Jump to content
ACN Latitudes Forums

Chances of outgrowing motor tic, for 9 y.o.


Latie2

Recommended Posts

Does anyone know of anyone whose kid outgrew this motor tic? My son's is fairly major. I think he skipped all the minor, throat-clearing, eye blinking ones and just went right to head-jerking. It's been a month, and although it waxes and wanes occasionally (for no good reason...once it was much better at the end of a long school day, can be bad first thing in the morning) it sure seems to want to stick around.

 

I'm surprised that it's not easy to find info about things like: chances in general of outgrowing a motor tic, of childhood. Promising signs, vs. symptoms that suggest it's unlikely to go away.

 

My kid is showing up for life just great, and for the most part, it seems like other kids are accepting this. But you all know just how I feel. I want it gone. And I want to know the chances of that happening within a year, for one thing. I don't know what could help me to accept it (and believe me, we are very matter-of-fact about it with our son), but maybe if there's bad news coming and I know it, that would help.

 

So did anyone have a kid whose motor tic was not minor but went away? Ever? Sigh...

 

My screen name is b/c I'm up late googling....late....Latie....that's probably something I need to stop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

many kids outgrow transient tics, and yes, the transient tics can be complex ones

 

if there is no history of family tics chances are greater

 

but

 

there are also other things that can cause tics apart from transient tic disorders and TS and so it is a good idea to read more here about food allergies, strep/PANDAS, vaccine reactions and lots more as trying to get to the root cause of the tics can often lead to correct treatment and so earlier remission

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Latie, welcome,

I think I can say there is a very good chance this particular tic will not stick around forever. my son has gone thru this one a few years back and it lasted about two months I think. Altho my son has other tics that come and go as well, but the head ones seem to have a shelf life. As I recall, he did the head jerking and it kind of followed with a head shake/turning type thing. You might want to experiment with trying to eliminate things like packaged foods that contain high fructose corn syrup, that seems to help my son a great deal. Also too much computer time or screen games, I notice, can increase this as well, so limiting screen time may help. do it absolutely for a few weeks and if it does seem to help, then you can just limit it to the best of your ability. Chiropractic work may be beneficial as well, especially if he is doing that kind of hard, it might put some stress on his neck or spine. One of our poster's here, "carolyn lsc" has reported that doing massage and chinese cupping has alleviated her head jerk tic as long as she keeps that up regularly. you could look up some of her posts if you like.

 

I know a couple of others here who have gone thru the head jerk, and it seems that it was short lived as well. This could just be a transient tic that kids get in childhood. I don't really have TS myself, I am here for my son, altho I am pretty sure I had some tics as a child, around pre-teen time, that kind of went under the radar, and I'm pretty sure the head jerk was one of them, altho I don't think I did it too often during the day or I think my mom would have noticed, but I do recall it being a little joke amongst friends, we'd kind of exagerate it and make this really surprised look on our face, it was kind of funny.

 

how old is your boy, and is this the only tic he's had, or were there others?

 

Faith

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our son is a couple months from 11 now. He started the famous eye blinking at 8 and did the body jerks (arms, legs and some head) a couple months later. They waxed and waned for about 4 months then stopped. He still has some facial tics, mostly some eye blinking, then nose twitching and eye brow furrowing but the jerks never came back. Even now his tics are so minor no one but me seems to notice. He goes for months with nothing, the last week he has had some eye brow furrowing, but he has been playing games on his Game Boy and this seems to be a problem.

This has been a long journey for (mostly me) us. Since this started, we have now have him gluten free, clean foods, Kids Calm and Bonnies TS Control vitamins. This program seems to work and he is about %95 tic free. Even when he does get a tic, it is only one and they typically last for a week to 10 days then stop. They will start back if he has anything with wheat or food with either artificial stuff and or chocolate.

I have found Natural Remedies Tic Tamer to really settle the tics down a lot when he does get them. I believe he is growing out of the tics, he seems to have the less often and less severe the his original ones. I absolutely hate these tics, and even today with his eye furrowing, made me feel very depressed and mad. I have come to realize this is my problem. He gets upset if he sees me upset about his tics, but I don't think they bother him that much. He would rather play his games and eat candy (sometimes) and knows they will give him tics. I want him to be a kid, so I don't want him to have bad memories of these precious years. I am so glad he is getting a little older so he knows what will give him tics now.

A little background:

No family history of tics or TS

He is very bright, no other commorbid issues.

Never had any vocal tics yet

They bug me way more then him

His tics have made me love him more then I ever thought I was capable of, and I pray that one day he is over them. Until then, I have learned to take one day at a time. I use to have those butterflies in my stomach just waiting for him to get off the school bus hoping they would be hardly noticeable. I travel a lot and still ask my wife every night "how are his tics?"

Not sure why I decided to write this, just felt compelled and hoped I could offer some help. I feel like I went through the darkest days of my life since my father passed away 11 years ago and will leave you with this: He will get better and so will you.

Lenny

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Faith,

 

Thank you for your reply, and your suggestions. My son is very into a few of his X-Box games, and I only limit them in the usual, "don't want to do too much screen time" way of most parents. I don't know that I want to take that away from my son right now. I am all about trying to surreptitiously give him good memories and good times. But I'll definitely think about it. Since his tics don't really bother him (so he says?) I don't know if he'd be on board with the experiment of giving up X-Box games.

 

My son is 9. My sister says she had Tourette's visibly as a teenager; I don't remember it. And my son also looks to me to have ADHD, although it's not affecting his grades or anything. More, his teachers have told me it's hard to hold his attention, and when I've observed him with his class, he certainly seems more active, even when sitting!

 

That's so not what I wanted to write, though. I wanted to be one of those folks who can say, 'no family history of tics.' This is so obviously not under my control.

 

Anyway, it does give me hope that your tics passed under the radar, and that maybe the "shelf-life" of the head/neck stuff, won't be too bad. Thanks again...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The PANDAS stuff...my son hasn't shown symptoms of strep throat. It has gone around his school. I will look into that. No vaccines recently (in the last few years). Thanks for your suggestions.

 

 

 

 

many kids outgrow transient tics, and yes, the transient tics can be complex ones

 

if there is no history of family tics chances are greater

 

but

 

there are also other things that can cause tics apart from transient tic disorders and TS and so it is a good idea to read more here about food allergies, strep/PANDAS, vaccine reactions and lots more as trying to get to the root cause of the tics can often lead to correct treatment and so earlier remission

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So did anyone have a kid whose motor tic was not minor but went away? Ever? Sigh...

 

Latie, the head jerk is very scary. My son contracted his tics from pandas at age 11. It started vocally, and the head jerk came into the picture a year or so later...boy was I glad when that one was gone. So, yes...it is a possiblitly that this particular tic will go away. If he is like my son, it is common for tics to come and go and be replaced with other tics. My son has done it all from jerking to spitting, throat clearing, shouting. When they are at their worst, we do a heavy detox with the native remedy drops (nativeremedies.com) and combine it wih brightspark and tic tamer. They never completely go away, but they do become more normal. Always super low sugar and NO caffine. Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi,

I can attest to children growing out of TS tics. My brother had severe TS as a child. I so remember the not being able to watch TV in the same room as him because of his noises and he would tic so much that he would get kinks in his neck. His tics were at their worst around 10/11 and then once he went through adolescence, they just went away. My youngest (3 1/2) started blinking, that lasted for about 3 weeks, now he's doing a little hop. I am realistic that this may very well be TS, but at the same time, I also take courage that if my brother is now mostly tic free that there really is hope for anyone. Seriously, he was so bad. Hope this can encourage someone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
Our son is a couple months from 11 now. He started the famous eye blinking at 8 and did the body jerks (arms, legs and some head) a couple months later. They waxed and waned for about 4 months then stopped. He still has some facial tics, mostly some eye blinking, then nose twitching and eye brow furrowing but the jerks never came back. Even now his tics are so minor no one but me seems to notice. He goes for months with nothing, the last week he has had some eye brow furrowing, but he has been playing games on his Game Boy and this seems to be a problem.

This has been a long journey for (mostly me) us. Since this started, we have now have him gluten free, clean foods, Kids Calm and Bonnies TS Control vitamins. This program seems to work and he is about %95 tic free. Even when he does get a tic, it is only one and they typically last for a week to 10 days then stop. They will start back if he has anything with wheat or food with either artificial stuff and or chocolate.

I have found Natural Remedies Tic Tamer to really settle the tics down a lot when he does get them. I believe he is growing out of the tics, he seems to have the less often and less severe the his original ones. I absolutely hate these tics, and even today with his eye furrowing, made me feel very depressed and mad. I have come to realize this is my problem. He gets upset if he sees me upset about his tics, but I don't think they bother him that much. He would rather play his games and eat candy (sometimes) and knows they will give him tics. I want him to be a kid, so I don't want him to have bad memories of these precious years. I am so glad he is getting a little older so he knows what will give him tics now.

A little background:

No family history of tics or TS

He is very bright, no other commorbid issues.

Never had any vocal tics yet

They bug me way more then him

His tics have made me love him more then I ever thought I was capable of, and I pray that one day he is over them. Until then, I have learned to take one day at a time. I use to have those butterflies in my stomach just waiting for him to get off the school bus hoping they would be hardly noticeable. I travel a lot and still ask my wife every night "how are his tics?"

Not sure why I decided to write this, just felt compelled and hoped I could offer some help. I feel like I went through the darkest days of my life since my father passed away 11 years ago and will leave you with this: He will get better and so will you.

Lenny

 

Dear Lenny,

 

I am new to this so please pardon me if I am not doing this right.

 

I am a mom to an almost five year old boy -- precious and perfect! Two weeks ago today, I picked him up from his preschool and noticed him blinking, rubs his face and then wipes his nose with his sleeves. Thankfully, no vocal tics. We had our pediatric opthalmologist appointment yesterday and we were told he has 20/25 vision. I was broken. I had hoped to get him glasses and that would be it. Like yours, we have no family history of TS or even facial tics that both grandmas can remember. His teachers in school says he is more advanced for his years and has not exhibited any OCD or ADHD behavior. He can be rowdy at times but no more rowdy than any boy his age. I am so touched when you said that these tics made you love your son even more because that is how I exactly feel. I too pray for this to go away but until then, I remind myself that when I was pregnant and I was offered a test to see if the baby is going to be normal, I rejected the test and said what difference does it make? Even if he turns out to be less than perfect, he is my child and nothing will chance that.

 

Thank you for the encouragement. I will be praying for your son too and all the parents who has to see their children go through something like this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dear Lenny,

 

I am new to this so please pardon me if I am not doing this right.

 

I am a mom to an almost five year old boy -- precious and perfect! Two weeks ago today, I picked him up from his preschool and noticed him blinking, rubs his face and then wipes his nose with his sleeves. Thankfully, no vocal tics. We had our pediatric opthalmologist appointment yesterday and we were told he has 20/25 vision. I was broken. I had hoped to get him glasses and that would be it. Like yours, we have no family history of TS or even facial tics that both grandmas can remember. His teachers in school says he is more advanced for his years and has not exhibited any OCD or ADHD behavior. He can be rowdy at times but no more rowdy than any boy his age. I am so touched when you said that these tics made you love your son even more because that is how I exactly feel. I too pray for this to go away but until then, I remind myself that when I was pregnant and I was offered a test to see if the baby is going to be normal, I rejected the test and said what difference does it make? Even if he turns out to be less than perfect, he is my child and nothing will chance that.

 

Thank you for the encouragement. I will be praying for your son too and all the parents who has to see their children go through something like this.

 

Newbie,...this could be allergies just bugging his eyes and nose?

Is it tic like that makes you think that?

Some tics can look like normal motions but i would ask him if his eys itch or burn or feel like there is something in them. And at minimum you can get a wash cloth with cold or warm water and see if that makes him feel better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am new to this so please pardon me if I am not doing this right.

 

I am a mom to an almost five year old boy -- precious and perfect! Two weeks ago today, I picked him up from his preschool and noticed him blinking, rubs his face and then wipes his nose with his sleeves. Thankfully, no vocal tics. We had our pediatric opthalmologist appointment yesterday and we were told he has 20/25 vision. I was broken. I had hoped to get him glasses and that would be it. Like yours, we have no family history of TS or even facial tics that both grandmas can remember. His teachers in school says he is more advanced for his years and has not exhibited any OCD or ADHD behavior. He can be rowdy at times but no more rowdy than any boy his age. I am so touched when you said that these tics made you love your son even more because that is how I exactly feel. I too pray for this to go away but until then, I remind myself that when I was pregnant and I was offered a test to see if the baby is going to be normal, I rejected the test and said what difference does it make? Even if he turns out to be less than perfect, he is my child and nothing will chance that.

 

Thank you for the encouragement. I will be praying for your son too and all the parents who has to see their children go through something like this.

Newbie,...this could be allergies just bugging his eyes and nose?

Is it tic like that makes you think that?

Some tics can look like normal motions but i would ask him if his eys itch or burn or feel like there is something in them. And at minimum you can get a wash cloth with cold or warm water and see if that makes him feel better.

Hi, he did say they itched the first time I asked. So we suspected allergies as both sides of our family has terrible allergies. Previous to our eye doctor appt., I had him on Loratadine and that didn't seem to do anything. We also have dust mite covers, air cleaners, etc. The opthalmologist who is also an MD said she did not see any evidence of allergies. She said it was a tic. Up to that point, I refused to call it that. This would be my first encounter with tics so I didn't know how they look like. I only know it from You Tube but yes, it did resemble some of the clips but not as severe. We had lunch with my in-laws yesterday and I asked Mom if she noticed the blinking and she said yes but if I hadn't mentioned it earlier, she said she's not sure she might have even noticed it. Thank you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi ScaredMom

 

a lot of young kids have eye tics that are transient and go as quickly as they appeared.

 

especially as you have no family history and also that your child isnt exhibiting more than this one tic, I would just be as relaxed as you can be while observing for anything that may be atrigger for this tic

 

just to be sure

did your child have any recent vaccinations?

illness? especially strep?

 

does the preschool or your home have any new carpeting? new woodwork? Perfumed Air fresheners?

Mold?

 

for some people those can trigger tics too

 

try not to let your child notice you are scared/worried or even observing him

just be as normal as possible around him and hopefully these will be transient tics and quickly go away

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...