm wondering if stress is setting me off and if so how do I control it. I didnt think I was stressed, but I admit that 3 kids (5,3,1) can be a handful. If it is stress, I clearly need to find a way to make sure I'm not stressed - but not sure what to do to fix that. I obviously want to be with my kids and not hAve stress setting my tics off Rick

Thanks for your reply Megan. In reading your screen name I had assumed it was your children who had the TS vs. your husband. I only bring that up because in my limited time here I had assumed that there weren't many adults with TS on here, as most of them either outgrew it or had this all figured out by now. I had black decaf coffee today - because I just didn't want to take any chances. I definitely did not love it, but that's the way it goes. Luckily, I was only a 1 cup a day person, so hopefully moving off of it will be fine. I think you and others are saying it's a big trigger, so I'm suspecting I may not be able to add it back in later and not have it trigger TS - but of course, we'll see. Thanks for the point about beer. My plan remains to move off everything this week and slowly introduce items as everyone has suggested. I may re-consider adding red-wine first vs. beer, as I had been avoiding that all summer due to tips from Bontech in regards to tyramine in red wine. Thanks again everyone. Hoping for great results in a week via this diet coupled with the bontech program. Rick

Thanks. I'm starting now with full food elimination. Had brown rice and water for lunch and looking to expand based on everyones advice. Dumb question, I suppose, but is coffee and alcohol out? I usually have one cup of coffee in the AM and one beer in the evening. Bontech said no red wine so I cut that long ago. (tyramine in red wine is what I hear as the reason)

Chris, I have not thought yet about finding an alternative dr. That's a very good idea. I'll check out the link. I noticed that Cheri didn't call out tyramine as an ingredient her son avoided. I don't yet understand what tyramine is exactly, but it apparently exists in bananas, cured meats, cheese, and many others according to wikipedia. Thx for dr. Suggestion. I'm getting overwhelmed already and I believe this additional guidance will be helpful.

Hi Cheri I really appreciate your response. I didn't realize things were so quiet over the weekends here. I read your entire list and have renewed excitement about taking on the plan that worked for your son. I have been suffering with this for too long. Unlike many of your children here who have great family support, back in the 70s when I was a kid there was nothing done for me, and i just assumed something was just odd about me (and apparently the adults around me did too). It's amazing to state this looking back, but I didn't even know I had Tourettes/OCD until I was almost 30 years old - I had no idea there were other people out there like me. In fact, before my wife found bontech and this supplement approach, I had just given up all hope, as my neurologist told me she had no idea why the tetrabenazine and citralapram were having such a fierce reaction together, and her only solution was for me to try the older antipsychotics --- but I couldn't get myself to do it, as she put the fear of God in my about it leading to tardive dyskenesia. Anyway, I can't wait -- I am making on your son's program today and will let you know how things go. very appreciative and excited about the future -- Rick The plan doesn't seem too far off from Bontech, but definitely has differences.

Hi again. I wanted to add that I suspect that I still need to do more food elimination. I am reading about people removing cheese, wheat , milk, and soy. Also I read removal of artificial flavor/color. Very happy to do that as well, but wow -- these kinds of foods are found everywhere. I only drink flavored mineral wAter now, and am somewhat surprised to learn the lime flavor could be an issue. I did an allergy test and they found no allergies. Any thoughts?

Hello everyone. I may be a bit unusual here, as I am actually an adult male 43 years old with TS that has had it since about age 8 or 9. I have just recently (3 months ago) moved to Bontech supplements to try and help me. Prior to bontech, I was on everything from clonodine to finally moving to tetrabenazine (atypical antipsychotic). I was really loving the tetrabenazine, until almost out of the blue i started getting some strong OCD symptons. I finally had to add citalopram in conjunction with the tetrabenazine to combat both TS and OCD. After putting up with the side effects of mixing these two meds (extreme exhaustion - almost unfunctional at work) for almost a year, I finally had to drop the tetrabenazine and just deal with TS. Well, it finally became too much. I decided I had to try something else and move to bontech. the first two months were great - I couldn't believe that after all these years I finally found a "cure". Well, after about 2 months it's now about the worst its ever been. I am now again getting desperate to find a combination that will work for me, as I some times feel pretty upset about the fact that somehow I wasn't one of the kids that escaped this TS as I moved to adulthood. I was very hopeful and excited about bontech working for me, and I'm trying to not give up yet. I have done just about everything her site recommended in terms of diet (I believe). I should note that I finally dropped the citalopram as I started getting strong OCD when bontech was working for TS and her husband recommended I add isonitol to combat OCD. I have found that this works great so far (using it about 1 month). 20 pills a day. I am convinced that for me anyway, my body switches gears between OCD and TS. I never seem to be able to have both under control. finally, to my question -- Is there something I could do to improve TS with bontech that I am not doing right. I take the 20 pills/day of TS-control, 3-4 pills a day of mag taurate, 2-4 pills a day of EPA/DHA and 1 pill a day of the Grape-X. And I am super careful to follow her recommendation on diet -- eat well, minimal tyramine, no artifical sweeteners, limited sugar, no cured meats. I will do whatever else anyone says to try, as I don't care if I am only allowed to eat bread and water the rest of my life - whatever it takes is what I'll do. when I add up all the pills I take a day, its beginning to approach 50/day. Like I said, I don't care, I'll do 100/day if I have to. Thanks for reading - I continue to remain optimistic that there is a solution for me. Rick