What is my next step?

[4boyz]

My son, age 10 started having an eye tic about 3 months ago. He would open his eyes wide, roll his eyeballs up and to the right and slightly tilt his head up - all at the same time. At first we ignored it for a few weeks hoping it would go away. He then started to complain about daily headaches and blurry vision. To make a long story as short as possible, we took him to his pediatrician and ophthalmologist and had him on antibiotics for 10 days. Both Dr.'s told us to wait it out and see if it would go away on it's own. His headaches have stopped and he is not complaining about blurry vision anymore, but the tic seems to come and go. Some days he barely does it at all and other days he will do it constantly. There are never any days where it is completely gone, though. The days he does it constantly he will complain to me and want me to do something about it, often telling me his eyes hurt. Mine would hurt too, if I were rolling them around all day long. Interestingly the tic has recently changed. He now rolls his eyes downward and to the left and the head tilt is now gone.

 

I'm not sure what to do at this point. Do I wait a bit longer and see if it goes away on it's own?

Do I take him to a pediatric neurologist? I have no interest in putting him on a prescription at this point and I suspect the neurologist will tell me the same thing....Just wait.

I'm more interested in finding the root causes and know a well known Dr. that does allergy/food testing etc. and more holistic medicine. I'm tempted to take him there, but since he does not take insurance, maybe I need to wait a bit longer to see if it truly does go away? Perhaps start a detailed journal of his food/tic behaviors for a month and see if I can see a pattern?

 

As a side note, my son also has environmental allergies (grass, weeds, dog, cat etc.) and we have had him on allergy drops for about 2 years. They seem to be working. He also has moderate eczema as well.

 

I'm just not quite sure what to do at this point. Any suggestions?

 

Thank you.

[Sheila]

Hi 4boyz, Thank you for explaining your son's situation so well. It's good to know the background you provided.

 

This will just be a suggestion -- as you no doubt know, it's difficult to tell someone else what to do (especially if money is involved!).

 

You mention that your boy was has been on allergy drops for two years. Can you explain more about the drops and how recently he may have been tested related to the drops and the doctor's determination of what would work best? I;m wondering if they have lost their effectiveness or need to be adjusted.

 

Also, has anything changed in the last 3 months--something in the home or at school (renovations, painting, new carpet, etc)?

 

Any possibility of mold exposure? And where do you live?

 

I agree you're on the right track by trying to find the root cause. Am curious if you have ever seen any instance where something like food/drink/candy made the eye tics worse since you mentioned maybe starting a food diary.

 

Your description of his allergies leads one to guess that the immune system is involved, and that the tics are connected to an allergic response or sensitivity. But it's generally a good idea to see a neurologist to rule out something else that may be causing the tics.

 

What about making an appt with the neuro and meanwhile start logging your observations and doing your detective work? Then move on to the holistic allergist as needed. (If money were not an issue, that would be a good logical step now. )

 

I hope you will write back with a little more information for us. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[4boyz]

Thank you for your response. Let me clarify a few things.

 

His allergy drops are the actual allergens that he is allergic to. He gets a small amount that he swallows every day with the hope that in time, his body will not react to these things anymore. He has been on the environmental drops for 2 years and the dog/cat drop for 1 year. I have noticed that he is not reacting to the environmental allergens nearly as much as he used to, so it appears they are beginning to work. He has had multiple skin prick tests over the years to see this allergic response. He has also had a food sensitivity blood draw as well.

 

I have thought about any new changes that you mentioned above and I don't think there has been. He does sleep with a HEPA fan in his room which runs 24/7.

 

Interestingly, the day I posted my first question, I didn't notice any tics and it has been that way for 3 days. This morning however, he has been doing it occasionally.

 

I have started a food journal to see if I notice any changes.

[Sheila]

Hi -- I had asked about the allergy drops, wondering if maybe they needed to be updated in strength (up or down) as sometimes that can be an issue over time. But you have described multiple testings over the years. Thank you.

 

How is the food journal doing? Have you seen any connection with foods and symptoms? It's good that you had a few tic-free days when you had first written. That's always encouraging, because you know that your goal is to achieve that state once more, and that it can happen. How have things been since then?

[4boyz]

Update on my son's tics - Hi Everyone. I wanted to give an update and ask for some more advice. The last time I posted, my son was ticcing less and less and I was starting to feel hopeful that perhaps it may be going away. My husband and I went on vacation for a week at the beginning of February. When we returned, I noticed that his tics were gone! There was no more eye rolling at all. Or so I thought. After a few days, I noticed that he was sniffing... a lot. He has a history of outdoor allergies and I assumed these had flared up or he just had a cold, although there was nothing outside at this time of year that would cause that. After a week of this and having him take Claritin and Nasonex, I realized it was doing nothing to help.

 

Bottom line is that now he is sniffing and clearing his throat about every 10-20 seconds all day long. The only time I notice a decrease is when he is concentrating on something really hard. Then it will stretch out a bit between episodes. He also has episodes of eyebrow raising and furrowing. I took him to a pediatric neurologist who pretty much told me there was nothing we could do about it, it was developmental and there was not connection between tics and allergens or anything environmental. He only recommended medication if it was affecting him socially. We just have to wait it out until they go away.

 

I have made an appointment with a natural doctor who does a lot of bloodwork, allergy testing, leaky gut etc, but I can't get into him for a month. I have not kept up the food journal since returning home from my vacation because he is sniffing constantly, with no noticeable difference from day to day.

 

Do you have any recommendations until we see him? My concern is that his nose sniffing is really loud and he tells me he cannot make it quieter. I'll be honest, everyone living with him is silently going crazy listening to him. I have been in contact with his teacher at school to let him know what is going on, but I worry that he is distracting others around him, particularly at church, with his friends, at school etc. Is there anything else I can do to help him? Or has anyone had any success in helping a vocal tic become quieter? Thank you!

[Chemar]

Hi

Good that you are going to see a doctor who understands more about the numerous triggers for tics, including allergies and the environment etc etc!

 

I can't address the sniffing tic as we didn't have that one among the many many many we did have!

But my son did respond well to short term L-Carnitine for vocal tics