4boyz

Update on my son's tics - Hi Everyone. I wanted to give an update and ask for some more advice. The last time I posted, my son was ticcing less and less and I was starting to feel hopeful that perhaps it may be going away. My husband and I went on vacation for a week at the beginning of February. When we returned, I noticed that his tics were gone! There was no more eye rolling at all. Or so I thought. After a few days, I noticed that he was sniffing... a lot. He has a history of outdoor allergies and I assumed these had flared up or he just had a cold, although there was nothing outside at this time of year that would cause that. After a week of this and having him take Claritin and Nasonex, I realized it was doing nothing to help. Bottom line is that now he is sniffing and clearing his throat about every 10-20 seconds all day long. The only time I notice a decrease is when he is concentrating on something really hard. Then it will stretch out a bit between episodes. He also has episodes of eyebrow raising and furrowing. I took him to a pediatric neurologist who pretty much told me there was nothing we could do about it, it was developmental and there was not connection between tics and allergens or anything environmental. He only recommended medication if it was affecting him socially. We just have to wait it out until they go away. I have made an appointment with a natural doctor who does a lot of bloodwork, allergy testing, leaky gut etc, but I can't get into him for a month. I have not kept up the food journal since returning home from my vacation because he is sniffing constantly, with no noticeable difference from day to day. Do you have any recommendations until we see him? My concern is that his nose sniffing is really loud and he tells me he cannot make it quieter. I'll be honest, everyone living with him is silently going crazy listening to him. I have been in contact with his teacher at school to let him know what is going on, but I worry that he is distracting others around him, particularly at church, with his friends, at school etc. Is there anything else I can do to help him? Or has anyone had any success in helping a vocal tic become quieter? Thank you!

Thank you for your response. Let me clarify a few things. His allergy drops are the actual allergens that he is allergic to. He gets a small amount that he swallows every day with the hope that in time, his body will not react to these things anymore. He has been on the environmental drops for 2 years and the dog/cat drop for 1 year. I have noticed that he is not reacting to the environmental allergens nearly as much as he used to, so it appears they are beginning to work. He has had multiple skin prick tests over the years to see this allergic response. He has also had a food sensitivity blood draw as well. I have thought about any new changes that you mentioned above and I don't think there has been. He does sleep with a HEPA fan in his room which runs 24/7. Interestingly, the day I posted my first question, I didn't notice any tics and it has been that way for 3 days. This morning however, he has been doing it occasionally. I have started a food journal to see if I notice any changes.

My son, age 10 started having an eye tic about 3 months ago. He would open his eyes wide, roll his eyeballs up and to the right and slightly tilt his head up - all at the same time. At first we ignored it for a few weeks hoping it would go away. He then started to complain about daily headaches and blurry vision. To make a long story as short as possible, we took him to his pediatrician and ophthalmologist and had him on antibiotics for 10 days. Both Dr.'s told us to wait it out and see if it would go away on it's own. His headaches have stopped and he is not complaining about blurry vision anymore, but the tic seems to come and go. Some days he barely does it at all and other days he will do it constantly. There are never any days where it is completely gone, though. The days he does it constantly he will complain to me and want me to do something about it, often telling me his eyes hurt. Mine would hurt too, if I were rolling them around all day long. Interestingly the tic has recently changed. He now rolls his eyes downward and to the left and the head tilt is now gone. I'm not sure what to do at this point. Do I wait a bit longer and see if it goes away on it's own? Do I take him to a pediatric neurologist? I have no interest in putting him on a prescription at this point and I suspect the neurologist will tell me the same thing....Just wait. I'm more interested in finding the root causes and know a well known Dr. that does allergy/food testing etc. and more holistic medicine. I'm tempted to take him there, but since he does not take insurance, maybe I need to wait a bit longer to see if it truly does go away? Perhaps start a detailed journal of his food/tic behaviors for a month and see if I can see a pattern? As a side note, my son also has environmental allergies (grass, weeds, dog, cat etc.) and we have had him on allergy drops for about 2 years. They seem to be working. He also has moderate eczema as well. I'm just not quite sure what to do at this point. Any suggestions? Thank you.