help....please

[bev]

Hi all,

 

My son became distressed yesterday and said he didnt like having tics and wants the doc to 'fix it'. So rang doc and he is happy to prescribe clonodine. But - I am very scared of giving it to my son after reading some peoples experiences and the sadative effect. I have read that there is a cream version available - has anyone tried this? How would you get the dose right? Anyone tried the patch - and can you do half doses etc?

 

Part of me wants to stick it out and see what happens without intervention - but part of me wants to make my son feel happier - i am in a quandry about it all - anyone give any soothing advice?

 

I dont think people at school have noticed - i think he stops some at school perhaps. I just dont want to go down a road of meds if i dont have to.

 

I found a link from a medical college saying that the peak tic age is between 10 and 12 - my son is 11 - should we just stick it out and wait and see if things settle?

 

He is a beautiful happy boy and always brightens my day - the thought of him being 'drugged up' and 'not with it' fills me with horror. No offence meant to anyone who is taking this med - i am just panicking and dont know what to do for the best.

 

He is only on magnesium at the moment - is there anything else more natural i could try before meds?

 

Thanks for any help. Bev x

[Chemar]

Hi Bev

 

I am biased as both my son and husband had awful side effects from meds for tics....so I would always urge a natural way forst

 

magnsium alone wont always reduce tics sufficiently...it is a good idea to add the other supps that can help (my list is in my signature link, and the ingredients of Bonnie Grimaldi's BonTech supps are posted on her website) But it is also important to remove potential tic triggers, including artificial food additives that frequently act as neuro-excitatory agents etc

 

have you tried the epsom salts baths for your son along with giving oral magnesium?

 

is he taking a good pure multivitamin/mineral with all the B vits? Omega 3 is also very important (if fishoil sensitive, use flaxseed oil)

 

the amino acids taurine and l-carnitine are helpful for tics, but introduce slowly and only one at a time to be sure they are tolerated as some people do not react well to them

 

I know we found it was the combination of supplements that worked best around the core necessity of magnesium, along with a "clean" diet and environment free of triggers (eg chlorine, household chemicals, anything perfumed, dustmite etc are triggers for my son)

 

and yes, the puberty years are the worst it seems

[bev]

Hi Bev

 

I am biased as both my son and husband had awful side effects from meds for tics....so I would always urge a natural way forst

 

magnsium alone wont always reduce tics sufficiently...it is a good idea to add the other supps that can help (my list is in my signature link, and the ingredients of Bonnie Grimaldi's BonTech supps are posted on her website) But it is also important to remove potential tic triggers, including artificial food additives that frequently act as neuro-excitatory agents etc

 

have you tried the epsom salts baths for your son along with giving oral magnesium?

 

is he taking a good pure multivitamin/mineral with all the B vits?

 

I know we found it was the combination of supplements that worked best around the core necessity of magnesium, along with a "clean" diet and environment free of triggers (eg chlorine, household chemicals, anything perfumed, dustmite etc are triggers for my son)

 

and yes, the puberty years are the worst it seems

 

 

Thanks Cheri,

 

I think i have just filled my head with too much and cant think straight. I am starting to look at all labelling and have bought some 'free from' range of foods as a starter. But my only problem with giving him a 'clean' diet is that he sometimes has low blood sugars and needs a hypo treatment (diabetic) - and most of these treatments seem to be things like apple juice (we get organic but not sure if citric is trigger) - and the glucotablets which have colourant in them. I also know that sugar itself is a trigger - but not sure what i can do as he needs glucose on occasion? I did give him clear honey the other day instead - not sure if this is a trigger?

 

I did try him with an epsom salt bath - but he couldnt sleep for hours afterwards (however - this was the night before the first day back at school so might be coincidence) - I am also giving him a mouth spray by bach's to help him sleep.

 

I dont think we can get the things Bonnie sells over here - i have looked in health shops etc but to no avail.

 

I havent given him any multi' vits as i didnt know what to look for.

 

Chlorine - so does this mean he cant go swimming? His life already seems so restricted being diabetic. Also - am i right in thinking that wholemeal flour is a trigger? The problem is that he can only eat this as if he eats white flour his sugars shoot up.

 

Is there a list of 'clean' foods available? It is a nightmare shopping as i have to look at the carbohydrate content and now need to look at everything else.

 

Do you mind me asking what dose of clonodine your son was on that caused the side effects?

 

Also, when you say puberty years - are you talking right through until 18 - or do you mean when they lose their voice etc which i would think is about 13 or so?

 

How are your sons tics now?

 

Thanks for all the advice i am getting - your all wonderful. Bev x

[Chemar]

Bev

only people who have food intolerances need to avoid certain food types

 

my son is fine with apples/applejuice as well as limited turbinado sugar and his tics are not triggered by any whole grains

 

by clean diet I rather mean trying to avoid artificial chemical additives so if you can find glucose tabs without color that would be better

 

re chlorine, again, that is one of my son's sensitivities. If your son isnt reacting to it (ie ticcing more when swimming in chlorinated water) then it isnt a problem for him. There are past threads here about different methods of purifying pools that dont require as much chlorine

 

 

just because someone else posts that they have found tics reduced by avoiding gluten or dairy or salicylate containing fruits etc doesnt mean that is a trigger for everyone! Usually the artificial chemical things seem to be more universal triggers...but with foods it is more specific to the individual

 

what you need to do is keep a log and try to find his specific triggers

 

my son was first dx in 2000. We have a genetic link of TS. His tics and OCD were very severe and we did try meds for a year but saw very little improvement and in fact things got worse as the side effects triggered stuff. It became so bad that he was in hospital and we decided to withdraw from the meds with a doctor's help. After I read a copy of Latititudes magazine and learned of the research Bonnie was doing, I decided to try the natural route and we have never looked back. My son is now 20yo and doing great! yes, he still has tics, but they are very mild and hardly noticeable anymore and his OCD is so much more stable too. We noticed an improvement almost immeduiately after beginning the supp program I have in my signature

 

You can t buy Bonnie's supps other than via her website, but she does list the ingredients of her products so you can try to put together your own plan, like I did for my son

 

it does take trial and error but from our experience is so very worth it!

[bev]

Bev

only people who have food intolerances need to avoid certain food types

 

my son is fine with apples/applejuice as well as limited turbinado sugar and his tics are not triggered by any whole grains

 

by clean diet I rather mean trying to avoid artificial chemical additives so if you can find glucose tabs without color that would be better

 

re chlorine, again, that is one of my son's sensitivities. If your son isnt reacting to it (ie ticcing more when swimming in chlorinated water) then it isnt a problem for him. There are past threads here about different methods of purifying pools that dont require as much chlorine

 

 

just because someone else posts that they have found tics reduced by avoiding gluten or dairy or salicylate containing fruits etc doesnt mean that is a trigger for everyone! Usually the artificial chemical things seem to be more universal triggers...but with foods it is more specific to the individual

 

what you need to do is keep a log and try to find his specific triggers

 

my son was first dx in 2000. We have a genetic link of TS. His tics and OCD were very severe and we did try meds for a year but saw very little improvement and in fact things got worse as the side effects triggered stuff. It became so bad that he was in hospital and we decided to withdraw from the meds with a doctor's help. After I read a copy of Latititudes magazine and learned of the research Bonnie was doing, I decided to try the natural route and we have never looked back. My son is now 20yo and doing great! yes, he still has tics, but they are very mild and hardly noticeable anymore and his OCD is so much more stable too. We noticed an improvement almost immeduiately after beginning the supp program I have in my signature

 

You can t buy Bonnie's supps other than via her website, but she does list the ingredients of her products so you can try to put together your own plan, like I did for my son

 

it does take trial and error but from our experience is so very worth it!

 

 

Thanks Cheri,

 

That all makes sense - i was so confused! I have been out and bought a multi vitamin B complex, and he has taken some flax oil tonight. I also got some stuff for his bath. I will try these for a while to see if things calm a little, as I really prefer natural rather than meds etc.

 

Thank you very much for explaining things so clearly, I will let you know if any of the above have any effect on him. If not, I will then try all the other supplements Bonnie recommends. I would order some things off her web site - but i think the postage would cost more than the items.

 

Thanks. Bev x

[Valerie Gorman]

Hi Bev,

 

Not sure if you've got the book Natural Treatments for Tic Disorders and Tourettes, but this book blew me away in it's vast amount of accessible help for correcting tics naturally.

 

My daughter is 10 and had multiple physical and vocal tics all day long, plus she was hyper, easily angered, hates academics, struggled with anxiety, and was beginning to exhibit some OCD. We tried 2 meds and didn't see any improvement. We figure she'd have to take something stronger, but then we found this wonderful book.

 

The diet thing is so huge in tracking down what might be triggering your son. It seems intimidating, I know. Here's a little suggestion I got from a friend that helped me ease my way into this new way of eating: cut one possible trigger food out for two weeks, then put a bunch of it back into his diet for one day. Also, write down everything he eats and any significant changes with tics etc... That didn't overwhelm me so I tried it with gluten. Tough at first, but I figured it out. (check out "gfcf" cookbooks for kids at your library) After two weeks I loaded her up with gluten for a day...not much difference...then since I figured she wasn't sensitive I fed it to her the next day and by that night she wasn't ticcing more than usual but she was crazy hyperactive all over the place. Anyhow, once you see something like that it's pretty inspiring and gives you the strength you need to start pulling more things from the diet (the book is an awesome guide for what things to pinpoint...but you can find their list online, too). Once you and your son see the fruits of your labor, you'll both be excited to keep trying things and seeing how free he can be. In fact...a little funny thing happened today...so we're testing her for sensitivity to MSG and we were really loading her up on it after being mostly free of it for over a month. Her tics got worse and worse over the 2 1/2 days that we did it. She had lost all her vocal tics through the elimination diet but with this msg test they were back in force and she was "chirping" every 10 seconds or so all day. At one point I asked her what it was like to be chirping again after not doing it for a while: did it feel like second nature, did she not even notice it, or what? She very humorously expressed HOW ANNOYING IT WAS to feel like she had to chirp all day long! So, she is certainly motivated to keep away from msg!

 

Anyhow, just wanted to encourage you to read that book, and start pulling foods!

 

In Christ,

 

Valerie

[bev]

Hi Bev,

 

Not sure if you've got the book Natural Treatments for Tic Disorders and Tourettes, but this book blew me away in it's vast amount of accessible help for correcting tics naturally.

 

My daughter is 10 and had multiple physical and vocal tics all day long, plus she was hyper, easily angered, hates academics, struggled with anxiety, and was beginning to exhibit some OCD. We tried 2 meds and didn't see any improvement. We figure she'd have to take something stronger, but then we found this wonderful book.

 

The diet thing is so huge in tracking down what might be triggering your son. It seems intimidating, I know. Here's a little suggestion I got from a friend that helped me ease my way into this new way of eating: cut one possible trigger food out for two weeks, then put a bunch of it back into his diet for one day. Also, write down everything he eats and any significant changes with tics etc... That didn't overwhelm me so I tried it with gluten. Tough at first, but I figured it out. (check out "gfcf" cookbooks for kids at your library) After two weeks I loaded her up with gluten for a day...not much difference...then since I figured she wasn't sensitive I fed it to her the next day and by that night she wasn't ticcing more than usual but she was crazy hyperactive all over the place. Anyhow, once you see something like that it's pretty inspiring and gives you the strength you need to start pulling more things from the diet (the book is an awesome guide for what things to pinpoint...but you can find their list online, too). Once you and your son see the fruits of your labor, you'll both be excited to keep trying things and seeing how free he can be. In fact...a little funny thing happened today...so we're testing her for sensitivity to MSG and we were really loading her up on it after being mostly free of it for over a month. Her tics got worse and worse over the 2 1/2 days that we did it. She had lost all her vocal tics through the elimination diet but with this msg test they were back in force and she was "chirping" every 10 seconds or so all day. At one point I asked her what it was like to be chirping again after not doing it for a while: did it feel like second nature, did she not even notice it, or what? She very humorously expressed HOW ANNOYING IT WAS to feel like she had to chirp all day long! So, she is certainly motivated to keep away from msg!

 

Anyhow, just wanted to encourage you to read that book, and start pulling foods!

 

In Christ,

 

Valerie

 

Thankyou Valerie,

 

I have seen this book and wondered if it was any good - there seems to be a lot of 'bad' advice and 'fake' cures - so i was a little hesitant. However, after reading this i have just ordered it from amazon books. Thanks for the advice.

Your daughter sounds lovely - you must be very proud of her. Will report back when i start making changes etc.

Bev x

[Chemar]

Bev

 

that book is written by Sheila Rogers, who is the administrator of this website

It isnt in any way claiming a cure, but rather just a comprehensive compilation of info and resources to help one thru the maze

http://www.latitudes.org/book.html

[bev]

Bev

 

that book is written by Sheila Rogers, who is the administrator of this website

It isnt in any way claiming a cure, but rather just a comprehensive compilation of info and resources to help one thru the maze

http://www.latitudes.org/book.html

 

 

Oh gosh! I hope i havent offended Shiela or anyone? I didnt mean her book was fake or anything - just that there appears to be some claims for 'miracle cures' etc and i didnt want to fill my head with nonsense. I am sure that this book is wonderful and look forward to reading it. Bev x

[Chemar]

oh no! no offense at all....just realized perhaps you didnt know the book was kinda "home grown" and wholesome

[Valerie Gorman]

Hello Bev!

 

I am so excited you got that book! You won't regret it! It's thick...like a phone book! But don't let the size intimidate you, it's easy reading really, and you can flip around to the parts that really are of interest to you. I did that at first then read it through from the beginning. I am amazed at all I've learned so far. Please let me know what you think of the book and what happens when you try stuff with your son.

 

In Christ,

 

Valerie

 

Thankyou Valerie,

 

I have seen this book and wondered if it was any good - there seems to be a lot of 'bad' advice and 'fake' cures - so i was a little hesitant. However, after reading this i have just ordered it from amazon books. Thanks for the advice.

Your daughter sounds lovely - you must be very proud of her. Will report back when i start making changes etc.

Bev x