Lorie

Doctors can really freak us out with their insensitivity. We were told to ignore the tics and "hope" they go away.....ignore the hundreds of tics....yeah, ok! It's really hard to find doctors who really know what they are talking about. I'm sure you as a parent are a 100% more knowledgeable than most MDs out there on this topic. You can become an expert quick when your baby is the one suffering.

It's been nearly a year since I was here. I sort of thought we had said goodbye to the tics. Last August we learned my son had food sensitivites to Egg, all dairy, peanut and wheat...... We did a pretty good job eliminating these from the diet and said goodbye to the worst of the tics (eye blinking, pulling of the eyes, throat clearing head jerking). In the last couple of months I got lazy. I really feel like it's totally my fault. Baker just seemed to be doing so great...a birthday party here and there, cookies at a friends and then the topper was some reduced sugar (splenda) muffins I made this week and the tics came back with a vengence. He also got very grumpy during these out of control tic episodes. Almost manic, which is not normal when he is eating clean. I got the sick feeling again just watching my little guy tic like crazy last night. So we are cleaning things up again and hoping they go away. My worst fear is that a switch will get turned on and I won't get it to stop. Baker is nearing 6 years old and been having tics that were noticable for the last two years..... It's just a wake up call to all of us who have had good results with food elimination. The work is so hard but I really think if it works it is worth all the extra thought and effort. By the way we only use a multi-vitamin currently. 24hrs clean of know sensitivites and I feel like maybe there is a little improvment...but I've also turned off the TV, its a huge trigger for him and I just can't bear to watch. I might just be wishful thinking too. Keep your fingers crossed for us and I'll update in a few days with our progress.

First I'd like to thank everyone who has helped me understand tics. The knowledge I have gained about nutrition, enviornment and health has been and will continue to guide me as I mother. We would not be doing our jobs if we didn't look at all possible casues for our childrens behavior. As some of you know last month our doctor lead us down this path ( tics and ADHD). Each day his symptoms got worse but always focused on the eyes. He seemed aggitated and wiggly all the time. Even though the doc said these were tics and I was researching this area in depth I still wanted Baker to see an eye doctor. He had never had an eye exam so I thought it couldn't hurt and maybe they could also provide some insight as to why his symptoms were worse while watching TV. I was able to get an appointment at Children's hospital in Seattle on Tuesday. They did a very in depth exam and listened to all of our family history. Within seconds of looking at Bakers eye the doctor said "it's a miracle this kid is not pulling his eyes out" he has very severe allergy symptoms on the inside of both eyelids. She said most of his symptoms "could be" from the eye irritation and b/c he's 5 some of this pulling behavior could be habit. So, long story short she gave us some eye drops and three days later Baker is 90% better. He may still have an eye tic but we really won't know until the eye drops take full effect and we calm down his allergies. Still moving forward with allergy testing and a NP doc. But I just wanted to say you can't take everything your family doc says at face value. To all of the families who are looking for answers I wish you the best of luck finding the "needle in a haystack". I will report back and let you know how the drops worked and if any eye tics continue.

So Baker's world got rocked this week but I will say he did great! No screens! Dairy, egg, and gluten free, everything organic and lot's of new things he had never tried ( he's 5, and has lot's of food texture issues so this is a big deal). He's also taking a multi vit, omega, calcium/mag sup and a probiotic. Before this week he was watching TV or playing Leapster on average 3-4 hours per day (when it was all added up). He would tic almost constantly through this ( eye pulling and rubbing). So without the screens we have eliminated all of that ticing. I guess that's good news! When he plays outside or just with his toys the tics decrease almost completely. During games, puzzels and story time he still tics. Today he hardly eye pulled in the car which has always been the case, but he was also eating.... He seems a bit moody. Either he's an angel or crying over the tiniest event. Three big crying episode today, but the tics seemed less. The other negative is his poo is a little runny/soft and he's also complained of hip and shoulder pain (I have no idea what that is about) In the past I really would have not anything about that but I'm hyper sensitive to any change in him right now. I'm anxious to begin work with a doctor on this so they can really advise me on the diet and supplements. Right now it's just guess work. I don't know how long it should take before I see an effect, or if I should take anything to the next level, like more food restrictions. I also cleaned up the house ( chemicals and such) and went to a more "green" and basic cleaning products. I'm trying not to go off the deep end before I really know what sensitivites he has, but my eyes have been opened so much through research that I can't really keep some of this stuff around in good conscience. Well that was our week, just going to stick with the same program and try our best to get a good doc to start working with. Lorie

So Baker is 5 and we are new.... lots of changes at our house this week. Different foods and no screen time. I tried to give him a simple explaination "We are trying some new things to help your eyes feel better" ( his main tic is pulling on the eyes up or down). It broke my heart to hear him be so frustrated and actually yell at me "well it's not working, my eyes still bother" I told him he was perfect just how he is and not to worry about his eyes. And thanked him for being a tropper with all this new food stuff. So do we talk about it or ignore it? Most of the day I completly ignore it, even though I journal about every two hours. He has of course heard me calling the doctors office making appointments and in the begining I didn't know these were tics so I thought something was wrong with his eyes. I do notice if we talk about it he will tic more..... I really don't know if he realizes he is pulling at his eyes or not. But he does have to stop playing to do it...so who knows. No one other than our family even knows what is happening with him. Right now his tics are not noticable. Actually they are very noticable but don't appear "strange".... maybe he just has an itchy eye, scratchy head or tickle in his nose. Teachers are aware only b/c of the food restrictions. How do you talk to your kids about it?? Lorie

Great information from everyone! Thank you SO much!! I will look into PANDAS for sure. Baker is penicillin sensitive as are both my Mom and I. Bad rash!! Baker had this reaction just this year with an ear infection. His ENT that did the tonsils seemed concerned Baker was a carrier for Strep and was eager to get them out. I really didn't ask what that meant. Now I'm really wondering. I need to make a list of possible tests so we can limit the pokes..... MMR resistance Panda - strep Mineral defiencies? I'm thinking maybe an enviornmental doc may be helpful. Surely I can find one here in Seattle. I got through half of the Shelia Rogers book. WOW, very good at helping me understand this. Someone asked about his name. Baker is named after Mt. Baker here in Washington just north or Seattle. So far he's the only Baker we've come across. Lorie

Thanks Kim, I've been keeping track of all food this week and anytime I see him tic. Trying to see if there is any link. The last two nights it's been worse during story time. Maybe he's just tired or maybe there is something in his room irritating him. He's had plenty of mild colds this year and a pretty bad intestional virus a couple of months back. I'm going to add a probiotic on a daily basis as well. Today I found a really yummy calcium magnesium source. It's Bluenonnet liquid. A good dose in a smal amount and mixes well with juice. Shelia Rogers book came today so I will pour through it tonight. Funny but I've had an awful eye TWITCh for three days straight. I'm having sympathy for my little guy....a maybe a wee bit of stress too. Anyhow, just so thankful I found this forum and yes that we are dealing with this early. I'm hopfull that we don't see more serious symptoms and we can figure this out. BTW - he's due for his final MMR vaccine next week. And will need it for Kindergarten next year. I'm thinking of holding off for a bit while we get this under control. Why add more to the mix...any thoughts on that? Lorie

Hi I'm Lorie and the mom of Baker who is 5. The last 5 months he has been pulling at his eyelids. At first he'd pull his upper lids. Not the lashes but the lids. Not knowing what this was I constantly told him to stop. Then he transitioned to pulling down on the lower lids. Mostly at the corner but when it's really bad he will use both hands to pull down on both lids. I took him to the doc thinking he needed an eye exam. With is 5 minutes she said this is a tic. Ignore it and hope it goes away...and by the way he may have ADHD. I can't tell you how mad I was. Talk about a gut punch. So I freaked out and started researching non stop and also started really watching Baker to see, when, how, and why he was doing this. I have read many of the posts and so many family seem so similar to us. Thinking back some of the signs have been here for a while. Since age two or so he's had some (mild) sensory issues. Food textures really bother him, tags in shirts, hates underware, tight sleeves, won't wear socks. I've just let it go thinking...pick your battles right? And I know a lot of other kids have these issues too. He was a sick little guy with several strep and viral infections. We battled yeast infections while in diapers and once he had strep on his bottom..... finally after taking the tonsils out I have a strong healthy child. He started sleeping great behaving great and doing all the normal kids stuff. At age 4 he had a little throat clearing thing that lasted for a couple of months but dissapeared, but shortly after that the eye pulling thing started. He now will also do a little eye roll as if he's got something in his eye. This really only happens while in the car. Other than the above he is really doing great. No problems in school, sits fine for story time is writing his name and is popular with all the children. So I thikn the ADHD comment was a bit off base at least for now. In fact his teacher say he never does the eye pulling thing at school. They have never noticed anything abnormal. This weekend we went to an arcade and it was one of the scariest things I've seen. Baker began pulling so hard at both eyes, pulling at his shirt and almost in a daze. Getting his attention was nearly impossible. He was aggitated and not himself. We left and he went back to normal, a few pulls here and there. So I experimented two more times this week. Once with the Leapster and once with a PBS cartoon calleou. Both times he began pulling and could not stop, it was constant, and both times when I turned off the screen is slowed down. So I know TV is a trigger. By the way in the last 5 months he has watched a ton of TV. I know bad mommy but it's been winter and we all got hooked. It was a babysitter for me while I got house work and such done. So we are screen free this week to see if it makes a difference. I have also taken him off of Gluten, egg and dairy. He's taking Source of life Omega and also multi-vit. I'm also giving calcium lactate and magnesium. But I need a better form. I need a kids one. I don't have the dose right and it tastes awful so tomorrow I'll hit the Natures Market. So far day three and no change, infact today was bad. He was moody and pulled at his eyes at least once every minute or two. Where I am confused is that his tic does not sound like anything I've heard of. He acts like his eyes are just bugging him like crazy, but he does not really seem bothered. He will pull at the eye with his hand, finger, two fingers, two eyes two fingers. It's not always the same. Is this a tic? i just wonder if it's some type of eye muscle twitch we can't see. He has told me if feels like a wiggle or drums in his eyes....but who knows, this kid has a crazy immagination. I do know if he hears me talking about it he will do it more...ugh. We see the regular doc again on May 12th....I need to give him a little talking to! I've made an appointment for a Naturopathic on the 18th. I've also made an appoinment with a childrens opthimologist (sp?) to rule out any eye condition. If there is anything else I'm missing I'd love to hear from you. I have never been so confused and overwhelmed. I figured we'd just start somewhere and take it day by day.