Nervous tic? | Imamother

amother

OP ↓

Fri, Dec 13 2024, 3:55 pm

My six year old is the more rigid high strung type in general. Recently he picked up this nervous cough/ throat clearing habit. He clears his throat multiple times a a minute. It's beyond irritating and he has no issues with his throat. No strep or sore throat. More just like he picked it up and now he's obsessive . How do you help a child get rid of this?

amother

DarkPurple ↓

Sat, Dec 14 2024, 6:48 pm

Check for strep even if he doesn't have typical sick symptoms. Rigid and uptight is usually anxiety/ocd and ocd + tics is classic pandas. If strep is negative in rapid and overnight swab ask Dr to run strep titers and/or to trial 30 days of augmentic or azithromycin.

You can also try giving him dye free motrin twice a day for 3 days. If the tic goes away, and or the behaviors improve you'll know they're being caused by inflammation.

An anti histamine can also help

amother

Hosta ↓

Sat, Dec 14 2024, 8:05 pm

Sorry don't meant to hijack your thread....
My six year old suddenlly began having ticks about a week ago and he's blinking and scrunching nose like crazy....
we did a strep culture but it showed staph growth - should I have it retested?
we drew blood (which was traumatic) and waiting for results. I'm so worried, in same boat as you OP!

amother

↑ DarkPurple ↓

Sat, Dec 14 2024, 8:06 pm

amother Hosta wrote:

Staph can cause this too, they should treat it regardless

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Dec 15 2024, 6:07 pm

So I have given him two doses of Motrin and it's making a huge diff. Does that make sense? I don't think it's a placebo effect. What does this tell you? This child also has constipation issues, etc. I'm not a big believer in pandas. But I can't deny the results. Where do I go from here?

amother

Dandelion

Sun, Dec 15 2024, 6:50 pm

Constipation is something you want to work on right away.
It's a chicken or egg kind of situation.
Being backed up, your body is reabsorbing toxins that it has sent on it'd way to be eliminated. And this can do all kinds of things to your brain and body if it's an issue long term.
It'd subtle but insidious.

Continue with the motrin, and speak to your child's pediatrician.
There are homeopathic remedies that can help. Anx, vitamins and essential oils. Change I diet is also recommended for each children. Avoid canola oil, or cotton seed oil. (Sunflower oil, olive oil and avocado oil are best) Gluten (or at least wheat, spelt is so much better than wheat) msg, food coloring, artificial flavoring, malic acid, soy, corn, in general processed foods.

amother

Forestgreen

Sun, Dec 15 2024, 8:00 pm

Wow. It's a bracha to be able to see it so clearly.
Next step would be the pediatrician.
Basic treatment for pans /pandas is antibiotics, then wean with Motrin.
If it gets worse then many times it's recommended to given Motrin in addition to antibiotics.
It can be a long ride, but it's good to know that you're on the right train.

amother

↑ DarkPurple ↓

Sun, Dec 15 2024, 8:04 pm

amother OP wrote:

Yes it makes sense. Motrin always stops all our symptoms in their tracks. It's like magic here. And it's not placebo.

amother

↑ OP

Sun, Dec 15 2024, 8:59 pm

But if the Motrin works what does that mean? In terms of constipation it's a constant fight to get him to take miralax which does help him. He was complaining his throat hurt but didn't seem to have strep and then the fake coughing started. My pediatrician isn't a big believer in pandas. This is the first time I have seen OCD type behaviors from him which I do know are a symptom of pandas. So I would go to my Dr and ask him to test for strep and what else? Blood work to test for strep? If the Motrin works why go on to antibiotics ?

amother

Lilac

Sun, Dec 15 2024, 9:13 pm

Firstly, please check for strep again..and if it isnt positive because you may have missed it and now the tics and OCD are the aftermath of a missed strep infection.
Miralax itself can have bad neuro effects (look it up online)...there is magnesium you can give for constipation...(in general, my son also gets really constipated...and he gets perianal strep often...on antibiotics/motrin combo, he actually goes more smoothly...there is a correlation with constipation and strep in the gut).
Continue giving motrin until you can get the doctor to test for strep with the throat/backside and bloodwork. (Our neurologist gives a dose for pandas as 10 mg per kilo, 3 times a day (with food) for two weeks. If symptoms persist after that, there is her further protocol that I wont detail here.)
Any supplement that anyone will tell you to give, you only start one at a time and carefully because any and all additions may or may not worsen symptoms and there isnt a way to know which is which unless you start something carefully and watch.
There is a a website called pandasphysocians network that you can bring to your doctor that is tried and true studies protocols and guidelines for treating pandas...all backed up with great studies and doctors.

amother

↑ DarkPurple

Sun, Dec 15 2024, 9:24 pm

amother OP wrote:

First off, please don't give him miralax it's known to be extremely neurotoxic and can exacerbate neurological symptoms including tics. There are better ways to manage constipation such as milk of magnesia and pooper from bioray.

In terms of what it means that motrin works, since motrin is an anti inflammatory, it's a sign that inflammation [in his brain] is causing the tics. Now you need to figure out the source of the inflammation and treat it. Very often it's a chronic strep infection causing it, but there are other causes as well. If you're pediatrician is not willing to help you, you may need to find a new one or get a pandas specialist.

Some people choose to forgo the mainstream way of treating and go straight to homeopathy. There is a practice that specializes in pandas and does this virtually.

There are also many natural and alternative things you can do on your own to address the infection and the inflammation but you'd have to be willing to do the research, buy all the stuff you need and get him to take it.