Ty Antics:
Told him in the car that when we got home everyone was going to get in the spa.?? He wanted to play Xbox.?? Sorry Charlie.?? He thinks then says “Mommy.?? What will happen if I splash while I am in the spa?”?? I say “I know exactly what you are up to Ty.?? If you splash you WILL have to get out of the spa but you will not be allowed back in the house.?? You’ll have to sit by yourself on the porch”.
How do you like that??? Wondering if naughtiness might serve his purpose.?? It’s my job to make sure it does NOT.?? And now I sound EXACTLY like my mother.?? 🙂 🙂
So what do you know about tics??? Always something over here huh?
About 3.5 weeks ago, Jim and I started noticing Ty clearing his throat a lot.?? We figured he was coming down with something but it never escalated into any other symptoms.???? The throat clearing is happening more and more frequently and we are now questioning whether or not it is a tic.???? It seems to me that he is doing it most when he is excited, engaged,?? or tired (just like the head shaking thing that he still does).?? In the last hour that I have been on the computer I have nearly lost my ever lovin mind because he has cleared his throat about every 15 seconds.?? If you ask him about it he typically doesn’t realize he is doing it.?? I heard him tell someone this afternoon though that he had something in his throat but I later wondered if that is the excuse he is now giving since I fed that to him by asking “Ty is there something in your throat?”.???? Tonight though, I called him in here and asked him about it again and he almost started crying.?? I could tell he is getting annoyed with it to.?? Is there something wrong with his throat and this is legit??? Is this some form of tic??? Is it a tick but now he IS hurting his throat by all the clearing??? I wouldn’t have even considered the tic possibility except for the fact that a girlfriend of mine who has a child recently diagnosed with tourettes does the same thing (throat clearing/grunting).?????? What other things are tics associated to??? I have heard stress and anxiety but I don’t see any reason for that in Ty’s environment so that doesn’t seem likely.?? I don’t know what to think.
I looked up Tourettes tonight on the National Institute of Neurological Disorders website and got a little freaked out because throat clearing is mentioned frequently as a prominent vocal tic.?? Here are a few other things that sound familiar:
*?? Simple vocalizations might include repetitive throat-clearing, sniffing, or grunting sounds.
*?? Tics are often worse with excitement or anxiety and better during calm, focused activities.
*?? Tics do not go away during sleep but are often significantly diminished.
*?? (Cause)?? Although the cause of TS is unknown, current research points to abnormalities in certain brain regions (including the basal ganglia, frontal lobes, and cortex), the circuits that interconnect these regions, and the neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine) responsible for communication among nerve cells. Given the often complex presentation of TS, the cause of the disorder is likely to be equally complex.?? (With Ty’s bilateral brain hemorrages…who know’s?)
*?? Many with TS experience additional neurobehavioral problems including inattention; hyperactivity and impulsivity (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder???ADHD) and related problems with reading, writing, and arithmetic; and obsessive-compulsive symptoms such as intrusive thoughts/worries and repetitive behaviors.?? (Ty = ADHD, OCD – and definitely repetitive behavori)
Read this all here:?? http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tourette/detail_tourette.htm
I am not trying to prematurely diagnose Ty with tourette’s and I hope it ISN’T that but some of the symptoms are suspicious.?? Hopefully it’s just bad summer allergies (but strange that this is his only symptom if it is allergies).
Then I am concerned about Tori because her skin looks especially bad today.?? I can’t decide if I think she has excema or vitaligo or both.?? She started getting rashes on the insides of her arms (at the bend), many months ago. They would welt, turn red, then the welts would go down, then the skin would turn white.
It seems that excema is likely because (a) her skin gets really dry patches (b) it’s especially bad in the sweat spots (c) it raises, welts, rashes, and then loses color in cycles (d) the heat makes it worse.
On the other hand, I also am wondering about vitaligo because the pigment is bleaching out and not just in the rash/dry spots.?? In other areas too.?? Mostly on her arms right now.?? She is just getting white patches.???? I have family members with vitaligo so I have seen it and I know that it is most noticeable during the summer.?? I remember my brother getting so tan and then being spotted with very low pigmentation areas.?? It seems to have gotten a lot better as he has gotten older.
Also am wondering if nationalities with darker skin have a harder time with it being noticeable (if it is vitaligo?).
Will be scheduling a Dr.’s appointment soon for both kids because I don’t know what to do with either one of them.?? I could use Eucerin on Tori’s patches and that might help the rashed/dry areas but it will do nothing for the pigment loss.?? My MIL put baby lotion on her today and I noticed that the inside of her arms were REALLY rashed tonight so I am wondering if the lotion we used actually made it worse today.
I think I need to go to bed now and tackle these problems tomorow.
11 responses to “What Will Happen?”
Doni,
Tics are common in kids – my youngest (Eric) will occasionally have a tic pop up and it will last for a while and then go away. I would say he was worse when he was 5. He’d have one tic for several months (shoulder shrugging was one) and then he’d stop for months and then another one would show up (eye blinking was another one). Eric is 7 now and I hardly ever see tics now, but if I do, it’s usually associated with a stressful situation — like the start of school. In fact his teacher made the comment about her own daughter’s latest “tic”. My niece had tics for several years when she was in grade school and then she just stopped. My guess is that what Ty has is most likely common childhood tics, not Tourette’s. Based on my own personal experience, I think “intense” kids tend to be prone to tics. And you are right, they don’t even know they are doing it and pointing it out only stresses them out more and can make the tics worse. It is annoying, but should decrease and stop completely with time (but could be on and off for couple of years — as I’ve seen with Eric).
First let me say I LOVE these pics of Zandi. The first one is especially precious. I love my little girl who’s not so little anymore. Second, I know I don’t have any words of wisdom to offer you in these areas with Ty, but I can pray and will that the Lord will give you direction. As for Tori and her skin, Zane & I are in the same boat. We seem to break out from EVERYTHING! Zane just broke out with enphentigo again (I’m sure I spelled that wrong) and I got another weird rash on my leg. Sensitive skin is just no fun. We keep the doctors in business:).
Thanks Ann. I have been doing more research and my guess is (a) this is not likely tourettes because tourettes seems to be genetically linked and I think this is neurological not genetic and (b) I doubt it is typical childhood tics. Ty has too many other OCD behaviors that go hand in hand with ADHD, OCD, and SPD – all neurological based. Past and current examples include bruxism (teeth grinding), nose picking, breath holding, head banging, rocking, repetative behavior…AND possibly a tic (throat clearing). My guess is the tic association (if it is that) belongs in the already existing line up stemming from whatever causes the list of other things. There are SO many disorders out there that Ty has symptoms of – it’s tough to narrow things done. Right now just chalking this up to another item on the list but hopefully this one will be transient. Appreciate your feedback.
I hope the doctor is able to put some clarity on the skin troubles for Tori and it sounds like you are coming to some understanding with Ty. These are the things when parenting gets so challenging.
I had a neighbor feed Will an almond the other day. He tasted it and then spit it out. But he ingested some of it since it was stuck in his teeth. I stayed calm and watched him carefully. he regularly takes Zyrtek so I think it kept any major issues at bay, but he does have white bumpies all over himself now. I am sure it is the skin reaction to the nut. I am glad it was just almonds and not the peanuts, but food stuff really tends to be a huge influence on skin stuff. BUT so does laundry detergent and lotions and the like. By using really plain and unsented laundry soap and no fabric softener at all Duncan’s and Will’s skin usually stays very clear. If I don’t do that, Duncan’s skin is really rough on his arms and legs and he is itchy. So indeed skin sensitivities are usually an issue and might be able to be helped. I don’t use perfumed lotion or baby stuff. I have been very prone to using unsented everything. It does work well for sure.
I was just slightly curious about Ty…do you give him Sudafed, Clariton or Zyrtek, or products like that? My friend was here and was giving her daughter a little too strong a dose of one of them and her daughter started having a very similar symtom to Ty. Once she scaled back the meds, the noises her daughter was making subsided. Since I have no idea if you give him a med for allergies, I have no idea if this has anything to do with it, but I couldn’t help but at least toss it out there.
Blessings on you Doni as you work through these challenges :)!
Doni, Doni, Doni, mothering can be so exhausting, can it not? Especially emotionally. I’ve been concerned about Daniel the passed few days because he’s been spilling ketones in his urine. So, I upped his carb intake, but with that, his glucose levels also went up. UGH Then, I was reading last night about overproduction of milk causing reflux issues, blood in the stool–which Luke had last night–so they recommend you pump before nursing so the baby doesn’t have such a forceful letdown to deal with. Did that through the night and it helped A LOT. But it just seems like there’s always something. I try my best not to worry, but it’s really hard. I want to trust the Lord completely with my children but it’s definitely something I struggle with daily!! So, I will be praying for you as you seek for answers with Ty and Tori’s situations. It blesses me to watch you with your kids–you are such a caring, nurturing mother and are so in tune with all 3 of them. They are so blessed to have you!!
I feel your pain. It took me 6 years to find out what was going on with Shay (9 now) and he was not pre-mature at all. He has ADHD and tics. The tics only happen when he is excited and he has been doing it since he was a year old. At first I thought it was TS and did all the same research you did and was just about convinced. When I took him to the “brain doc” he said it was just simply a tic, “childhood tic” as mentioned before. He said that he would likely grow out of it but if it became a problem we could give him meds. I hope he stops when he gets in his teenage years because I am sure it might become a problem socailly for him. Its hard to explain what he does but he opens his mouth really wide his eyes are wide and he clintches his fists and kind of like shakes. I can stop him which is a really good sign and he knows when he is doing it which good for him.
Hopefully you can get some good answers when you take Ty to the docs. The internet can be so harsh sometimes too much info is not always a good thing…lol
zandi – you already know what i think of her AND your photography… BOTH SO LOVELY!
ty – aaa… that boy will keep us on our toes won’t he? warning – don’t watch phoebe in wonderland if you are feeling nervous and don’t have an answer yet. i hope this is just one of those developmental phases that will pass. sorry it’s a scary time for mama though.
have you used aquifor or eucerin with tori? do you remember how seth would break out in full body red welts when i used burts bees baby lotion? supposed to be so natural and gentle but something in it just freaked out his skin… oh – now i recall – we ended up using creamy vaseline when he’d get dry or patches of eczema because it was so SO mild.
doni,
i personally had “childhood tics” and i know for a fact they were related to my stress/excitement as well as OCD and depression (both of which i have). i did a lot of shoulder shrugging as well as touching one leg one time then having to touch the other leg the SAME EXACT way…it was horribly frustrating and stressful for me. i had no one to talk to or who could help me. when i was about 10/11, my parents were going to a marriage therapist and they brought me to her because i was having these issues (some of which they never knew about and probably still don’t know about!) and she gave me absolutely NO HELP. if you’re truely worried about these tics (and i hate to tell you that it did come and go for MANY years…) and you believe in therapy, please find a good child therapist for Ty to go to. even if he doesn’t have as many issues as i’ve had, it will not harm him to have someone to talk to. i highly suggest therapy to anyone, no matter if you think you have problems or not. it’s great to have someone that just talks to you and helps you think of new/better ways of doing things and improving yourself. i know a lot of people don’t like the idea of therapy, but i’ve found it VERY helpful over the years, especially after/during my parents’ divorce. just like any other profession, there are good and bad therapists–you might need to go to more than a couple before you find one that’s right for you. i’m also hoping Ty doesn’t have TS as that’s a very tough life to live for those with TS. i agree that it might be a symptom of his premature birth and brain trauma.
As for Tori, can you have her doctor do a blood test for food allergies? make sure he/she does the immediate and delayed reaction tests. it’s only a blood test–no pricking her back with needles–only one needle! i found out about 2 months ago that i have the highest reaction possible for delayed reaction to Wheat and Eggs, which i never in my life thought i had! i had no immediate response, so i’m not sure i would have ever known i had these allergies. skin rashes/excema can be a symptom of food or environmental allergies (as well as stress–i broke out with excema during the divorce as well…glad that time’s over!). i would try this and also have your doctor refer her to a dermatologist. a lot of times scented lotions can cause more harm than good! try things without fragrances like the others suggested.
i hope this helps! good luck & i know you’ll keep us updated!
Gentle Natures Baby Eczema Cream – best stuff EVER made for eczema! I have used it on about 6 or 7 foster babies, as well as Tyler. I tell everyone who has a kid with eczema to give it a try, to me… it is the best!
Scott (our oldest) is diagnosed with ADHD, Bi-polar, Tourettes, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Attachment Disorder. His tics would change from mild to severe. He would pull at his clothes, shrug his shoulders, and the worst one was when he would pick the skin off of his hand. I had to wrap his hand in gauze and tape to get him to not pick the skin off; then he would start a new tic (but as long as it didn’t involve removing skin, that was at least better!)
Also, I have had a foster kid before who had eczema and it looked like white patches instead of the typical red/pink. Also, Lauren (who has dark skin) will have lighter patches of skin after a boo boo of any kind.
Love you and praying for you… parenting can be tiring and frustrating sometimes; especially when we want to do the right thing, but don’t know what that is… I pray that God will guide you, and I pray that you have some relaxing and fun time with your kids before school starts back again! 🙂
Hi Doni….as to the throat clearing tic…..I just want to let you know I had it for YEARS and every once in awhile I still do it. In my case it was just a habit I picked up…probably initially formed by my thyroid issues, but now I don’t have any thyroid left and I still do it. LOL
This could simply be a case of a habit forming. I also had another lovely one when I was younger where I couldn’t look anyone in the eye. My Mom used to make me sit at the table and stare at her for 5 minutes straight…it was TORTURE but it worked. LOL
The best thing you can do is let Ty know that you hear him Throat Clearing everytime he does it. Alot of times the person doesn’t realize they are doing it. I have to do the same thing with Christian and his Apraxia….he will have moments where everything is blurred together and he doesn’t know it. At his age he gets upset that I point it out…but I want him to be able to be conscious of it when he is around others.
Good luck and trust me…online diagnosis is NEVER good for the heart and mind.
I have full blown tourettes and it started with a tic like that. It’s a habit for mothers to search google for every medical problem they may come across.just go to a darn doctor, because that is what they are there for!