Tics and Tourettes -- Tracing the True Triggers

TICS AND TOURETTE'S
TRACING THE TRUE TRIGGERS*

Many patients with tics or Tourette's who often also have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other mental and/or emotional problems, have found great difficulty not only coping with their symptoms, but finding any true solution that finally solves the problem(s). Most conventional doctors will state that: (1) there is no cure, (2) the patient may eventually "outgrow" their problems in at least several years, and/or (3) the only treatments they have are very powerful drugs for which there are many bad side effects.

Many patients . . . have found great difficulty not only coping with their symptoms, but finding any true solution that finally solves the problem(s).

The World Health Organization recently announced that mental illnesses are the number one problem facing people today. All the causes still remain unknown, and the financial cost of dealing with them exceeds all other conditions including heart disease and cancer.

What are tics and Tourette syndrome?
Most tic symptoms are mild, first appear between the ages of five and ten years, and affect up to 18% of the children in the US. Basically, a motor tic is an involuntary movement, which often occurs in the face with eye blinking or pupil rolling. Simple motor tics include sniffing, shoulder shrugs, or neck jerks, and include only one muscle group. Complex tics involve multiple muscle groups and can include twirling or jumping while walking. These tics can occur from head to foot and can vary from as simple as only an eye blink to so severe that someone is knocked from a chair. A "simple" motor tic can be severe in its expression. Tics can involve both touching others or distressing self injuries like slapping yourself, playing with sharp objects, or hot items.

. . . tics can occur from head to foot and can vary from as simple as only an eye blink to so severe that someone is knocked from a chair.

Vocal tics are also involuntary, and range from a barely noticeable light cough or hum, to disruptive, embarrassing loud shouts, yelps, squeals, barks, repeating phrases just heard, or swearing (coprolalia). An urge to tic is similar to the urge to scratch an itch, and there is a sense of released tension afterward.

Tourette syndrome (TS) is basically: (1) multiple motor and vocal tics occur (usually in bouts) during a single day, (2) the bouts cause disruption to social, occupational, or other important functions, (3) the patient is under 18 years of age, and (4) the disturbance is not due to either a stimulant drug or a general medical condition (like Huntington's chorea—a rare disease of the nervous system, which can include involuntary movements).

An ability to recognize the urge to tic usually develops after the age of ten, so a large percentage of people can withhold or postpone tics (while in school or social situation), but the tics are usually "released" in a large bout later. Many people with tics become expert at disguising involuntary movements as "natural." Holding in the tics takes a considerable amount of energy, so many children are subject to much more physical stress and emotional fatigue at school, and then they release all the tics in an explosive emotional manner at home.

Holding in the tics takes a considerable amount of energy, so many children are subject to much more physical stress and emotional fatigue at school, and then they release all the tics in an explosive emotional manner at home.

Many people with TS also have other problems such as ADHD, mood swings, learning difficulties, and depression. After the true cause(s) of the TS are worked out and the patient both avoids food and environmental allergens and supplements nutrient and/or mineral deficiencies, most all of these other problems will minimize or vanish altogether along with the TS.

Standard and Possible Future Tic Treatments
Remember, every person is unique and there is never a simple "one-cure-fits-all" solution. What is one person's meat can be another person's poison.

The environment plays just as much of a role in causing TS as genetics.

The environment plays just as much of a role in causing TS as genetics. Many identical twins with the same genetic predisposition to TS express it differently based on their lifestyle and environmental exposures. Thomas M. Hyde, MD, has conducted compelling research on identical twins with at least one of each twin set having TS. He states, "TS is a unique example of a medical condition in which genetic and environmental factors influence cerebral development and function to produce a complex neuropsychiatric disorder." Much more funding and research is needed to determine these environmental factors.

. . . G. S. Golden, MD, warned over seventeen years ago that stimulant drugs (such as Ritalin) can increase the severity of tics in patients with TS, and can start TS in patients who had never showed any previous symptoms. . .

Even though G. S. Golden, MD, warned over seventeen years ago that stimulant drugs (such as Ritalin) can increase the severity of tics in patients with TS, and can start TS in patients who had never showed any previous symptoms, the controversy over the role of stimulant drugs in tic disorders continues today. Whenever tic symptoms are mild and don't significantly interfere with daily life, medications are not recommended due to their many bad side effects.

Cannabis (marijuana) therapy, using its main active ingredient THC, can be effective in treating tics in the short term without side effects, but more research is needed. In addition to the legal and political issues, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reported in 2004 that more, younger children are being treated for marijuana addiction. Its potency has grown considerably over the last fifteen years. Public opinion polls show that over 70% of the US public favors legalizing marijuana for medical use.

Many families with a member who had TS have reported to the Association for Comprehensive NeuroTherapy (ACN) their stories of how these families found non-conventional answers and cures for their member with TS. Many of these answers include medical and just common sense approaches that are not currently used by most conventional doctors to treat TS. Many families had to either find a truly open minded "environmental" doctor, or visit the ACN's www.Lattitudes.org website before any progress could be made.

After the true root causes of the TS were found, to stay well required a lot more effort and willpower on the part of the patient and his/her family. Some of the root causes could be sensitivities or allergies to our most common foods such as corn, wheat, cane sugar, and/or dairy. This meant eating much simpler (often organic) foods and rotating them to avoid future food allergies. It also meant avoiding the candy and pizza your friends were eating. Another common root cause was Candida albicans yeast in the patient's intestines. Candida thrives on sugar and carbohydrate. Friendly bacteria such as Bifidobacteria bifidum and Lactobaccillus acidophilus provide a balance to keep Candida in check. In severe cases, use the drug nystatin for one year.

Often other root causes would be sensitivities to chemicals such as toxic cleaners and pesticides, or perfume, cologne, aftershave, a new carpet, and many more. This would mean switching to non-toxic cleaning products, totally avoiding pesticides, and avoiding all perfumes, scented candles, and more. Often still other root causes involved shortages of critical nutrients for which supplements were given.

After many of these families had been rigorously following these avoidance and supplement programs for over a year, their original conventional doctor would claim that the patient simply "outgrew" the TS. One boy greatly wanted to rejoin his friends and go on a four-day camping trip where he could drop the dietary and environmental restrictions. His parents let him go, but after he returned his tics were back in full force!

. . . there are simply two questions to be asked: (1) Is there something your individual body needs which it is not getting (vitamins, nutrients, omega fatty acids)?; and (2) Is there something you are getting which you as an individual have a need to avoid (toxic cleaners, pesticides, dust, perfume)?

Many conventional doctors claim that tic symptoms and frequencies naturally vary over time. What the patients and their families should observe is what environmental or dietary pattern occurs when the tics build up, and what other patterns are present when the tics go away. This knowledge gives a great hint as to what is truly causing the tics. According to Sidney M. Baker, MD (a NOHA Honorary Member), there are simply two questions to be asked: (1) Is there something your individual body needs which it is not getting (vitamins, nutrients, omega fatty acids)?; and (2) Is there something you are getting which you as an individual have a need to avoid (toxic cleaners, pesticides, dust, perfume)?

Many Possible Tic Triggers
The ACN conducted an online survey in 2003 of many possible tic triggers. Here is a compilation of most responses from their 1,794 participants. These were multiple choice questions. Number one got the most votes while number 27 got the least votes.
1. Stress
2. Caffeine
3. Noise
4. Sweets/sodas/cane sugar
5. Alcohol
6. Video games
7. Infections (viral/bacterial)
8. Stimulant medications (i.e., Ritalin)
9. Flashing lights
10. Artificial food colors
11. Car or bus rides
12. Heat (temperature increase)
13. Specific foods (i.e., corn, dairy, oranges)
14. Artificial flavors and sweeteners
15. Chemical exposures (i.e., cleaning products, formaldehyde, paint, gas fumes)
16. Dust
17. Molds
18. Personal scented products (i.e., perfumes, cologne, aftershave)
19. Smoke/smoking
20. Air fresheners (plug-in type, spray, and other forms)
21. Pollens
22. Dental work
23. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
24. Candles (scented)/potpourri
25. Carpeting (new)
26. Pesticides
27. Cell phone use

In other reports, additional tic triggers include:

Carpet removal
Computer use
Doing nothing (bored)
Emotional issues
Feeling hungry
Fragrance of flowers
Having a head cold
Insect bites
Other food additives
Seasonal changes
Stadiums or amusement parks at night (lights)
Watching TV or a movie, especially in a dark room or theater

When patients are exposed on a daily basis to a substance, they often get "addicted" to it and actually enjoy their next "fix." The body has become accustomed to it so symptoms are no longer clearly associated with it.

Several factors should be considered to properly understand these survey results. One is hypersensitivities that are hard to trace because the patient is affected by such a small—parts per billion—amount. Another is "masking" which cleverly hides food and chemical sensitivities. When patients are exposed on a daily basis to a substance, they often get "addicted" to it and actually enjoy their next "fix." The body has become accustomed to it so symptoms are no longer clearly associated with it. The only way to unmask a substance is to totally keep the patient away from it for an extended period (at least four full days), then re-expose them to it (have them eat the food) and watch for a definite reaction. Another confusing factor is that pesticides are often applied in public areas without the occupants being informed.

Another confusing factor is that pesticides are often applied in public areas without the occupants being informed.

Sensory Hypersensitivities Several types exist:

Heat sensitivity—not only to heat, but also to any rapid increase in temperature;
Touch sensitivity—to contact with other people, furniture, clothing, other items, and food in the mouth;
Odors and chemicals—perfumes, scented candles and air fresheners, toxic cleaners and pesticides, new carpets, and much more;
Physical movement—riding in a car, bus, or train;
Taste—eating or drinking;
Sounds—both loud and sudden, punctuated, and sometimes low and constant;
Television and Video games—both have a high frequency flicker that doesn't bother most of us, but often triggers tics. TV and computer video games watched by toddlers are linked to ADHD as well as tics. A couple of positive suggestions are to: (1) use a flat liquid crystal display (LCD) screen instead of the old cathode ray tube (CRT) type. LCDs have a lower electric field than CRTs, whose electric field can trigger tics and do a lot of other long-term damage. (2) Minimize your children's time in front of TV and video games. Isn't it a lot healthier playing outside, making friends, and getting exercise than buried inside in front of a tube?
Cell Phones—with repeated lengthy exposure to electromagnetic fields for which preliminary German research has shown possible links to cancer of the ear and eye.

Isn't it a lot healthier playing outside, making friends, and getting exercise than buried inside in front of a tube?

Environment and Immune System Connection
Over the past century the public has been subject to a mass deception campaign by the food, chemical, and drug industries in an effort to protect their industrial profits. With their influence, all standard medical training gives the simple (but false) treatment of prescribing drugs in a "one cure fits all" ideology.

Over the past century the public has been subject to a mass deception campaign by the food, chemical, and drug industries in an effort to protect their industrial profits. With their influence, all standard medical training gives the simple (but false) treatment of prescribing drugs in a "one cure fits all" ideology.

Environmental physicians are much more open-minded about many different true causes of tics and other chronic illness, which are different for each patient. In a book about the 9/11 World Trade disaster, September Eleven, 2005, Majid Ali, MD, states that "We [environmental physicians] are all prisoners of the truth. Truth that sick people can get well without drugs, truth that nutrients facilitate that process, truth that drugs do not solve the underlying problems of health, truth that drugs work by blocking the very enzymes and mediators that we need for healing." In addition to foods, many patients are also sensitive to many of the chemicals they are exposed to such as perfume, pesticides, toxic cleaners, and many more. The true father of Environmental Medicine is the late Theron G. Randolph, MD** (a member of the original NOHA Professional Advisory Board; also see "A Great Man is Gone, Theron Grant Randolph, MD," NOHA NEWS, Winter, 1996).

"We [environmental physicians] are all prisoners of the truth. Truth that sick people can get well without drugs, truth that nutrients facilitate that process, truth that drugs do not solve the underlying problems of health, truth that drugs work by blocking the very enzymes and mediators that we need for healing."

Any infection activates the body's immune system. These immunologic factors communicate with the rest of the body, including the brain and nervous system. This neuroimmune connection with the rest of the body is recognized, so the body functions as a unit, and if any portion of the body is affected by a tic trigger, that dysfunction affects all the rest of the body as well, including the brain and nervous system.

Any infection activates the body's immune system. These immunologic factors communicate with the rest of the body, including the brain and nervous system.

Diet and Nutritional Therapy
Many attractive, good tasting "junk" foods, with an indefinite shelf life have appeared in our stores and fast food restaurants from the large food corporations. Many of the good nutrients have been removed or degraded, and many preservatives added to achieve this profitable long shelf life. A patient may also be sensitive to many common foods such as: milk, wheat, egg, corn, chocolate, beef, potato, coffee, citrus, beans, spices, fish, tomato, pork, and lettuce.

Sensitivities build up in the most unexpected foods—those eaten every day and enjoyed. The patient is often addicted to these foods with a craving, similar to that of a tobacco, alcohol, or drug addict. The best way to eat in the future is the rotary elimination diet. Here a careful record is kept of every food eaten at every meal, any food should not be eaten within four days, and all sensitive foods are avoided. Drink water instead of most other beverages.

The top two foods causing neurologic reactions are milk and wheat. Cutting the food additives particularly dyes, artificial flavors, synthetic sweeteners (Nutrasweet®), and MSG reduces muscle and nerve sensitivities. Sweets or excess sucrose appear to cause tics. Sugar substitutes, like Nutrasweet® should be totally avoided. Any exposure to pesticides, even at quite low concentrations such as on foods, should be avoided. Processed foods should also be avoided. Therefore, the safest foods to eat are organic, or grown without the use of any pesticides. Be sure to balance proteins with carbohydrates and to eat oils including the essential fatty acids.

Any exposure to pesticides, even at quite low concentrations such as on foods, should be avoided.

As was illustrated above, besides avoiding tic triggers, it is necessary to supplement deficient nutrients. Depending on the individual, these may include: vitamins from the B complex, the amino acid taurine, the protein glutathione, the amino acid 5-HTP, SAMe (a natural substance), and the antioxidants vitamins A, E, and C; plus probiotics; minerals: magnesium-good for nerves, zinc; and digestive enzymes. Other often deficient nutrients include the omega 3 essential fatty acids needed for proper nerve function-we cannot make them so they have to come from our diet. It's very important to get the proper balance of essential fatty acids. William J. Walsh, PhD (another NOHA Professional Advisory Board Member) reported that many of his mental patients got worse when given the improper balance between omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. Dr. Walsh also found that his patients with TS had a range of mineral imbalances so TS is not a single condition.

. . . besides avoiding tic triggers it is necessary to supplement deficient nutrients.

ADHD can be treated with nutrients including magnesium, zinc, vitamins B and C, essential fatty acids and amino acids. Herbal supplements of: Kava, Valertan, Bacopa Monnieri, Passiflora incarnata, Spearmint and chamomile teas can help too. Each different patient's nutrition deficiencies can be difficult to find, so professional advice is recommended.

Other Tests and Therapies
Candida yeast growth in the intestine is caused not only by excess sugar, but also by the drug Ritalin, which throws the system out of balance. Candida can exacerbate ADD and ADHD and contributes to TS in children, along with other chronic diseases. Measles vaccine was shown to cause candida in 85% of the children tested.

Candida yeast growth in the intestine is caused not only by excess sugar, but also by the drug Ritalin, which throws the system out of balance. Candida can exacerbate ADD and ADHD and contributes to TS in children, along with other chronic diseases.

Many laboratory tests can be given for biologic abnormalities that exist with TS. These include blood platelets, blood cell mineral analysis, blood or urine analysis, blood choline assay, stool analysis, food IgG and inhalant allergy testing, and a 24 hour amino acid analysis.

Behavioral therapies are another healthy non-drug treatment for TS. One is competing response. This means finding a conscious opposite motion to the tic so that the net result looks natural. Other behavioral therapies are: (1) relaxation and deep breathing—very similar to yoga, (2) offering a reward if the child does not allow the tics to come, (3) massed negative practice where the patient purposefully repeats the tic for about half an hour to get tired of doing it, (4) hypnosis, (5) cognitive behavioral disorder—where the patient gives a strong connection between stress and tics, (6) counseling, (7) meditation, and (8) exercise.

Finding the triggers for chronic tics is very complex, takes a lot of time, effort, and patience. However, when the true triggers are found and the cures implemented, the benefits are immeasurable.

Other approaches include: (1) EEG (electroencephalogram) biofeedback, (2) homeopathy, (3) detoxification, (4) bodywork—chiropractic therapy and massage, (5) energy medicine, and (6) Chinese medicine, including acupuncture.

Sources for Professional Help:
Several good sources exist for professional help. They are: (1) The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) www.aaem.com , (2) American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) www.acam.org , and (3) Defeat Autism Now (DAN!) (changed to Autism Research Institute at: www.autismwebsite.com/ari ).

Finding the triggers for chronic tics is very complex, takes a lot of time, effort, and patience. However, when the true triggers are found and the cures implemented, the benefits are immeasurable.

_______________________
*Tics and Tourette's—Breakthrough Discoveries in Natural Treatments by Sheila J. Rogers, Association for Comprehensive NeuroTherapy, 2005.

**An Alternative Approach to Allergies by Theron G. Randolph, MD and Ralph and Ralph W. Moss, PhD, Harper and Row, 1980, 1989.

Article from NOHA NEWS, Vol. XXXI, No. 4, Fall 2006, pages 5-9.