Hello

[KellyL39]

Hello!

 

I’ve been reading the board for a while and was able to gather a lot of great information in helping my son. However, I have a few questions and am hoping someone might be able to help me.

 

A little background…

 

At the beginning of this year my 5 year old son started with an eye blinking tic. A few months later more tics started to appear, we have seen facial grimacing, grunting, chin to chest tics and he was making some strange hand movements for a while. His doctor kept telling us that childhood tics are common and not to worry too much about them. That was easier said then done. Then he sent us to a neurologist that confirmed he has tics, but didn’t give us an official diagnosis. She said if they weren’t bothering him that we should ignore them and come back if we ever need to medicate him. Not very helpful!

 

To be honest this has been the hardest year of my life. I have read some very scary things about TS and many of the stories I read online haunt me when I try to sleep at night. I am so worried this disorder is going to steal my little boy from me.

 

This past May I decided I could not sit around and do nothing, so I started him on the Bontech supplements and we started a new diet routine – organic, no artificial anything and we have reduced dairy, sugar and gluten.

 

Anyway, at onset his tics were almost constant and over the past few months we have seen a major reduction in them. In fact, his vocal has almost gone away completely. My question is, at what point can you say it’s the supplements and diet and not just the waning of tics? Do most people see patterns in the waxing/waning or is it completely random? Also, I’m wondering will his body adjust to the supplements & at some point they won’t be affective anymore? I’ve heard this happens with traditional medicines.

 

’m still trying to figure all of this out and am hoping for a little direction.

 

Thank you so much.

[Chemar]

Hi and welcome

 

glad the Bontech have helped to reduce the tics.

 

my son has been on assorted supplements and clean diet for 10 years now and although we have changed and tweaked things over that time, we have not seen a "tolerance" develop as much as him getting better enough to be able to reduce many of the supps and aim more to get what he needs from his food, teas etc

 

we always found waxing and waning to be more related to a specific tic than tics per se. As one would wane another would wax and yes, where we have certainly identified triggers that contribute to waxing, and so avoid them, sometimes with Tourette Syndrome, tics "mysteriously" wax and wane without clear trigger, so maybe some internal mechanism

[KellyL39]

we always found waxing and waning to be more related to a specific tic than tics per se. As one would wane another would wax and yes,

 

 

Thanks Chemar, so if I'm understanding you correctly, the waning you saw was with each specific tic and not necessarily a decrease or improvement with the tics overall?

 

I know this isn't a science, I just want to believe that the supplements & diet changes are working and I'm not just seeing the calm before the storm.

 

I don't mean this question with any disrespect, but how did you know it was the alternative treatment and not just waning or that your son was maybe just "growing out of the tics"? I'm trying to figure out how to decipher all of this

 

Also, I have seen your posts before and commend you for all you do on this board. Lastly, if you don't mind me asking - how is your son coping with his TS 10 years into it?

 

Thanks again,

 

Kelly

[mythree]

Kelly,

 

These are great questions. I have wondered the same things myself.

I look forward to some people being able to give some answers to your questions.

 

I too have done a huge diet change and we are supplementing with a lot of different things recommended by a doctor. Our DD who has struggled with this for 5 years seems to be really seeing changes in her tics (as well as her adhd). Her tics have decreased dramatically - but like you - I do not know if this is because of the changes we have made, or if it is just a waning period.

I am scared to get excited, for I have been there before, and the blow is so much harder when it starts up again.

 

Thanks,

Lisa

[Chemar]

Hi Kelly

 

my son's tics were so bad that they were causing him injury with hospitalization

 

we tried meds for almost a year with disastrous results (side effects far worse than the tics & OCD)

 

the change in his condition as soon as we started him on magnesium was in itself miraculous, but then as we added the other supps and cleaned his diet etc it was crystal clear we were seeing a direct benefit. when he skipped supps or cheated on the food by eating artificial garbage, the tics spiked dramatically.

 

we have been on the natural protocol for long enough now to know it works, and yes, the fact that he is now a young adult and out of those primary tic teen years onviously has contributed to the overall improvement, still we have been doing the supps, diet, acupuncture, epsom baths etc since Nov 2001 now so feel confident in saying it has helped enormously

 

I have a link in my signature on what helped him and updated it recently

[mommyfor4]

Hi KellyL39,

 

I can only tell you what we have seen with our ds9. He has had chronic vocal tics since about the age of 6. We first noticed dramatic improvement by removing wheat. In those first months we would quickly realize when there was a hidden wheat because that particular tic would rise again. He called it "his wheat tic" , he could even explain how it was different from another. Over time we have generally found that a sharp rise in tics was tied to too much of an offending food, or other trigger. Often it is also a sign he is getting sick. He still has tics everyday but over time we have been finding more triggers. Some are unavoidable like viruses and when it's really hot but I do feel most times (at least for us) that it is related to a trigger or something his body is missing. Still trying to find a really good balance ourselves but have seen pretty consistent changes over the last three years not only with his tics but his general health as a whole. Hope this helps even in a small way.

 

Megan

[KellyL39]

Thank you all so much for your replies, I really appreciate it!