Skip to content
BOL Conferences
Learn More - Click Here!

Thread Options
#276011 - 11/17/04 06:08 PM Twitches & anxiety??
Anonymous
Unregistered

I am a registered poster, but I am too upset to use my real (?) name.

My kid, age 9 is a smart kid. He consistently scores 90+ on all of his tests. Except the last one. He never finished it, even though he he was alloted extra time.

I found this out last week when I received a call from his principal explaining that he is not completing his classwork in a timely fashion, and the last straw was this test. The teacher said that he just sits there, spacing out, so it seems, and then he ran out of time.

We had a heart-to-heart, about how this will affect his grades, and his future classroom assignments and his future.
Well, his performance has improved dramatically, he is capable and bright. His teachers are praising him for his good work and so on.

Here is the problem: since Saturday, he has been twitching his head and neck, almost violently. He says he cannot control it. I don't know what to do.

Any thoughts, do any of you think it is anxiety or stress??? Should he go to a physician?

He is not ill and is not on any medications.


Return to Top
#276012 - 11/17/04 06:29 PM Re: Twitches & anxiety??
Anonymous
Unregistered

I'm certainly no doctor, but when my anxiety got completely out of control about five years ago, my left side would do the same thing. My shoulder would shrug, my left arm would spasm, my left leg would go numb, and I would often pass out. After many, MANY tests, my doctor perscribed Paxil which has resolved all of the symptoms. It was really tough for me to accept that I had an anxiety disorder, but without the medication, my thoughts seem foggy, I "space out" often with people taking to me but I can't seem to understand what they are saying, and I have the uncontrolled twitching. Take him to a doctor but don't be surprised (or insulted!) if they suggest anxiety.

Return to Top
#276013 - 11/17/04 06:35 PM Re: Twitches & anxiety??
Bengals Fan Offline
Power Poster
Bengals Fan
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 8,990
Cincinnati, OH
What you describe sounds like a seizure, call the doctor NOW. The worst that can happen is that you find out nothing is wrong. The tics you describe sound like a child in my kids day care that was diagnosed with a neurological disorder. Does he either utter odd sounds, or repeat the words of others?

Return to Top
#276014 - 11/17/04 06:42 PM Re: Twitches & anxiety??
Buddy the Elf Offline
Platinum Poster
Buddy the Elf
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 975
first lily pad on the right
My first thought was the same as Michael's. It does sound like a seizure. My daughter had two of them at age 14 months and the side of her face twitched and she was out of it. The neurologist asked if she ever had instances where she would "zone out". Sounds similar to what your son is experiencing. I would get your son to the doctor today.
_________________________
CAMS

Return to Top
#276015 - 11/17/04 06:53 PM Re: Twitches & anxiety??
Skittles Online
10K Club
Skittles
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 13,965
TN
Ditto on this. Hopefully it will all turn out to be nothing.
_________________________
My Opinions Only

Return to Top
#276016 - 11/17/04 07:02 PM Re: Twitches & anxiety??
deppfan Offline
Power Poster
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 5,184
All over the map.
My first instinct was epilepsy. I didn't realize until a few years ago that seizures can take the form of "spacing out".
_________________________
On the road again.....I just can't wait to get on the road again.

Return to Top
#276017 - 11/17/04 07:09 PM Re: Twitches & anxiety??
Retired DQ Offline
10K Club
Retired DQ
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 40,766
Turnpike Exit 10
I just found this: GAD

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder usually affects children between the ages of six and eleven. It is characterized by excessive worry and anxiety over a variety of things, including, but not limited to:


Grades
Performance in sports
Punctuality
Family issues
Earthquakes
Health

The affected child cannot control his/her worry and it interferes with normal activities. Physical symptoms of GAD include:


Restlessness
Fatigue/Inability to sleep
Difficulty concentrating
Irritability
Muscle tension

Children with GAD tend to be very hard on themselves, striving for perfection, sometimes redoing tasks repeatedly. They may also seek constant approval or reassurance from others.
_________________________
Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please. - Mark Twain

Return to Top
#276018 - 11/17/04 07:11 PM Re: Twitches & anxiety??
Bengals Fan Offline
Power Poster
Bengals Fan
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 8,990
Cincinnati, OH
But Devilish we aren't talking about Muscle tension, we are talking about tics and uncontrollable twitching too...

That's the part that scares me.

Difficulty concentrating, not paying attention, all that doesn't worry me, it's the twitching and what sounds like a seizure...

Return to Top
#276019 - 11/17/04 07:31 PM Re: Twitches & anxiety??
Anonymous
Unregistered

The best advice is certainly to get him to a doctor as soon as possible. I went to the emergency room the first time I began having the "shakes" as we called them - the uncontrollable jerking, twitching described earlier. I was told I might have MS. After many other suggestions, the anxiety disorder finally seemed most conclusive. It is absolutely amazing, and frightening, what stress and anxiety can do to one physically. It's best to find out whether it could be something as serious as a seizure, or something a little easier to control like anxiety. Best of luck to you both!

Return to Top
#276020 - 11/17/04 07:54 PM Re: Twitches & anxiety??
hobot Offline
Gold Star
hobot
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 437
Yes, good luck w/ the doctor and let us know how you and your son are doing!!

Return to Top
#276021 - 11/17/04 09:13 PM Re: Twitches & anxiety??
Princess Leia Offline
Diamond Poster
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,975
Alderaan
I agree with elena - my brother in law nearly flunked out of college with what turned out to be epilepsy. He'd zone out and have no recollection of what occurred, had very little twitches that were nearly indistinguishable. Please have him seen by a doctor.
_________________________
Duct tape is like the force: It has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together.

Return to Top
#276022 - 11/18/04 05:57 PM Re: Twitches & anxiety??
Anonymous
Unregistered

This is a perfectly normal reaction for boys, in particular, from ages 6 through 11. Their response to highly stressful conditions tends to manifest itself in ways that mirrors tourette syndrome -- rolling eyes, rapid eye blinks, twitches, etc. This is the body's method of allowing an outlet for someone who is too young to really know and understand what it is that they're feeling. In fact, they often don't know that it is stress.

Provide support, encouragement, and love; and, as the others mentioned above, have him seen first by his doctor who, if needed, can make a referral to ensure that you're eliminating the potential for any other unexpected conditions.

We forget what it was like to be a child, but the stress you feel at work and in everyday activities as an adult is multiplied ten-fold when you're a child. Also, eliminate any potential things hanging over his head that might be going on at home or elsewhere, such as being bullied, etc. His condition sounds like a response to some type of condition, and this condition is what you want to identify.

Return to Top
#276023 - 11/18/04 06:48 PM Re: Twitches & anxiety??
Anonymous
Unregistered

Anon (last one), thank you for that info. My doctor confirmed what you said about children and stress. She also said that since he can stop it (when I tell him to), that there is not a problem like epilepsy (thank God).

Ironically, he wasn't so bad this morning, but he went to the doctor's anyway, and she said everything seemed normal and not to be concerned. She said to just keep encouraging him. And she gave him some tips on how to stop them. Oh, and he also told me last night that a "friend" of his kept calling him "stupid" lately. He told his friend he didin't like it and the kid told him he was just fooling around. (aren't children soooo nice to one another?), so I think that one of his problems has been resolved. Now, he just has to keep his nose to the ol' grindstone...

Thanks everyone, again. You never realize how much you can love a child until you have one.

--worried less

Return to Top
#276024 - 07/09/06 03:42 PM Re: Twitches & anxiety??
Anonymous
Unregistered

Hey guys I have been having twitches or shakes and I cannot control it and yesterday I was at a resteraunt and I couldn't keep my head up because it felt like a weight was on me and I was dizzy and today I keep having those twitches and it is followed by my back feeling tight and I had mild back pain after.Also sometimes my heart will just race for no reason at all.

Return to Top
#276025 - 07/10/06 11:53 AM Re: Twitches & anxiety??
Retired DQ Offline
10K Club
Retired DQ
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 40,766
Turnpike Exit 10
You should see your doctor. You may be having panic or anxiety attacks.
_________________________
Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please. - Mark Twain

Return to Top

Moderator:  Andy_Z, John Burnett