Can a vitamin deficiency cause OCD behaviors in 5yo?

[3beansforme]

My 5 yo nephew has been having OCD behaviors for a month now. His doc said they stemmed from a school phobia.However he has had an eating disorder/been in food therapy since 2yo and his diet is very poor. He does not take a vitamin.

[jccgf]

I have seen much written about B6 deficiency and OCD. You might want to google those two terms together.

I wonder, have they ever checked for gluten/casein or other food sensitivity in your nephew?

Given your brief description, I'd look further into both of these areas.

There is a Gluten Sensitivity/Celiac Disease forum here. If you nephew has an eating disorder and is a "picky" eater, please be sure he has been tested for guten sensitivity.

Good luck!

Cara

[mrsD]

OCD behaviors that come up suddenly...can be Pandas. This is an autoimmune reaction to the Strep bacteria.

Some OCD can be from nutrient deficiencies. Some from genetics (temperment), and some from Pandas. Autoimmune issues can arise from gluten intolerance/Celiac as well as malabsorption of nutrients.

Kids often do repetitive things to calm themselves, as well. So it might be hard to separate out that emotional component.

I have never heard of "food therapy"... can you explain that more?
Kids with sensory issues can become "pickey" about food, how it feels in the mouth etc. Sensory Integration issues are a whole disicipline in themselves.
Does you child get enough protein each day? Enough electrolytes?
This is important for growth.

Inositol is often used for mild OCD...this is a powder and tasteless and can be mixed into juice. But I would have a doctor supervise its use in a small child, and give the dosage needed for your child.

[Lara]

My 5 yo nephew has been having OCD behaviors for a month now. His doc said they stemmed from a school phobia.However he has had an eating disorder/been in food therapy since 2yo and his diet is very poor. He does not take a vitamin.

Hi,
He sounds a little like my son at age 5.
What sort of eating problems does he have exactly? Does he restrict his food intake to particular foods and particular textures or colours. Does he like to eat the same food for days or weeks at all?

I would suggest that if a 5 year old is showing obsessive compulsive behaviours, school phobia or anxiety of any type and rigid eating habits then it would be a really good idea for him to be assessed by a team who specialize in developmental disorders and/or Pervasive Developmental Disorders just to rule out that the behaviours are not part of that.

Would love to hear more from you about the eating difficulties and also what sort of OC behaviours that he's showing.

Was he ill at all just prior to a month ago when you say the OC behaviours started? No sore throats, rashes or high fevers?

sorry for all the questions, just might help if we knew more.
take care,
Lara

[Chemar]

Hi 3beans :)

sorry I didnt reply sooner...very busy day yesterday

sudden onset OCD is definitely a red flag for possible PANDAS or PITANDS
which, as mrsD has explained, are when neurological issues are triggered by infection, in the case of PANDAS it is strep (NOT just strep throat) and for PITANDS it can be a whole range of microbial agents

here is some PANDAS info from NIMH
http://intramural.nimh.nih.gov/pdn/web.htm

and here is an informative post from Ronna at Latitudes on the subject
http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2137

Many conventional docs do not know how to correctly test for PANDAS, and they assume that if a strep throat culture comes back negative, that there is no strep. However, in PANDAS, the strep is considered stealth and it often shocks these docs when correct PANDAS blood tests are done which show sky high strep antibody titres indicative of a massive strep infection. The only way to treat this is with prophylactic antibiotic use. We have reports on Latitudes of the very best results coming from correct use of azithromycin (Zithromax)

I would highly recommend finding a doctor who is knowledgable about PANDAS and who will run the comprehensive tests
My son was tested by Dr Tanya Murphy at the Shands Clinic in Gainesville, Florida
I feel sure Dr Murphy would know of other docs around the country who are aware of PANDAS and who know how to dx and treat it
Their phone number is (352) 392-3681.

Here is more on Dr Murphy
She is at the forefront of PANDAS research

http://www.psychiatry.ufl.edu/people/bios/murphy.htm


If this OCD is not PANDAS or PITANDS related, there are over the counter supplements that can really help....for younger kids, INOSITOL with vit B6 is most used
A good mutivitamin/multimineral is IMHO an essential component to the diet as vitamin/mineral deficiences have been implicated in a lot of illness.

another big thing is to avoid artificial food additives as these seem to trigger OCD big time...this includes all artificial coloring, artificial sweeteners, MSG, high fructose corn syrup etc


hope that helps :)

[Lara]

Sorry if this is all confusing to you, 3beansforme. I really do apologize for adding all this information on this thread, but I felt it necessary.

_______________

As Chemar has said, "I would highly recommend finding a doctor who is knowledgable about PANDAS and who will run the comprehensive tests". This is easier said than done in some places so I will suggest that if PANDAS is ever suspected then please contact NIH (sites listed above) and they can either refer on or give other suggestions.

It is vitally important that treatment or diagnosis is not given by a practitioner who is not aware of current findings on the PANDAS research... it changes all the time and there is even disagreement in medical circles as to criteria and treatment still to this day. It's still evolving.

Not many people on these forums these days probably know this, but my son had been (mis)diagnosed from age of 5 to 10 with a Strep. related movement disorder called Sydenhams Chorea. His treatment initially was an antibiotic and Clonidine. The antibiotic was to be given until approx. age of 21 as a preventative. This was pretty normal practice back then. Sydenham's Chorea is a condition that can occur in *some* people, not all people, who have had Rheumatic Fever after a Strep. infection. This of course was ceased when his diagnosis was later changed. PANDAS of course doesn't occur after Rheumatic Fever, but the autoimmune process involved is somewhat similar.

Anyway, I just wanted to post this somewhere in the hope that people searching out PANDAS information will realize that there is a real need for caution in both diagnosing and treating at this point in time until more clarification is forthcoming from the PANDAS studies. If anyone is seeking evaluation, please contact the Research centres such as NIMH, [or doctors outside of NIMH like Tanya Murphy or Barbara Coffey of course] because they will know what to do.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/547096?src=mp

PANDAS May Be Overdiagnosed, Contributing to Overuse of Antibiotics

Paula Moyer, MA
November 2, 2006
AACAP 53rd Annual Meeting: Abstract C21. Presented October 26, 2006.

"Is PANDAS overdiagnosed? Yes and no," said Tanya K. Murphy, MD, in a phone interview seeking independent commentary. "A lot of primary care pediatricians have not even heard of it, therefore not looking for it and diagnosing it. Some of the primary care doctors use the criteria of high titers and obsessive-compulsive disorder," she said. Dr. Murphy, who was not involved in the research, is an associate professor and chief of child and adolescent psychiatry and director of the anxiety disorders clinic at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Dr. Murphy continued, "If you look at the younger age group, probably up to 25% to 30% of those with obsessive-compulsive and tic disorders would meet the PANDAS criteria. If you look at older children, the 11% is probably what I am seeing as well." Sudden onset should cause a suspicion, she said, noting that testing titers can help hone the diagnosis if the titers are high for 2 tests taken 4 to 8 weeks apart.

In children with PANDAS, the standard interventions for obsessive-compulsive and tic disorders are effective, Dr. Murphy said. These consist of cognitive-behavioral therapy, reversal therapy in the case of tic disorders, and pharmacologic therapy.

"Just because they have PANDAS doesn't mean you should withhold established treatments," Dr. Coffey agreed. "Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help prevent a more severe episode in the future."

Pediatrics. 2004 Apr;113(4):883-6.

The pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infection (PANDAS) etiology for tics and obsessive-compulsive symptoms: hypothesis or entity? Practical considerations for the clinician.

Kurlan R, Kaplan EL.

Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology Unit, Department of Neurology, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, New York

Clinicians have been faced with much publicity and contradictory scientific evidence regarding a recently described condition termed pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infection (PANDAS). It has been proposed that children with PANDAS experience tics, obsessive-compulsive behavior, and perhaps other neuropsychiatric symptoms as an autoimmune response to streptococcal infection. We review current scientific information and conclude that PANDAS remains a yet-unproven hypothesis. Until more definitive scientific proof is forthcoming, there seems to be insufficient evidence to support 1) routine microbiologic or serologic testing for group A streptococcus in children who present with neuropsychiatric symptoms or 2) the clinical use of antibiotic or immune-modifying therapies in such patients. The optimum diagnostic and therapeutic approach awaits the results of additional research studies.

Full Text of above Article here...
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/113/4/883
PEDIATRICS Vol. 113 No. 4 April 2004, pp. 883-886

SPECIAL ARTICLE
The Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated With Streptococcal Infection (PANDAS) Etiology for Tics and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms: Hypothesis or Entity? Practical Considerations for the Clinician
Roger Kurlan, MD and Edward L. Kaplan, MD

From the the source...
PEDIATRICS Vol. 113 No. 4 April 2004, pp. 907-911
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/113/4/907

COMMENTARY
The Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated With Streptococcal Infection (PANDAS) Subgroup: Separating Fact From Fiction
Susan E. Swedo, MD, Henrietta L. Leonard, MD and Judith L. Rapoport, MD

he PANDAS subgroup is both a clinical entity and the subject of scientific experimentation. Systematic, longitudinal observations have demonstrated that the PANDAS subgroup has a distinct clinical presentation and an identifiable course of symptoms and that, for these children, there is a clear relationship between streptococcal infections and neuropsychiatric symptom exacerbations. Additional research is required to determine the nature of that relationship as well as to determine the etiopathogenesis of the poststreptococcal obsessive-compulsive symptoms and tics. Additional studies are required also to determine the role of immunomodulatory therapies and antibiotics prophylaxis for this group of patients. Meanwhile, it is time to end the debate about the existence of the PANDAS subgroup and begin to "call to aid the science of experimentation ... so as to be able to know the true from the false."

[p.s. despite how it may appear, I believe they will finally sort all this out and I am not in any way at all against this research or even the hypothesis, particularly because of my own exp. with Sydenham's Chorea, however, we must be cautious and we must do no harm. Here we are in 2007 and we're still waiting for the results of that study that's been promised for so long] :Sigh:

[3beansforme]

Hi. Thank you all for such a wealth of information. It has taken me a while to go through it all. This is for my nephew who is 5, I know one of the posters was confused as to it being my son. To clarify the eating problems are sensory,began with a gag as a baby and has had texture issues ever since.Will not add new foods to his diet so it is very limited to point he has eaten same 3 meals daily for last 3 years. PANDAS was brought up by parents,not sure if he was tested yet.We are a bit doubtful about that as cause only b/c he has shown signs here and there over years of different behaviors and was seen many times by developmental peds when he didnt meet a milestone or did a strange behavior.Austim is ruled out. Aspergers is still a remote possibility,if so it is very slight. He is gifted intellectually,having started fully reading at age 3 complex books,does complex math at 5,etc. Doc said he is wired different for sure but not classic aspergers. They are exploring the vitamin deficiency idea as well and i am still pushing for the strept test.

[3beansforme]

Hi. Thank you all for such a wealth of information. It has taken me a while to go through it all. This is for my nephew who is 5, I know one of the posters was confused as to it being my son. OCD behaviors are including rewalking same paths in same steps, having his mom repeat 2nd sentence she has said with same pitch to her voice until it is 'right' in his mind,having mom put a ball in a hoop certain number of times before he can walk down the stairs, reputting water on himself after bath has to be same number of drops on each leg and then redrying himself again,putting toys,cups,etc back in exact same spot before he can move to to new activity, taking long time in school on projects and getting stressed b/c they are not 'exactly' right ,like if he has art class and is supposed to draw an item, is stressed it is not a replicate. Etc.Too many to list.To clarify the eating problems are sensory,began with a gag as a baby and has had texture issues ever since.Will not add new foods to his diet so it is very limited to point he has eaten same 3 meals daily for last 3 years. PANDAS was brought up by parents,not sure if he was tested yet.We are a bit doubtful about that as cause only b/c he has shown signs here and there over years of different behaviors and was seen many times by developmental peds when he didnt meet a milestone or did a strange behavior.Austim is ruled out. Aspergers is still a remote possibility,if so it is very slight. He is gifted intellectually,having started fully reading at age 3 complex books,does complex math at 5,etc. Doc said he is wired different for sure but not classic aspergers. They are exploring the vitamin deficiency idea as well and i am still pushing for the strept test.

[Lara]

Hi again 3beansforme,
I wish I could help more regarding the food issues and vitamins, but I don't have too many suggestions as it's still something I struggle with here with my own son. He'll eat the same thing for weeks and then switch to something else and weeks later will switch to something else etc.. He really likes routine and thrives best with routine, but I always worried myself sick that he wasn't getting enough nutrients in his diet. He's much better these days then he used to be on all sensory levels and his diet has been much improved in the past 5 years especially. (he's 19 now). He can tolerate foods he never could before. He isn't just being a picky eater, it's been much more extreme than that, so disguising certain foods in meals hasn't always been too much help.

When he was really little we tried different vitamin regimes but it was really a waste of money at the time, because he just couldn't swallow the number of pills that was suggested. He would even gag at the actual sight of certain foods let alone the smell of them or the taste and texture of them.

These days there are other ways of getting some nutients that he might be lacking, like in eggs and other foods that are reinforced with different vits. and minerals now. We were able to find one multivitamin that was chewable and tolerable for him. I'm sure it wasn't much help, but to me it was better than nothing.

The OC issues sound as if they have anxiety involved. My son has different types of OC behaviours. Those where anxiety is involved and those where it is not. He _is_ on the autism spectrum and I have read a lot of literature talking about the differences in obsessive interests often seen in autism compared with obsessive compulsive behaviours, where the OC behaviours have the obsessive thought followed through by an action or compulsion. His obsessive lining up of toys, and books and numbers and some other things does not involve anxiety. His *just right* feelings often do.

OK, I'm rattling on a bit now I'm sorry.

I think you're looking into all the right things by the sound of it. I must add that often Asperger's Syndrome can be somewhat difficult to diagnose in some young children and they often can fall through the gaps _because_ they are clever and appear to be maintaining very well. My son wasn't diagnosed ASD until he was around 14. He'd really slipped through the gaps especially in school where until he hit pre-puberty and puberty, he just tended to fit in OK and all medical attention was focused mistakenly on some physical aspects because he also has motor and vocal/phonic tics. Anyway, by the time he was about 11/12 yrs, the gap widened between himself and his peers very noticably. Autism Spectrum is just that, a spectrum. There have been times in my son's life when he's appeared to function very well and would be considered at one end of spectrum, but in other areas he's sort of in the middle.

Just curious if your nephew has any out of the ordinary motor movements or makes sounds at all?

I don't mean to harp on about the autism spectrum part, but just also curious if you know why his doctor thought autism spectrum/asperger's was very slight consideration? Just wondered if he gave reasons.

As I said, it sounds as if he's in good care medically and I sure hope they can help him. As much as I dislike labels, it can sometimes be really important figuring out why a child or person is doing something that's causing them distress because then the right sort of help can be given if it's necessary. Adding a couple of sites on the bottom here regarding OCD in children. In light of what you've written in your last post and considering the anxiety that your nephew seems to be experiencing with some of these issues, I'd be talking with a psychologist who is knowlegeable about OCD in childhood.

All the best, please let us know how he's doing. My heart goes out to him, it truly does seem so much for our little ones to deal with. *tear
Sorry about writing such a long post.
Lara.

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/12/when-your-child-has-obsessive-compulsive-disorder/

Amy Wilensky
[she also wrote an amazing book for adults which I highly recommend.
"Passing for Normal: A Memoir of Compulsion" ~ by Amy S. Wilensky.]

Good website regarding anxiety and OCD in children.
http://www.worrywisekids.org/index.html
[from The Children's Center for OCD and Anxiety, founded and directed in part by Tamar Chansky PhD who is also the author of an excellent book called "Freeing Your Child from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder", and also of "Freeing your child from anxiety"... second one I've not read.

[3beansforme]

Hi. Thanks for your response. It sounds like you have had a long road with your son. Yes,in response to your question regarding verbal tics my nephew does have them and they are getting progressively worse.In the summer it was just whisteling,now my sister said there are 5 distinct ones, like a throat clearing over and over and other strange noises.She said school said they dont happen there but as soon as he gets home it is non stop,especially on his more stressful school days. They did end up medicating him and most of the ocd behaviors disappeared within a few days but she said he has gotten really really defiant now,talking back a lot,refusing to do homework and staying in his room for hours at a time,has tried to hit them,etc. She is very frustrated obviously. I know he went for the strept test,no word on result yet,I am doubtful that is cause b/c of all the other issues. They are trying to get a vitamin in him, he is beyond picky,like your ds it is truly a problem where he can't even see foods or have textures near him,smells of others foods can make him gag and that kind of thing. I know doc said aspergers is hard at 5 to pinpoint. He felt that nephew did not answer his questions the way an aspergers kid would (not sure what that way is but this was a developmental pediatrician who does this all day), but commented there ws no doubt he was wired different than most. Just the fact that at 2 he had no words,not even mama and by 3 was fully speaking and reading is interesting. He is extremely bright b/c he comprehends everything he reads, I know school tried to test him at at 5 he got past the 4th grade reading level and teacher ran out of testing materials so they dont have an exact level,but it is past 4th grade. Also writes out paragraphs of information, adds double digits ,even does things since he was little like can tell you what day of the week a date falls on a month away, you can see him doing the math in his head. My sister is very worried about the social ramifications for him of the tics and ocd behaviors as he grows and whether they will just go away or worrsen, there is a lot she does not know.

[Chemar]

hi 3beans

when you say your nephew had a strep test...was this just a throat culture or was this the comprehensive blood titration (ASO) to detect any possible strep antibodies that is done to dx PANDAS. For PITANDS, a viral profile is run to determine if any other viral agents are present, most often with Epstein Barr virus being the culprit

Sudden onset of OCD, motor and vocal tics is frequently a result of PANDAS or PITANDS

Then docotrs who are knowledgable in this area are sadly still few and far between, but are growing

You may also want to recommend that he be evaluated by a DAN doctor as they are really up on most of this. Although they specialise in autism, yet they do a lot of work with kids who have all kinds of neuro stuff, and with Aspergers having been mentioned...a DAN doctor really may be the way to go

Here is a helpful thread at Latitudes for finding medical help, including a directory of DAN docs

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=565

HTH
:)

[Lara]

Yes,in response to your question regarding verbal tics my nephew does have them and they are getting progressively worse.In the summer it was just whisteling,now my sister said there are 5 distinct ones, like a throat clearing over and over and other strange noises.She said school said they dont happen there but as soon as he gets home it is non stop,especially on his more stressful school days.

Just so you know, that's a really common scenario for tics to come out in an explosion at home after school. It's a safe environment plus even children as young as your nephew will suppress tics in the presence of strangers, or their peers or even in the doctor's office. A tic is a little like a sneeze, it builts up tension and if you hold that sneeze in and in and in and in and in and it builds up... in the end comes a really big explosion of a sneeze.

Tics can occur in a number of conditions. My opinion differs from some, but I suggest that his parents and everyone just absolutely and totally ignore the tics. If they continue, then there are some things that can make it easier to sustain a day in a classroom, like taking short breaks, having some energetic exercize time to enable the child to "let them out" etc.. that way supressing them doesn't leave the child in a state of exhaustion or distraction when they're trying to learn. If the weather is good/ or when it does get good, spending some time out in the yard or on a trampoline or swings or something like that is an excellent way of allowing a child some space and during the period of physical movement the child can actually let out some tics if they need to without feeing under scrutiny.

The almost perfect scenario for my son years ago in school would have been for everyone to just ignore his tics and he'd have not spent all day suppressing them to the point of exhaustion but life isn't like that unfortunately.

Actually quite a significent number of young children between the ages of about 3 and 7 get transient tics, which remit on their own very quickly. It's much more common than people think. As I said earlier, tics can occur in a number of conditions. Not all that tics is connected to Tourette Syndrome or PANDAS I mean. Even with Tourette syndrome, and I'm not saying your nephew has Tourette Syndrome at all, but the prognosis and chance of a child growing out of their multiple tics is very good indeed.

Some children on autism spectrum also have some tics, motor or vocal/phonic or both... plus children on autism spectrum can have stereotypies.

The number one thing I would consider at this point is that your nephew knows that he's going to be OK. Little children hide a lot of fears in their heads, especially clever little heads that might not be as communicative as others. Sometimes children can become frightened when they're being scrutinized for tics or behaviours that are different from the expected and especially so like my son who was having to have lots of tests and proceedures that were invasive, like all the blood tests, and MRI's etc..

That's actually one part of the whole process to diagnoses that I wish I could change a LOT because it was all pretty frightening to my son as well as me, thinking there was something really seriously "wrong" with him. If I'd known then what I know now, I'd have approached a lot of things very differently. Sometimes though one has to explore with certain proceedures to eliminate certain serious illnesses or conditions which might have similar symptoms. When that does happen, it's just so important for a child to be aware of what's happening (age appropriately) and get lots and lots of love and reassurance.

all the best.
Lara

[Jenny73]

Hi,
He sounds a little like my son at age 5.
What sort of eating problems does he have exactly? Does he restrict his food intake to particular foods and particular textures or colours. Does he like to eat the same food for days or weeks at all?

I would suggest that if a 5 year old is showing obsessive compulsive behaviours, school phobia or anxiety of any type and rigid eating habits then it would be a really good idea for him to be assessed by a team who specialize in developmental disorders and/or Pervasive Developmental Disorders just to rule out that the behaviours are not part of that.

Would love to hear more from you about the eating difficulties and also what sort of OC behaviours that he's showing.

Was he ill at all just prior to a month ago when you say the OC behaviours started? No sore throats, rashes or high fevers?

sorry for all the questions, just might help if we knew more.
take care,
Lara

My daughter (8 years old), stated exhibiting OCD symptoms about almost 3 months. We both knew that she was a little OCD since she was about 3 because of some very minor symptoms we saw then. However, recently her hording got worse. She would plead and beg us to please allow her to rummage thru the garbage bags to look at item that had being thrown out. She wanted to keep everything from pieces of scrap papers, straws rappers, even tissue paper that she used to blow her noise. She walked around with her hands closed because she did not want the air/dust to escape from her hands (yes, it is that bad). She was also depressed, constantly crying and was refusing to eat (she lost 6 lbs in less than 2 weeks).

Once we realize that we needed help my husband started searching for it and we came across several forums that talked about OCD being linked to Inocitol (part of Vitamin B Complex) deficiency. Once we started discussing the forums, we realized that we had not being given her a kids vitamin (since the bottle ran out) and it coincided around the same time her first symptom started, not to mention that she had also had Strep ( Strep has also being linked to OCD). I rushed to GNC and bought it in powder form and started given her ½ a teaspoon, twice a day for 2 days and then dropped to ¼ teaspoon for 3 days (she got a little hyper). Because her levels were low we had to bring them up to gradually to her bodies normal. The only thing you must know is that Inocitol is very expensive ($49 for a 2 oz bottle - $129 for 1 lb bottle) and it works better in powder form and with fewer additives, which is why I when to GNC, but it can also be purchase on line or in other stores.

Since the 6th day we have only being giving her ¼ teaspoon once a day in the am with her juice and in addition we are giving her a kid’s vitamin. There are some days were we have had to give her an additional dose in the afternoon/pm based on how she was doing, but that has only happened twice in the past month since we started this treatment. Our daughter started showing sign that the treatment was working on the 2nd day in the evening, she was already about 30% better. She was happy and talking and she threw a cup in the trash with us just asking her to do so. Even thou every day is a battle she is doing so much better. We have our happy-go-lucky daughter back and best of all she knows that she is getting better.
Although we have made an appointment with a therapist to start Cognitive-behavioral therapy involving exposure and response prevention (ERP) to our current treatment; I have to say that the Inocitol treatment has worked for us and I would strongly recommend it to anyone. Research it and see if it may work for your nephew.

Best wishes,
Jenny

[Chemar]

The only thing you must know is that Inocitol is very expensive ($49 for a 2 oz bottle - $129 for 1 lb bottle) and it works better in powder form and with fewer additives, which is why I when to GNC, but it can also be purchase on line or in other stores.


Jenny

Hi Jenny
my son uses high dose inositol powder for OCD and we get ours at iherb.com which is *much* cheaper than the prices you mention

we use either the Jarrow or NOW brand

my son likes the Jarrow best

[mrsD]

Inositol does not have to be expensive.

We buy ours online for 11.98 for 8 oz of Jarrow pharmaceutical grade. My husband and son have been using it for over 2 yrs.
mixes into juice with no taste.

We also get ours at www.iherb.com

(locally the same bottle is over $67.00 !!)

Vitacost online also has it for a bit more $14.72 / 8oz.

I just did a search for it, and there are other places in the same price range. You don't have to pay GNC prices...they are always sky high IMO.

[Lara]

Our daughter started showing sign that the treatment was working on the 2nd day in the evening, she was already about 30% better.

WOW

The 2nd day?

I know it can be helpful for some, but that really is miraculous.

Edited later to add the url for the Tourette's Syndrome Forum here at NeuroTalk.
Tourette Syndrome Forum (http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum25.html)

[Jaspar]

I read that OCD is no longer considered to be a mental illness, but rather, a neurological disorder. Is this because Inositol (a non-psychiatric medication) was found to be so helpful? Or were there other reasons?

[mrsD]

There is a link between inositol and lithium.

If you put those keywords into Google search you will see alot of pages on it.

Inositol is a metabolic enhancer...it helps cells produce energy.
It helps insulin get glucose into cells somehow.

A form of inositol called d-chiro inositol can help reverse insulin resistance, help diabetes and it somehow lowers androgens and enables fertility to resume in women with PCOS.

In the brain it helps glucose work as well.

This is what one researcher has to say:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_2002_July/ai_87720062/

So yes, I expect it to work quickly. (perhaps not fully, but some effects early on).

I will add that I found high dose inositol upsetting after a couple of months. I tried it for insulin resistance and became very emotional --weepy and reactive-- on it. But my husband and son use it without that effect. (2 grams daily)

I am now using the d-chiro inositol. I don't get those effects at all.
It is lowering my androgens nicely... no more postmenopausal facial hair for me! LOL