ronime

Hi Jonal, My son started having overnight panic attacks as well. For the last 3 weeks he wakes up around the same time every night crying, very angry. One night he was crying because he didn't say good night to us which he did but it wasn't his usual 3 times. He always has to say good night 3 times. He's usually so moody, one night he got mad because I was touching his pillow and he said my hands were dirty. Definitely OCD. He's only 3 years old. I definitely need to research PANDAS more. His first neurologist tested him for strep and I believe it came back negative. I definitely feel I need to research this more. Sending the best wishes your way and I will continue praying for our little ones.

Hi Starfish, I feel your pain and frustration. My son also has had periods of no tics and then suddenly he starts having them again. He has gone a good two months with absolutely no tics and then started having them again. It definitely is an emotional roller coaster. I feel that he tends to get them after being sick, when he is tired or eating candy. He hasn't had the breathing tic since August, now it's mostly blinking. I also notice a change in his temperament when he has tics. He's a bit more moodier and even has signs of ocd. Praying for our little guys. I know what you mean about the worrying, it's never ending. My son also has no idea what's going on and his teacher says no one notices anything, she hasn't even noticed anything. Hang in there! Thank you for the update!

Hello Jonal, I did consider PANDAS and his neurologist did some blood test and he said PANDAS was ruled out. Right now he's doing great. I do see some OCD in him. He has to have things his way and he hates messed. Everything has to be in threes. Like he can't just have one of something, it has to be 3. I have to say good night to him 3 times etc, etc. They say sometimes kids with tics have ocd issues as well. Unfortunately it's a take it day by day thing . I pray a lot that's for sure. Hope the best for your little guy and will definitely keep you posted and please keep me posted as well!

Hello Al, I'm so sorry to hear about your son. I love this forum because we have such a big support system. Doctors say tics are very common but i don't know anyone personally that has experienced this. I live in CA. I have taken my son to two neurologists and one was a bit pessimistic the other one was more optimistic. The first one said it's basically tourettes. He considered the breathing tic a vocal tic. The other neurologist from UCLA didn't agree, she felt it was a motor tic and she felt the prognosis was good that the tics would most likely go away. Since September they have come and go. He hasn't really done the breathing thing anymore. Right now he hasn't had any tics for about a month or so. That's happened another time before where he didn't have any tics for a month and then from one day to the next the tics were back. Oh how I cried!!! I thought they were gone. At that time he started with the facial grimacing. I find that watching television makes it worse and sometimes when he's eating he will do it more. Right now I am just hoping theyre gone but i know how tics "wax and wane" as they call it and i know if i see a tic again i will be a crying mess!! Like you I worry the most about the bullying. In CA they have cognitive behavior therapists that will help kids with their tics. They teach them how to tell when a tic is going to happen and make them do something else instead of the tic. I think that works for older kids. My heart goes out to you, I know how painful this is and i truly wish you and your little boy the best!!

Thank you so much for sharing your story and encouragement...I am definitely thankful for what it is ,what its not..I have a friend that lost her 5 year old to cancer 2 years ago snd lat her husband a year later...I definitely am thankful for my childrenis health ...I just worry about him suffering,being bullied...I shouldn't assume that's going to happen,that is what I'm learning..I'm sure God will bless him with wonderful friends that will be his support system along with his family...again thank you so much,wish you and your family the absolute best!

Hi Evemac, I felt such happiness when you said your son is strong academically and a strong athlete !! I read so much about people going through deep depression and having anxiety. So happy your son is doing great! Can I ask, have your sons tics gotten better? Have they been pretty consistent or have they "waxed and waned" as they call it. They say that they start to get better in the teens. I hope they have! I read somewhere too that usually by adulthood the tics are gone. I am just taking t his day by day and doing a lot of praying. Thank you again for your response, i definitely feel like i am not alone! :)

Yes, it definitely does help to talk to others on this blog. As common as the doctors say this is I have not met one other person that is dealing with this or has dealt with this. And yes, it agree its so hard to distinguish a vocal tic in the younger kids. I think the only vocal tic son has has is the breathing one but who knows because he's always talking in baby talk, repeats things etc, especially when he's in his bed trying to go to sleep. The motor ones have been eye rolling, grimacing, grimacing while lifting an arm or a leg or sometimes both. I guess that would be a complex tic. The neurologist said they don't treat tics unless it interferes with their life and if that happens he can prescribe medication that can get rid of up to 90 percent of the tics. I believe it's guanfacine that he prescribes at first. It hurts to even think of one day needing to medicate my son because some of the side effects of those medications are horrible Thank you again for all the wonderful information, encouragement....best wishes for you and your family. Praying this will pass for us both!

I totally feel your pain.I start getting so depressed when I picture him getting bullied and suffering one day due to that, getting depressed due to bullying etc. I feel such a tug at my heart when I think that way. My husband is my rock and keeps reminding me about how he's a healthy happy boy, there's parents facing much worse things like you said.He reminds me he will be a strong boy that won't let things like that get to him because that is how we will raise him. When I think that way I feel better. I think we just need to take it one day at a time. I am so sorry that the tics came back worse after 2-3 months. Gosh, I could only imagine the happiness you felt when you saw them gone and then for them to come back again. Does he have motor and vocal? My son apparently has both motor and vocal, he did this breathing thing a few days and neurologist said that was vocal. He also wants to smell EVERYTHING and wants to touch everything. I know a lot of kids with tics have OCD but for me it's hard to draw the line, what is ocd and what is normal behavior of a 3 year old. Thank you for the list of supplement, I will need to go onto Amazon and do some shopping!

Thank you so much for your response. I do feel a lot better! I did read that up to 25% of kids get tics and less than 2% have them longer than a year. Praying for our little guys that they're in the 23%!! I want to do research so I could know how to help my son and at the same time doing research could really hurt us because of what's online, especially youtube!! It seems like the worst cases are online and youtube. The neurologist told me to stay off youtube, he said the majority of tics are hardly noticeable.And yes, tourettes does not have to be the big scary word. What supplements are you giving your son? I wanted to try magnesium however his pediatrician wasn't too thrilled about that idea. He suggested I just give him magnesium rich foods. I also bought some doterra oils and made a peaceful child blend, started putting that on him in the morning and evenings. It's been a few days now so hopefully that will help!! Again thank you so much for your response, praying for our little ones!!

As many people on this forum I am beyond devastated...my 3 year old boy started rolling his eyes 4 weeks ago,that progressed to facial grimacing,facial grimacing while lifting an arm or leg..for a few days he also grimaced and did a fast breathing twice and then stopped...last December he was blinking and I mentioned that to neurologist but come to think of it it wasnt fast excessive blinking...my husband snd I panicked and took him to eye dr right away as we figured he needs glasses,which he didnt...our oldest daughter started wearing glasses at 2...anyways I feel the blinking wasnt a tic.......so these tics started 4 weeks ago....neurologist told us "for as many tics as your son has I have a feeling it's going to be tourettes"...that crushed my heart......I've done research and I know the different tics diagnosis,simple vs complex,vocal etc...I guess he considers the breathing to be vical....have any parents out there been in my shoes and it ended up being provisional?....another thing is he wants to touch and smell everything!!!!also I've read it's not common for tics to appear in a 3 year old it would be something else....they did eeg and it came back normal...they dont want to do mri