Tourrettes And I

[Arkathos]

Hey all,

As many of you are aware, I have tourrettes syndrome. No, not the stupid shit you see on tv and in movies where some guy is swearing and cursing up down left right and center, but the kind where your actions are more subtle at times, or can result in serious physical harm to yourself. I was wondering if anyone here happens to suffer from this lovely condition and if so, how you deal with it?

Some of my own information: This is also a post so that my wonderful members can get to know me a bit more as their Guild Leader and Friend.

What Causes Them: Emotional upsets and anything that causes stress.

What happens with mine: I have had over one hundred different physical and vocal tics over my lifetime, but they come and go and it's always "exciting" to see which ones I'll develop next lol. Currently I have two major ones that I find the most common and unpleasant that I deal with.

1) Finger Tics: Take your pinky and middle fingers and stretch them up as high and as hard as you can while simultaneously stretching your index and other two fingers downwards - thus pulling away from one another and straining the ligaments between the fingers. Now do this incessently and without stop until it hurts and is so tiring that you feel like the muscles are on fire and can't lift any more, but it keeps going even when you wouldn't be able to do it yourself. It hurts like a <insert words here> and makes it very tough to use a keyboard, mouse, pencil/pen, or operate a motor vehicle.

I can control it by simply making a fist and clenching it while covering it with my other hand keeping the fingers down (if both hands are not spasming), and if both hands are in a tic event then I fold my hands together and push hard to calm them down and "tire" them out. Doing it right now as I write this lol - the thing with my tics is that whenever I think about them or try to "show them" to people, they start up instantly, so fun!

2) Shoulder tics: This one is the worst and most painful by far as it often results in dislocation of my shoulders. Take your right arm and raise it so that the elbow is level with your shoulder. Then, flex / tense your armpit muscle (pectoral) as hard as you can for a split second then release it. Now continue to do this constantly without stop for about an hour or more, and while you tense and untense your armpit muscle you also simultaneously thrust your shoulder forward. By five minutes in you're alreayd tired as hell and sore, your back hurts and your gut is tight. After about 45 minutes if you don't get control back, you dislocate your shoulder(s) without fail.

To control it I simply take both hands and thrust them under my armpits (left hand to right armpit, right hand to left armpit) and squeeze both sides of the muscle while tightly pulling my arms in towards my side. This acts to again like with my fingers, calm and tire out the muscles.

Doctor today suggested I get botox injections into all trouble muscles (that's like lol...everything =/ ) to prevent the spasms. Not sure if I like that idea.

So those are my tourrettes, good fun and all - Tris has been a great help in keeping them under control when she's around. <3 I have the ability to "stop and control" the tics as you see above, through sheer force of will and physical overpowering, but it is simply bought time, and eventually I have to release them and they will just go all out. For driving, meetings, work, exams: those are when I will control it, and home or in a bathroom stall or my office, I will let them go crazy.


Hope no one else has them to this extent, but if you have them and feel like sharing let me know! I'd like to know how you handle it (I have never talked to anyone else before who also had tourrettes, it'd be interesting to see their take on it)

Thanks, and hopefully now you know a bit more about your Guild Leader

Guest Post Rules are In Effect for this Post

[Crox Rava]

This may seem an odd question, but have you tried juicing? I've had a few close friends who saw great result from even just a few weeks of juice-fasting, where you subsist entirely on fruit/veggie juice (that you blend yourself from fresh produce, not concentrate/V8 etc.). While I've never known anyone with tourrettes syndrome, these friends have seen various health problems completely disappear in very little time. You might give it a shot!

[Zoron Ror]

I think its cool you shared this with everybody , have you also tried chamomile tea? It has a natural calming effect, probably easy to grow in your climate too.

[nolongeramember]

Very honorable of you to tell us this, Gai. I can't imagine what it would be like to have tourrettes... I mean, I have small tics of my own that I find very irritating but nothing like that. I hope it gets better for you and I'm glad to have you as our leader.

[Legendkiller456]

I did not not that you had Tourrettes Alex. I'm sorry to hear that, and the way you described seems unbearable

[timaselj]

That sounds very unpleasant. But now that I know that, I only admire you more. You're a great person, and a greater leader, even though you have tourettes. Please don't get me wrong here, I mean that in the way of: If that were happening to me, I'd probably be a wreck, always snapping and people, etc...

I can't really give you advice on how to best this, since I have absolutely no experience with it, but believe that you can make it, and you will. Where's a will, there's a way

[Hart of Hircine]

I have one question are you taking any medication for any other things cause this could be a sign of parkensons disease which is like tourretts but in the long term if parkensons disease it's either un-cureable or or is hard to treat. Most of the times parkonsons disease is created by psychotripic,anti-psychotic, mood stabilizing, and anti-depresent medications. Also tourretts is not the same form as parkensons disease and as I know does not lead to it. Parkensons disease is physical and does not make you blurt out words but it does make your body twitch or tic so to speak.

I take a pill for symptons of parkensons disease called benztropine.

My main symptom is like a carlie horse only on one side of my neck and it's runs from my right side of my face down my left side of my neck and back to my left shoulder and yes it gets very painful. While in this phase my jaw is pulled to the left and my face usually feels like ripping. You guys probably heard me in vent studdering my words in vent and most of the time it's caused by that.

I also have another symptom I have been noticing which is like the hand thing but my hand likes to clench but doesn't ball up into a fist. It usually happens with my left hand. My right hand likes to extend out and back making it very hard to play games especially with on the computer. I especially hate it when I'm eating and when I crush or drop my food.

I personally lived my life looking for what my mental diagnosis which it took a very long time till I was 13 or 15. They have my diagnosis as ADHD and Azbugersz Syndrome which somehow blend to make borderline bipolar. I also have schizo-affective disorder which is a bipolar form of schizophrenia.

At the moment I take very few medications, one is a mood stabilizer which I take a shot every 4 weeks. I also told of the other pill and I also take an allergy pill for my year round exima and allergies.

[Luke Filewalker]

I think it's very admirable that you've told us this Gai :D The fact that it doesn't seem to hinder your leadership in any way is really quite the testament!

I wish i could comment on the Tourettes more but since i've never really read about it/know anyone with it i really wouldn't know where to start.

[Markis. D Thatch]

Thanks for sharing with us boss and I do feel like I know you a bit better now.

[Valtrics]

Had no idea you had tourrettes bro. Aside from what you've described so far, I hope it doesn't happen often, I could only imagine the agony that causes, especially the shoulder. I tried doing what you described with my fingers and arm and I wanted to put them down after like 3 times lol.

I always had a small twitch in my eye that I could never figure out what it was or what causes it. It's nothing as serious as yours, but it makes it hard to talk to people sometimes when your eyelid is fluttering up and down. One time my eyeball felt like it was going to pop out.

I have hemolytic uremic syndrome, which put bluntly means my kidneys don't filter protein and calcium normal. This causes damage to my kidneys, and for those of you who don't know, the kidney is unfortunately one of the organs that does not regenerate itself. All of this causes me to have high blood pressure and I have to take 2 pills in the morning (Fosinopril) and 2 pills at night (Amplodipine) to combat all this craziness.

Have to eat low-sodium foods, can't take any aspirin since it things your blood, ya know, the fun things in life. My point is, I think that's what causes my eye twitch lol.

[AstralProjection]

Wow, Gai, that's an incredible story. It's already been said, but if anything you just earned more respect in my book for dealing so gracefully with what sounds like a very painful and frustrating condition. Also very admirable that you had the guts to publicly tell us all.

Thank you for sharing, and letting us get to know our fearless leader that much better. That's why you're the man!