Involuntary Movements

[Suzan]

This is of great interest to me because Pixie and I both do this. I agree with you in the sense that it doesn't LOOK like a tic, in that it isn't that constant same type of movement, but I'll bet it technically is. I'll give you an example- mine is stretching. I stretch my toes quite a lot. I don't always do it the same way, and anyone who wasn't aware would think I was just getting comfy or whatever. I never in a million years even thought about it consciously until two things happened:

1- Pixie was diagnosed and I started looking at myself for similar symptoms because we have similar histories and "the apple doesn't fall far" theory

2- I saw several photos of myself in which I was doing something weird with my feet!

 

Pixie's tends to be more of a spatial thing like with your daughter- she'll twist suddenly in the bathtub or her arm will jerk. It looks like this involuntary spasm, but you may only see the thing once.

 

I wonder too if it has to do with the weird roaming pains that go with autoimmune disorders...?

 

Very interesting, especially since my dd has the roving pain too.

[michele]

Do you have roaming pains? Just wondering cause my son does the involuntary toe curled under movements. It does seem like a compulsion or a stim. Kids that have anxiety do this. He also cracks his fingers against his face or on objects. Everything is equal one side then the other. My son has both tics and compulsions. He picks at his botom alot when he is seated at a chair or rubs it over the seat. he used to pick it while standing but I guess the seat is less noticeable. Since he is on 7.5 mg of prozac a daywith tenex 2mg and the repetitive movements seem better. He also is making verbal noises less often too. I have seen such improvements on the prozac. It is like 99 % better on behaviors and compulsions.

This is of great interest to me because Pixie and I both do this. I agree with you in the sense that it doesn't LOOK like a tic, in that it isn't that constant same type of movement, but I'll bet it technically is. I'll give you an example- mine is stretching. I stretch my toes quite a lot. I don't always do it the same way, and anyone who wasn't aware would think I was just getting comfy or whatever. I never in a million years even thought about it consciously until two things happened:

1- Pixie was diagnosed and I started looking at myself for similar symptoms because we have similar histories and "the apple doesn't fall far" theory

2- I saw several photos of myself in which I was doing something weird with my feet!

 

Pixie's tends to be more of a spatial thing like with your daughter- she'll twist suddenly in the bathtub or her arm will jerk. It looks like this involuntary spasm, but you may only see the thing once.

 

I wonder too if it has to do with the weird roaming pains that go with autoimmune disorders...?

[PANDAS_Denmark]

DD8 has been comlaining of some involuntary movements that do not seem like tics. They are isolated movements. Like her chin will drop to her chest and back up. It will happen one time and she will say that she didn't mean to do that, that her body felt like it had to do it. She says she gets this in her fingers and toes, hands and feet too and they usually are only one time.

 

Does this sound like anything to you guys? It is bothersome to her because she doesn't know why and they make her nervous. She has not had any tics at this point.

 

Susan

 

Hi Susan -

 

To me it sounds as if your daughter (as my PANDASson (and I myself, diagnosed with MDEM) from time to time) might be having myoclonus or myoclonic jerks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myoclonus), which is seen as a symptom in connection with some neurological diseases as well as a symptom connected with ADEM/MDEM (Acute/Multiphasic Disseminated EncephaloMyelitis, which some considers PANDAS to be a variant of).

At www.youtube.com you´ll be able to find videos of myoclonus/myoclonic jerks, which differs from both tics and OCD in the way, that :

* it is impossible to control the myoclonic jerks, but possible (sometimes) to control tics

* it doesn´t feel like an urge to "do" the jerks, as in OCD. The body simply do the jerks "itself", just like hickups

 

Best wishes to you and your daughter !

[PANDAS_Denmark]

Just remembered : There is an article describing myoclonus as an PANDASvariant : "Acute Myoclonus Secondary to Group A Beta-Hemolytic Streptococcus Infection : A PANDAS Variant", by DiFazio et al.

You can find the article here : http://www.capital-neurology.com/files/Qui...s/myoclonus.pdf

[Suzan]

Just remembered : There is an article describing myoclonus as an PANDASvariant : "Acute Myoclonus Secondary to Group A Beta-Hemolytic Streptococcus Infection : A PANDAS Variant", by DiFazio et al.

You can find the article here : http://www.capital-neurology.com/files/Qui...s/myoclonus.pdf

 

Thank you, very interesting article! The video's on youtube look like her if you stop at one. And there was one girl who filmed her's while lying down and my does that but while falling asleep. In reading the article, it reminded me that she says she gets them in her thighs too but I never see those, that sounds similar to case#2.

 

 

Susan