[CoolManMike]

First off I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Michael and through my searching of the web for answers, I have personally stumbled across this website. I haven't really done much reading or searching through any forums as of yet but am curious to meet with and talk with others that may be dealing with some of the same issues as myself.

A little background on myself. I was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome when I was 7 years old. Suffered numerous ear infections while growing up and my mother was always the type to force feed anti-biotics when even the subtlest cold symptom revealed itself. She, also, has told me that she always has wondered if I had food allergies or sensitivities but never did any kind of an elimination diet to find out. But, as far as health, I would have considered myself very healthy growing up, even dealing with the onset of the tics caused by the Tourette's. I would have severe fits and it took a lot of effort to overcome. Eventually, though, with time, I was able to finally gain, for the most part, control over the tics that were caused by the Tourette's.

When I was 17, the next stage of my life began as I fell into a deep depression. It felt as if my mind was literally becoming detached from my body and my, once all A report card turned into C's and D's. My IQ plummeted and my sense of awareness, focus, concentration had left me. I went from very out-going to a complete recluse. My personality suffered the most and all my friends didn't know what to do so they stuck by me for as long as they could but eventually, they all moved on (senior year, graduation, college, military) and my support system slowly faded. I ended up going to college and did my best for one year but decided that it wasn't for me. During that time, I picked up drinking, smoking (cigarettes) and chewing as a way to 'cope'.

So there I was, beginning my life, buying my first house when I was 19, thriving in my new job, nice car, tons of new friends (which centered around alcohol), but still there was something missing. I had to learn to live with these debilitating symptoms cause life had to go on right? Well, it did go on and I even worked on starting a new business with a couple friends, and it worked out for a year until there was a falling out. I have held a few great jobs and am still working (project based work at the moment) and making good money when I get the chance. Learning how to live on my own wasn't all that hard but did eventually end up back home with my parents 3 years ago but insist to myself that this is the last year that I'll be staying here, so taking this opportunity to heal and recover the rest of the way before I move on for good.

A few other things to mention (apologize if this might be all over the place), I did go see a doctor when I fell depressed and was referred to a psychiatrist, who then, within 5 minutes, was pushing me out the door with a prescription for Zoloft. Well, being force-fed anti-biotics my whole life, I was finally going to take a stand against the pharmaceutical industry. I told that psychiatrist that there was no way in hell that I was going to pop pills when I know that I will overcome this my way and on my own. Well, here I am nearly 10 years later having finally figured a way out of this state of complete depression, without the use of any kind of medicine whatsoever (unless you consider food as medicine).

So, 6 months ago, I took on the huge feat of quitting chewing tobacco (and the occasional smoke) and drinking alcohol. The first few months were agonizing, and probably what made it worse was the already depressed state of mind that I had been dealing with this whole time, but I pushed through and fought with every bit of strength I had every single craving that reared its ugly head and have been completely sober ever since. One other major thing that I also quit was caffeine, which I did go for a few months without (I know you probably think I'm crazy for trying to quit all 3 at one time) but have slowly re-incorporated through coffee and tea. Energy drinks were my big problem but haven't touched one of those for 6 months now either.

I will be turning 27 here in the next few weeks. The last 10 years of my life has been a ****** struggle and I'm ready to move on and continue with life without having to deal with these symptoms any longer. The sensation of my Vagus Nerve is finally returning. I am beginning to 'feel' again and my sense of awareness is getting stronger and stronger. But, with this comes the amplification of the symptoms that I once became numb to. Feelings of sadness, being lost, not knowing what to do, anger, frustration (of which I have not experienced since first becoming depressed) are all now returning. Though, I am able to focus and concentrate a bit better. And, depending on what food I eat, or don't eat, it is becoming the roller coaster that I remember before I became depressed.

Now, I have a theory as to why I became depressed in the first place. I used to drink lots of mountain dew and eat fast food every single day for nearly 2 years (ever since I got my driver's license at 15 and a half). Now at first I thought it could have been the BVO (Brominated Vegetable Oil) in the Mountain Dew that was displacing iodine throughout my body including my thyroid. So, I thought this solely depleted my iodine stores which in turn caused hypothyroidism which in turn caused my depression. I had always felt that my thyroid was under-active but never knew what I could do about it. And, being as how I didn't trust the medical industry, I just continued living on like this for so long. Anyway, the further research I did, I have come to the conclusion that I have interrupted my gut flora so badly that it had caused an overgrowth of bad bacteria and the resulting dying of enzymes caused for me the lack of nutrition. So, the food I was eating was not being completely digested, and since the bacteria in my gut was thrown off balance so badly causing inflammation, I was suffering leaky gut.

What I have discovered was that I wasn't just suffering Depression. I was suffering from a whole myriad of conditions which all played into 2 different causes. The leaky gut was causing the auto-immune condition and the lack of digestion caused for lack of nutrition. So, what have I done? I cleaned up my diet. I no longer eat processed/refined food or junk and stick with mostly organic fruits and veggies and grass fed/pastured meats. Fermented foods and fermentable foods (probiotics and prebiotics) have also become a big part of my diet very recently. That alone has made a significant difference.

But why am I here now? I feel like I need to talk to or interact with someone that may be dealing with some of the same issues as I am or someone who is recovering or has completely recovered. I feel like I'm so close but yet so far away from being completely healed. I am beginning to learn that healing is a very, VERY slow process.

[Darlene]

Michael,

It is great to have you come and be with us. You will fine a great number of dear friends to listen when you are in need of ears. Please, just let us know how we can help you out. You will find out we are supportive and relaxing place.

Sounds as though you have been going throuh a great deal of things in your young age. Here are some forums to check out just by clicking on them.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum37.html
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum44.html

Please keep us up to date on your situation. Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Darlene

[Chemar]

Hello Michael

as you mentioned you were dx with Tourette Syndrome, here is the link to that forum http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum25.html

There is a very good website that deals with natural approaches to tics and Tourette etc at www.latitudes.org as well as their book
http://latitudes.org/store/tics-tourettes-book/

My son is a young adult now and has been dx with TS since pre teen years. Modification to his diet, environment and the addition of specific supplements made a huge difference for him, as did acupuncture. I have an old thread on the TS forum about what helped him.

Mountain dew is so very unhealthy and for people with neurological conditions, things like the yellow 5 dye in it (tartrazine) can be a trigger

It's good that you have educated yourself on so much and are taking charge of your health.

[Kitt]

Welcome CoolManMike.

[CoolManMike]

I want to thank you guys for your welcoming support. I just figured that having someone to talk to would help me through this tough time. I know that I am on the right path and that with time I will fully recover. The process is just so much slower than I had expected but my hopes still remain high.