Found a way to reduce my son's tics!

[mom2livelyboys]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post and I just wanted to share a bit of what has helped with my son's tics. They're not entirely gone, but dramatically reduced.

 

First a bit of background. My son's first tics were blinking and grimmacing and that started *the day* he got his major dental work done. He has spacers put in his mouth. My husband and I were in denial and had him allergy tested (allergic to dust mites) and did all we could to reduce exposure to that. His blinking waxed and wanned and we decided it was seasonal.

 

THEN, it became drastically worse after he had an expander put in last fall. Suddenly he began shrugging his shoulders nonstop plus many of the common other movements. His ortho said he'd never hear of dental appliances causing tics/tourettes and it took a lot of digging around online before I found just a few with similar onset as a result of dental work.

 

So, I have researched so much on different ideas and, of course, the first thing we did was remove the spacers he had in and his expander.

 

The only other stuff we've done thus far is remove certain foods from his diet: Asparatame (he was chewing a lot of Trident & eating Yoplait light with aparatame in it), chocolate, all cheeses, nitrates/lunch meats, msg, & products with food coloring them. In addition, the supplements he's taking are: a multivitamin 2X per day, magnesium 300 mg, taurine 500 mg, and Vit B complex (a high concentration one).

 

His symptoms aren't entirely gone, but doing all this has helped a lot and hopefully by me posting this, someone will be helped. I really think the dental work was the primary trigger for him.

 

I realize all kids are different and not every treatment will work for each one, but with the above "treatment," taking out the foods doesn't cost anything, and the supplements total were around $30 and they'll last a few months so it's always worth a shot.

 

One quick bit of advice. The capsules the supplements are in are size 00 and too big for my son to swallow, so I break those open and put the powder in smaller vegie capsules that a local healthfood store sells. (He's 9 now and IIRC, he was about 6 when he first showed symptoms.)

[Chemar]

hi and welcome

 

glad to hear what has been helping your son

 

as you have likely noticed here, we are very much all about dietary modifications, supplements and other natural ways to treat tics & Tourette Syndrome

 

my own son, who used to manifest with severe TS/OCD, had dramatic improvement from supplements etc as documented in the link below in my signature

 

we have had some recent posting here too about some people who may tic because of misallignment in their TMJ region. I wonder if the spacers were messing with your son's TMJ and so triggering more tics

 

MSG, Aspartame and other artificial food additives have been amongst the primary offenders in triggering tics for my son

 

thanks for sharing your story here

[patty]

mom2livelyboys,

 

Thx for your interesting post. My son started ticcing 4 yrs ago. Due to his severe underbite, he recently started to wear a retainer to correct the misalignment and it triggered a vocal tic and spiked some of his OCD problems.

 

So i decided to removed the retainer after wearing it for about 3 weeks. And now we are using craniosacral therapy & NAET to treat his symptoms. At this point, i am not sure if i want to continue treatment for his underbite, but it is causing articulation issue for him, and i fear the underbite may cause more problems down the line.

 

BTW, may i ask why your son is wearing dental appliance? Did removing the dental appliances helped w/his tics?

 

Pat

[trggirl]

Thank you for sharing!

[mom2livelyboys]

mom2livelyboys,

 

Thx for your interesting post. My son started ticcing 4 yrs ago. Due to his severe underbite, he recently started to wear a retainer to correct the misalignment and it triggered a vocal tic and spiked some of his OCD problems.

 

So i decided to removed the retainer after wearing it for about 3 weeks. And now we are using craniosacral therapy & NAET to treat his symptoms. At this point, i am not sure if i want to continue treatment for his underbite, but it is causing articulation issue for him, and i fear the underbite may cause more problems down the line.

 

BTW, may i ask why your son is wearing dental appliance? Did removing the dental appliances helped w/his tics?

 

Pat

Hi Pat,

 

My son first had a spacer for his bottom teeth. Two baby molars were pulled and a device was put in to keep his teeth from shifting around before there was a chance for his adult molars to grow in. The *DAY* he had that put in, his tics (blinking, grunting/throat clearing) started. (Before then, if he had tics, we wouldn't have known - nothing noticable to even spark concern)

 

Then last fall he had an exander put in. One of his adult teeth on the top had grown in and was grinding against a bottom tooth. The idea was to spread his palette with the expander and then put braces on him. Again, right after that second appliance was put in, his tics became worse. Neck shruggging and a bunch of other movements.

 

We pulled everything out and told the ortho we thought it was causing the tics. He said he hadn't heard of such a thing and agreed it was a good idea to see if taking the dental work out would help any (because anything is possible - as far as he was concerned). He designed a clear retainer for my son to wear on his upper teeth 24/7, so the teeth would stay in the new place the expander had moved them to, and he wore that for a few months. No change. Still the more severe tics. We took the retainer out and at that same time, changed his diet and added the supplements and his tics nearly have gone away. It didn't happen the same day. . .about two weeks later. The only set-back was when I let him eat a buch of candy at a school event. He ate a bunch of products with food coloring in it. Regular sugar doesn't seem to bother him (he eats granola w/sugar added and is fine). It's just the dyes in the candy.

 

How is the craniosacral therapy working out for you?

Any change with the removal of the retainer?

Did your dentist say anything about removing the retainer?

[patty]

I decided to remove the retainer after wearing it about 3 weeks and after 2/3 adjustments. According to our orthod, who is aware of neurological issues in connection w/jaw misalignment says there will be an aggravation initially, however, w/more precise adjustment to his bite, it will eliminate the aggravations. I got nervous and decided to stop. Went to see my son's CST, who is also his NP. No change after the first CST, so i added epsom bath & magnesium supplement and after the 2nd CST, some of the symptoms lessen. So i went to my son's other NP who does NAET and treated the retainer w/an emotional vial "self-doublt" and his vocal lessen even more along w/ his OCD issues (that was only a week ago). We have another NAET appt. today. I will post more when i know more.

 

Does your son have allergies (food & environmental) and asthma?

 

Pat

[mom2livelyboys]

I decided to remove the retainer after wearing it about 3 weeks and after 2/3 adjustments. According to our orthod, who is aware of neurological issues in connection w/jaw misalignment says there will be an aggravation initially, however, w/more precise adjustment to his bite, it will eliminate the aggravations. I got nervous and decided to stop. Went to see my son's CST, who is also his NP. No change after the first CST, so i added epsom bath & magnesium supplement and after the 2nd CST, some of the symptoms lessen. So i went to my son's other NP who does NAET and treated the retainer w/an emotional vial "self-doublt" and his vocal lessen even more along w/ his OCD issues (that was only a week ago). We have another NAET appt. today. I will post more when i know more.

 

Does your son have allergies (food & environmental) and asthma?

 

Pat

We haven't done any food testing yet, but he did have the skin pricks and was found to be allergic to dust mites, dogs, and a few other things. His bedding is covered with allergenic sheeting and I change his pillowcase every other day (and flip it over so he's only exposed to each side once per wash) so none of the dest settling around the room gets on his face. His bedding is also washed in hot water. I'm not sure how much all the cleaning is helping.

 

I still use regular cleaning products - windex and also regular laundry detergent - All Free and Clear and he's not having reactions to that. I bought organic/fragrance free shampoo and that didn't help him at all. Seems like the food is the main culprit. He's having cheese today b/c of a school party and that'll be a test of how sensitive he is to that. It'll be the Alfy's type pizza.

 

No asthma.

[ekesol]

My 10year old son had dental surgery 8months ago. My son has never had tics of any kind. But the day I brought him home from a dental surgery to fill only two teeth...the very day he came home..he came home with tics. It took 7 months to get in to see a neurologist. Throughout that time..we visited with many different doctors..chiropractors, naturalpaths..dentist, and noone had ever heard of a kid getting tics from a dental surgery. I have looked everywhere to find out if there's anyone out there with the same thing...and here you are. Can you believe the doctors refuse to believe that dental surgery will cause tics!!! So hey..what is working for you? My son has been on an organic diet ever since his symptoms started, we are very conscious about toxins in the home environment and outside..the neurologist's only idea is to give my son drugs..which I won't. I need to find something that is most natural. currently only trying to up magnesium..we are doing about 100mg every other day...? My son's tics started with hand spasms/stiffness, then went on to the feet, and now his neck. Can you help?

[MarynaBC]

Congratulations on making progress. Who recommended the Taurine, how long has he been on it, any breaks from it, is the 500mg in one tablet (here in Australia we can only get powder). Does he have vocal tics and does the taurine help them?

[lfran]

Just curious -- did the dentist use Nitrous Oxide gas as an anesthetic when he treated your son?

 

There are a handful of kids on the PANDAS board who have MTHFR mutations, and Nitrous Oxide is supposedly very dangerous if you have this mutation. Wondering if that might be the link to the dental work causing the tics.

 

My 10year old son had dental surgery 8months ago. My son has never had tics of any kind. But the day I brought him home from a dental surgery to fill only two teeth...the very day he came home..he came home with tics. It took 7 months to get in to see a neurologist. Throughout that time..we visited with many different doctors..chiropractors, naturalpaths..dentist, and noone had ever heard of a kid getting tics from a dental surgery. I have looked everywhere to find out if there's anyone out there with the same thing...and here you are. Can you believe the doctors refuse to believe that dental surgery will cause tics!!! So hey..what is working for you? My son has been on an organic diet ever since his symptoms started, we are very conscious about toxins in the home environment and outside..the neurologist's only idea is to give my son drugs..which I won't. I need to find something that is most natural. currently only trying to up magnesium..we are doing about 100mg every other day...? My son's tics started with hand spasms/stiffness, then went on to the feet, and now his neck. Can you help?

[ekesol]

My son had only two fillings and two sealants done while under deep sedation. Propofol, zofran, tylenol suppository, and fentanyl. They used a mask over his mouth and put an iv in and when he was out, they put a tube in his throat. The dentist did work on the specific teeth and she also x-rayed his teeth, and used fluride to clean his teeth. The neurologist has diagnosed him with dystonic tic...because the pain occurs in his hands, then in his feet, and then in his neck. The neck pain has continued for over a month now and hasn't improved. And yes, it is pain and not so much of a tic...however, the Dr.s call it a tic? I didn't realize tics are considered pain also. So if I have pain that moves to different parts of my body...the doctors consider that tics? Crazy. I'm still not sure any of the doctors know and I understand that they are limited in their knowledge..so I guess I haven't stopped my research into helping my son. I don't know if the drugs did it to his system..or if the tube? I just know that people don't go to dental surgery and come out with painful dystonic tics...and if they do...then something went wrong in the surgery. The only things we've done to address the pain is: all organic foods, increased DHA every day supplementation. The intergrative doctor recommended MSM for the pain, and then Milky oat seed for any muscle spasms. I bought both, but still reluctant to use either. I don't want to cause any more symptoms...however, it's very likely we will try the MSM this week, and introduce it slowly. I am going to get his blood tested for strep and go from there. the neurologist would like to do a MRI and use sedation so that my son won't move during the MRI...but because of this whole situation...sedation and MRI I cannot take lightly..so that may be the very last thing to look into. Thank you for all your support.

[Pitcher23]

A couple of weeks ago I came across a video of someone who had reduced his tics by wearing a fitted mouthpiece for TMD.

[Sheila]

This is a video prepared by Dr Demerjian in Burbank, California, contact info at the end of the video.

 

There is definitely a connection with jaw alignment for some people with tics/TS. It's always encouraging to see success stories.

 

You can find other videos online. Here's a published case report http://www.tmjstack.com/casereport.pdf

[jimTheBassPlayer]

Were the fillings a mercury amalgam ? Would be good to know if mercury is something that should be considered. There are natural chelators like Chlorella that can reduce mercury levels if that is the case, although I have not looked into its affects on TS, if any.

 

Flouride is also a definite neurotoxin ... so that could also be contributing to the problem ... sufficient Iodine levels are needed for the body to remove excess flouride ... it is iodines job to rid the body of both excess flourides and bromides ...

 

Just my two cents ..

 

My sons last bad flair of vocal and breathing tics came after a routine dentist visit .....

 

-Jim

[tstryker]

Hi, just wanted to comment about the Dr. Demerjian....oddly enough I just got off the phone with him about 5 minutes prior to seeing the video that was posted here. He has been seeing my son for 9 months and has completely changed our lives!!! My son is doing so great, that I struggle with him to wear his retainers (he has two- one for the top and one for the bottom) because he says Dr. Demerjian has "cured him". My son is 11 and was diagnosed at 7 1/2. He was at a moderate level most of the time, and also has OCD and ADHD. After my son got his retainers, his tics immediately becam minimal and have remianed that way since. I feel so blessed to have my son helped, and am so grateful for doctors like Dr. Demerjian who have a true passion to help those struggling with TS.