Hello
One of my friends is studying homeopathy and is pushing me to take my son, Matthew, as she reckons it can hepl with tics, ADHD, OCC etc etc.

Has anyone any experience with this?

We am fortunate in that the tics have now almost gone due to allery elimination (similar to NEATS). However, Matthew still has anxiety and frequenty has tantrums, tears etc and is difficult to get to sleep (he is 3 years old)

thanks
Sarah

Hi Sarah,
Certainly didn't have too much good fortune with homeopathy here to help with tic reduction.

You mention anxiety, tantrums, tears and is difficult to get to sleep and that your son is 3.

Tantrums and tears sound pretty regular for a 3 year old, but it depends on the severity. It's hard to offer too many suggestions without knowing more, really.

Anxiety and sleep issues? Well obvious anxiety in a 3 year old must be a huge worry.

What exactly is your son's diagnosis and what type of tics did he have before you did the allergy treatments? He's been diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome? Just curious.

My son's tics began very early as well. Around or before 2, but he has other conditions that complicated correct diagnoses early on.

Please post more and we'll see if we can offer more suggestions. It truly is difficult with little information.

Dr. Roger Freeman - Tourette Syndrome: Minimizing Confusion

Hi Sarah

my son has had a lot of success with nutrition(diet changes) and supplements as well as certain herbal preparations and other alternative treatments like acupuncture and resonance biofeedback etc
BUT
classic homeopathy just wasnt a good fit for him...if anything the remedy he was put on is likely what "brought out" his tics so intensely ( I was told that by a very respected Pediatric MD who is also a qualified homeopath after I told her of the agaricus remedy my son had been given by another homeopath when younger, before we had the TS diagnosis

the principle in classic homeopathy is to administer minute doses of substances that in larger amounts would CAUSE the symptoms. Some people seem to be helped tremendously by this. But in my son's case it was likely not a good idea, although at the time we only knew he was having a lot of "issues & habits"...we did not realize he had TS

TS is a complex disorder and many factors contribute to its manifestation as well as to the "comorbid" disorders that often accompany it. Had I known then what I know now, I would not have gone with the homeopathic treatment.
But I do advocate strongly for sensible diet/nutrition and supplements as I truly have seen the difference that has made for my son.

Glad you are seeing improvement in the tics with the allergy treatment

My son has always been far more bothered by his OCD/anxiety etc than by his tics. He has used variety of supplements over the years to help but has found by far the best relief and no side effects with Inositol/B12/P-5-P . He is now 19yo

Have you heard of the Kids Calm magnesium drink? many parents report that it not only helps tics but soothes their little ones at night. My son uses the adult form Natural Calm at night when he feels edgy

also epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) baths or foothbaths can help relax and promote sleep

Hi Lara

Matthew's 'tics' started with eye blinking which was more than the average person so it was noticable. Then the eye blinking progressively got worse over a few weeks until he was blinking severely ie 50 or so times a minute. Then he staretd to nod his head and pull funny shapes with his mouth, like facial grimacing. His mood was also not good and he had ADHD. He was not diagnosed with Tourette's as I managed to cut the tics out after a few months with dietary changes via identified food intolerances/environmental intolerances. These were primarily dairy, gluten, corn, chlorine, dust mites (and others). We 'eliminated' the intolerances one by one at the allergy clinic (including intolerance to some vitamins/minerals which he was probably not absorbing properly as a result of the intolerances). I wonder what caused all this and put it down to anti-boitics, steriod med he took for croup and some heavy metals in his system (Caused by vaccinations/environment/renovations?). Also his father has had many food allergies too.

The allergy elimination changed our life and made it so much better.. When I posted this post Matthew's behaviour was not great but I found out earlier this week that he was intolerant to seeds (via doing a food diary and then going to have the kineasiology type testing done at the allergy clinic which confirmed it). Once the allergy clinic massaged Matthew back to eliminate the intolerance his behaviour is 100 times better - now just normal 3 year old behaviour!

Hope this post can help someone else reduce/eliminate tics and the behavour that seems to go hand it hand.

Chemar - thanks for your post too! I have some epsom salts which l use and they do sooth him

kind regards
Sarah

Hi Sarah,
Actually tics are not uncommon in children of that age. Especially boys it seems. It has something to do with their brain development. In fact, there were a number of children in my children's early grades who had transient tics and without diagnoses or treatments even, their tics were never to be seen again after several months. Unlike our own.

DSM-IV - Diagnostic criteria for Transient Tic Disorder

My primary concern would be the anxiety and sleep issues that you mentioned despite you saying his tics have gone after elimination diets etc..

Tics are just tics. They need to be ignored unless they're painful or disrupting a child's ability to read, or learn, or ride a bike or run. etc. etc. etc. - Meaning that they interfere with a child's life. Not our life, the child's life.

It is ok for a child (or adult) to tic you know. It's not ok for a child (or adult) to be anxious, or scared or have sleep problems... especially if the child is three years old.

Go easy on him. Maybe his transient tics were just that... transient tics. They're very common.

Unfortunately there are some very serious conditions which involve tics in young children. If you've not seen a doctor about your son's tics and his other behaviours then that's up to you, but I would personally be getting some professional advice.

I guess that's just the way I think. I guess it's just my experience.

Edited to add:

DiagnosticCriteria - DSM-IV-TR: Tourette's Disorder

Hi Lara

Thanks for that.

Since my other post Matthew is now holding hit throat and swallowing - not sure if they are tics (anyone know??). Also he has trouble concentrating and looks for ways to misbehave. He is also going through a stage of being so 'active' he does not want to eat and hates going upstairs near his bedroom when he knows it is bedtime. Not sure what is happening right now but I am exhausted and saddened by his behaviour which I think is ADHD. He is aggressive to his sister and other children in general.

The allergy elimination has been great but unfortunately some of the 'allergies' are eliminated and then come back so it is hard to know what is causing the behaviour issues (which I certainly believe is linked to food).

With the original blinking tic he also would fall over a lot and was generaly unwell so I needed to research and do something about it.


I have been to the Doctor and pedeatrician but the ped said not to worry about it. I also saw a neurologist but Matthew was not ticking that day so he said not to worry. Which 'serious conditions' are you referring to? I am not sure who to turn to next.

I have been seeing a naturopath and she found Matthew has heavy metal toxcity (not sure if I mentioned that before). The allergy clinic think that is why some of the 'allergies' come back - due to heavy metals. I am using footies ot get rid of the heavy metals and have been doing that with spirulina and vit C for a couple of months now. I must say though that it does not seem to be helping much. Has anyone else had experience elimination heavy metals?

Chemar - with the homeopath - did they make matters worse? My friend says that they either 'help' or do nothing. (a side issue is that my daughter keeps getting tonsillitis nad ear infections and is only 13 months old - I am sick of anti-biotics and thought homeopathy may help)

thanks
(depressed)
Sarah

Hang in there Sarah. It's going to be alright
Try not to get too down about it right now because he'll pick up on that. I know my two did.

Here where I live, it's usual to go see a Paediatric Neurologist. Also best to find someone who knows about tic disorders. Do you know if the one you saw was knowledgeable? Did they sound that way to you? If they are knowledgeable and told you not to worry and other things are happening now for your son, it might be a good idea to go back to see them or get another opinion. TSA-USA has a list of doctors on their site if you're in the USA. I'll go find it for you and post shortly.

I know it's easy for me or them to tell you not to worry, but heck, you're going to worry because he's your child.

I don't know that it's as common these days, but when my two were young the doctors took blood tests and my son had an MRI. Actually he had two. Also EEG. My daughter's tics were very mild and as she was the second child, the doc. didn't really bother too much with any tests... so it depends on the situation. Diagnosis is make by observation and taking patient history. There aren't any tests to actually identify TS, however, sometimes the doctors (like ours did) will do tests to rule out other conditions. As I said, I'm not sure how common that is these days with better medical information and knowledge around.

In my son's case prior to his TS and AS diagnoses he had been diagnosed with something called Sydenham's Chorea, which is a movement disorder that looks a *little* to the untrained eye like tics. Sydenham's Chorea movements sometimes occur in children who've had Strep. throat and subsequent Rheumatic Fever from the Strep. throat. There are other things too but they're pretty rare. I wasn't wanting to worry you more.
some other conditions that produce tics

Was your son sick at all prior to his tics coming on?
You mention he'd been falling over a lot and was generally unwell.
In what way did you feel he was unwell?
Was he getting lots of infections, or was he having tummy troubles or something else?

Sarah, it's very common for children to not tic when they're in a doctor's office. Adults as well. It's something that a knowledgeable doctor would know and certainly wouldn't dismiss your verbal history.

I'm not sure what area you're in, but if you're still concerned then you might want to get another appointment to see someone who is very knowledgeable. If that would help you then it would help your son I'm sure.

The swallowing can be a tic ... yes.
The hitting his throat could be too.

Here's a link from TSplus -
List of common tics Do note though that tics are different for everyone and that is just a list of *some* tics that people may have, doesn't mean they have all of them!!!

From TSA-USA
For Newly Diagnosed - contacts for referrals

take it easy there. He's going to be alright I'm sure.

Keep posting.

p.s. thought I'd post this separately as my other post was a bit long.

Sarah, here's the link straight to Useful Websites which is a sticky up the top of the forums here. I just hope this is not all too much information at once, but you might find some of the info. very helpful if you read it at your leisure when you're not so stressed and sad.

Useful Websites & Resources for Tourette Syndrome

Primer on TS
Table of contents from 'Tourette Syndrome - Plus'

((((((((((((Sarah)))))))))

not sure if you mentioned this before but has he been tested for strep? (not just throat swab but blood tests for strep antibodies) A lot of what you are describing can be related to a condition known as PANDAS or also Sydenham's Chorea that Lara mentioned. with PANDAS kids have inflammation of the basal ganglia from the strep and this can result in tics as well as OCD and other explosive/depressed etc behaviors.
Parents find the symptoms wane when on antibiotics (most beneficial seems to be azithromycin/zithromax) There is a lot of info on the web now that PANDAS is becoming more recognized by the conventional medical community

re the homeopathy, yes I do feel it made things worse for my son. Homeopaths would likely disagree and say it was "bringing out" the problems and so healing them....but things became very severe for him after the homeopathic remedy (agaricus) that he was given

my son had very high mercury levels(likely leached from my many tooth fillings during pregnancy)
We used first chlorella and finally alpha lipoic acid ALA) along with acupuncture, reflexology and biofeedback (NOT neurofeedback)
along with the continued epsom tubs for detox
His mercury came down significantly after all that (it is important to only use ALA in final stages as it crosses the blood brain barrier and can therefore carry mercury it binds into the brain)

Lara has given you some excellent links there. Leslie Packer's TS Plus website is very helpful!

I know of many cases of allergy (especially celiac/gluten and/or dairy intolerance) where kids were ticcing from the allergic inflammation and misdx with TS. Even environmental allergens can trigger tics in susceptible kids. I recently spoke with someone whose child was dx TS. The child developed respiratory illness and was put on benedryl and voila! the tics stopped. Turned out the high histamine levels related to the allergies were triggering the tics.

re serious conditions, some kids have been misdx with TS when in fact they have epilepsy or other brain conditions that need prompt and correct medical treatment.
sadly in this country many neurologists hear or see that the child tics and their standard protocol is to prescribe the strong drugs (antipsychotics etc)without further testing.
But a savvy pediatric neuro would be able to provide info and further testing to rule out any more serious issues

I know it is easy to say "dont worry" but the best you can do for yourself and your child is to try not to and rather keep seeking good professional help to arrive at a clear diagnosis.

hope things are better today
Cheri

HI Everyone
Thanks so much for your input. I am now almost 100% convinced the tics I have seen are allergy related. Matthew is now on a strict gluten free, dairy free and processed food free diet and seems to be much better. No tics and major behaviour improvement too. The allgry elimination clinic has really helped too.

Will see how we go as he is really missing the dairy - I will reintroduce in a few weeks and see what happens.

best regards
Sarah