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Strange Eye Movements And Twitches

lonewolf

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lonewolf Collaborator
lonewolf
Posted

My 11 year old son developed some really weird eye movements (excessive blinking at times, rolling eyes to side involuntarily and twitch-like movements) a few years ago. The doctor and his teacher thought it was related to stress, since we were in the process of adopting our youngest. Other symptoms started pointing me to celiac or gluten intolerance. He has been off milk since he was a toddler.

He had blood tests (whole celiac panel) in December, which were all normal, but the pediatrician agreed that a gluten-free diet trial would be a good idea. His behavior in school and at home improved, digestive problems got a bit better and we didn't notice at the time, but his eye twitching/moving thing got better too. But he decided that I was crazy and that he was fine, so he started cheating constantly and I gave up. That was last month. Now his eye thing is getting really bad again. Other symptoms are returning too. I just ordered the Enterolab tests for gluten and the gene test. We agreed that if the tests show he is gluten sensitive then he will go back to being gluten-free. He is an intelligent 11 year old and wants "proof" that there is something wrong before he sticks to a doubly restricted diet.

Anyway, sorry to ramble, but has anyone else had this experience with their child or themselves? I've seen other people with the same eye thing and I've always wondered what caused it. Can it be related to gluten?

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GFBetsy Rookie
GFBetsy
Posted

What does he say about his eye movements? Does he notice that he's doing them? Does he feel like he "has to" do them, or do his eyes just move like that on their own? I know there may not sound like much of a distinction to you, but what I'm trying to get at is: does he feel like he is choosing to move his eyes because he really needs to move them, or does he feel like he has no control over the movements?

I ask because if he feels that he has voluntary control over the movements, but that he "needs to" move them that way, it could be an indication of OCD. Many people don't realize that OCD is an anxiety disorder - people with OCD do compulsive behaviors in order to decrease their anxiety. And, as those of us who've looked into celiac know, anxiety can definitely be caused by gluten.

Just wondering.

Nancym Enthusiast
Nancym
Posted

Wow! Yes. I saw an episode of Mystery Diagnosis where a toddler had this along with things that looked like seizures. He had the involuntary eye movements. Of course, no doctor believed them until they videotaped it. It could be gluten sensitivity affecting neurological functioning.

angel-jd1 Community Regular
angel-jd1
Posted

Stress can definately cause twitching. Also, have you looked into Tourette's?

-Jessica :rolleyes:

lonewolf Collaborator
lonewolf
Posted
  • Author
What does he say about his eye movements? Does he notice that he's doing them? Does he feel like he "has to" do them, or do his eyes just move like that on their own? I know there may not sound like much of a distinction to you, but what I'm trying to get at is: does he feel like he is choosing to move his eyes because he really needs to move them, or does he feel like he has no control over the movements?

I ask because if he feels that he has voluntary control over the movements, but that he "needs to" move them that way, it could be an indication of OCD. Many people don't realize that OCD is an anxiety disorder - people with OCD do compulsive behaviors in order to decrease their anxiety. And, as those of us who've looked into celiac know, anxiety can definitely be caused by gluten.

Just wondering.

He can't control it and sometimes isn't even aware that he's doing it. When he is aware, he gets upset and that makes it worse. The thing that caught my attention is that he completely stopped doing it when he was gluten-free and it just started again. Once he started again we all realized that he hadn't been doing it for several months. School is out, stress is reduced and the only thing that's been different is that he's back on gluten.

GFBetsy Rookie
GFBetsy
Posted

Lonewolf -

That sounds much more like tourette's than OCD. Which doesn't mean that it is not gluten related . . . it just means that it isn't likely to be because of anxiety. Good luck in figuring out what's wrong and what's causing it. You might also try keeping a record of how often he is doing these things and then record how often he does them once he's gluten-free again. This may be enough "proof" for him to be willing to stay on the diet.

Best Wishes!

Ursa Major Collaborator
Ursa Major
Posted

Liz, he has some of the very same symptoms as me, and they are possibly Tourette syndrome, not OCD. I find that my tics aren't as bad since I've gone gluten-free, but always increase under stress. And the eye blinking is the only one I have absolutely no control over (most other tics I can suppress for a while, but eventually they have to come out, or my anxiety will get to where I will have a meltdown).

So, find information about TS (here is a link to start out with Open Original Shared Link , for you to find some info), and see if your son has other TS symptoms.

Ah, I see that Betsy was writing at the same time as me, and we were thinking the same thing.

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lonewolf Collaborator
lonewolf
Posted
  • Author

I had looked into Tourette's a couple of years ago. The only thing he has is his eyes. And he has some ADD behavior that went away, or at least got WAY better, when he was gluten-free. He doesn't have any other tics, shoulder movements or anything, no vocal tics or any of the other symptoms listed.

aprilh Apprentice
aprilh
Posted

When I had gluten in my diet, I had wierd muscle twitches, the worst being the muscle right under my eye involuntarily twitched for months. I though it was a mineral depletion so I started taking vitamins and minerals, which only helped on occasion. Now that I am gluten free, its gone.

I would say if the gluten free helped him, you definately need to do that. Even it is an underlying issue, the gluten does not help. And he obviously has other issues with gluten.

When I accidentally ingest gluten, I get wierd muscle twitches. I feel like light is really brighter than it is and I can't concentrate. It messes with my vision and I feel like if I kept eating it, the next level would be some kind of epilepsy.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

My DD had problems similar to this and experienced whole body shudders. This was of course blown off by her doctor as they never occured 'on demand' in her office. She was experienceing minor seizure activity due to the neurological effect of gluten.

  • 3 years later...
bluebonnet Explorer
bluebonnet
Posted

well i decided to take the gluten challenge and have been eating it for a week after not eating it for 3 1/2 months. all the gi issues are there as well as bone and joint PAIN and for the past 3 days my right eye has been twitching like crazy all day long. hopefully your son's will subside when gluten is eliminated. :)

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      Good evening @EssexMum You are quite right to be concerned about this situation.  Once diagnosed as coeliac, always a coeliac, and the way to heal  is through adopting and sticking to a strict gluten diet. That said... I have travelled twice to France since my diagnosis, firstly in May 2013 and again in August 2019.   My spoken French isn't bad, and whilst there I tried my best to explain my needs to chefs and catering staff, and I read labels very carefully when shopping in supermarkets, but both times I came away with worsening gastric symptoms and pain. Interestingly,  after the second holiday, my annual coeliac review took place the following month and although I'd been very careful to avoid gluten all year, thanks to that August holiday my coeliac antibodies were elevated,  Clearly I hadn't been imagining these symptoms and they must have been caused by gluten sneaking in somehow. When I spoke to my gastroenterologist on my return, who is an excellent doctor, he told me with a smile that this was a very common experience in France among his patients, and not to worry too much about it! In fact, before we went away in May 2013, which was just after I had been formally diagnosed, he told me not to even bother trying to adopt a gluten free diet until I returned, knowing what France was like, but I was feeling so awful at that time I ignored his advice and at least tried to make a start with it. (I ought to say - both these visits were some time ago, so perhaps things are a lot better there now.) So what to do?  I would say at least try to explain to catering staff the situation - they should be able to rustle up a plate of cheese, boiled eggs, tuna, salad and fruit, and if things like crackers and gluten-free pot noodle or oats can be packed in the UK, those can be produced at mealtimes.    Of course, most larger supermarkets in France do now cater for coeliacs, but when I was last there the the choice wasn't as wide a range as we have in the UK but I think that is partly because the French like to cook from scratch, whereas our gluten-free aisles have quite a lot of dried or pre-baked goods in them/convenience foods, because I think we as a nation tend to use them more. I would be worth doing a bit of research on the internet before the trip, - the words you want are 'sans gluten'.  I've just googled 'sans gluten Disney Paris" and this came up.  I do hope at least some of this is of help. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g2079053-zfz10992-Disneyland_Paris_Ile_de_France.html  Whatever befalls in France, at least your stepdaughter can resume her usual diet on her return. On a related tack, would you be happy to post any positive findings/tips upon her return - it might be of use to others travelling to Disneyland Paris with children in future? Cristiana
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