Teen with tics

[Manchestertimes]

My daughter had a few tics a year ago and the main one stopped but is now back with avengence! I gave her magnesium in the pst and it really helped and she is taking it again but the tics are still there.
The main one is thrusting her neck forward then frowning. She has just started year 7 in September and is a quiet girl and I am worried she is going to stand out with these peculiar movements and I am really worried. Any advice? Thanks

How do you know they're tics and not just weird habits she's got into?

DD had something similar in year 5 to around year 8. It was partially habit but mainly anxiety. She's more confident now and doesn't do it anymore.

She has had it before and it is a repetitive action. She thrusts her neck and then frowns. She doesn't want to do it but cant stop as it hurts her neck. Been giving her magnesium again and the tics have reduced.

Tics are associated with Tourette’s aren’t they? If you go to the GP they will help.

@manchestertimes have a look at PANS/PANDAS - especially if you have noticed behaviour changes

my 13 year old does this too. She says she feels like there's an itch in her neck which makes her sort of do an involuntary movement with her neck. All started with general loss of self confidence and general awkwardness. Kind of hoping she just grows out of it as hasn't been so noticeable recently

GP will tell you not to draw attention to them as it can make it worse. I did warn dc's teachers so he wasn't told off for it.
You can get a referral to a neurologist and we found talking to one reassuring but they didn't actually "do" anything as nothing to be done. If it got worse we are to return though. Stress can make it worse but it can happen in relaxed situations too.

Hi. My dd has this, 16 years old. Was finally diagnosed with Tourette’s , she goes through different stages with them, nodding, neck twitching, a grunting noise, always worse with stress. It can also be hereditary
It was diagnosed by Dr Simmons at St Thomas hospital, huge waiting list as only a few Tourette’s specialists in this country. They recommended CBT and also a drug called quietiapin which relaxes muscles as hers got so bad as she tried to hold them in.
As she has got older it’s a bit easier to deal with for her, friends know and accept that, she’s off on one, we do make light if it as much as possible.
During gcse we requested she sit at the back of the room so she could nod away and twitch without people behind her noticing.
If this is diagnosed she will get extra time in exams as the tics make it harder to concentrate, plus dd is dyslexic
Hope this helps, sorry for rambling

DS1 has had various tics on and off for years. I read that unless there is a physical tic and a verbal tic at the same time, it won't be diagnosed as Tourettes. He never had any verbal tics that we noticed though.

We used to ignore the tics when he was younger, or, when they were too obvious to ignore, tell him that it was a temporary thing which he'd grow out of.

Now he's a teen, he's more aware, and he insisted on going to the doctors about his latest tic. They reassured him and sent him to the specialist, who took bloods and told us there was nothing wrong. That tic appears to have vanished now as well, so I think he just needs to accept that some people have tics.

Sorry, that doesn't really help your DD, other than to let her know that's she's not alone. Otherwise, I think you're doing all you can.

Thank you for all your responses. Her tics have reduced at the moment but I have no doubt they will return!