Need help

[FedUp]

Hi,

I'm new here and a bit overwhelmed trying familiarize myself with all of the topics. I find a lot of posts refer to children with TS. I am a 47 year old female who was not diagnosed until I was 27 even though onset was around age 9. Fortunately, I was always considered a mild case and it did not affect my grades, I married, had two children and was always successful in my work. I have now been divorced for 11 years. Over the past few years I have noticed an increase in my tics and over the past few months I have noticed a significant increase. Although my tics have changed over the years, the majority of them have been relatively the same for many years now, just noticeably increased. My biggest frustration now is that one of my tics has evolved as a way to disguise other tics and it involves my breathing. My stomach contracts, forcing all the air out "collapsing" my diaphragm and I constantly feel out of breath. I am on several medications including Prozac 40mg/day, Tenex 1mg (2 in am), Clonidine .1 (2 at bedtime) and recently I started taking Provigil because I was always fatigued. I do believe the Provigil does exacerbate the tics but it keeps me awake. I can stop taking it but since the tics have been so bad anyway I figure I may as well stay awake. I have tried other medications in the past but nothing ever has seemed to do much.

 

I am completely fedup and at my wits end. This now affects my social life, my self esteem and I feel it may begin to affect my professional life as I changed careers last year and I feel my tics are holding me back from some things I need to do in order to be successful in my new venture. Someone read a post of mine on another forum and referred me here to look into some natural treatments and dietary options and I have read many posts. I would not know where or how to begin this. I also read that there are some tests that can be done to test for allergies and I am interested in finding out more about that. I have done a lot of research and reading over the past few days and am intrigued now by the possible link to autoimmune issues related to neurological disorders. There is a TON of autoimmune disorders in my family and I guess I am not surprised to learn of this.

 

I would appreciate any advice anyone can provide for someone in my situation. I am even embarrassed in front of my son because my tics are so out of control (he also has a mild case of TS along with OCD but that's another story). I sometimes go through horrible tic episodes and then all I can do is cry. I don't think I tic in my sleep although I did have a sleep study done due to the fatigue and was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea so I now wonder if that is really just my stomach tic in action while I sleep because sometimes I feel like I do stop breathing when that tic gets bad. I used to wake up feeling relaxed and my tics didn't seem to start right away but lately as soon as I wake up they start. I don't know if it is just a ball rolling down hill picking up speed and I am more stressed over the entire situation or what.

 

I think even if there was a way to train myself to replace this tic causing me breathing problems with something else I think it would be helpful. Can hypnosis retrain the urge so the tic will manifest itself in a different manner? I don't know but I am open to suggestions.

 

Please help!

 

Thank you.

[patty]

Fedup,

 

You said your tics have been relatively mild and does not change much over the years. I am wondering if something has changed in your life, like medications, environment, stress .... that may trigger the tics to increase.

 

If you have food and or environmental allergies, i would start looking in that direction and consider NAET for allergy desensitization. In the meantime, avoid artificial anything in food, MSG, preservatives and additives. Also stay dust free & dustmites free as much as possible and see what happens.

 

Pat

[guy123]

You're on Tenex AND Clonidine?

[Chemar]

Hi

 

so sorry to hear what you are experiencing

 

I have both my husband and son with TS, and we really did notice a vast improvement in my husband too when he started following the natural treatments that helped my son (see link in my signature) Sadly a few weeks on Clonidine seemed to trigger things for him again tho

 

cleaning up diet & environment to eliminate artificial/chemical stuff and identifying allergens is a really helpful thing to do. Also checking on whether you may have candida infection in your GIT (commonly called "yeast" infection)

 

nearly everyone with TS seems to find that taking extra magnesium and B vitamins helps.

 

I do hope you find answers here to help you

[FedUp]

Thank you. I will check out the link. If I had a yeast infection in my GIT, wouldn't that have been detected over the years? Or are you saying recently and that could be causing the increased tics? What type of doctor should I consult with to get all these tests or do I have to go to different ones? I had a scratch test done for allergies years ago and tested most allergic to cats (I don't have any) and a multitude of grasses, trees, pollen, etc. I don't know if that carries over into food products that come from trees for example or not but do I go to an allergist or what? Of course my insurance just changed this month from a PPO to an HMO so I guess I will have to go through the family doctor no matter what but I want to be informed as to what I should demand to have done. I read about the IgG testing, is that something I should have done? (especially with a lot of autoimmune in the family) I'm looking in to the NAET locally. I can take the vitamins (I do take a multi vitamin daily).

 

I know part of it is the stress over being frustrated with the whole thing but I still would like to hear from anyone as to whether or not it is possible to re-direct a particular tic even if it becomes a different movement.

Thanks again.

 

 

 

Hi

 

so sorry to hear what you are experiencing

 

I have both my husband and son with TS, and we really did notice a vast improvement in my husband too when he started following the natural treatments that helped my son (see link in my signature) Sadly a few weeks on Clonidine seemed to trigger things for him again tho

 

cleaning up diet & environment to eliminate artificial/chemical stuff and identifying allergens is a really helpful thing to do. Also checking on whether you may have candida infection in your GIT (commonly called "yeast" infection)

 

nearly everyone with TS seems to find that taking extra magnesium and B vitamins helps.

 

I do hope you find answers here to help you

[FedUp]

Yep, one in the morning and one at bedtime. Note that this was prescribed by a psychiatrist and not a neurologist. She said if the Provigil helped me feel less drowsy in the afternoons then she would remove either the clonidine or tenex but at this point I don't know what to think. Don't forget the prozac which can make people tired too! I would love to be med free; I get very upset and stressed out when a doctor prescribes another medication; I am not a pill person and I get very frustrated when I have to start something else. Just today I am supposed to start taking Zantac at bedtime and another med (forget name) before breakfast and dinner because I saw an ENT for trouble swallowing and congestion. He said I have Silent Reflux (add it to the list!) It just hit me, is it possible that I do have that candida infection and that is causing my swallowing and throat congestion problem? Hmmmm

 

So, again, is there a specific type of doctor I should be seeing to manage all of this or is that just a dream?

 

You're on Tenex AND Clonidine?

[Chemar]

Thank you. I will check out the link. If I had a yeast infection in my GIT, wouldn't that have been detected over the years? Or are you saying recently and that could be causing the increased tics? What type of doctor should I consult with to get all these tests or do I have to go to different ones? I had a scratch test done for allergies years ago and tested most allergic to cats (I don't have any) and a multitude of grasses, trees, pollen, etc. I don't know if that carries over into food products that come from trees for example or not but do I go to an allergist or what? Of course my insurance just changed this month from a PPO to an HMO so I guess I will have to go through the family doctor no matter what but I want to be informed as to what I should demand to have done. I read about the IgG testing, is that something I should have done? (especially with a lot of autoimmune in the family) I'm looking in to the NAET locally. I can take the vitamins (I do take a multi vitamin daily).

 

I know part of it is the stress over being frustrated with the whole thing but I still would like to hear from anyone as to whether or not it is possible to re-direct a particular tic even if it becomes a different movement.

Thanks again.

 

many people have undiagnosed candida overgrowth of the GIT. most conventional docs never even look for it

books like "the Yeast Syndrome" by Walker & Trowbridge shed much light on this. for many eradicating the "yeast" parasitic overgrowth helps many of their illness symptoms resolve or at least significantly improve, including tics.

 

my son became pretty adept over the years at substituting (redirecting) tics. he did have CBT(cognitive behavioral therapy) for the OCD and that helped with the tic coping skills too

 

naturopathic, Integrative, environmental and DAN doctors seem best clued up on alternative/complimentary

therapies

 

I learned that doing my own research and then taking what I was learning to a good Integrative doctor was the turning point for my son.

 

hoping you find the answers you need