Natural Alternatives to treat tic/tourette's

[gabrielsmom]

Hey Guys!!

I really need your help. My son who has ticked on and off (transient) since he was six his now ticking constantly. He has had a vocal tic now for over 2 months. I was wondering if there is a natural alternative to alleviate or eliminate his tics. Has anyone here used vitamins and such for this? if so, can you tell me what you used?. I have read that omega 3, B6 and magnesium can help with tic reduction but I have no idea how much of each to use. Would I use the same dosage as I would for the reduction of ADHD symptoms?

Somebody, Please help.

Joshua

[catatonic]

Joshua,
Have you tried any dietary modifications? My son's vocal tics stopped completely when we removed the wheat from his diet. Wheat may not be your son's trigger, but some type of food sensitivity may be part of the problem. Many people have found relief from their tics using a gluten free/casein free diet (no wheat or dairy).

You might want to look at Bonnie Grimaldi's website, where she sells her Bontech supplements, specifically formulated by her to help with Tourette's. It's a good way to get an idea of appropriate doses. She also recommends allergy testing and elimination diets to discover food triggers.
www.bonniegr.com

You could also try skullcap tea 3 times a day. The University of Maryland alternative medicine website has instructions for preparing and dosing:
www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsHerbs/Skullcapch.html

As for amounts...for tics, it seems that it is even more critical to have high amounts of EPA. Dose recommendations range from the "typical" amount of 480mg DHA and 720mg EPA to about twice that much. On the B-vitamins, again there's a range, on the low end of what you'd find in a B-50 (which is 50mg of each B vitamin) to about twice that much. You'll probably have to experiment a little.

HTH. Good luck.

[gabrielsmom]

Cat:

As always you come to the rescue. Thank you so much. I am going to start him on the vitamins again and see what happens.

Joshua

[AnneM]

GOOD LUCK gabrielsmom!! Catatonic has given some really good advice (as she always does!) here !! ..

Please keep us posted and let us know how it goes!!

[amcfanny]

I just got all that stuff listed on bonniegr's site and have started giving it to the kiddo this week. He's been on the mag and fish oils for month already for the add. He takes clonidine but there's still some residual ticcing. Very minor but just want to see if we can wipe it out.

[gabrielsmom]

Hey amcfanny:

Gabriel is also on clonidine but it doesn't seem to be helping. He is on .01 mgs in the am and .01 mgs in the pm. SIGH!!!

What dosage is your son on?


Joshua

[amcfanny]

My kiddo takes .2 mg at night. It was to help with a very pronounced head jerk tic. It does a great job - as long as he isn't under alot of stress at school. He does still cough/clear the throat when talking or reading aloud. That doesn't bother us.