need more advice for 16 yr old son

[suzsinging]

I haven't posted on here in a few weeks because Ive been busy cleaning up our diet (no artificial colors, preservatives, etc) and gradually adding supplements one at a time. Overall I feel like my son is calmer, having fewer body tics and definitely less anxiety (the inositol, I assume). However his vocal tic is worse along with the compulsion to "touch" things- ie..light bulbs, door handles and he seems to be doing everything in 3s- even the vocal. OCD? Or is this just part of ts? I feel like we're on the right track but these are the tics that drive my husband crazy and he wants us to "do something". The closest "natural" dr. is probably 2 hrs away. Not sure what to do next or if the supplements need more time- just started L-carnitine last week for vocals but wonder if ocd is the main thing to treat. He left the house this morning very concerned about a history exam that he had to take on the computer- worried he will turn the computer off or something and the vocal will be harder to control looking at a computer screen. My husband mentioned a 504 for him next year (my husband is an elementary principal) I think we've tried not to make my son feel like ts is that big of a problem but wonder if we haven't helped him enough in school- any thoughts? The one time I did talk to a guidance counselor about a schedule change, the school was wonderful about it. At 16 it's hard to know the best psychological route to take. Right now he's taking magnesium, a multivitamin, inositol, L-carnitine, taurine, and B-complex.

[Chemar]

Hi Suzs

 

having a 504 plan was one of the best school things we ever did for my son. having the accommodations for all of his co morbid stuff (TS, OCD, ADD, CAPD and SID) meant a smoother path with all teachers as we had regular meetings with all having to be present and he could articulate what he needed re the accom and they would ensure implementation where possible. even allowing him to keep a peppermint in his mouth during class to suck on which he finds keeps his vocals down

 

 

we were in an excellent school disctrict in terms of accomodations but I know some are not so...

the fact that tourette is now classified "other health impaired" for education under the American's with Disability Act" means they are legally obliged to.

 

 

re the supps, you seem to have a good mix there. the l-carnitine can take a while to show full effect on vocals

 

For OCD, we found my son has had to go up high with Inositol (emergency up to 16gm per day--maintenance around 12 gm per day) and he finds taking methylB12 and P-5-P with it essential, and he also feels extra vitD3 has helped it work optimally. he adds methionine only when OCD waxing now at 500mg/day

Before, when he took 5HTP as well, he only took around 500-1000mg inositol a day

[suzsinging]

thanks cherie!

 

this really helps since i've been unsure of dosage amounts. I had read about the large amount of inositol for ocd but just went with the recommendation on the bottle and have him taking 100mg/day. Think I'll bump that up some and give the L-carnitine more time to work. Of course I always want to see quick results and really did with the anxiety issue but I know we need to be more patient and keep loving him through it.

 

Your advice really helps about the 504- we will definitely do that as I think he's finally able to recognize and tell us what helps with the tics. When I registered him for the SAT I discovered that he could have special accomodations for testing (fortunately it was written instead of on the computer). But I do want him to know it's ok to ask for help if he needs it.

 

thanks again for the encouragement! I really feel like we're on the right track- just have to remind my husband there is no medication specifically for ts and would rather try natural treatments as long as we can.

[faith]

suzsinging,

When you say you feel your son's vocal is worse, how long ago would you say it increased, few days or longer?

 

also, sorry, I don't remember, did your son have symptoms of ts since young, or just recently.

 

Faith

[suzsinging]

suzsinging,

When you say you feel your son's vocal is worse, how long ago would you say it increased, few days or longer?

 

also, sorry, I don't remember, did your son have symptoms of ts since young, or just recently.

 

Faith

 

 

The vocal has been worse for several weeks especially since he has started yelling it 3 times each time- it's the worst late at night when he's tired. I think he goes through some kind of "routine" right before bed as we hear lots of noises coming from his room (door closing, light touching, yelling, etc) I figure he releases a lot of built up tics then.

 

His tics probably started around 7 or 8 with throat clearing/ sniffing and progressed over the years with full body tics, mumblings/noises and his one big vocal- yelling "Amen"

[faith]

So you don't feel the increase was after you started the l-carnitine? I ask because some of us here notice an increase on that and other amino acids. If you don't see a correlation, then I would continue it and see if it helps.

 

Faith

[suzsinging]

So you don't feel the increase was after you started the l-carnitine? I ask because some of us here notice an increase on that and other amino acids. If you don't see a correlation, then I would continue it and see if it helps.

 

Faith

 

 

No , I haven't noticed a difference since then - he started on taurine about 2 weeks ago and the L-carnitine about 5 days ago. I think the vocal has been bad for about a month or so (before we even started supps) Maybe I need to keep a journal to keep up with any changes. So far I've just noticed a significant decrease in anxiety (which bothered me the most) and much fewer large body tics.