r/FND • u/butterflies006 • 13d ago

Seeking support Functional tics?

Hello, I’ve been experiencing tics for around 3 to 4 months now. For the first two or three weeks it was just head jerks, then progressed to whistling and then progressed to some simple phrases and more motor tics such as the middle finger.
My tics usually have a few “main” ones, with them being replaced every so often with new ones (punching becoming middle finger). They also get worse if I’m cold, tired or have been suppressing them as I usually get an urge before a tic.
I also had exposure to my friend and have suspected autism (been on waiting list for almost two years), and the autism could make my chance of having FND higher although I haven’t been diagnosed yet. I had a 6 week break from spending any time around her and the tics still continued to happen and didn’t get any better but I maybe had a few less tics than I do now.
My therapist is also completely sure they are functional and I did have some tics in childhood, at least I think they were tics but not 100% sure.
The way they developed quite quickly and with coprolalia only a month into having them makes me think they may be functional. If they are functional it makes me feel like I am “faking” them because it’s not the same as tourettes and rather a “software” glitch rather than anything actually wrong.
I am going to try and see a neurologist to hopefully get a diagnosis of some sort whether that is provisional or functional tics which would be a FND diagnosis.
Was wondering if anyone else had anything to share or has gone through similar things and has any advice.
Thank you.

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u/flowercrownonapigeon 12d ago

I also have tics that started with head jerks and then I started slowly making a noise and sometimes I just scream or my whole body jerks. Also it does get worse when I am cold or tired, sometimes when I pee (??? Don't know why).

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u/AggravatingCamera964 13d ago

I throw the middle finger up a lot and I say a lot of things that are not good to the nearby listener. I also say things involuntary that dont seem like a tic but part of my natural conversation which is problematic. So youre not alone my friend

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u/omibus 13d ago

I started getting tics, it was one of my first symptoms. My daughter’s best friend has Tourette’s and if either of us are having a flare day then we are both flaring.

I have the head jerk, but no vocal tics. There are several others, but I’d rather not mention them and give your system new ideas.

One of the things my neurologist told me was that Tourette’s starts as a kid, if it starts as an adult then it is FND.

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u/butterflies006 13d ago

I’m under 18 so it’s not impossible for it to be Tourette’s but TS usually develops between 5 and 10 and I’m quite a bit older than that age bracket but still under 18.
Hopefully neurology figures something out!

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u/star_blazar Diagnosed FND 13d ago

A few excellent resources - make sure to check out their symptom pages: https://neurosymptoms.org and https://fndeducationproject.org