Non stop eye winking tic

[crazy]

I need something different to try with my son. Since the end of May my son has had some sort of facial tic, eye blinking, winking, grimacing. He has never went this long without it going away. He takes Topamax which used to be a "cure" with no side effects. I have increased the dose with no improvement, this usually does the trick and then i lower it again after a few weeks.he takes 110mg Of magnesium (it's low but higher gives real loseBM), a multi vit, 50 mg of b6 P-5-P, 250 mg of lcarnatine. He was taking Zyrtec this entire time of tics for allergies, it has never triggered tics before but I stopped as of today to see if it changes things. I've done allergy testing (mold,dust), tried homeopathic remedies (little success). Diet is somewhat clean but "junk" food has never been a trigger. He is growing rapidly and going through puberty, I'm thinking that isn't helping. What should I do now? Amino acids? Different vitamins? Acupuncture? Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks

[Chemar]

Hi

have you tried to go dairy free? So many people have reported eye tics resolve when dairy is eliminated that it is worth a try if you have not already tested this

 

Hormonal changes at puberty, especially in boys, can contribute to increased tics.

[crazy]

We have not tried dairy free. I figured he was ok with dairy because when he was tested for allergies and sensitivities no food products came up. Dairy would be a tough one to change because he loves his milk and cheese. My other son consumes minimal dairy, he really enjoys almond milk. If we did a trial elimination, now long does it take to see a change if dairy is the trigger?

[rissakaye]

Dairy does not show up for my son on an allergy test, but he lives dairy free now because it makes such a difference for him. Ds had an eye rolling tic and a vocal tic. If we feed him dairy, the eye roll shows back up immediately. The vocal tic has faded over time the longer ds has been off of dairy.

 

Ds drinks soy milk (he has major tree nut allergies which make almond not a possibility). I use unsweetened coconut milk beverage for cooking. You can use coconut oil or a few other substitutes for butter. There are some wonderful coconut milk based ice creams. We haven't found a good cheese substitute, but ds feels so much better and enjoys not ticing so he is okay with not having cheese. I don't think that ds would cheat now even if he had the chance to. He just feels that much better.

 

We saw quite a bit of improvement after 3 days. Things have continued to improve over time. We're at about 5 months now.

 

Marissa

[Chemar]

Yes, that has been a uniform theme here...that the child does no necessarily show allergy to dairy...yet eliminating it seems to resolve some tics, especially eye tics.

The reaction seems to manifest pretty quickly after elimination or re-introduction

 

Sometimes these kids will tolerate goatsmilk better.

 

Some can handle the soy or almond milk but each of those (soy, nuts) come with potential sensitivity as well so it is trial and error. Sometimes rice milk is ok but I have heard from many who use goatsmilk without problems ...available at Wholefoods and I think Trader Joes etc

[crazy]

Do you think triggers change over time? He has battled tics for over 5 years now. He has went 9 months being tic free, could something that was never a trigger before become one? He has always consumed dairy and did not always tic. Stress and lack of sleep I have always felt we're major triggers. Long periods of video games also could trigger him. I am experimenting by removing Zyrtec first, he began taking it in May up until now. Today was the first day without it and boy are his allergies flaring up. I know it really works for allergies! I may attempt dairy free in a week or so. It may be a battle for him. I always appreciate all the advice from everyone. Thank you!