Typical waxing and waning?

[Guest Susanna]

For the past few weeks my son has been virtually tic free. I've really been

trying to watch what he eats...staying away from artificial colors,

preservatives, etc. Pushing probiotics. Getting him to consume flax seed has

become a challenge so I haven't been pushing it for now.

 

This past Thursday I gave in and took the boys to McDonalds....we hadn't been there in WEEKS....maybe even months. Within an hour of eating my son had a few tics. Next day he was fine. Saturday we saw a single tic before he jumped in the pool. On Sunday, early evening, my husband noticed a few tics. The only "different" things Sunday were that he had more sugar than usual (in candy I had purchased at Whole Foods), and he also ate quite a bit of pistachios. Starting late yesterday afternoon and going into the night and when he fell asleep, he ticced quite a bit. He did spend a lot of time in front of screens yesterday (GameBoy and TV) and I have read here where screens are a tic trigger for some. Usually, when he used to tic before, watching tv or playing his GameBoy actually halted his tics. Maybe just a coincidence yesterday? Or he exceeded some sort of "limit"?

 

This morning he went to stay with my mom for a few days. Day started out ok, but as it progressed he started to tic again. I instructed my mom to try her best to limit screens and to watch what he ate.

 

Other observations. He used to bite his nails....did so for the longest time.

He eventually stopped and then got into the "habit" of touching/scratching his

penis. He stopped doing that when he started ticcing a few months ago. Since he stopped ticcing a few weeks ago, he has gone back to nail biting, and more recently scratching/grabbing at his penis again. Perhaps these are all related..perhaps not...just wanted to throw it out there.

 

We are completely baffled. Don't know if the virtually tic free state he's been in the past few weeks were a result of addressing the strep, diet changes and/or homeopatic remedy, or if it was just a waning period and we're now in a waxing period.

 

If you have any ideas I'd be glad to hear them.

 

We go back to see the neuro on Friday and the homeopath next week at which time we'll schedule the lab tests which she has ordered.

[Robin O]

Susanna, my son always tics more when he has been swimming in a pool with chlorine. Its a big increase when its an indoor pool. His tics increased alot 2 weeks ago when we were on vacation and swimming in pools alot.

 

My son also has an increase when he eats nuts. His response to nuts can sometimes be delayed by 3-4 days. Anyway I hope this helps. Robin

[Guest Susanna]

Thanks for you reply Robin. This gives me something else to think about....I thought there might be a nut connection as it is not something he eats regularly (not a fan of peanut butter!), but I never thought about the chlorine (and other chemicals) in the pool. He did swim a few weeks ago and did have a few tics before diving in, but none after he was done swimming. In April he had swimming lessons every weekday for two weeks straight and his tics were awful during that time.

 

Does anyone know if chlorine is something that is usually tested for when doing allergy/sensitivities testing?

[Claire]

Susanna,

 

Too bad in life that you can't add things in one at a time to see what caused the trigger. My son does fine with pistachios, but I have heard that they can be problematic due to mold. Same with cashews. Chlorine is a common trigger--my Elisa test for Chemicals didn't include chlorine, but I am not sure that everything shows up on a test like that. You can call Elisa/ACT and ask directly though.

 

You know that Screens are a trigger for a number of us here. There may be a couple of triggers, where he could tolerate each on his own, but in combination it is too much.

 

Just keep doing what you are doing....keep a diary (almost like you just did) and eventually it will become clear.

 

So everything that you mentioned could be a trigger, you just need to keep an eye out for what was different on the days that he tics. But the good news is that it sounds like he has a good baseline now of ticcing much less, congrats! And good luck with the tests.

 

Claire

[Chemar]

Susanna

 

ditto on the chlorine and nuts......both are big tic triggers for my son and he now avoids swimming pools and all nuts.

 

Chlorine also gave him hives, so a definite allergy there.

[Guest Jeff]

Susanna, Has he been getting enough sleep? A couple of nights of not getting enough sleep is always a trigger for me.

How about caffeine? Has he been consuming more than usual?

Jeff

[Guest Susanna]

Thanks all for your feedback. I will definitely take your suggestion and start writing things down as opposed to just trying to make mental notes.

 

Jeff, yes, we think he has been getting enough sleep. I noticed early on that if he didn't get enough sleep it made a difference for him so we try really hard to get him down at a reasonable time. Unfortunately he's an early riser. As far as caffeine goes he really doesn't consume much...just that which is in chocolate which we've been pretty much been avoiding lately anyway. I don't allow my kids soda or iced tea so he's not getting any in his beverages.

[Guest Guest_efgh]

hi

 

How many hours sleep does each of your kids daily get on an average?

 

thanks.

[Guest Susanna]

efgh-

 

I have two boys ages 6 and 8. On school nights we try to get them into bed between 8:30 and 9:00...that doesn't always mean that they necessarily go right to sleep. My younger son usually falls asleep first, however, he is always the first one up....sometimes as early as 6:00! They can get up as late as 7:45 and still make it to school on time so if they don't wake up on their own I let them sleep as long as I can. It takes a little while longer for my older son to fall asleep, but as long as he's not disturbed (by his younger brother ) he can very easily sleep late the next morning. On weekends we're not as strict with bedtime unless we know we have to be up early the next day. On average, they get between 9 and 10 hours of sleep a night. It is very evident with my younger son when he doesn't get enough sleep...he wakes up cranky or becomes miserable as the day progresses.