Blogs | Regenerating Health

Tics, PANS/PANDAS: Why Parents Need Support

Uncategorized Feb 11, 2022

When you are the parent of a child with tics, sometimes your nerves are just plain shot. Sometimes the noise, the movement, the repetition, the rituals, all just get to be too much. Sometimes people you love have different ideas of how your child’s tics should be approached or dealt with, and relationships you cherish start to feel lonely and out of alignment. Even if you have the best support network around you, you’re the one in the trenches with your child, and the only way out is through.

You may have heard every piece of advice, read every article, listened to every podcast, tried every therapy, medication, or diet. Some of us wish we could have done all of these things and we just don’t have the time or energy, so we end up feeling guilty for not doing enough. Sometimes it feels like it’s all we can do to keep our heads above water.

It’s normal to need support going through this day in and day out. Mommin’ ain’t easy! At the...

Tics, PANS/PANDAS: A Child's Perspective

Uncategorized Feb 04, 2022

What is it like to be a child with tics?

“It’s the worst feeling, it’s miserable to not have control of your body.”

“It’s so embarrassing. I feel like everyone starts staring at me.”

“My teachers correct me for dropping my pencil over and over but I can’t help it.”

“People don’t understand the stress that tics make you feel.”

These are quotes from a client’s 13-year-old daughter. She was diagnosed with OCD, ADHD, and Sensory Processing Disorder at 4 years old, and Tourette Syndrome at 7 years old. Her mother isn’t the type to just brush things under the rug. She sought out all of the doctors, medications, and vitamins she could find. Her daughter only worsened as puberty set in. It wasn’t until she went through my Foundations to Flourish program, ran the right functional lab tests, and strictly followed the plan we designed that her daughter started to get better.

Tics can be small...

Why Endless Research Won't Help Treat Your Child's Tics, PANS/PANDAS

Uncategorized Jan 28, 2022

My Dear Friend, “Dr. Google”

I have been in your shoes. I know exactly how it feels to watch my child suffer from debilitating tics and question everything in my life. I obsessively combed through articles, clinical trials, research studies, lifestyle recommendations, therapy possibilities, off-label pharmaceutical options, and even researched invasive surgical procedures just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything that could help my son. I tried so many of the suggestions that I found on the web, out of sheer desperation and hope for success. “Dr. Google” was my best friend until I realized that it was becoming my worst enemy. I was driving myself crazy trying to piece together a science-based plan for my son using general and disjointed information from the web. It was time to break up with my dear friend.

Fast forward to now: I know exactly how to help your child. In this article, I summarize 3 incomplete approaches to solving tic disorders and...

Tics/PANS/PANDAS: Why you don't need another MD

Uncategorized Jan 14, 2022

Have you already seen a Primary Care Physician, a Neurologist, an Allergist, an Ear Nose and Throat Specialist, a Psychologist, a Psychiatrist, participated in a clinic, or tried CBIT therapy or any combination of these in an attempt to help your child? In your experience with doctors, have you been prescribed medication for your child in order to help with tics, sudden behavior changes, or chronic complaints like stomach aches, heartburn, and/or constipation? Did doctors run CBC blood tests only to report everything is “fine” and “normal” when deep down you know something just isn’t right?

Parents of kids with chronic medical concerns are the kings and queens of the google search bar. We are guilty of trying every suggestion we hear hoping and praying it will be the thing that works for our children. We lay awake at night worrying and we get on waitlists for prestigious doctors who will just medicate our children and book a follow-up weeks...

The Top Four Tic Disorder Triggers

Uncategorized Dec 20, 2021

If you are a parent whose child struggles with tics, then you know that a tic is characterized by sudden, repetitive movements or vocalizations called tics. Tics are often classified as either motor or vocal. Motor tics are movements such as eye blinking, facial grimacing, head shaking, and shoulder shrugging. Phonic tics are sounds such as coughing, throat clearing, whistling, and grunting.

Many parents feel stuck when it comes to their child's tic; they don't know how to help them, and watching them is heartbreaking.

Tics are not purely neurological! I know mind-blowing, right? So you have a tic you see a neurologist, and he tells you to "ignore it"...

Today, we will look a little bit deeper at triggering events and the connection with tics.

What is a triggering event?

A triggering event is any physical, environmental, psychological, biological, or emotional trauma that can affect an individual. It can be something as minor as cold to something more severe like surgery. Tics are...

KIDS OUT OF CONTROL? HOW TO OPTIMIZE NUTRITION FOR OPTIMAL BEHAVIOR

Uncategorized Dec 13, 2021

Far too often I see clients come into my office and mom is about to pull her hair out because their child is out of control.

He has mood swings, doesn't sleep, bounces off the walls, only wants to eat junk, and mom is about to lose her mind! All of these go hand in hand with tic disorders.

I get it, I have worn those shoes and I know that nutrition plays a BIG part in behavior. Kids, naturally, need vitamins and minerals and in some cases, they need far more than the RDA. Not only do they need them for the same reasons we do, but they also need extra vitamins and minerals to build their bodies up to their full adult size. RDA does not equate to optimum health, RDA is a minimum created to keep you from getting diseases like scurvy.

A deficiency in even one micronutrient would mean a kid develops rickets, skin problems, allergies, or a poor attention span. So, naturally, as parents, we want to feed our kids the healthiest possible diet, loaded with vitamins and...

TIC DISORDERS AND ANXIETY

Uncategorized Dec 06, 2021

Many children with a tic disorder diagnosis also struggle with a laundry list of other issues including anxiety. One in three children in the US is diagnosed with anxiety and half of them also struggle with depression. Tic disorders and anxiety have been on the rise over the past 30 years and are being diagnosed more than ever. The big question is why?

Conquering Anxiety! I cannot tell you how many people I know who say they suffer from anxiety and depression. I see everyone on Facebook post every day about how they can’t even function because their anxiety is so bad. For most people, the anxiety depression, and panic seem to snowball and it gets worse and worse every day. So many people think that anxiety is just part of their life and that is how they are going to have to live. Let me be the first to tell you that you don’t have to live this way. Your issues are a symptom of a much caused by something much deeper and it’s a...

TIC DISORDERS AND THE MICROBIOME

Uncategorized Nov 29, 2021

Tic disorders stem from stress and our children seem to be living in a constant state of fight or flight.

What do your kids do when their mood is off and feel stressed?

Most of the time they act out or behave badly. They have mood swings and cry. They may also binge eat for comfort. For children with tic disorders you most often will see an increase in tics and sometimes a new tic will arise.

Children especially small children don’t know how to deal with stress and they certainly don’t know how to listen to their bodies. For every one signal, your brain sends to your gut sends 10 signals to your brain. Those little guys in your gut are in charge! After reading this article, you may consider yogurt, a handful of walnuts, or maybe even some dark chocolate as your go-to mood-boosters and stress-busters.

Today, we’ll unpack some of the exciting (and preliminary) new research about the link between your gut health and moods/stress. We’ll talk about...

Tic Disorders, ADHD, OCD, and Sensory Processing: What's the Connection?

Uncategorized Nov 22, 2021

As parents, we are always on the lookout for how to stop tics or tic disorders treatments but we don't take into account how another diagnosis might be connected to tics.

Children who suffer from Tic disorders, ADHD, OCD, or Sensory processing are more likely to have another diagnosis. Tic disorders and other related diagnoses often go hand in hand with each other. A co-diagnosis is when a child has two different diagnoses that go together. Tics may be the most noticeable of these conditions, but they typically accompany one of these three: ADHD, OCD, or sensory processing disorder. We are going to explore tic disorders and how they relate to other mental health issues such as ADHD, OCD, SPD, and even autism spectrum disorders.

Tics may be observed in children diagnosed with ADHD. For example, a child with Tourette Syndrome (TS) accompanied by attention deficits will meet the diagnostic criteria for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Tic disorder is also comorbid...

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Tics, PANS/PANDAS: Why Parents Need Support

Tics, PANS/PANDAS: A Child's Perspective

Why Endless Research Won't Help Treat Your Child's Tics, PANS/PANDAS

Top 4 Questions Parents Have About Food Sensitivities

Tics/PANS/PANDAS: Why you don't need another MD

The Top Four Tic Disorder Triggers

KIDS OUT OF CONTROL? HOW TO OPTIMIZE NUTRITION FOR OPTIMAL BEHAVIOR

TIC DISORDERS AND ANXIETY

TIC DISORDERS AND THE MICROBIOME

Tic Disorders, ADHD, OCD, and Sensory Processing: What's the Connection?

Tic Disorders Cheat Sheet

The guide you need if you are tired of...

-Being written off by your doctor?

-Told to just "ignore" it?

- Feeling like you are drowning because you don't know how to help your child?

Learn the 3 Secrets Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You About Tics