2girlsmom

So many great ideas. For my DD10 rages were the worst symptom of PITAND. I would plop my youngest DD7 infront of the tv or computer and struggle to carry my raging PITAND DD to her bedroom. I would stay in the room with her with my back against the door so she could not open it. Luckily our cat is curious and usually came around. While DD was raging I would not make direct eye contact or talk but would calmly (or as calmly as I could with shaking hands) dress our cat up. Whatever was in reach. Doll clothes, even dd's underwear and socks on time. DD would eventually notice our kitty dressed in her underwear and you could see the shift in her face. Slowly she would calm and eventually she would start laughing. The whole episode would take about 1-2 hours before she was calm enough to leave her room. Occasionally she would have to complete a complusion before she was completely settled but at that point we could discuss what she was going to do. (Most of her complusions included "doing something" to her sister) Before I discovered the trick with our cat the rages would go on for 3 - 4 hours. She was treated for Myco P. this spring and summer and since then we have only had a few minor episoded which have not escalated!

We are currently treating our DD for PANDA due to Mycoplasma Pneumonie. Her treatment is Biaxin (antibiotic) for 30 days; we are on day 15. She has most of the PANDAS symptoms but the most worriesome for us mostly aggression, tics, dilated pupils and OCD behaviors. She has never tested postive for strep (rapid and cultured). Her strep titer was 6. The blood test for the Mycoplasma P her numbers were way high. So far so good. The behavior has leveled off, still present but better. She says it is helping with some of her "bad" thoughts. There are plenty of threads dicussing Myco P, do a search and it may answer more of your questions.

I will contact our family Doctor on monday and request a Strep test. She has had strep tests in the past and all where neg. (both rapid and grown). If she had her massive onset in Oct and she only mildly tics now would Strep still be found on a 72 hour test now? Should I have her younger sister tested too? From the little reading I've started it seems to effect family groups. Thank you for sharing your stories, it helps knowing we are not alone.

EAMom and Colleenrn, Thanks for the advice. I am a little confused about what PANDAS is. I understand it is the body's reaction to an ongoing strep infection that mimics TS? My DD onset wasn't completely out of the blue, she always blinked differently (more often) since she was a toddler. We remember the vocal tic (its like a hiccup) in the evenings occassionaly when she was 4 or 5. In kindergarten (5) she became obessive about germs and other kids breaking the rules. Simple ones like sharing food and washing hands. Even as young as 3 I remember anger from her that was not appropriate for the situation. She is my first child so i didn't have a frame of refrence. As her younger sister got older i realized my DD was "more tightly wound" than most. When she started blinking, vocal ticcing and nose scrunching all the time (Oct '08 she is 8), is when I took to the dr to address the issue. The TS dx put alot of the pieces together. In Oct. '08 is the first time everything was happening all at the same time. Do you still think she might be PANDAS? It's hard because it seems like I am informing the Dr. more about TS than he is helping us. i often think about switching to a DAN Dr but it will be 100% out of pocket and right the situation seems uncontrol. Thanks.

Hi Lynnie1264, There is no history of Tourettes in our family but, when my DD was diagonised my older brother commented that he tics currently. He is in his 40's and it started in his late teens and has progressively gotten worse. He is on medication to help control it. I didn't ask many questions because he is extremely private and that is the most he has shared personally with me in years. My husband's brother also blinks excessively (more than most people but that's it. I don't want it to sound like we "cured" her problem, she diet changes have helped so it is not a daily struggle. After about a week or two she rarely comments on the new food choices. We do allow her flexiblity when it comes to birthday parties and special occasions, etc but are prepared for a rough few days following the indulgence. The whole family went gluten / artifical free to support her. I always say this work in progress and we change things as needed. This is working for us now but who knows what will happen as she becomes a teenager. Sorry for the ramble i hope i answered you question.

When we first removed gluten from her diet we thought it might help reduce the tics. But what we can tell by watching her behavior is it has seemed to calm her down. She doesn't appear as wired or high strung. She still has a short fuse but not as much stuff sets it off. Before she was very concerned about people washing their hands and germs. Especially her little sister was the focus of "being dirty". When she doesn't eat gluten this issue doesn't appear to be in the forefront of her mind. When she has pizza, cake, etc. at parties or school things these behavior return with their the old intensity. Removing gluten has not solved the problem, she still has "issues" but it has helped in our household to make it more managable. On a side note, the whole family is gluten free as a show of support and we all are feeling much better, energized and with no gut issues!

Hi Everyone, This is my first posting but I am thoroughly familiar with this forum. I just wanted to say "Thank You!" to all of you for sharing your stories and information with me. My daughter was diganosed in Oct 08 with transient tic disorder and in jan 09 with TS. Those first few months of watching her out of control with facial and verbal tic made me cry and feel helpless as a mother. I stumbled on this website while we were waiting for the neurologist appointment. I am so thankful I did. By being informed before the appointment, I was able to speak up while being handed devastating news. I said no to the drugs being offered and stated we wanted to try healthy alternatives first. Thanks to the information I found here I know we made the right decision. My daughter is doing great. The tics are greatly reduced only I seem to notice them. She has comorbid issues but they are more manageable. We owe it all to no artifical colors, flavorings and/or additives. We added a multi vitamin. We removed gluten from her diet. That seems to help the most with the minor OCD and Rage isssues. I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. You all touch more peoples lives than you know. Thank you