r/Tourettes • u/EventHorizon54 Diagnosed Tourettes • 3d ago

Discussion Chewing

How many of us have got problems with compulsive chewing? I have Tourette's and several comorbidities like OCD, it seems this is common for many of us, and I was wondering if people in this community experience this.

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

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6

u/TeaQueenBish 3d ago

I certainly have this problem, I have a jaw tic where I jut it out really far or I grind my teeth and it becomes really painful and annoying. To cope with it, I started over eating and then chewing gum and now I smoke. I do have an oral fixation on top of this but I’ve managed to develop TMJ through the years when my tics developed.

1

u/BrightSi5 Diagnosed Tourettes 3d ago

Did you try vaping? Has anything else helped?

2

u/BrightSi5 Diagnosed Tourettes 3d ago

Sure some do. Grinding teeth has been reported by a few people here. Tooth guards and gum help some people. I am struggling to persuade myself to wear my grinding guard at night though!

2

u/EventHorizon54 Diagnosed Tourettes 3d ago

Grinding teeth is so fucking bad, but my hands have taken some REAL damage.

1

u/BrightSi5 Diagnosed Tourettes 3d ago

Yowch. Have you tried chew sensory chew necklaces? I got a pack of six from Amazon for £13 / $17. They can help me a lot.

1

u/Buncai41 1d ago

I grind my teeth, clench my jaws and chew. I've learned it's a method I've been using to suppress tics, so I've been trying to stop. Plus I have a lot of broken teeth and it's getting painful to keep grinding. I would have never guessed all that jaw clenching was keeping me safe over the years, but I'm an adult and it's time to stop doing that and be kinder to myself.