son w/TS/OCD/ADD (help!)

[Guest Mary]

My 9 yr old son has tics - which were tolerable until his teacher called and said that he's ticcing so bad, he can't focus at all at school. Tics include: head jerking to the side like he's looking over his shoulder, his eyes don't stay focused forward when reading - they look to the side too, he clears his throat and twitches like he's adjusting his clothes.

 

His official DX is ---> PDD-NOS. We were on all sorts of meds for a while... zyprexa for a good 2 yrs then later with Luvox. Stopped all that for vits/supps.

 

Currently we're on Kirkman Lab's "Spectrum Complete" (like SuperNu Thera but w/less B6 but more other stuff). He also takes a magnesium/cal supp, Learning Factors (DHA fish oils, etc), extra B6, DMG and acidophilus.

 

We've been on this for about 2 weeks now. Haven't seen any dramatic improvements, but I'm going to give it another few weeks or so. The main thing we've noticed is that we are seeing the affects of stopping his Luvox. He's back to having OCD, low frustration levels, moody, angry and just not really happy/tolerant of his world. And now it's affecting his 4 yr old little sister. He's constantly yelling at her for one thing or another. The poor thing... I can't stand that this is affecting her too.

 

My questions are: how much longer do I stick to our current vit regimem? His tics haven't improved... what am I doing wrong? Can anyone suggest a good NATURAL mood stabilizer? I heard that 5 HTP can make people drowsy?? What about INOSITOL? How much of this stuff would I give my 45 lb child? Help please! The LUVOX is still in the cabinet and it's so tempting to put my son back on it - especially after he's had an outburst.

 

Mary

[Chemar]

Hi Mary

 

my son has the TS/OCD/ADD combo too and went from VERY severe symptoms to mild(hardly noticeable) after we took him off meds and onto a supplement program combined with careful diet free of artificial additives and elimination of heavy metals (sp mercury) and Candida yeast from his system.

 

Although his tics were severe, his OCD/anxiety was totally debilitating and we did find tremendous relief with 5HTP at minimum dose of 50mg per evening after he came off the Luvox It does help with sleep, but doesnt leave grogginess next day. It is a good idea to take it with dinner, and not in the mornings.

 

INOSITOL is really excellent, and we switched to it once his chronic OCD had levelled out. Some people also like to combine Inositol with St John's Wort.

Inositol is vitamin B8, and is relatively safe. My son was over 100lb and took the 500mg/day, which is considered a low dose.

 

PLEASE dont give up on the supps......the answer really is to be consistent and also to be sure to leave those artificial colors and sweeteners right out of the diet.

 

Here is the thread that details what we did for my son and I am also going to bump it up for you

 

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...p?showtopic=687

 

all the best

[Guest Mary]

Chemar... Thanks so much for your wealth of information!

 

I read over the bumped thread above (thanks, BTW)... and am curious about the dosages for calcium/mag/zinc. With everything I'm giving my son, he's getting only 480 mg of calcium, 300 mg of magnesium, 10 mg of zinc and 15 mg of inositol. If I gave him 2 of his "vitabears" (mag/cal combo) then that would up his calcium to 680 and magnesium to 400 mg. Should I do that? He's ony 45 lbs. I know the calcium won't hurt, but what about all that magnesium?

 

Also, I think I'm going to give the 5HTP a shot. How much should I give him? Should I do inositol too with it or wait to do that later? St. John's Wort right now or later too?

 

This is all so very confusing!

 

Thanks again...

 

Mary

[Guest Mary]

One more thing...

 

I just read that 5HTP can cause weight loss... which could be an added bonus to some, but for our son, it would be detrimental. He's had a constant battle with being underweight (he was born with an internal birth defect which caused him to be on a feeding tube for a while and he's never gotten up to even average size, not sure if it's metabolism or his medical history).

 

Here's the report I read:

 

http://store.yahoo.com/iherb/abc5htp.html

 

Thanks again for any advice!

 

Mary

[Claire]

Mary,

 

IF there is a current metabolic issue affecting growth, here are things to consider. A zinc deficiency can stunt growth. So can gluten intolerance or a deficiency in alpha ketoglutaric acid. Or malabsorption in general. If your child isn't absorbing food for growth, he likely isn't getting the right nutrients for his neurological system either. I mention this because they can also exist with neurological issues. (though I don't think alpha ketoglutaric acid deficiency has a neurological impact, but it can be associated with yeast overgrowth, and yeast overgrowth can have a neurological impact. Supplements are a great piece of the solution, but you need the right ones. And you may need food elimination.

 

If your son has these complicating factors, I suggest that you see an alternative doctor vs doing trial and error. There is a list on the thread at the top of this forum.

 

In particular, for OCD, there is a clinic (Pfeiffer) that does outreaches in 5 states in the US that you can go to. They will go through a process of testing for methylation issues.

 

http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/art...rticles/ocd.htm

 

For $1000 at their clinic in Chicago, and $1200 at their outreach, Pfeiffer will run a number of tests on your child.

 

We use an Environmental Medicine/ DAN (Defeat Autism Now) doctor who ran many tests on our son and uncovered a number of things. If you have a half decent PPO plan, much of it is covered by insurance at out of network rates.

 

If you have decent insurance, the tests I recommend you ask an alternative doctor about are:

 

FIRST

www.labcorp.com blood test for zinc/copper levels

www.elisaact.com for food sensitivities (eliminating foods can make a difference, and they test for 175 foods, including casein and gluten)

www.greatplainslaboratory.com OAT for yeast overgrowth, low glutathione, and low alphaketoglutaric acid

www.labcorp.com histamine test for methylation issues (OCD)--will guide you re Inositol/5HTP/SAME, etc...

 

SECOND

www.pyroluriatesting.com for pyroluria

www.gsdl.com for metals.

 

If you do try vitamins, please only try one at a time and watch carefully.

 

I think it is easiest with a doctor since you are withdrawing from medicine. If you can't find one in your area/afford one, then read this forum inside out. Many of the same underlying immune issues can cause both OCD, tics, and PDD.

 

Houston Nutraceuticals make enzymes that can help with nutrient absorption too.

 

Good luck.

Claire

[Chemar]

Hi Mary

 

I have always been told that Calcium to Magnesium ratio should be 2:1 to be fully balanced.

 

15mg of Inositol is very low and will likely NOT have a dramatic impact on OCD.

I would strongly advise NOT mixing 5HTP and St John's Wort without doctor supervision.

 

First maybe try the 5HTP and keep the Inositol at your low level and see how your child reacts to 5HTP. Some people's metabolism is such that it makes them a bit "wired" and you will notice that immediately if your son is one of them and then just discontinue it and up your Inositol.

 

When it comes to all supplements, I do agree that having a good physician to guide one is really important, especially with a younger child.

 

Do also remember that the subtype of OCD that most freqently occurs with Tourette Syndrome is somewhat different from "classic" OCD, and so needs to be seen more as a co-functioning aspect of the tics. Thus, as we found, it was the overall combination of supplements that truly brought about the successful results. And as an added benefit, the ADD improved as well

[Andy]

My heart goes out to you Mary. I would also suggest that you go to the experts in treating this matter that your child has. Pfeiffer is well known and respected with everything that is written about treating conditions that our children are burden with. I myself go to a DAN doctor. Restrictive Diet, mineral/vitamin/amino acid supplements. yeast issues to contend with, Detox and perhaps enzymes are the major treatment steps to regaining our children's health. Our children were poisoned and it is now up to us to find the "appropriate medical treatments to undue the poison and then to repair our children's body. By poison I refer to the heavy metals that all of us who are detoxing our children are seeing listed in the lab reports.