Holly IN Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 We know something is going on with our oldest son (13 yr old). We have known something is up with him for about 3 years. It comes and goes. He does have some adhd criterias but not enought to warrant concern or not severe enough. More on the mild side of it. He is getting more frustrated easily. He is doing the eye twitch very severely (not all the time ). The past two weeks it was very bad. So we suspect it is food related. We ordered our son to keep a food diary and NO MORE poweraid and gatorade variety (he started drinking these two weeks ago so we forbid them for now as well as cheesecake sqaures from Sam's ...Not mine but my mother's) We live next door to my moms (we have property between our house so it is not right next door). He has been going over there eating cheesecake every time he takes my mom's dog out. He has been snapping at everybody really bad. He has a very bad temper right now. He is not paying any attention at all for the past two weeks. It has been coming and going. He causes alot of trouble with his siblings. Not sure what is going on but we really need books, resources and whatever else to help us sort this out. btw we are not into medication so please do not recommend medicating. Example of not paying attention: dh and 2 sons outside helping him build something. dh told my youngest to go to one end and hold the wood up dh told my oldest to go to the other end and hold that end of wood up few sec later my son walks away and said what can I do...oh what should I do? dh said go back over here and hold this wood up. Huh said my son. dh repeats then he goes back to hold the end up. However he holds it up with one hand and put other hand in pocket. This was a two hand job. dh messed up due to son not holding wood end up correctly. dh told me last night that this is an ongoing thing. Anytime he twitches his eye really bad he doesn't pay any attention. Son doesn't want to go to my dd's neurologist to figure out what is wrong. He is very adamant that there is nothing wrong with him. HELP!! Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 My eye twitches when I haven't gotten enough sleep or when I'm stressed. Those may be other things to look at. The one thing that I would say is don't discount the effects of hormones. Both of my oldest sons got both spacey and ill-tempered when they were that age. It evened out in the oldest by 14-15. Younger is still there. I'm not saying don't get it checked out, but male hormones seem to go in waves as opposed to female cycles--like you get months of it, then they're all honkey dorey. I did ask the kids' doctor about this and he said yup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I just read The Magnesium Miracle (Dean), and eye twitches were mentioned as a possible symptom of magnesium deficiency. If there's a lot of calcium (which excites the nervous system) and not enough magnesium (which calms the nervous sys.) in the diet you might have problems like this. I thought it was interesting to read about how things like asthma, fibromyalgia, anxiety, migraines, seizures, etc. may be helped by having enough magnesium in the diet. (I use a powdered magnesium drink that helps me with occasional insomnia...so I don't have any personal experience with how effective it would be with bigger issues!) Some good food sources of magnesium are dark green vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes. I think your idea of keeping a food diary is a really good plan. You can also absorb some magnesium through the skin just by adding Epsom salts to the bath water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
didasko Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 A book that has helped me alot, especially in approach, because we are also not into medication, is a book by Kenneth Bock Healing the New Childhood Epidemic... http://www.amazon.com/Healing-New-Childhood-Epidemics-Groundbreaking/dp/0345494512/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214445201&sr=8-1 Also, Doris Rapp, Is This Your Child, http://www.amazon.com/This-Your-Child-Doris-Rapp/dp/0688119077/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214445359&sr=1-1 I can tell you that when my son has food dye of any kind he becomes eaily frustrated and gets angry very easily. He also picks up with clicking sounds, can't focus long enough to look me in the eye and has eye twitches. Last time it happened, he got a hold of Gateraid at his baseball game. I couldn't homeschool him for a week, there was just no focus and alot of frustration. We are gluten free, whole foods, no dyes, nothing processed, and it helps a lot. We also had him tested and he is low in iron and zinc. We also give him Nordic Naturals 3-6-9 fish oil. We also tested his neurotransmitters and he is low on serotnin (which is a calming neurotransmitter) and high on the neurotransmitter Glutamate, which accounts for the impulsivness, hyperactivity. He is on supplements to bring these back into a proper ratio. We do see fruit...slowly but surely. Best Wishes, Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted June 26, 2008 Author Share Posted June 26, 2008 and it helps a lot. We also had him tested and he is low in iron and zinc. We also give him Nordic Naturals 3-6-9 fish oil. We also tested his neurotransmitters and he is low on serotnin (which is a calming neurotransmitter) and high on the neurotransmitter Glutamate, which accounts for the impulsivness, hyperactivity. He is on supplements to bring these back into a proper ratio. We do see fruit...slowly but surely. Best Wishes, Denise Was this a blood test? Would my family dr know what to test him for? I think it is time to test him but not sure what for. Thanks! Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
didasko Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Reading the book by Kenneth Bock would help you with your testing. We went to an Integrative Physician. They are Western trained Docs but employ a holistic approach. They believe in diet and supps, and will use Meds as an absolute last resort. Before we found our Integrative Physician, we did have an allergy test from an ENT Doc and showed no allergies or senstivities. Our IP (Int.Phys.) found sensitivities to Gluten, yogurt, cheddar cheese, etc... She also found that his Ferritin(SP?) stores were low, and said our Pediatrician would see it as in range, but she felt it was low due to some other things she saw on the test so she put him on an iron supp. If you have a very cooperative Dr. who tends towards a more holistic approach, you could even take Bock's book in with you. Dr. Bock has listed different tests that should be done and when. The allergy was a blood test, the neurotransmitter was a urine test. Our next test that I think we'll do is for yeast. It's a journey in discovery, that's for sure. It's hard as a Mom seeing your child go through this (and the other children having to go through it) and how it can rule your home if you let it. I think you can find a list of IP's through the DAN! (Defeat Autism Now) website. I know sometimes they can be hard to find in your area depending on where you live. Also, some of these tests are not covered by insurance some are.... Warm Regards, Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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