Sickness and Ticcs

[Char]

Hi,

My son has been sick with a cold and cough for a week and a half. This morning he woke up with Tics I haven't seen in awhile. Stretching and crunching his face all the time. When I seen this, my heart just broke, not again. Can sickness make Tics come back? Also he had a sore throat with swollen glands about 2 and a half weeks ago but no fever so, I don't think it was strep. Also yesterday he had homemade brownies with homemade white frosting on them. Could this make the tics worse? Also he was taking 350mg of magnesium taurate and last night I upped it to 500mg because he's been sick. So could that make the Tics worse? Does anyone have any suggestions? I thought we started to control his Tics better but, now I'm not so sure. Every-time I see a new tic, my heart just breaks. I feel so bad for him! My stomach gets in knots and I just feel like crying all day. Sorry to go on but, I'm wondering if anyone else feels like this? Today is Halloween, a great way to start the day. I have been dreading this day all month because my son will want to eat candy like the rest of the kids but he can't because he reacts to artificial coloring. It's going to be a hard day today. I wish I could just go back to bed!!! Any feed back would be greatly appreciated, Thanks Char...

[colleenrn]

Char,

My kids never get fevers with strep, in fact they rarely even have a sore throat. Given the history of a sore thoat and swollen glands, you may want to get him cultured. Also, my kids do react when they have illnesses other than strep, but a sore throat makes me suspicious of strep, especially during tris time of year.

Colleen

[Chemar]

hi Char

 

illness has always intensified tics for my son

 

because of the high incidence of strep induced tics it really is a good idea to always have a culture done at least when a sore throat or even just exposure to strep

 

also, whenever there are swollen glands there is a chance it could be epstein barr virus (the one that causes mono) again a tic trigger

 

re the homemade fudge brownie...it would depend on the ingredients you used. so many of our kids are very sensitive to certain food additives

 

i doubt upping the mag taurate would have caused increased tics provided he has always tolerated it well before

[patty]

Char,

 

So sorry that you are having a rough time. I know exactly how you feel. You are probably doing everything right and it is just the wax & wane cycle. There are just so many factors you can go nuts just trying to figure things out. Just breath and know that the waxing will past.

 

As Chemar pointed out, alot of kids tend to wax when they are sick. Just focus on getting him better for now, and i think the tics will subside.

 

There are no food coloring candies at Whole Food and Trader Joes. Perhaps do a candy buy back program, give him a toy instead or use the candies to make a mudd pie. It is hard not to have any of the artificial stuff when it is everywhere esp if your child is in school.

 

Do pls try to start early to take care of yourself, for i am a good example that i worry so much i am getting physical and emotional symptoms. It is hard to get up everyday and continue on when you are not in a good state.

 

Take care!

 

Pat

[lynsey]

For my 2 sons, sicknesses would usually either start a tic (i.e. throat clearing) or make a tic slightly worse.

I know your cycle of feeling "not again". But kids are going to get sick, so I got to learn to expect a

new tic or two, or a slight waxing of one. My husband kept bringing me back to reality when I

would wail, oh no, here it comes again! And he would say, "ya, so what, they're not that bad

and they will go away, like they always do", which is what I needed to hear.

And halloween candy may also intensify his tics, maybe not, but my feeling is, they have to be kids and enjoy

life too! I didn't want my children to feel even more different by stopping them from enjoying

Halloween. I just tried to go through his halloween stuff and remove the ones loaded with artificial color.

 

It's been my experience, and I have 3 people in my family with TS, my boys are older now

in their mid-to-late teens - my experience has been that a number of things might trigger

or intensify their tics, but if you remove those things, their tics either subside or go away.

That means, when his sickness is better, his tics related to that should subside.

Any tics related to eating his candy should also subside later too. I think most moms panic

when they see a new tic, I know I did it too! But it really does no good, I've

learned, except ruin my own health, and things never got as bad as I anticipated.

[ilovedogs]

I know how you feel! I worry about my ds, too. Yet, he hardly ever complains about his tics anyway. So, what am I worrying about, right? My ds does wax when he's sick b/c his defenses are low. I try to boost his immune system and get him on a clean diet especially when he's sick. I'd let my ds have some chocolate for Halloween but none of the lollipops or Starburst, etc. My ds also has space maintainers on his teeth so I can't allow him to have anything chewy so all that stuff gets thrown out anyway. Just tell him that when his illness clears up, you'll allow him to have a bit more candy. Sugar depresses the immune system so I'd wait until he's healthy to let him have at the Halloween candy. My ds has never felt deprived on Halloween. This year I'm making baked apples as our treat instead of candy: he's ecstatic.

As I saw in another post: do take care of yourself! I have stomach problems b/c of all the worry I get myself into. It's not worth it and I'm trying very hard to not freak when I see a new tic or an increase, etc. I also have learned to not beat myself up if I let him have a Sprite or some nitrated pepperoni. As long as we're healthy overall, the few slip ups aren't a big deal. Have a great day!

 

Bonnie

[faith]

Char,

How did he do in the week while he started the cold? how were the tics then? I mean did he have the cold for the past week and half and he was fine with tics, then they started. Is he not better from the cold?

 

When my son is sick with cold or virus (fever, vomiting) his tics actually DECREASE. I have seen this many times. I don't think I've ever seen a spike during the ilness. Like if he has a vocal, when he is sick for a day or two, it always decreases to almost nothing. Now AFTER the illness I suppose is another story, somehow they do reappear, but not worse or something new, just sort of returns to the same way it was. Right now he has a stuffed nose, a little cold, last two days and yes, his vocal that had started up again last week is on the quiet again. However, I don't expect it to last. But I'll keep you all posted.

 

Faith

[michele]

Yes my son is so much worse after viruses or exposure to strep throat. He is even on antibiotic prophylaxis but he gets a reaction after illness. Right now he has been sick with fevers twice in the past month and he is back up on his tip toes cracking and crcking his fingers every couple minutes. I know in the past it does go away with time but why does this happen? I wonder if the brain gets inflamed? So yes his tics are worse after he is sick. Also last year same time he was doing the same behaviors. They lasted for many months.

Has anyone here ever had a reaction to stress called the tendon guard reflex where you want to get up on your tip toes? I don't know if I should tell him to stop when I see him doing it. It seems to be involuntary. It really looks painful. I think he should join the ballet because it can't be easy to walk on your toes. Would this be a tic? His toes are getting black and blue. I feel your pain. I worry about this constantly also. It just never seems to get easier.

 

Hi,

My son has been sick with a cold and cough for a week and a half. This morning he woke up with Tics I haven't seen in awhile. Stretching and crunching his face all the time. When I seen this, my heart just broke, not again. Can sickness make Tics come back? Also he had a sore throat with swollen glands about 2 and a half weeks ago but no fever so, I don't think it was strep. Also yesterday he had homemade brownies with homemade white frosting on them. Could this make the tics worse? Also he was taking 350mg of magnesium taurate and last night I upped it to 500mg because he's been sick. So could that make the Tics worse? Does anyone have any suggestions? I thought we started to control his Tics better but, now I'm not so sure. Every-time I see a new tic, my heart just breaks. I feel so bad for him! My stomach gets in knots and I just feel like crying all day. Sorry to go on but, I'm wondering if anyone else feels like this? Today is Halloween, a great way to start the day. I have been dreading this day all month because my son will want to eat candy like the rest of the kids but he can't because he reacts to artificial coloring. It's going to be a hard day today. I wish I could just go back to bed!!! Any feed back would be greatly appreciated, Thanks Char...

[Char]

Hi,

Thanks everyone for your kind words and answering my questions. I'm so thankful to have found this forum and for people like you who take time to help someone else! Halloween wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I'm so proud of my son, he told me on Halloween that he knows he can't have candy, so he'll just eat his plain chips. I was so happy, I can't believe how strong willed, he can be sometimes. All Day Halloween, he had a smile on his face even though his tics have increased. I'm hoping after his sickness gets better, his tics will decrease.

 

Faith,

Before he was sick, I started to see his tics decrease with the Bonnie Vits and diet changes( no artificials, MSG, High corn syrup). Some of his Tics went away but, never his eye tics. Don't know why? Then when he got sick he was okay but, Halloween morning his tics increased and some old tics came back. My heart just broke!! I toke him to the doctor to check for strep because he has had a sore throat. I wanted just to make sure it wasn't that. I haven't heard back from the doctor yet. I hope my son gets better soon and maybe the tics will decrease again. I am still waiting for his IGG allergy test to come back. I wish they would hurry, so I know if he has food allergies or a yeast problem. I really dislike the waiting game. What has helped your sons tics overall? There are so many things to consider, it all becomes very frustrating.

 

Thanks again Everyone, Char....