Tourette's Cure - Worked for Me

[FNPinMaple]

Dear friends,

I have Tourette's syndrome, or at least 'had' it until about a year ago. While my symptoms were quite severe, I now, with proper care, am completely symptom free.
I have been using an oral appliance that has eradicated my symptoms, the appliance being based off the work of Dr. Anthony Sims    http://www.absimsdds.com/
My orthodontic specialist spoke to Dr. Sims, and made a similar appliance for me, and my tics stopped.

I can't believe this, and didn't believe the videos on Dr. Sims website when I saw them, but PLEASE check it out before you judge this.

To give you an idea of the extent of my Tourette Syndrome experience, I viewed a video of myself recent, where I would tic on average 6-8 times in 2 minutes.
Which, in a 16 hour day would be 2,880 tics, a not-so-insignificant number.
Furthermore, my tic (main one) was a serious jaw-wrench, which led to severe headaches, intense lacerations inside my mouth (had to have teeth taken out to stop the deep lacerations), and a loud cracking in my TMJ.

Since settling in with this appliance, I might have 1 in a whole day, and often never, and all the internal "neurological storms'' that can come with tourette syndrome are now gone.

Here is a paper on the treatment:
http://www.tmjstack.com/casereport.pdf

reply with any questions.
This has been a dream come true for me.

with love, and empathy,
Rob

[Lindac000]

We live in Toronto, Canada. Anybody knows of a doctor here that would do this? My son has been diagnosed since he was 10 and is now 28 and a dad. He's been off medication for a long time but still has facial tics very often which is exhausting. We saw Dr. Stack's video but is skeptical.
Linda C

[Susanna9701]

Hi Rob, I am sitting here at 3am trying desperately to learn as much about Tourette's as I can. My 12 year old son was recently diagnosed and the past few months have been a nightmare. He hasn't been able to go to school this year because of his tics. My heart is completely broken as I watch him struggle with these awful tics and never ending pain caused by them. I just came across these videos from Dr. Stack and the dental appliances used for tics. Sounds to good to be true but I must say the videos are very convincing and I am willing to try it for my son. Do you know of any doctors in south Florida that make these appliances for Tourette's patients? Thank you in advance!

[Lorenrose]

Hello jan. I have a 15 yr old with TS she has had the appliance for two years now and I can't say it has helped her. When I take her to get them adjusted she says they do reduce a bit but that same day at home they start up again. Even with her being on meds. This does not mean it can't work for your child though so just research a bit more or call one of the Dr's that provide this. As for the cost I payed 4,000.00 and for every visit after that is abt 250.00 to 300.00.
Best of luck.

[FNPinMaple]

Hello Jan,

I can't tell you it would work. Sorry. All I know is it revolutionized my life, and given I have two children, ones who will likely battle with the same thing, I am going to have this intervention in mind.

The particulars of your case, which must be hard for you, are unknown to me, and I am merely a patient who has used this kind of appliance.
I can only express my own experience.
But, that is why I started this thread, hoping others would post so the word could spread.

As for your insurance, sorry Jan, I can't know that either.
I live in BC, Canada, and work for a government subsidiary. Therefore, my insurance status may be radically different than yours.

Speak to your provider, get a practitioner to test for coverage.

Best of luck.
Rob

[janloney]

Would this work for my 8 year old? I wonder about the growth of his mouth and jaw and the overall cost of this appliance.  Of course, at this point I am willing to try anything but certainly don't have money to throw away... Do they accept insurance and will insurance cover any of the cost?

Sincerely,

Jan

[FNPinMaple]

Hello there,

Sorry for taking so long to respond.
My early experience with the appliance was odd. I would have a slight reduction in tics (major ones), but still felt "most" of what I've taken to be 'neurological storms' - a term I picked up a long time ago to express how I often felt with TS.

I found that my tics began to be reduced within days. However, upon removing the appliance, I would have a flood of them - a very uncomfortable experience.

I could not, and did not, eat with my appliance in. I found it far to difficult. So, I would only remove it when I ate. Other than that, it stayed in.

As for the ulcer issue, I would talk to your doctor. Ulcers are caused by a bacteria called H.Pylori and not from what people believe from times past (stress, bad eating). If your son actually has ulcers, please ask about H.Pylori, which can be treated with a 3 week program of antibiotics. I have gone through this treatment, and it works wonders. Talk to your doctor and bring this up. As far as I understand actual ulcers, it is impossible that the appliance could cause an ulcer. Please research the cause of ulcers.

I do not know the extent of your son's TS, and am far from a specialist in knowing about a condition I myself have.
All I can say is that, now three years of using the appliance, my life is shockingly better. I still have TS resurface time and again if I do not keep my appliance in for longer periods (kind of a re-setting). But if I am diligent using it (I don't have dialogues with it in anymore, but rather when I sleep and when I am just doing normal things - driving, cleaning the house, reading, etc) my life is significantly better.

I hope that this helps somewhat. As I have two children, since I started this post, I have empathy for the position you are in. I worry, as TS is passed on genetically, there is a very good chance my children will suffer from it. I am, however, overjoyed that I might be able to offer a way out (somewhat) from the trials they will experience.

warm regards,
Rob