tip toe cracking and knuckle cracking against body

[michele]

Last week my son was sick for three days with fevers. Now he is back to cracking up on his toes and his finger knuckles against his back or his head. He is already on meds for the tics a low dose of Abilify 5 mg. and Omnicef for the strep reaction his body has had in the past. Now what should I do? It almost seems compulsive and repetitive the way he does this cracking in a repetitive sequence and does both sides of the body at once. Has anyone ever used a rheumotologist for the joint issues? He is only six so I don't know how much is joint pain related or just a pressure to want to crack. I am confused as to what is tics and what is a compulsive? Do they feel a pressure in the joints that makes them want to crack? Does it make sense to anyone that our psychologist doesn't believe he has tics because he believes he is aware he is doing them and that makes him conscious of his cracking which means he can choose not to do the cracking. He said if they were true tics they would be more like seizures where he could not control them. Have others here ever seen these kinds of behaviors in TS and do you think they are more tics or compulsions? I am so confused and this is much worse now and he is doing it every couple minutes. It makes it hard to know if he is TS or PANDAS but definitely there is an immune relationship with his getting worse symptoms after illness. Thanks for any advice.

 

Michele

[Chemar]

Michele, does you psychologist actually know what tics are? or the relationship between tics and OCD in some kids, especially those with TS??

 

for my son tics and OCD symptoms can often "morph"

 

also he is frequently aware of the tics (many TSers describe a sensation before the tic, like an itch that has to be scratched) other times he is totally unaware of them

 

I cant say for sure whether the cracking your son is doing is tic or ocd related, but I just dont personally agree with the criteria the psych is using to differentiate them, based on my knowledge of my son

[lurker]

Michele,

 

I think the concept is "premonitory urge." I think it relates to all tics. It is the "itch/scratch" aspect of it. I am surprised he is not aware of it. If you are otherwise happy with his services and he has a good relationship with your son, maybe you could Google "premonitory urge, tics" and have him read it. Since he is a psychologist, I would try to give him a source from a psych publication, not M.D.