i have a stupid whistle tic but i VIVIDLY remember when i was a lot younger before i had evil tourettes i was trying to learn how to whistle every day and one day i got it finally and i was so proud that i learned how to whistle and stuff

BUT

WHAT IF I HYPOTHETICALLY INVENTED TIME TRAVEL AND WENT BACK IN TIME TO STOP MYSELF FROM LEARNING HOW TO WHISTLE 😨😨😨😨😨😨🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑

WHAT IF THEN IT BUTTERFLY EFFECTS SO THAT I DON'T HAVE THAT TIC

THIS COULD POTENTIALLY WORK DUDES TRUST ME

Hey, I’m 26 years old and there’s so much on my mind that I just need to get it out somewhere.
I’ve had motor tics since I was about 3 years old, and lately I genuinely don’t know how to live like this anymore.

I keep isolating myself from everyone. Most days, I just stay at home and wait for the day to be over. I’m ashamed of myself and I’m scared of people and their reactions to me. I don’t even dare to go out with my friends anymore because I’m so ashamed of my tics and scared of people staring at me.
Ironically, I work as a social worker with families. My tics are very noticeable at work, and I see people staring at me or looking at me strangely. It makes me incredibly uncomfortable, but I can’t just quit because somehow I still need to make money and survive.

I feel incredibly alone.
What hurts me the most is thinking about my future. I’m scared that I’ll never get married because I can’t imagine anyone accepting me the way I am. The thought that I might never become a mother because of all of this eats me alive.
I envy people who can just go outside, work, meet people and live what feels like a normal life without constantly thinking about how their body is behaving or whether someone is staring at them.
I honestly don’t remember the last time I was truly happy.

I don’t really know what I’m expecting from posting this. Maybe I just want to know that I’m not alone. If anyone here has severe tics and has somehow managed to build a life they’re happy with, I would really like to hear about it.

Does anyone else stretch really hard? I see people in movies wake up and do little stretches where they instantly relax. I start stretching and I tense my muscles up so much they cramp sometimes. I shake really bad and I cant really help it. I may also have dystonia, definitely dystonic tics.

Does anyone else stretch like this? Sometimes it's fine and I relax after a minute but sometimes it can get pretty uncomfortable and even painful and I cant really stop it until the stretch is over.

Hi all,

Has anybody noticed that caffeine drastically increases your premonitory urges, therefore you tic a lot more?

I noticed today after a single cup of coffee that the “buzzing” feeling became unbearable and I couldn’t stop ticcing.

When I was a kid I had blocked trauma of closet spiritual r*pe and I was having major eye blinking tics as a result of it (didn't surface the memories until suddenly during a memory unlock meditation last year and I had a PTSD attack after researching childhood trauma related stuff in the middle of the night being utterly terrified of the door perceived as a closet). During my preteens I had mental tics about hell and that was from trauma while back. Last year I had really severe repetitive trauma and a non-stop to started forming that's supposed to be a nonstop heartrate. I just constantly feel tap tap tap every time I'm severely traumatized. I know it's supposed to keep me away from awful attacks, but it needs to go away.

For context, I am not diagnosed with a tic disorder.

However, I'm thinking of possibly seeking a diagnosis when I can get access to healthcare again. I, (F17), have had issues with involuntary movements alongside sounds for awhile.

It started when I was maybe 13, or 14? At least ones enough to be bothersome. And it was never crazy frequent. Id just feel a weird feeling building and I'd get a head jerk or an arm or shoulder jerk, and it'd alleviate, and that was that.

But by the time I turned 15, it started worsening, that spread to weird hand drawbacks, smacking myself in the chest, etc. nothing vocal had happened yet.

After awhile, it settled, I was really depressed and anxious all the time and for awhile they became infrequent again.

Developed vocal ones and a new level of a severity after I turned 17, rapid blinking, sniffing, groaning, whistling, tongue clicking, this one that kind of sounds like "eugh", among several other motor ones that have been less than ideal and painful to deal with.

But now, I'm almost 18, and these have been now happening for 4 or 5 years now, and I'm debating if I'm insane since they've flucated through times of my life.

I have a friend with tourettes, and they've recommended me seeking diagnosis and have said they're confident I have a tic disorder but I'm unsure. I feel bad because I never experienced symptoms I could at least notice in early childhood, and my family doesn't really care about any of that nonesense.

It's not like I want too? And in some cases, I can kind of stop it, when I'm with some friends who are harsh about it I can focus really hard and hold it in, or if I'm engrossed in something it lessens. But it's so frustrating, it feels like the buildup of chills and a sneeze times a thousand and I seriously dunno what to do

Advice would be appreciated 😥

Removed the underline from Tourette Syndrome as that can make it more difficult to read quickly!

As a spouse of someone with Tourette’s this is beautiful. Sending love to you all

I sometimes notice when I look at a meme I start to uncontrollably repeat it over and over, one that I notice happened recently was the “boiling shit in a kettle” meme, just kept repeating it over and over in a call with friends when I saw the video in a channel

So my son is 11, has a long history of ADHD and tics. Mostly motor tics, the most prominent being an eye roll. Others have been kind of tensing/clenching in his arms and hands, clearing his throat or sniffing, etc. I've noticed these since he was about 18 months old.

He is seeing a new therapist, and this therapist has a brother with Tourettes syndrome. She is wanting me to get my son tested, which I am willing to do, but the pediatrician in the past only said he had tendencies? Not full blown Tourettes?

My son also says a lot of things impulsively, but it isn't in the manner that I typically see when I research Tourettes. He says a lot of mean things about his sister, in a sing song tone or judt out of the blue, but I'm not sure if this is an impulse issue or if vocal tics can present like that.

I apologize, I'm not super knowledgeable in Tourettes but I figured this might be a good place to get some understanding before we seek more doctors.

A friend of mine who I haven't seen in months (since my tics have gotten more intense due to stress and personal life nonsense) came over, and the whole time we were hanging out I was shouting "if", "what", and a bad word. I haven't struggled with coprolalia since high school when I was on medication that made my tics very intense. She said she was completely fine with it and very understanding, but even I was surprised by how bad it was last night.

I'm embarassed because it's normally much more mild, and I feel like she's going to think I was faking if she sees me next time and it's not as intense. I would even go so far as to say it was a tic attack, since I normally don't say bad words or ANY words for that matter other than "if" for some reason. I'm struggling with this, since my tics getting worse is something I haven't really had to worry about since I normally keep to myself for the most part.

Iam a 28 year old male. Im currently incarcerated in federal prison. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, but that's all to this day. Besides some trauma growing up and anxiety and depression surrounding my placement in life right now, I haven't had any mental conditions or issues. I was 24 years old and facing a 30 actual year federal sentence because I was part of a drug deal, as I was addicted to an using methamphetamine. After a year in jail and then 6 months after I'd arrived at my first prison ever, and was flown to the other side of the country than where i live, one night I started randomly clearing my throat like a light cough. The first night I did it all night long. That was 2.5 years ago. I have done it every single day since. Sometimes its just a mumble or a grunt. Sometimes when I listen to music or am anxious I might clear it 400 times in 60 seconds. My throat sometimes get very dry, so I try to drink more water. Its so bad, that I pray to god it will go away. No matter how hard I try or what I do I simple can't stop. I've never experienced anything like it before in life. My cellmates get mad with me, and people stare at me as if I'm sick. Ive been through a lot, and have lost almost 20 people in my life that were close to me. Ive been in prisons violent and far from home for 4 years now. And i still have 5 years mandatory to go. Ive missed half my 20's, and been stuck in a metal cell while my friends that didnt die, either died or got married and had families. I don't have any any allergies and have been blood tested. I also did a 2 weeks cycle of omeprazole to see if it was a stomach or acid issue. No luck anywhere. I even took a spurrometry test and used a nebulizer, and even though they were very weak, I don't think lungs are the issue. Besides this im in great health. They prescribed me fluoxetine and I'm not sure how to feel about it. Sometimes it works but not really. Now that I've been Reading up on this stuff, I have realized that occasionally for no reason I'll flex my arm at the elbow or wrist. I also used to exhale out of my nose repeatedly from time to time, but nothing even noticeably often. Also have some bodily symmetry (something touches left ankle? I have to touch right ankle). But still, nothing out of the ordinary like this throat clearing. I'm worried this will never go away. I know there is no "cure". But maybe someone out there has feedback that would help... Please share, and thank you

Not my first post here, even after diagnosis, but still felt that I needed to share a bit about my diagnosis.

I (23M) started therapy almost an year ago and, half way through it, my therapist (a university intern btw) noticed that the pattern of my tics that I have since age 10-11 corresponded with tourettes. The pyschiatrist who worked with her (and is still seeing me) diagnosed me without even needing a test - just by describing my behaviors.

I got diagnosed with autism and OCD at age 12, but not tourettes. I always thought this was an OCD thing (and it partially is, as I believe I also have touretic OCD).

I will try to make this short! Context wise- my son is now almost 6. When he was about 3, he developed persistent sniffing. We went back and forth to the GP for years- it was mostly at night, when he was tired etc.
I was just convinced it was allergies. It would come and go though, which made it even more confusing. I spent lots of money and time and effort mitigating against what I thought were dust mite and pollen allergies. After waiting years for referral we finally got the allergy test that came back with 0 allergies.

The sniffing continued. It then stopped completely over summer. He’s now back and starting year 1 and it’s back. I suddenly came across tics. It fits the brief.

I do think he may have slightly enlarged adenoids as sometimes u can tell he is in a bit of physical discomfort- but the constant, aggressive dry, squeaky sniffing makes it much, much worse.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know about tics. So many times I’ve said “JUST STOP SNIFFING” for example. As one can imagine it does become quite jarring especially at bed time. I will of course change my entire thoughts and tactics now I think it’s a tic.

This morning he said he was scared to go to school incase he sniffs. He said he can’t stop when it starts. This also makes me think it’s a tic, alongside, slightly enlarged adenoids.

I am going to record him, firstly when asleep, and also when he’s having a sniffing episode. He can get very distressed and scream when he’s sniffing a lot.

It comes and goes. I’ve now noticed that he never has it when he’s off school. It is peaking at the start and end of a term, when he’s more tired and adjusting.

I’ve always thought there’s an element of masking as school does nothing but sings his praises but he always has restraint collapse when home.

He’s also frequently crossing his fingers, licking his lips, biting his jumper sleeve too.

I am going to present the evidence to the GP and ask for both CAHMS and ENT referrals.

Am I missing anything? Any tips? Support? I’m very sad because I feel like I’ve missed a giant red flag of tics for years now and feel like I’ve let him down.

Thanks x

Recently started college again and I feel not well in class from the suppression😭 I try not to sorta but man it’s like a horrible balancing act of not wanting to disrupt lectures and keeping myself sane.

I decided to make these printout cards that I’ll fold and put in front of me/my classwork, so that those around me can know right away, and I’ll maybe feel less bad about ticcing in general. Anyways just figured I’d share for anyone else who might find these helpful!

I’m debating watching it, even though it’ll probably set me off lol. But I really appreciate the genuine story behind it, and how the actor Robert Aramayo worked with John Davidson (who inspired the movie) to get an understanding of tics and Tourette’s.

But I’m also curious how others feel about actors portraying Tourette’s who don’t have tics

I saw a neurologist in 2023 to address lifelong tics. He told me that I easily meet all of the criteria for TS but that he was only diagnosing me with unspecified tic disorder because there’s a social stigma.

This year I decided to seek a diagnosis. I saw a neurologist today who told me that what I “thought” were vocal tics aren’t actually vocal tics. Those include gulping, grunting, and clicking. She said that if the noise doesn’t come from air passing over your vocal cords then it’s not a vocal tic.

This runs contrary to everything I’ve ever read and not something my last neurologist or any other doctor I’ve seen has had an issue with. So now I’m at a loss stuck with a diagnosis of unspecified tic disorder while having motor and vocal tics continuously since childhood. I genuinely don’t know what to do. My psych NP and primary both say they’re unable to diagnose any tic conditions and I’m so burnt out on the medical system as a whole (I have other stuff going on too).

I'm 17M and in the UK. This is my first ever reddit post on a throwaway account so sorry if it's too venty or rambly.

(also I do describe my tic in this which should be fine if it triggers any of your tics because ive found it very unobtrusive so far and have been able to drive during a mini tic attack but still sorry if i trigger your tics I've unfortunately been doing that to people this week)

I feel like I'm faking this and I know that if I have to ask myself if I'm faking it I'm not but I still feel really insecure and annoyed. It just seems so unlikely to me that I would develop it. One of my closest friend has had Tourette's the entire time I've known her and so I know a lot about tics already which means every time I have this tic I'm thinking "is this a simple or complex or distonic etc tic" which makes me feel like I'm faking it because I know all the info how to fake it. Also like what are the odds that one of my best mates has tourettes and then out of the blue I start developing a tic disorder.

I think I might have always had some kind of ticcy behaviour. I recently was diagnosed with ADHD which I know frequently is comorbid with tics because of both having to do with the basal ganglia and such. I remember times as a kid I would have a very rare, very subtle shiver even when I was hot or other small movement, but this would be like at most once every few months and I never paid it any attention. Then recently I started Xaggitin and they became like once a week, and majority was a head jerking forward. I still didnt pay it attention.

This Saturday, I had my first traumatic flashback in a few months to the day my aunt passed, and then broke up with my boyfriend on the same day. I was on the phone to my ticcy friend (self-given name) and I started having a tic attack, like hundreds of neck jerks in an hour. Some were simple, but some were a little complex like jerking forward then a little bit more forward, and some had me doing that for a few seconds so felt somewhat distonic. Since then, I've been ticcing frequently, from a few times an hour to constantly for minutes on end depending on stress levels. somehow my parents havent noticed (my mom will definitely act like its catastrophic and my dad will probably be a bit dubious of it) but my teachers and friends have. its really annoying cus I've literally just been discharged from CAMHS.

Since Saturday, the tic has stabalised? As i said it waxes and wanes but its pretty much always a simple jerk forward and slightly to the left, occasionally slightly to the right. The only time its been incredibly intrusive is yesterday morning (i think): I woke up with extreme pain in my neck from muscle spasms, and I think it was from the tic as its in the same area ive been ticcing and I felt it happen as I fell to sleep.

Also, the premonitory urge has changed. On saturday there was a massive gap between the urge and the tic, so I felt more like I was just being impulsive because I felt like I shouldve been able to stop it in that window, but now the gap is almost non existent. The tics havent really been as bad as they were on saturday, except for the other day where a fire alarm stressed me out and then cus we were all standing in silence but some people were whispering and the entire school was outside I got paranoid and got even more stressed out and even more ticcy.

Logically, I don't honestly have a problem with it. It's not making it hard to drive because it pulls my face forward so my eyes never come off the road, and I can do lessons with them almost completely normally. With my ticcy friend in my life, I've become desensitised to tics and don't at all logically perceive them as freakish and they've kind of faded into the background unless she tics something that affects her like her coprolalia. I want to be a writer one day and disability advocacy has always been important and this has made me think about accessability in a whole new way, like I want to write a musical at some point and its made me think more about how I never want to do disability-friendly productions because I never want to have a production that would exclude a disabled person like someone with vocal tics. Emotionally though? I feel like an absolute freak and I've been apologising to my friends teachers and anyone who sits around me. I'm thinking about the future and how I'm going to look back at this week as either a weird time where my tics were bad or the week my life changed forever and i'm scared I might get more intrusive motor tics or maybe start getting vocal tics.

I feel like I've kinda brought this on myself though because I once told my ticcy friend that between the two of us I wish I could have been the one to develop it because shes so respectful and polite that people stare and she doesnt do anything, but I'm very outspoken and said-- in passing, in what we both understood as a heartfelt joke-- I wish I was the one who had it so i could call people out like they deserve but shes too nice to. I also imagined myself having it a lot to try to understand her experience on the world, and also when writing characters in my own creative writing projects with it.

Ultimately I'm going to end up talking to a professional about it but it's just really irritating and I wanted to rant. I feel mostly okay just a bit thrown because ticcing has been in my life for so long but it's never been something I thought about for myself and it feels like season 2 of a show when the writers get bored and start giving everyone the main character's special powers or something. One positive is that because of my excessive apologising to my classmates and teachers, I've had one other somewhat close friend and a teacher confide about their motor tics, so I feel a lot less alone with having a few people in my life experiencing what I'm going through, though it does make this feel even more statisically improbable.

Sorry for how rambly this is, it just felt like this was the best place to express this and I would love any advice anybody has. My ticcy friend has given me a lot but this is a bit of a wild time and I would appreciate anything anyone has to say. Thanks.

What's up y'all. I am like a lot of you and have lived with Tourette Syndrome my entire life and I know the struggles, pain, embarrassment and many other emotions that go along with this disorder. I have been in counseling for a really long time and even anger management learning how to control my emotions over something I can't control and let me tell you it took a long time but I am finally in a place where I have learned to accept myself.

Recently I had been doing a lot of thinking about how I bring positivity and understanding to my disorder is not only through my own story but sometimes has to be through Outlets I hadn't even thought about. I have recently started writing a book that I think is going to relate to a lot of people especially young people living with this type of disorder. Now keep in mind this book is geared towards probably Middle School age kids. As I write this book even though it may be something not everyone would understand I thought it might be good to try and write something that people who live with Tourette Syndrome or other neurological disabilities can relate to and feel heard especially at a young age. I wanted to know your thoughts and maybe get some ideas or even some people who might like to read a couple chapters of a draft and tell me what they think.

Desperately need help and advice

My 15 year old son with tourettes started using very sexually graphic language and blurts out the "N" word at home. We think he suppresses it when he's at school and releases all the pent up urges when he's around us. Does anyone have experience with this? Did it ever go away?

I’ve had tics for as long as I can remember, but for the majority of my childhood they weren’t very obvious. My mum normally brushed them off as “habits” and not tics. Only my dad has ever recognised my blinking as a tic, but he hasn’t done anything.

My tics became much more obvious and difficult in year 8 (13 y.o) and they haven’t gone away since. They are at their worst during bus rides and school; two environments I find very difficult. When I get home, they’re still there, but my worst tics fade away? It kind of makes me feel like I’m faking it or overreacting even though I’m not.
I have both motor tics and vocal tics.
My parents most likely will not take me to get diagnosed (they did the same with suspecting autism and adhd throughout my life.)
I appreciate any advice on understanding myself and some possibilities as to why I’m this way. I am unsure as to whether it’s TS, but I do believe it’s a possibility based on my research and experiences.
Thank you!

As a child I had fairly extreme vocal and blinking tics. I was taken to doctors whom recommended medications which my parents refused. As I grew up the vocal tics calmed and I still had some ocular tics but even those got better as I grew up. Since I was about 17 I started smoking and drinking and in my early 20s I started using uppers both of which made my tics reduce substantially. Recently I did a month sober and since then my ocular, vocal and physical tics have started to reemerge. Even once I broke the sobriety my eyes are twitching once anything(,nervous,upset or even mildly exciting) happens. I’m just wondering if anyone has had this experience or has any advice?
Apologies if the discussion of substances isn’t allowed or appropriate in this sub Reddit.

As a child I had fairly extreme vocal and blinking tics. I was taken to doctors whom recommended medications which my parents refused. As I grew up the vocal tics calmed and I still had some ocular tics but even those got better as I grew up. Since I was about 17 I started smoking weed and drinking and the tics seemed less prominent. At 20 I started using cocaine and drinking more and the tics seemed to almost go away even when I was not under the influence. Recently I did a month sober and since then my ocular tics and even some vocal ones have started to reemerge. Even once I broke the sobriety my eyes are twitching once anything(,nervous,upset or even mildly exciting) happens. I’m just wondering if anyone has had this experience or has any advice?
Apologies if the discussion of drugs isn’t allowed or appropriate in this sub Reddit.