Going to Sleep Problems

[Claire]

efgh

Can you repost the brand of magnesium taurate that helps your son? I can't find magnesium taurate at Whole Foods and must look it up on the internet.

 

We skipped the melatonin tonight, and as sick as he is (and in spite of being in bed all day he only napped 1+ hrs), he still took 2 hours to get to sleep!!

 

Chemar,

Are the items that you mention at whole foods?

 

Thanks in advance,

Claire

[Chemar]

Claire,

yes, all those are available at WholeFoods.

 

Keeping your family in my prayers...for a speedy recovery for your son, for rest and strength for you, and for your husband too...that he will be at peace knowing you are following good treatments for your son. it really does sound like a food reaction to me.

 

much love

Cheri

[Guest Nancy]

Hi Claire,

 

 

We use the magnesium taurate too. It's from Cardiovascular Research and we buy it at VitaminShoppe. You can buy it online from them too if there's no store near you.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your son. I hope he's feeling better soon. I do know there's lots of stomach flu/ respiratory stuff going around here - it seems to be the season for it. My sons have had bad colds the last few weeks, one also had strep, and the other got a bad cough/sore throat but no strep (he's the one that tics, and surprisingly, his tics didn't get worse). I now have the bad cough, sore head and neck. He actually seems to have weathered it better than me. Must be all those vitamins he takes.

 

Anyway, best wishes to you and your son to get through this illness quickly.

 

Nancy

[Guest Guest_Claire]

Hi Nancy/efgh

 

Thanks for the mag taurate info. I just ordered some from the site Nancy mentioned. It said 125 mg capsules. Do you each give just one capsule? And how long before bed? Is it an every night sleeping aid, like Melatonin?

 

And Nancy, I am sorry that you and your family have been sick also.

 

Chemar (Cheri!)

 

Does Solaray sell the Passiflower independently or mixed in a sleep formula. It is 25 minutes to our Whole Foods and I want to make sure before we go. Does he do multiple things at night, e.g. Camomile and Passiflower... or just one and do you vary it? Of course I will try one at a time. By the way, I don't think I ever mentioned that I tried the 5HTP on my son twice at night (last December or so), but like your husband, both times it really wired him (4 hours to sleep instead of 1 hour) and he said he was terribly uncomfortable. Bummer.

 

All,

 

When you give these things to your kids, how long does it take them to fall asleep now versus how long before? Is this a nightly thing, or just when they have trouble (my son virtually always has trouble!)

 

Claire

[Chemar]

Hi Claire

thankfully the PassiFlora from Solaray at WholeFoods is pure passion flower and not mixed with anything else.....350mg per capsule.

 

Ever since my son started the 5HTP at dinner time, he just doesnt seem to need anything else. Occasionally, he will ask for some chamomille-honey tea. I guess his system just needed the seratonin elevation in the form that 5HTP produces it.

remember that he also takes the 300mcg St John's Wort in the mornings , so there is a cumulative seratonin buildup. Also, because of the other supps he takes (including mag/zinc/cal and separate taurate...I guess all these things have an overall effect.

Still, it is definitey the 5HTP that gets him drowsy enough to sleep at night..and of course, as i mentioned before, my husband cant take it, but takes 600mcg SJW at night and finds that helpful.

 

all so uniquely made, arent we

[Guest Nancy]

Claire,

 

I started giving my son the magnesium for his tics (along with the rest of his vitamins). He has never had trouble sleeping - in fact, he's always been a very heavy sleeper, so he differs in that regard from a lot of kids with tics. I'm not sure how people use it to help sleep problems, but I give him 3 a day, morning, afternoon and bedtime.

 

Thanks for your kind thoughts. My cough seems to be hanging on, especially in the evening and at night, but I'm feeling better. My son's a lot better. I hope your son is back to 100% soon and back in school.

 

Nancy

[Claire]

Nancy,

Thanks! I assume that the mag. taurate helps with the tics also, since you continue to give it? I surely like the dual purpose! Sorry about the lingering cough. I used to get that annually--and ultimately do antibiotics for bronchitis. Now I take echinacea, vitamin C and drink a ton of water at the first sign of a cold and get a ton of sleep (the only time I indulge in a lot of sleep) and it hasn't come back since. Vitamin C and water alone never worked for me.

 

I did the echinacea with my son also at the first sign of a cold, and he no longer gets bad chest colds either. He used to get them every year also--always croupe or bronchitis

 

In Germany, echinacea is the biggest respiratory remedy, but I mentioned this elsewhere I think! Too late now, but for the future (maybe you already do this or tried it in the past...)

 

efgh,

Did the mag taurate seem to help with tics too?

 

Claire

[Guest Guest_efgh]

Claire

 

I guess magnesium taurate has helped him with his tics too. They are pretty mild these days , but it could be due to a combination of factors or may be the waning cycle...

 

also bronchial herbal tea helps a lot with colds, coughs etc.

 

Nancy

 

Hope you are better now. By the way, did you manage to find out the trigger factor for your son's relapse of tics after a long break of around 3 months? Are his tics waning again? For how long were his tics noticeable after the break? Was it due to more TV ...

[Guest Nancy]

Claire,

 

Yes, we use the mag taurate only for tics. I think it's an important part of his vitamin regimen.

 

efgh,

 

His tics have subsided a lot, thanks. It probably took a month to really die back down. I really don't know what caused them to start again. I really thought it was cutting back on the B1 that did it, but even after I added it back it took a couple of weeks to settle down, so I don't know if that was it or not. I also considered light sensitivity/flicker from tv screens and cosmic bowling, but I just don't know. He watches very little tv at home but he did play Playstation at his cousin's house when this all started up. But to be honest, he's played it at people's houses before and been fine, so I just don't think it's a clear cut thing with him. I did notice an immediate reaction when we were at a museum watching a 5-minute black and white film in a darkened room - he immediately started making small noises and scrunching up his lips. The lip thing continued for about 10 minutes afterwards pretty steadily. This was all right when the tics started again, so whatever caused it was making him very sensitive overall.

 

As I said, he's back to minimal ticcing, even though he's been sick this past week. I have to admit - I'm starting to accept the fact that sometimes I'm just not going to figure out what causes it. I just have to remember that it WILL subside again, and try not to overreact. I do think he has vitamin/nutritional issues underlying all this, so I will continue to figure out how to make him as healthy as possible and hope that, in turn, his other issues continue to get better too.

 

Nancy

[Guest Guest_efgh]

Nancy

 

good to see your note. Glad to know that your son is back to minimal ticcing. Does he have any OCD/ADHD tendencies too?

 

As you said, we should accept that tics WILL wax and wane and sometimes there is no specific reason for that. I think, with age, our kids will know to handle it and camouflage it...

 

Since you said your son is dairy free, do you give him chocolates, biscuits, cakes or icecream??

[Guest Nancy]

efgh,

 

I now think some of my son's tics or anxieties are probably somewhat OCD related. Nothing extreme, but as I learn more, I see more OCDish behavior in both of us, actually. He doesn't have any ADHD behaviors.

 

He only gets cake or ice cream at parties or special occasions, and he knows it's limited. Same with chocolate. Although I tend to be more lenient with those types of treats rather than sugary candy full of dyes. They pretty much know the candy's going right in the garbage, and they're really good about it. I do try to find substitute treats so they don't feel deprived. I don't even think they mind much anymore. Even McDonald's isn't a big deal to them anymore. They'd rather eat at Subway!

[Guest Guest_efgh]

Thanks Nancy

 

Why do you try to avoid Mc Donalds? Do you suspect any tic triggers there?

 

Can you give me some suggestions on SUBSITUTE treats?

 

What are the ocd tendencies that you oflate observe in your son? Is it to do with "perfection" or "sensory or bodily" issues? My son's case is more to do with "sensory or bodily" like HAVE TO TOUCH with both hands or "EVENING UP symptoms" or "feel like doing this" etc...though not obvious to others...

[jujubean114]

I'm fifteen years old & have TS & OCD. I used to have insomnia but I didn't like the idea of taking medication so my doctor suggested melatonin- it's a natural supplement that doesn't produce any side-effects. After taking it for about four weeks, I slowly weaned myself off of it, so that I am now able to get to sleep on my own! It might be a good thing for your son to try