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TV/computer and tics


Claire

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Hi efgh,

 

I have noticed a couple of posts from you asking me about this.

 

Please note that my son DOES watch TV occasionally--he just watches it from accross a well-lit room, using a 15" LCD monitor with a built in TV tuner. He has no problems with this. Since it seems to me that you have tested this enough to be as confident of the correlation as I am with my son, I highly recommend getting an LCD monitor with a TV tuner (it can also be connected to a VCR or a DVD player). As I have mentioned, Samsung SyncMaster has a 15" one for just over $400 at Best Buy.

 

I won't 'test' my son on a normal TV until his yeast and mercury levels come back and are in the normal range. Even then, in the past sometimes the impact would cumulate and we wouldn't notice symptoms for the first two days of watching, but by day 3 it was over his tolerance. Worse, they got worse with continued exposure (but don't ask for details, my son hates that being discussed).

 

I just don't know about the 'permanence', I sure wish I did! It has been 2.5 years for him now! I want to start having a weekly family DVD or video movie on the LCD monitor. In the meantime, Harry Potter book tapes (again and again!) still save the day.

 

His doctor believes that this TV sensitivity will decrease as he heals, along with his food allergies.

 

Did you ever do heavy metal or yeast testing? Since our son's (and Jean's) all react to TV, it does make me wonder whether they have the same underlying issues. I know that Jean's son tested negative for yeast on one test he took.

 

Or is your naturopath more into treatment than into testing first?

 

Claire

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Guest Guest_efgh

Thanks Claire. My naturopath mentioned that yeast may not be a real issue for my son since he was not much on antibiotics. But, I feel that since he was on inhaled steroids for asthma, yeast could be an issue.. He feels allergies are the main cause of tics in my son's case..

A lay man question - Is it ok to give capyrylic acid even if yeast is not an issue - can't it be given as prophylactic? Claire, what is the dosage that you give and for how long has the doctor adviced?

Heather, for how long have you been advised to give threelac? Do you give it everyday?

Claire, thank you very much for your input on TV. I tried my son on LCD monitor and did not see any significant difference. He seems to get his vocal tics even on lcd monitor. What perplexes me the most is that he is tic free when he plays computer games on the computer or when he plays on the playstation in the TV but the moment he watches a movie/cartoon on either the same computer or TV he gets vocal tics. Otherwise, he is perfectly fine. My doctor mentions that its common for kids with tics to have this reaction to TV since they are idle then and HAVE to do something! (your thoughts please)...I read a very good article from Dr Mercola on this too.

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efgh

 

capryllic acid is rather potent and I wouldnt personally recommend using it unless you have a yeast problem.......

However........

 

Also just my opinion, but I think just about everyone in this modern world has some form of Candidiasis, unless they have eliminated it, or never used antibiotics, refined foods, sugar , alcohol etc.

I agree with the guys who wrote the Yeast Syndrome that Candida is the root cause of a multitude of diseases

 

The Yeast Syndrome : How to Help Your Doctor Identify & Treat the Real Cause of Your Yeast-Related Illness

by John P. Trowbridge, Morton Walker

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Guest Guest_efgh

Chemar, a VERY VALID point that in this world its possible that almost every one has some form of candidasis .. Is there any other mild natural cure for yeast other than the potent capyrylic acid... will the book clarify all these points in general...

thanks.

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efgh

 

when I say it is potent......I dont mean that in a bad way........it just has extra mag/cal/zinc plus high level of capryllate and so is truly meant to be used to target yeast.......if you have yeast, a mild attack simply will not work.....you have to go for it from all sides to eradicate it, and then maintain an environment with good diet and probiotics, plus occasional capryllate booster to keep it from overgrowing again.

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efgh,

 

In the yeast syndrome book, I found one line that said that capryllic acid didn't hurt health digestive tracks--but I wouldn't do it without a doctor's guidance.

 

I give my son the low end of the adult dose. It says 4-6 capsules daily and he gets 3-4.

 

Claire

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Claire and EFGH,

 

I have a question. This week is turn off the TV/screen week in our town. The schools are promoting it with prizes, etc. and kids have to fill out a form signed by the parent. Well, my son is very into doing this and wants to completely eliminate it for the time period. I have always wondered if TV could be a problem, however, I have never completely cut it out since he loves his TV/computer/nintendo and I just simply didn't know how I could do it right now. I was going to attempt once the warmer weather was here and we were moved into our house and we could be outside more.

 

Anyway, he started Saturday and since then my son has watched no TV or computer. Well, it is too soon to tell of course if there is a correlation here, however, he is ticcing less than he has in months. It could also be the anti-viral drops I have been giving him. (always a guessing game)

 

My question is when you stopped the TV watching, how long did it take for it to get out of his system. If by the end of this week, he is still mildly ticcing, can I assume TV is not the culprit or could it take longer to know if this is the trigger?

 

Heather

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Heather, efgh

 

Heather, Good for your town! ^_^

 

It takes my son up to a week for the full effect of TV to be gone. However, you must realize that I figured out this correlation within a month of his sensitivity, so it may be easier for him to 'clear his system'. It is important for efgh to answer this too.

 

I am glad to hear your son's tics are better. As for the viral drops vs the TV being the result of the improvement, that is actually easy enough to find out. If TV is the culprit, once no-TV week is over and he resumes TV, he will start ticcing more again. For my son sometimes this reaction occurred immediately (as with efgh's), and other times it took several days for the sensitivity to rebuild. For my son it helped to educate him on the correlation. If your son starts ticcing again, and you do another 'no TV week' and he improves, then you are moving closer to identifying whether this truly is a trigger. It took us multiple times of removing TV and it being reintroduced (by someone, not always us) to be firmly convinced--although attending the Stars Wars Episode 1 on the big screen for 3 hours was the closest we came to a 'neurological' test --it was quite clear.

 

efgh,

 

I didn't know that you tried the LCD monitor with no luck! Bummer. Did you have him sit across a well-lit room with the LCD monitor brightness turned down? Maybe my son can tolerate it occassionally because we went so long with no TV. (6 months). My son still has issues with a larger screen TV--even the plasma 'no flicker' TV. Did you try once a week for 20 minutes until you gradually saw what he could tolerate? We still go months at a time with no TV, even with the LCD monitor--now that he is out of the habit.

 

Claire

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Heather,

 

I should say my son is almost tic free with NO TV. Ofcourse , he is on supplements and I have avoided all offending food allergens. But once he starts to watch the TV, he tics non stop during the whole duration of TV watching. He mainly gets vocal tics when he watches TV (like softly repeating the sounds and phrases in the TV) Hope this helps.

 

Claire,

 

I tried the LCD monitor in a well lit room with NO LUCK. But it was a HUGE TV LCD SCREEN . SHould I try the smaller screen to see some good results.. Do you advice trying the smaller size screen???

I OWE A LOT to Claire in this regard. But for Claire, I would definitely not have identified TV as "THE TRIGGER". Since January, my son is on NO TV and his tics have dramatically improved since then. I only worry that he still tics a lot even if he watches the TV for a few minutes.. Let me hope his system comes to balance soon (is it wishful thinking?????)

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efgh,

 

Ahhhhh, yes, a LARGE screen is really a problem for my son. I based my own experimentation and recommendations on the photosensitive epilepsy sites, since the trigger seems to be the same.

 

They recommend 14" or less, but since 15" is a standard, we use that. My son saw no-flicker TV on a big screen at a friend and he felt the reaction right away (I could see it also, when he came home).

 

They recommend 3 meters away which is 9-10 ft. Heck, I grew up with a small black and white that we watched from across the room--this is perfectly fine. I think it is worth trying, though your son could just still be more sensitive than mine (that would be hard to imagine though!)

 

Heather, I hope that you are going to do some real testing of this. I am trying to talk Sheila Rogers on writing more on this, and the more people testing it out (regardless of the results--data is data), the more informal data to catch people's attention. I keep saying, I don't think it is a panacea for everyone, but it sure is major for my son, efgh's son, and from what I understand, Jean's son. It sounds like Ronna's son was very sensitive for a time but isn't anymore. To me it avoids the social issues of tics for my son while we try to solve the underlying health issues. For him, getting outside, or listening to booktapes/CD's while building things is his new downtime. He never complains. He just doesn't want to stand out at middle school by leaving the classroom when the TV is on--so I am working this.

 

Claire

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Claire,

 

Yes, I am definitely going to pursue this TV issue now since I have already perhaps seen the correlation. I will do anything to help him at this point and I am sure people think I am way too fanatical about some of the triggers (especially the potato sensitivity) but I don't really care since I know the feeling of calmness he has when we avoid the foods.

 

Now I am fanatical about the TV. I went to the grocery store last night and my husband was watching the hockey game and my son was in the kitchen playing with his cards. I kept emphasizing to my husband that if Will came in to shut the TV off. I am stressed for him to even catch a glimpse at this point as I don't want it to ruin the assessment during this prime opportunity when there is no TV watching. I will be actually thrilled if it is the TV trigger and we were able to stop the tics. I would also be grateful for life to you Claire as, like EFGH, I never would have made this connection and even considered it if you hadn't written about it.

 

We do currently have an LCD monitor for the computer so I will test him with going back to that next week initially. I am really enjoying not having the TV on and we are doing so many other wonderful activities to keep busy. My son has made a list of things to do (he has about 20) and we also are doing a lot more chatting as a family. I am going to persuade them not want to go back to it full force next week and get in the habit of doing other things.

 

Heather

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Heather,

 

What a kind thing to say! I wish you the best in finding out whether this makes a difference for your son. Honestly, once we made the transition, the TV/Computer thing BY FAR the easiest aspect for me to deal with. I know that TV/Computer limitations are less than ideal, but I used to thank God that he 'let' me see what a difference in made for my son. Multiple tics to nothing. Just like with me finding out about heavy metals and yeast. I can just be grateful for having the path shown to me! And honestly, my son is happy, not deprived. I am trying not to be premature in rushing to conclusions, as I can see you are doing also.

 

I am SO glad that you are doing this 'experiment' fully. I so worry that kids whose parents try this end up with TV/Computer exposure at school, in the classroom for example, so that they never truly have the full week off and thus they don't really find out their 'baseline' state without TV/Computer to truly make a judgement. My son used to come home with tics and I would go nuts thinking that he was just going to have them without a known trigger--only to find out, sometimes days later as they got worse--that the school or aftercare was reexposing him to TV against my instructions (we have to sign a form to allow our children to use computer, and I declined).

 

Funny that you mention 'chatting more'. We instituted 'game time' instead of TV. Cards, Connect 4, Boggle, K-nex building, and would sit around playing and chatting together. It took my husband and I effort to make the time initially, and then we found we enjoyed it so much ourselves. I hear you re the TV and your husband, I had to educate mine too. In fact, we finally finished a room for his office, and the TV is now in there, so it no longer takes over our livingroom. I don't watch it, but my husband still does.

 

Definitely keep us posted. I hope it doesn't take longer than a week for making the assessment--it may not have fully cleared his system, but you should be able to tell a lot by then.

 

Claire

 

edited: Re the LCD monitor--if possible, please do try a DVD movie from across the room, vs a computer game up close for the initial 'tolerance' test. And do lower the brightness (he will never notice the difference--visibility is fine).

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Claire,

 

Thanks for the tip regarding the reintroduction of the screen. This may sound like a very stupid question but I do not understand the technology behind the flicker issue at all. Is the flicker not present when you watch a DVD on the regular television?

 

Also, the great thing about this trial week is the fact that the no TV idea is promoted by the schools so there is no chance that he will be watching any TV at school either.

 

I am almost scared to write this but as of going to bed tonight, he has had the best day in 7 months. I am praying that this will continue.

 

Heather

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Guest Guest_efgh

Heather,

 

Claire is talking not about the regular Television - he is talking about the small 15 inch LCD monitor for DVD movies.

great to know that your son is having one of the best days in 7 months. we are all so happy for you and its SO encouraging to read such posts.

Claire , what do you mean by watching "across the room"??

 

thanks.

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Hi,

 

Thanks for the clarification EFGH. I see what Claire means now. The problem is we don't have a television with an LCD monitor to test it on. We only have the LCD monitor for the computer right now. We don't really have the means to go and buy one right now, especially when we don't know if this is really the problem.

 

So for now I am left with only the computer to test it out.

 

Heather

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