A slightly different approach

[devotedmom]

So, I thought I would post on my daughter to offer another perspective. My daughter is 10, she tics, and she has pretty dramatic allergies. She has had some type of tic or other for over a year. We have been "fiddling" with eliminating her allergy meds for a few months now. We got serious several weeks ago. She went med free in early November. She was previously taking Flovent, Nasonex, Singulair, and Claritin.

On her "new" program she was taking Quercetin, Kids Calm, Vit-c, a multi-vitamin, Nasalchrom, Vit-d, and she was off dairy.

These dietary and supplement changes did not happen all at once, but slowly and one step at a time.

Here's the deal, at first I would always "hope" I was noticing some positive changes, but then things would seem to go back to how they always were (which, of late, has been the worst she's experienced). I was becoming consumed and overwhelmed from all this investigating and trying. Ofcourse, it would be worth it if it turned out I was helping her. I know that my job as a parent involves making tough decisions and I was totally committed.

Here's where the problem came in. My daughter was not herself anymore (and I mean that in a bad way). She seemed to be getting depressed and sad and she was also physically miserable because her allergies were out of control. Every time she turned around I was shoving something down her mouth, or making her drink something funky, or explaining to her why she wouldn't be able to have or do this, that, and the other.

We made a decision that we had to stop that course of action. Step one, we addressed her allergies. We give her Singulair, Claritin, and Quercetin. These brought her allergies under control pretty fast. Step two, we allowed a more relaxed diet. Step three, make her feel like herself again. We decided to just let her be and stop worrying and looking and watching.

This approach has not caused any issues. She has actually decreased the tics and she has been sooooooo much more happy. She's herself again. Tics, no tics, whatever. It was just not "right" for our daughter to try so hard to lessen the tics. This probably isn't the case for most, but it's a different perspective to keep in mind. thanks

[cloudy]

Hi

I think sometimes you have to take a break and sit back and enjoy life.

I am so worred all the time that I am sure that my stress rubs off on my DS and the rest of the family.

Most of the Internet info I have read says the majority of children outgrow tics - even TS. I know some don't but we do all need to remain positive.

Cloudy

[ilovedogs]

We tend to take this approach quite a bit. Ds definitely waxes and wanes with the tics and I know that allergies and stress seem to exacerbate them, but I have chosen to be WAY more relaxed about everything. It's been 3 years of tics and the good times seem to outweigh the bad at this point. Yes, there are times when he seems to tic quite a bit, but really they don't interfere with his functioning in society and I seem way more bothered by them than he is. So, I just stick with the basics: try as hard as I can to keep the junk out of the diet(hard to do with a 12 year old boy), epsom salts baths when needed, magnesium/calcium supplementation daily, Vitamin C, positive and encouraging feedback from dh and I, and a relaxed home atmosphere seem to be the best thing for him. Right now we're at a HUGE national tennis tournament that he barely qualified for so he's ticcing quite a bit. He started a new one yesterday where it looks like he's shivering, but just his face and cheeks shake. It's kind of a cute one. He's also streching his mouth, shrugging his shoulder, and sometimes I see the eye blinking. He took an epsom salts bath tonight and I try to only talk positive about his performance on court. We stress 'have fun' as much as possible for him to keep his stress levels low. He puts enough pressure on himself to win, he certainly doesn't need us coming down on him. Anyway, I have come to expect the increase in tics at tournaments. Hotel environment, eating on the road and travel, and the pressure playing the top competitive kids in the country can be pretty stressful! And, honestly, most kids don't notice his tics. He's got girls starting to text him quite frequently these days so I know they definitely don't hamper his social life, LOL!

 

Bonnie