Please report how your child waxes and wanes.

[CSP]

Hi everyone,

 

Could you all post how you see the wax and wane pattern in your child.

 

 

My son started ticcing at around age 8 or 9. I did not know about TS then, but I will try to tell you how I saw him back then. If he was ever waxing back then it would have been a kissing noise for just a day or two. And go away for months (tic free) then come back.

 

Around 10 and 11 I would say he had some eye tics and an arm tic that he would shoot up in the air, same kissing noise. I would say he just did this watching TV, or excited about something. I would say this would show up more often then the tics he had at 8 & 9.

 

12 he was a mess, loud screeming vocals, body jurking, I would say waxing just went from bad to worse. Waning just went back to being bad.

 

Now at 14 waxing is vocals that seem to be every second, more eye tics. Waning is just a little quieter with the vocals, eye tics go away.

 

He has not been tic free (waning) in over 2 years.

 

It seems to me my son had more of the wax and wane when he was younger. Would say he is still going through puberty today.

 

Thanks for sharing.

C.P.

[Chemar]

CP

 

for us waning has never meant tic free. it just means less intense and less frequent and less overall

 

will post more later as working now

[bcase]

My daughter is 12 years old and has had tics since she was five. About once a year they come, last a few months and then we are tic free til the next one. The one she is going through now is the most intense she has had. The whole trunk of her body jerks and stretches. Her stomach moves so much, you can hear the water moving in it. It has been pretty distressing for her, and is causing her anxiety to worsen. It is also painful at times for her. I keep praying that this will pass like the others have, we are coming up on three months with this one. Anybody with similar waxing/waning that can tell me it will pass......

 

My daughter's first tic was at 5 yrs old, opening/closing her mouth as though trying to clear her ears. We thought it was allergies.

Second tic was throat clearing, again we thought it was allergies. Third tic was shoulder shrugging. Fourth was a neck/chin/jaw stretching that really bothered her. Fifth was eye blinking. Sixth one is the current one.

 

Bcase

[patty]

CP

 

About 2 years before my son's acute onset of tics. My son would get a seasonal cough that is similar to throat clearing and it would get worse if he is exposed to environmental allergies, smoke or certain food. The cough would generally last about 4/5 months then it would disappear on it's own. We took the conventional route, giving him singular, flovent & flonase and did not seem to help. So i decided to take him to see a Chinese dr. and his cough would go away in about 2/3 days after taking the Chinese medicine. So i am not sure if it was a tic or allergy related cough. Now that i am looking back, i suspect his tic was allergy induced. So allergy is my basis for my son's treatment plan.

 

At age 6, shortly after his birthday. Out of the blue my son had an acute head nodding tic, within weeks, he developed other motor tics, facial tics and later vocal tics.

 

It has been 2 years this month and my son's wax & wane cycle is getting better & better. It was a gradual improvement. And i can see that the comprehensive approach is working. Initially, the wax & wane cycle is pretty sparadic, one day good, then the next day bad or morning is good and then within a few hours it is bad. It was very unpredictable.

 

I would say he is 98% better. He rarely tics, when he does it is mild & infrequent & short-lived (sometimes half hour or a few hours) and no one even notice.

 

I have to say allergy desensitization and CST has helped his tics a great deal.

 

Great question CP. I wish others would post on this subject.

 

Pat

[JBC]

Hi --

 

My son is 10 and when he tics, his current ticcing is generally small squeaky noises (usually when reading at night--one every minute to two minutes), and nose/mouth scrunching (generally in the evenings--could do a few in a roll, then no more all night), all of which I can completely live with! There are days when I don't hear/see any tics. The waxing and waning for him is hours or possibly a day or so, definitely not weeks or months. Onlyin the last 2-3 months, when he started getting severe stomachaches (though he had less painful stomachaches off and on for the past year or so), did I think to do the elimination diet (intolerant to corn products) and cut out artificial colors, flavorings and preservatives. He's been much better, and only seems to tic (making the small squeaky noises or face scrunches) at night or when reading in bed at night. I'm not sure if it's the waning or actual improvement since it's only been a little while. His tics this year are more moderate than last year's. Last year (in fourth grade), when he had a couple of band concerts, he would be so stressed beforehand (up to a week before) and during the concerts that he could barely sit still and his whole body was ticcing. His worst tics were in 4th grade (so far--fingers crossed that we're done with that stage). He also had a neck jerk tic for a few weeks that was awful to watch and was painful for him. He also went through a shoulder shrugging phase. Fourth grade was an awful year for him. Prior to fourth grade, his tics were less obvious--humming or eye blinking. Until I found this site, I really was clueless about what to do. I knew I didn't want to medicate and I haven't. His grades are fine and he doesn't have any learning disabilities. I don't know of any of my or his dad's family members with tics. I do have a 16 year old nephew with significant ticcing, but he's also allergic to many foods and his mom, my sister-in-law, has OCD.

 

Thanks for the great question; hope others will let us know their experiences.