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Tic reduction - epsom, magnesium, inositol


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DS5 has been doing very well for quite a while again until this week after getting sick, getting me sick (which then prolonged his exposure) and being exposed to something at school (kiddo w/fever of 104f). Major whammy and this morning he awakened w/a lot of difficulty. He has, over past weeks had an increasing "breathy" tic - one that basically is a sharp exhale and can be as frequent as approx 20 x per minute. So, here's what I want to try: 1. epsom salt bath, 2. magnesium citrate, 3.Inositol. I am going to go out and get them all tomorrow morning. Questions: How much epsom should I use per bath and how frequent can he have these baths? Is magnesium citrate the right stuff and what is a reliable brand? Does it come in chewables? What is Inositol, where do I get it, what dosage should I use and again, does it come in chewables? My son is 42 lbs and otherwise healthy. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

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Went GNC today and bought Inisotol and Magnesium pills. later, I purchased Epsom Salts and pill cutter/crusher. Cut and crushed 1/2 an adult dose of Inisotol and 1/3 of an adult dose of Magnesium and slipped them into a cup of OJ, which my son drank greedily when I picked him up from preschool (always thirsty when I get him so I bring him a "car jar"). He then got a bath for 20 minutes in high water and 1 c. Epsom Salts. Slipped that one in also because he is crafty, bright, picky (OCD) and likely would not agree to any of these things had I not just plain made them happen. I plan to do it daily (at least the pills) and I will report back in a week.

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Here's a review of various types of magnesium and its bioavailabilty - http://www.ancient-minerals.com/magnesium-supplements/ Vitamin C helps absorption, vitamin D supplements can cause a magnesium depletion. Make sure you give the magnesium away from abx, as it can interfere with abx. If used for any length of time, you need to be mindful of calcium levels, as increased magnesium can lower calcium.

 

Re: inositol - it is like an SSRI. You should taper up when you introduce it and taper down when you stop it. Don't just abruptly stop.

Here are some helpful articles:

a. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inositol

b. http://www.nutritionj.com/content/7/1/2

c. http://www.naturaladd.com/resources/articles/natural.html

d. http://westsuffolkpsych.homestead.com/inositol_and_ocd.html

e. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_255/ai_n6211958/

f. http://www.ihealthtree.com/inositol-powder-8-oz-source-naturals.html

 

You can buy inositol as a powder, which allows you to better control dose and taper up or down. It's slightly sweet, like confectioner's sugar. My son used to just take a 1/4 tsp and put it on his tongue, then wash it down with a drink. But it will mix with a juice or drink. You just need to let it sit for a bit to dissolve.

 

For my son, inositol helped take the edge off but it never got rid of his anxiety or OCD entirely. For my daughter, it did very little. She found much better success with tryptophan, which is a precursor to seratonin.

Edited by LLM
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LLM,

 

Would you have time to give me your thoughts on the following:

 

Inositol

5 htp

St. Johns wort

 

Currently we are using 5 htp and St. Johns wort. Looking to see if there might be a better solution for anxiety/OCD.

have not tried Inositol. have not tried tryptophan.

 

Thanks.

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I don't have any experience with 5HTP or SJW. Here's an overview of the differences between tryptophan and 5HTP http://www.lidtke.com/difference-between-l-tryptophan-5-htp-article/

 

I know several families here use 5-HTP with success. I opted for tryptophan based on the fact that it has more uses in the body, is an essential amino acid that I'm sure my DD is lacking due to her selective diet and that 5-HTP carries a higher risk of anxiety or edginess than tryptophan. But that's not to say it's better. I was just more comfortable starting with tryptophan and it's worked for DD, so I've not had any reason to experiment with anything else. (inositol, which we tried first, made very little difference but she doesn't have true OCD).

 

I never considered SJW due to mixed reviews on its effectiveness and lack of info on using it on kids. I was just more comfortable with an essential amino acid (tryptophan). But again, this is just my preference. I don't have enough research to really weigh in on what anyone else should or shouldn't try.

 

I want to highlight that DDs issue is more heavily anxiety/depression than classic OCD. She is also not a clear cut Pandas kid. She does react to infection and tooth loss, but her driving issue seems to be methylation (she is MTHFR heterozygous on C677). However, she also seems to have an issue with the BH4 cycle and tryptophan is a key player in this cycle. So my experiences may not translate into the same success for a kid who has OCD issues.

 

DD is 47bs and takes 500 mg tryptophan in the morning. Many take it at night to help with sleep, but we need it more for daytime sadness. For a brief time, she took 500mg in the am and 500mg at dinner. But she developed a hand tremor and a shaky feeling that might have been a mild form of seratonin sickness. So I backed down to 500mg and the tremor went away. Every other day, she also seems to benefit from tyrosine, which is a dopamine precusor and also helps with depression.

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