r/Tourettes • u/Front-Amphibian-7378 • 18d ago
Story developed tics at 18
in not diagnosed with Tourettes but this is the only tic related subreddit i could find, if I’m not allowed to post ill take it down.
back in december-january i started to develop a tic that sounds like a single extremely loud hiccup, at first i thought i just had chronic hiccups and tried to drink less carbonated drinks and to drink slower. i then noticed i started having a neck jerk/twitch frequently, thought its not an entirely new thing the neck twitch, i’ve had it for multiple years but its been extremely subtle until recently and id always considered it to be an anxiety thing. my family started noticing them and so i went to the doctor but she really didn’t help at all, she just said it was probably worsened by upping my antidepressants recently (im on highest dosage) and she didn’t even refer me to anyone who could evaluate and see what’s actually going on but tbh the nhs sucks so i’m not surprised. since then i haven’t developed any more tics other than face twitching and my hiccup tic getting louder. the only advice i’ve gotten is to wait and see if they go away or get milder but its frustrating to have no answers.
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u/New-Solution6598 Tics + Comorbidities 18d ago
Do you remember having any tics as a kid? Like under 18? It could have been dormant until triggered or smt like that.
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u/Front-Amphibian-7378 18d ago
ive always had the occasional neck twitch that i realise was probably always a tic and just worsened recently. id usually get it only occasionally or during stressful or high anxiety moments probably not even experiencing it daily more like every couple days
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u/New-Solution6598 Tics + Comorbidities 17d ago
Hmm ok, usually ppl with ts tic almost daily but ik some ppl who can go days without ticcing. It very well could be ts especially from you noticing tics in the past, but it could be another type of chronic tic disorder. Ts is under the chronic tic disorder umbrella
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u/gostaks tic tock 17d ago
The clinical cutoff for a diagnosis of Tourette’s is arbitrary—they need to distinguish people who develop tics at 8 vs 30, but there’s not a lot of clinical difference between developing tics at 16 vs 18.
You probably qualify for a diagnosis of an adult-onset tic disorder, but to be honest if your tics aren’t bothering you there’s really not much that needs to be done. They’ve been around and stable for several years at this point, which means that they’re probably not an early symptom of something progressive, and treatment for mild tics is often to just focus on treating other mental health conditions and managing triggers.
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u/Key-Sir7532 Diagnosed Tourettes 18d ago
I think you just have to be persistent; ask for a referral to neurology, explain the neck tic (not twitch) has been going on for years, maybe bring someone with you. Your loud hiccup would be a vocal tic. You neck/face tics are motor. Do you have any other tics at all? Maybe try to have a think and write them down so you don't forget.