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Has anyone else found relief with Benadryl?


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My 5 yr old son's vocal tics have been non-stop for the past two weeks. He's be ticcing off and on all summer (both vocal and motor) since the original explosion last spring, but the past 2-3 weeks have been the worst. Finally, my husband decided out of desperation to give him a does of dye-free Benadryl last week and the tics subsided. My son's eyes were really red which is the main reason my husband gave him the Benadryl. We did the same thing on Sun, and again today and had the same results both times. I am trying not to give him Bendaryl every day since I'm not sure exactly what's causing the tics in the first place, but it seems to be more than a coincidence that the anti-histamine would be helping. Has anyone had similar results??

 

Some background: we took ds to an allergist two weeks ago and via a scratch test, he only tested positive for dust mites, mold and eggs (sensitivity). He was tested for grasses and the types of trees we have around here but it showed nothing. We have eliminated eggs and dairy from his diet and stick pretty close to Feingold. We are scheduled to see an Environmental Dr next week so maybe she'll be able to do more in depth allergy testing for us. He has been dx with everything from tic disorder, Sydenham's Chorea, PANDAS and TS. TS does not run in either of our families, but my husband is now realizing that he had some minor tics (habits?) as a child that never really went noticed by anyone else. (Maybe TS dx today, but probably more of a transient tic disorder. His mother had him on the Feingold Diet for hyperactivity.) I have never noticed any tics in my husband and we've been together for 10+years- this is the first time I've ever even heard of it.

 

This whole process is so confusing and can be very discouraging. I am trying to stay positive and believe that we will find an answer, but it is so hard! I just want to help my son get well enough to stop ticcing all day long.

 

Thank you for your help,

tlk

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my son has PANDAS (and PITANDS) - any assault on his immune system causes tics - less and less as he is getting older. He is on azithromycin and has been for a year with good results. Before that he was 2 years on amox. We find tics can start in the spring from seasonal allergies - and have had good results with aerius. We did try benadryl for a while - but find aerius seems to work better for him. Our doctors said it was find to give daily for the summer months - which is what we do - we stopped a week or so ago - and started back today - he was clearly doing better when on it.

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my son has PANDAS (and PITANDS) - any assault on his immune system causes tics - less and less as he is getting older. He is on azithromycin and has been for a year with good results. Before that he was 2 years on amox. We find tics can start in the spring from seasonal allergies - and have had good results with aerius. We did try benadryl for a while - but find aerius seems to work better for him. Our doctors said it was find to give daily for the summer months - which is what we do - we stopped a week or so ago - and started back today - he was clearly doing better when on it.

 

Thank you! That actually makes a lot of sense to me. Interesting...

 

If I remember correctly from reading some of your old posts, your son always tests + for strep, correct? Since my son is negative now, I'm not able to get him on antibiotics. I'm going to have to do some more research and print some info to take to my dr. A trial run of azithromycin couldn't hurt, could it??

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

tlk

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I wonder if there is an actual article out there saying azithromiacin works better then penicillin. Our immunologist says all the research shows penicillin is the best for the strep. My son is on penicillin v 25o mg twice a day everyday. He has been sick for a month after exposure to an infection. He never got it that I know but he got all the PANDAS symptoms. How can I get the immunologist to try the azithromiacin? Thanks,

I notice the Benadryl calms down my son alot. I wonder if I should give it before school?

Michele

 

 

my son has PANDAS (and PITANDS) - any assault on his immune system causes tics - less and less as he is getting older. He is on azithromycin and has been for a year with good results. Before that he was 2 years on amox. We find tics can start in the spring from seasonal allergies - and have had good results with aerius. We did try benadryl for a while - but find aerius seems to work better for him. Our doctors said it was find to give daily for the summer months - which is what we do - we stopped a week or so ago - and started back today - he was clearly doing better when on it.

 

Thank you! That actually makes a lot of sense to me. Interesting...

 

If I remember correctly from reading some of your old posts, your son always tests + for strep, correct? Since my son is negative now, I'm not able to get him on antibiotics. I'm going to have to do some more research and print some info to take to my dr. A trial run of azithromycin couldn't hurt, could it??

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

tlk

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My son actually had a worse reaction to Benedryl. He was having bad allergies this summer so I started him on it. After about day 3 I noticed him doing a hard blink- exaggerated blink only in bright light or flourescent. I read online that Benedryl can increase light sensitivity and so I stopped it and the blinking stopped. I later read in Sheila's book that antihistamine can increase tics and other people specifically mentioned Benedryl. I thought I should give some a heads up on that. I suppose what works for some can actually make others have more troubles.

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Hi tlkinser,

 

My son actually does not test positive for strep with the throat swab - the only time he did was when we had the original onset at 6 - my doctor said with him on antibiotics all the time it may skew the throat culture - he has had extremely elevated strep titers since the onset - going down slowly but surely. I took in an article from the NIMH site on azithromycin (you can click on the publications on the site- Ronna has also posted this here before) - at the time we had taken my son off amoxycillin as a trial (since he had been doing well) and it was a disaster - within 7 days we were putting him back on it but it no longer seemed to work - we tried many antibiotics and had all but given up - then the doctor humored me and agreed to try this as the last one - and within 24 hours things got better, and then by the end of the run he was 100% tic free. He does still have tics at times but they are minor and not really noticed by anyone - and he no longer has any emotional lability. He is one happy kid! Azithromycin works as am immuno modulator as well - which I think is making such a difference for him. I just pray that it continues to work for a few more years until we are through puberty.

Absolutely - I don't think a trial run of azith can't hurt- I would beg for it. We saw a difference very quickly - and it has been life changing for us all.

 

Michele - I would just beg the immunologist to try it. My doctor was very open and I went with lots of research from the beginning. Initially when my son was first sick he was reluctant to agree to long term antibiotics - I went with any info I could - a big binder of even stuff from this site. In the end we saw an infectious disease specialist who agreed to the long term use of antibiotics - originally amox and now azith. We had our last appointment a few months ago and he figured we would be on it for many more years. After our bad experience of trying going off the antibiotics I am in no rush to try again.

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Thank you everyone for your comments. I remember reading that Benadryl actually increased tics in some people; that's why I found it strange that my ds responded so positively to it. I guess whatever works, right?

 

ad_ccl, thank you for the info that you've given me regarding your son. It is so encouraging. I went to the Open House tonight for my son's Kindergarten class and had a pit in my stomach the entire time. It is so sad because this should be such an exciting time for us and, instead, I am filled with a feeling of dread and anxiety. He meets his teachers tomorrow and starts school next week. If we can get a handle on these vocal tics and odd behaviors, I will feel SOOO much better. Hearing stories like yours gives me hope. Thank you! And best wishes to your son. It sounds like you have already been through the worst of it.

 

tlk

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tlk,

 

My oldest son seemed to repond to Mortin and benedryl with decreased head shaking tic. I wonder if the antinflammatory properties of motrin helped, or just pain relief.

 

I am not a fan of motrin at all, or long term use of benedryl, but they did seem to help.

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  • 5 months later...
My son actually had a worse reaction to Benedryl. He was having bad allergies this summer so I started him on it. After about day 3 I noticed him doing a hard blink- exaggerated blink only in bright light or flourescent. I read online that Benedryl can increase light sensitivity and so I stopped it and the blinking stopped. I later read in Sheila's book that antihistamine can increase tics and other people specifically mentioned Benedryl. I thought I should give some a heads up on that. I suppose what works for some can actually make others have more troubles.

 

 

bmom: what do you use instead of the Benedryl?

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How funny, I just came back from the store where I was looking at a Zyrtec bottle. I am actually afraid to use anything. I bought an air purifier, have had him do NAET for the allergies he tested positive for, bought an ultrasonic air mist for nose congestion, and he uses sinus rinse by neil med that the allergy doctor recommended. His allergies have always been mild to moderate so not horrible and they seem to mainly be in his nose-stuffiness. I don't know- I guess since last year was his first year of tics and his allergies were not so bad, I just focused on more of prevention. I am thinking of looking into some sort of nasal spray that maybe is not an antihistamine if needed as I believe that the antihistamine is what some of these kids react to. If anyone has thoughts on what to use, I would be happy to hear. I am hoping that spring does not bring on more allergies as I am paranoid to use anything now.

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I have another non-PANDAS child who has severe head/neck tics starting in July and lasts until December due to allergies. They gave us Zyrtec and a nasal spray, but it didn't help the tics. I want to get on top of this for next year so if you find anything that works please let me know! Benedryl helped with the red eyes and Epson salt baths worked to relax him, but the tics stayed.

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It's good you are trying to find alternative as antihistamines have been named to cause of Tics in some cases. I have read that and confirmed it with my kids asthma & allergy doc. Last year when he got tics 1st thing she stopped was Zyrtec and after that i never used it.

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It's good you are trying to find alternative as antihistamines have been named to cause of Tics in some cases. I have read that and confirmed it with my kids asthma & allergy doc. Last year when he got tics 1st thing she stopped was Zyrtec and after that i never used it.

kkver: Zyrtec has been known to cause tics??? My oldest never had a tic just allergies and was on Zyrtec for a year. The next year is when his tics started. This makes me very sad to think I might have caused this. :)

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trubiano

Don't feel bad there is so much you can control. We as parents will think best for our kids and there is no way we know before hand what kind of reaction a drug will cause. But one thing i learned is unless it is absolutely needed , don't use any medication. try to use some local honey for allergies through out summer it might build up some body immunity against local allergies.

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