Better brains, naturally.

Dr. Robbins Featured at Conference

We've received a wonderful response to the Q and A blogs with Dr. Albert Robbins. Thanks to all who sent emails or phoned. And thank you for your time and expertise in answering questions, Dr. Robbins. 

As you may have noticed on our site, we are co-sponsoring a conference on natural treatments for Tourette syndrome, tics, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder in May of this year. We're very pleased that Dr. Robbins will be a featured speaker at the conference.

Dr. Robbins, Director of AllergyCenter.com, will explain how environmental factors and brain allergy, or brain inflammation, can affect these conditions. He will address prevention and treatment by sharing research, medical best-practices, successful case studies, and tips you can take home and use.

Please see the conference brochure here.We hope you will support this important effort and join us. It is the first conference of its kind for these conditions and sure to be helpful and instructive. Please address any questions to: BetterBrains@Latitudes.org.

Sheila Rogers, Director ACN

Help for Teen with Tourettes and Mood Disorder

Feature: Ask Dr. Robbins

 We live in Ohio and have a 16-year-old son with Tourette syndrome (TS). Jerry was diagnosed in 4th grade. The tics came out of nowhere and were very severe, both verbal and facial.They have waxed and waned over the years and sometimes are almost nonexistent. Recently they increased with lots of facial tics, especially mouth and eye. This is the worst he's been in years.

He has a lot of co-existing symptoms along with the TS: anger, rages, meltdowns, decreased appetite, trouble going to sleep, and trouble waking up. He has some obsessive compulsive issues also. In the past three years these issues have increased dramatically.

Jerry has experimented with several drugs (illegal and over the counter) and has found that marijuana controls his tics well. He also smokes cigarettes which he claims calm him.

He has never been on any prescribed medication for his tics, however we have tried taurine, magnesium, and essential fatty acids among other supplements, but compliance is a problem. A couple of years ago we went the mental health route, and he was prescribed a variety of antipsychotic meds to stabilize his mood. It was a horrible 8-month roller coaster ride with each psychiatrist changing meds as new negative side effects arose. We chose to take him off of every Rx and increase supplements. We have also gone the juvenile court route including him being on probation, house arrest, detention center, and court mandated anger management and drug/alcohol rehab classes.

 

Along with the recent increase in tics his increased irritability, inability to focus, and rages, etc. have greatly affected his ability to function in the classroom.

 

Jerry wants to move to a state where he can get a medical marijuana license. He also wants to find a doctor who would prescribe marinol for him, a prescription cannabinoid. 

Here are our questions, Dr. Robbins:

Tics begin after illness in son

Feature: Ask Dr. Albert Robbins

Hello Dr. Robbins, My son is almost 8 years old. He had a terrible fever and flu-like symptoms for a week and a half with a high fever (104), cough, and runny nose. He seems to have recovered from that, however now he has developed tics: neck shrugs, blinking eyes, flickering of the hands, and shrugging his shoulders. I have given him magnesium, iron and omega-3 supplements and it seems to be helping. I told his MD and he thinks [the improvement] must be a placebo effect. On to a neurologist for an appointment tomorrow. Am looking for answers.

Dr. Robbins: I note the supplements seem to be helping your son. Omega 3s have widespread anti-inflammatory effects in the body. The mineral magnesium generally calms the nervous system and relaxes the vascular system. Many people with tic disorders, as well as multiple chemical sensitivities, have noticed improvement with use of these nutritional supplements. Your neurologist may want to rule out the possibility of PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections) or other underlying infections due to the start of tics after your son’s illness. I recently had a patient whose tics disappeared completely on ampicillin for 10 days.

Dr. Albert Robbins  AllergyCenter.com