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My 8yr. old son has also had numerous problems at school and I've sent in pamphlets about TS, etc. also. At conferences the teacher always tells us how bad his handwriting is and my husband and I just look at each other and say, "thank goodness he will probably be using a computer to write someday" or" he get's it honestly". We have also had a run in w/the social worker not "getting it" either and thinks it is a behavior problem. It was so hard in second grade and we all felt very alone, but third grade was better and I told my son that he will be a better person for having to go through all this and we love him no matter what! Also, we tell him that someday he will find a best friend(s) that will take you as you are. Some days my heart hurts so much for him and other days I truly know that he will really be something when he grows up. Hang in there!
Posts: 27 | Registered: Jan 2005
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Hi my duaghter was diagnosed with tourettes, adhd,seizure disorder and ocd when she was about 6, she is now 8. She is currently taking stratera, clonidine and depakote, which do help, but she still has problems. Most doctors tell me that I can relate her bahavior to tourettes. She has fits and hit herself as well. It very hard at times to understand that all these symptoms can be related. Recently she had some bloodwork done and her Dr requested her to be tested for streptoccus, I don't know if they have ever checked her for this before, but she recently was sick and her tic's got worse, so they tested her, it came back positive and her titer was 598 (I think that's what its called) well I was told that is extremely high, which caused to look into strep infections and tourettes, from what I have read there seems to be some relation. Does anyone know anything about this and the relation between the two?
Posts: 8 | From: california | Registered: Jul 2006
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quote:Originally posted by kelly35: Hi, just found this web site, wich is great. My son is 9 years old. was diagnosed at age 7 with tourettes,this year he was also diagnosed with OCD. He is taking clonidine at night to help him sleep. and topomax every 12 hours to control his tics,wich works very well. I have never known anyone with tourettes or who has a child with tourettes. My son has started to become very agitated very easily. I find myself wondering where my sweet loving child has gone. Could his anger outbursts be caused by meds? Or could there be another tourettes related diagnosis just around the corner? Also I am having problems with his school. They haven't had other students with tourettes and his teacher simply does'nt get it. I have provided her with packets of info. And still I get letter after letter regarding his handwriting wich is almost non readable. How do you deal with this? I would appreciate any advice I can get. Thank-You
I have extremely severe Tourette Syndrome myself. The violent outbursts are related to low serotonin levels, I believe. Violent criminals have been shown to have low serotonin levels. Also, I sometimes get agitated or angry very easily and I have found that SSRI (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor) medicines are very effective in reducing this and the tics themselves. These drugs work by increasing serotonin levels. I recommend that you tell your doctor that you'd like to try an SSRI Examples are Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, Luvox, etc. I currently take Celexa and Luvox together (maximum dosage of each. Actually it is unknown whether taking 2 SSRIs at once is safe, but I'm desperate.) Well, I hope that was helpful.
posted
you can tell your mom about this website, or ask her to go to tourettes association website, and start your conversation from there. You must talk to her about your symptoms, she is the only person who can get you the medical help you need. these symptoms are uncontrollable and you are not to blame for them.
Posts: 29 | From: tampa,fl | Registered: Apr 2006
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I can sympathyze with your situation, my son was just diagnosed late last year, he`s 11..We DID NOT put him on any meds due to his tics were not that severe at that time, but were still waxing and waning..And really still are to this day... I would have a very strong suspicion it is the meds causing your problems, one of the reasons we decided against them is all the negative effects, I investigated them thoroughly and we decided to handle it with diet. I found a wonderful book on how to control tics with Diet, and it has helped, but his tics still come and go but not as bad at times. However your situation could be such that the tics were so strong it only mad sense to give meds, and we may get to that piont as well..I hope not..I`ve read that if you take them off the meds it can all stop completely, or could get worse..
Posts: 5 | From: Indiana | Registered: Jul 2006
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LOOKS LIKE NO ONE HAS POSTED ANYTHING LATELY BUT HAVE BEEN ENJOYING READING ABOUT OTHERS' SITUATIONS. MY SON IS 6 YRS OLD AND HAS JUST BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH TOURETTES. HE HAD A VERY DIFFICULT KINDERGARTEN YEAR WITH A TEACHER THAT WOULD NOT "HEAR" WHAT I WAS TELLING HER ABOUT HIS TICS AND IMPULSES. HE CONTINUED TO GET BAD MARKS BEHAVIORALLY, DESPITE MY REQUEST TO HAVE THE SCHOOL COUNSELOR OBSERVE HIM AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS. HE'S IN FIRST GRADE THIS YEAR AND CONTINUES TO HAVE BEHAVIORAL DIFFICULTIES THAT ARE GETTING HIM IN TROUBLE. I DON'T THINK MY SON'S IMPULSES ARE EVEN THAT NOTICEABLE BUT OTHER KIDS ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT SUCH THINGS AS HIM NOT KEEPING HIS HANDS TO HIMSELF, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY NOT ACCEPTABLE. SO I GOT A REFERRAL TO A NEUROLOGIST AND GOT THE DIAGNOSIS. MY SON ALSO HAS RAGE OUTBURSTS AND HAS DIFFICULTY CONTROLLING HIMSELF WHEN HE BECOMES ANGRY, WHICH IS OFTEN. HE HITS, THROWS THINGS, AND BREAKS THINGS, THEN DEMANDS THAT I FIX THEM OR REPLACE THEM!! HE ALSO HAS DAYTIME AND NIGHTTIME ENEURESIS (INCONTINENCE) AND WILL BE HAVING A SLEEP STUDY DONE SOON. NOT SURE IF THIS IS RELATED TO THE TS OR NOT. THE NEUROLOGIST SUGGESTED TRYING VITAMIN B6 AS IT HAS A CALMING AFFECT ON THE BRAIN. IF THIS IS NOT HELPFUL, HE MAY PRESCRIBE LEXAPRO. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH A CHILD WHO IS PRESCRIBED LEXAPRO? I WANT MEDS TO BE AS A LAST RESORT ONLY. I MYSELF TAKE ZOLOFT FOR DEPRESSION AND AM NOT AGAINST PEOPLE USING MEDICATION WHEN IT IS JUSTIFIED. I JUST HAVE RESERVATIONS ABOUT SUCH A YOUNG CHILD BEING ON MEDS. THANKS FOR ANY COMMENTS. I KNOW THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A LONG ROAD AHEAD. HOPEFULLY MY SON WILL OUTGROW HIS SYMPTOMS DURING ADOLESCENCE!
Posts: 1 | Registered: Oct 2009
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Hi LILDEB69 I noticed people don't post here to often. I have a 15 year old boy with TS and it only started to get really bad at the age of 13. We did have to put him on meds so he could attend school. But now we are at the point where were not sure if the meds arent helping or if it has just gotten worse. The blood pressure meds dont help my son so he has to go with things like respridone(respridol) but he can not take a higher dose because he started to get the rabbit syndrome from it. That is where they move their lips slightly like a rabbit does his nose. And he also needed something for OCD which was Prozac. Recently he was switched to Lexapro but we had to take him off it because it made his tics so bad. Now they haven't gotten better. SSRI's can be known to induce or make tics worse with people that have tics. So what ever you start do it slowly and watch to see how it effects your son. If you ever feel like talking you can email me. desertstar34@yahoo.com
Posts: 5 | From: California | Registered: Oct 2009
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I know what you are going through with school. I spent my entire childhood being teased and mocked - not only by my classmates, but by my teachers as well in many instances! I used to have a line - "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" that I said to one of my teachers who made a habit of mimicking my tics in front of the class. I said it as a way to appear aloof, but I was totally ashamed inside. My doctor tried all manner of steroid therapies etc. but my parents never put me on psychiatric medications - which I remain thankful for. TS effected every area of my life: I had poor grades, despite having an IQ in the range of 130-140 I graduated high school near the bottom of the class, I became involved in self medication with illicit drugs and alcohol. But, despite all of the shame and hardship, as well as phases of social difficulty, I would say going through my experiences med free helped me cope later in life. I now own and operate two businesses, live in a foreign country, speak 4 langauages, live with my wife of 10 years and our two children... The point is not to toot my own horn, but to show that despite all of the SH*T that TS entails as you are growing up (and I could make a list of negative experiences in the past to match all of the positve things in my life now), it should all be viewed as temporary! As a suggestion, perhaps the martial arts would be a good outlet for your son LILDEB69. It would give him a way to vent the pressure that causes the tics, as well as a forum to hit people :-) I find martial arts personally to be a great way to deal with my symptoms (which I still have at age 38).
Posts: 3 | From: Frankfurt, Germany | Registered: Nov 2009
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We've seem to have had a similar year as you have LILDEB69 with our son who's 5 years old. He's not been diagnosed as the paeodiatrician just thinks he has mild tics and it's not actually TS. It's pretty frustrating as he's had tics since 2 1/2 starting with a facial grimace and a growl and developing over the years. To me it seems obvious it's TS as his dad also has tics but she's the expert. Anyway, the tics we can manage, or should I say he can manage, at the moment. It's the other behaviour he's constantly getting into trouble with at school. He's incredibly impulsive, will lash out before thinking of the consequences and acts 'silly' a lot of the time. I've tried to explain to his teacher that it all sounds very TS related as what I've read on various forums makes sense with a lot of different kids his age. Unfortunately he was still getting into a lot of trouble and his self asteem was suffering as he really tried hard to 'be good'. Anyway, it finally dawned on the principal who has said that she's going to call a meeting in the new year with his new teacher (new school year starts end of Jan as we're in Australia) so we're looking forward to a more positive year next year and hopefully a lot more understanding. What I'm concerned about I guess is that the principal has suggested that she thinks he has Asperger Syndrome or ADHD. From all the study I've done on the internet and through forums it seems to me that his behaviour is typical of a lot of children with TS. He does show certain signs of Aspergers and ADHD but not more than a lot of kids his age. He communicates well with others, has lots of friends and plays well in groups etc., can watch movies through to the end, play games for hours on PS2 and read and write better than his peers. He does get bored very easily and if he becomes bored with something, it's almost impossible to get him back again. He's a bright and funny little boy and my concern was the school were trying to change him to fit him into a particular box which he'll never do, he's incredibly unique as far as we're concerned and we love him for it. Does this ring a bell with anyone else? I'd love to hear from anyone else who has similar issues with school and any advice on how to get the teachers to see that they can't change these kids, they need to work with them. Your advice BBruce about martial arts sounds great, it'd be a great way for the rage to come out in a positive way. Oh and it'd also be great if this site was more active. I posted something a while ago and it's been pretty dead for a while so hopefully we can get things moving here (pardon the pun!!).
Posts: 6 | From: Australia | Registered: Sep 2009
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