need help with nervous facial tics

[Chemar]

Hi teach How good to see you here!

 

Hope things are stabilising for you.

My 14yo TS son read your post on BrainTalk re the store clerk, and was deeply moved by your experience and the replies you received from the other members there.

 

Being an adult and an educator with TS, you have SO much to offer that we can all learn from here.

 

[sherrysunshine]

Hello,

 

I am completely new to this forum, so please bear with me as I try to navigate my way through the system!

 

My 11 year old daughter has facial tics too and I can't express how glad and grateful I am to have discovered this wonderful community of people dealing with the same issue.

 

I first noticed signs of this happening with my daughter approx 3 years ago when she was under a tremendous amount of stress at school. Her pediatrician told me to ignore the tic and it would go away, as there was nothing physically wrong with her. I moved her from that school and eventually the tics went away for a while, but returned later. It was further compounded when she encountered another teacher with an abrasive attitude. Thankfully, that teacher left the school last Friday and I'm hoping that matters will improve. In fact the tic was quite bad after the teacher's departure, and the arrival of the new one, whom she met before and says is very nice. I suppose the adjustment was a bit overwhelming for her as obviously she is a sensitive child and does not cope well with this type of stress.

 

The tic involves rapid blinking of her eyes and a more pronounced blink on one eye, almost like a forceful wink, which pulls slightly at the muscles on the side of her mouth. I've also noticed some very slight twitching on the corners of her mouth and sometimes a mild rolling of her eyes. Otherwise, thankfully, there are no other manifestations such as vocal tics or anything involving her limbs. From what I've read it seems to me that she is more likely to have transcient tics, rather than TS but I am confused re all of this. However, I am not convinced that simply ignoring it is the best solution, but I am also not open to prescribed medications and the side effects those can bring. She is a very friendly and social girl and copes remarkly well with this problem, but it is a concern regarding how this will affect her self esteem etc. Of course I do all I can to support her and I've let her know that there are lots of other kids who experience the same thing, and it is nothing to be embarrassed of. She tells me that if friends draw attention to it she simply tells them that, yes, she has a facial tic and she says it is really no big deal. However, there are times when she has confided to me that it bothers her, and she wishes it would go away. Of course this is heartwrenching for me and I want so desperately to help my daughter.

 

I've read about the positive effects of vitamin supplements and I would like to explore this concept more. Any advice/suggestions that can be offered I would be most grateful for.

 

Thanks again and God bless,

 

Sherry

[Chemar]

Hello Sherry and a big welcome to Latitudes!

 

It does sound to me that your daughter has transient tics as by now, if it were TS, one would have expected vocal tics to have manifested.

 

It would be great if your could find a doctor who practises Integrative medicine(ie combines the training from conventional med with specialization in alternative,natural treatments)

There is a guiding post on this stuck to the top of this board.

Or, if your own doctor is open to alternative medicine, you could get guidance there.

 

There are many supplements that have been shown to help tics, but the most important seem to be having a good, pure, multivitamin/mineral daily and then adding extra calcium/magnesium/zinc, vit B1 & B6 or a B-complex , Omega fatty acids(Fish,flaxseed,borage and evening primrose oils) and Taurine(an amino acid)

 

I should point out that some people just dont handle fishoil(Omega3) well, and so do better on just the flax,borage&evening primrose.

Also, some also dont tolerate a B complex, but rather need to take the individual B vitamins separately

 

FOR EYE TICS, MANY PEOPLE HAVE FOUND THAT THE AMINO ACID L-CARNITINE HAS THE BEST RESULTS

Again, I would like to stress how important I beieve it is to be working with a doctor or naturopath's guidance even with supplements.

 

Enough people have now reported how diet and environmental things can trigger tics...whether TS or Transient....that it really should be taken more seriously by the medical community, but sadly, it is still treated with disdain by many. Still, as the lists at the top here show, there are an encouraging number of MDs who are realising that treated the root causes of illness naturally is SO much more healing than just treating symptoms with prescription drugs, that frequently add nasty side effects.

 

If you havent read it yet, Dr Sheila Rogers, who is the person to thank for this wonderful website, has written an excellent article on Tic Triggers

http://latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm

 

Most of us here have found that food additives are major offenders, especially artificial coloring, sweeteners like aspartame(NutraSweet) & sucralose(Splenda) and preservatives, flavorings, MSG etc and HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP

 

Also strong chemicals(household cleaners, formaldehyde, chlorine, PERFUMES and pesticides etc) can be triggers as is DUST MITE, MOLD, etc and also some pollens.

 

Some of our members have also found photosensitivity issues that trigger tics...specifically from TV and Computer screens that are not LCD....my son finds that goinf to the movies seems to set his tics off, and also reacts to loud, sudden noises(especially very high frequencies, plus deep booming bass sounds)

 

There are also other issues that can trigger tics.

 

YEAST (Candida) overgrowth, especially in the digestive system is a major problem implicated in many modern illnesses. This is often brought about by antibiotic use.

It can be detected by blood and urine analysis, and easily treated by correct diet and a supplement called caprylic acid

 

MERCURY and other heavy metals can also weaken the system and trigger tics.

Mercury is implicated most often because of childhood vaccinations and dental fillings (the child can get high mercury even from the mother's mercury fillings during pregnancy)

again, a blood test can show these(also hair analysis) and there are supplements like chlorella and alpha-lipoic acid that help to mop up mercury.

 

PYROLURIA is a condition that has been found to possibly cause tics to manifest. Again, urine testing for this is simple and so is the supplemental treatment.

For details on this, there is a very informative thread on the BrainTalk TS Forum

http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/showth...ead.php?t=10944

 

As you have already discovered, stress is one of the biggest tic triggers

Many find chamomille tea soothing, and also taking a soak in a warm tub with 2 cups of epsom salts dissolved in the water.

 

Well.......I hope I havent overwhelmed you with info, but have given you some helpful info to work from

 

stay in touch

Cheri

[sherrysunshine]

Cheri,

 

Thank you very much for your kind and informative reply. It is comforting to be able to reach out to others, like yourself, who have so much knowledge about this topic, and are so willing to share. I thank you.

 

This coming Wednesday, I will be seeing a good medical doctor who practices alternative medicine to discuss what is happening with my daughter and hope to further explore with her some of what I've learned on this site. She is not only a medical doctor but also an Acupunctuist and BodyTalk Practitioner, so I am expecting that she will be open to supplement treatments.

 

Since reading your reply I am even more convinced that food allergies may be playing a part in what is happening with my daughter. At birth she was severely allergic to milk products and soy, to the extent that she had to be fed a predigested formula called Nutramigen for the greater part of her first year. Eventually she was able to tolerate milk products but even now I try to limit how much she has. Sugar and sugar products are a difficulty for us as she definately has a craving for it and gravitates toward anything sweet, which I feel aggravates her condition. Of course, sugar seems to be everywhere!

 

I've also noted what you say regarding television. From the onset I have felt that this contributes to my daughter's tics! I find it interesting that other people also find TV to be a trigger.

 

Thank you again, so very much for your reply and welcome.

 

Regards,

 

Sherry

 

P.S. Can you recommend a good "pure" multivitamin for me to get for my daughter? She finds it difficult to swallow tablets but I'm wondering if there are any in liquid or chewable form that you may recommend. Thanks!

[Chemar]

Sherry

 

sugar cravings are often a MAJOR indicator that there is an internal Yeast problem...the yeast feeds on sugar and so depletes it from the body causing cravings.

 

There is an excellent book on Yeast problems called The Yeast Syndrome by John P. Trowbridge & Morton Walker. ...

 

 

as an aside....some people who crave alcohol have found it stops when they get rid of the yeast!! Apparantly the sugars in alcohol are a yeast favorite food

 

 

As to the liquid multi...there is a VERY good one for kids made by ChildLife

http://www.herbalremedies.com/mulmin8flozc.html

 

I have a lot of respect for all of these many ChildLife products

http://www.herbalremedies.com/childlife.html

 

but

your daughter may need more of an adult strength one (check this with the doc)

 

I have heard good things about this one from ADULTS using it

http://www.herbalremedies.com/supmulviat32.html

but it does contain the full range of amino acids too so......check with doc first!

 

Also NATROL & Metagenics(very good company!) make liquid multivits for kids and adults, but you would have to get a separate liquid multimineral as their's doesnt combine them

 

Other good liquid sources of supplements are

SeaSilver

and

CellFood

 

but, as they have rather specialised ingredients, they really should be discussed with a knowledgable doctor first before use for children.

 

HTH

[sherrysunshine]

Thank you for flagging that one up - I will definately discuss the possibility of a yeast prob. with the doctor on Wednesday. I hadn't thought of that since my daughter's pediatrician had always been careful about prescriptions and antibiotics had always been administered sparingly (only when absolutely necessary). However, we never know!

 

Thank you for the pointers re good vitamins as well.

 

Sherry

[sherrysunshine]

Does anyone have knowledge of LifeSource vitamins for children?http://www.lifesourcevitamins.com/childrens.html I was searching around and am impressed by what I've read on their website.

 

I am also looking at Bontech Supplements, of which many of you are aware.

 

At the moment my daughter is on Minadex MultiVitamin formula which is probably not the the ideal choice.

 

Sherry

[Guest Guest]

Hi teach, that must be a rough life. Do you take Taurine for your facial tics? I just read that taurine is for unvoluntarily facial tics, so ill probably give that a try because it is cheap.

 

Thats cool that you except your situation and are a strong person about the situation especially being a teacher, wow you are brave and you must be pretty social dispite your circumstances. That is really cool if i cant find a way around it, I hope i can eventually rathionalize the situation also, instead of getting embarrassed about it and filling like crawling into a hole.

[shawn20k]

the last post was me, I forgot to log in.

[Guest Jeff]

SherrySunshine, My two daughters and I all have tics, but we have had great success with an elimination diet. We eliminate artificial colors and flavors, and the preservatives BHA, BHT, and TBHQ. When we keep those out of our diet, we are virtually tic free. If we "cheat" too much, we see the tics return.

This might not be the answer for everyone, but it sure has helped our family.

You might want to start reading labels and look for any colors with a number after them, like Red #40, Yellow #5, etc. Some examples would be colored cereals, like Trix, most fruit roll-ups, colored drinks like Kool-Aid, and most candies - especially Gummy Worms, Twizzlers, M&M's, etc. And look for anything that says "Aritificial Flavors" or "Vanillin" There are many natural substitutes out there.

We follow the Feingold Program (feingold.org). Most follow that program to control ADD / ADHD, but it is also helpful to people with TS / tics.

 

Good luck.

Jeff

[Eric]

I am afraid I know what you speak of---

 

I also have really bad facial tics--

 

I have yet to find a way to cope with them---however--

 

I will share that-- breathing in through the nose before a vocal tics--will tend to negate the tic---for you can not make sound while you are breathing in--

 

anyway---this is not a competition---however--but---if anything---one thing that seems to help others---is knowing that other people suffer more intense tics and hardship(smile)---thus far---I have yet to meet or observe anyone that is as bad as I am--(with the exception of involved vocal tics--for I just met a 9yr girl who says-"F-God!)

 

anyway-- my TS is pretty insane---take too long to list it all--TS-ADHD-OCD-SID(sensory intergration disorder)

 

I have explosive, violent--multi-muscle groups-motor tics--during these extreme bouts I end -up--punching and hitting things around me--but--mostly I hit myself--

 

soo--typical minute stretch...

 

from a sitting position--I will be thrown up--jerk my neck back--strike my chest 6-12 times--have some facial tics--vocal sounds/noises(sometimes a swear)--whites of eyes--my whole body will end up slamming against the wall(if there is one)

there)repeating words, I give myself black eyes(even when I sleep)--

 

anyway--all this usually happens aaaaaaaaaaaaaal at once!

 

anyway--the list goes on--as with the many different forms of this---

 

anyway---come to think of it(this is my first post)I am trying to find someone to relate to that is this bad--so you may refer to a new post from me--that will go more deeply into detail--if you are wondering for more??

 

anyway--hang in there---I get kicked out of bars--cuz--I forgot to tell them--and end up hitting walls and breaking pint glasses(smile)--

 

they think I am on streetdrugs!

 

Eric Gaudet--Yakima WA

[Eric]

um, Im a little spac-cy--I may have replied--to an incorrect thread---anyway---may not address thread topic-

 

anyway--

Eric---

[Guest Ann]

Hi

 

I am new here and hope someone can offer me some advice/suggestions. I have an 11+ daughter who is having a twitch around her eyes and the sides of her mouth. she doesn't make any strange sounds or anything but she seems to roll her eyes when she is reading too. it looks strange but she is seeing well. her doctor says it is just a nervious twitch and will go on its own but this has been happening since she was 7; it goes away for a while and then comes again. now that she is getting older i am a bit more worried.

 

At school she has had some problems as she seems to forget a lot and I had two teachers tell me their biggest difficulty with her is that she is disorganised and misplaces stuff. she has a great personality and gets along really well with her peers but does not seem to focus properly in class. she is in a small class and she was the only one lagging behind but it might be because of the teacher being impatient too. one of the teacher's comments was that "she forgets everything! and that all the other children understood what she taught so why didn't SHE get it. I don't know if this was mainly her having a problem or the teacher's attitude as she should know not everyone learns the same, but i know that one other teacher complained to me about her being disorganised too. she was very weak in her math as well and i arranged for her to get extra tuition which has helped. she is also weak in her english and is about to start extra tuition with that too. it is like she has good ideas but has a problem pulling it all together and is not that good on comprehension. she has improved some but has a ways to go. i've invested in lots of learning aids and books to assist her but she shows no interest in studying. she loves to read but only books like nancy drew. homework assignments are difficult to deal with too and becomes very frustrating as she has a very low tolerance for getting wrong answers. other than school work i also find myself having to repeat requests to get her to do little things around the house, like picking up after herself. i find myself becoming very annoyed when it appears she has not been listening and i'm having to repeat the request up to 4 - 5 times! of course my annoyance does not help any either but some days i'm at my wits end! on other days she will clean up her room and can do it better than i can!. I don't know if she has some sort of ADHD or if it is just being disobedient and a normal child. she is my only child and so this is doubly hard sometimes as i am always second guessing myself too. when we go to the supermarked i've noticed that she is constantly running up and down the isles when she is looking for something and i keep havign to tell her not to run just walk. another problem is that it seems she constantly wants attention although we shower her with lots of it, but that might be because she is a single child and her father spoils her a lot. she had really bad colic as a baby and had to have a special formula because she was allergic to everything. she was even turning over before she was one month old, so i guess i should have know she would be hyper!

 

sorry for unloading all this here but it is good to find others who can understand. i was feeling at my wits end this afternoon. some days i feel i'm not being a good parent when i find myself yelling to try to get her to listen to me. i have even wondered if her twitch has been because of my own behaviour in yelling out of frustration! she just does nto seem to focus and take any responsibility!. a good example is that today i suddenly missed seeing her lunch kit and asked her where it was only to find that she had it in her bedroom with spoiling leftovers in it since Friday! certainly an 11 year old should be more responsible at this stage. Or do i have too high expectations? her father is little help in this regard and if i don't remember and chase down everything nothing happens. quite frankly I'm worn out! I am wondering if i should have her tested for ADD or something. oh and she loves sweet and would be a good candidate for being a TV addict. i have to tear her away from TV. she is just a difficult child to deal with, even cleaning her teeth is an issue. if i am not chasing after her to make sure she cleans her teeth it easily wouldn't happen. i love her dearly, but it really is frustrating. From all the information you have on here I don't think she has TS but more the transcient tics and maybe ADD or something as she isn't making strange sounds or other body movements. It is hard.

 

I plan on looking at an elimination diet and maybe having a nutritional analysis done to see if she might be lacking anything. because of her sweet craving maybe i need to get her tested for yeast too. Can all of this be done by blood tests? The eye twitch is something that I feel needs sorting out and when I think of all her other behavours I guess I need to look further too. Please any suggestions or advice anyone can offer me I will be most grateful!

 

God bless

 

Ann

[Claire]

Hi Ann,

 

It is so difficult to make assessments without a professional. My son went to a school where the teacher was so bad in communicating, that all the kids had a hard time. (She expected 1st graders to simply remember all 10 assignment to be completed over the week with no written checklist). And yet she made every parent feel there child was unique--it took the parents finally opening up with eachother (and some classroom visits) to figure out what was going on. Well, they let her go at the end of the year.

 

On the other hand, it sounds like she is forgetful at home also. So perhaps there is more to it. Can the school district have her evaluated? If there is a difference with attention, it might make a difference in your own approach with her. I remember reading something about putting your hand on your shoulder to get their attention better...in other words, things to help her pay attention.

 

As for cleaning the room, that varies so much with each child and with parental expectations. We have no frustrations because my expectations are so low there. On the other hand, I wouldn't allow daily TV watching, we just do weekend movies these day (for various reasons, that likely don't apply to your daughter).

 

I will point out one good reason to have testing done. A man I know has an 18 year old suffering from depression. He told me very sadly one day that he had used anger to get his child to work (because initially the anger worked), only to find out when the boy was 18 that he actually had ADD and couldn't help it. To top it off, they believe that the years of anger and non-acceptance were a contributing factor to the young man's depression.

 

I occassionally have trouble with my son and must distinguish between attitude and issues. I am not human, but tend to err on the side of giving him the benefit of the doubt that he is a good kid and just sometimes has troubles. It is hard to balance discipline and understanding, and I am constantly struggling with this.

 

I am glad you are looking into foods, etc....I wish you luck getting to the bottom of this.

 

Claire

[sherrysunshine]

Hi all!

 

Thank you very much Jeff for the information on the Feingold Program. I went on the website and could hardly leave it! In fact I have already ordered the program. After reading the section of the book, "Why Can't my Child Behave?", available on the site, I am just about convinced that my daughter is a "chemically sensitive" child. Hopefully, the program will bring some solution for my daughter. Thank you so very much for sharing that information Jeff, otherwise I may never have been aware that such an organisation or program existed.

 

Ann, I would suggest that you also look carefully at what is available on the Feingold Program. I can sympathise with you, as I fully understand your frustration in dealing with you daughter. From birth, mine was also "difficult" and we suffered 7 full weeks of extreme colic. Even at the hospital when all the other babies were nursing and sleeping for hours, mine too could not tolerate regular milk or soya products, and she only had "cat naps". My doctor was shocked when I visited for my six week checkup and I'd lost over 40lbs, due to all the stress I was under. I was glad to lose the weight, but ... My daughter also turned over at one month and in some ways she behaves similarly to what you described about yours. So, yes I do understand and, no, you are not a bad parent. Bad parents definately do not expend energy seeking help for their children. My advice is to continue seeking to understand and help her, show her that you truly do love her, and on occasions when you "lose it" don't feel too big to apologise, if you feel you were wrong. As Claire suggested, it might be a good idea to have testing done to better understand what is happening with your daughter. I intend doing the same.

 

God bless

 

Sherry