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I have been regularly visiting this forum for a while. My son has been shaking his head like mad for about a month. I have been to the doctor twice and waiting for an appointment to see a specialist. I am so desperate at the minute as I can't see any improvement every day. It is really heart-breaking to watch him do it almost without stopping. It has affected his school and cause concern from a few teachers. He started to display very mild tics about two years ago by clearing his throat but that was hardly noticable. His tics just suddenly flared up a month ago and keep worsening ever since. My husband and I try very hard to keep the family life happy and enjoyable and he is on a very clean diet now. But I can't see any sign of getting better. What am I going to do? Anybody has any good idea on how to deal with head-shaking tics? He is eight years old. Thanks.

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Hi and welcome

 

I know how hard it is to see something go wrong with your child! Do try to remember tho that there may well be a clear answer to what is causing this and hopefully eefective treatment to stop it

 

a couple of questions

 

is there a family history of tics that you are aware of?

 

has your son had any recent vaccinations prior to this tic starting?

 

strep or other infections?

 

any longterm antibiotic use? checked for possible candida overgrowth?

 

any known food or environmental allergies?

 

have you done any recent painting, carpeting or woodwork in your home? Any known mold? New car?

 

In the meantime, until you see the specialist and get more answers, you could try giving Epsom Salts baths (2 cups epsom salts(magnesium sulfate..available at Target, supermarkets, walmart etc) in a tub of warmest water before bed, soak 20 min) as well as a magnesium supplement like Natural Calm/Natural Vitality and see if that helps at all. Many people with tics seem to benefit from those

 

until you are sure what is causing this, it is hard to make any other suggestions on treatments

 

dont worry please! as that is not going to make anything better and will just add extra stress for all of you, and stress is the #1 trigger for tics! Most kids who get tics in childhood have "transient" tics that resolve on their own

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Thanks for you prompt reply. I know one of my uncles do have chronic tics and he has still got it. But both I and my husband don't have tics. Neither my parents and my husband's parents. I guess extended family are counted as well. He has no allergy, no vaccine and hardly take any antibiotics ( except twice when he got toothache). He did have a few red lump and hives on its body for a few days before the tics flared up. He couldn't sleep well before he felt so itchy. That is the only thing a bit unusual, otherwise I can't see anything different. I have tried the epsom salt for his bath and still waiting for the natural calm supplement. I am living in uk, so I have to get the supplement shipped to me from USA which will take a few days. I do wish it can help. I also tried Tic Tamer, but it doesn't seem to work. So I stopped using it. Do you know how long this severe head shaking will last?

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I know one of my uncles do have chronic tics and he has still got it.

 

there may therefore be a genetic link, ie some genetic makeup that makes him more susceptible to the things that trigger tics

 

 

 

He did have a few red lump and hives on its body for a few days before the tics flared up. He couldn't sleep well before he felt so itchy. That is the only thing a bit unusual, otherwise I can't see anything different.

 

that rash may be a big clue. both allergies as well as infections can cause a breakout so it is worth investigating that further

 

any history of strep infections?

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yes, I will definitely investigate further about the rash he got before it broke out. Thanks. Do you know anybody who has the same symptoms? Is this usual for children to have a mad head-shaking tic? Thanks.

 

 

my daughter will have a tic for a couple months and then it will change. in may she was shaking her head also, she would go to the nurse at school because it gave her a headache. hers was mostly when she was excited or anxious and at bed time, not ALL day. we tried to not talk about it, just pretended it wasnt there, and eventually it went away........ sorry i have no "fix" that worked for us. hope it gets better soon.

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yes, head shaking is a commonly recognized tic and one that many kids seem to manifest when they first start tics.

 

I know it is disturbing to see him tic, but try as much as you are able to "ignore" and not let him know you are watching or upset by the tic...the more you focus on a tic, the more the child tries to control it, and then gets stressed when they cannot, thus increasing the tic more again.

 

I am still wondering if your child has a history of any strep? (streptococcus infection...most often, but not always, manifesting in sore throat/fever)

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I shouldn't think so. You see we are an Asian family and use herbs to solve most problems. Whenever he was not feeling well, we normally gave him herbal medicine which will get rid of the symptoms no matter what virus cause it. So I never get him checked. He got sick quite often before age 5 and afterwards seems fine.

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My son starts to shake right from he wake up and some of the shaking can be dramatic. The only time he doesn't shake is when he play on the computer, have a bath and lie on bed. He likes me to hold around his shoulder so that he doesn't shake and once I let him go, he will start shaking instantly. The shaking does get worse when he is excited, upset and anxious.

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hi danddd,

Does you daughter have any other tics since she stopped shaking her head? I am curious what happens next. At the minute I am thinking anything is better than shaking head because it is so noticable and so scary. I sometimes wonder it might be seizure or something.

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hello mum,

I have dealt with the head shake tic when my son was about 7 or 8 (he is now 11).....I can tell you it seemed to last about two months. I beleive he did it another time after that, but it was short lived. he currently does not have much in the way of head tics, altho I do see some neck stretching while on the computer it seems. my son's tics are mostly a vocal sound for now, he's had that for a few years now, the other motor tics are come and go.

 

I feel that when a tic like that flairs, I tend to look at something possibly that he may be consuming alot of that is triggering it, namely too much high fructose corn syrup in foods, or artificial colors/flavors, ..think Feingold diet. garbage in our foods can have an effect on our nervous system, especially those with neuro problems. So maybe examine his diet and see if there is something that you think he gets too much of, for us it was a reduction of high fructose corn syrup, I recall he was having syrup on pancakes every morning and lapping it up, so once I took that it out it did seem to calm....now I only use pure maple syrup...altho he does get high fructose corn syrup in other foods, I don't really watch that to much now as he doesn't have any noticeable motor tics, and his weight is very low, so I just can't watch his food intake right now. his main tic is vocal and reduction of those junk foods don't seem to help the vocal.

 

I really think this will pass soon, I have read of others here who have had that tic come and go. do a search at the bottom of 'head shake' and you will find another thread we had a while back on this for some other replies.

 

regards

Faith

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HI-- I understand your sorrow. My son started a bad head tic a few months ago. It was really bad for about 2 weeks but has been present for a few months. The only thing that I can say usually helps my kids stop ticcing is if we go away for a few days. The change in the environment and the routine for some reason seem to help. I don't know if this helps everyone- but, if you can get away for a few days, somewhere peaceful and relaxing (not a lot of noise and commotion) I would try that. Otherwise, with the end of school coming, this in and of itself may calm things down. My son was real bad this time last year, and is having a lot of tics at this time this year. I remember them calming down a few weeks after school ended-- hopefully the same will be true for you this year. Good luck. Karen

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Hi Faith,

I think you make a point here. My son did eat a lot of sweets and junk food before his tics suddenly got worse. I have cleaned his diet now. He eats plenty of organic food and lots of fruits. I make him fruit salad every day which is basically a mixture of strawberry, blueberry, banana and apple. He loves it and it does help him to go to toilet regularlly. Thanks for you reply.

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hi Karen,

Yes, I have booked a holiday and I will make full use of his summer break. But I am a bit worried if all the excitement and new enviornment will worsen his tics. Let's hope it won't happen. How is your son doing now? Has his head-shaking tic gone? Will it be replaced by something else? My son also stretch his right arm when he walks. He also hummed a lot for about two weeks and it seems now it slows down a bit. Thanks.

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