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Hello all. I'm so glad I found this board, and I'm hoping to get a little help. Brief intro on us - my now 11 yo. was diagnosed with transient tics when he was about 4. It started with eye blinking, which evolved into throat clearing, occasionally a mouth grimace, and also occasional humming. His pattern used to be that he'd crop up with a new tic every few months, they'd last for a week or two, then disappear. Sometimes they’d appear out of nowhere, sometimes they were triggered and/or worsened by stress. His worst episode was a couple years ago when he started a head-nodding tic, which was so violent at times that it actually interrupted his conversation. Turned out he was being bullied by another child at school. After we dealt with that issue the nodding eventually went away.

 

Now, he's doing the head-nodding thing again, though thankfully it’s not as bad as before, and not enough to interrupt his speech. But instead of disappearing after a couple weeks, it's lasted now a couple months. I've read that tics can increase at the onset of puberty, which he's the right age for, and at his last physical earlier this year the dr. said he could start at any time. Any idea how long the increased tics might last if puberty is truly the cause? I hope it’s not years!

 

I've started him on a calcium/magnesium chewable, and taurine. I've also restarted him on fish oil - MorEPA brand – which I’d gotten based on research regarding ADHD, which he also has, although it's not severe and he is not on medication for it. Because of the ADHD, I thought I'd continue for awhile with the fish oil, at least for a couple weeks, to see if there is any improvement with just the cal/mag and taurine. If not, then I'll try the flax instead. I've already been reducing his intake of high fructose corn syrup after his diagnosis of ADHD, plus MSG and artificial colorings and flavors. If I try a casein/gluten free diet, how long should it take to see any changes if either of those is a trigger? I'm hoping it's just a few days so I don't have to go to the expense of changing everything in case neither of those is a problem for him. There is a family history of Celiac disease on my mom's side of the family, although she herself has tested negative. I have not been tested, although since bread or toast is my most effective remedy when I'm feeling a little queasy, I'm hoping that means I'm probably negative also. Has anyone had any noticeable effects using GlutenEase prior to being tested for Celiac or gluten sensitivity?

 

Last question - can anyone tell me what tests would regular pediatricians be likely to order and/or approve on request by a parent? I can't really afford some of the ones listed here, and would prefer to get them done through insurance. With a family history, are Celiac/gluten tests normally ok’d even if there are no obvious symptoms?

 

I hope that wasn’t too many questions for a first post. Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can offer.

 

Rebecca

 

Edited to add P.S. Thanks for the welcome CP. Just wanted to add re: the allergy testing, he has so far shown no obvious signs of any food allergies. I don't know if physical signs would normally be required before the dr. would order any tests, or if neurological symptoms that are potentially food-related would be enough.

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Welcome Rebecca,

 

First wanted to say my son is going on 3 years from his onset of ts. he is 14 1/2yo and still has good days and bad. I was hopping this would not last for years, but it looks like he is still going strong some days.

 

i think you are on the right start with the fish oil and other vits.

 

As for the Dr. you could get some of the allergy testing done. My son is very allergic to peanuts and we had a lot of testing for him covered. He would get a belly ache when he ate pecans, so I pushed for more foods to be covered because of the nut allergy.

 

Good luck with your son, and happy you found us.

 

CP

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Hi! WOW ~ when I read your post I see exactly what my son is going thru (except he is much younger... will turn 5 in September) He started at age 3 with the eye rolling and slight mouth grimace... went on to cough tics, sniffling tics, etc. They would wax and wane depending on his daily activities or if he had a head cold, virus, etc. In June we saw a horrible head bob that would really interfere with his ability to sit and watch a movie, speak clearly, etc. It was really scary for us and we changed pediatricians and had a whole bunch of bloodwork ordered. I was sure something would turn up positive but everything was normal and within the proper limits. (he is just a really fatigued kid who frequently looks ill, although the bloodwork indicates that everything inside is healthy.) I actually just got a copy of the bloodwork for my own files. Here are the tests that were ordered:

 

CBC with differential/platelet, Lyme Western Blot Serum, Comp Metabolic Panel (14), Immunoglobulins A/E/G/M, Serum Tryptase, Antinuclear Antibodies Direct, t-Transglutaminase (tTG), IgG, Uric Acid Serum, Phosphorus serum, Magnesium Serum, Antistreptolysin O Ab, C-Reactive Protein

 

My son also has severe food allergies (anaphalaxis for peanuts and brazil nuts, lower levels for other nuts... diagnosed thru RAST testing) He seems to have chemical sensitivities so we cut out artificial ingredients and stuff like high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, etc, about 2 years ago and live more of an organic lifestyle here... still kind of hard to avoid questionable ingredients with summer picnics and birthday parties at other children's houses, though. Ugh! We also just had an environmental skin prick test done at the allergist and he scored high for dogs, mold, dust mites, etc. The allergist said sometimes children with lots of allergies are more proned to tics so she put him on a nose spray, xyzal, and eye drops to try out for a month. Surprisingly, he is much better and the head bobbing has almost completely stopped now that we have been on allergy meds for 2 weeks. I am shocked and very happy for him. (and ready to rip out the carpets and get a leather couch. lol) Being more of an organic mom, I tried homeopathic allergy remedies that haven't seemed to work and was leary to try the prescription stuff but it seems to be working great for him and he is doing much better. :lol:

 

Anyway, I hope you can find some answers for your son. We have an appointment with his pediatric neurologist on August 11th so hopefully he will give us more information. My son hasn't gotten a tourettes diagnosis yet but I think the transient tic disorder has now moved to a chronic tic disorder? I am wondering how much of this is allergy related since things seem to be improving now that the allergist gave us stuff for environmental allergies... we'll just have to wait and see. I think we will face more challenges with our son as he gets older... he is very far behind with fine motor skills and seems to have anxiety issues. He is in a special preschool program that gives him OT/PT and he will hopefully be picked up for speech this year, too. This is such a great site and you'll find lots of comfort reading what the other moms have done for their kids. I love reading thru the threads and have learned so much already and feel good that we all understand and support each other. Keep us posted! ((((((hugs)))))) We want to hear how your son is doing!

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Rebecca,

 

Welcome! My son has had tics for almost a year. I started with the magnesium, fish oil,B's. At about this point I took out artificials, preservatives, and MSG. My son is a great eater. Well, his tics got worse when I thought I was doing everything right! He started a really bad head jerk, to a point where he could not even focus to read. People on this forum informed me that his diet appeared high in salycilates. When I reduced these, the head jerk went away. I think it took about two weeks?????

 

He was back to just eye tics/nose wrinkles. The amino acids were then added and helped to eliminate the eye tics.

 

I have cheated a lot this summer on my recipe and I have seen a slight increase in his tics. So, whatever you find....keep with it!!

 

Good luck. This is the BEST PLACE...it has saved my sanity!!!

 

Tracey

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Hello and welcome,

 

I just wanted to add, since you mentioned puberty, that I came across this article http://www.autism.com/ari/editorials/ed_pu...ionseizures.htm that mentions the bodies increased need for B6 during this time. One thing that seems to be important in helping control tics is B vitamins including B6. I have wondered if one reason tics increase during the puberty time is because the body has this increased demand for B6 to help with the hormone production. So now you have a person with tics, who is already low in B6, whose body needs even more during this time but perhaps is not getting enough through supplements. This obviously is just my theory but I thought I would pass it along.

 

I give my son Daniel who is 7 100 mg's of B6 on days his tics have greatly increased. He normally gets around 30 mg's. My naturopathic doctor told me his body could use that high of an amount.

 

Carolyn

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Hello all. I'm so glad I found this board, and I'm hoping to get a little help. Brief intro on us - my now 11 yo. was diagnosed with transient tics when he was about 4. It started with eye blinking, which evolved into throat clearing, occasionally a mouth grimace, and also occasional humming. His pattern used to be that he'd crop up with a new tic every few months, they'd last for a week or two, then disappear. Sometimes they’d appear out of nowhere, sometimes they were triggered and/or worsened by stress. His worst episode was a couple years ago when he started a head-nodding tic, which was so violent at times that it actually interrupted his conversation. Turned out he was being bullied by another child at school. After we dealt with that issue the nodding eventually went away.

 

Now, he's doing the head-nodding thing again, though thankfully it’s not as bad as before, and not enough to interrupt his speech. But instead of disappearing after a couple weeks, it's lasted now a couple months. I've read that tics can increase at the onset of puberty, which he's the right age for, and at his last physical earlier this year the dr. said he could start at any time. Any idea how long the increased tics might last if puberty is truly the cause? I hope it’s not years!

 

I've started him on a calcium/magnesium chewable, and taurine. I've also restarted him on fish oil - MorEPA brand – which I’d gotten based on research regarding ADHD, which he also has, although it's not severe and he is not on medication for it. Because of the ADHD, I thought I'd continue for awhile with the fish oil, at least for a couple weeks, to see if there is any improvement with just the cal/mag and taurine. If not, then I'll try the flax instead. I've already been reducing his intake of high fructose corn syrup after his diagnosis of ADHD, plus MSG and artificial colorings and flavors. If I try a casein/gluten free diet, how long should it take to see any changes if either of those is a trigger? I'm hoping it's just a few days so I don't have to go to the expense of changing everything in case neither of those is a problem for him. There is a family history of Celiac disease on my mom's side of the family, although she herself has tested negative. I have not been tested, although since bread or toast is my most effective remedy when I'm feeling a little queasy, I'm hoping that means I'm probably negative also. Has anyone had any noticeable effects using GlutenEase prior to being tested for Celiac or gluten sensitivity?

 

Last question - can anyone tell me what tests would regular pediatricians be likely to order and/or approve on request by a parent? I can't really afford some of the ones listed here, and would prefer to get them done through insurance. With a family history, are Celiac/gluten tests normally ok’d even if there are no obvious symptoms?

 

I hope that wasn’t too many questions for a first post. Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can offer.

 

Rebecca

 

Edited to add P.S. Thanks for the welcome CP. Just wanted to add re: the allergy testing, he has so far shown no obvious signs of any food allergies. I don't know if physical signs would normally be required before the dr. would order any tests, or if neurological symptoms that are potentially food-related would be enough.

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Hello and welcome,

 

I just wanted to add, since you mentioned puberty, that I came across this article http://www.autism.com/ari/editorials/ed_pu...ionseizures.htm that mentions the bodies increased need for B6 during this time. One thing that seems to be important in helping control tics is B vitamins including B6. I have wondered if one reason tics increase during the puberty time is because the body has this increased demand for B6 to help with the hormone production. So now you have a person with tics, who is already low in B6, whose body needs even more during this time but perhaps is not getting enough through supplements. This obviously is just my theory but I thought I would pass it along.

 

I give my son Daniel who is 7 100 mg's of B6 on days his tics have greatly increased. He normally gets around 30 mg's. My naturopathic doctor told me his body could use that high of an amount.

 

Carolyn

 

 

Thanks! I hadn't heard about a B6 and puberty connection before. I'll add that to his regimine. I also need to find a new magnesium source. I checked the bottle this weekend and realized it's magnesium oxide, and looks like the better option is magnesium taurate from what I've read here. He takes taurine already and doesn't seem to have a problem with it, so I'm assuming the mag/taurate will be tolerated also.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi. I'm new here and hope I'm doing this right, ha. My 8 yr old son was diagnosed with tourettes recently, though I had suspected it for a while before. He is not on any medication and I am very interested in trying the food elimination thing. I also want to get him tested for allergies and sensitivities. Is it right to do these tests first? It's all abit overwhelming as I'm sure you understand. I just want to do what is best for him. He has a mild case, and some days are worse than others. I would really appreciate any advice... and this site is a godsend for sure! :)

thankyou so much,

Lyn.

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