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The act of eating sets my daughter off


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Has anyone else experienced this trigger? My daughter is 6 and since she was about 3 years old she has had different tics come and go. Most last for about 6-8 weeks. The last major episode was year ago, followed by this current major episode. The trigger that is common with these 2 episodes is the act of eating. She begins her tics even before she eats, so I can rule out food allergies (or can I) and then she continues her tics (current one is a cough/sniff) until she is done and walks away from the table. Even eating a cracker while playing will cause her to tic, when playing alone (ie kicking a soccer ball around) will not set her off.

 

Her other major trigger is watching TV. Whether she watches on our LCD tv's/computer screen/car DVD player, and no matter the show (cartoons to CNN), she coughs/sniffs very regularly.

 

I'm interested if anyone else has seen "Eating" as a trigger.

 

We have been to a traditional allergist (MD) and she tested negative for the first round of common allergens, and therefore the testing was stopped there. Would anyone advise to seek out another type of allergy testing that is more specific to possible triggers that traditional testing misses?

 

Thanks!

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Has anyone else experienced this trigger? My daughter is 6 and since she was about 3 years old she has had different tics come and go. Most last for about 6-8 weeks. The last major episode was year ago, followed by this current major episode. The trigger that is common with these 2 episodes is the act of eating. She begins her tics even before she eats, so I can rule out food allergies (or can I) and then she continues her tics (current one is a cough/sniff) until she is done and walks away from the table. Even eating a cracker while playing will cause her to tic, when playing alone (ie kicking a soccer ball around) will not set her off.

 

Her other major trigger is watching TV. Whether she watches on our LCD tv's/computer screen/car DVD player, and no matter the show (cartoons to CNN), she coughs/sniffs very regularly.

 

I'm interested if anyone else has seen "Eating" as a trigger.

 

We have been to a traditional allergist (MD) and she tested negative for the first round of common allergens, and therefore the testing was stopped there. Would anyone advise to seek out another type of allergy testing that is more specific to possible triggers that traditional testing misses?

 

Thanks!

Yes, for some reason when ds is waxing more I see him tic more frequently while he's eating. He even has a jaw tic that I've only seen when he's eating. He also seems to tic from issues with his teeth. Loose teeth or a new tooth eruption seem to make his tics more pronounced. HTH!

 

Bonnie

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[quote name=

 

Yes one of Nicky's biggest triggers was eating. The act of eating not what he was eating. This was a major reason I tried the 15mg of Topamax. At one point his neck tic was so bad he hasd to hold his head in his hands to eat. Couldn't keep it still to get food in.

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What is she eating, exactly?

Maybe it would help to keep a journal of the foods she eats and her ticcing behavior for a couple of weeks. You may see a pattern.

Most of our foods have various chemicals in them and it is possible that she is reacting to the chemicals in the foods and not the food itself. Pay attention to the brands you serve and what is in them, exactly. This might help you sort it out. My son has food intolerances/allergies and when he was reactive I saw definite patterns. At one point I determined that certain foods caused certain tics. His facial tics-- sniffing, throat clearing, teeth grinding, neck turning, all seemed food allergy related. Certain chemicals also triggered multifocal tics as well and often made them more pronounced (high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, ascorbic acid, citric acid, MSG.) He doesn't have them anymore but we are on a very strict avoidance diet to maintain his well being. The 'cure' wasn't overnight either. It took nearly a year of dieting to calm his immune system down.

The best testing is IgG food intolerance testing. You could also try an elimination diet (which is very difficult to do).

You may want to test for candida, lyme, PANDAS to rule them out as well. Often times the allergies are only part of the problem and synergistic treatment for multiple causes is necessary to get the best results.

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Bonnie and all,

 

If loose teeth (or any other dental issue) makes your child tic more I would definitely get a throat culture to check for strep. Do the 48-72 hour culture if the rapid is neg. My PANDAS dd (didn't know about PANDAS at the time) had major exacerbations (was strep throat culture positive but we didn't know it) with tooth extractions (for orthodontic reasons). The pediatric rheumatologist said the same thing can happen with dental cleanings, nose picking, etc. Strep from dd's mouth/throat was released into dd's bloodstream with the extractions (same thing could happen with loose baby teeth). This is why people with heart problems are put on antibiotics prior to dental procedures...b/c bacteria from the mouth can be released into the bloodstream, even with a simple cleaning.

 

PANDAS kids can have strep with no symptoms (no fever, no sore throat) other than behavior change or increase in tics. So, just b/c your child doesn't show any other symptoms, don't assume they don't have strep. Our dd had a FEVER (when we think she got the sterp) 2 mo. prior to her PANDAS diagnosis, but a lot of PANDAS kids don't even have that...and she was still culture positive 2mo. after FEVER (as was her asymptomatic younger sister, a strep carrier.)

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it is also noted in a number of places that kids with Tourette Syndrome seem to have tics triggered with anything related to teeth/jaw so this may be the reason

 

we had to use a special pediatric dentist familiar with this as tooth stuff has always triggered tics for my son (he tested -ve on all strep tests)

 

I havent noticed a correlation of eating and tics with my son tho

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There could be many reasons why this is happening and more then one for your child. There is one theory that if your child has a yeast infection or overgrowth in the intestinal tract then while your child eats the yeast is feeding and releasing its wastes which could be increasing the tics. There was no one answer for my child and I would recommend that parents look at everything and slowly rule out what does not work and keep what does.

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It's probably a result of changes in brain chemistry that occur immediately prior to/during eating.

 

Situations seems to be able to trigger tics, as well as eliminate them. For example, mine significantly reduce when I am on the toilet or in the shower. I have no idea why.

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[quote name=

 

Yes one of Nicky's biggest triggers was eating. The act of eating not what he was eating. This was a major reason I tried the 15mg of Topamax. At one point his neck tic was so bad he hasd to hold his head in his hands to eat. Couldn't keep it still to get food in.

 

 

THANKS!! I'll take this info w/ me to our pediatrician appt today.

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It's probably a result of changes in brain chemistry that occur immediately prior to/during eating.

 

Situations seems to be able to trigger tics, as well as eliminate them. For example, mine significantly reduce when I am on the toilet or in the shower. I have no idea why.

Ok, I had to laugh about the toilet thing! How weird is that?

Yeah, my ds tics when he eats, as I said before, but not all the time. It seems to increase when he's just lost a tooth or has a new tooth coming in. I'm hoping all his teeth will be in within the next year so I can start trying some dietary changes. Although, I think he doesn't react to artificials, MSG, or HFCS like many kids do. I've experimented when he was waning and I saw NO increase in tics after allowing offending food items into his diet. His tics seem to be more influenced by stress, environmental allergies, and to 'eating'. But, stress(good and bad) definitely increase the tics even when he's waning.

B

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