Dietary Changes
★★★★★
Once you get into the mode of it, as with exercising, you don't want to eat any other way. My IBS is so much better, almost nonexistent, I am way more energetic and I feel so much lighter and healthier overall, and in just a matter of two weeks. I have cut out all wheat products, beef, preservatives, additives, dyes, artificial flavors, sugar, In which I supplemented for birch wood sugar, which is a plant sugar obviously, dairy, citrus, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. etc. etc., and the big one, caffeine of any kind, COFFEE!!! UGGH LOL. I am 48 years old and have been drinking coffee since the end of high school but I found that if I put in 100% pure cacao And wheat grass juice powder in my smoothie every morning, not just energizes me, but boosts my mood tremendously. I can actually control my motor tics more than I ever have also, besides them subsiding.
Magnesium
(Fountain Inn, Sc)
09/21/2013
Hello Xyrus (aka Sai)... concerning your son's tic problem, you ask if magnesium chloride will work for a subdermal application...
Well, why don't you just use epsom salts which is magnesium sulfate; that's drinkable and is the salt used for "bath" purposes. If you drink a tablespoon in a glass of water, likely you will spend some time in the bathroom contemplating whether a tablespoon was too much. At that level it is a laxative.
Now if you want to get the MgSO4 (mag sulfate or epsom salt) to go INTO the skin, by itself it will indeed soak into the body but for real absorption, you'd add a little DMSO to the "paste" which would carry the magnesium more efficiently. You can read about DMSO by googling: youtube 60 minutes DMSO Dr Jacobs and get a three part explanation.
I know epsom salts are available in the Philippines. Epsome salts are worldwide.
(Somewhere, Europe)
09/21/2013
Xyrus, I don't know about the sodium thiosulfate, but the magnesium chloride, mixed with water IS magnesium oil.
(Fountain Inn, Sc)
09/22/2013
★★★★★
To Xyrus: If you google "magnesium oil" you'll find it is magnesium chloride and added water. That doesn't make what most people think of as an "oil" but rather just a watery looking liquid. Just like magnesium sulfate (epsom salts) which must be diluted in water. That makes a liquid too, not an oil.
So you have what you need to make your own transdermal application. Either will absorb into the skin. The main point is the magnesium deficiency can be overcome with regular applications of either.
Magnesium is a wonder worker. In times of our grandparents the by word about magnesium was that if a person was anxious or tense or irritable, a comment would be made, "He needs his salts. " Meaning an epsom salts bath to absorb the magnesium. It is a calmer; a heart critical mineral; a brain enhancer and on and on.
If I'm ever asked about the key to heart health, by the way, I'll emphasize two things; natural Vitamin E, and magnesium.
(Benguet, Philippines)
09/22/2013
(Fountain Inn, Sc)
09/23/2013
(Ct, Us)
03/09/2015
Our son suffered from sever nervous ticks in his neck and mouth and eye twitching. I think it is related to his several strep throats and unsuccessful several antibiotic medications, in any case we have drastically diminished his tics with supplements, RAW GARLIC every day, extra virgin FISH OIL mercury free! , good organic supplements including TURMERIC and ginger and multi vitamins plant based! Probiotics essential to his daily diet, good PROBIOTICS with many strains, MAGNESIUM yes works especially before the supplements kick in, VITAMIN D if needed during winter months. Good luck.
(Nj, Usa)
04/10/2015
(Virginia)
12/19/2015
Interesting. My son had strep throat 6 times last year. Heartbreaking. This year none, but he has been having tics on and off. I have an expensive multivitamin for him that has omega 3 and magnesium infused. I watch his sugar intake as well, but now I'm even looking at carbs and possibly gluten. I gave him a probiotic yesterday am, but will buy a better one today. I'll have him sip some magnesium drink as well, maybe another small dose of fish oil. A few weeks ago he was "who-ing" like an owl, but that stopped after a week, now the last few days he has been throat clearing. This is crazy, but all I know is I am not givning him any drugs. I'll do it naturally as I can...
(Pampanga)
07/17/2016
(Nj)
05/11/2018
I just came across this and realize it is years later, but this sounds like he may have a case of PANDAS. Please look into this immediately if you haven't already. My son had this as a result of a Strep infection. There is help for this. Please look into it.
Magnesium
★★★★★
The very noticable tics have disappeared, he is now able to sleep through the night, has no headache complaints now and is performing better academically. He seems like a different child... Happier. He has only been taking the magnesium for around 2 weeks now. Best wishes to you all!
(Grateful, Usa)
06/08/2011
What kind of magnesium? Bless you for posting this wonderful information!
(Long Lake, Ny-usa)
06/09/2011
Hello! I believe she purchased basic magnesium supplements at a pharmacy-250 mg... He takes one crushed up in applesauce in the evening. It has been remarkable thus far!
(Mason)
11/29/2012
I am 48 years old and have some for of tic issue all of my life. I read about taking more magnesium from different web sites and within a few days of adding it along with zinc to my diet and reducing my caffeine intake I feel like a different person. No more embarassing facial expressions, sounds etc. Kudos to the people who shared this priceless information.
(India)
08/04/2013
Does this really work. I have facial tics for the last three years. I need to get rid of them. Please help me out!!
(Detroit, Mi)
02/22/2014
I've had Tourette's for 50+ years. Some people outgrow it - mine has gotten much worse in recent years. Unfortunately, I also have a medical condition that keeps me from sleeping well, so I need caffeine during the day. That's probably aggravating it. I do take magnesium for leg cramps at night; I will try increasing it.
(Connecticut, Usa)
03/09/2015
Our son suffered from sever nervous ticks in his neck and mouth and eye twitching.
I think it is related to his several strep throats and unsuccessful several antibiotic medications, in any case we have drastically diminished his tics with supplements, RAW GARLIC every day (I also buy Garlinase pills) extra virgin FISH OIL mercury free! , good organic supplements including TURMERIC and ginger and multi vitamins plant based! Such as New Chapter, Probiotics essential to his daily diet, good PROBIOTICS with many strains, MAGNESIUM yes works especially before the supplements kick in, VITAMIN D if needed during winter months. Good luck.
(Illinois)
07/28/2016
(Angeles City, Philippines)
09/18/2016
Pls share the magnesium supplement to me. My daughter 3 yrs and 9 month just started tics ( eye blinking and facial twitching ) just a week ago. We thought on the first time we've observed her she has a eye blinking, we thought it's due to watching you tube on IPAD more than 6 a hours a day but then the next day it became severe eye blinking and facial twitching even she is not watching. Her pedia advised me to bring her to the PEDIA OPTHO but then when I read about the blinking of eyes last Friday thru internet I found out that is tics or tourettes syndrome and she needs to go to the PEDIA NEURO. She is only the girl on our family and I wish her tics will be cure. Pls share the magnesium supplement.
(Amesbury, Ma)
09/18/2016
(Mabalacat Pampanga, Philippines)
09/27/2016
(Missouri)
02/04/2017
(Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
03/05/2017
(Chicago, Il)
04/05/2018
★★★★☆
Hi all,
I am so thankful to everyone for sharing their stories, and possible remedies for tics. I just thought I'd write a note as to what has helped my 7 year old, who started with neck rolls a few months back, and then severe eye-blinking tics. I took him to the doctor, because I thought he may have had something wrong with his neck. The x-ray showed all was well. Then, immediately the next day, his eye-blinking started. That's when I realized they were both tics. I read about the different natural treatments, and went to Whole Foods to buy anything that might help him, as it broke my heart to watch his distress. I tried two types of magnesium, Natural Calm Kids, and the regular Natural Calm (Natural Vitatily is the brand, I think).
I gave him half the recommended dosage in the morning and half at night. I don't give any calcium supplementation. I gave him a chewable suntheanine tablet with each dose. (I think it's just a brand of l-theanine?) The Natural Calm Kids decreased his tics, but the regular Natural Calm product has worked amazingly well. I only see two or three eye squeezes a day now. The regular Natural Calm has magnesium citrate vs. the kid version, which has magnesium glycinate.
I have read that glycinate is actually more easily absorbed, but it doesn't work as well for my particular child. I should say, we also rub magnesium oil on his feet at night. I don't know the brand, but it was the only one they carried. It was $10 for a relatively large spray bottle. But we used the oil with both magnesium trials, so I'm not sure that it makes a huge difference. I wanted to let everyone know what has worked for us so far, just in case it could help someone else as well. Good luck to everyone.
(Texas)
10/12/2020
Magnesium, B Vitamins
★★☆☆☆
We have a 7 year old girl who started having them about 8 months ago. We have been giving her a small dosage of magnesium, B12, B6 and folic acid daily for 2.5 weeks but haven't noticed much difference. Thinking our dosage may be off somewhat. It seems there is an increase in tics overall in school-aged kids due to the pandemic so we want to get ahead of it. Thanks!
(TN)
02/15/2021
Dear Jo,
I am trying to learn about this, too. I will share some observations.
I have a son who seems to be dealing with tics. He currently is doing an eye darting thing. A year ago it was opening his mouth really wide like he was trying to adjust his jaw. (He still does it some as well as some other facial things.)
I did take him to our family doctor but that wasn't particularly helpful. He said we could go to a neurologist and if they found anything on an EEG they would recommend medication. But he mentioned that there could be significant side effects. With nothing obvious to the doctor I will just keep trying to figure out what helps my son the best.
We have tried the gum chewing. It seems to help. I am using a gum with xylitol.
He doesn't have caffeine at home but sometimes does when he isn't home and he noticed that made his tics worse.
I have learned that throat clearing can be a tic. Many years ago my oldest son was doing this all of the time. I took him off dairy and it stopped. He was able to resume dairy with no issue after a while. So, was it an allergy that caused the throat clearing? Seems likely. I just don't know if the allergy was causing a tic or mucous in the throat which caused throat clearing. The allergy thing is worth exploring further. I wouldn't be surprised if things like sugar and food dye and corn syrup would be triggers.
My son is taking b complex, magnesium and passionflower tincture (1 dropperful morning and evening.) Not sure how much it is helping.
Being out in the cold seems to help him some.
Let me know if you find anything helpful and I will do the same!
~Mama to Many~
(Okanagan)
02/17/2021
Hi Jo (Franklin) –
You might be aware of this website regarding children with tics (the comments at the end of the article are worth reading, too):
https://www.drbeurkens.com/dietary-interventions-for-tics-and-tourette-syndrome/
Dr. Beurkens goes into more detail about vitamins in this link below. She states that you should consult with your healthcare provider (hope you have a good one) depending on the age and size of the child but says to always start “low and slow”:
https://www.drbeurkens.com/got-tics-tourettes-5-ways-suppress-twitches-naturally/
It's interesting that you mention the number of children with tics have increased since the pandemic.
I'm wondering if it is the school environment – the super industrial-strength sanitizers that are sprayed regularly throughout the school contain toxins (such as quaternary ammonium compounds). Those children are exposed to any residue on doors, desks, walls, floors, etc. all day long.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00437
Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are active ingredients in over 200 disinfectants currently recommended by the U.S. EPA for use to inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus.
Do the children have to wear masks at school? That might be another contributing factor.
As this situation drags on, schools really need to invest in proper ventilation for the health of children and staff. Likewise with places of employment.
They also need to re-evaluate what chemicals they are allowing to be used.
I hope you find the solution for your child.
Take care,
Tessa
(Riverside Ca.)
04/25/2022
My 6 year old grandson suddenly has a "cough"! Not all the time but he didn't have this cough before? Now it almost seems like a habit to suddenly "cough". He has been seen by his doctor and he can't find anything wrong with him? Anyone experienced this before? The cough is driving his mother crazy.
(TN)
04/25/2022
Dear DianeC,
One of my sons had what seemed like a habit of clearing his throat when he was reading. He was about 11. I took him off dairy for a while and it resolved and never returned, even when he went back on dairy 6-12 months later.
Another son developed tics as a result of stress. (My mother in law with dementia lived with us for 9 months during COVID. This particular son was pretty sensitive about her moods and unpredictability.) We didn't realize until she moved back out and his tics stopped that they were stress induced.
An environmental allergy could cause something like this. Nettle would be easy to try. (It works very well for allergies for us.) For a 6 year old I would give 1/4 teaspoon of nettle tincture in an ounce of water twice a day, or 1 nettle capsule twice a day, if he can swallow them.)
~Mama to Many~
(Riverside Ca.)
04/25/2022
Sea Salt
Vitamin D, Magnesium, Vitamin A
★★★★★
We noticed that the head movements began again by the end of October, 2009, this time with the addition of movements with his fingers like he was hand milking a cow. He complained of his fingers hurting from the movements which he could not stop.
My first thought was that there might be a seasonal factor or possible either the physical or emotional environment at school. One thing I thought about was the florescent lights in the school which are not full spectrum.
As an experiment in early November, 2009, we began giving him 2,000IU vitamin D3 capsules, three a day since he weighed about 80lbs. Our thinking was that maybe he was getting enough vitamin D from the sun in the summer, but not in the autumn and winter. An after some more research we added one 250mg Magnesium tablet per day beginning a few weeks later and a 5,000IU vitamin A capsule every other day.
So here we are 10 days into December, and for the last week we have not noticed any tics. I realize it is harder to observe something that isn't there than to notice something that is, so we are tentative in our certainty about this cure working, but excited nonetheless.
I will post again in two months, hopefully to confirm that this truly has worked. If anyone else is experiencing this problem, please post your results if you try the vitamin D3, Magnesium, Vitamin A treatment.
(San Antonio, Tx)
04/08/2010
(Dayton, Oh)
09/16/2010
(Spanaway, Wa)
02/16/2011
My son started to have facial tics about three years ago. All the doctors told me that there was nothing I could do and to ignore it. As a mom I knew somthing was not right. He was sensitive to everything food, chemicals etc. I took him to a natural path and he had a over growth of candida and fungal. After getting rid of the over growth the facial tics and be sensitive to everthing disappeared. When he is low in magnesium he does start to have mild facial tics and a ton of spinach seems to do the trick. Another thing I have noticed when he goes swimming in a chlorinated pool he starts to have tics, has anyone had this happen?
(San Antonio , Tx)
06/27/2011
I am a 34 yo female and my first observed tics were in a pool. That was a very profound statement I've always wondered why did my tics start randomly then. I was swimming which was a pleasant summer activity at my grandmother's pool with friend. It was low in the way of stress and I was about seven.
(Tampa, Florida)
03/28/2012
(Charlotte, Nc)
03/17/2013
I found that there was a particular television show that was causing my son's tics. It was not that fast paced or crazy, but it did something to him. Once we stopped allowing him to watch that show, the tics dissappeared. We also just stopped all television for awhile, for good measure.
(San Antonio Tx)
06/28/2016
(Uk)
09/03/2016
(Mn Usa)
02/01/2017
Please, get the "Natural Treatments for Ticks and Tourette's" book by Sheila Rogers. I am reading it right now and starting to see a link between my son's constant allergies/bronchial asthma and the eye twitching/blinking he has developed 4 months ago....i am trying to find the environmental physician/allergist and a homeopathy doctor who could test him for food sensitivities and maybe get rid of gluten and other things in his diet. There are accounts of other families in this book who have found the solution to their child's tics/TS. I am hopeful.
(Canada)
02/22/2017
We just took my 2 year old swimming for the first time in 12 months, and 4 days later a severe eye tic began. We've had her eye examined, it's healthy. Doctor says its a minor tic that we need to keep an eye on. She also has another tic (shoulder shrugging) that she exhibits infrequently, usually while seated at meals, but this I completely new and came so soon after swimming at a pool.
(Washington)
02/23/2017
Your daughter may possibly have something called Tourette's. There is a supplement called NAC that helps with compulsive behaviors. I hope this is helpful to you.
(Australia)
04/02/2017
(Madison, Wi)
08/18/2017
(Ohio)
12/12/2017
(Toronto, Canada)
02/01/2018