Motor and Verbal Tics

I have a son this is 11 years old. He started stuttering at the age of 5. We went to several docs and he was placed in speech therapy. He has been in speech all this time. He has had some what of a problem with blinking but not as much as he was stuttering. Now in the past 4 months his blinking has gotten really bad and he cannot stop. His eyes were red and he was complaining of blacking out and headaches. We went to a pedi neurologist and he was places on Clonodine bid 1 mg. This has helped some . He is scheduled for a tilt table test at the end of this month. My question is this tourettes syndrome? Will he outgrow this? He is made fun of all the time at school and we are just wanting the very best for him and to do well in school. Also I had a concern of the medicine,it is a blood pressure med and he does not have high blood pressure. Will this affect him in any negative way. Is this dosage too high, I work at a hospital and this is an adult dose. Thank you so much for all your help of our 6 1/2 year battle.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

A diagnosis of Tourette requires both multiple motor tics and verbal tic. Now, the tics can vary; they nnedn't persist. From what you describe, while Tourette Disorder may develop, it is not indicated at the moment. The medication regimen is not unusual. One question for you: is the dose 1 mg bid or .1 mg bid?

[Sunnyshe]

.1 mg bid

[Sunnyshe]

What are the indications of tourettes? He has also had an MRI and EKG and they all came out normal. What could be going on?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Diagnostic criteria for Tourette Disorder include multiple motor tics and also at least one verbal tic. There are a variety of tic disorders, and it sounds like your son's behavior has been diagnosed as an ivoluntary movement. Has he received a 'clean bill of health' from a pediatric ophthalmologist?

[Sunnyshe]

He has only been to a optomotrist not an ophthalmologist. Should he be checked wuth the other also? I do not understand involantary movement? What are the causes of that? When he went to the optometrist he did not need glasses but they had a hard time because they were telling him to stop blinking and he could not and she was getting frustrated with him.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

There can be a number of causes of tics, which are a type of involuntary movement. All this means is that the person is not volitionally causing the muscle to move - it is not under the person's control. Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the eye, and it would be prudent to have such a doctor examine your son (for the purpose of ruling out any disease condition of the eye). It is likely, though, that if the optometrist suspected any such disease he would have referred your son to an ophthalmologist. But "better safe than sorry".

[Sunnyshe]

Ok thanks, I will do that. Wednesday he had a very bad episode of the blinking and severe headaches and was running a temp 103. We took him to his dr and his liver enzymes were up and his bili was a 5.9. So then we did a sonogram of his gallbladder and liver and all that showed was enlarged liver. He has had a full workup of all labs about a moonth ago and everything was normal. Now we were referred to an Gastro Interologist for this. Any ideas?

[D.Grimes]

I hope everything goes well for your son.  My daughter also has motor tics (eyes, nose, feet).  She is only six and so far she is not picked on by the other kids, but I worry about what the future will be like for her.

Good luck!!!

[nikkinaka]

Hi,
My daughter is 6.5 yrs old and was diagnosed with adhd in Jan 03. My daughters docto is now saying she has sever motor tics. we went to the neurologist and he said she just has a lot of ants in her pants and her pychiatrist is insisting she has severe motor tics. I am at my witts end with this now. Not sure who or what to believe anymore. She squirms in her seat constantly, spinning for no reason. Her eye doctor says she need visual trainning. She is always on the go. Is this tourettes? I heard it starts with motor and then the verbal tics follow. any feed back, please. thank you!

[Sunnyshe]

HI,
Well sorry to hear about your daughter. My son is now on some medication called Florinef and also the Clonodine. The Clonodine has helped with the eye blinking and he is on the Florinef for the Neurocardiogenic Syncope. He had a tilt table test and his blacking out was caused from something about the blood flow from the heart to the brain. The dr also observed his eye blinking severe when this happened. What sort of tics is your daughter having? It gets very upsetting when one dr days one thing and the other says it is voluntary when it is involuntary.

[Sunnyshe]

Well my son went to the opthalmalogist and he said that nothing was wrong with his eyes and why was he on Clonodine? Well I tried explaining and he said I do not think that he needs to be on this med for blinking it is voluntary. My son had the tilt table test done on 4-24 and he did blackout 11 minutes into the test when they lifted him up. They did not have to give him the isoprill. The cardiologist put him on Florinef and said he does have the Neurocardiogenic Syncope. My question is will he always have this and just have to live with it. The cardio dr also said this med should help him with the eyeblinking and headaches. When he had this episode his blinking went crazy, blood pressure dropped and he went unconsious. The dr also said make sure he drinks plenty of gatorade (6-8) glasses a day. All the drs he has seen they have said make sure he drinks well he does, now knowing that he needs the sodium to help him. His headaches are decreasing . Any words of what we can do to help him live a normal life? Thanks.

[jojo198]

A related discussion, stuttering was started.