I'm about as far away on the spectrum from 'naturalist' as you can get. And while I love the outdoors and trees... and hugging, I'm not the tree hugger personality. I do my part to drive gas guzzling SUV's, buy processed food from grocery stores, use harmful cleaning products and immunize my kids (except the H1N1... not doing that one!) Some people are more holistic in their approach to life and I think that's awesome, it's just not me!
Which is why I was surprised at myself... when I started looking for 'alternative' ways to treat my 7 year olds Tourettes Syndrome. There is alot of medication out there for symptom control (there is no cure or treatment for Tourettes). But I just don't have a good feeling about putting her on meds. We were even told by a neurologist that the side effects almost didn't make it worth it. Um, I don't know about you, but I'm trying to help my kids problem go away... not replace it with other problems.
Besides medication there is also the psychiatric approach. Which works well for some, but insurance doesn't cover that, and as most know, is SUPER expensive. I love my children and want the best for them but I'm not made of money. Especially when I know there are still other ways to try first.
Eric actually got the ball rolling with this one when he sent me an article he had found about the great effects of Omega3. How it really is amazing for the brain and really helped people with ADHD, tic disorders, OCD, stuttering... things of that nature. Most people are deficient in Omega3. It's a very vital supplement. Also recently I've been looking more into it myself, and I joined a few Tourette Forums online. And there have been entire pages from people about how they've read similar things and have started trying it on their kids who suffer from Tourettes. About about a month of consistently taking it daily, there was a significant reduction is motor tics. Flax seed also had similar effects with the vocal tics. Lots of people took both Omega3 and flax seed everyday and have noticed a huge difference in themselves. One lady said that that her Tourettes got to be unbearable, so she had nothing to lose by trying this approach, and after 30 days there wasn't any difference, she wanted to stop taking it but she kept going, then after about 2 months the tics virtually went away and her brain was calmed down and not so frantic and obsessive about them. She described it as night and day and she shared her whole story. It was inspiring to hear about an approach that wasn't medical. This certainly isn't a cure all and I know it doesn't work for everybody (sort of like that movement to cure Autism with a special diet... it doesn't work for everybody, but for alot people it positively impacted them). I'm certainly open to the possibility and crossing my fingers!
Eric and I have been giving the kids Omega3 vitamins every morning for only two weeks or so, not enough time to notice a significant change yet, but hopefully soon Elle will be able to be herself again. I'm hoping it will help Pinky as well, who stutters slightly.
Who knew taking your vitamins would be so beneficial! I've never really taken, or cared enough to look into vitamins, but I guess they ARE important!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
Oh, honey, that is so exciting! I REALLY hope this will help - I started taking multi-vitamins abut a year ago and I just got the best physical I've ever had - my blood was super healthy - so yeah, vitamins really do make a difference.
Hang in there, Elle!!!!
Omega-3's are great. Ryann, I keep flaxseed oil in my fridge and add a little to the boys' oatmeal and rice that kind of thing and you also can buy eggs that are Omega-3 enriched. I so hope they help her! Little sweet pea.
Post a Comment