Zyrtec & Tics

[darnellfamily04]

My son is 12 years old and his tics have been 'under control' for two years. He has had tics since he was around 5 years old. They were terrible, vocal, head bobbing, chewing his shirt, yawning, and so on. The tics started showing improvement when we changed schools (after repeating 2nd grade) and getting him into a resource class for an hour a day. That helped with his reading skills, which improved his self esteem greatly. We could see a dramatic change in him from around age 8 through now. He started middle school this year and he is doing awesome with his school work & seems to have adjusted well.

 

However, his head jerking has increased so much he is complaining of his neck hurting over the past several weeks to months. I thought my husband & I were the only ones who noticed. Last night he said a kid asked him what he was doing. He responded "I am rapping" (since his head was bobbing). I felt terrible for him. He said other kids were saying things to him too.

 

My question is this: Does anyone see a difference in their tics when they take zyrtec?

 

He has been taking zyrtec more lately for allergies.

 

Thank you!

Cortney

[blakes_mom]

I am sorry to not answer your question but your sons tics are very similiar to my sons. Have you looked into the diagnosis of pandas.

[tpotter]

My son is 12 years old and his tics have been 'under control' for two years. He has had tics since he was around 5 years old. They were terrible, vocal, head bobbing, chewing his shirt, yawning, and so on. The tics started showing improvement when we changed schools (after repeating 2nd grade) and getting him into a resource class for an hour a day. That helped with his reading skills, which improved his self esteem greatly. We could see a dramatic change in him from around age 8 through now. He started middle school this year and he is doing awesome with his school work & seems to have adjusted well.

 

However, his head jerking has increased so much he is complaining of his neck hurting over the past several weeks to months. I thought my husband & I were the only ones who noticed. Last night he said a kid asked him what he was doing. He responded "I am rapping" (since his head was bobbing). I felt terrible for him. He said other kids were saying things to him too.

 

My question is this: Does anyone see a difference in their tics when they take zyrtec?

 

He has been taking zyrtec more lately for allergies.

 

Thank you!

Cortney

 

 

If your son has an infection triggered cause (PANS...there's a white paper that was just published last week implicating ALL infections...plus could include allergies), this could explain the sudden up-turn in his tics. My DS was this way, and it wasn't until he was 15 that we finally figured out it was PANS (PANDAS), and then found evidence dating back many years. I would have him checked for strep and mycoplasma pneumonia, and staph (they can do a nose culture...I don't know what part of the country you are in, but strep and mycoP have been really bad this year where I am living, and I've heard the same about other places, too. When checking for strep, I would have the doctor do ASO and AntiDNAseB blood testing, as well as a throat CULTURE (strep is not always in the throat). Maybe the allergies are a sinus infection? That could be causing it, too. Also, once the child has gotten PANS, it's not always the same infection that will later trigger it, and it could also have been an infection a while back that triggered it. Please don't just assume that your child may not have ever had strep, so he can't have PANDAS. We now know that it's not just strep, and also strep can be other places than just what's tested (like the throat.)

 

Here is the link to the White Paper that was just published (primary author was Dr. Susan Swedo from the NIMH): http://pandasnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/2161-0665-2-113.pdf

[Chemar]

My son is 12 years old and his tics have been 'under control' for two years. He has had tics since he was around 5 years old. They were terrible, vocal, head bobbing, chewing his shirt, yawning, and so on. The tics started showing improvement when we changed schools (after repeating 2nd grade) and getting him into a resource class for an hour a day. That helped with his reading skills, which improved his self esteem greatly. We could see a dramatic change in him from around age 8 through now. He started middle school this year and he is doing awesome with his school work & seems to have adjusted well.

 

However, his head jerking has increased so much he is complaining of his neck hurting over the past several weeks to months. I thought my husband & I were the only ones who noticed. Last night he said a kid asked him what he was doing. He responded "I am rapping" (since his head was bobbing). I felt terrible for him. He said other kids were saying things to him too.

 

My question is this: Does anyone see a difference in their tics when they take zyrtec?

 

He has been taking zyrtec more lately for allergies.

 

Thank you!

Cortney

 

Hi

as your question was specifically related to the taking of zyrtec and tics, I just wanted to say that yes, some parents have reported that certain allergy meds can increase tics, but you would need to do a search on the forum for the posts as I don't recall which allergy meds were specified.

 

Where I agree that it is always worth investigating whether there is a possible infection trigger for tics etc, there are MANY children represented here who tic because of other factors..... so not every child that exhibits tics or OCD etc has PANDAS/PANS/PITAND etc. Leave no stone unturned in seeking answers.

[darnellfamily04]

Thanks everyone for your input:) I was talking to my family & was thinking back to the last time his tics got worse & it was over the summer. He played video games for two days with a friend who was staying with us. Since it was summer & he had a friend over I didn't put a limit to it. Normally he doesn't play for long periods of time but this occassion he did. He started immediately with a vocal tic. He noticed it & we talked about it & we both felt the video games set it off. He didn't play for a while & it stopped right away.

 

He has never cared much for music (mp3 players & such) but since middle school, he has started listening to music with the earbuds & he has played video games most every day after school. No more than an hour a day (he's almost 13 years old & I let him 'chill out' in his room for the first hour after school to do what ever he wants to do before the hustle & bustle of homework & after school activities & chores & dinner start...you know the after school drill!)

 

This week we decided against video games & music with earbuds. After two days of no electronics, he said it was so much better at school. It wasn't completely gone but easing off so much. You could see the relief on his face. On Sunday after church, it was raining so bad & cold, I didn't say anything to him when he got his game out. He played for around 30 minutes & I told him we needed to go to the store (only to try & divert his attention). I didn't want to seem like I was punishing him because he is a great kid & great student. After that few minutes of playing video yesterday, his head is bobbing so much again.

 

I really think it has something to do with electronics. He has migraines & I have migraines & also had seizures (grand mal) as a child. Makes me wonder if it is too much stimulation for his brain to handle.

 

He is not OCD about anything nor is he hyper. He is so laid back, like my husbad. The only other thing is his migraines & mild learning disorder. The school considers it a Specific Learning Disorder. Since middle school, he does not go to a resource class. His teachers say that they wish all of their students were like him. He makes 90's to 100 on his report card & no, he is not graded on a curve for the IEP he has. That just allows him longer on tests.

 

Sorry to ramble on. We have dealt with it for so many years & always seem to get through it. I really thought it was something we had gotten through until now. Thanks:)

[BikeWP]

My son is 12 years old and his tics have been 'under control' for two years. He has had tics since he was around 5 years old. They were terrible, vocal, head bobbing, chewing his shirt, yawning, and so on. The tics started showing improvement when we changed schools (after repeating 2nd grade) and getting him into a resource class for an hour a day. That helped with his reading skills, which improved his self esteem greatly. We could see a dramatic change in him from around age 8 through now. He started middle school this year and he is doing awesome with his school work & seems to have adjusted well.

 

However, his head jerking has increased so much he is complaining of his neck hurting over the past several weeks to months. I thought my husband & I were the only ones who noticed. Last night he said a kid asked him what he was doing. He responded "I am rapping" (since his head was bobbing). I felt terrible for him. He said other kids were saying things to him too.

 

My question is this: Does anyone see a difference in their tics when they take zyrtec?

 

He has been taking zyrtec more lately for allergies.

 

Thank you!

Cortney

My son's tics really increased when he was on Zyrtec. He had night tremors on it as well. My son has terrible seasonal allergies. I only give him allergy medication when his allergies are terrible. I feel that all antihistamines make my sons tics go crazy!!