Experience with tics?

[maize]

One of my children is manifesting a lot of tics lately--fairly complex ones (say, a movement that includes a squint, a shrug, an eye-roll, and a head roll is a sort of standardized sequence).

 

This child has anxiety and has had definite OCD issues in the past; we thought those might be PANS and maybe this is another flare up. Then again there is a family history of OCD and it can come and go. They also have an ADHD diagnosis.

 

Don't really know what I am asking except maybe for experiences with tics and issues related to them.

[Storygirl]

DS has recently been diagnosed with Tourettes, a tic disorder that includes both vocal and motor tics. We found that the diagnosis was straightforward -- according to the neurologist, if motor and vocal tics have both been present for at least a year, it is Tourettes. Vocal tics don't have to be words; they can be grunts, sniffing, snorting, etc.

 

I thought his tics might be related to his ADHD meds and asked our pediatrician if they could be a side effect. Tourettes was not on my radar at all previous to that. She noticed that he had both kinds of tics and referred us to the neurologist.

 

There are tic disorders that are just vocal tics or just motor, as well.

 

We have learned that there are a few meds to try, including some that also help the ADHD. Our neurologist mentioned guanfacine and clonidine.They won't eliminate the tics but may help. We've added clonidine to DS's med regimen, but it's too soon to know how effective it will be for him yet.

 

There is also a kind of therapy called "habit reversal" that can help some. We were referred to a psychologist trained in this method. Not everyone is able to learn to use this technique, but we're going to give it a try. http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/tourettes-disorder-habit-reversal-training-topic-overview

 

Not sure about other tic disorders, but Tourettes is commonly found in kids who have other issues, such as ADHD and learning disabilities. Tics (at least with Tourettes) can wax and wane and change. DS's vocal tics are much less right now than they were last fall (though they are still there), but he has a new motor tic. The teen and tween years tend to be the time when tics are most intense, and for some people they lessen with age, but it varies.

 

It was previously thought that ADHD meds caused tics in some children, but now many think that those who have tics as a side effect actually had an underlying tic disorder all along.

 

Because there are some things that can be done to try to help tics, it's worth having a discussion with the doctor.

 

Edited April 16, 2017 by Storygirl

[Pegs]

I'm fairly tic-prone, but haven't been diagnosed with anything.

 

They come and go, with various factors involved. Only problems have been mild embarrassment and very tired eyeballs and headaches (if I've been blinking/squinting very hard).

[wapiti]

If this is a potential flare/exacerbation, I would be inclined to get a swab to rule out strep, but you know how I am.  (No sooner did my kiddo finally get tonsils out a few weeks ago than two younger siblings turned up with strep. Not sure how long they had it, exactly...)

 

(eta, I now buy swabs on amazon, fwiw...)

Edited April 16, 2017 by wapiti

[klmama]

Maybe this info would be helpful to you: http://ctds.info/mgtourettes.html   

 

 

[Pawz4me]

DS18 has had fairly complex motor tics and minor vocal tics (a slight gulping sound) that come and go. Mostly he doesn't have them now, which I think is because he's on anxiety medication. But occasionally when he's really stressed he will tic just a bit. But when he does it now it's not nearly (IMO) so noticeable--he blinks more than normal or shrugs his shoulders just a bit. The psychologist who did his testing last year noticed. But -- stressful situation and trained observer. His psychiatrist says no to any medication for them. She says his are too sporadic and not severe enough for her to recommend medication. His diagnoses are ASD-1, NVLD and GAD. Also 2e. I do have him take magnesium, too.

 

DS21 went through several phases as a tween and youngish teen when he exhibited fairly complex motor tics. I think his were the "normal" kind, though. The episodes were very transient (he'd tic for a couple of weeks and them stop for long periods of time) and stopped completely once he was past adolescence.

[maize]

Dh has tourette's. His experience with a therapist as a child was bad. I don't want to go into it online. Anyway, he has never been interested in anymore treatment. He is not self-conscious about it (and that was one if the things that first attracted me to him bc I'm insecure about everything :) ). He is very intelligent, was successful at school and now in his (office) job. He was employee of the year this year. So, based only on my experience with him, I wonder if maybe it's a little bit like people sometimes talk about autism, ya know, how much are people trying to make them change for the person's own happiness, and how much are they trying to make the person change bc nt ppl are uncomfortable with those who are different? Again, I don't have wide knowledge on this, but I do wonder if there is an element to choosing therapy and meds or not that's very personal.

Probably so, but I think it also depends significantly on the severity. There is a teen in our church community who has Tourette's, and it was significantly incapacitating for him for several years--things like constant loud vocalizations as tics.

 

My child's OCD and anxiety have been incapacitating in the past in preventing them from fully engaging in activities--for example, a compulsion would keep them shuffling their feet rather than participating in a tumbling class or basketball game.

 

In not very familiar at this point with therapies used for tic disorders, but I do know that therapeutic practice in general has come a long way in the past few decades. Paradigms about many things have changed and we have more research backed interventions than in the past.

 

I really appreciate the insights of each of you who have responded here.

[maize]

If this is a potential flare/exacerbation, I would be inclined to get a swab to rule out strep, but you know how I am. (No sooner did my kiddo finally get tonsils out a few weeks ago than two younger siblings turned up with strep. Not sure how long they had it, exactly...)

 

(eta, I now buy swabs on amazon, fwiw...)

I've got strep swabs in my closet, I'll do that this morning. Thanks for the reminder! Edited April 16, 2017 by maize

[maize]

I guess what I was trying to get at was (esp as they get older), there are many considerations when deciding about therapy and meds and I think that what the person with tics feels about their own tics ought to be part of that.

Absolutely.

[TheReader]

My middle ds has Tourrette's and his neurologist said basically, if he isn't bothered by it, don't do anything about it. There are meds available, if desired. We've noticed, too, that they come & go, being worse when he's tired. He can usually hold them in (some) during short social settings (youth group, for ex), and then they come out in full force once home. His also tend to change; his tic will be one thing for a few months, and then nothing noticeable, and then something totally different. 

 

As he's gotten older, they've diminished and we very rarely notice them anymore (I'd say it started around age 10 or 11, flared when we moved back from Brazil when he was 13, and at now 16 have more or less gone away, mostly). His were both motor & vocal, and sometimes combinations of the two. 

 

It helped him to have it explained to him, as being  just as involuntary as a hiccup, and he has always been comfortable explaining it in that fashion to others. Also, we don't draw any attention to it, at all, when he does have a tic (or episodes of tics) at home, and that seems to help. They always seem to get worse when we notice or comment. 

 

Not sure if any of that is helpful or not, but that's been our experience. 

[Julie of KY]

Tourettes often goes along with your other list of disorders.

 

As previously stated, Tourette's is fairly easy to diagnose. If the tics are bothersome there are meds as well as behavior therapy that can help (but generally not stop) the tics. They often improve with age and they often get worse with anxiety, sickness, stressors and they tend to fluctuate over time.