Flare-ups (cross posted)

[KSandy]

My 13yo got her PANDAS, autism, and TS diagnosis this year after struggling with tics, OCD, and anxiety for most of her life. Now that we're on the road to healing and a better understanding of what's going on, I have a few questions about flare-ups. We are avoiding many foods that showed up as reactive on a food intolerance test, but something caused a huge flare about a week ago and hasn't quite waned away yet. My questions are: 

Can you usually tell what causes a flare in your child? 

What types of things cause flares, and how long do they last?

What do you do when you notice a flare? 

Can you give certain supplements, vitamins, or others during a flare to reduce the duration? 

What else should I know about flares? 

It's been a discouraging week. Vocal and Motor tics that haven't been around for months are suddenly back with a vengeance...(full disclosure, it seems like it was from a dairy-free flavored iced coffee that she drank)

[Chemar]

Hi KSandy

So sorry your daughter has been struggling with this flare up of symptoms.

I can only answer re TS tics specifically:

Yes, we learned to identify what causes flares, but sometimes the mystery remains.....

Flare triggers are very varied and can either be common to many, or unique to the individual. Another reason why keeping a journal is so very helpful. Similarly the duration of a flare is hard to predict.

We would always have our "go to" when a flare started. Try to identify the trigger and also use whatever methods have worked before to slow the flare. In our case certain supplements, epsom salts(magnesium sulfate) baths, other detox methods and very specific acupuncture were usually most helpful. Anti-inflammatory supplements like boswellia, curcumin, Omega3 etc helped and I know for many PANDAS patients-ibuprofen can help too (cvs sells 200mg dye free!)

Flares usually mean "something" in the environment or internal has triggered the immune system from our experience-and so identifying and eliminating that "something" and then doing whatever helps to reduce that ramped up immune system & inflammatory response

Hope that may offer some helpful tips

 

 

[KSandy]

That is very helpful thanks. In addition to Epsom salt baths, what other detox techniques could be used?

[Chemar]

We had specialized "antitox" drops that were formulated for him via our clinical acupuncture therapist, who also used other techniques to assist.

The epsom baths are the most general in that both the magnesium benefits are derived, as well as the detox from the sulfates

[Atex]

Once we got a handle on food and environmental offenders, we were able to identify particular triggers because the flare would manifest within an hour or so.  A journal is an excellent idea.  I have been meaning to create a slimmed down journal format eventually.

What will really spin your noodle (and is why some medical professionals mistakenly think this is all hogwash) is that flares can be caused by concurrent offenses to the system; think loosing teeth, pet flea and tick applications that wear off on you, chlorine swimming pools, seasonal allergies, lawn chemicals, etc.

We did not dabble in detox too much as we tried to stay away from supplements, but rather relied more on staying hydrated (no bottled water mind you), salt baths.  If we had not turned things around like they have for us, I would have considered trying Meriva Formulated Turmeric as this worked 10x better than ibuprofen for the adults in our family (back, knee, migranes, etc).

 

Edited July 2 by Atex