New facial tics? Pool or slacking of the diet?

[ilovedogs]

I'm all of a sudden seeing new tics(well, they're a combination tic). Like an exaggerated eye blink that includes some muscle tension in the jaw and a slight head toss. There's a head nod, too. This combination is new. I'm also hearing some throat clearing and can't tell if it's allergies or not since he's done this seasonally before. Of course, the OCD/anxiety has been heartbreaking these past few days. He's been in tears on and off again b/c of an unwanted thought that plagues him.

 

My questions is: how much of this is the pool and the chlorine or is it b/c I've been slacking off on his diet. Quite frankly, I got tired of the resistance to the nitrate restrictions, the restrictions on Sprite, etc. I've been allowing him to eat some cr*p lately but I've been letting him do this for the past 3 weeks and just recently(the past 2 days) I'm seeing new tics. The anxiety increased even when I was feeding him good, preservative free foods so that's why I gave up for a bit. Of course, now I'm seeing the tics. He wasn't ticcing very much yesterday morning but he went into the pool(within a few hrs of my shocking the pool) and it was like immediate ticcing started. I also noticed he tics more when he's out in the sun, maybe a photosensitive type thing?

 

Anyway, I also want to know what the biggest preservative/additive problem is for our kids: is MSG, HFCS, vanillin, nitrates, etc? Which one is the biggest offender and what other names do these products disguise themselves under?

 

I think it's time I start getting back on the Whole Foods bandwagon. I'll be heading there tomorrow to get our nitrate free meats, HFCS free soda, etc. I've been way TOO relaxed and I think we're seeing big changes here. Both with tics and anxiety!

Thanks,

Bonnie

[Toms_Mom]

My son has the exact same tics right now! - the blinking, head nodding and a head toss. It has been constant. I am hoping ours is from the vitamins we were giving him and they will ease up by the end of the week. We are on a strict diet- I believe all of those ingredients you mentioned should be eliminated from your diet. We shop at whole foods and I get other things I know are ok from cosco and publix. We have not been to the pool yet because I didn't want to confuse tics that might be stemming from the new vitamins and seasonal allergies with the pool. It seems like a lot here are going through a flare up of tics and I have to wonder if it isn't seasonal pollen etc.

[myrose]

I am seeing ALL of that and more. Today she said that she heard someone say a REALLY BAD word and her mind keeps telling her to say it. She says she has been saying it real low to herself.

God this really seems to be tourettes????? She cried all the way home today from school. She said its not fair that only her has these shakes (thats what she calls her tics) I had all I could do from balling my eyes out! This is way too hard on them. Not sure why they bother some kids and some are not affected by it. Its affecting everything and everyone around us now...including her. Not sure how much more we all can take...emotionally anyhow. Its heart renching.

 

We have serious body jerking and head bobbing. Eye blinks, the list goes on and on.....

[bmom]

I just want to say Im sorry Myrose that you are going through this rough time. I am getting so frustrated too. Is spring a hard time for tics? It just seems like there has to be something that can be done. Our DAN docs app. isnt until Sep. I am hoping you can get an answer for your daughter soon. Have you made an app. with a dan doc?

[Toms_Mom]

I

[ilovedogs]

I am seeing ALL of that and more. Today she said that she heard someone say a REALLY BAD word and her mind keeps telling her to say it. She says she has been saying it real low to herself.

God this really seems to be tourettes????? She cried all the way home today from school. She said its not fair that only her has these shakes (thats what she calls her tics) I had all I could do from balling my eyes out! This is way too hard on them. Not sure why they bother some kids and some are not affected by it. Its affecting everything and everyone around us now...including her. Not sure how much more we all can take...emotionally anyhow. Its heart renching.

 

We have serious body jerking and head bobbing. Eye blinks, the list goes on and on.....

I know how heart wrenching this is...I, too, have been in tears the past few days b/c of his obsessive thoughts that bring him to tears! How old is your DD? I can't remember from previous posts. Have you thought about counseling and therapy? What about an alternative doctor who can get the neurotransmitters balanced for you? That's where we're starting anyway. Just know that you are NOT alone!

Praying for you and your dd!

Bonnie

[Chemar]

Myrose

 

"my mind is telling me" "must do" "have to" "just right"

are all flags for OCD

 

OCD can occur with Tourette but is also a PANDAS symptom

 

ilovedogs, after what I have learned the preservatives do I honestly wouldnt go near them. Sodium benzoate is not on your list but is one of the top offenders IMO

The food additive restriction is one we really adhere to as even small slip ups seem to bring big tic reactions (nevermind the OCD flares from the coloring and MSG etc)

 

as mentioned before, chlorine sensitivity in my son would set of such severe tics when he went in pool that he voluntarily decided no more. He was only 11 at the time and so it was hard, especially as we live in Florida, but it was a clear enough reaction for him to feel it worth giving up chlorinated swimming pools.

[ilovedogs]

I'm thinking the chlorine is something to really watch for in our ds. Even my dh noticed and has asked me about chlorine alternatives to treating the pool water. I'll be researching these this summer!

[faith]

bonnie,

you mentioned above that he still had ocd/anxiety when you were giving him preservative free "good foods", but how were the tics at that time, I mean does his tics get better with that type diet?

 

Faith

[Greyhound]

Is spring a hard time for tics?

It certainly seems so for me

[lurker]

Could this possibly be stress-triggered?

 

I ask because tics seem to appear/be more pronounced in Sept/Oct (beginning of school year) and April/May. The beginning of the school year is understandably stressful for small children -- new teacher, new routine, new kids.

 

Everyone seems to look to allergies/chlorine in the springtime. These are certainly huge issues, but I think that many times no single trigger can be found because they are cumulative --multiple stresses from different sources.

 

Anyway, here is my point: Maybe its "spring fever." My first-grader, who does not have tics, is experiencing quite a lot of school-related stress. She has been having more homework (including double-digit addition and subtraction IN FIRST GRADE), in preparation for two weeks of mandatory standardized testing, which began last week. It seems as if the end of the school year might be every bit as stressful as the beginning. Our kids are expected to learn so much so young now. I swear I ate paste, played in the sand, and took a nap on a little mat when I was her age.

[Chemar]

lurker, the more I see the stress factor as the major trigger for my son's Crohn's and OCD, the more I am logging it as one of, if not his highest tic trigger.

 

and it isnt just bad stress....anticipatory excitement can sometimes trigger him big time too...............

[ilovedogs]

lurker, the more I see the stress factor as the major trigger for my son's Crohn's and OCD, the more I am logging it as one of, if not his highest tic trigger.

 

and it isnt just bad stress....anticipatory excitement can sometimes trigger him big time too...............

Yep, I agree about the stress but I also think chlorine is a trigger for my ds. When the OCD gets going, the tics get going. So, looks like we have to tackle the anxiety first and then the tics!