The Treatments that have Helped My Son

[Chemar]

Hi Wendy

 

if you do a search of other threads here you will find many parents who discovered that their children were making those hmmmm sounds and the eye blinking etc related to allergies. Looking at what your child eats this could very well be a possibility.

 

My son doesnt have dietary allergies, but does have multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) so that chemical food additives are a big trigger for his tics and OCD issues. we dont go near McDonalds, but I think their chicken nuggets may have MSG in them which is a known tic trigger. If you are using strawberry syrup for that milk then it likely has red40 and or other chemical food coloring in it which is another big no no! If you are using Pilsbury toaster strudels, again, those are loaded with artificial coloring!!!

 

however we have many reports here of parents who found dairy intolerance was causing their kids to make the hmmmmm sounds. also many whose kids cannot handle the salicylates found in strawberries and some other fruits. some have also found that gluten intolerance is causing problems for their kids

 

 

 

in addition, there are many kids who develop tics and mood/behavior issues from strep infection. A condition known as PANDAS can result. maybe take a look at our PANDAS forum too

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showforum=17

 

we also have documentation on kids whose tics escalated after vaccinations

 

 

my suggestion would be to read through past posts here by using the search field for keywords that are relevant to your child and then ask as many questions as you can think of. we have a wonderful membership who are so willing to share their experiences to help others

 

hope you find answers here to help your son too

 

ps I forgot to mention another biggie which is candida albicans, commonly known as "yeast" infection of the GIT. a lot of our kids showed improvement when candida issues dealt with

[melanie]

Hi

I rely so much on what has worked for your child I try to use many of the supplements you recomend My question is what therapies have you tried? Have you done anything else? Has anyone tried anything like the biofeedback?

[Chemar]

Hi Melanie

 

yes, I mention those additional therapies in my first post on this thread

 

my son has acupuncture, reflexology and biofeedback from the same therapist. these have always been his personal preferred treatments as he finds immediate and long lasting relief

 

we do not do any neurofeedback tho.

 

he also benefits from gentle NUCCA chiropractic and when he was younger he had a series of occupational therapy sessions tohelp with his sensory issues. he learned some good skills from that and still uses them

 

we did CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) for the OCD and the therapist taught him great coping skills

 

do remember my son has genetic Tourette Syndrome with the spectrum of co-morbid disorders that often accompany it. so what works for him may not always work for others. I found I needed to keep tweaking his regimin as he got older and with the various waxing and wanings of his symptoms.....and now that he is a young adult, he does so himself so that his treamtment plan vaies with his immediate needs. The basics remain the same tho.

[MARYANN]

Hi I just came across this website thru googling my son's symptoms. I must say i am very overwhelmed and don't know where to start. I'd say for the last couple months i'd noticed my son making a hm hmm sound when I was putting him to bed at night. I just figured it was his way of calming down, but in the last couple of weeks he started doing it during the day and I noticed his eyes blinking hard with the sounds. The last 2 days he has been sniffing ALOT, the hmming hasn't been happening much now. He also is very sensitive to sound and changes. I don't think he has any problems with socialization, he's shy and needs some adjustment time, but then plays fine. I'm going to be speaking to his teachers at church this Sunday to make sure. He is 5 and i home school him. He is very addicted to video games. I use them as a reward for 2 hours a day, when he has completed his school. He is a very picky eater, he eats gogurt, applesauce, waffles, french toast, strudels, strawberries, apples, and mcd's chicken nuggets and fries, but that is about it. He just recently has been drinking alot of strawberry milk, i'm wondering if that has anything to do with his sniffing. He also has a very short fuse and has many meltdowns a day. I'm not sure how to handle them, it tends to get very overwhelming. Since i've noticed there might be something wrong with him i've been more patient, but it is still so hard, i have 3 other children i homeschool and he can be quite a distraction and draining! I know this is alot, but there seems to be so many educated people on these issues. If you would give me any direction and advice I would so appreciate it. I'm sad and frustrated I can't see the dr. for almost 2 weeks to even start looking into this. Thank you so much.

Wendy

Hi Wendy,

I think I looked it up once before and Mcd's chicken nuggets and fries do have msg. My daughter gets very sick one to many times and I hope she knows better now. My daughter also made the hmm sound. She is doing pretty well by elimating Msg and artifical flavors. I remember when this first started and two weeks is a long time to wait for a doctors appt. when you don't know whats going on, hang in there. Im sure your going to get alot of good advise. Elimating Msg and artifical flavors is a good start. Maryann

[Chemar]

Updating Feb 2010

as my son is now a few months past 20yo, 10 years since we started this TS journey..... I wanted to update on his current situation

He is doing great!

tics still mild, more slight facial/head movement, occasional eye blinks and "uh" vocal

OCD pretty stable and more things he can handle with ease (neatnik, ordering things a certain way, some of the sensory stuff)

 

He has a very healthy diet and basically *only takes his magnesium supplements in a variety of ways for tics. (natural Calm, a cal/mag/zinc supp, epsom salts baths, footbaths, soaked cloth application, in addition to dietary magnesium intake)

He has recently gone gluten/dairy/corn free, along with still avoiding all artificial food additives and preservatives

 

we havent noticed a dramatic reduction in the already mild tics from the gluten/dairy free diet, but he has found enormous digestive benefit from it, with his Crohn's Disease symptoms subdued!

 

I should mention that his supplements for a day are now:

for tic reduction:

*Magnesium as mentioned above

 

all purpose

Omegas: fresh ground flaxseeds and flaxseed oil in diet

 

Probiotic= Stoneyfield Farms Plain Yoghurt (he likes plain kefir as probiotic too but lately finds the yoghurt a better choice re his digestion/autoimmune stuff)

 

multi Jarrow Multi Easy Multivitamin and Multimineral

 

for OCD/mood related

Vitamins METHYL B12,

P-5-P B6,

Inositol &

Vit D3

plus methionine in the samE form

 

Crohn's supps

for anti inflammatory and GIT healing properties

NOW Boswellin Boswellia/curcumin (Boswellin also had OCD reducing properties, curcumin is a potent anti inflammation agent derived from turmeric)

White willow bark (natural salicylate)

DGL liquorice (MUST be DGL for gut healing property)

slippery elm coats mucous lining of stomache and prevents further inflammation)

 

once a month he goes on about a week to 10 days of "natural" antibiotic supplements of Monolaurin, Olive Leaf Extract and Candida Clear. Crohn's is known to have symptoms of bacterial/fungal GIT issues, so these, along with the probiotic yoghurt daily, really helps. He also takes L-lysine to keep Epstein Barr virus dormant

 

His diet is very pure and wholesome, a lot of brown rice in many forms,( including pasta, cakes, crisps), quinoa products, vegetables & salads (except corn and potato), all fruits except grapes, pineapples, watermelon) organic chicken and lamb or beef, lots of wild alaskan salmon and healthy fish, olive and flax oil for salads and cooking, lots of garlic, ginger and turmeric in cooking, rice or apple cider vinegar, plain yoghurt used instead of milk for cereals, and in sauces instead of cheese or dairy, wheat free miso /soy products, coconut milk and oil and spread, green tea, pure chai, some pure fruit juices, lots of reverse osmosis water.....that kind of stuff

 

amazing how the kid who looked at me in horror 9 years ago when I said 'no more blue raspberry slurpees or Doritos for you!' is now the kid choosing his own healthy options and doing so well in all aspects of his life as a young man!

 

Going "natural/alternative" was the best decision we could have made when traditional meds caused more problems than benefit for him. Latitudes and this forum were an integral part of of our "turnaround" in managing his health

 

I hope others will be be encouraged by our story, as 10 years ago I was a mom reduced to a heap of tears and despair over what was happening to my precious boy! Here I am smiling to see where he is today

[GEAF2816]

Thanks Chemar for your update. It looks like you have reduced the number of pills/supplements greatly.

 

My 15 y/o son, 115 lbs, has mild/moderate facial tics and hand sniffing with mild anxiety/OCD. No adhd, no food allergies. Genetic tourettes. Grandfather and 2 male cousins have mild tics and/or OCD too.

 

He's been on 400 mg (2 caplets/day) of vitamin shoppe brand magnesium citrate for a month now. Truthfully, I have not seen any improvement, but we will continue with it. No loose stool from it. Given daily.

 

1-500 mg tablet country life Taurine w/ B6, my son says he feels this reduces his tics. I may increase this to 2 times/day. I also only give this to him 5 days per week (mon-friday)

 

1/2 tablet(50mg) Natrol 5htp in the evenings, 5 days/week. My son's mood in the morning appears better, no sleepiness or bad dreams from it.

 

1/2 tsp of jarrows inositol, and 1/2 tsp natural calm in the morning in his juice. I can't put more Natural Calm in, as he doesn't like the flavor of it. Also given to him 5 days/week.

 

Daily multi vitamin, gummyvite purchased from costco.

 

Any feedback on his routine is greatly appreciated. I would like to add omega oil/flax.

 

Can you tell me what brand magnesium/zinc/calcium and taurine you are using? I'm willing to switch brands on any of the above if you've found they work well for your son.

 

Also, I would love to hear the benefits/difference between 5htp, gaba, samE and inosital in regards to increasing seratonin/mood/anxiety.

 

Thank you for all you do.

[Chemar]

Hi

 

we use primarily NOW Foods supplements and those by Jarrow. (Sometimes we also get vitamin shoppe brand locally as last resort...I am not too keen on some of their "fillers")

 

He takes the cal, mag, zinc as separate (by NOW) but also has a Sundown/Rexall combined one that he takes when out of the individual ones.

 

We always liked the taurine by NOW, tho he doewsnt take taurine as a supp anymore, as his tics are so mild as to seem to get all the benefit he needs from the magnesium. Remember tho this also has to do with him now being out of the teenage puberty years! which are always the worst for tics

 

I order most of our supps from iherb.com as they are usually cheapest, even with shipping

[janna]

Hi Chemar,

 

Don't remember when, but I did read somewhere that your son uses SAMe for his OCD and John's Wort as well. Also he uses B12 methyl, you wrote.

 

Could you tell me if he uses B12 orally, parentally, sublingual or nasal? And in what amounts? I'm really doubting if we should try this on our son. Also: what amount of SAMe and John's Wort does he use, and does he do so on a daily basis?

 

We use John's Wort for several years now, with stopping periods during vacations. We only use 300 mg a day, the German pharmaceutical product, standardized on both hypericin and hyperforin. However, I know that it stimulates phase I detoxification of the liver by P450 enzymes, so produces possibly more toxic byproducts, when phase II is not speeded up as well, I suppose. For that reason I give him alternately garlic+lecithin or 200 mg NAC to help with glutathion for phase II.

Our problem is that our son has very severe OCD and also periods with severe tics. He's 15 years now and pubertal hormones really aggravated his OCD very, very badly. His rituals take so much time, that he isn't able to go to school at the moment. He complains a lot about being very tired. That's why I wonder if he should get methyl B12. He did get B12 in his multivitamin and B-complex all those years, but not the methyl form. We also use IP-6, magnesium taurate, calcium citrate, vit C + OPC, EyeQ for his EFA's.

 

What do you think about this regimen, is methyl B12 a good thing to try and should I alternate every other day between John's Wort and SAMe (only 50 mg now and then at the moment), or did you combine them on the same day and for longterm?

 

Thank you very much in advance and apologies for errors in my English (I,m Dutch)

Janne

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi

 

I have been asked to post our treatment protocol a number of times here and by emails so I have finally put it together in what I hope is a simple summary for anyone who needs more info on it.

 

Although I have a background in Medical Research, with a postgrad degree in Physiology I am not a physician...this is the program that worked for my son, and and I must stress that we were at all times guided by a team of knowledgeable doctors. I urge everyone to work with a qualified physician!

 

 

Hope this answers your question...feel free to contact me if you need more details

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

FIRST: I need to clarify that my son has genetically inherited Tourette Syndrome, and that my husband and his father before also manifest TS etc

 

My son uses mainly supplements (vitamins, minerals, herbs and certain amino acids)

He was on prescription meds for a year, but had very bad side effects, and not much improvement in tics as well as a worsening of his OCD etc.

 

We have used this natural treatment protocol now for almost 4 years and are thrilled with the overall improvement.

His condition has gone from very severe to mild.

 

edited 03/31/07 to say we are now in our SEVENTH year and doing great!! )

 

His treatment plan was enhanced by detoxification from heavy metals (in his case mercury and chlorella supplement was used)) and controlling yeast overgrowth(candida) in his digestive tract. (we initially used caprylate by solgar but then found Candida Clear by NOW to be most effective)

 

We also found that artificial foods were big tic triggers for him (coloring, sweeteners like Nutrasweet ie aspartame and Splenda ie sucralose, MSG ( beware its hidden names in food...!!), chemical preservatives and high fructose corn syrup) We ran allergy tests and did a process of food elimination, but he doesnt have any natural food allergies per se, only mild p-nut sensitivity so we avoid those.

For some folks tho, things like dairy, wheat(gluten) etc can be allergens and so intensify tics, OCD etc

My son was also able to identify other tic triggers that he has such as chlorine (he avoids pools now) and dustmite, mold etc and also most strong smells like in perfumes, and some household cleaners, air fresheners etc (some of this is probably related to his hypersensitivity to sensory things..ie taste, smell, touch, sight and sounds) Occupational therapy [/b] made a big improvement in his sensory issues from the Sensory Integration Dysfunction that so many folks with TS etc seem to have....tho he still removes all labels from inside clothing and wears his sox inside out as the seams drive him nuts

 

There is an excellent article here at Latitudes on Tic Triggers

 

http://latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm

 

 

Acupuncture has greatly benefitted him too, as has reflexology and biofeedback (NOT neurofeedback)

In addition he sees a NUCCA chiropractor who uses gentle pressure methods to help reallign him as ticcing frequently causes skeletal misalignment with resultant neuromuscular problems which cause pain and can even trigger more tics too! ( http://www.nucca.org )

 

He also had Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for the OCD, and occupational therapy helped with many of his Sensory Integration issues

 

 

 

In addition we tested for PANDAs (negative) and Pyroluria (not an issue) as these can also be conditions that exsacerbate tics, OCD etc

 

We saw an INTEGRATIVE medical doctor (trained conventionally, but specialised in natural medicine) and she and her team worked together on my son's treatment and testing

 

The OCD, depression, anxiety and other mood issues were always the most troubling for him, and the improvement that the supplements like primarily 5HTP & Inositol have made there are remarkable! (It is not a good idea to mix some of these with meds tho, so do note that!)

 

I based the rest of his supplements on Bonnie Grimaldi's researched plan for her child. She now has her own products, BonTech on the market which many people use with great success for tics ( www.BonnieGr.com ) but I still use the combinations that I initially implemented for my son, based on Bonnie's protocol but fine tuned to suit my son's specific needs, under guidance from a physician, as it WORKS and so I am reluctant to change anything.

 

Here is our program

 

* multivitamin/mineral (the multi has all the good antioxidants,and other RDA supplements and is high in the B group vits, and I add an extra B1 ( IMPORTANT NO COLOR, FLAVOR OR FILLER IN THE MULTI!! )

 

* combo essential fatty acid supp containing flaxseed, borage and evening primrose oil

( My son is sensitive to fishoil, as some people are, but if you tolerate it, it is good to also use that)

 

* Lecithin

 

* Royal Jelly

 

* ginko biloba(for ADD)

 

* Inositol/vitamin B6 combo (for OCD & tics)

 

* St Johns Wort (for OCD)

 

* Vitamin B12 as METHYL cobalamin

 

in the evening he gets

 

* 5HTP/vitamin B6 (for OCD) (please note 5HTP can have bad side effects in some people so use with caution! and NEVER with medications that elevate serotonin!!)

 

* Methionine (for OCD) (some people prefer samE)

 

* calcium/magnesium/zinc combo( main tic reducer)

 

* taurine (main tic reducer)

 

* GrapeSeed PLUS extract Boosts immune system and seems to also promote restful sleep. The blend I use also contains Bilberry for his vision as well as other essential antioxidants)

----------------------------------------------------------

When he is run down he also gets co-enzyme Q, and if we notice anxiety up I add GABA)

 

He used to take L-carnitine, which many folks find very beneficial for tic reduction and relaxation, but lately he seems to get edgy from it so we discontinued it.

 

 

(The doseage of the supps depends on age and body weight so I have not included it here

 

I stress again,ESPECIALLY if you are ON MEDS, it is a good idea to talk to a physician before adding or combining some of these supplements as interactions can occur which can be serious.

 

Here is an excellent site for reading up on the various supps etc

http://www.iherb.com/health.html

 

information overload????

I will be happy to answer any questions!

 

 

EDITED TO ADD: Certain of my son's tics were clearly interlinked with his OCD, and this was especially so with injurious ones. The psychiatrist who was working with him at the time educated us about this interaction between OCD and Tourettes, and also about ENDORPHINS, the "feel good" chemicals naturally secreted by our brains when we experience pain. Sometimes repetitive injurious "tics" can be stimulating endorphins and so the patient keeps doing them because of this natural high. the amino acid phenylalanine, in its D form, promotes endorphin release and my son was on this for a while. It totally stopped these self injurious "tics" It isnt easy to find D-phenylalanine, but the DL-phenylalanine is more widely available. Please note that where just the L form helps with depression, it is the D form that is needed for the endorphin release.

A very good way to also increase endorphins is moderate excercise. I should also point out that *some people may tic more from phenylalanine* as it is dopaminergic. This was not so for my son for the short time that he used it, but it needs to be noted.

 

Also wanted to mention the tremendous benefit my son has from EPSOM SALTS tubs. The magnesium sulfate in the salts seems to have good results on tics, detox and relaxation. He has one most evenings. 2 cups epsom salts in a tub of warm water and approx 20 min soak. He drinks lots of pure water, or chamomille tea while in tub too.

Epsom foot baths are good too! as is soaking a washcloth in strong epsom solution and apply to areas where tics happening most. Epsom cream also helps. (1.2 tbsp salts, saucer hot water. dissolve and mix into 1/4 cup aquaphor cream)

 

>>>>***just did an update Feb 7 2010. my son is now 20 years old and doing great!

here is the detailed update

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...ost&p=55099

[Chemar]

Hi Janne

 

my son used to use St John's Wort but has not in a very long time. It was part of the supp program to help his OCD/depression/anxiety. Once that stabilized some, we reduced what he was taking.SJW is more recommended for depression than OCD

 

he feels the methylB12 is absolutely essential to his system

If he doesnt take it first thing every morning, on empty stomach with his samE, then he can feel irritability and

a fuzzy brain reaction. He takes Jarrow sublingual methylB12 tablets.

 

the other form of B12 (cyanocobalamin) is so poorly absorbed that it has minimal benefit

 

currently he takes samE and Inositol as well as the P-5-P(B6) VitD3 and the methylB12 for the OCD/mood stuff

 

however, when things were very intense some years back, the only thing that brought his OCD under control was 50mg 5HTP each night

One has to use that with caution tho as some people react to it, and it is very strong

[Lilyma]

Hi Janne

 

my son used to use St John's Wort but has not in a very long time. It was part of the supp program to help his OCD/depression/anxiety. Once that stabilized some, we reduced what he was taking.SJW is more recommended for depression than OCD

 

he feels the methylB12 is absolutely essential to his system

If he doesnt take it first thing every morning, on empty stomach with his samE, then he can feel irritability and

a fuzzy brain reaction. He takes Jarrow sublingual methylB12 tablets.

 

the other form of B12 (cyanocobalamin) is so poorly absorbed that it has minimal benefit

 

currently he takes samE and Inositol as well as the P-5-P(B6) VitD3 and the methylB12 for the OCD/mood stuff

 

however, when things were very intense some years back, the only thing that brought his OCD under control was 50mg 5HTP each night

One has to use that with caution tho as some people react to it, and it is very strong

 

Hi Chemar,

Thank you so much for you extensive help. I am starting from scratch with supplements for my son. His hard single blinking eye tic (present in one eye only) has now gone to both his eyes as a looking down and sideways, " painfully, crossing" tic giving him severe eyestrain and headaches. I was so happy for a split second when he told me his blinking eye tic went away,...only to be replaced with another painful, strenuous eye tic. So, he is off all meds and down to 1 mg of Tenex for a week, then he will be med free. I have not found results with Bonnie's TS supplements at this time, so I am going to add supplements, individually, one by one. I have cleaned up the diet, the Epsom Salt baths do help...

 

Here's my question. Tomorrow morning, I will start off his morning with : Magnesium, Flaxseed, acetyl-l carnitine and P-5-P

 

Is the P-5-P best to give in the Am?

 

I am giving acetyl-l-carnitine for ADHD, will this help with his moderate vocal tics as well?

 

One more...Is Zinc better to give in Am or Pm? Any sleepiness affect to it?

 

He is also on augmentin as the pediatrician agreed to short term antibiotics to see if any response (had cultures, titers, all came back neg, and low)-has constant "stuffy nose"

He takes Claritan for allergies, I heard vit c acts as a histimine. Do you know if this is the case? He tried allergy shots, the allergy testing to the pollen screen brought 1st major, painful eye tic on, did allergy shots for a while, but didn't continue long enough to notice a difference.

 

At this time I will avoid Taurine and Fish Oil and add those later just in case he is sensitive to them. After looking over my regiman for the morning, do you think that is a good start?

 

Thank you for all your help. We are so distraught, he had a terrible week last week, we are all still trying to get over that ( went into a rage that we don't see often)

Again, thank you so much, any advice/experience you've had with these would be so helpful and appreciated... P-5-P in the Am/acetyl-l carnitine for vocal tics/ Vit. C as histimine/ and Zinc am or pm

 

Sincerely,

Lilyma

[Chemar]

Hi Lilyma

 

we used L-carnitine, not acetyl, and yes it really helped with vocal tics. I know others here have successfully used the acetyl form

 

are you still giving the BonTech or have you stopped them? I ask because there is already B6 in them so just be sure you arent overdosing on B6 by giving the P-5-P as well. My son takes half in the morning and half at night

 

He usually takes his zinc at night, along with the extra calcium and magnesium, but it is fine to take it in the morning...just always have zinc with food. We like the chelated opti-zinc by NOW best. Havn't noticed sleepiness from zinc but have from magnesium, again why my son takes his at night. If he is ticcing a lot, then he will have extra magnesium in the morning

 

I am thinking you meant to say Vitamin C is an ANTI-histamine, which, yes, it is and so is good for allergies

 

the only time my son has ever had real massive rage attacks is when he has had excess exposure to chemicals, either in food (MSG, coloring, artificial sweeteners etc) or environmental (perfumes, scented stuff, chemical cleaners, pesticides etc)

 

Have you had any testing done? any strep history? other infections? recent vaccinations?

 

that sudden rage attack you mention makes me think some trigger set him off, so sure is worth investigating

[janna]

Hi Chemar,

 

Thank you so much for your answer!!

I still have some questions left though: since how many years does your son take the methyl B12? I will order this anyway, your answer was the last push I needed to try it.

And secondly: when you used the 5HTP did he use in that period the SAMe as well on a daily basis? And if so, for how long: months or years?

I do have a supplement at home (Neuro Natural Sleep which I bought in New Zealand) that contains several herbs as valerian extract, Passion Flower and so on, but also in every tablet 8,5 mg 5-HTP and 16,5 mg SAMe. Maybe it is worth a try to stop with John's Wort and add 2 or 3 tablets a day of this supplement before bedtime?

Last question: when did your son stop to take the B vitamins, lecithin and so on?

Thanks again. I already read posts from your hand since years and I'm very glad you still write on the forum, despite that you don't seem to need it for yourself and your son anymore.

Janna

 

 

Hi Janne

 

my son used to use St John's Wort but has not in a very long time. It was part of the supp program to help his OCD/depression/anxiety. Once that stabilized some, we reduced what he was taking.SJW is more recommended for depression than OCD

 

he feels the methylB12 is absolutely essential to his system

If he doesnt take it first thing every morning, on empty stomach with his samE, then he can feel irritability and

a fuzzy brain reaction. He takes Jarrow sublingual methylB12 tablets.

 

the other form of B12 (cyanocobalamin) is so poorly absorbed that it has minimal benefit

 

currently he takes samE and Inositol as well as the P-5-P(B6) VitD3 and the methylB12 for the OCD/mood stuff

 

however, when things were very intense some years back, the only thing that brought his OCD under control was 50mg 5HTP each night

One has to use that with caution tho as some people react to it, and it is very strong

[Chemar]

Hi Janna

so glad this has been helpful to you

 

he has been on methylB12 for a couple of years now

 

when he was on the 5HTP, he took it at night and also took plain methionine, not samE. Now he just uses the samE, no 5HTP. He was on the 5HTP for about 2 years

 

He still takes his Multi (Jarrow Multi Easy) that has all the B vitamins in it. he has never taken a Bcomplex separately

 

the complex you got in New Zealand sound interesting, and as that is very low dose 5HTP and samE, it may be worth trying it

[Lilyma]

Hi Lilyma

 

we used L-carnitine, not acetyl, and yes it really helped with vocal tics. I know others here have successfully used the acetyl form

 

are you still giving the BonTech or have you stopped them? I ask because there is already B6 in them so just be sure you arent overdosing on B6 by giving the P-5-P as well. My son takes half in the morning and half at night

 

He usually takes his zinc at night, along with the extra calcium and magnesium, but it is fine to take it in the morning...just always have zinc with food. We like the chelated opti-zinc by NOW best. Havn't noticed sleepiness from zinc but have from magnesium, again why my son takes his at night. If he is ticcing a lot, then he will have extra magnesium in the morning

 

I am thinking you meant to say Vitamin C is an ANTI-histamine, which, yes, it is and so is good for allergies

 

the only time my son has ever had real massive rage attacks is when he has had excess exposure to chemicals, either in food (MSG, coloring, artificial sweeteners etc) or environmental (perfumes, scented stuff, chemical cleaners, pesticides etc)

 

Have you had any testing done? any strep history? other infections? recent vaccinations?

 

 

 

that sudden rage attack you mention makes me think some trigger set him off, so sure is worth investigating

 

Hi Chemar.

Thank you for the Vit C correction, yes, I meant histimine blocker . I will try vit c for allergies, I think I read 1000 mg. can be given. Any thoughts/insight from you on this dosage? My son is 15 y/o, 130lbs.

 

I did stop the Bon-Tech vitamins, and feel I need to clarify, that at this time, I don't see a response in helping with the tics. Right now we are trying to treat tics, as that is our main priority due to the pain in the eyes it is causing my son. However; when I started the supplements, I was weaning off of serious, high doses of meds and I believe my son was going through some withdrawal, which would put stress on his system, possibly provoking tics. After I introduce vitamins, minerals, amino acids one by one to assure no sensitivities to anything, I would try her vitamins again. I don't think they had a fair shot with my son and the time he was going through.

 

I am so grateful you mentioned magnesium can cause drowsiness. My son is so tired all the time to the point of concern, and I realized I have been dosing him with magnesium high in the morning, then throughout the day. Did you give all 400 mg. at night, plus the epsom salt bath? The zinc supplement I was giving had 130 mg of magnesium in it also, that is why I associated tiredness with zinc ( I didn't even realize it had magnesium in it!) I got these supplements from his allergist, and just tried to give and spread out as much as I could so son wouldn't be taking so much at once.

 

One more thing (please...sorry if I am bombarding you with questions) The P-5-P I have been giving also contains magnesium. Did your P-5-P supplement contain that also? His is in the capsule form, did you have a tablet form that can be broken in half?

 

Can I clarify with you, 800 mg Calcium/400 mg magnesium.. I think I had read don't take them together? Is that right?

 

You mentioned you got some things at Publix. I am also a Floridian, did you get NOW brand there, or do you order through iherb.com

 

Also, you've mentioned SAMe, what is this? Is that ordered on i herb as well?

 

As far as testing, we did test for strep....no history of strep, low titers for strep antibodies.

We did allergy testing, he is moderately allergic to mold, mild/moderate on pollen, lactose intolerant and not allergic to wheat. We did test for yeast overgrowth, none. He does get vaccines, but none lately ( I can't even think back to the times to know if any correlation, other than I think his eye tic got worse as far as increasing in amount of ticcing after flu vaccine this year).

 

Last thing, now that you mention it, two days after his rage attack, his stuffy nose came back with major complaints about it. I think it is some type of allergy...hmmm.

 

The information you give is so valuable. I feel like I've started a detective job and I have some type of guidance with the information you put out. Thank you again for your help.

 

Lilyma

[Chemar]

Hi

I got your PM and have fixed the post for you. the quotes got messed up when you typed the reply which is why it all blended into one

 

so let me start from the top

 

yes, magnesium makes my son very drowsy so he gets his magnesium "fix" at night with his epsom footbath (or tub) and his calcium, magnesium, and zinc

 

the continued confusion exists over the pros and cons of taking cal/mag/zinc together , some say dont and others say do. My son prefers them together and they seem to work fine. He takes 800mg calcium & 25 mg zinc from his supps for those, as well as some in his multi too. His magnesium is usually the natural calm and he also has a mag supplement of 400mg mag gluconate, if he decides on that instead of the natural calm, but the only mag he gets in the morning is from his multi (sadly Publix no longer makes the dye and artificial free one they used to. so my son uses Jarrow multi easy powder in a smoothie each morning.)

 

he honestly isnt rigid about exactly how much extra magnesium he takes in, as many supps do have mag stearate as a binder. but it is minimally absorbed.

 

my son uses the NOW brand p-5-p and yes, I get all our stuff at iherb as I find them cheapest, even factoring in shipping.. altho we have a new local health store here in my area that is selling all NOW brands at similar to iherb so I am stocking up.

 

the NOW p-5-p is an oval tablet that can be easily scored and broken in half

 

the samE is a form of methionine. my son used to take plain methionine but prefers the samE form now

he takes 200mg a day only tho many people take 400mg daily

 

Also known as: SAM-e, S-adenosylmethionine

 

The supplement SAMe is a synthetic form of a compound formed naturally in the body from the essential amino acid methionine and adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy-producing compound found in all cells in the body. It was first discovered in 1953.

 

SAMe is believed to work by being a methyl group donor in many reactions in the body. After donating the methyl group, it is converted to a compound called S-adenosyl-homocysteine.

 

hope that answered the questions ok