My 13yo son's tics are off the charts...

[Becky G]

A little background. Back in June, I found this site, bought the book about alternative therapy for TS and started changing the kids' diets. (I have 3 with TS.) We took out artificial colors and dairy, added magnesium citrate and Coromega and noticed a huge improvement.

 

Now for today:

 

The 13yo has been ticcing almost constantly the last few days. He had quite a bit of dairy earlier this week and we know this is a trigger but he is so much worse than I have ever seen him. It is mostly vocal tics, not throat clearing but voiced. He closes his eyes a lot too. It actually seems to be getting worse and he hasn't had dairy in two days. We have gotten lazy with the supplements but he has started those back up again too.

 

My husband bought a different laundry detergent than we usually buy but none of my kids have appeared to be sensitive to changes like that. We have had a LOT of rain that just finally stopped. He has complained of his allergies bothering him, mostly his eyes.

 

I suggested he soak in in epsom salt bath as I heard this helps get the toxins out. But he is not desperate enough (he prefers showers).

 

Any thoughts on what to do next? I thought he would be improving by now but he actually seems worse today.

 

 

Thanks,

Becky

[Toms_Mom]

When my son has dairy he has tics for the 3 following days- for example if he has it on a Monday he would have tics Tues, Wed. and Thurs and would not stop until Friday. Hopefully it will be out of his system soon!

[faith]

Becky G,

the improvement you had before, could I ask how long he was improved before this? If you say quite a bit of dairy, and you think that's a trigger for him, they usually say four days for foods to digest out of the system, so maybe two more days hopefully. Was his vocal gone or very diminished before and just starting again now? Also, please let us know the outcome.

 

Toms Mom,

how much dairy would he have to consume to get a reaction? What do you take out, just the obvious dairy products, i.e. milk, ice cream, cheeses, or do you also read labels for hidden dairy?

 

Sorry to be such a detective but that is what helps me to figure out things here, I'm not out of the woods currently with my son and I just like alot of info to look at the big picture.

 

 

Thanks

Faith

[Becky G]

the improvement you had before, could I ask how long he was improved before this? If you say quite a bit of dairy, and you think that's a trigger for him, they usually say four days for foods to digest out of the system, so maybe two more days hopefully. Was his vocal gone or very diminished before and just starting again now? Also, please let us know the outcome.

 

 

In the days preceding this, he had made himself some chocolate milk and he had also had pizza and ice cream. He may have had some cold cereal too.

 

When we originally started back in June, everything went away, everything. It would flare a little between now and then and it would seem to be related to artificial colors (Husband bought Fruit Loops a few weeks ago--huge trigger!) or too much dairy. But this severity is new. The vocal tics are all day. His eyes are closing much of the time. He just took some ibuprofen because he has had a headache all day. Don't know if it is tic-related or allergy-related. I have had a headache too and it seems to be allergies.

 

Someone on a different board suggested L-Carnitine and I had planned on trying that last time if what I was already doing didn't help. So I think I will head out and get some and see if it helps. Wondering if I should wait longer for the dairy to get out of his system but I hate to see him so miserable.

[michele]

Have you given any taurine supplements or GABA? Also I agree the epsom baths could be calming. Try to go back to what you were doing since it was working so much. Plus remember tics can wax and wane so that could be why they were better for awhile. Try to eliminate the milk if you've seen a connection. I wonder if he could tolerate rice milk or almond milk? My son can drink soy. We tried the magnesium citrate liquid too for awhile. I don't know if iy ever made a change for my son. My sons tics have been occuring since end of July. This is the longest he has had them without a break. Luckily his are very mild. If your son is blinking I think that could cause him a headache. Also those artificial colors like fruit loops and candy are the worse for my son. My sons have been worse for a few days and it is hard to figure out a trigger. I gave him Sprite today at the swim meet and I wonder if that could have some effect. He can't stop cracking his fingers tonight. Try a food diary. It is hard to remember if you don't write it down. After awhile you might see some connections. Best of luck.

Michele

 

the improvement you had before, could I ask how long he was improved before this? If you say quite a bit of dairy, and you think that's a trigger for him, they usually say four days for foods to digest out of the system, so maybe two more days hopefully. Was his vocal gone or very diminished before and just starting again now? Also, please let us know the outcome.

 

 

In the days preceding this, he had made himself some chocolate milk and he had also had pizza and ice cream. He may have had some cold cereal too.

 

When we originally started back in June, everything went away, everything. It would flare a little between now and then and it would seem to be related to artificial colors (Husband bought Fruit Loops a few weeks ago--huge trigger!) or too much dairy. But this severity is new. The vocal tics are all day. His eyes are closing much of the time. He just took some ibuprofen because he has had a headache all day. Don't know if it is tic-related or allergy-related. I have had a headache too and it seems to be allergies.

 

Someone on a different board suggested L-Carnitine and I had planned on trying that last time if what I was already doing didn't help. So I think I will head out and get some and see if it helps. Wondering if I should wait longer for the dairy to get out of his system but I hate to see him so miserable.

[CarolynN]

By any chance did the ice cream have Sodium Cassienate or Calcium Cassientate. Both these are MSG and are hidden under these two names in dairy products. For my son MSGt is a huge trigger.

 

Also the pizza, he ate, did it contain anything with the words yeast extract. This again is MSG. When my son has any MSG it triggers tics for days. MSG is under so many differant names. There is lots of information on the internet regarding these names and I posted some information regarding MSG about a month ago on this forum and how it effects my son.

 

I would check your labels and see if these were in those products or perhaps he consumed another product with MSG and you did not realize it. MSG is such a hard thing to track because of the hidden names but I have learned all the names so when my son eats something I know if he is consuming it.

 

I pray you find your answer.

 

Carolyn N.

[Chemar]

Hi Becky

 

sorry to hear you are dealing with a major flare up

 

yes, if your child has TS, then waxing and waning are a characteristic pattern, yet as we and many others have found, the intensity and the frequency and duration of waxing phases can be very much helped by correct diet, relevant supplements and elimination of known tic triggers

 

honestly Becky, even after all these years, we still see a dramatic upswing in my sons tics and OCD if we "slack" on supps or diet

 

From what you have described, the sups were clearly helping as was elimination of dairy. Once the system becomes tuned to getting needed supps and no longer getting allergens and or chemical additives, then exposure to the offending foods, or neglect to take the helpful supps, can often cause a marked upswing in tics/ocd etc....almost an over-reaction. Sounds to me like that has happened with you child.......

 

It may take a while to stabilize things again, but the best you can do is start over again with what helped last time and then gradually add anything else that seems indicated. and yup, ditch the Fruit Loops.....sugared nasty chemicals is what they are!!

[Toms_Mom]

Becky G,

the improvement you had before, could I ask how long he was improved before this? If you say quite a bit of dairy, and you think that's a trigger for him, they usually say four days for foods to digest out of the system, so maybe two more days hopefully. Was his vocal gone or very diminished before and just starting again now? Also, please let us know the outcome.

 

Toms Mom,

how much dairy would he have to consume to get a reaction? What do you take out, just the obvious dairy products, i.e. milk, ice cream, cheeses, or do you also read labels for hidden dairy?

 

Sorry to be such a detective but that is what helps me to figure out things here, I'm not out of the woods currently with my son and I just like alot of info to look at the big picture.

 

 

Thanks

Faith

Faith,

Yes I have taken out all dairy products and I also look at labels to check for caisen and whey etc.-mostly shop at Whole Foods where it is easier to read labels. When he first started the multiple tics last June the first thing I tried was the feingold diet. That eliminated the head shake. Next I tried eliminating dairy and that stopped his other tics as well as his chronic night cough, stuffiness and bedwetting. Now if I slip up and he has even a small amount of dairy ingredient in something he will wet the bed, but I don't see the tics. I am hoping one day to be able to rotate dairy products back into his diet. He was doing great until a couple of weeks ago and started a neck stretching/breathing tic. I finally had the IgG testing done last week and hope to figure out what is causing this. I have a feeling his tics are mostly related to food sensitivities. We have no history of TS in our families that we know of. He doesn't have the OCD or ADD either.I am hoping that removing the offending foods and doing a rotation diet will help build up his immune system(and probiotics) Have you or anyone tried this diet and had success with reducing food sensitivities and outgrowing the tics at a young age? I so much appreciate this site because I could not have done what I have so far without all of your help. Thanks, Mary

[Becky G]

Ok. Here is what we did. We stopped dairy again(Friday) as soon as I realized it was causing a problem (and that he had had so much of it). We also started up the supplements again (Magnesium, fish oil). I picked up some L-Carnitine last night. He had two doses of it today and the tics have backed way, way off. He is doing a lot better than I imagined after how bad he has been the last few days. I don't know if it is the L-Carnitine (which is said to help with eye and throat tics), the dairy getting out of his system and the supplements getting back in, or a combination. Probably a combination, but I don't think he would have had such a dramatic turnaround with out the L-C. This is the first time we have tried it but a friend swears by it.

Anyway, thank you for all the thoughtful and helpful replies. I will definitely start reading labels for hidden MSG too. Thanks again!

 

Becky