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Here I am with another play by play of my day. This morning my son woke up and I did not see a single tic prior to him going off to school. He ate a good breakfast and was happy to be going back to see his friends. He stayed for lunch so I did not see him again until 3:30 - when he came out of school he looked different somehow, I could not put my finger on it but something seemed different. I think it was that there were no tics when he walked out of school and that he just looked very confident somehow, not that I ever thought he did not look confident before. I think I was always just looking for the tics. Anyway, he forgot his lunch bag so we went back into the school and we bumped into his teacher, I asked how his day was and she said excellent, we chatted for a few minutes and I told her we had seen great progress over the last few weeks ( seems ages ago he was seeing Santa with a horrific neck tic, although it was just over 2 weeks ago) She commented that he almost seemed to be glowing today, extra confident and looking so healthy, she said his eyes seemed so bright, again she said it is not that he ever looked bad but he just looked extra good. She did not notice any tics at all. I did notice the flourescent lights in the school but they are not very bright and all covered - He is in a fairly new school - re-built about 10 years ago. She did not notice any tics today so I am glad he did not regress with the lighting - I had been worried through the day.

 

He came home happy and there were a few minor flurries of tics - 1-3 seconds long, but nothing on-going at all, when we first started dealing with this, tics were constant. This evening I mentioned to my husband about the teacher saying he looked so healthy, and glowing, he noted that last night after he gave the kids a bath he dried my sons hair and his hair seemed different, (it must have seemed really different for my husband to notice!) and I noticed as well his hair did seem different, almost shiny. I am sure he has been 'malnourished" ( due to his terrible eating habits) as my mother has been saying for years, and his body is finally getting the vitamins that he needs. My parents are currently on vacation and have been since Christmas Day, we started the vitamins the day after so it will be interesting to see what my mother notices when she sees him in another week - having not seen him since Christmas. It is harder for us to notice changes as we are always with him but I really did notice some change in him coming out of the school today. May sound strange, I realize.

 

Anyway, the bad news is he started to feel sick this evening and threw up - he became scared and did start to tic a little, not too bad though and only lasted a few minutes, we had just had pizza and chocolate cake for the baby's 1st birthday ( how time flies), he did eat a lot of cake so I think that may have been the problem. I have sent off an e-mail to the naturopath asking for feedback about whether the supplements could have caused the upset stomach. He settled to sleep but woke up about an hour later and threw up again, no tics this time just scared and not wanting it to happen again. I guess depending on how the rest of the night goes we may find he has a stomach flu.

 

Today was the first day he complained about the no tv - it has been easy to manage over the last two weeks with two adults to three children, he always had one on one time with me or his dad so that made it fun, today it was just me with three kids and no one on one time for anyone! The baby has been so fussy, up the last few nights with teething so I am also exhausted. The baby usually sleeps so well and is content through the day, his first 6 teeth came in without a problem but the new teeth are making him a miserable bambino - so he was on my hip most of the day. I had planned on waiting for a tic free time for the return of the tv - but may have to start earlier but definitely with an LCD screen so I will have to head out and get one this week. I will try to hold off as long as I can and if the tics come back full force we will stop again.

 

I had asked the Best Buy about the Sylvannia model as it was a good bit cheaper than the other models, they said it was because it was a less known brand and the picture quality was not great, Claire I know you said you bought a less expensive brand without any trouble, but I am wondering if I should spend a little more for a better picture quality.

 

Any advise on the TV or on the supplements and vomiting would be appreciated. I imagine it is just coincidental. It is so hard to separate all the different variables.

 

I am going to the pediatrician tomorrow for the baby's one year check up so will ask about the mercury issue. I am interested about your comment about zinc and your sleep, I have always had some form of insomnia when I am stressed, every since university exams, in August when this all happened I really had a hard time with stress, worry, there seemed to be so little info on PANDAS much of which was not encouraging, I wish I had found this site at that time. My time was spend worrying, searching the internet and any free quiet time I seemed to think was best spent crying to myself. I was too upset to tell many friends as I found it hard to talk about - having to explain all of the details. My parents were traveling so although were a support via e-mail it is different than having a helping hand after a sleepless night. My mother insisted I go to the doctor when she got back from the trip and felt I looked way to stressed and tired and that I needed a good night sleep. I did get some sleeping pills from my doctor as I was not functioning on 2-4 hours of sleep with looking after the kids all day - I was having so much trouble shutting my brain off, I also had terrible headaches, after two good nights of sleep back in October I have been functioning much better but still am up late having trouble sleeping and I think I have had a headache since the last week of August! I think I need to hook up with the naturopath for myself to get a better remedy than the Advil that seems to be part of my daily diet!!

 

Sorry to ramble about myself there. It is so nice to be able to write all of this down on a forum that may help someone else at sometime. I spent several months writing daily notes about how my son was day to day, number of tics a second/minute/hour depending on where we were with antibiotics, also trying to decide on a scale of 1-10 where he was, it became a blur and I was unable to really step back from it. It is so nice to get regular feedback from others. I really do appreciate everyone who has written or writes on this forum as all of the information has given me such hope. I have just read a post from Dara I believe who has Karl Henry, I remember reading her post about Thanksgiving ( I think it was her anyway, her sons name stuck with me) and how desperate her and her husband were and unable to enjoy a holiday - it is horrific to see your child in such a state. Her story hit a cord with me as her feelings were the same as mine so it did give me comfort that I was not alone in this. And...that it was ok for me to have these feelings of desperation. Ronna also said in a post to me after I wrote that I realized so many people have much worse things happen, that if this is what is the most difficult thing that has happened to me than it just IS. It is so true, we all have our battles but the reality is our battle is whatever we are currently facing in the four walls called our life.

[Claire]

Hi Alison,

 

How is your son feeling today? Are you keeping him home? The nausea could be multiple factors, from viral, to the different food to the supplements.

 

Are you only giving supplements with food? I found that taking them/giving them on an empty stomach can cause bad nausea.

 

Pfeiffer says Vit C and zinc can be hard on the stomach for some children. Our doctor said magnesium can be. I don't know the doses, but I tend to skip supplements during times of nauseous (too hard to swallow and likely a waste). So Pfeiffer splits the C into 2 smaller doses, and the zinc at night.

 

The EFAs could give his hair more sheen right away. We too noticed a physical change--not sure if it is the healthier glow from vitamins, or the his new relaxed manner when his body wasn't under neurological stress. Others commented. He didn't tic at school, so I think it was his overall relaxed manner.

 

As for my zinc, I did my own testing and found food sensitivities and vitamin/antioxidant deficiencies and high metals. Any of which (plus stress) can cause headache and sleep disturbance. After 6 months of supplements/detox (slow), I upped the zinc and took it at bedtime and voila. So maybe the zinc was the last piece in the puzzle, or maybe it was taking it at bedtime.

 

Claire

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Hi there,

 

Well today was still pretty good but not as good as yesterday. He was feeling fine this a.m. and had no tics, he wanted to go to school, he came home at lunch and was still fine but after school he came out and walking towards me I could see some body jerking tic. He has done this before - sort of kicks forward and down when walking, hard to explain - others may not even notice as he could be doing some kind of skip - although he does it with a slight vocal tic. His tics seemed to get worse through the evening especially when going to bed, he said his stomach was upset and he was scared he was going to be sick again. Of note, or not, who knows, the baby had a tiny throw up this afternoon, more than just a spit up but not a full fledged vomit. The baby continues to be fussy even with Advil, and his ears were checked again today and there is no infection. Through the night the baby has had a gurgley stomach. I had decided to give the full current dose of vitamins one more chance tonight and then if there were problems scale back - I did reduce a few things today just in case. I also gave them all on a full stomach.

 

I agree about the relaxed manner, seeing him come out of school today and noticing immediately the tic made me realize that he did just look so relaxed coming out of school yesterday.

 

Interestingly - just after writing the above I had to go tend to my middle child who all of a sudden had a bad case of diarrhea - never had something like that made me so happy - it could point to some kind of viral stomach thing. We shall see what the night will bring. I currently have a huge pile of laundry as a result of last nights episode so I image the pile will only get bigger.

 

I did touch base with the naturopath who did suggest a homeopathic remedy for stress and in turn sleep - which I may give a try. Nothing ventured - nothing gained. All in all though, I do feel good about things, hopeful anyway, just wish things would happen quicker - patience is NOT one of my virtues. As my husband and I were saying last night - at the end of all of this I think my son will be healthier than he has been in years, and my other children will benefit from all that I am learning - and my New Years resolution was really to focus on healthy eating - less junk - preservatives etc. Things I never really worried about before. There are so many small changes that can make such an impact.

The other benefit from my sons vomiting last night is that he does not ever want to eat chocolate cake again, or treats, although later in the day he decided he would try it again in a few weeks - so I may have a chance to see what cutting out sugar's does without him even realizing what I am doing!

 

Sorry to give a play by play of my children's stomach ailments! But I do think it is all connected somehow.

[Ronnas]

Hi Alison,

 

It is good to hear that your son had such a good day on Monday and that the teacher noticed is great. Back luck with the stomach virus. When my son is ill I just stop the supplements until he is feeling better and then I restart them. It does sound like you are on the right track. It does take awhile to fine tune everything to find a balance that works.

 

I soooo understand the "good" days/"bad" days thing. When Kurt is doing well I feel like I have won the lottery. To give you hope our ups and downs are much further apart now and stability is more the norm for us now. I am always struck by the similarities of our sons. In the beginning for us my son's tics were ALWAYS worse as the day went on. He'd start out in the morning not too bad and then with fatigue and/or the stress of the day he would tic more.

 

My youngest daughter was only 5 months old when everything with Kurt started. I think back now and it seems like a blur. I lived on 2-4 hours a sleep/night for about 2 years. I LIVED on advil and the stress was incredible and I was obsessed with being online and finding answers. About a year and a half ago this all took a terrible toll on my health. It took me about 4-6 months to regain my health. If I could go back now and do things over I would have developed a much stronger support system. I am full of pride and HATE asking for help...so when we realized that the stress in our lives was too much I made arrangements with a good friend to help me with the kids so I had somewhere to take the kids on the bad days. I got a cleaning lady once every two weeks to help keep up, started ordering groceries online and basically did everything I could think of to make our life less stressful including quitting my volunteer stuff for a year. Although this was drastic I quit my part-time job as a nurse (no more shift work), we sold our house and downsized so that we were not "house poor" and did not have financial stress. We bought a house across the street from our new school (I can see my son playing at recess from my front door).

 

So I guess what I am trying to say is to remember to take care of yourself, supplements really did help ME, and try and build as much support around yourself as possible and ask for help when needed. At one point my exhaustion was extreme...don't let it get to that point. The best thing I ever did for Kurt was take care of myself. Take care!

[Claire]

Alison/Ronnas,

 

Alison,

It does sound like the stomach issue could be viral. If once this passes, he does seem worse during the week and better on weekends, then do consider the fluorescent lighting. I sure hope not and this may not be the case at all, but if it is the case, then at least having him sit near the window means that he is maximizing the amount of daylight that offsets the flourescent light. Dr. Rapp's books discusses a study in Germany, where adhd was reduced by 30% when they replaced flourescent lights with incandescent daylight bulbs. Again no studies on tics, but it sure is an indicator. Also, does he have a computer in the classroom where the teacher leaves the monitor on during the day that he faces where he might be staring into it? Just things to look out for.

 

Ronnas,

I couldn't agree more re taking care of your health. I did the same thing with vitamins for myself. Now, sleep and exercise are my big issues to discipline myself about. Great ideas for easing the load--we too got a twice monthly housekeeper.

 

Claire

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Hi Claire and Ronna,

 

We had bit of a hectic day yesterday so I was unable to post. My middle child continued with a stomach upset and the baby seemed to have the same, so definitely something viral going on. Thank you for the advise on taking care for myself - I know how important it is.

 

Claire - thanks for your comments about the lights, I had wondered if there was a connection and the exposure although it wasn't seen monday after school was seen Tuesday - The other thing of interest is that he was at the computer lab on Tuesday - so I will keep an eye on how he does the days he is at computers - I think it is once every six days. He said there is a computer in his classroom but he does not play on it during free time, he prefers the building toys. Next time I am in the classroom I will check where the computer is in relation to his desk and ask if the monitor is left on. Again, thanks for pointing me in the direction of things to look for, things I would never have thought of. I read the post by marie about how upset her son was with not getting to watch the tv at school and am sensitive to that, so if he only tics a little more the days he has computers I think it is something we can live with, he loves the lab and I don't want him to be seen as different - although I will really keep an eye on it. He sits on the opposite side of the classroom from the windows so thank you for your advise about sitting near the window, I think I will see how the next week goes and then over the weekend and if needed I am sure the teacher will be very agreeable to moving him. She has been a great support.

 

Ronna - I agree about feeling like you have won the lottery when there are good days, life just seems so good and full of hope, then when the tics return my heart sinks. Your story does give me so much hope - as I have said in braintalk - thank you so much for spending the time over the last few years documenting what has been happening with you and all of the research you have done with PANDAS. I really believed the antibiotics were the answer and we would be back to normal - as that seemed to happen after the first few rounds of antibiotics only to have the tics return within days. Now I realize that all these years his chronic cough had been a tic and caused by a poor immune system and that when he would have an increase in the cough he was probably fighting an illness. He no longer has the chronic cough/throat clearing he had from ages 3-6. I soooo wish I had found this forum back then!!!!!! Perhaps if I had got his immune system in order we would never had had the PANDAS outbreak with the step. One can only guess.

 

My baby was 7 months old when all of this happened, and I feel like I have missed out on so much in many ways as my focus has been on my oldest son. I am very lucky that the baby has been so content, sleeps well and is generally very happy and easy going. I do have several friends who now know what we have been going through and are very supportive. Initially I only told two close friends as I was in a way protecting myself, I did not want to give updates to all of my friends and have to keep talking about it - as at the beginning I could not talk about it without crying. I did find reading all of these forums to be the greatest support even before starting to post. There was so much great info as well as so many stories which validated how I was feeling at the time.

 

I am trying to take better care of myself, started on the vitamins a little, this is all new to me, I have only taken vitamins consistently when pregnant, and had previously just given the kids flinstones when I remembered. I was in no way into "alternative therapy" and was always happy when we got prescriptions for antibiotics. My thinking has certainly changed. I now have a list on the fridge of what vitamins to take when etc. and I am seeing positive results. My counter looks a bit like a health food store.

 

One of the biggest changes we have seen with our son is his sleep schedule. He falls asleep much faster and stays asleep much longer, he no longer is getting up in the middle of the night saying he is scared, this was new when the PANDAS started, even this morning he got up to say goodbye to his dad then started to go upstairs, I asked if he was getting dressed and he said he wanted to go back to bed for a little longer. This is very unusual. Getting extra sleep can only be doing him good and helping his body heal.

 

I did not get a chance to get the LCD tv screen last night due to all the other stuff so I may go today if the roads aren't too bad, we are in the middle of a winter storm. He is keen to start watching tv again!

 

Thank you again, I must say this really does feel like an amazing supportive extended family. I remember a few years ago a friend of mine was having lots of trouble with her child who was a "spirited child", she found a forum of other parents dealing with the same thing and she told me how she was talking to these people who she did not know. I thought it was weird, why would she talk to people she doesn't know??? when she had friends she could talk to. Now I now why, you certainly don't feel like strangers to me, and it is a very different kind of support you get from others who are experiencing similar trials as yourself.

[ad_ccl]

Only have a minute but had to write.

 

I bought the LCD tv and we tried it out tonight, the only increase in tics was when we were unwrapping it and trying to get it plugged in, we could not do it fast enough. Once the tv was on the tics disappeared. AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! His tics have increased a bit through the week so I am thinking the lighting at school could be a contributing factor as well as the viral thing that the baby now has - boy have I cleaned a lot of bodily fluids up this week!

He watched Bear in the Big Blue House, so not what he wanted - he is missing yugioh so much - although I think he has seen every episode multiple times. Interestingly earlier in the evening the TV was on in the basement and he came down so I watched him as he looked at the tv and the tics appeared immediately and it was not even a kids show. THANK YOU CLAIRE for pointing me in the direction of looking into photosensitivity. Definitely a contributing factor for my son.

 

Another question I had...since it seems clear that my son and many other kids with tic disorders start to tic more when they are emotional be it, happy, sad, excited, nervous, anxious...are there any particular vitamins/supplements that deal with this? I will also pose the question to my naturopath next time I talk to her.

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I am going crazy here...so Monday was perfect, the week slowly but surely got worse (tic wise) my son would come out of school ticcing like crazy -- tics would settle down once home - although not go away. After school today I dropped in to see the teacher ( the same teacher who on monday told me how confident, healthy and happy he was and that she saw now tics) She told me the tics have increased through the week at their worst today - almost convulsing at times. Another thing she said is that yesterday it was his turn to read in the hallway with the parent volunteer and the janitor started up his big cleaning machine which put lots of fumes into the air, he immediately complained of feeling sick and started ticcing like crazy - the parent brought him back to the class and the teacher said she had never seem him like this. This continued today - she did say he comes to school and seems fine and the tics increase each day through the day.

 

Do kids tic with pollution????????????????????

 

So.... a few possibilities...the flourescent lights - the change in the antibiotics to a prophylactic dose, and switching back to homo milk after a week on soya. All of which started on Monday - I should have planned that better! THIS IS MAKING ME NUTS. There are always so many variables at play.

 

I talked to the teacher at greater length this evening not in front of my son - she is a kind person and has been very willing to work with us. She has moved his desk over to the group of desks closest to the window, she is going to turn off the computer monitors in the classroom when they are not in use ( she said he does not use them in free time but does use the building toys and sits directly in front of the computer) she is going to also talk to the computer teacher about how he is in class there. On bright days she is going to turn off the lights or only put half on. I will stop having him stay at school every day for lunch ( although he loves staying) I am sure the gym is full of lights. Finally I decided to switch back to soya in light of reviewing some of Ronna's info - that triggers were tolerated until milk was added to the mix.( I am going to re-read the thread about food sensitivity but in scanning it see milk and eggs as huge culprits. He hated the soya so I went out tonight and bought three kinds of soya chocolate milk and he loved them ( I did not tell him they were soya) The only form of milk he drinks anyway is chocolate so when he asked why I bought the ready make chocolate milk I just told him it made things quicker and easier for me!

 

A final question - he started a mouth stretching/opening wide tic after his mouth/lips got very chapped in the cold. It seems tic like - yet around his mouth and lips is so raw - he complains about the pain - can tics occur as a result of something like this. I am not sure he would be doing it if his lips/face were not chapped, yet is looks very much like a tic in how it presents.

 

Thanks for any advise.

 

 

 

Claire - any info on photosensitivity would be GREATLY appreciated as I really think that is one of the main factors we are dealing with - any suggestions re: school, computer labs etc that you have found helpful. Also, I am confused as the photosensitivity seems so obvious now - has it always been present? Tics were not this bad at times in the fall when he was in the same classroom. I am so confused. It almost seems that when overall he is doing so much better the triggers seem so much more obvious and worse.

 

I have to admit there are times part of me just want to start on some form of medicine that will stop all of this although I do know it is not the answer and would not be getting to the root cause. As I have said before, patience is not one of my virtues.

 

Throughout the evening tics became minimal, at bedtime I read to him and saw no tics at all - that seems to indicate the lights are a big issue - sorry I am talking in circles, it seems to be the way my mind is functioning these days.

[Claire]

Alison,

 

As I said, the impact of light flicker is cumulative, so it could indeed be the lights and/or the monitors. It is only human to look at a monitor that is on. Monitors in the class DEFINITELY impacted my son. We worked it all out--and his teacher sounds great.

 

If possible, I would keep him away from even the LCD monitor this weekend--to see whether you start to notice more improvement just from the break from the classroom triggers, whatever they are. There could be something else in the classroom also, some rooms are moldy for example, which is a trigger.

 

Yes, many kids tic from chemical exposure!! Absolutely. Fresh paints, carpeting, exhaust, dust...

 

Not to rule out the other things you mentioned. Also, you might do the spit test again, in case the continued antibiotics have started a yeast infection.

 

Claire

[Claire]

Alison,

 

Sorry you had such a rough day.

 

I do think that the monitors in the class can make a difference, given that it doesn't take much exposure. However, this is manageable and our family is proof of it! Thank goodness for you son's understanding teacher.

 

But do continue to be a detective in the other areas, as you are. You will find a long term healing, as oppose to drugs which mask it all.

 

Claire

[Chemar]

Hi Alison

I just wanted to stop in and give you a cyber((hug)) and congratulate you on the way you are working to gain knowledge to help your son.

 

re the chapped lips/tic....there seems to be something about "worrying a wound" with ticcers....so it is very possible that the chapped area is triggering a tic and then it gets more chapped and more tics etc etc......just try to heal it with something good and soothing (I think Blistex have a new product on the market..and there are natural ointments like calendula...just check re injestion safety in case he licks at it)

 

 

and a word of encouragement to hopefully keep you far away from the meds....

shortly after my son's diagnosis when we were felling so desperate and worried, we allowed ourselves to be persuaded that "medicine was his only hope of a decent life".....

well, to cut a very looooong story short, the medicines made things far worse, brought on nasty nasty side effects and nearly killed him when he had a severe adverse reaction to the final one we allowed.....

 

I suffered guilt for ages that I had ever allowed that to happen to him!

 

meds are not a solution to everything Alison.

Yes, in crisis they can save lives and have an essential role in life for many.....but in the case especially of children and neurological issues....meds just arent the answer IMHO

 

as you are learning here, there is sooooo much that you can do to help improve thin gs for your child...it does take time and the dreaded patience , but the rewards are wonderful and along the way you see improved health and vitality as diet gets better, toxins eliminated and the whole family usually benefits.

 

so just take it a day at a time and dont let yourself become discouraged. your child is especially young enough for you to see remarkable results.

 

My son is now 15 and isnt even needing to take the supps anymore, other than a good multi with healthy diet. He has wonderful friends, on the school honor role, living an active, happy and full life with only mild TS tics that no one even pays attention to.

There is MUCH reason to be hopeful

[ad_ccl]

Thank you Claire and Chemar for you quick replies. I read them last night and felt a lot better!!!! This morning his tics are minimal - compared to pick up at school yesterday - probably 80 - 90% better - so...that eliminates the concern that it was the reduction of antibiotics! I am glad about that. His lips are a bit better today, I put some cream on last night - he is still doing a little stretching but nothing like last night, seems less like a tic now and more like discomfort. So at this point the two culprits that I am aware of as triggers are the milk and the lights or a combo of both. (or something else in the classroom I am not aware of ) Time will only tell. He did figure out it was soya milk this morning - not from the taste but from reading the label - I explained about the cows milk sometimes making people have more habits so we would try the yummy chocolate milk - he seemed ok with it.

So - I guess it is a waiting game, he has not watched any LCD tv today or last night.

 

I REALLY hope that the soya milk ends up making the trigger of the lights have less of an impact - is this wishful thinking????

[ad_ccl]

Hi there,

 

Just a quick update. We have been sticking with the soya milk and I bought some soya cheese today. His tics are there but fairly minimal, just really the vocal cough that is sporadic, nothing anyone other than me would notice as a tic. (99% improved from Friday after school) The mouth stretch decreased as his mouth/lips healed so they were definitely connected in my opinion. He has been happy all day, we went to visit some friends today for several hours, tics were not noticeable to anyone. He did watch a few minutes of LCD TV today and he complained a little about the brightness so I turned the brightness down to the lowest level - he had no significant tics but I did notice a slight eye squint - so we changed activities ( in front of the regular TV tics are immediate and include all kinds) Eye squinting went away when we changed activities.

So....it will be the dreaded waiting game to see how he does at school this week with the lighting or whatever other evil we are not even aware of!!! If the tics get worse the way they did last week even though we stick to the soya then we will go ahead with the blood work, if they get better then maybe we have found our answer...although after reading all of the posts on food sensitivities I am so tempted to just go ahead anyway and do the blood work.

 

I guess in reality I should be cutting out more than just milk - there are so many milk products - but I figured I would go the least intrusive route for now - that is why the testing is so tempting because you get definitive answers.

 

I will keep you posted.

 

 

PS - Chemar - the nightly baths are such a great idea - he has absolutely no tics while in the bath and sleeps so peacefully.

[ad_ccl]

Just thought I would post with an update for anyone who currently or in the future may be dealing with a similar experience to me. Or for anyone who has any feedback for me.

 

It is now Tuesday - we have stuck with the soya milk and soya ice cream. The teacher has moved him close to the window and facing outside and has shut off the computer monitors during the time they are not in use. She has had to keep the lights on as it has been dreary outside. I have had him come home for lunches as well ( a lot of schlepping back and forth - with many frantic searches for hats and mittens) He started school on Monday with the vocal throat clearing tic which was infrequent, I would say it has slightly increased since then although not dramatically - at pick up time today I saw one more subtle vocal tic with body jerk - nothing like last Friday. Probably no one else would have noticed. The mouth stretching thing went away as the chapping on his lips and face went away. In general I have seen a slight increase of tics at lunch and again at pick up after school but not a dramatic increase. He is still not as tic free as he was the day he started back after the school break.

When I was in his room last night my throat felt a bit dry so I wondered if that is setting off his throat clearing tic ( considering the mouth stretch tic seemed directly related to a physical ailment yet presented as a tic) - so I put on a humidifier. I also have a hepa fliter going most of the time. I think tomorrow I will open up his window for a while to let in some fresh air.

 

I am considering going back to trying the homeopathic remedy I had been given several months ago - and tried for one day a week before Christmas. I had stopped everything as his tics had increased and in the end I think it was the viral illness that was the culprit. I have him on a good vitamin/supplement regiment now and have seen great improvements - in his overall healthy look and most importantly on his increased sleep pattern. Now that I know the vitamins are not causing any problems I feel I can add something else.

 

My main issues of concern now are the viral illnesses and with hope the vitamins and extra sleep will help him fight these off ( again he never shows any sign of illness, only an increase in tics) the bacterial infections ( he remains on antibiotics for now), the possible milk or other food sensitivity (I have nothing to support this other than it seems to be so common so I figured why not try cutting out milk - he usually drinks about 6-8 glasses of milk a day.) I will probably go ahead with the food sensitivity testing just because there are so many unknowns in this and it would be nice to get some definitive answers on something. And the photosensitivity issue - the teacher is being very supportive - the computer teacher has advised there is an LCD screen he could use, they just have to organize the software and at home he is being limited to under 1/2 hr of tv a day on an LCD screen- we do notice eye squints when he watches but no other increases in tics. The eye tics are limited to when watching tv and at no other time of the day now -- although they used to be one of the worst tics he had, severe eye rolling.

 

So there it is.

 

Tomorrow is his computer day so I will be anxious all day - I find the stress of waiting for each pick up time to be wearing on me. This is really the most stressful experience - although I try to look at all of the positives, in reality he does not even notice his tics, his friends don't, he is doing well at school, he is well liked, etc etc etc. I just look forward to being able to look back at this experience and saying, oh yeah, remember when...

[Claire]

Hi Alison,

 

I never understand the throat clearing ones. My allergist said that coughing/throat clearing can be a common allergic reaction.

 

How do you know he doesn't have phlemm, or some residual bronchitis?

 

I am glad things are going better, glad the teachers are so cooperative.

 

Do you get winter break in February? It will be interesting to see his tic levels when he is home all week.

 

Good luck with the LCD monitor in the computer lab. Since school computer use is pretty static--vs flashy games, he may well be okay. If he has troubles, I might check to see if his monitors are away from view of the other kids' CRT ones--there is usually one in the room like this. Also, can she turn down the brightness.

 

Just remember, even if they are worse, it is temporary! Though it never felt that way when I went through it, I do remember those days very well.

 

Claire