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Started facial TICs for the first time


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Our son started facial TIC's two days ago. At first we weren't sure if that was what we were seeing, but today it was definite. Our son will suddenly start winking one or both eyes and tells us that he can't help it.

 

I've been racking my brain to think if he's been exposed to any sick people, or what could possibly be going on, as well as what we can do to stop the latest TIC (usually his TICS are verbal). But the more I think about it, the more I think it could be a result of being on a high dose of Motrin 3 times a day for the previous 10 days. The TICS didn’t start until about day 8 which has me wondering if the Motrin caused a flare in symptoms. And our Dr. wants us to do a 10 day on 10 day off with the Motrin- so he’s off now, and the latest TIC has not stopped.

 

Another thought, is, could a DS system – playing video games cause a facial TIC? Our son got a new DSI system a few weeks ago and it’s been a battle to limit time on the new unit ever since.

 

Our doctor was out on Friday and I’m not sure how helpful she will be. I’ll be putting in a phone call to Dr. T (NJ) as well. Our son had an IVIG in December and we're currently taking steps to see how frequently we can give him his IVIG's as our doctor believes he is a candidate for once a month IVIG treatments.

 

Help! Does anyone have any ideas for what we can be doing until we’re able to get in touch with our doctors? For now, he’s off Motrin, and I’ve taken the DSI unit away for the next 24 hours to see if that will help at all. And we continue to be diligent with regard to his diet restrictions.

 

Thank you in advance! It's been so sad to watch him slide back down-hill. Right now it's feeling like this is never going to end.

 

Julie

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Julie,

Those on the TS board and in Shelia's book - they all talk about how electronics (TV, PC, hand helds) can induce or worsen tics.

With regard to the motrin, do you think it's helping with other symptoms? If so and you wanted to continue it, one thought would be to add something to help cleanse the liver. Motrin is processed through a certain pathway in the liver, as are most abx. When my son had too much going through the liver (in his case, toxins from lyme cyst busting), his tics returned for a time. So increasing detox can help. We also decreased his cyst-busting abx (tindamax) to let the body catch up with the toxic backlog.

 

Things that help the liver: milk thistle (if no allergy to ragweed), lecithin (also helps BBB and focus), garlic

Things that help general detox: alpha lipoic acid, resveratrol, charcoal/bentonite clay, CoQ10

Alternatives to motrin: curcumin/tumeric (doesn't help my son but others feel it helps), resveratrol

 

You can google these ideas and see if any resonate with you. I'm particularly intrigued with lecithin. Will probably start a trial of it this week.

Laura

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YES! Our son has increased tics, both motor and verbal, when he plays video games. For this reason, we do not have one. He gets computer games or Ipod games very occasionally. The intensity causes the brain to fire up and there is suggestive research that indicates that chemical changes in the brain occur. We ar very careful about them - that being said, our son is just 6, so we have a little more control (although it doesn't always feel like it). Try mixing the games for a day and going out to a museum or getting outside, or just playing board games. See if the tics decrease during this time....

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Since the tics did not start immediately with the video games, you said he has had it for several weeks, I would also look into strep or other illness, exposure. For some kids, tics are the first symptom to appear. Ask him if he has had a sore throat at all, and consider starting some abx. I know it feels never ending. I am always afraid to say when we have a good day, week, etc... Hang in there.

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Our son is currently on treatment ABX- has been for a few months. Every time we start to take him off he gets sick and then he starts having mental issues. We took him off his meds for 2 days for blood work the beginning of May and he starting Tic's vocally this was made much worse by our general ped putting him on Straterra. It made him crazy! We ended up having to place him in a locked facility for 6 days - so to have him so much better and to start seeing TIC's, and changing into facial TIC's has me worried. We don't want to go back to where we were a few months ago.

 

Our Dr. has him on a 10 day on 20 day off program of Motrin- and had started an anti parasite drug this past week that he started on Saturday. So he's almost ready to go back on the Motrin - and might be on it immediately after I talk to our Dr.

 

The only thing that was different was the Motrin and the new DSI....but now that I think about it, he's been playing more video games lately, so this very well could be what is causing the issue. He's going to be off the DSI the rest of the week during school, as well as TV. We started only allowing TV on Friday and Saturday nights during the school year as we saw a degradation in behavior when watching TV. We'll be monitoring what is happening.

 

Thanks so much for your thoughts on what could be causing the facial TIC's. If we determine it's the DSI- then it's going into hibernation. We won't be very popular, but that's ok!

 

Julie

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The TICS started about 3 days before school, becoming more noticeable the day before school started. We took away his DSI for the last 48 hours and the TIC's are actually not as pronounced - I think we're on to something here. We told him that we believe the DSI was causing the TIC - it wasn't met with a standing ovation, but amazingly he understands and accepts that he can't play video games for a long time (if ever) but will be allowed to take pictures with the DSI and practice recording videos. Since he loves to play with this feature it actually went pretty well.

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