Hello,
My son was recently diagnosed with Tic Disorder. We noticed his first tic at 2 1/2 year old, he started blinking alot. I took him to the eye doctor and his Ped and they said he was fine and that it would probably go away. It did within two weeks. But since that time he has always had some type of Tic off and on, like biting his lips, scratching his face, sniffing, dry cough, swishing spit around in mouth etc...It would always change but didn't happen all the time and didn't seem to bother him. Well this year he started Kindergarten and the tics have gotten worse. He now gets multiple tics at one time or back to back. The eye blinking came back almost at the end of the school year and was bad again for about two weeks then seemed to go away for a while. But now he blinks, scrapes lips, and all the other things more often. It happens more during times of stress, when very excited or tired. But can happen anytime. He also tip toe walks and is in physical therapy for that but the doctors dont think its related.
I took him to his Ped and he said its probably a tic disorder and referred me to a Neurologist. Our Ped thought he should have a brain scan to see if anything was found. But that was denied by our insurance. We saw the Neurologist and he agreed that my son has a Tic Disorder. And that nothing could be done unless we wanted to medicate him which we do not.
So my question is, have you found anything else helpful besides medicine? I just dont think its bad enough to even consider at this point. I have read a lot about diet changes that have helped people and Magnesium deficiencies. Im thinking of doing an elimination diet to see if any common things trigger the tics more. Any success with diet or vitamin changes?
One more thing, he did great in his first year of school, he is very smart and gets along well with others.
Thanks in advance!
Update to my question: I am not anti medicine, if it was really bad and he was having a hard time in school/or it really bothered him etc I would consider it. But after talking to the doctors they both dont think he needs medicine at this point and have explained to me that all the tic medicines have side effects, mood altering etc etc... so I was hoping to try some other changes in hopes to help him.
When my daughter was growing up there was a girl in her class with Tourette's. She was well liked, had friends, but they called her blinky. My daughter thought it was mean, I think it is mean, but these were kids that considered her a friend.
If there are meds, that don't have major side effects, I would consider it. No kid should go through their childhood being called blinky because kids do not understand why it is happening.
Why are you anti medication. Kids can be so cruel and if there is a way to control it I would certainly want to.
I would ask the neurologist if they would medicate their own child if they had a tick disorder.
He needs an EEG not a ct or MRI scan. Brain scans will only show abnormal anatomy such as tumors not something like Tourette's or tic issues. my son has had both done, You need to ask about further testing. If its Tourette's then no matter how much you take away from his diet it WON'T do anything. Same with other mental disorders, true ADHD will not be "cured" by diet, and that comes directly to me from several pyschatrists and even a holistic dr. As to medicine, he may seem to be liked, but he could be getting teased. My son is well liked but he's told a few "friends" he's bipolar and these "friends" tease him calling him crazy ect.
My 9 year old started like that at that age. I brought it up to his ped and she suggested the neurologist but I am kind of anti doctor lol so I did not bring him to one. I figured that the neurologist is not going to do anything anyway. Oh and docs just love CT scans these days.
Anyway he did grow out of them. They got worse before they got better. He is almost 10 now and I do notice them every now and then but the intense back to back ones are gone. He still does his palilalia which is a complex tic.
We try and eat healthy so I did not notice any difference from diet changes.
My daughter had the same diagnosis. Neurologist said that unless it disrupts her life or school or becomes dangerous to just leave it be. Hubby has a hard time ignoring it but I find that if I don't bring attention to it and provide a healthy diversion it eventually goes away. Well, mostly.
My son now 12 was having tics a few years ago. He was grunting quite a bit. It was becoming noticeable to his grandparents and others. We saw a behavioral pediatrician who wanted to put him on meds and wanted him to go to some Tourette's center.
I told the doctor I read that vitamin B6 and magnesium help with tics. He smiled and didn't say anything. Well sure enough, I got my son on these on the B vitamins and magnesium and they disappeared. Grandparents thought he outgrew it. I didn't have to go to any more specialists. Read the book-
Tics and Tourette's: Breakthrough Discoveries in natural treatments, a patient and family guide
I have no experience with this.. However, when reading this it seemed to me since these things go in cycles.Two things come to mind. 1 is he allergic to something- food, outside allergy etc? and 2. is any of this near a growing time?
My son has adhd- diet changes help us. He is now gluten free, High Frutose corn syrup free, Dye free. It has made a big differnece. the other thing we do and I think you could call one and find out, we do accupuntrue (Pressure, it is magnetic and no pain at all). What it does is hit the pressure points and open up the blood flow. It helped us tremendously, now my son is fully potty trained, has more good days/peroids. It is AWESOME.
Since these seem to go in cycles, I wonder if some accupressure would hlep. It almost seems like it happens, until (the lacking chemical) catches up?
Mandy is right on with this one. Diet and vitamins won't fix this, just as it won't with ADHD and other brain disorders. Would be super if that were the case, but it just isn't. A lot of scientific research has been done on this. Before you do anything radical, I would contact the neurologist for input on this issue. The specialists can tell you about the impact of diet and vitamins on brain disorders because they're on top of all of the latest research. They live and breathe these conditions.
Our son's tics are anxiety driven. His are related to his OCD. If you're not open to medication yet -- and I fully understand that -- consider a therapist. Our son's behavioral therapist gave him some relaxation tips for what to do when he feels the tics coming on.
I'm with you on waiting for medication until it's necessary. Definitely consider it, though, if the tics start affecting quality of life.
ETA: Our son's tics also did a whole lot better when we did neurofeedback for his ADHD. His ADHD didn't improve, but for the duration of the treatment, the tics did. Unfortunately, not long after we stopped, the tics returned.
That is exactly how my son is. He is going into 3rd grade and we have noticed them since kindergarten - he has NO problems other than the tics (no ADHD symptoms, he's a very good student, has lots of friends, maybe a little shy but is growing out of it). Diagnosed as "single motor tic" by the pediatrician because it usually was one at any given time, though it has been everything from blinking to blowing on his upper lip to a really extreme jerking back of his head (thankfully that didn't last long). Definitely they show up more when he is tired and/or stressed - they have been very rare this summer since school is out. I also think there may be a connection with them getting worse when he takes his Singulair for seasonal allergies, though he quits taking it right around when school is out so it might be coincidence.
I'm also anti-medicine, actually on the advice of our pediatrician. He said as long as the tics aren't socially causing him problems at school that the side effects of the drugs to control them are often worse than the tics. Pediatrician said to not make a big deal about the tics (my husband would often tell him to just stop whatever he was doing), because the stress of trying to not do them can make them worse.
My son has always known about his tics and I talk very frankly with him about them. He would always be up front with classmates and when they would ask him why he blinked his eyes or whatever; he would just tell them that he has a tic and it's something he can't help doing. The only time it has been a problem was this past year when the music teacher at school told some story about a TICK, and then he had a problem with kids (some of them his longtime friends) running away from him saying "Ooh - you have ticks!" That was a very sad time, but luckily it blew over pretty quickly and eventually was forgotten.
My pediatrician said tics are more prevalent with boys and most kids typically out them by puberty. Long time to wait for them to go away, but my fingers are crossed that my son is one of those that actually does outgrow them!
If it bothers you and/or him maybe try a holistic approach....acupressure or acupuncture? Children's yoga to calm the mind? Just a thought. Hope things work out for your family
Our soon to be 7 year old also has two tics, rapid eye blinking and blowing on her fingers. Her tics are not constant and only appear when she is anxious, nervous, or stressed.
She may go days, weeks, sometimes months without the tics. Then out of the blue they will appear again. When we see her starting to tic again then we know something is bothering her. It may be something as simple as learning new things at school that she may be struggling with.
We have been through a ton of testing including academic testing. Physically she is in perfect health but she is struggling emotionally. She is going into second grade this year. She tested in reading, comprehension, vocabulary, and critical thinking at an 8th grade level. Her math level is that of a 3rd to 4th grader yet she truly believes she is "stupid." (Her words not ours.)
Most academic things come extremely easy to her, however she struggles with the other side of her brain that controls things like fine motor skills. Writing, cutting, drawing, and coloring are extremely difficult for her. The doctors have told us this is all very typical with children like M.
It is also very common for those children to have anxiety disorders BECAUSE of the way their brain works. They expect to be perfect and their work should be perfect. This is a self imposed standard. When it is not what they deem to be perfect they get very frustrated and do not yet know how to deal with that frustration. She can not understand why most things come so easy for her but then the "simple" things are extremely difficult for her.
The inability to process her feelings is a huge contributor to her tics. The doctors and therapists have told us that most children outgrow the tics as they mature and are better capable of dealing with their emotions. None of the doctors we've seen have recommended medication for the tics. In fact they told us they normally do not medicate children this young because they usually outgrow them on their own. Unless of course the child's tics are so intense that they interfere with their normal life.
If you have not already done so, you may want to consider exploring possible emotional strains causing the tics. I would have never thought my then 5 y/o would have emotional or anxiety driven issues.
Peace and Blessings,
T. B
