Inexpensive and natural vitamins/supplements/pills

[Guest Aimee]

I'm looking for inexpensive and natural things I can take for TS. I've had TS since the age of 5 and didn't start getting medicated for it until about 5 years. I've had Haldol, combined it with an extremely stressful work environment and had a nervous breakdown. I also have depression and am getting medicated for that. The nervous breakdown earned me a 2 week medical leave from work to get myself back together.

 

Next I was on Risperdol, but for just 4 or 5 months. It made me anxious and really didn't help.

 

Finally I was put on Seroquel and the dosage maxed out at 400 mg 2 times a day. I'll be the first to admit that, for the most part, it controlled the tics, but not 100% and, knowing I was on a very high dosage, was not very willing to increase it. I'm now planning to start a family in a year or two and am getting tapered off of the Seroquel. Another reason I'm going off of it is because my insurance will pay for only 80% of the cost, which leaves me with a $130 bill just for that. I'm finding that being under too much stress, financial stress has been bad of late, makes my TS worse also.

 

I'm now almost halfway off of the Seroquel and I'm now trying to find something more natural, but preferably inexpensive, that is safe to take for TS and safe to have while pregnant and nursing. I've looked at Bonnie's page at the supplements, but I'm very unsure of what I should be trying. Does anyone have a good suggestion on what to try? I'm afraid that my doctor will only suggest another drug and I'd like to try something else before having to try that again.

[Chemar]

Hi Aimee and welcome to Latitudes.....

 

my son was on meds too for a year(also Haldol....or Horror-dol as he called it

 

He has done so much better these last 3 years on natural rememdies.

 

There is a lot of info on this Forum about all the good things that help in tic reduction....

 

The supplements dont have to cost a lot....even WalMart has some of them and I have started shopping at The Vitamin Shoppe (just opened near me and also online) as they have fantastic reductions in price compared with elsewhere!

 

I have posted below a modified previous post of mine on what my son takes.....and put a star next to what i believe to be most important for TICS

 

 

The combinations that I give come close to the overall doses recommended in Bonnie's original research

 

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/5207/ts_ma...bonnie_sup.html

 

and I have added some other things that she also now recommends in her new program http://www.BonnieGr.com ,

 

and also ones that I have determined to be good for my son from my own research and enquiries

 

 

 

*1 multivitamin/mineral (the multi has all the good antioxidants etc, and is high in the B group vits, and I add a B1)

*1 combo flax/borage/omega-3,6,9 oil with Evening Primrose Oil

*1 Lecithin

*1 combo cal/mag/zinc

*1 taurine

2 ginko biloba(for ADD)

1 St Johns Wort (for OCD)

*1 l-Carnitine

*1 Royal Jelly(multi nutrient, rich in B vits)

1 GrapeSeed extract (builds immunity)

1 Bilberry(for vision)

1 5HTP (for OCD-)

*1 Inositol(for OCD-)

1 Methionine

1 coQ10

 

if anxiety is high, he also takes 1 GABA

 

 

(The doseage of the supps depends on age and body weight so I have not included it here as my son is 14yo and >150lb)

 

We also try to watch the diet VERY carefully so he eats healthy good stuff, no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners and NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, no caffeine and mimimal sugar(we only use pure Turbinado sugar) he likes pure dark chocolate, and is allowed some of that, and I try to make most things from scratch.

 

Other complementary treatments that have been helpful to my son are:

 

accupuncture

 

biofeedback (NOT neurofeedback)

 

yeast (candida) control, along with other parasite elimination

 

detoxification and heavy metal elimination

 

environmental modifications to eliminate as much dustmite, mold, pesticides, cleaning chemicals, chlorine and other things that seem to trigger tics for him.

 

Most of all we have found that a positive attitude and MUCH prayer have enabled all of us to truly face and overcome the challenges that TS and it's comorbid conditions present.

 

I hope this is helpful to you.

Please feel free to let me know if you need more details