dcdad

Hi, My son also starting a neck tic when he was 8 (he is now 10). It took awhile, but we finally have a good understanding of the triggers. He is very sensitive to flavored milk (stawberry in particular). Every day after lunch in school his tic would dramaticaly increase. We eliminated the milk and it stopped. He has tried it a few times since, and it affected him every time. He is ok with regular milk. By eliminating most artificial colors, flavors and preservatives, we have been able to greatly reduce his tics. Over the winter, the tics were unnoticed. Now that the spring allergy season is here in PA, it has started up a litle, but nothing like it was two years ago. He was allergy tested positive for grass and a few other items. Eating mostly all natural foods has been a great help for my son and our family is eating much better...it's a win-win situation. Dave

I've been there...my son starting a head-jerking tic when he was 7 and we finally decided to give the Feingold Diet a try. It really helped my son. When he eats only natural foods, his tics are not noticeable at all. When he goes of the diet, the tics start up again. It was a little difficult at first, but once you know what to look for in foods, it's pretty easy. Our family is eating better and we all feel better.

right after my son waa tested positive for allergies to dustmites, we removed the carpeting, installed allergy mattress and pillow covers and even installed a Rabbit Air air purifier in his classroom. We also started the Feingold diet at the same time. Since this was done, our son's tics have decreased 95%. I'm sure it was all a combination of these things that helped him. When he goes to a friends house that has alot of carpeting, he does show signs of tics. They usually disappear within a few hours of coming home.

we have been using Feingold for a few months and have found it to be a great guide for starting to eat foods without artificial preservatives, dyes, flavors etc.. It definitely has helped my wife with the shopping and determining what she can/cannot buy. Avoiding the artificial stuff definitely helps our son with his tics. Dave

Amy, We had a very similar situation with our son almost one year ago. We finally started the Feingold diet in September and it has made a huge difference. For the past few months his tics have been almost unnoticeable, until this past week... My wife decided to let him eat almost whatever he wanted while he was home from school for Christmas break...what a big mistake. His tics are back...almost constant. When we started the diet, it did take a few weeks to notice the results. Once you get started, the diet is very easy. Just eliminate artificial colors, preservatives..etc... I did take him to a TS doctor in May and she said the best thing to do is ignore it...It should go away during puberty. Toughest thing in the world to do. I hope this helps

It's been awhile since I posted, but I've been trying to determine the triggers for my son's tic (head jerk). Easter Sunday he was fine (no tics), then within a few minutes of being in church, he started ticcing and said his legs felt weak. We went to the back of the church and he was fine. This happened again the next week. Of course, there were plenty of flowers in church for Easter which have not been there before. I started to think maybe he developed an allergy to flowers. About three weeks ago, we had the carpeting removed from the living rooms in our house and had wood floors installed. Since then, when my son is inside, he doesn't tic. Within a minute of going outside, the tic starts. When he comes back in, it stops. We had him allergy tested and he has "minor" allergies to dustmites, grass and a few others. No food allergies. He doesn't really show "normal" signs of allergies (runny nose, itchy eyes..etc.) We started giving him Claritin, but that seemed to make it worse. Does anyone know if the allergy medication increases tics. The next step would be allergy shots. If the medication increases tics, what will the shots do? Any other advice would be appreciated. Thanks DC

I spent way too much time on the internet reading about PANDAS today! The more I read, the more I think that might be it....but I don't think I'm qualified to diagnose a disease after a few hours of reading about it! He does have quite a few of the symptoms... I have definitely noticed severe rashes on him immediately before the onset of an episode. I'm composing an email for our pediatrician tonight to ask his advise. I guess it'll be another night of restless sleep and mind wandering for me..

You're right..It does help to just put down your thoughts and also to read other situations. I have also started writing my own journal, which helps me to remember things that happened a while back, but I never really associated with any real issues. I wake up every night thinking of something different. Did you look into the PANDAS info?

Bonnie, Thanks for your info. Do your son's tics wax and wane very quickly? It seems like as soon as I posted my first post, the tics stopped. He went a full week with constant head shaking (except when playing DS, watching TV or sleeping), to just about nothing when he woke up Saturday morning. It is now Sunday afternoon, and I probably noticed less than 20 head shakes. It started just as quick. This was his second episode where it flared up, lasted a week, the just stopped. I'm not sure if it might be PANDAS, as I am starting to read more about that. About a week before the first episode, he had a pretty severe rash behind both knees. He actually had to be taken out of a basketball game. This came a day after he was swimming in an indoor pool at a hotel. The second episode was after we noticed ringworm. I will be talking to the pediatrician tomorrow.... If anyone else can give me any info, I would appreciate it. Thanks DC's dad

Cheri, Thanks for your help. The only thing I noticed recently was what I believe is ringworm. We treated it with a Clotrimazole & Betamethasone cream and it is almost gone. He does get a flu shot every year. DC

It started about 6 weeks ago when we received a phone call from the school nurse that they were "monitoring" our son because he was constantly shaking his head. They thought he might take a seizure. I immediately went to the school to check on him. We took him to our pediatrician and he thought it might be a sign of TS, but he referred us to a specialist. The appointment is not until April. Looking back over the past year or two, he has shook his head occassionaly. He said he was moving his glasses down on his nose.. I didn't really think anything of it. After 5 days, it just stopped and I thought everything was OK. He was fine for about a month, then last week it started again. Almost constantly shaking his head. In the past couple of weeks I learned alot about tics and TS. I'm not sure what to expect, but here's a few more details. My son is 8 years old and one of the biggest kids in his class 4' 8" / 95lbs. He is very athletic and has excelled in all sports. He has played soccer, basketball, baseball football and wrestling. In school he does very well, always straight A's and he works ahead of his class. He does very well socially and very mature for his age. I've read some posts about dental spacers. He did have teeth pulled and spacers installed about three years ago. He never really adjusted to the spacers and was always picking at them with his tongue. I don't know when the tics started, but it was definitely after theio spacers. I decided to have them removed yesterday. I also started him on the Kid Calm yesterday. I have two questions for anyone that can help: 1..How much is stress a trigger? We have a daughter with cancer and like I said before, he is very mature. He knows that she can die from cancer and he does ask questions about it. 2..During this week it seems the only time he doesn't tic is when he is playing his Nintendo DS game or watching TV. I've read that they may trigger the tics, but I hate to stop him from playing or watching TV when that is the only time he doesn't tic. Do the games/TV usually cause the trigger while playing, or is it a delayed effect? Thanks for any help DC