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need advice...husband has TS


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Hi all. I just want to know how to go about talking with my husband about TS. His tics have gotten really bad lately and I don't know what to say or do to help him. Does he know that they're happening? His tics are severe neck tics, excessive nodding of his head, raising of his eyebrows and opening his mouth really wide....and burping. Could excessive burping be considered a vocal tic? I know he's a guy and guys burp a lot, but his are way more than normal.

 

I've been wondering lately if his tics are food related at all and then today I came upon this site! There seem to be many different food allergies that might be a cause. I know that his tics increase when he's being super serious, which would explain his acting goofy a lot. I just want to know what is ok to say and what is best left silent. What can I feed him that won't cause excessive tics? Please help.

 

Thanks,

 

Mrs. Austin

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Welcome mrs. A,

 

My husband has ts along with my son. My husbands tics are almost not noticable. He has no motor tics, only vocal words. He says "LOVE" or "BUDDY" depening on the gender of who he is talking to. He can sound like a "VALLEY GIRL" when they say "LIKE" after a word or two. When he is waxing I hear them more, but sometimes he does not say it at all. He says he feels they are habits now. My husband has a hard time with the diet canges and eats what he wants at work so unless your husband is willing to do the diet you may not see any results.

 

I would ask if he is willing to give up wheat, dairy, and eggs for 3 weeks then introduce one at a time back in his diet. Be sure to add the wheat last.

 

I did eggs first because it was the one food I needed most to bake with and breakfast was easier.

 

Good luck,

CP

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Hi and welcome

 

I also have husband and one son with TS

 

I have a link in my signature below on what has helped my son (hubby has implemented some of these things too)

 

the one dietary change I would absolutely recommend is to eliminate all artificial foods ie coloring, flavoring, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, etc including things like aspartame/Nutrasweet and sucralose/Splenda

 

If your husband has any food allergies or is intolerant to certain food groups then it is wise to remove those, but if you dont notice him ticcing more after eating these then it may be more bother than it is worth, altho doing a food elimination diet can help to determine even subtle intolerances

 

Magnesium supplementation seems to be beneficial for most people with TS, as is getting the right balance of B vitamins

 

My guys like the Natural Calm magnesium and now use Royal Jelly (not the gelatin, the product made by bees) as a major source of their B vitamins as they both found B-complex upsets their systems

 

our admin has written a book that you may find helpful

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

 

and here is also an article she wrote about triggers for tics, based on an informal survey done here

http://www.latitudes...ng_triggers.htm

 

do also take a look at our Helpful Threads

http://www.latitudes...?showtopic=2459

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If you want to try natural remedies, try magnesium and B vitamins.

 

If you want to go the prescription route, Clonidine or Tenex are the safest choices (meaning least side effects). After that is probably Topamax (an anticonvulsant). Marinol (synthetic pill form of cannibis) is also reported to be very effective but is extremely difficult to get a doctor to prescribe.

 

Smoking indica strains of marijuana seems to help some people. Sativa strains of marijuana tend to make tics worse.

 

After that, pretty much every anti-tic drug has potentially horrible side effects ranging from tardive dyskinesia to instant death.

 

You can find a comprehensive list of medications used to treat tourettes on this website: http://www.tourettestreatment.com/list-of-treatments.php

 

Please note that many of the medications listed there are reported to make tics worse, and are noted as such. That site lists all medications that have been tested on tourettes/tics and their effects, whether good or bad.

 

He may also notice that some foods may tend to temporarily make tics worse. This can be anything and seems to vary from person to person.

Edited by guy123
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I disagree with guy on clonidine not having potentially troublesome side effects.

It made my husband psychotic!

People vary in their reactions to meds and so there is no way to generalize that any med may have "least" side effects

 

also, recent studies have linked an increase in schizophrenic symptoms with cannabis use in susceptible individuals so that needs to be something to note

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I disagree with guy on clonidine not having potentially troublesome side effects.

It made my husband psychotic!

People vary in their reactions to meds and so there is no way to generalize that any med may have "least" side effects

 

also, recent studies have linked an increase in schizophrenic symptoms with cannabis use in susceptible individuals so that needs to be something to note

 

I just meant Clonidine for most people tends to have the fewest, and least offensive side effects, of the medications listed. And by that, I basically just mean that it doesn't mess with the QT interval (sudden death) or cause tardive dyskinesia. And I recommend starting with a very low dose and working up. I started with half a pill and couldn't even stay awake throughout the day. I don't know how some people can take 2 or more pills per day.

 

Did your husband try Tenex (another alpha blocker like Clonidine) or Topamax?

 

Unfortunately, other than those, pretty much every drug either makes things worse or has terrible side effects. The one exception may be calcium antagonists, but even they can have some bad side effects, and I don't know anyone who has used them so my info only comes from research.

Edited by guy123
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Right now he doesn't take anything except a super multi-vitamin and an energy drink packed with all the vitamin B's. He hasn't been to a physician about it since he was a little kid I believe. I guess I'm just wondering how to talk to him. Does he know when he's having all the tics? Can he feel an episode coming on? Etc...

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Energy drinks are not a good idea IMHO as they can have ingredients that trigger tics! Some amino acids are helpful for people with TS but others are dopaminergic and so trigger more tics. Also, although B vitamins are good, if he is taking a super multi plus the energy drinks he may be taking in too much and upsetting the balance. The "super" multi may also have stuff in that is contra-indicated for TS

 

as tics are involuntary, not all are preceded by an awareness although some are

 

it is hard for people with TS to control the tics for any length of time, as suppression often results in a bigger burst of tics later

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Right now he doesn't take anything except a super multi-vitamin and an energy drink packed with all the vitamin B's. He hasn't been to a physician about it since he was a little kid I believe. I guess I'm just wondering how to talk to him. Does he know when he's having all the tics? Can he feel an episode coming on? Etc...

 

For what it's worth, one time I took a GNC Mega Men multivitamin (which could definitely be considered a "super" multi-vitamin) and about an hour later my tic started going crazy. Not sure if that was coincidence or not, and I'm not sure what ingredient in the vitamin caused it to happen if it was the cause.

 

I tend to just take B Vitamins now.

 

And avoid caffeine.

 

edit - looks like I made a thread about when I took the mega vitamin: http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=4327&st=0&p=29527

Edited by guy123
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