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Will someone please tell me how you deal with hearing your kids and their vocal tics! This is our first round of vocal tics(he only had a sniffing tic after a cold and it was short-lived) and it's driving me crazy! He keeps clearing his throat and it sounds kind of like a motor. I seriously don't know what I'd do if he had major vocals like words, screams, barking, etc. I know that it's not the end of the world and I know it's actually mild but man, it's driving me crazy! I'm one of those people that can hear a clock ticking 100 yards away from me. I don't want to keep leaving the room because I don't want to isolate him or for him to feel self-conscious about them but boy, I'd like to! Thanks for letting me vent!

 

Bonnie

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Hi Bonnie,

 

Boy can I relate to your post!! My daughter has a vocal tic (cross between a cough and a hiccup) and the sound of it drives me absolutely insane. I, like you, am very sensitive to sound and it seems like no matter where I am in the house I can hear her tic. I wish I had an answer for you as to how to deal with it but I don't. Family and friends cannot understand why it's so hard for me to hear. They keep saying either they don't notice it or it's not bad at all. For me it's like nails on a chalkboard. It makes me feel like a horrible mother for being so sensitive to it and not being able to just brush it off like the others. I just can't! I have even thought about possibly trying hypnosis to see if it could help me (I have no idea if it would work but I'm getting desperate!). When she's waxing I have a very hard time being around her for long periods of time. I feel AWFUL admitting that but it's the truth. I also don't want her to feel self-conscious about it but I find myself starting to get on edge after being around her for a while when she's having a bad day. It's a horrible position to be in. I love my daughter so much and am doing everything and then some to help her. I am in so much pain feeling this way and I can't think of anything to do to alleviate how I feel when I hear her tic. I keep hoping and praying that someday I'll be able to find a better way to deal with this awful problem. Just know you are not alone!!

 

Caring Mom

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I feel for you Bonnie

 

the vocals are hard to handle

 

have you ever tried the l-carnitine?

 

are you noticing any pattern on when the vocals increase most? after any particular activity or food? in any particular room?

 

hope this settles soon ((hugs))

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I am just happy I'm not the only one that feels this way. My son's major onset included a loud grunt/hum that always accompanied a neck stretch. I could barely be near him without going crazy or crying. Thankfully, that only lasted about two weeks and since then we have only had very minor/occasional vocals, that only I seem to hear. I used ear plugs the first few weeks, it was the only way I could handle it & get a break from them. It did help some! I also played a lot of music. I can actually deal with the throat clears, I just delude myself into believing it's his allergies & somehow that makes it easier for me to tolerate. I just keep praying, praying, praying the vocals don't get worse. If they do, I'll be trying the l-carnitine for sure.

 

Hang in there!!!

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I feel for you Bonnie

 

the vocals are hard to handle

 

have you ever tried the l-carnitine?

 

are you noticing any pattern on when the vocals increase most? after any particular activity or food? in any particular room?

 

hope this settles soon ((hugs))

Hi Cheri,

No, we haven't tried the l carnitine. I do have some here at the house but I'm so afraid that it will get worse or that I'll upset his system in some way again. Maybe I'll try it in small amounts over the weekend. I did notice that he started doing it when he had macaroni and cheese for dinner a few days in a row. He was learning how to cook and read directions and mac n cheese was pretty easy to follow(it was organic stuff but still powdered cheese). I'm wondering if he was sensitive to something in the powdered cheese? He tics louder while eating or drinking and the rest of the day it's quieter and less frequent, but while he's eating it's like every 5 seconds or so.

 

So, glad I'm not the only one, ladies! I should try to play music, that was a good idea. Ear plugs may work but I hate the feeling of having something in my ear, LOL!

 

B

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So weird, my son's tics are always worse while eating/drinking. I told the neurologist about it and she asked if mealtime was stressful, I told her "no, he loves food". She said, she had no idea why he would tic more while eating. She seemed perplexed. So, she told me to get him a stress ball :huh:

 

In fact I always played the music at dinner, as a distraction. Well lately I haven't needed it on & now DS says "mommy aren't you going to play our dinner music?"

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Bonnie and all moms and dads who share this hard to deal with tic. I can't tell you how much we all need to feel connected when it comes to vocals. I love the nails on the chalk board that is a great way to discribe how many of us feel. I used to wish I went deaf so I could deal with the vocals. I still have a hard time and I listen to music all the time. Sometimes I can't even follow a recipe when he is ticcing near me. This must be even harder for those who have only one child, I know I find a lot of relief in my girls and going out with them, (shopping) ect... I'm already wondering how I'm going to handle my dd leaving for college this week. I'm sad to think about how much she has helped me deal, and now I won't have her here.

 

Some of the other things my husband and I do is take a walk after dinner, I take a bath every night and take time to read a book.

 

I also just let him go and do the things that make him happy where before I would not let him do some things because the vocals got worse. I just leave and let him have that time even if he is really waxing.

 

I think we all need to do what we have to so we can go on taking care of our family. I know my whole house was turned upside down when my son first started screaming. My husband would always tend to me and not our son and when I asked why he said, "He need me to be well more then our son. My father never cared what was happening to our son he would say to me, "He need his little girl to be OK"

I don't know if that is a guy thing or if it was that my husband and father just knew my boy would be alright.

 

Thanks for sharing... it is great to have the support so we all can keep going.

CP

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Hi Bonnie and everyone else. What a relief to talk about this! Dealing with vocal tics can be physically and mentally exhausting for them as well as us! This last week at the cottage our ds9 had a brutal time with his vocal tics to the point of me sitting outside on the porch crying on my mom's shoulder. It is heart breaking and sometimes I feel almost tense to the point of anger. (not at him but just the whole situation). It is especially difficult driving 2 1/2 hrs home with four kids two of which are ticcing! I find deep breathing, music etc, somewhat help but there are times I too wish for ear plugs! What pulls me out is remembering that it's his poor body handling the full impact of his tics I just have to listen...sometimes a little loving comedy helps too. I sometimes try to pretend that they are making their own music... :wub: I think for me it is the constant question of what is triggering them now? So frustrating and heartbreaking. So much work and yet I still know there are a billion unknowns! But the sense of relief when you can find even one trigger (this week I'm pretty sure it was the fruit smoothies we were having every morning, now just need to try to pinpoint what fruit was the culprit or just too much fruit sugars?) gives renewed energy and a drive to keep on pushing on. Humour and a whole lot of empathy and people to talk to seem to be the best medicine. Cheers to all the parents who perservere even with their own sanity on the line :D !!!!!

 

Megan

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Hello All,

It is so nice to hear everyone share their feeings about this. Makes me feel less guilty about getting so upset about the vocal tics. We went on a hike up North with our 3 daughers and the oldest who has a vocal tic was making this noise for the entire 2 hour hike. We couldn't enjoy any nature sounds or any peace in quiet for this tic was driving me crazy. None of us mentioned it to her, but it was very apparant. It wasn't so much the noise itself that was upsetting me so much, rather feeling like I was at sqaure one again and going over inside my head everything she had eaten/touched/smelled/experienced etc etc, to make them flare up so bad. Sometimes I feel that this is all I ever think about. If I notice her do any type of strange motion or noise, my stomach goes in knots for I wonder if that is the beginning of a new tic.

 

Her little sister started making a gulping sound when she is talking lately and I am trying to ignore it, for I just can't wrap my head around another child having this. UGH!

 

Thankfully there is support here, and it feels so so much better just knowing others are going through the same thing.

Lisa

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My son does not usually have vocal tics and right now he does and it driving me crazy also! I keep playing music, turning on the Tv, etc. It is a mild click in the back of his throat. My concern is he has never shown signs of OCD until recently. He has to have things organized a certain way in his room or he cant' go to bed, he has thoughts of forgetting to pack something in his bag and obsessess about it until he can check it. He says the click is something that his mind is telling him to do, he says he can control the tic. Is this normal? Is there a supplement that I can try to help with the thoughts and the vocal tic? I'm getting concerned because some of these behaviors are starteing to impact friendships.

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I read a week or so ago about logging the tics to try and determine their triggers and so I started doing this. I have discovered one big trigger (at least I think) for the vocal tics is our television. It is the old type and is a big screen. At first I thought it was playing the Wii but one day when he watched a movie on it (very calm, mild movie), he began ticcing away and still is 5 days later. I researched this and it could be the 'refreshing' of the screen or the 'flickering' of the old style t.v. The LCD t.v.s are not suppose to have that effect. So as I'm trying to be honest with him about his condition, I recommended not watching it for a couple weeks. He was in complete agreement. He likes doing more active stuff anyway. I also think the vocal tics are more inclined to happen when he is bored.....almost like a self stimulation thing. I guess it's a process and the way the food is becoming more and more contaminated with preservatives and chemicals, eventually everyone will be walking around clicking, clucking, clacking and cussing! Then what difference will it make?????(:

 

Trish

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