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Sudden Increase in Tics


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Chemar and others, My son has been on Bonnie G's Vitamin supplements for 2 years now. He has Tourettes and even on the vitamins still has a few minor tics.

 

He started having severe head shaking 8 days ago and I cannot figure out what has happened. As far as I Know he has not been exposed to anything that would trigger such a episode.

 

If he has been exposed to something would the tics last this long. He has had an increase in tics with colds etc but nothing like this and the increase usually only lasted 2-3 days and then they carm back down to their normal level.

 

Chemar and others with Tourettes do you think this could just be a waxing phase. He is 10 years old and I know there is usually an increase in tics at this age but I thought that the supplements would help keep things mild.

 

I took him off L-carnitine 2 months ago because his eye tics had carmed down and the L-carnitine just seemed to make him a little hyper. ( He also has ADD)

Do you all know if the L-Carnitine could help head shaking or is it mainly for eye tics. I have given him more of the Mag/Taurate the last 5 days but its not helping.

 

He also had been taking Lexapro for 3 months for his Anxiety. We tried to take him off the Lexapro and his OCD and anxiety was so bad he would curl up in a ball and cry and refused to leave the house for days. Do you know if this increase in tics would show up after 3 months on Lexapro. He has been off and on it for 1-1/2 years with not noticable increase in tics.

 

I know I need to find a Dr. to help out with this.

 

We have been thru the metal/hair testing several years ago.

 

I am just a wreck. everything seemed to be going so good and now I dont know what to try. Any ideas. Robin

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Hi Robin

I replied to you on another thread where you had posted about this increase so I am just going to paste that here in case you didnt see it......hang in there.....I know it is soooooooo hard when things wax again after a quieter phase, but remember "THIS TOO SHALL PASS" :)

 

Hi Robin  nice to see you

 

it would be very unusual for him to now start ticcing more because of the fish oil when he has been on it for 2 years, but stranger things have happened. My son used to be able to take L-carnitine with no problems to help with tics, but then became hypersensitive to it.

 

You could do a trial by removing the fishoil for a week and seeing if the tics decrease.

 

I would personally suspect that there is something else triggering the tic increase...has he been swimming ie chlorine?? exposed to pesticides in the home or yard or park or playing field?? any other recent chemical/paint etc exposure??

 

any change in diet?? or anything new (carpet, car, furniture etc)??

 

you may want to go thru the tic trigger list in Sheila's excellent article too to see if anything rings a bell

 

http://latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm

 

I am sorry but I dont remember if your son has tourette or a generalised tic issue....if it is tourettes...this may well be one of those mysterious waxing phases that can be triggered by some internal mechanism that is not yet fully understood.

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Robin,

http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/showth...light=carnitine

 

This is a link from braintalk with a ton of info. on Carnitine.

 

Hang in there and don't be too discouraged, I think the age of 10 can be a little bumpy. The head shaking tic can be stubborn, but hopefully will pass as quickly as it came. My son went through about two weeks of a loud, scary vocal tic at night, around that age. It just passed and never returned. We were not using supplements of any kind at that time, and he never had any real vocal tics, before or after (a little humming in kindergarden/1st grade) he's 12 now.

 

Hope Braintalk helps!

 

Kim

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Daniel, I am interested in the same thing, It has helped with my sons eye blinking in the past but am not sure about the head shoulder thing. I think I may try it again for a week or 2 and see what happens. My sons head shaking is so bad and he really needs some relief. He is beginning to feel sick from the constant shaking!!

 

I will let you know how things go. Robin

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Hi Robin,

 

So sorry to your son’s head shaking tics. Will you consider massage or chiropractic treatment to help him for temporally soothing?

 

For L-carnitine, my son couldn’t handle it. It actually increased his tics.

 

Jean

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Hi Spring:

 

I am not sure how old your child is, but I have heard so many positive things on fasting. I am into juicing and many of my books indicate that juicing and fasting is a great was to detox the body. I have not done a fast for my son because I do not believe he is old enough to understand. But I do fasting for myself every now and again and I know people who actually fast for absurd amounts of time and do colonics during this time. Everyone who does it has seen amazing results like mental clarity, a higher energy level, less stress and fatigue. It might be worth looking into. Many of my juicing books have chapters relating to fasting. I know it sounds a bit draconion but you never know. Many people on this site do supplements, but juicing is a natural way to detox and if you want more info I will be glad to give you the 411 on things. But whatever you do, good luck and remember we are all here for you.

 

Marie

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Kim,

Fascinating Braintalk link on l-carnatine. Now I've got something else to obsess about - whether or not to try it. I never knew that my daughter's very smelly feet could be related to all of this. When she takes off her sneakers at the end of the day and is just in socks I have to ask her to take the socks off because they smell so bad. I need a doctor or naturopath or someone to help me sort this out. I wasn't going to try anything new for a while, focusing instead on the HANDLE activities we recently got from the OT. But I just can't stay away from these forums...

 

Karen

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Robin,

 

My son (9 yrs old) has Tourettes and had a head shaking tic a few months ago never figured out why but it lasted a few weeks and than disappeared. I chalked it up to just part of the waxing phase of TS. Sorry, I wish I could be more help but I just wanted to let you know that your not alone. I know how annoying it was for my son. (and for me to watch) I would rub his neck to help him relax the tic. I don't know if it helped but he liked the neck rub...

 

 

Re: L Carnitine - My son has been having some eye tics for the past week or so. He blinks one eye and than the other and repeats that a few times. I had just picked up some L-Carnitine. It is 5oo mg in each capsule. How much do you who use it give your kids (my son is almost 10 and about 95 lbs) For those of you that did not have luck with it what was your alternative for eye tics?

 

Thanks

Gina

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Karen,

 

I know just how you feel. I was looking at the chart that Daniel posted the link for and realized it was Inositol, that I have thought looked promising. When I said in an earlier post that I would never feel so helpless again, it was this kind of thing I was referring to. There are so many things with the potential to help. What ever steps need to be taken to try these things safely, at least we know they're out there.

 

Isn't it amazing when you run across something like smelly socks excess salivia or so many other things people wonder about, but don't know are connected? I guess that's why we have a hard time staying away from this forum, because there is always something to explore/share, and Lord knows most of us can use that!

 

Kim

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Gina, In the past I have given my 10 year old 1000mg of the L-carnitine to carm down the constant blinking and after the blinking seems to be subsiding I decrease the amount to 500mg per day. I usually give it in the morning and at lunch time. Several times I gave it at dinner or before bed time and my son had TOO much energy and could not sleep. Vitamin B1 also can help with the eye tics and I Have read some great post on Braintalk about this also. Good luck and thanks for the kind words.

 

I will look into message therapy etc for my son. I Know this tic will pass soon. Its so hard seeing your child go through this. Robin

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I know how hard it can be when the tics suddenly seem to get worse. There is so much good advice on this forum, so many ideas, results and possibilities and it's quite natural that you should want to explore various options, experiment and eliminate. But unfortunately, with TS, I really believe that the greedy Touretty brain often just 'decides' to dump obstacles along the way - often alarming, violent and exhausting things. I'm sure there are ways to help control things, but ultimately we are dealing with something so deep and unexplored in the brain that we are left desperately searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack.

 

But don't despair too much. The violent tics do seem to go in phases but the violence usually decreases at some point, all on its own. I have TS very severely and although right now I'm going through a shattering time with my tics, I do know that at some stage they will calm a bit. It's the not knowing when that bothers me.

 

When all else fails and I'm desperate, I try to 'float' through, accepting that things are as they are, and, curiously, this accepting is rather calming. I tell my family to float too, when they see me in a state, as their reactions, whether alarm or heartbreak, can unsettle me.

 

Good luck and strength to you.

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Nick231 Thanks for your reply. I have learned to try very hard and not react when my sons tics go crazy. I see him look to me for reassurance that everything is going to be O.K. and I have to be very strong for him.

 

Its so hard sometimes. My husband has a movement disorder also. He was never diagnoised with TS but after my son started ticcing he believes he may also have TS.

 

His movements dont wax and wane he always has the same head movements and an extreme startle reaction to very ordinary things.

 

Its strange,his tics/movements never bother me but when my son starts ticcing alot my heart breaks. I hope you have a break from the tics soon. Robin

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Nick,

 

You already have proven yourself as a very valuable member here. A big hug from me to you in helping Robin.

 

Robin,

Your comment about your husbands disorder and how it never bothered you is something I guess we have in common. My husbands family all clear their throats. I would giggle at the musical sounds that they would all make when in a room with each other. I was always told it was allergies. Now the pieces fit. I must admit when I told my mother-in-law that they all have TS, she was rather insulted. But then she confessed about her husband toe crunching and her other son who has the blank stare and mania (ADHD) and so many others symptoms. My husband too has the throat clearing thing and it was no big deal to me. But when my son clears his throat my stomache does flips. It is a parents nightmare to realize that their child is not perfect and that life is just hard enough without placing more challenges before them. I think these challenges will mold our children to become more than what they would be. I think all have found acceptance and shown their children that if the path is closed you just don't turn back, you just blaze a new trail. Even though the are young we are setting the bar that they just do not have to accept things, they can change it (no matter how small the change). And speaking of change, if we change the way we look at things, than the thing is truely changed. Our children are watching and learning and tics or not, the ultimate outome is that we raise good, respectable, loving, caring, honest adults that are happy with themselves. I do not have any tics and I am still striving for those very values for myself. So we must keep our children (and ourselves) in good health, good arms and in the graces of God and we must truely believe that the best is yet to come. This is how I get through the bad days. I hope it helps?

 

Be Well,

 

Marie

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