Children - Discussion of issues affecting Children with Tourette's

It has been awhile.

feeds@yuku.com (amthrof2) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:01:46 GMT

It has been a long time since I have posted. I had a few free moments this evening and wanted to let old friends know how things were going.

Patrick (now 12) is doing fabulously. He is still on Prozac and is getting assistance in school but is in all regular ed classes and getting A's and B's. He just became a Star Scout in Boy Scouts and was told by his Scoutmaster that he could make Eagle the rate he is going in the next 18 months. His tics are constant but all of...

new here and need advice about Clonidine

feeds@yuku.com (Lainey) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:17:15 GMT

Hi everyone,

My almost six-year-old son Alexander (Xander) was recently diagnosed. He's been having the eye-blinking tic for well over a year and a couple months ago started a fairly dramatic head jerking one as well so we took him to the doctor. In retrospect, he's also had a couple of verbal tics (throat clearing and coughing) that have come and gone, and also has a couple of other less noticeable motor tics going on currently. I'd pretty much...

psych. appt., OCD

feeds@yuku.com (lisareneehad) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:27:45 GMT

We had our second appt. with a psych. today for my 13 yr. old ds. She diagnosed him with OCD. Her feeling is he won't be able to do the therapy (CBT, exposure) unless he is on medication, that his anxiety level is too high to try therapy. At the first appt. she mentioned about 4 different drugs as options, I can't remember all of them, but one was Prozac. He is already on Tenex, I am very leary about starting another medication. My ds is saying he will refuse to take more...

New here - TS son having trouble in school (long)

feeds@yuku.com (AndreaN78) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:22:13 GMT

Hello all,

This is my first post. Sorry to get into so much detail already, but I am in need of dire help. My son was diagnosed this past year at age 9 as having Tourette Syndrome. His tics began at around age 6 and progressed over the years. Now he also has ADHD and OCD symptoms as well as behavioral issues and poor impulse control which I hear is common in TS children. We are seeing a neurologist as well as a clinical psychologist who deals with Tourettes children. We are also in...

An update on my son, 9.5

feeds@yuku.com (oxtonmum) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:35:28 GMT

I first came to this board, desperate, about 3 and a half years ago when my son started to shake his head. He started on his 6th birthday. He had a few other tics too but that one was the worst.

2 years ago things reached a peak - he was 7 1/2 and his head shaking was so bad that one day we rushed him to the GP. He was so upset that he could not control the tic which meant that for the first time in 18 months a doctor actually saw it. She told us to let it run its course.

...

how bad will it get

feeds@yuku.com (bev) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:26:03 GMT

Hi all,
My son is 11 - and i suspect has mild tourettes. We are awaiting an appointment with someone. All the information i have found seems to suggest that this age is when things are at their worst and that a big proportion of children will not get any worse and that some actually stop tics. Obviously i would like my son to be one of these - but i just wanted to ask is there a cut off age that where we would 'know' that he will have tics for life?
At the moment his tics...

Treatment different for PANDA related spike in tics?

feeds@yuku.com (susanp) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 05:15:43 GMT

I'm a little unclear about PANDA and tics- My DD13 was dx with TS at age 3. In the last year, her tics have been under very good control with Topamax.
Recently, following a bad run of 2 flus and 2 colds in quick succession, she has begun ticcing much more, and the ticcing has not returned to former levels in about 6 weeks. Should I be taking her in for a strep antibody test or some such thing, or is it irrelevent to her treatment? I had believed her tics would settle down after a...

Tics and nicotine patch

feeds@yuku.com (davesdr) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:23:12 GMT

Hello all, I've been a reader for many years. My 14 y/o son has had tics, now tourettes since he was 3 y/o. I've not had to address the tourettes up till now, as it has not affected his life. I'm very fortunate that his primary symptom is mostly motor tics (facial, nasal exhaling and usually something with his hands). Very mild OCD and probably some anxiety issues, mostly exhibited by hand sweating and some avoidance of social get togethers. He attends a great school, is not...

Should my son be encouraged to suppress tics?

feeds@yuku.com (KT) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:30:48 GMT

I'm having a few issues with school about our little 5 year old boy who (I believe) has TS. He's not been formally diagnosed because our paeodiatrician thinks his tics are more likely due to ADHD. He's had motor and vocal tics since aged 2 1/2 and I'm not too concerned with a diagnosis, however he's started telling me about the things he does that he doesn't like doing but can't stop such as making certain noises and facial, finger and toe movements. I've...

new here, maybe jumping the gun, but looking for answers

feeds@yuku.com (mkate) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:40:03 GMT

Hello! I may be jumping the gun here, since the son I'm concerned about (7 years old) has only started ticcing in the past few weeks, so obviously we are at least a year away from a diagnosis, if TS is indeed what he has. Over the past few weeks (and right after a 3-day episode of fever and sore throat-- possible strep?) he has been displaying some tics. It started out as just a noise, but in this short time has progressed to a noise paired with nose twitching, and today I noticed that...

Where do we go from here?

feeds@yuku.com (tsbiasmom) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:18:49 GMT

Okay, so my son has Tourrettes. He was diagnosed in July and we went back to the neurologist yesterday for a follow up. Basically what I got from our visit was that he has been diagnosed and now it's up to me to figure out what to do next. I don't know what to do next! The neurologist said that because we are in rural South Texas that I would have to move to New York to get proper treatment for my little, four year old son. Since I have no intention of moving to New York, are...

Removed son from school temporarily

feeds@yuku.com (sleepy) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:41:11 GMT

So today I met with ds's school to have him put on Homebound Education for 10 days. They and I are concerned about his safety. His tics are so bad that he is tripping and falling. He has a lot of arm and leg tics and some facial tics but its the arms and legs that are forceful. They are interfering w/ everything. Except Xbox, his mind is so engaged that he doesn't tic as much until he is done. If education was on xbox he would be good. Anyways I was at a loss last week, he had...

Duration of after-illness waxing?

feeds@yuku.com (susanp) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:05:22 GMT

I'm kind of surprised. We all had the flu at the end of August/early Sept. Following that, both DD13 and I have had a waxing spell with our tics. DD started Topamax over a year ago and hardly ticced at all the past year until this. My tics are mild, and the waxing is no big deal. But I'm kind of surprised at how long the waxing has continued--It's mid-November now with no waning in sight. How long does a waxing period following an illness usually last, or is it sort of...

Migraines with Tourettes

feeds@yuku.com (motomdrew) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:12:21 GMT

My son was diagnosed with Tourettes by the age of 7. He is now ten and for the last 2 years has also suffered Migraines. But about three months ago, the frequency of the mirgraines has increased dramatically to about 2-3 a week. The neurologist is very good and keeps trying different things...one of them was to change his Tourettes meds again. Just wondered if anybody has had issues with migraines with Tourettes. Would like to hear other peoples stories. I'm new here and this is my...

School & anxiety

feeds@yuku.com (greatchild) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:43:00 GMT

Hi,
I haven't posted for a while. It's like we have been having a break from TS! Our son (10) has been on Clonidine for about a year and a half and his tics have been really mild. He has had a very happy and positive year. But starting the new school year this September has brought us lots of problems. His tics have increased, but that we can all handle. The real issue is that he is now refusing to go to school. This year he has a new teacher who he doesn't particularly like...

15 yr old caught self medicating and I am on his side!!!!! Marijuana

feeds@yuku.com (TaylorhasTs) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:04:12 GMT

OK, I am going out on a limb here, but as all of you parents know, you will do anything to help your child find peace in the TS, right?
So, with that, here goes..... Taylor has been on every diff med known to try to help with his TS and as you all know it's a hit or miss situation. All the neuros know, is to try different coctails and hope there is a good outcome. Every single one of Tays meds come with a horrible side effect ie: weight gain, chronic diarrhea, gynecomastia (which...

Looking to start a support group in Saskatoon, SK Canada

feeds@yuku.com (Angel4791) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:17:05 GMT

I have 2 sons both diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. We have had the usual troubles with school and social issues. I am looking to start a support group that would meet as often as needed to share resources.

If anyone is interested please p.m. me and we can decide on a location and time.

Thanks
Shar-Lee

So many questions!

feeds@yuku.com (JannyJan) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:03:41 GMT

Hello Everyone,
My son was just diagnosed yesterday with Ts and Add.. by a Neuro Dr. At this time I do not want to give my son Meds I'm scared it will make his Tics worse! not to mention all the side effects..... Last year in school my son had a evaluation to see if he quallfied for a 504 plan .. but they said he didnt... so they gave him a IEP?... they make accomadations for him in his class room. This year he is in 4th grade so he has alot of independent...

Thinking my son may have TS

feeds@yuku.com (tapiash1) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:53:07 GMT

I think my 8 yr. old son may have TS. For a year or two he has had some odd things going on. I thought my son had allergies because he sucks air into his nose and and moves his head forward. I started giving him meds and nothing worked. It stopped for a while then came back. Now he is jerking his shoulder and grabbing his t-shirts. Last week he started blinking. Last year I took him to see an audiologist because he has problems telling stories or repeating information back. I thought maybe he...

New with questions

feeds@yuku.com (sunshine) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 07:16:57 GMT

Hi! We have an appt to see the ped neurologist in the next few weeks as we have clued into our 7y son's tics for the past 3 months. I've read up quite a bit but still have questions that I think other parents might be able to answer just as well as the neurologist. So far we have not noticed any "plus" items (no OCD, anxiety, etc.) and the tics do not seem to bother him. I understand that tics wax & wane but it seems like he just adds tics and we haven't seen any...