Success! Naturopathic Treatment for Severe OCD, Anxiety, ADHD and Tourette’s (Premium)
Thank you for the help offered in ACN’s wonderful book, Natural Treatments for Tics and Tourettes. Some of the suggestions were instrumental in my son Thomas’s recovery. Knowing the desperate feeling of looking for solutions to these problems, I hope my report helps other families.
Several years ago, Thomas was bright, athletic, well adjusted, popular, and had great people skills. Over a period of about 36 months he began to show signs of anxiety that slowly—then rapidly—took over his life. My husband and I ran as fast as we could to figure out what was unfolding and why. But it was like a giant, nightmarish jigsaw puzzle.
After these dark, scary, and confusing months, Thomas was 16 years old when he was diagnosed with Aspergers, Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), ADHD and a learning disability. We were shocked and devastated. How could it be? We felt so hopeless.
Soon after this, my six-foot, strong son was hospitalized with serious case of cellulitis that had gone undiagnosed. Cellulitis is a skin condition caused by bacteria, often strep. Because he didn’t feel any pain and was oblivious to most of what was going on around him, this went unreported and hence undiagnosed. Looking back, this was an indicator of how unaware my son had become of his surroundings and his dysfunction. He spent much of his time and energy managing his Tourettes and OCD, and had grown hypervigilant to nonsensical things—but unaware of normal functioning around him.
At my wits end, I asked a naturopathic doctor if he knew how to treat this strange combination of symptoms. Hereferred me to another doctor who specialized in naturopathic medicine, and was told he was a leader in the field of autism spectrum disorders. I felt scared and hopeless as I called to make the appointment. I asked the receptionist if the doctor had any success with a diagnosis like this and she assured me he had.
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Prior to this, my son had seen a psychologist weekly, and had sessions with a neurologist, a chiropractor, Reiki master, craniosacral specialist, and our family doctor. Although approaches by each provided temporary easing of the symptoms, nothing had helped for long.
Going back to the start of symptoms
Just after Thomas’s 13 birthday, we began to notice some unusual behavior. For example, he would place his soccer shirts on the bed in a particular way. I would move them to the closet, then later would see them right back where I had moved them from. When he played soccer, he would hold his hand awkwardly across his chest for an inexplicable reason but he couldn’t seem to stop doing this. I used to refer to things like this as “lock brain” because he seemed incapable of doing things different.
Over the next year we began to notice him “disappearing.” He would spend long period of time in the washroom or just wandering around. Often we would drive to pick him up after school, and would wait for up to an hour while someone tried to find him. He was always on the property but we never really knew quite where. When we finally found him he seemed oblivious to the fact that he had been missing. When we all went for a bike ride, we would start out together and he would lag behind. Sometimes had to turn our bikes around and go looking for him when we realized he was no longer with us. When we located him, he would be standing beside his bike motionless and claiming that he was unable to move.
Frightening behaviors begin
When Thomas started being late for many home events, it was a simple annoyance. With time, it grow to be a chronic problem that the family was hostage to. It became clear that he was late because of his increasing involvement with rituals that had to be performed before he was being able to move forward and join us.
The motionless behavior was coupled with a patterned repetitive speech. He would mutter, “I am sorry” or “thank you” as a response to almost everything. There was nothing spontaneous—no joy, no conversation, very little initiation of talk—just a pattered response. He seemed depressed, and had an empty, lost, faraway look in his eyes along with a worried smile. His behavior could swing between paralysis and mania. Once Thomas stopped an activity, he had great difficulty getting started again. But once in motion, he often couldn’t stop. It was like he did not have a shut off valve, and at times at midnight he was outside jumping over rocks and climbing trees; then he would fall like a drunk trying to walk up the front steps.
When he was 15 he entered a large new crowded high school and things took a rapid turn for the worst. His behavior was out of control, with frenetic actions, grunts and clicking sounds, animal noises. It was becoming frightening. During his second year in high school we enrolled him in a special needs school, The Merle Levine Academy, in Toronto and noticed some immediate relief. He seemed less anxious and loved being in a small school with kind, attentive teachers that understood his challenges and put boundaries on his space and slowed down his world. Much of his OCD and Tourette behavior continued though, and at night I often had to lie beside him and hold him still until he drifted off to sleep.
Treatment with Dr. Scott Clack
Unfortunately, self-destructive behavior began. He would hold his breath until he turned purple; hit his head a certain number of times—in fact he broke the windshield in our new pickup truck, among other self-injurious behaviors. A neurologist confirmed he did not have seizure activity, but he recommend the antipsychotic Risperdal. I clutched the prescription like a lifeline, but because he was still on antibiotics to clear up his cellulitis, he could not start the new medication. Before we even started the Risperdal, we saw Dr. Clack. Dr Scott Clack in Mississauga, Ontario
Dr. Clack treated my son with curiosity and respect, and appeared neither shocked nor hopeless by the information I gave him. I told him about the antipsychotic prescription, and he said without judgment that he thought it would benefit others more than my son, because he would be easier to manage. Fortunately, we never needed to use it.
We had weekly appointments with Dr. Clack during which time he became familiar with my son’s history, did some Vega testing (electroacupuncture), to get a sense of functioning of his organs and his allergic reactions. We had urine samples sent to the States for nutritional and metabolic analysis, and he suggested eliminating dairy, wheat, and beef from his diet. We also started a candida cleanse that he recommended; candida alone can cause havoc and hyperactivity in the body. Results were seen very soon. Thomas became more focused and less jumpy.
I found it refreshing that Dr. Clack was willing to work with my “motherly intuition.” If I suggested he might have an Iron deficiency, he would order blood tests to determine if this was contributing to his unusual behavior. We looked at the possibility that my son was suffering from PANDAS (Pediatric autoimmune nueropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infections). This condition presents as OCD, with tics that come on with a rapid onset. My son often had fevers with sore throats, and this seemed to be the predominant trigger. Behavior associated with a PANDAS diagnosis was very similar to what my son was exhibiting. Dr. Clack treated Thomas homeopathically for PANDAS and I think this was a key to the beginning of the big shift in his behavior.
Another full component to my sons recovery has been NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique), an allergy clearing system that helps some recipients better utilize their nutrition.
The next approach was targeting mineral deficiencies. Kids with ADD and ADHD often have low zinc and low iron. Since my son played sports and perspired profusely for years, we learned he had depleted his mineral stores.
Dr. Clack suggested there is a genetic component to my son’s condition. He advised us to take a supplement that helps neurotransmitter balance and functioning.
My son had his first treatment with Dr. Clack in February 2011, and one year later his health is almost completely restored.
Life today
Thomas is almost 18 and is doing better than I could have expected:
- He has a full social life, just as he did before he frightened friends and potential friends away.
- He is getting 80’s in school, a big improvement to failing his course when ill.
- Thomas takes public transit; before we were afraid to let him out of our sight because of his wandering.
- He plays soccer three times a week. Previously he was often “locked” and unable to pack his soccer bag and change his clothes.
- He initiated his own pick-up soccer team; when sick he simply did not initiate things.
- He helps with the children’s liturgy at our church. Prior, Thomas would sit in the pews wringing his hands and shaking his feet
- He has a part time job, a bank card and financial goals!
- He has an interest in all kinds of music and purchased a 10-piece drum set
- He goes to bed on his own, prepares his clothes and meals; he often cooks dinner for the family
- And the most recent and exciting change: he has started doing his homework without prompting! He says he is interested in studying biology in college.
And I should add. . . he shows no obvious tics or obsessions.
Editor: The family’s name is withheld for purposes of confidentiality.
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Thank you for your article. Would you mind telling me how he was treated homeopathically for pandas?
We have tried any viral homeopathy with no success
Rose
What was the nutritional supplement that your son took?