Anyone see increase in tics with pollen?

[Toms_Mom]

My son has been doing very well with the houston enzymes for the past 4 months- basically no tics. About a couple of weeks ago though he started a facial grimace. I started to panic thinking "are the enzymes not working?" but then realized maybe it could be something else. We are in heavy pollen season here in South Carolina so maybe that could be it? I changed the filters in his air cleaner and have that going full blast now and hoping that helps. Usually this time of year he gets a cough and some wheezing. So far though only the cough-no wheezing and once I started the HEPA cleaner the cough is gone.

 

Also, right before the new grimace started he ran into a metal pole at recess at school and had a huge knot on his forehead. Took him straight to the doctor and he checked him out and said everything looks great - just keep an eye out for certain symptoms over the next 24 hours. He seemed to recover fine from that. I'm hoping that didn't have anything to do with this new tic.

 

Last May was when everything started for us and I am just hoping and praying that we can keep symptoms mild with all of the changes we've made with diet etc. I am such a worrier and we are thinking of changing schools next year so want to do whats best for my son - its so hard to know and the hardest thing is not being able to predict which way this tic thing will go - are most people able to keep things mild with the supplements etc. Is Bonnie's probably the best supplement to go with? Sorry, I am drifting but I have so much on my mind right now!

 

Thanks,

Mary

[Pamela Kay]

I am seeing an increase in tics with my son lately too. He was on Trienza for the past seven or so weeks but his bedwetting got worse so we discontinued it yesterday. I know last August things were really bad for him allergy wise and his tics were really bad.

[Caryn]

Pamela,

Funny thing,

Tigger resumed bed wetting on Trienza too! We have it in reserves in the cabinet but are strictly doing the diet now. My experiment over the Easter holiday was less than perfect. I think the enzymes in moderation are best for our situation. They do help keep him from getting sick to his stomach after dining (gluten free) at a restaurant.

Caryn

[samsmom]

Spring is always our worst time of the year with Sam as he has huge allergies to pretty much every kind of pollen that's been tested so far! He started with symptoms during the spring when he was 4 years old. We have worked on other things which have helped to reduce the severity of his tics, like diet, air cleaner in room, supplements. But he always gets worse in spring. The funny thing is we never knew he had pollen allergies as he never showed the classic symptoms of them. We had him tested because his brother and Dad have many pollen allergies and were amazed at how bad he was. Last spring, we did see a little nasal congestion at times, but that's all!

 

We used desensitising sublingual drops for a year to try to work on making the pollens less of a problem for him but when the doctor retested him after a year of taking them, his reactions were actually worse than on the test the year before!! So we are taking a break from them, and will maybe start him on the immunotherapy shots later this year. I feel glad that our spring here in Washington has been quite cold and wet this year - I think it's helped him so far, although he does have tics at the moment, and they are 90% facial ones, so quite noticeable.

 

Sams mom

[Toms_Mom]

Pamela Kay,

Thanks for your response - my son also had an increase last year in the fall - more like Sept. here though.

 

Samsmom

What kind of allergy testing did you have done for the pollens etc. ? We did the traditional scratch test last fall, but nothing came up. However, every fall and spring(especially spring) he gets this cough and congestion and croup. Its got to be something in the air! My older son (17 yrs.) had the same problems every fall and spring, ( actually his was Worse!)but started to outgrow it around 7. My youngest is the only one with tics though.

 

Thanks,

Mary

[samsmom]

We had Sam tested by our environmental doctor using a method called SDET (Serial Dilution Endpoint Titration). They inject the allergens directly under the skin (which creates a little bubble just under the skin) and then measure the size of the reaction to it.

[Pamela Kay]

Pamela,

Funny thing,

Tigger resumed bed wetting on Trienza too! We have it in reserves in the cabinet but are strictly doing the diet now. My experiment over the Easter holiday was less than perfect. I think the enzymes in moderation are best for our situation. They do help keep him from getting sick to his stomach after dining (gluten free) at a restaurant.

Caryn

 

Caryn does your son have yeast issues? I am wondering if it could be a problem with that.

[travelgirl02]

Hi All-

 

I'm new to theboard and thought I'd let you know the following:

 

I'm 37 years old (female) and was diagnosed with Tourettes at the age of 10. My younger brother and my father both have it also (milder cases). We were the first family diagnosed with it by a neurologist in Houston, TX. (they were excited to have a bonefide family with it in 1979.)

 

Anyway - all three of us notice an increase in tic activity when the seasons change (definitely including pollen increases - I dislike pine trees!), and with significant temperature changes (this is more of a trigger than the pollen). Facial tics (predominantly eye "blinking") are the most prevalent reaction.

 

Just thought I'd note it in case you were interested.

[faith]

Hi All-

 

I'm new to theboard and thought I'd let you know the following:

 

I'm 37 years old (female) and was diagnosed with Tourettes at the age of 10. My younger brother and my father both have it also (milder cases). We were the first family diagnosed with it by a neurologist in Houston, TX. (they were excited to have a bonefide family with it in 1979.)

 

Anyway - all three of us notice an increase in tic activity when the seasons change (definitely including pollen increases - I dislike pine trees!), and with significant temperature changes (this is more of a trigger than the pollen). Facial tics (predominantly eye "blinking") are the most prevalent reaction.

 

Just thought I'd note it in case you were interested.

 

 

Hi Travelgirl,

Welcome to the board and thanks for your input.

 

May I ask if you have any children (or does your brother) and do they seem to have the genetic link of tics/ts, etc.? Anything you could share would be helpful as we have also been discussing and wondering about genetics here too. May I also ask how you have managed your tics up til now?

 

Thanks

Faith

[patty]

Tom's mom,

 

My son's tics improved as he is treated for his food & environmental allergies via NAET, along with chiropractic CST, magnesium and Unda#s.

 

Pat

[patty]

Travelgirl02,

 

Welcome! And thx for your feedback. It is great to have an adult with TS on this board. Your willingness to share your experience is greatly appreciated and also vital in helping us mom to unlock the mystery. Most moms here on this board have small children, it is hard for them to articulate their symptoms sometimes.

 

Interesting you mentioned about temperature change that affects your tic. My son does not like heat and sometimes the heat can trigger a neck stiffness or pain that cause him to unwind his neck. I just had him treated for heat via NAET recently, so i am curious to see what happens when the weather warms up.

 

Ever consider desensitizing your environmental allergies to reduce tics? We have good result from it.

 

Pat

[Chemar]

Hi

 

seasonal changes and temperature extremes have always been tic triggers for my son. He does have some pollen sensitivities documented

 

interestingly, since his dietary modifications for his Crohn's Disease, he has remarked on how the seasonal "stuffiness" etc is so much better. Chatting with his acupuncture specialist last week, we confirmed just how many people find their environmental allergies being helped when they taylor their diet, even those who dont have specific food allergies

[Toms_Mom]

Thanks to Cheri and everyone with your feedback about the seasonal allergies!

Patty- How did you go about finding a NAET practitioner? I still have not found an integrative MD.

 

Also, re the new facial grimace- My 12 yr old daughter informed me yesterday that she had one of those 12 pack sacks of Funions stashed away in her closet and 7 bags were missing. We did a search of the house and found empty funion bags under various pieces of furniture! So he's been snacking on these for a couple of weeks. I looked at the label and of course its full of **** including MSG. I normally don't have junk like this in the house but gave in to her, forgot about it and look what happened. I don't really know how to get him to understand the importance of the diet and of course what kind of example does it set when he sees other kids being allowed to eat junk food. I still think the seasonal allergies have something to do with it though. I can remember him having his "habits" when he was little this time of year.

[Chemar]

I sure understand Tom's Mom. Sooooo hard when they see the junk stuff all around them and their friends and the TV and everywhere people are eating it. My son used to sneak in blue "raspberry" slurpees and Doritos when out with friends initially, till he quickly realized what the dose of chemicals in that mix really did to him!

 

seasonal changes affect my son in a number of ways I guess than just the pollens here. lunar cycles in spring and the fall harvest moon, to big temperature changes...

(tho here in Florida it tends to hovver between hot and not too hot lately )

 

my son is a lot less stuffy (we think thanks to some extra dietary modifications related to his crohn's), tho has some tic/OCD waxing this spring. He went for a full acupuncture with chinese cupping, biofeedback, reflexology etc session last week and is much improved. He really does get such benfit from it, especially the acupuncture

the cups showed very little markings which is already fading, so he seems to be maintaining detox state with the diet, supps and epsom tubs

 

I have heard good reports on the natural allergy products at Native Remedies

and I know Dr Weil has some recommendations on natural allergy stuff on his site too