I get a lot of emails from moms who are new to the tic phenomenon. They write that they are freaking out. They feel helpless, frustrated, sad and angry all at once. Been there, done that. Here's a snippet of an email I just wrote to a mom. I hope she'll comment here and that some of you will also. No matter how much your friends try to help, if they don't have a child with TS or tics, it's hard to really "get it". I'd like this to be an additional forum of support for you.

Here's my two cents: A few years back, when the ticking got kind of gross (eye rolls, shoulder shrugging, incessant coughing - oh, the coughing and throat clearing!) I thought I'd go NUTTY if I had to look or hear those buggers one more time. I also let those damn internet searches instill the fear of God in me. I worried that Stink would be an outcast - someone people made fun of. It broke my heart. I'd cry and cry and cry.

Finally I just decided one day to tell those fears to fuck off. The world is cruel to the most "normal" people. Why should I - his mother - his greatest advocate - not embrace him? Let the world do what they want. (And with a healthy dose of confidence, chances are they'll be just fine.)

What helped me get to this place is my diet game plan (see post below). Yes, I was lucky that through the kinesiologist I found the right food and supplements that really helped. Some aren't. But I also realized that in cooking for my son I was doing something. I couldn't completely stop the tics, but I could bake my love into his gluten free bread and buy pasta that was good for him. In not spending money on candy I could spend some cash on Disneyland passes and have FUN again. I was doing something positive, not just dwelling on fear.

My saving grace was the knowledge that that I was doing all I could. You'd think after all this baking and vitamin shopping I'd be upset if the tics come back, but honestly, I'm 50% less stressed now, because I know I've done what I can. And while I've suppressed 90% of the tics, like a bad boyfriend, they always return. Why? BECAUSE HE HAS TOURETTES.

More next Monday on dealing with spouses during the initial diagnosis/onset of tics.

More of my writing can be found daily at BabyCenter and Good Housekeeping.

One of the first things I did after getting very little feedback from my HMO on how to suppress tics through diet (and to their credit, it's not their fault - it's a very new concept) was to go to a kinesiologist chiropractor (I'll call him Dr. K) who had Stink tested for food allergies.

Different than an IGE which tests for extreme reactions (like peanut allergies, for example, where kids get deathly ill) we did a blood test called an IGG.

There are a few schools of thought on the validity of food allergy tests, but it worked for us and it wasn't very costly compared to what the literature talks about. We paid out of pocket.

The kit itself cost $200.00 which we got from Dr. K.. Stink's blood was drawn at a private lab for $15.00. The lab then packed up the blood in the test box kit and sent it out for us to Geneva Diagnositics. Geneva Diagnositics then tested it and sent the results back to Dr. K..

Between a few initial visits to Dr. K., the lab fee, the test kit, and the follow up with Dr. K., it cost about $400.00. I'd have spent that in medicine from my HMO and not gotten as concrete a result.

Once we eliminated the offending foods, Stink's tics reduced greatly - almost 90% in the first week alone. (There's a few other things we did also which I'll chat about later.)

Above is a picture of the lab results. Who knew pork would cause such a reaction? Random! I laugh that basically all food issues avoided by staying away from the ingredients of a McDonald's Egg McMuffin.

For a longer discussion, you can check out this discussion here. I am not affliliated with this blog, but it's an interesting conversation and some insight into the differences between various tests, as well as links to other labs.

* BUTT COVERAGE: Some kids have worse tics than others. Maybe Stink is just lucky or has a "light case" but you won't know unless you try. Again, Stink was only 5 when we started. And I'm not a doctor - just giving my story! I know as a mother I would try the homeopathic option and getting to the root of the tic before just covering it with meds first. But I'm not against meds if I need them in the future!

More of my writing can be found daily at BabyCenter and Good Housekeeping.

I am ready to start contributing here some more. Those of you who found me over at BabyCenter, I'd appreciate you keeping the conversations over here now, only because who knows how long BabyCenter will keep that link up. At least I can control my own blog! (Ah, control, the power. If only I could control my son's tics with a big fat remote. Zap! Twitches be gone!

All I can control is giving him the best food out there, lots of love, and seeing my boy beyond the occasional twitches.

Someone who just wrote to me is Rocio. She wants to get pregnant. Her husband has Tourettes and so did her brother growing up. I asked her to comment here about her brother and husband's experiences growing up with Tourettes as well as how they are doing now.

Just in case she paints a harrowing picture - I have no idea about her story - rest assured that there have been TONS of advances in meds, diet and behavior therapy. One person's struggle is not necessarily going to be your son or daughter's. There is so much more we can do.

Let's try not live in fear of these darn tics. Our kids are perfect! If we can produced positive, healthy, confident kids (who sometimes tic) that's more than most people can brag about, right?

And so, Rocio, type away! Let's hear your story! And anyone else, what do you want to learn the most about? I'll try to guide my posts toward your needs.

More of my writing can be found daily at BabyCenter and Good Housekeeping.