Introduction

[ilovejadin]

Hello, this is my first post on this board. I have 3 children. My eldest is 8 and has had tics on and off for about 2 years. Mainly motor but just recently he has started repeating the word "ok" after he says it. The ped. says its "chronic motor tics" and may or may not go away. This is not good enough for me so I purchase the "Tics and Tourettes" book. I am intersted on starting him on an elimination diet. We live in a remote area with no acess to an environmental physician or naturopath. Anyone else done this and if so do you have any advise? I am so intrigued by the connection of tics and allergies. Of course the ped didn't mention this as a possible cause. Thanks so much for anyones adivise. Glad to have found this board.

[Chemar]

Hi and welcome

 

I am so glad you have Sheila's excellent book! (We have a section in it too with some background on just how the alternative approach helped my son go from severe and debilitating TS/OCD etc to so mild that most people dont even know he has it unless he tells them)

 

Working on your own, without physician guidance can be daunting, but, it is certainly possible, as long as you take things slowly and never hesitate to come here to ask questions. Also, there are physicians who do phone consultations. Sheila may be able to give you some pointers there if you email her. (her contact info is on Latitudes homepage)

 

We have a number of members here who have sucessfully done food elimination diets, and so I know they will be along soon to share their info and experience with you

 

again, welcome to Latitudes/ACN and we look forward to getting to know you

[Jeff]

In our family, we have had great success controlling the tics by eliminating certain additives from our diets. The worst for us seem to be artificial colors, but we also limit artificial flavors, and the 3 "BH" preservatives - BHT, BHA, and TBHQ.

You might want to start by eliminating those items BEFORE you get into dairy, wheat, etc. Fortunately for us, we haven't had to eliminate those, but that has also been very helpful for many folks.

 

You can find artificial-free foods at All-Natural stores, Health-food stores, Whole Foods store, and more. Start to read labels and eliminate foods with any of the colors, like Red #40, Yellow #5, etc. They are in so many things that it might surprise you. Common examples are "fruit" drinks, like Hawaiian Punch, or Gatorades, cereals like Trix, Fruit Loops, etc., and candies like Twizzlers, Skittles, and many more.

 

Depending on where you are, you can usually find natural substitutes for most of those items.

 

Try eliminating those items for at least a few weeks. For some, the symptoms get worse at first, but then the change can be very dramatic.

 

If you have any questions about what we're doing, I'm happy to answer. You might also look at the Feingold web site... feingold.org.

Best of luck. Jeff

[Claire]

I bumped a 'test' thread for you. It has tests that can be ordered w/o a doctor's signature, including IgG tests for food sensitivities.

 

I bumped a couple of other threads too. It is important to understand that their are multiple avenues to try (e.g. Jeff's suggestions on artificial ingredients...) and that the path may differ for different children.

 

Good luck.

 

Claire