Nutritional Supplements for Tics and Tourette Syndrome

Feature: Ask Dr. Albert Robbins

Question:

My boys, ages 14 and 10, were diagnosed with tic disorders several years ago. One has motor tics and the other one has vocal tics. After extensive lab tests through a natural-oriented physician we detoxed their bodies and started them on supplements that are all are natural.

They have been taking the supplements listed below for two years now. I want to know if these nutrients, in these doses, can be harmful when taken for an extended time. My husband lost his job and we can’t afford to go back to the original doctor.

 

Detoxifying and the supplements stopped my oldest boy’s tics completely. The younger boy has been helped somewhat; he is now on 50mg of Imipramine (the antidepressant Tofranil) because social issues were difficult.

• 1000mg of Omega-3: marine lipid concentrate/EPA 300mg/DHA 200mg

• B-complex 100

• Ultimate 10 Probiotic: 13 billion organisms

• Taurine 500:  Vit B6 10mg, L-Taurine 500mg

• Magnesium Citrate Complex

• Nature's Plus Children's Vita-Gels

I am afraid to take them off the supplements out of fear the tics will return. I have Sheila Rogers’ book on Tics and Tourette’s and love it.

A worried mom in Atlanta

 

Dr. Albert Robbins: The question of which nutrients to take, and in what dose, is an important consideration for tic disorders including Tourette syndrome. It is a difficult question to answer for a number of reasons.

First, there is no correct answer. Each person requires an individualized nutritional evaluation which is done by clinical evaluation, blood testing, and other lab tests if needed, to come up with an objective determination of what nutrients are medically necessary. Otherwise we are just guessing.

Second, if the child is known to be allergic to certain foods, you want to be sure that the nutrients are hypoallergenic. For example, some nutrients or vitamins are made from soy; some children are allergic to soy.

The nutrients you are giving appear to be helping your children. This is an observation that is important to consider. Generally all the nutrients in the doses you mention are safe over a long period of time; but children should ideally be monitored by their physician for adverse reactions to any medications or nutrients. Some physicians would question such a high dose of B complex (100).

Nutrients may be helpful in some children with Tourette's or other tic disorders, but they are only one consideration in evaluating and treating the condition. Other factors requiring evaluation include environmental exposures, hidden allergies, hidden infections, undetected immune problems, stress factors, lifestyle habits and hormonal considerations.
Dr. Albert Robbins  AllergyCenter.com

Comments

[Nowana Bingaman]

My son was diagnosed with Tourettes at age 5, he is currently now 14. We have been all over the place with medicine. Everything from pergolide (not sure if that is spelled right) to tenex. He is currently taking clonidine to help with sleep and melatonin (6mg) at bed time and also requip to help with motor tics. He has been experiencing migraine headaches which have gotten progressively worse. We have seen his neuorligist and family dr. They have prescribed him amitriptlene to help prevent them. Is there some vitamins to help with the tourettes and migraines at the same time. His body tics have ceased except when he is really tired and his vocal tics have settled down, somewhat. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I hate to keep him on all the prescription medication I feel like he is "overprescribed" on narcotic medication.

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[Teresa Stevens]

I would love to have a list of vitamin/mineral dosages for tourette's such as the B vitamins~magnesium~fish oil~
I have a 13 year old son that has had tics for two years, his "sniffing" tic lasted for about two years before the eyes,and facial tics began.
We, just this week, have began giving him a multi vitamin for "him" along with 360mg of omega-3 twice a day. I have ordered american skullcap to be added upon delivery.
I don't want to give him too much of anything and am having trouble finding what is "too much" to give him. We don't like giving our children meds and would love to take care of this with vitamins and the such.
I would love a bit of advice and possibly an economical way of treating his difficulties.
Thank you,
TD

[Rachel@gfc]

Hi All,

I've just come across this article and thought I would let you know my experience with supplements, Tourettes and neurologists.

My son was first diagnosed with muscular Tourettes when he was 9 years old. 2 years prior to that we were told he just had 'tics' and they would subside as he got older. That didn't happen, the neurologist finally diagnosed him and subsequently put him on meds. I have never believed in using pharmaceuticals on my children and in this instance I was not wrong. He became lethargic and distant. He couldn't concentrate and had very uneasy sleep. After some research I came across using DHA and vitamin B in the treatment of some types of Autism and Tourettes.

I immediately stopped the drugs and started him on a routine of 1200 mg DHA (DHA only, not the omegas or other fish oils) along with high doses of Vitamins B 6 and 12. The neurologist was furious with me and needless to say was no longer interested in helping my son.

We continued on the supplement regime and what I found was that instinct is always right. Within 6 months the tics were subsiding. 9 months and they were 90% gone. They would really only present themselves when he was extremely tired or stressed. Otherwise he was free of it. In hindsight, I think I would have added Magnesium. I only recently discovered the benefits of Magnesium as I use it for my migraines. But it does have a calming effect on the body and may have helped with his sleep patterns.

He is an adult now and has stopped the supplements. I can't force him and he does seem to be managing with the tics he does occasionally experience. I do believe the years of taking DHA and B6&12 helped him immensely.

[Caren]

My son has had several tics since the age of 5. He is now 11. For a while we had him taking Natural Calm for Kids. It seemed to help for awhile...then my husband and I decided we weren't really sure if it was working. We notice an increase in his tics when he is stressed, tired, nervous or excited. We also generally notice an increase when he is watching t.v. or times when he is relaxed (in the car, at church). We recently had him tested for food allergies and found out he is allergic to barley (malt flavoring), oats and sesame. We also found out he carries one of the genes for Celiac disease (but is inactive at this point). We have since cut out barley, oat and sesame from his diet. However, I noticed this week an increase in his tics. One change in his diet I had noticed was that he had been drinking more juice boxes with artificial flavors and dyes. So I took these things out of his diet the past 4 days now and his tics are decreasing. I had also heard that probiotics could help in decreasing tics so gave him a probiotic this morning. Not sure if it is coincidental or not but his tics are drastically decreased today. The only other variable is that my husband was on a buisness trip this week and he returned last night so stress could have been a factor this week as well and now with him being home the tics could have decreased for that reason, but they have not been this good in awhile!! So we will see...it is truly a trial and error and you have to find what triggers your child...it is very individuaized!! :)

[Chemist]

Some of the parents forget to give their kids regular servings of fruits and vegetables. In this case, pediatricians suggest that you take vitamin supplements which are easily available in the market in the form of special drinks, pills or capsules

[anyone123@cableone.net]

We use children's Love My Brain - DMG Plus. We also watch our son's diet and we have had amazing results.

Our son has been showing the symptoms of TS since the age of 5 and since using supplements and watching his diet, his tics are for the most part non-existent.

http://www.desertwellnessinc.com

[Barb]

Heather
I seriously doubt it's the probiotics causing it. I would say it is clonidine!! Unless his tics are bad,I would take him off the clonidine. Go on google and type in clonidine side effects. That might help you.My son is 9 years old and has tourettes.Stress and worry makes it worse.

[Heather Vereecken]

I have a 6 year old son who was diagnosed with tourette syndrome 8 months ago. He is currently taking .125mg clonidine before bed. We are also seeing a holistic dr. who has prescribed vitamins and a probiotic. We ran a food analysis test which came back that he was sensitive to wheat, gluten, milk, eggs, spelt, peanuts. We have eliminated most of those from his diet along with food colorings and sodium benzoate.
My question is about the probiotics. He did not react well. His behavior got far worse and he has been hallucinating at night that there are bugs in his bed, things flying in the air, etc... He has also hallucinated during the day that people are following him in the house. Does anyone have any experience with giving these to a 6 year old?

[Rosie]

What are general supplements i can give my brother who is 42 Tourettes Syndrome, disabled. Hardly any money, eats like a horse "literally". What could be causing these veracious appetite? Need a practical suppplement program
Thank you~

[Supplements from Foods]

Hello everyone,
I'm a newbie to website design and being a this site. I'm stopping by a few sites to pick up tips and get answers from people who know a lot more about this that I do!
A Canadian company, Naturally Nova Scotia, makes supplements from foods instead of synthetics. The have vitamin C from fruit, herbal tinctures, green drinks, vitamin D3, and others.

[Erin]

If your child has Tourette Syndrome, flu's and other conditons effecting his physical well being can greatly effect tics and make them worse. Once the flu is over symptoms should settle down. There are great natural alternatives out there to help...the most important being diet and keeping chemicals and sugars low in the foods he is consuming. My son has Tics and OCD but has been free of his symptoms for 3 years now due to diet and a few key supplements like Omega 3-6-9 and calcium/magnesium 3:1 ratio. Diet however is key! Good luck, visit www.smallchanges.info for more information.

[ATP]

Hello Dr. Robbins,

My son is almost 8 years old and he had a terrible fever and flu like symptoms for a week and a half. High Fever (104), cough, runnny nose. He seems to have recovered from that, however now he has developed ticks. Neck shrughs, blinking eyes, flickering of the hands, shrugging his shoulders.

I have given him Magnesium, Iron and Omega-3 anad it seems to be helping. I told his MD and he thinks it must be a Placebo effect. On to a Neurologist for an appointment tomorrow. Looking for answers.

A