Tourette Syndrome & ADHD

[jewlz]

Hi everyone,

My son was recently diagnosed with TS in December, it came on very sudden. It started with a tongue movement, then an eye, next his neck, & then out of nowhere the swear words came. He is 6 years old & he had 7-12 motor & verbal tics a minute , even in school. It took many phone calls to get him seen by a neurologist within 2 weeks. They put him on Clonidine, we ended up on .1mg twice a day, the tics were better, he could get through his days at school with minimal swearing, but he would also fall asleep during reading time, & in the car & whenever he was sitting. The doctor switched his medication because of his sleeping. We now are on Clonazepam .5 twice a day, I don't know yet what this is going to do yet, because we just started, but there is a twist. My son not only has severe TS, he also has ADHD, in seeing a doctor for that today, they put him on Concerta for that 18mg 1time a day for first week & twice a day thereafter. This pill is a stimulant so it may cause more tics, which scares me. There is a drug that is not a stimulant called Strattera, but it is a new drug with many side affects with no long term testing. My husband & I are overwhelmed, scared, angry,& frustrated at this point. Does anyone have any comments about or similar stories that may help me?

I see some of you are using diet & natural supplements for your kids, I was wondering if it works on a severe case of TS, & does anyone have a good book they go by for the diet?

 

Need help with my beautiful Blue eyed son! Jewlz

[Fixit]

Hi everyone,

My son was recently diagnosed with TS in December, it came on very sudden. It started with a tongue movement, then an eye, next his neck, & then out of nowhere the swear words came. He is 6 years old & he had 7-12 motor & verbal tics a minute , even in school. It took many phone calls to get him seen by a neurologist within 2 weeks. They put him on Clonidine, we ended up on .1mg twice a day, the tics were better, he could get through his days at school with minimal swearing, but he would also fall asleep during reading time, & in the car & whenever he was sitting. The doctor switched his medication because of his sleeping. We now are on Clonazepam .5 twice a day, I don't know yet what this is going to do yet, because we just started, but there is a twist. My son not only has severe TS, he also has ADHD, in seeing a doctor for that today, they put him on Concerta for that 18mg 1time a day for first week & twice a day thereafter. This pill is a stimulant so it may cause more tics, which scares me. There is a drug that is not a stimulant called Strattera, but it is a new drug with many side affects with no long term testing. My husband & I are overwhelmed, scared, angry,& frustrated at this point. Does anyone have any comments about or similar stories that may help me?

I see some of you are using diet & natural supplements for your kids, I was wondering if it works on a severe case of TS, & does anyone have a good book they go by for the diet?

 

Need help with my beautiful Blue eyed son! Jewlz

 

Sorry you are and your son are going through this!

 

We are not on meds but if i were to start i would only 1 at a time and see what results i got form that...my the clonazepem will help with both.

The biggest problem i see with meds is that alot of docs will prescibe several and that just seems crazier to me than all of the natural voodoo we are trying here.

But i guess they are docs so that's ok ...there was a show on pbs on how kids with all these disorders end up on 8 medicines

 

on another note has you child had an illness w/i the last several months...

 

i far from as knowledgeable as most here so hopefully others can help you.

[faith]

jewlz, hello and welcome,

I don't know too much about the meds, but just wondering how long he was on the clonodine? if it made him too sleepy, could you have reduced it or just give it at night?

 

As far as the meds for ADHD, unfortunately the stimulants are not really good for those with tics, and I'm surprised the doctor prescribed that if he knows your son has these tics. perhaps he feels the clonodine will take care of that, but you are right to be concerned.

 

Could you give a little more about your son's onset of tics? all these came on in the same time period? none before this? was he ill in the month or so before this started? have you looked into PANDAS? this is when strep infection is thought to bring on sudden tics,ocd or other behaviors in certain predisposed individuals.

 

Its worth a try to clean up the gunk in his diet, eliminate caffeine, artificial colors/flavors, sodas, high fructose corn syrup, msg. do the best you can, you might see a good difference. you can look into different vitamins and supplements. a good start is magnesium, which kids with tourettes seem to need, and it is calming so good for adhd as well. unfortunately its all trial and error, so you'll have to find what works for your child. read alot and ask alot of questions.

 

Faith

[CDNRaider]

Jewlz,

 

Hello and I hope you can find some relief for your son asap. My sons tics began when he was 6 as well, but I know his ADD issues were there long before that -- I always would tell my wife that Zack was oblivious to the universe and he was quite clumsy as well. We had a fair bit of success with the Magnesium for Zack's head/neck tics. I would also start eliminating as many preservatives, dyes and sugar out of your diet as you can.

 

This forum has been an incredible source of information and support for my wife and I. I would just start going through the different threads and start following different 'leads'. We saw a homeopath and he has helped some with the ADD but not really with the tics. The television aggravates Zacks tics so we don't watch much tv right now. We are going to start a probiotic and Candida Clear program to check that path out. Our prayers our with you, but don't lose hope. I also ordered Sheila Rogers book and it was excellent.

[Chemar]

I see some of you are using diet & natural supplements for your kids, I was wondering if it works on a severe case of TS, & does anyone have a good book they go by for the diet?

 

Hi jewlz and welcome

 

my son is dx with TS as well as ADD (no Hyperativity tho)

 

He used to have very very severe TS and his ADD was impacting his education too

 

We tried meds (not for ADD but for his tics, as well as his severe OCD) but stopped after a horrible year of alarming side effects that were far worse than the tics or OCD

 

we started a supplement, healthy diet and other alternative treatments like acupuncture and chiropractic when he was in 5th grade and immediately saw dramatic improvements. He is now 20yo and is doing great

 

yes, he still tics and has bouts of OCD, but nothing like it was in those bad early days! Also, his ADD became almost negligible once we started the supps and pure diet

 

you can read about what helped him by following the link in my signature

 

re diet, that really is very dependent on the individual's specific needs and allergies/sensitivities.

But it does seem everyone benefits from a "clean" diet of pure, whole foods and avoiding artificial additives

 

the book written by our admin, Sheila Rogers, really is excellent for providing a comprehensive coverage

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

 

do also take a look at our helpful threads compilation

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2459