Significant Increase in tics

[evemac]

Hello Everyone,

 

I have seen an unbelievable increase in my son's tics over the last 2 and 1/2 weeks, and I truly cannot figure out why. He went from having many months of just a few vocal and motor tics a week (in my opinion, due to a complete removal of gluten in his diet), to really severe vocal tics which are now culminating at night into coughs, and yelps that are so loud and so long that you can hear them outside of our house. I know that tics will wax and wane, but I am am true believer in triggers. I am hoping that some has another idea we can try in terms of cutting something out of his environment. Here are some of my ideas:

 

1. Heat: It has been over 100 degrees daily in central Texas for 2 months now, and I wonder if that could be effecting his body negatively.

 

2. Chlorine: To beat the heat, we do swim a lot in our pool. I would like to get a nonchlorinated system, but these are several thousands of dollars and now within our budget presently. However, if this is truly it, it will be worth it.

 

3. Sunscreen: We have been pretty good about non salicylate sunscreens, but I wonder about other chemicals in these that could be causing some sort of response.

 

He does take a mulitvitamin and the Calm (Mg) but not regularly. I am to the point of considering massags, or seeing a chiropractor. I know he is getting frustrated with his body, and when he starts to hit himself in the head out of frustration, I know it's time to reach out and see what others might recommend.

 

Thank you all in advance. I guess Tourettes along with other neurological disorders are situations that you think you have the answers and things are going well, and then you get tripped up and must rethink and try again!

[Chemar]

Hi Eve

 

If your child has TS, then there may always be those mysterious times of waxing, likely for a reason but not always clear cut

 

however, as we discovered with my son, some things are clear triggers and for us, chlorine was a very definite one

 

In addition, if you are not consistently giving the needed nutrients, especially the magnesium, then that can be causative in waxing as well, based again on our experience

 

My son also has found extreme heat (and cold) to be a tic trigger

 

and re sunscreen...there are so many ick chemicals in so many of them that yes, that could also be a potential trigger. Some health stores do have better alternatives

[Topaz1968]

Hi Eve

 

If your child has TS, then there may always be those mysterious times of waxing, likely for a reason but not always clear cut

 

however, as we discovered with my son, some things are clear triggers and for us, chlorine was a very definite one

 

In addition, if you are not consistently giving the needed nutrients, especially the magnesium, then that can be causative in waxing as well, based again on our experience

 

My son also has found extreme heat (and cold) to be a tic trigger

 

and re sunscreen...there are so many ick chemicals in so many of them that yes, that could also be a potential trigger. Some health stores do have better alternatives

 

 

Has he had any exposure to Strep or any infection? It could be a result of this - have you looked in the PANDAS thread? You can get more information there. This can cause a definite increase in symptoms. You can have some bloodwork done to see if his Strep Titres are high. Sometimes an antibiotic treatment for 30 days or more will do the trick. I also noticed that my son gets worse during a growth spurt. Not sure if anyone else agrees - but I notice it in my son. Good luck