A tic disorder?

We've had quite an interesting couple of months with my 4 year old, Austin.  In the beginning of January, he got sick and had to use albuterol for wheezing.  While he was on the albuterol, he started making this gasping noise.  It started out a soft gasp, and he did it sporadically throughout the day.  We had him checked out.  Sinus infection, antibiotic, continue albuterol through the nebulizer for the gasping.  The gasping continued.  It got more frequent.  I took a video and brought into the pediatrician, a different one, because we couldn't get in with the usual guy. 




She says, "hmmm, sounds like a little stridor?"  Convincing right?  She puts him on an oral steroid for 3 days.  The gasping continues, and it gets worse.  I take him to the Emergency Room.  They hear him do it, look at me and say, "He's doing it for attention."  They also tell me to stop the albuterol with the nebulizer since he's not wheezing at all.  The gasping continues, and it got to the point, where Austin would go through periods of gasping every 30 seconds, and at this point, it was harsh sounding and scary. 

*I took this video, while Austin was laying in bed, trying to go to sleep.  It's dark, since his lights were off.  I was standing around in the hallway, so he couldn't see me.


The doctor puts him on Singulair, thinking it's allergy related.  We wait a few days.  Doesn't get better.  We call the doctor back.  He puts him on Zantac and Prilosec for acid reflux.  We wait a few days.  It doesn't get better.  I take him back into his usual pediatrician.  The pediatrician hears him gasp, and says with every ounce of certainty possible, "Oh, that's a tic."  We talk about tics.  We talk about ADD and AD/HD, which is common in children with tics.  He mentions a neurologist.  He gives a prescription for Topomax.  After getting home and reading about Topomax, I am FREAKED OUT, people.  It's anti-seizure medicine, and it has nasty side affects.  As the pediatrician, with his exceptional bed side manner, says, "It can make you stupid, but it doesn't last.  They go back to normal once they are off of it."  He assures me that the low does Austin will take, shouldn't have that affect.  Reluctantly, I start giving it to him.  After a couple of days, the tic is still there but much better.  Austin, however, forgets what a towel is called.  He throws himself on the floor in the middle of a sentence, because he can't find the word he's trying to say.  That's it, no more medicine.  I'd rather have MY kid with a tic.  So the tic continues, although not as severe as it once was.  Last week, he started a new tic in addition to his old one.  This one is best described as a fish-face raspberry.  Yesterday, we went back to the pediatrician.  He talked about ADD and AD/HD again.  He talked about Tourette Syndrome.  He referred to a Pediatric Neurologist.  So that's where we are with that.  I am interested to hear what the Neurologist will say.  It would be really nice if the tics would disappear as mysteriously as they arrived by the time our appointment came around. 

I'll be honest and say that this whole thing has been very overwhelming.  Sometimes making decisions as a parent is hard.  When to push, when not to push.  When to agree, when to say no.  And all the while, I still feel like a kid myself most of the time. 

As a mother, I want to protect my children from being hurt, and it is painful when I reminded that I cannot do that all the time.  When Austin's tic was at it's height, we went to WalMart to get a prescription.  While we waited, a lady walking by stopped and with a look of shock said, "Why is he making that noise!?"  At the time, we still didn't know.  Last night, I took him to WalMart to pick up Kamdyn's antibiotic (for an ear infection), and someone does a 180 and stares at Austin after he does his tic.  And while I will protect him as much as I can when I am there, I can't be there all the time. 

All I can do is make sure he knows that that he is special.  He is created by God.  And his mama thinks he is amazing.