New to forum and alternative therapies

[mdewstowe]

Good morning

 

I am new to both this forum and the exploration of alternative therapies for Tourettes. I am a sufferer based in the UK and have had it as long as I can remember. Currently I have a number of facial tics.

 

I have explored a number of clinical drugs, but have always found the side effects discourage me from using them. I have come across a number of treatments. I wondered what peoples experiences were on the following:

 

Phosphatidyl Choline

5_HTP

phosphatidyl serine

DMG

Seroquel

Inositol

L-Carnitine

 

I would really appreciatte anyone's input on this matter as I am desperate to explore anything that can help control my tics.

 

Regards

Matthew

[Chemar]

Hi Matthew and welcome

 

although there are many of us here who have had success with using alternative/complementary treatments for tics/TS, I would urge you at the outset to try to find an Integrative doctor to guide you thru all this. (a doctor trained in conventional medicine with additional training in alternative medicine.)

 

From the list you give, the only supplement that I am familiar with as a TIC reducer is l-carnitine. It works well for many people, but some do find that it has unpleasant side effects.

 

seroquel is a prescription drug.

 

5HTP and Inositol are helpful in elevating serotonin levels, and so, are more beneficial for helping with the depression and /or OCD that sometimes accompanies TS. I have personally not heard them described as actual tic reducers tho. Inositol is one of the B vitamins and is considered relatively safe.

5HTP should really only be used under physician guidance as it is a potent serotonin stimulator and, although it worked wonders in reducing my son's OCD, some people get very "edgy" on it, and it should never be combined with SSRI medications or with other serotonin elevating supplements without a doctors guidance, as serotonin spiking can result, which is very dangerous.

 

 

I have no personal knowledge of the other substances you mention as being used to treat tics, so I honestly cant comment on those.

 

It is generally believed that MAGNESIUM is by far the most beneficial supplement for diminishing TS tics, especially when it is used in a compounded form with taurine(an amino acid) as magnesium taurate.

However it too needs to be balanced with calcium (in a calcium: magnesium ratio of 2:1

B vitamins are important too, as are the essential fatty acids (omega 3 and omega 6) Some people benefit from fish oil as the omega 3 source, but others have found it increases their tics and do better on flaxseed oil. Omega 6 comes from borage and evening primrose oils.

 

What many of us here have found is that the best results from supplements have come when we have also focussed on boosting the immune system, detoxing the body and removing any allergens and strengthening the digestive system. In addition it is a good idea to start identifying your specific tic triggers and try to avoid them.

 

here is a very helpful article by Sheila Rogers on tic triggers

http://latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm

 

My own son benefitted enormously from this natural appraoch and went from having very severe TS/OCD etc to very mild in just a few weeks after we began alternative treatments.

 

I have put together a thread on what we did to help him

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

 

 

Many others here have additional very useful treatments that have worked best for them or their children and so I do encourage you to start doing some back reading here, especially of the very helpful threads that Claire has put together on a variety of treatments protocols.

 

all the best to you and dont hesitate to ask questions...everyone here is always very supportive and willing to help and share their experiences and research.

 

[mdewstowe]

Hi

 

Thank you for your reply and kind words.

 

I read what you have written and the other sites with great interest. Getting my head around all the different supplements is hard work. Would you suggest I give the Bonnie Grimaldi treatment a course? This makes it a lot simpler.

 

Reference getting tested for allgeric reactions - I guess I go see my doctor about this?

 

Matthew

 

Hi Matthew and welcome

 

although there are many of us here who have had success with using alternative/complementary  treatments for tics/TS, I would urge you at the outset to try to find an Integrative doctor to guide you thru all this. (a doctor trained in conventional medicine with additional training in alternative medicine.)

 

From the list you give, the only supplement that I am familiar with as a TIC reducer is l-carnitine. It works well for many people, but some do find that it has unpleasant side effects.

 

seroquel is a prescription drug.

 

5HTP and Inositol are helpful in elevating serotonin levels, and so, are more beneficial for helping with the depression and /or OCD that sometimes accompanies TS. I have personally not heard them described as actual tic reducers tho. Inositol is one of the B vitamins and is considered relatively safe.

5HTP should really only be used under physician guidance as it is a potent serotonin stimulator and, although it worked wonders in reducing my son's OCD, some people get very "edgy" on it, and it should never be combined with SSRI medications or with other serotonin elevating supplements without a doctors guidance, as serotonin spiking can result, which is very dangerous.

 

 

I have no personal knowledge of the other substances you mention as being used to treat tics, so I honestly cant comment on those.

 

It is generally believed that MAGNESIUM is by far the most beneficial supplement for diminishing TS tics, especially when it is used in a compounded form with taurine(an amino acid) as magnesium taurate.

However it too needs to be balanced with calcium (in a calcium: magnesium ratio of 2:1

B vitamins are important too, as are the essential fatty acids (omega 3 and omega 6) Some people benefit from fish oil as the omega 3 source, but others have found it increases their tics and do better on flaxseed oil. Omega 6 comes from borage and evening primrose oils.

 

What many of us here have found is that the best results from supplements have come when we have also focussed on boosting the immune system, detoxing the body and removing any allergens and strengthening the digestive system.  In addition it is a good idea to start identifying your specific tic triggers and try to avoid them.

 

here is a very helpful article by Sheila Rogers on tic triggers

http://latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm

 

My own son benefitted enormously from this natural appraoch and went from having very severe TS/OCD etc to very mild in just a few weeks after we began alternative treatments.

 

I have put together a thread on what we did to help him

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

 

 

Many others here have additional very useful treatments that have worked best for them or their children and so I do encourage you to start doing some back reading here, especially of the very helpful threads that Claire has put together on a variety of treatments protocols.

 

all the best to you and dont hesitate to ask questions...everyone here is always very supportive and willing to help and share their experiences and research.

 

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[Chemar]

Hi Matthew

 

yes, many poeple have found much benefit in using the BonTech supps that Bonnie markets.

 

two issues to be aware of :

1) some people dont react well to them (either due to individual metabolism and/or deficiencies etc

and

2) as an adult, you will need to take a large number of the capsules to be at the correct dose level.

 

there are many here who have far better and up to date info on allergy testing than I do, so I am hoping they will give their input on the best way to go about it.

 

Our Integrative doctor ran various tests for my son, but I know that there is recent advancement in this area.