Nervous Twitch

[Oggy]

Hi all

Hope someone here has experience of this or something similar.

Over the last few weeks my son has developed a nervous twitch. It started off as a shoulder movement which has now in the last week or so been replaced by a sort of head flick (the type of movement like flicking your hair out of your eyes).

Sometimes he hardly does it, other times there can be quite a flurry of them. My friend mentioned she noticed it the other day so it is def something real rather than paranoid parent imagination.

I have researched online and it seems it is not uncommon at his age (nearly 6) and generally they tend to grow out of it.

We are not drawing attention to it with him but obviously we are a bit worried. I want to wait and give him a chance to grow out of it before doing anything. My husband is very anxious about it and wants to see the doctor (he is worried about tourettes).

I am loathe to take my son to the doctor at this stage as I think making a fuss of it in front of my son could make it worse and may hinder him in growing out of it naturally.

Any comments / advice / reassurance from people who have had similar experiences with their child?

Thanks

[nokissymum]

You are welcome, glad to hear he is feeling better

[Whathashappenedtomyboobs]

Thanks nokissymum. Well DS is much much better today!

[Oggy]

Nokissymum - that is a really good idea. I might try and do that.

If we can do that then I can husband and I can even see the doctor without my son initially and show him video, that way not having to bring my son into it straight away (I really don't wnat to bring his attention to it at this stage - I am pretty sure he doesn't realise he does it)

[nokissymum]

Whatshappened yours doesnt sound like the same thing. Tics are involuntary body movements or verbal sounds, the petson just does them for no particular reason, and cant explain why they are doing it, my ds used to say "it feels like a tickle" so for instance he would make a strange face mid talking, or raise his left arm up and down for no reason, these are not spasmic movements some can be slow and very purposeful.

But best to seek medical advise always, although i must warn for some strange reason its very difficult for the child to "tic" when under onservation, i was advised by the specialist to try recording him at home, in order for them to diagnose.

[Whathashappenedtomyboobs]

Hi, I've posted a thread about my DS. His throat is inflamed and he's been having these muscle spasms/twitches/tic not sure how to describe it, read your post nokissymum- could the throat infection cause this?

[nokissymum]

Its okay, i dont mind you asking . No the spcialist did say sometimes its brought on by a recent throat infection etc, so he was blood tested but he was clear. Spec. Said they really dont know what brings it, she did say its inherited in families, dh and i know nobody in our family with tics, at one point i remmember saying. "yes, i did like to lick my finger a lot btw ages 6 and 7", we were just fumbling in the dark really.

The tics changed over the weeks, months and years some went, new ones started, right now he has the odd tic (a little head nod) but mainly calm. The specalist told us up front there was no way of telling wether it will go up the spectrum to tourettes or just remain as it is, only time would tell, we had regular checkups, both on the nhs and privately, we were also told so long as it didnt start affecting his schooling, e.g being teased etc they wouldnt advice medication. We didnt want hom on mecication anyway as we were also told and through my research that, once on meds, if it withdrawn some it can make the condition worse than before.

I also ddnt want medication for a condition such as ADHD being given to him to mess with his brain anyfurther, when he didnt actually have ADHD ifyswim.

My best advice is ask to see a specialist to put your minds at rest and to monitor him through this, we ended seeing a paediatric neurologist in the end as they specialise in seeing children with tics, tourettes and epilepsy, i just felt they knew what they were on about more than an ordinary paeditrician (not that what the paeds. Do is ordinay! But hope you see what i mean)

[Oggy]

Sorry, another question. Was your specialist able to determine whether there was actually a medical issue or just a phase, or was he just guessing / assuming he would grow out of it because most children do?

[Oggy]

OMG, he did a bit of blinking as well (the very first thing!)

So did his tics lasted 4 years and then disappeared as quickly as they came, or did they slow down gradually over those years? Or does he still have the odd tic?

Sorry if being nosey.

[nokissymum]

Yes, i know exactly what you talking about. I think its known as a"tic" than a twitch.
Ds started blinking a lot at 6, (we didnt really think anything of it) but then he started grimacing then came other odd movements, including grunting, clearing his throat. I dont want to scare you, we eventually took him to see a specialist, who said exactly what yours said "he will grow out of it". He is now 10 and very very well but its been a hellish 4 yrs observing all the various tics, he had a friend who started showing symptoms much earlier than him but his never went further than blinking, both boys are doing well, i pray yours ends well too.