GloryMom Posted July 12, 2016 Report Share Posted July 12, 2016 #1 Teen:incapacitating tics and issues: post #1 GloryMom Newbie Members Pip 2 posts 0 warning points Posted Today, 03:36 PM Hi All, I'm new here and I'm wondering if anyone else has come across these types of tics, and could it be related to PANDAS/PANS? I guess I'll give the rundown of our situation for background. My daughter started having tics at age 12. They started after she was really sick (sore throat, headache etc)for a week, but she was negative for strep. Our other daughter was sick in hospital(hindsight possible pandas/pain processing disorder) and I didn't do a good job of paying attention to other daughter. She spent a lot of time in her room and we noticed her doing things but we thought it was for attention(with sister sick we knew she needed more but didn't have the energy to give it). Within 7 months she had every single tic possible (complex vocal, gross motor, copropraxia, coprolalia, and a few more and they happened all day and much of the night), she had severe anxiety, sensory sensitivities, depression, ocd, panic attacks where she blindly runs away, and she had self-injurious tics. She has auditory and visual hallucinations and she also developed purging behaviour, and self-harm. Her schoolwork has stagnated and has worsened in math/science but I don't know if that's because of the interruptions to her thinking from ticcing so much or another cause. The daughter who I thought was totally normal, with acknowledged very mild tendencies to ocd, was now struggling so much. She is now 15 and is still struggling. Her psychiatrist is excellent and he believes that there's more going on than TS(he's a top person in his field). The only pediatrician in our area who possibly deals with Pandas spent 15 minutes with her, insulted her, and refused to treat her. She's been on fluoxetine, respiridal, and citalopram with no changes seen. The tic that is most problematic is what we call a seizure tic. It's not a seizure (the neurologist actually saw one) but it looks similar. Out of the blue she falls down and her muscles all tense up, she arches her back or flexes into gymnastic positions(she dances and is very flexible and strong). All of her muscles are tense and then she often bangs the back of her head, twists around slowly, and then the muscles contract inward rapidly like she's a ball, and then flex outwards again. This goes on from anywhere between 10 min and 90 min. She has absolutely no control but she can hear. She can't see or control breathing(like holding her breath). As a result of this tic she has had 3 concussions, has almost drowned, has crashed her bike, and been generally bruised and embarrassed. Her psychiatrist who is treating her agrees with me when we say can't find a trigger. It happens when she's asleep, when she's quietly reading on the couch, when she's baking, out for a family bike ride, or when she's at the mall. This has made things really hard for my daughter over and above the other things that she deals with. We're still trying to see if we can get her diagnosed with Pans/pandas, as her symptoms seem to veer away from TS. Her psychiatrist says there's no sign of psychosis from schizophrenia (which I think is why she was on respiridal). On the other hand I don't want to chase down a diagnosis that is inaccurate. I just want my daughter to get some relief and some hope that there is something we can do to help her feel better. Sorry for such a long post but it's complicated...If anyone has experienced tics like my daughter, I'd love to hear about it and thanks for reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Hello GloryMom, I have been following responses to your thread in the PANDAS/PANS forum and believe that is where you'll find the most help given the nature of your daughter's condition. With that in mind, I'm going to close this Tourette's thread and encourage everyone to post in the PANS forum so responses are not split up. Please know we all join in wishing you and your family the very best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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