desperatemum Posted June 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2010 hi Derby, Thanks for the link. It might well be the cause of his sudden outbreak of tics. What check do I need to do next to see if it is strep or not? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Campo Posted June 24, 2010 Report Share Posted June 24, 2010 Hi. Your sons tics seem a lot like mine. His head tic started around March and was on and off - not too bad. The day before his birthday (right after his class b-day party where I let him have artificial ice cream, whipped cream and sprinkles) he started the neck tic none stop. This was also the week going into NY State testing. He did the neck tic almost none stop until the day the state testing ended. He still to does it- but its not as bad nor as constant. He does it a lot more when he eats-- which makes me think it has turned into part of an OCD tic. He also started humming a little a few weeks ago ,which he never did before. This seemed to have passed quick. He also has many other tics going on. The main one now is the touching and tapping everything. He had this last year at this exact time and stopped in the summer and did not start again until now. This is the tic I have done my entire life so I'm pretty used to it and understand it well. It's like your body is pulled in all directions. I know this sounds strange but the only time his neck tic really stopped is when he got poison ivy and mosquito bites. Not that I want you to get him bitten up but I feel it's interesting that this took the edge off his tics. My son did have tics last summer but they were not as noticable. After a while you just hope for tics that are not noticable. The neck tic is very noticable so very concerning. Hopefully the change in environment will at least change the tic to a subtle one. I would try to make the summer fun and relaxing-- not too over excitable. Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chemar Posted June 24, 2010 Report Share Posted June 24, 2010 What check do I need to do next to see if it is strep or not? That is why I have kept asking if you know if your child has a history of strep! we have a forum here for PANDAS, a condition where tics (and other neuropsychiatric symptoms) are caused by strep here are some helpful threads there for you to read more http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3928 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desperatemum Posted June 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2010 hi, That is so strange. Yesterday when I took him to cycling in the woods, his legs got a lump (either bitten or touch nettle leaves). I was worried to think it might worsen his tics. But to my surprise, he is a bit better today. Was that just coincidence? I don't know. His tics also broke out during the school test week in May. But I never think this test would give him any pressure since he always does very well at school. But I did push him to do some preparation for the test which may upset him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deby Posted June 24, 2010 Report Share Posted June 24, 2010 hi Derby, Thanks for the link. It might well be the cause of his sudden outbreak of tics. What check do I need to do next to see if it is strep or not? Thanks. I was reading your post, and also my son tics became really bad on May , just the weekend before the state tests.The same as you, we put on him some pressure, we made him practice, and I was angry at him that he doesn't listen. I feel bad now, but at that point he wasn't sick, and that is what parents suppose to do, we suppose to push our kids to get good grades. Today, everything change, now I want him to be healthy and happy, he is very smart and I hope he will realize some day that it is important to study and that will com from himself. Anyway, this is my understanding from this disease. Our kids have the tic disorder, the same as your son, my son had it very mild (shirt sucking, and once in a while fingers licking). Then they got strep (in your case could be skin strep, in our case we didn't have any symptoms), then they got stressed (school) all these factors aggravate tics. Because the aggravation was so bad and sudden, that why people from this forum ask if he had strep, that can make it very bad and sudden. We made blood draws. I recommend: Throat culture (rapid and 72 hr) (for you all family) blood test: ANTI-DNASE-B titers,ASO titers LYME, mycoplasma (to check for co infections) We got the blood results and even my DS8 didn't have any symptoms, he got extremely high titers. My husband and my other son became positive on strep too. We all got abs, and my DS8 is already having 25 days of abs. He is doing really good (knock on wood!), almost no tics. Together with the abs, as Chemar (Cheri) (thank you!) recommended, we added magnesium (as natural calm and epson salts). We took all the artificial foods, we eat organic. I hope this helps! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desperatemum Posted June 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2010 hi, I am so glad that you son is doing well. I hope it will happen to my son as well. I will do the blood test as you suggested. By the way what antibiotics are your son taking? How long has he supposed to take it? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deby Posted June 24, 2010 Report Share Posted June 24, 2010 hi, I am so glad that you son is doing well. I hope it will happen to my son as well. I will do the blood test as you suggested. By the way what antibiotics are your son taking? How long has he supposed to take it? Thanks. He took Augmentin (high dose, I think 1800mg a day) for 10 days. Then the Dr. switched to Azitromach (I don't know how to spell that). But it depends of what type of infection they find, some abs are better for strep and some are better for other infections.You need to consult a doctor. Total, looks like he will taking the regular dose for 1 month (ending in 5 days), and if he continues to improve, switch to a prophylactic dose (twice a week) for prevention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpotter Posted June 25, 2010 Report Share Posted June 25, 2010 I wanted to make certain you see this, so I pulled the post down here. I noticed you mentioned that he may not have had strep, because you are Asian, and treat with herbs. I know a family who is also Asian, and the mother was treated for Rheumatic Fever until she was 21 years old. The father has severe tics and OCD (possibly strep induced). The child appears to be Autistic, and has had some severe tics (that I have seen...also with the head shaking.) Also has some OCD symptoms. I have recommended to the parents they check for strep/PANDAS, particularly given the symptoms + the family history. Check out the PANDAS/PITANDS forum. Even though you aren't aware of any episodes of strep, there are other families that also said their children never had strep (or appeared to.) When they were tested, though, they were exposed to it, and now are having symptoms. It also may not have been strep that triggered it, but rather Post-Infectious Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders (PITANDS). There is so much information about what to look for, tests to run, and doctors to see (if necessary), on the PANDAS/PITANDS forum. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desperatemum Posted June 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2010 Thanks, I will try. If indeed he has got strep infection, how long does he need to take antibiotics to see any improvement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deby Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Thanks, I will try. If indeed he has got strep infection, how long does he need to take antibiotics to see any improvement? To see improvement maybe 10 days, to be cured completely, who knows? My son is already 30 days on abs, and still not 100%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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