Any experience of tics in children?

[JBright]

Hi everyone,
My 5 year old ds has recently started having tics, to be honest I’m completely heartbroken and scared. They are both verbal and motor tics. We have seen the GP who essentially wants to “watch and wait” but honestly I’m not sure what can be medically done anyway. DS is neurotypical, we have experienced a bereavement recently which may have been the trigger. I have never experienced them myself nor dh.
Are there any recommendations for natural remedies? I’ve seen some say they have had success with liquid magnesium, but not sure which one or how much to try?
just grasping at straws really and also hoping if anyone has positive stories to share.
thanks so much.

DS with ASD had tics when he was young, throat clearing, blinking etc Now he's an adult, in software engineering and I can't remember the last time it happened, so try not to worry. Stress/anxiety was a big trigger for DS.

Hi did you have an update about your little one did their tics ease up? X

Hello, thanks so much for asking, August - Oct the tics were bad, between Oct and November they started reducing and by Dec/ Jan, they are still happening a couple times a day, but much less noticeable and at least not all day every day. I’m mindful tics do wax and wane but hoping we continue on this path. For anyone who may find this helpful, we supplemented with magnesium glycinate, omega 3 (algae oil containing epa and dha), l threanine, zinc, b vitamins (the b vit should be p5p form) and vit d (all kids versions). And cut out most upf and processed foods. Whole foods diet. Salmon/ organic meat for growth and repair. No artificial sweeteners or food dyes. I limit pesticides. He does have sweets once a week as we want him to feel he has a normal life, ones without dyes in. But 95% clean diet, everything in house scanned with Yuka app. Who knows if it’s all that or they would have come down anyway. Soon I’ll book in to see a functional medicine doctor to hopefully get to root cause. Thanks again 🙏 for your care x

Hi Newbie, sorry to hear this, my sons tics did settle down over the coming months (ive just posted setting out the timeline). I’m so grateful for the responses in this group, the positive stories, and the overwhelming majority settled down. Hopefully you can take some comfort in this too 🙏
We also have an appt with paed neurologist coming up.
Wishing you all the very best with your little one and hope things soon settle down for you.

My son started with eye tics at the age of 5. It then moved to throat clearing. We saw opticians, doctors, neurologists etc. It was confirmed as just tics. They would last for months at a time. Suddenly at age 11 after one week of liquid magnesium, they stopped. He is a big 18 Yr old now & they never returned. I know it's very stressful, try not to mention it to your child.

Thank you for sharing, it’s so reassuring to hear these positive stories and I’m glad things got better for you and your son. I am trying not to worry, it’s hard when everything looks so uncertain. Could I ask if you could DM me with the details of the magnesium you’d tried? That’s so amazing they stopped after one week,

Pretty much the same story. DS had a wild variety of tics from about 7 to 10/11. Throat clearing, grunting, movements of eyes, limbs. They disappeared as quickly as they came. He is in his 30s now and fine.

@JBright Sure, the brand is Floradix, it comes in a 250ml bottle. I'm in Ireland but I imagine it's for sale in the UK.

I was reading this post a few months back because my 5 year old son, who has ASD, was experiencing quite violent tics (mainly head nodding). He’s had various tics on and off since he was about two/three, but this one was getting really bad. I’d taken him to the doctor, but they basically said there wasn’t anything they could do and to wait for a bit. It was getting so bad that he’d fall off his bike because of the tics. I started to do a bit of research and stumbled across Mighty Kids Magnesium supplements which had some reviews saying it had helped with tics. Out of desperation, we bought a bottle. Within about a week of taking it, it cured him of all tics! It’s astonishing, but his body was obviously lacking the magnesium. Anyway, I thought I’d share on here in case it can help someone else as I know what an awful worry it can be!

I too, am starting floradix magnesium, as even at 5ml it's a high quantity of easily absorbed magnesium

Thank you, worth a try.

Just wondering how it’s going for your son?
My 3,5 year old boy has had one eye blink tic for the last six months, some days very bad, some days better, but it’s still going 🙁 It worries me sick everyday.

Hi OP, how’s your son doing now? My soon to be 5yo DS has just developed a vocal tic (nose sniffing), a year after I noticed his eye blinking/rolling tic. I’ve read all the comments and would probably try to give him magnesium supplement and whole food diet, but would love to have an update on your DS.

Hi, sorry for the late reply. My son still has tics but they are much less than when they started overall. Over trial and error, the best thing that seems to make a noticeable reduction is probiotics. I give him half a histaminx probiotic daily, by seeking health. They are suitable for ages 4 and up. I chose them as they are not histamine producing strains. Although, what works for one does not work for another. However, there are studies in china (online) demonstrating certain strains of probiotics can reduce tics.
long term I plan to look at root cause work.
I also found hidden black mould in the kitchen which we remediated recently. It does need to be done properly under containment.
we may work with a functional health practitioner in the future for more targeted root cause work too.
good luck OP I know what you’re going through and it’s tough. Happy for you to DM me if you need any more advice or just to chat.

My daughter is 9 and for the past 8 months keeps clearing her throat, doctor says ear/nose/throat all
clear so seems to be a tic, glad to hear others stopped over time, will try the magnesium.