Need advice about DD and "generalized tic disorder"

[RJH]

I took DD (5 next month) to the neurologist the other day on the recommendation of her ped. She has had a facial tic for the last 6 months (extreme eye blinking, while scrunching up her face.....looks like she's blinking really hard....sometimes with only one side of her face). About 4 weeks ago the tic went from occurring a few times a day, to pretty much constant ( 25-30 times a minute). We went to ped, she referred to nero.

 

At the nero last week, he said she has generalized tic disorder, that could lead to tourette's. Ped had recommended a CT scan, but nero said not necessary. Nero said to come back in 3 months, and just ignore the tic until then.

 

But I am so worried about this. I felt better after we left the nero the other day, but now my mommy gut is telling me something else. She was also complaining of her head hurting, and her eyes hurting. But not loudly complaining like she's in real bad pain or anything. She will mention it, and then go about her business. Her vision is good, so I know she's not having trouble seeing. Anyone with any experience or advice?

[JennifersLost]

At the very least, I would give the doctor a call and let him know. Better safe than sorry.

 

I would also suggest you look into food allergy aspects. Is she/has she taken any medications?

 

My son went through the blinking thing at about age 8/9. It was made much worse by taking Dramamine when we went on a trip. He is very sensitive to any medication.

 

His tics got much, much, much better when we did an allergy elimination diet. I then kept him on an incredibly strict diet for about 1.5 years. Most of his symptoms went away. We discovered by doing this that he has severe nut allergies; his body was essentially overloading in trying to deal with them all these years.

 

By taking that long break and by eliminating nuts from his diet all together he can now eat most things. When he eats too much iffy stuff - candy, chocolate, etc. - the tics begin to emerge again. We try to find a balance.

 

Let me know if you want more information.

[RJH]

I will look into food allergy causes, thanks. What should I start eliminating 1st?

[Tammyla]

I'd look into the allergy possibilities as well as having her eyes evaluated. Are they dry or sensitive to bright light?

[RJH]

I'd look into the allergy possibilities as well as having her eyes evaluated. Are they dry or sensitive to bright light?

 

She doesn't seem to be sensitive to light, and when I put eye drops in them, it didn't seem to help either.

[camibami]

My oldest has Tourettes. It does always present with a facial tic first (ours was eye scrunching too, at age 2, I ran her to the eye doctor, LOL). But the other symptoms- the sudden onset, the headaches, would worry me. It could be small seizures or something in her head.(Don't even want to type it out its so scary!) I am a total hypochondriac where my kids are concerned, I feel like I should tell you that, but I would want a scan of her head to be sure.

 

In the great list of potential childhood problems, Tourette's is No Big Deal. But I would want a closer look at her head before being written off with just vague tics or maybe Tourettes. It also seems late, to me, to have noticed tics like Tourettes- my DD had them from toddler age on, not all of a sudden. And she felt/feels fine. The headaches would bother me, personally, and I'd find another dr to get a more firm diagnosis and rule out anything really scary.

[camibami]

Reading comprehension is not my strong suit- I just noticed she is 4, and I was thinking 7, your sons age. That is more typical for a first notice with Tourettes.

[plansrme]

A friend's daughter developed a facial tic that, after much testing, was put down to a post-viral reaction. It did go away after a couple of months.

 

Terri

[Tiramisu]

Dd13 went through what you described when she was 9. It started out small with her face, and then, over the course of weeks, her entire upper body started to jerk. Then it slowly improved and finally disappeared. During that time we took her to the ped. and a neurologist. We were told it was generalized tic disorder and possibly Tourette's. It really took several months but eventually all signs of it were gone. It was never explained except for the fact that she had anxiety issues and a rather intense teacher that year. I'm hoping it will be the same with your dd.

 

If you are very worried about the headaches, you could always get it checked out. It might put your mind at ease.

 

God bless,

 

Kelli

[RJH]

Thanks for the replies. The nero wasn't concerned about the headaches for some reason. I guess because she will just mention it in passing, but doesn't seem to be in real pain.....she can be a drama queen. And even though the ped said CT scan, nero said he has never ordered a CT for tics. :confused:

 

My main concern is that this tic is pretty much constant, all day long......like I said, about 20-25 times a minute. She doesn't have any vocal tics, but is obsessive lip licking to the point of her lips being raw, a tic?(this has been going on for over a year). What about repeatedly grabbing at her crotch? She did this for 4 months straight. I took her to the ped to rule out some sort of infection, and there was none. The crotch grabbing stopped when the facial tic got worse.

[Laura Corin]

The crotch grabbing stopped when the facial tic got worse.

 

But they do tend to rotate. He might blink for a while, then the blinking will go away and he'll clear his throat for a few weeks, then on to another tic.

 

Laura