4 year old with motor tics

[jaynet0206]

My 4 year old son started a nose sniffling tic last June 2014, which we didn't realize was a tic we just thought he had a stuffy nose, were prescribed Nasonex by our Pediatrician. He then began a shoulder shrugging/head nodding tic a week before he was to have minor surgery in August 2014. We attributed it to being nervous for that, it lasted 10 days and went away. 6 weeks later it reappeared, same tic, and lasted nearly 4 weeks. Still new to the "tic thing" we were very nervous/worried and would ask him if he was ok, which he would say "why because of this" mimicking the tic, and this made him upset/nervous I believe and the tic became more frequent. It went away though for 10 weeks, he would still have a frequent sniffle/cough tic but the head nodding/shoulder shrugging tic was gone. Maybe 1x a week he would do it 1 time but that was it. It has now been going for 2 months-began mid January 2015. He just started a hand shaking one in conjunction with the nodding. He is acting normal/happy/sleeping ok, seems to not be bothered by it. It is such a noticeable movement that we are of course worried that kids at school are making fun of him/staring and worried he is causing damage to his neck. We have told the teachers to not acknowledge it, just ignore it which they are complying with as far as we know, they say he's doing well/social/bright. Any family member we advise to do the same. We do not ever bring it up/make any mention of it. The Pediatrician and Neurologist both have said to just ignore it, and unless it's affecting his day to day "try not to worry". Very very hard to do. He also suffers from migraines approx every 8-10 weeks that last just a few hours. He has no food/environmental allergies that we are aware of, he is a picky eater however. We try to get him as much magnesium as we can (he hated the sweet tart flavored tablets and the vanilla cupcake flavored supplements). He has next to no food dyes, we limit video game time. There is no family history of TS, however an Uncle and cousin have mild motor tics as well.

 

We are just worried/nervous/scared. I mean if I think logically I know he is ok, he is acting ok, meeting all his milestones, he is our sweet boy. I just don't get how you go from not having any tics to having them. Sorry for rambling.

 

Aside from allergy testing, anything you can recommend trying?

[Pilbara]

Your getting close to the 12 month mark, and it is possible that you son has just the motor tics, doesn't sound like any verbals such as clearing the throat or various other sounds have presented yet.

 

Regardless if it is motor tics or TS, I think a good place to start is with full blood work to check for any deficiencies and heavy metal hair testing. Getting their bodies in balance then gives you a good starting point. If you haven't read Sheila's book yet, then I recommend you read it, as it will help you work through the many possibility that could be your son's triggers. It is based on parents experiences and successes, and in all honesty the people dealing with it are certainly more knowledgeable that the medical profession.

 

For my son it was chemical sensitivity that predominately exacerbates his tics and we had to detox him from Aluminium. I've gone chemical free in the home, buy all organic where possible, have air filtration in place, filter all water before use and read the labels on everything. But for others food sensitivity seems to be their biggest trigger, so all children are very different and I think that is where Sheila's book helps you work your way through all the possibilities.

For my son after his big eruption of tics when he was 7 and we started him on the path to a cleaner environment, he continues to get less and less tics. Two years later and he is in a really good place.

Good luck with your journey.