vitamin protocol that has worked for us

[Guest Jennifer]

Just thought I would post a protocol that I've put together for our 8 yr old son who suffers from tics and ocd that has worked immensly. Sam-e in the morning, fish oil at lunch and calcium, magnesium,zinc,pantothenic acid,

b-6,b-3,choline,gaba and inositol mixed in apple juice at bed time along with a good quality multivitamin to make sure he absorbs it all. I've been able to find liquid calcium and magnesium by Floradix which has a really good orange flavor and liquid zinc fom Biotics (homeopathic doctors carry that brand). I have to say that we saw a huge difference in his symptoms when I started implementing gaba and inositol. If you choose to try your child on gaba start with a minimal amount, too much can cause anxiousness.

 

Jennifer

[Guest Carol]

I am very interested to know more about your vitamin regime, especially where you purchase it all.

 

Carol

[Guest Robin Owens]

How much of the vitimans are you giving you son. I have an 8 year old with TS and OCD we are trying a vitiman program but am not having much success.

[Guest Jennifer]

A homeopathic doctor turned me on to a mail-order vitamin company called Life Extension Foundation. All of their supplements are pharmaceutical grade which is somewhat of an issue when buying supplements over the counter. They have minerals, vitamins, amino acids and herbs. The shipping charges are minimal. Their website is www.LifeExtension.com and their toll-free number is 1-800-678-8959. The phone number for Floradix where I get our calcium-magnesium supplements is 1-800-446-2110. The sam-e I give our son is in a spray form which is absorbed through the mouth I get that from maxam nutraceuticals 1-800-800-9119. The only time you wouldn't want to use sam-e is if the individual were bi-polar. Another thing we're doing that I forgot to mention in my orevius post is

b-12 injections suggested in Dr. McCandless's second edition of children with starving brains, it is in the form of methylcobalamin which is the form of b-12 that the brain utilizes. The b-12 comes in preloaded syringes and is very concentrated, it is just a few drops so it's pretty quick and painless. If your child really hates shots Life Exention has a sublingual version of this b-12, however, injected is always best - b-12 is very easily lost and not assimilated especially tablets or capsules that need to be digested. The fish oil I use is from Carlson. It has been refined of impurities and has a lemon flavor to help mellow out the fishy flavor, it's much more pleasant then the usual oils. I found that at our local health food store called "Pilgrims", I don't know if they're all over the U.S. or not. As far as dosages go that varies so much from person to person. One clue for magnesium is if they get diarrhea it's probably too much. A childs dose is usually about 1/5 to 1/2 of and adults dose. If your amounts are reasonable you can't overdose, the vitamins you have to be careful of are the fat storing vitamins such as vitamin A, those you can get too much of and cause damage- the other vitamins get elimeinated when in excess. Dr MCCandless has some ideas on amounts. Her book is called "Children with Starving Brains". Vitamins take some time to show their effectiveness so don't get discouraged. Ther is a good web-site http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/art...rticles/OCD.htm it gives you some ideas on supplements and amounts.

 

Hope this helped.

[Guest Jennifer]

This is a correction to the website I typed in on my last post.

http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/art...rticles/OCD.htm

[Guest Robin]

Jennifer, thanks for the information. I will call these numbers. Over the last 4 days i have not given my son any food coloring, artificial flavors or perservatives. i have seen a decrease in his Tics. He seems a little more carm but his ocd thoughts seem the same. I am grateful for any improvement. Thanks again for the information.

[Guest Jennifer]

I recently spoke with a mother who has an autistic child, she works for a supplement company. when I mentioned Gaba to her she told me that the word among parents with autistic children is that Gaba seems to be really helping the OCD part of the illness.

 

Jennifer

[Chemar]

Hi

Isnt it wonderful to start seeing positive results without side effects like the meds cause!!

 

We have also had tremendous success with a good supplement program and my son has improved dramatically from VERY severe TS 2 yrs ago(horrible experience on meds for 1 year prior)

 

He has always had a much tougher time with OCD than tics, and was even hospitalized once because of a tic that became a self injurious OCD!

 

For us the breakthru came with a combination of Inositol and 5HTP added to his TS supplement program. He does also have some GABA in an Evening Primrose complex as well.

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If anyone does decide to try the 5HTP......... PLEASE do NOT take it with meds unless a doctor oks it....5HTP boosts seratonin levels which is good in OCD, but it shouldnt be combined with meds that also raise seratonin levels (eg antidepressants in the SSRI group etc) as too much seratonin can be dangerous.

[Guest Carol]

I am glad to hear all your successes with supplements. I have tried Bonnie's programme on my son but I cannot get him to swallow the capsules and no matter how I hide it in food will always detect the taste.

 

Has anyone got any other supplements that are easy for kids to take. I am especially interested in GABBA - where do I find this.

 

Look forward to hearing from you all.

 

Carol

[Guest Jennifer]

Dear Carol,

 

In one of my previous posts I listed what we're giving our son and where we're getting it. I also get Gaba from Life Extension. I mix his vitamins in pineapple or apple juice- something really sweet you can always add extra sugar. According to my son's taste buds everything is pretty tasteless except for Choline which tends to be tangy and B-6 which he hates. I mix his b-6 seperately in a small amount of juice (shot glasses work great) so he can get it over with quickly. We tried Bonnie's supplements and ran in to the same problem as you- it was too frequent and there was no way to disguise the flavor. He gets his vitamin A and fatty acids from lemon flavored fish oil which is quite pleasant- I have the source for that in my other post also. Our son has had mild tics since about the age of three which at that time I attributed to a developmental phase. It has been the past year and a half (following his DPT and MMR boosters) that his sypmtoms escalated. Today we went to the park and he was just a normal kid. He has one or two very minor tics that only mom and dad notice. Last year about this same time he had at least 7 or eight pretty major tics. Some of which were spinning around , licking his finger raising his arm up in the air and jumping - this was a very comples tic not to mention the head jerking and his vocal tics- which was a real problem because he would run into people and things when we were out in public.

Even though this has been an ordeal for our family, I feel blessed that we never used meds and our controlling his behaviors through nutrition. Dr. Mercola is a natural physician who has a wonderful website. You can sign up for his free e-newsletters which are filled with so much valuable info. Last week's newsletter included and article on some very promissing research involving detoxification and healing through fatty acids and high protein diet . At the end of the article there is a phone number you can call and get an information packet. I encourage you to read the article http://www.mercola.com/fcgi/PrinterFriendly.fcgi.

 

Good Luck,

 

Jennifer

[Guest Gina]

I just have a few questions regarding vitamins. I have an 8 year old son with TS and am very leary about shoving vitamins down him that can possibly harm him if not taken correctly. How do you find out what and how much (Dr's do not help with this part) I have been reading and noticed that a lot of the vitamines that are beind taken are for kids with TS and OCD/ADD/ADHD but my son only has TS so which vitamins are for TS symptoms only? I do truely believe that there are benifits to taking the vitamins because I have seen such a change with dietary changes in my son and I believe that diet and vitamins are linked. But how do I get the correct info??? I hate having to play DR. with my sons TS!

[Chemar]

Hi Gina

the vitamin guru when it comes to TS is definitely Bonnie Grimaldi, who has formulated her own brand of supplements specifically for TS.

You can find out more about them at her website

http://www.BonnieGr.com

 

Bonnie is a very caring person and you could also email her to ask advice.

 

For some people, either the expense or the volume of Bonnie's supps are a problem, and so we try to "copy" her formulas by supplementing with good pure supps from reputable companies that either better suit our budget or minimise the number of pills our kids have to take.

 

The original basis for Bonnie's program can be found here:

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/5207/ts_ma...bonnie_sup.html

 

Note that she has since added Omega-3 and other supps to this regimin, making the treatment even more effective.

 

If this program seems daunting, remember that just a start with a good multivitamin/mineral, boosted with extra B, mag/cal/zinc, taurine and Omega3 can make a BIG difference. Then you can start adding others to build up to the optimum.

 

Provided you follow doseage directions, it is safe to use vitamins & minerals.

 

I can attest to the fact that following Bonnie's guidelines has totally changed my son's life!! Her supps are definitely the best available, and so if you can, start there as you can rest assured that they are pure and carefully formulated to work for TS.

[Guest Jennifer]

Gina,

 

If your child can handle flax seed oil, I would incorporate this as well. It is high in magnesium, potassium, b vitamins and proteins. The better choice out there is a brand called Barlean's. If flax seed oil is not processed correctly and under the right conditions it will become rancid. I posted some information about a doctor who has done alot of reseach on fatty acids and electrolytes. You can get a free info packet at 1-888-320-8338.

It seems her protocol has helped a large amount of neurologically impaired individuals. One thing I forgot to mention is that you can also purchase individual ionic minerals. The ysell a taste test kit so you know which minerals your defficient in. They reccomend you only supplement the ones your body needs because they will actually help displace heavy meatals that have taken their place within the body.

 

Good Luck!!!

 

 

Jennifer

[Chemar]

NATROL also makes an excellent source of the Essential Fatty Acids with a

combination of Flax seed, Borage, Omega-3, and others.

It is the one we use, and I also give Evening Primrose Oil and Lecithin.

 

Jennifer is so right about the importance of the Flax...it not only provides the help with the TS stuff, but is also excellent for the digestive system.

 

Some kids also hate the taste of the fish oil caps, and there have been reports of sensitivity in some to fish oil.

 

Borage oil is an excellent general supp. and with added benefit for ADD.

 

There are some links for lots of info on the Omega-3s and EPA/EFA info in general

 

http://puterakembara.org/rm/EFA.htm

 

http://www.nutritional-healing.com.au/omega_mental.htm

 

and a simple to understand favorite of mine

http://home.howstuffworks.com/fat4.htm

 

( I just LOVE that howstuffworks.com site.... covers just about everything you can think to ask about anything)

 

[Guest Betty Cole]

Hello everyone,

I have entered the world of vitamin supplements and am so confused. I tried the BonnieG program for my six year old son,and although it was really working I can't get them into him anymore. I just can't mask the taste.

So now I am really interested in the combination of mag/cal/zinc that I am reading about.

My first question is what kind of magnesium do I need to give him? If it is not taurate can I add Taurine seperately? Also how do I determine how much of each he needs? He has vocal tics that are pretty mild but none the less quite annoying.

Thanks for all the great support

Betty