Tourette Syndrome

Disclaimer: I’m all for holistic approaches to ailments. I’m a big fan of Dr. Weil and his work. I’m an even bigger fan of Dr. Sacks, who may not be “holistic” in the conventional sense although he is wide open to anything neurological.

That said, let me get on with this idiot who - as a doctor - manages repeatedly to write “Tourette’s Disease.” Whatever.

On the upside, Mr. Tauraso is right about the process of diagnosis - clear the human mechanism of all those things that might cause undesired behavior, which range from medications to foods and even to routines and environments that might induce unwanted Tourette Syndrome-like symptoms. Then start adding on one at a time to see what he reactions are, positive or negative. There’s no known cure for TS so what’s to say that a kid taking a milk break at school in between two stressful classes isn’t enough to bring on tics?  To that extent he’s right in the diagnosis but hardly right in the treatment.

On the downside, he’s all about diet. Granted, by and large all medications are “dietary” in one form or another. They are, after all, made up of the same complex natural elements found in everyday foods; it’s just that in order to get the proper effect you might need to eat, say, 3000 tomatoes a day to get the desired dosage. Not good. Hence the need for medications … for Tourette Syndrome or any other malady.

Ultimately, and what really needs to be said about the treatment of Tourette Syndrome - and I’ll leave the “need” or desire for treatment discussion for a later date - is this:

• Tourette Syndrome takes on so many uncontrollable (and this is key) forms at so many levels that some people need a lot of treatment and some need none at all
• Treatment might be nothing more than avoiding stressful situations and/or dealing with them with nothing more than cognitive therapy or simply breathing exercises
• Conditions might be intermittently severe enough to warrant a combination of medications, holistic treatments, and even then only periodically/as needed
• Some may need heavy doses of anything they can get their hands on just to get to the bathroom and back

In other words, espousing treatment by changing diet as a cure-all is irresponsible if not downright dangerous - to the patient and the doctor, for reasons that range from emotional well-being to day-to-day functioning. Diet may be part of it, but never all of it.