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Original poster

My son's tics are driving me up the wall!! Please help

65 replies

Howlongtillbedtime · 15/09/2018 19:25

He is in yr 8
He is teeth slacking
He is lip smacking

He is driving me fucking bonkers.

It has been going on for months / years on and off

Nobody has any bright ideas.
I have done all the talking to him about how he feels.(He doesn't have a clue)
I have done all the ignoring the tics (it makes no sodding difference)

I have asked for help for years ( he isn't suicidal so sod off)

We had input from the school nurse (not actually qualified in mental health)
She thought he wasn't engaging with the service ( four meetings over 8 months and two nurses and they were pissed off he wouldn't spill his inner feelings.)

I love him and want to help him but all of my ideas have failed.

Please help !!!

OP posts:

Original poster

Howlongtillbedtime · 16/09/2018 18:18

Third that must have been something to behold!! How did you keep your sanity ?

Thanks again everyone it is so helpful to know we are not alone.

daisy that sounds interesting. I will speak to him about it

I am going to order some magnesium and look into the necklace and if we don't get anywhere with this appointment then I will push for the neurologist .

I do think it is anxiety driven and it definitely gets better in the holidays. CBT and mindfulness are also things we have been looking at.

I don't want to overwhelm him with too much stuff all at once.

OP posts:

TheThirdOfHerName · 16/09/2018 18:58

Distraction sometimes helped for a while. It's difficult to constantly clear your throat while you're chatting or singing. It's difficult to shrug or shake your head every 10 seconds while you're dancing or swimming.

Elephantgrey · 17/09/2018 08:22

I see that he hasn't really seen anyone for this apart from the school nurse. Tourette's Action have a list of specialists you can be referred. It would be worth contacting them.
Tourette's comes under Neuropsychiatry . I am having habit reversal therapy at the moment. The treatment has focused more on managing my anxiety as for me that is the biggest trigger. Tourette's tends to come with either OCD or ADHD for me it is a bit of both. I have learned to mananage my tics by turning them in to things that are more socially acceptable.

If there is a children's neurodevelopmental team they might be better than CAMS. It does sound like sensory strategies can make a difference as you mentioned chewing gum.

MorningsEleven · 17/09/2018 09:22

One of mine has ASD and a tic that gets really bad with anxiety. I can tell when the little bugger is trying to lie to me about anything because the tic gives the game away every time.

thinkfast · 17/09/2018 23:07

Let us know if the magnesium helps at all

Haireverywhere · 17/09/2018 23:15

Do the tics bother him? It wasn't until my relative was older they became irritating to him. So as a child no services were interested as he said he was OK but it was a problem for his parents for years if you see what I mean.

Original poster

Howlongtillbedtime · 18/09/2018 07:29

haireveeywhere It does get him down. Ann's his jaw hurts at times , especially at the moment because it is pretty constant. It is interrupting his sentences which is frustrating .

I managed to get hold of some magnesium yesterday which wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Most children's multivits didn't have it in at all or if they did it was only 27% of a days worth.
I'm the end I found it in the women's health section so will start on that today and report back.
I am also going to talk to him about the necklac e but I have to choose my moment. Talking about it can make things worse for a while so will see how he is later.

Thanks again for everyone's contribution it really has helped and given me a bit of a plan. None of it might work but at least we will feel like we are trying.

OP posts:

thinkfast · 18/09/2018 23:25

Ds takes animal parade mag kidz. How old is your ds? I wouldn't give an adult supplement without checking if it's suitable

thinkfast · 18/09/2018 23:26

Oh I also use a kids Dead Sea salt in the kids bath which helps with their dry skin too and had magnesium

Haireverywhere · 18/09/2018 23:28

Best of luck.

thinkfast · 26/11/2018 00:14

How are you getting on OP?

MumLeMaistre · 15/07/2019 21:51

My son started twitching his head a few years ago...To cut a long story short..I STOPPED giving him cereal and replaced the cereal with Fresh Fruit Salad and his tic has stopped...I hope it works for others..💝

Frith2013 · 15/07/2019 22:09

I drove 800 miles to and from holiday a couple of weeks back.

My son’s vocal tics were “Scarborough” (we’ve never been) and “do you like cheese?”

He has ASD. I felt murderous at times.

taykitty20 · 01/12/2019 13:25

Not sure of anyone still on here...thirdofhername, did the throat clearing stop? That's the one that drives me insane. :O

moostermum · 21/09/2020 18:05

I've just come back to this post. 2 years on and DS (7) has started with the throat clearing again today. Almost 2 years to the day. Think it's anxiety related with going back to school. It does stop after 8 weeks ish

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