My 8 year old son was diagnosed with Tourettes early last year. A month after we lost our insurance and had no choice but to stop clonidin, I was thankful to have a friend with an older boy to give me a little advice regarding my sons diet and no medication. But after only advising me to add Omega-3 and Flaxseed to his diet I lost contact with her.

He has been on Flax Seed Powder in his milk for 2 weeks now and I don't know if thats good. No suger unless for a treat I get all sugar free for the most part.

He has a lot of problems in his gastro-intestines also. And I don't know if the Tourettes and stomach problems are related.

His Tourettes seems to be getting worse since he started the flaxseed powder.

I don't know what else to do?

Also can things such as:

MSG
Red#40 artificial color
Caprisuns
Bread
Milk affect

Affect Tourettes Disorder???

Any advice?

Hi and welcome to NeuroTalk

I will try to post more tomorrow and hope others will also have some info for you but in the meantime here is a thread I put together a while back on natural stuff that helped my son
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread1145.html

there is also a very good book by Sheila Rogers on natural ways to treat tics and tourettes that you may find helpful http://www.latitudes.org/book.html

hope that gives you some help

all the best
Cheri

Hi again

flaxseed oil is what is usually recommended as an omega 3 source. I dont know about the powder, but we do also grind flaxseeds and use on food

the best source of omega 3 is fishoil but it seems some people with TS react to fishoil with more tics. My son is one of those and so we use only flaxseed oil

artificial colors are a major tic trigger as is MSG
some people have found that going gluten/casein free has been very helpful

here is an article on potential tic triggers

MAGNESIUM seems to be the most helpful supplement for people with TS
I am not sure if you know of Bonnie Grimaldi's research on this? she has also now formulated her own supplements specific to TS
here is her website: www.bonniegr.com

a number of people have reported good results with Natural Calm and Kids Calm which are formulations of magnesium citrate.

Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) baths and cream are also really helpful in relaxing and calming tics

You mentioned this is the thread you posted in 2006. Can you explain this to me? Do you know if there is any medical financial assistance to help with a child who has TS but no insurance so he can get Acupuncture, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and to have allergy tests done and see a qualified physician?

Hi
here is some info for you on PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections)

http://intramural.nimh.nih.gov/pdn/web.htm

Dr Swedo an NIMH is one of the experts on PANDAS

you can check with the Tourette Syndrome Association re finding help
www.tsa-usa.org

some states offer similar programs to what is called KidCare insurance here in Florida for uninsured children. It works on a sliding scale based on your income. If you are on low income you can also apply for Medicaid for the child

TS is now classified as a disability with "other health impaired" status.

From what I have heardyou should stay away from artificial sweetners. We have had our son on a wheat and gluten free diet, I can say that after three months, I have yet to see any positive changes. We also have him on DHA, magnesium, amino acids for his vocal tics. But as you know with TS it is very difficult to tell what is working and what is not. Good luck to you.

Hi Lori
usually food elimination only helps when their are actual food allergies/intolerances/sensitivities

you mention amino acids........are you giving specific ones or a general amino supp...if general do be careful as some amino acids stimulate dopamine and that in turn causes an increase in tics

Bonnie Grimaldi has a bit about that on her site www.bonniegr.com

[QUOTE=Chemar;258801]Hi Lori
usually food elimination only helps when their are actual food allergies/intolerances/sensitivities

you mention amino acids........are you giving specific ones or a general amino supp...if general do be careful as some amino acids stimulate dopamine and that in turn causes an increase in tics

QUOTE]

Hi. Just wondering, if after my child has his tests done and finds no real allergies, can supplements still help? I have also heard that even if they show up as an allergy there are still things that people with Tourettes should avoid. Have you found this at all? My son is 8 and has mild Tourettes.

Hi

yes, specific supplements help whether or not there are allergies....they just work best when any allergens are also eliminated

many people with TS seem to have chemical sensitivity so avoiding both artificial additives to foods as well as environmental chemicals can be very helpful. We immediately notice the effect of chemicals when my son either ingests them or goes into an environment where chemicals are used (including lawn garden and indoor and also chlorine in the pool)

here is an article on things that can trigger tics http://www.latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm

hope that helps

Hi- My son was diagnosed last year right before his 7th birthday. I have him on fish oil by Carlson (it has a different concentration than other fish oils) and Twin Labs Complex B viatmins. I have tried to cut out food with dyes also and give him less candy. He was doing better but I noticed more ticcing the last few days. His tics are aggravated by stress and excitement mostly so I'm not sure if the diet alterations will help-- but I'm going to try monitoring it even more closely. He did have a red dye lollipop last week and chinese food with possible MSG so that could have been a trigger.

I also have TS-- although I didn't know that is what I've had since I was 10 until my son was diagnosed last year. I'm 36 now! I can tell you that it is just a feeling of pressure that builds up in a particular body part which you feel an urge to release by blinking, stretching, touching, tapping etc.. I definitely think it is heightened by stress!

Good luck. Hope you find something that works. It can be tough b/c once yu think you find something the tics often just resurface again a few days or weeks later.