New here, question about 7yr old daughter.

[BreMom]

Hi, I'm new here so I hope I am posting this in the right place..

 

My daughter has always has a "throat clearing" problem and grunting type noise issue since she was a baby, we were first told it was due to a cyst and would stop when the cyst went away, well the cyst went away but throat clearing and grunting continued so we were then told to ignore it and it would go away, so we have, for years..during dinner etc..she even had an issue with her teacher last yr getting mad at her for it and telling her that she was doing it on purpose.

 

Anyway a while back (1-2 months maybe) she started stomach contractions that she says "it does it by itself"...last week she came home from school extremely upset because she started jerking and couldn't stop..she's still jerking face tensing up head jerking back arms moving up..so I made her an appointment.

 

The Dr. talked with us for a while she talked about how her bladder does the jerking inside her too and that her stomach feels like a cold chill until she jerks..the Dr. observed her at first talking about her favorite shows etc. as we discussed her tics she got worse..anyway we have an appointment December 8th to see a Pediatric Neurologist to see what is going on but her pediatrician says it is some sort of tic disorder...I'm so worried for her, the tics are almost non stop now and she's getting really frustrated that she can't stop them.

 

She is reading 2 grades above her level now, has no problems in school..has never had anything but outstanding on her report card..how can this happen?

 

Does this sound like something that would happen? I mean how could she go from grunting and throat clearing to full on jerking etc over night?

 

Thanks for any help you can offer me...I'm so worried and upset for her.

[ad_ccl]

Sudden overnight onset of tics - can be caused by a strep infection - did they swab her throat. Even if she has not complained about being sick - get her throat swabbed - and preferably also get her blood tested for ASO titers. My son had throat clearing from ages 3-6 then overnight at 6 had a sudden and severe onset of motor and vocal complex tics - jerking etc - I had never seen anything like it before. You should read up a little on PANDAS. Antibiotics are what is needed if it is illness triggered, and the sooner the better.

[Char]

BreMom,

Hi, I know how your feeling. Trying to figure things out can be very frustrating. We'll your waiting to see the doctor, you might want to try to add some supplements to help your daughter. I have found with my son that the supplements have helped some. I have read on here that supplements have also helped others on this forum. You might want to try, Magnesium taurate, or Magnesium Kids calm. It seems to help with Tics. Just something to consider. Hope this helps ,Good Luck!!

[faith]

BreMom,

would you mind giving more infor re the cyst? Was this in the throat?

 

Have you ever noticed anything that might have been a tic previous to this other than the grunting. Many times, parents do not notice such movements or "habits" as tics, but when pressed to think back, more often than not, they do recall some things. And so this may answer your question of "how could this happen all of a sudden"?. If things have gotten obviously intense and dramatic in a short period of time, then yes, you could look into the PANDAS subject. Has your daughter been sick recently that you are aware of?

 

 

Faith

[BreMom]

No she hasn't been ill, they did a throat swab at the pediatricians office the other day although I didn't know why at the time, I guess now I do.

 

The only thing that she has always done that worried me is the throat clearing and grunting and she also licked her lips a lot (to the point of chapping them horribly) and counted everything...she also pays very close attention to patterns in things and lets you know it. But another thing is, I thought all of this was brought on because she is always very worried about everything...she is a perfectionist so even the slightest disturbance in her ordinary life and she's breaks down..I thought she was just overly stressed or something.

[lynsey]

Try not to panic, although I know it's a monumental thing to ask when your child's

tics seem to explode all of a sudden. You are doing all the right things

to get her help.

Until you decide what things you want to do to help reduce her tics (this is

your foremost concern, I know), I think your next biggest concern is,

how will she cope at school with these tics...

What you have to do is speak to her teacher(s) right away, and the principal, and let them know

what is going on. You can ask them to make special allowances for her so that

she will feel more comfortable. Some of the "special allowances" that I requested at

my sons' school were, allow them to leave the classroom to "go to the washroom" if

they felt the tics were particularly intense, allow them to relax in the library for short

periods of time, do not require them to sit for extended periods of time where they

are expected to be quiet - for example, school assemblies (i.e. allow them to sit near

the back or side where they can exit if they wish). If her tics are bad, you can keep her home

for a couple days a week - work it out with the teacher where her work can be kept up

at home during these absences.

With the help and guidance of your doctors, and the ideas and suggestions of the people

here on this forum, you will decide on what things you can try to help your daughter -

don't lose faith, we've all been there at one time or another, and we've gotten through it,

there is light at the end of this tunnel....

 

lynsey

[ilovedogs]

Counting things and the tics themselves are sometimes classifications of OCD. Some tics can cross the line between being a tic or an OCD type of repetitive behavior. I know that I wonder these things with my ds. We had what I thought was a sudden onset of tics a year ago but now I realize that many of his behaviors and weird quirky things were probably related to this tic disorder. My ds is also a perfectionist and has a lot of anxiety. Please ask lots of questions here and we'll be happy to help you!

 

Bonnie