Tics Better - With No Diet or Supplements

[kmtatt]

I have posted here a few times. I took my son to a homeopath and he did testing. He had food sensitivity to eggs, wheat, milk, eggs, cheese and brewers and bakers yeast and bananas. Also he tested candida positive and had slightly elevated levels of animony and one other metal I cannot recall. He has a history of only one jaw stretching tic (but he is very fidgity). The tic appeared for about three weeks disappeared for seven months stayed another two months and returned four months later. In February, we started a diet and I started fish oils and nystatin and a probiotic. I had the intention of adding some other supplements but wanted to give them slowly. About two weeks into the diet and supplements the tics disappeared and then completely went away. He began to get very bored and frustrated with the diet and he does not know he has tics so he saw no need to do what he was doing. Alos, he lost a pound from not eating as much. He was almost on strike and he is in no position to lose weight. He was always taught about healthy food but he could now not understand that for instance watermelon and eggs were no longer healthy. He honestly is not capable of understanding this. Anyway, I began to question if I was doing all of this for me or for him so I decided to take a break and see if they return and when he wanted to get help for them then I would pursue the diet again. I still kept his diet pretty low in sugar low and cut out sweets. Well the tics have not returned and he is doing well. Still fidgety but doing well. Well that makes me very confused. Why are the tics still under control with no diet and supplements. Wouldn't they return if that were trully the cause. I am not questioning these theories but just trying to understand the timing and reasoning. Please respond with some comments on why his tics are still gone even with the diet and supplements stopped. Thanks!

[Guest Guest]

Hi

 

you mentioned that you did nystatin along with the diet. You may well have eliminated a candida problem that could have been causing the tic....just a thought.

One thing I have learned with tics is that sometimes they just seem to wane, and it could be something in the environment that changed or something internal in the person.

 

whatever the reason........CONGRATULATIONS!!!! and may it stay away

[Chemar]

oops just noticed I was logged out on that last post......

the "guest" was meeeee Cheri

[ad_ccl]

My thought was going back to the whole bucket analogy. Maybe by eliminating foods and supplementing even just for a few weeks you emptied out your sons bucket or at least decreased what was in it so there was no overflow (tics). You may find that they come back while on the foods that he is allergic too and if they do then I would try the elimination again to see if there is a correlation. There is also the cumulative effect to remember so you may not see any tics for a while, but..with hope the tics are gone for good. I think when things are going well it is easy to not worry about the allergies etc - as there are no outward symptoms. Your son is older than mine so it would be harder to keep him on the diet, but maybe the foods are contributing to the fidgetyness. Just a thought, as we have found food elimination resulted in many changes for my son - not just tic wise. What I have learned from my recent research is how many symptoms can be the result of food allergies.

Environmental factors are important to note as Cheri says, even if you just make a mental note of the tics and when they occur. We have now got a pattern of two years with eye blinking for my son, once before PANDAS so we did not know what it was, it presented as a tic in hindsight, but the doctor did give allergy eye drops and the blink went away within a few days. This year it happened again, and again a few days on the drops and his tic was gone, his eyes presented a very red and irritated and it was at the same time of year - so something in the air.

[Andy]

No tics is wonderful news. Understanding that you are concerned about your son's wieght and enjoyment of eating certain foods I could see why you want to go back to the old routine. However, if I may suggest, I would recommend that you add one food back at at time with a spacing of every three days to see if any short term reactions occur just to be on the safe side. I noticed from your posting that your son had very little food allegies and not much in regards to metals. Based upon that there is a chance that you nipped the problem in the bud and the problem, as others here seem to hope, was only a yeast issue or PANDAS. As for supplements, I never will give a supplement unless a blood test showed that it was needed. Hope that the tics do not return. If they do. Then the issue is bigger then you were led to believe and I would suggest that you check your insurance and find an alternative doctor that will do a battery of blood, urine and stool tests to find the cause. It will not hurt you to educate yourself about them now as an insurance policy that you hope that you will never need. Best of Luck to you and your child, Andy.

[Guest Lanie 33]

Hi!

 

I think your common sense is leading you in the right direction. People with TS tic. The tics wax and wane. Your energy would be better spent accepting your child for who he is. Love him and accept him. There seems to be no limit to the things people will try to eliminate the tics. Spend that time doing something wonderful!!.

 

Lanie

[Chemar]

Hello Lanie

 

this forum is not just for people who have TS and the person who started this thread does not have a child who has TS so the tic here was related to something else.

[Claire]

------------------------------

 

Kmatt,

 

First, that is GREAT news about your son. You have gotten great input from Alison, Chemar and Andy.

 

3 main reactions I have:

1) The food allergy labs say that avoidance for a time can actually stop the immune reaction. My son can now have all the foods that he previously avoided for neurological reasons. As Chemar said, reducing the yeast is known to heal the stomach lining and thus reduce any food sensitivities. Alison's bucket theory is right on target too--If you will look at Marina's post, by eliminating a number of things for a time, her son's system seemed to settle and then he could tolerate much more. edited: The point I was making here is that your child may just be less sensitive now, based on what you have already done--this is good!

 

2) Your child does seem to have a history of tics coming and disappearing. So this makes your situation more challenging than most here, whose tics seemed to be pretty regular until they helped their immune system. Given the high antimony, I think your son may continue to have a tendency, since this implies low antioxidants. As for supplements, if you replenished his levels, it may take time for deficiencies to reoccur. On the other hand, if you cured his malabsorption issues by curing the yeast, then there may no longer be need for supplementation. The most important thing is that should the tics return, you can at least see whether these still help.

 

3) I too balance restricting foods and supplements versus having a happy child, and err on the side of a happy child (though ironically for some children, eating sensitive foods makes them less happy due to the reaction to them). This seems to be important to your child where you need to trust your judgment that it is fine to just reintroduce now. The labs say that every other day exposure reduces the risk of new sensitivities. If you can do this by just vary meal selections, then all the better.

 

I found from my own experience (my child wasn't ticcing, just fidgety), that the foods absolutely eliminated the fidgetiness--he noticed it also. But clearly the fidgetiness in itself isn't a big deal, it is only if you are concerned that it indicated his system is under stress. If weight is an issue, then I would suggest that at this point, given his attitude and the lack of motivation, you might get Houston Nutriceutical chewable AFP Peptizade and Zyne Prime. It should increase his absorption of vital nutrients to help his weight, while reducing reactions due to food intolerances. This might be the way to keep your son happy without the restrictions.

 

From the enyzme study published on the yahoo autism site http://www.enzymestuff.com/rtsevenmonthreport.htm#1 you should see a difference within 3 weeks. I personally take the chewables, and like them, though my son didn't--I think the aftertaste is minor, and just start eating right away so I never even taste it now anyway.

 

Good luck, and I hope things continue to go so well for you!

 

Claire

[kmtatt]

First of all "Lanie", I take offense that you suggest that I do not accept and love my son for who he is. How dare you judge people who look outside of the box for help. This board has offered me safe alternative ways to help find the reason for my son's tics. Something that the medical community does not seem to offer. I have an open mind and if there are safe effective ways to help eliminate his tics and fidgeting then I will pursue them. If anything through all of this he has adopted a much healthier way to eat.

 

As for all of the other responses - Thank You! I appreciate all of the advice and information that was offered. I am going to reformulate a plan that allows my son to be happy but can also help me find the route of the tics. As I am so happy that the tics have subsided I know in my heart they will return and while it is easy for me right now I will probably be an emotional wreck when they return. My current diet I have been following with him is everything in moderation.

 

Any more suggestions and advice are appreciated. I am happy to have found such good supportive people.

[Guest Diane]

My boys were also very fidgety when they were young. I guess the technical term would be motor-hyperactivity. I always let them indulge their hyperactiveness through vigorous outdoor play. My neighbors would comment that my kids were the ones most frequently out, playing. I felt that was very healthy for them. They slept well, ate well. It did become slightly problematic for them in school. I had to advocate on their behalf many times to get the school to allow outlets for their motor hyperactivity. I did not want to medicate them for this. One pediatrician said to me, in regards to their fidgitiness - "I do not call it by anything other than "B - O - Y" (In otherwords, they're boys!! and they're just being like active, healthy, boisterous boys!) But the school wants everyone to sit still, be quiet, don't fidget. It took me years, but I carved a new way of thinking for how the school treats these boys. There are many, many things that can be done to allow them outlets to release their fidgitiness. My oldest used to put his hands in his desk and fidgit with something small, like an eraser, while the teacher was teaching. One time she chastised him for it. I was in the school like a shot. I said, he needs to fidget! He's doing it in a way that is non-disruptive, so let him do it!!" From that point on, they did.

 

I know the gut-wrenching feeling when a tic comes back, or a new tic emerges. Boy, do I know that feeling. I never thought I'd learn to deal with it. But as the years go by, you learn there's different things you can try, many, many things, and it's all worth it because you are trying to improve their condition and make their lives better. You show your children there's always hope. That's what good parents do. They never give up.

Good luck

[KJS]

Wow, I am so glad this thread was started so I could reap the benefits of kmtatt's experience and all the comments that followed! My husband and I are just about to begin an elimination diet based on the Feingold approach for our 11 1/2 year old daughter. Depending on our observations over a 10 day period our next step may be an environmental/integrative medicine doctor in NJ who will order all the testing I've read about here. For those of you who are familiar, does this food plan seem like a reasonable place for us to start?

 

Karen

[susan0101]

Like you, my son's tics have suddenly gotten much better. An eye tic he developed in October was pretty much non-stop until last week. He's 9 years old and has a good understanding of the limitations we had placed on him (limited TV, reduction of sugar/preservatives, etc) He's been seeing an acupuncturist weekly since January and being treated for various allergies. For the first time last week we went days without any sign of the eye tic. My son is well aware that it has gotten better. Although we're still limiting sugar and TV, he is not nearly as limited as he was. This has been such a learning experience for us. At 9 years old, my son has gotten in the habit of reading labels on food products! He understands the importance of eating healthy, not just for people with allergies/tics, but for everyone. I'm convinced more than ever that for my son at least, the environment and stress play a key role in his health - more so than his diet. I always was into healthy eating and homecooked/homebaked items. I've begun to look outside my home to see where other triggers can set him off. For instance, pine trees outside of his mobile classroom, stress caused by tests at school. Best of luck!

[Guest Guest]

Susan0101,

 

I'm very interested to hear your thoughts about why the abrupt change in your son's tics - thankfully for the better! - last week. Do you think it was the accumulated benefits of the various things you were doing or did something in particular change?

 

Karen

[KJS]

Oops - that Guest posting was mine. Forgot to log in!

Karen

[susan0101]

I'd like to think that after going to the acupuncturist weekly for treatments since the end of January the improvements we're seeing are a result of the treatments. My son's been treated for various allergies - everything from foods and trees to heavy metals. He is finally able to watch TV without ticcing non-stop and the only supplement he's on is magnesium. What I like about the acupuncturist is that all the allergy testing is done by muscle response testing, not the traditional testing done by allergists. It isn't painful at all and my 9 year old has learned to relax and rest during the actual acupuncture treatment (which is when small needles are strategically placed). I'm so happy with these treatments that I plan to take my 18 year old daughter this summer to be treated for her allergies and asthma. I'm not naive enough to think this is the end of the ticcing - but I am thrilled that after ticcing pretty much non-stop for 5 1/2 months that he has found relief. Stress is a big trigger. Also, after questioning other parents, I discovered that many children with tics are also unusually warm - especially at night. After about 1/2 dozen treatments, my son actually began saying he felt cold. I was told he had too much energy and one of the signs is when someone sweats easily and often wakes up in a pool of sweat. I don't think it's a clear cut answer for anyone. I only wish it were that simple. However, there is hope out there for everyone. It's a matter of finding what's going to work. My son may have to deal with this throughout his life. If so, I'd like to think we found a way to provide some relief. I'm convinced that stress and allergies play a key role. Unfortunately, stress is a part of life and he suffers terribly with seasonal allergies and may be developing a some others.