guy123

Has anyone been watching the show still? Any word on how this guy is doing or if he's had anymore airtime?

Lends some support to what the guy was saying about the trigger for tics being some facial nerve and putting those sticks in that guy's mouth to stop his tics. Or it could just be a reaction to something in the retainer. I had a retainer as a child on both the top and bottom. Occasionally I have dreams about wearing it, but that's probably just because I grind my teeth at night. I also have dreams about my teeth falling out, which I always thought was weird until we learned in psychology class in high school that that is one of the top 10 most common nightmares

Careful with tolerance and withdrawal. I don't know about GABA directly, but I know some agents that act on the GABA systems (such as Phenibut) can build tolerance quickly and have horrific withdrawals.

I found it. I've uploaded it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?za2jmwgdkvx It's a zip file but when you unzip it it will be "Tourettic OCD.pdf"

Thanks for the title change, Chemar! Most of the forums I go on are vBulletin and they allow title changes, or maybe it's a setting. Anyway, it doesn't matter. So is vitamin D3 the only type of vitamin D? I was going to buy some the other day but I didn't know enough about it. It seems to me that if there was only one type of D vitamin, that the "3" suffix would be unnecessary (like how you have Vitamin C, but there is Vitamin B6, B12, B3, etc.). Are there different types to be aware of? For example, like how with vitamin B12 there is cyanocobalamin and also methylcobalamin. How much should you use in a supplement? I saw some pills that were from 400IU (100% RDA) up through 2000IU. Vitamin D is fat soluble so I wouldn't want to take too much of it. Thanks!

I have a .pdf article on "Tourettic OCD" somewhere. I will see if I can find it and upload it.

Must be nice. For some reason, every time I get a cold, the "sore throat" lasts for 4-5 days and is hellish. Sometimes the next symptoms (stuffy nose, sneezing, etc.) don't even start until 4-5 days later. Ever since I got mono when I was 17, my colds have always contained the worst sore throats ever. I have to take Vicodin just to make it through the day. Last time I had a sore throat, just talking to someone made my eyes water from the pain. When I had mono I had a sore throat for a few weeks and it was going up into my ears as well. I wonder if something got messed up in that area because like I said, ever since then, my sore throats have been awful. I've tried every remedy, western, eastern, and homeopathic, vitamin C, Airborne, Cold-Eeze, echineccea, goldenseal, Chinese herbs, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, cold calm, Boiron pellets, zinc, colloidal silver, etc., and nothing works. Except narcotic pain killers Prior to getting mono, whenever I got a cold I had a mild to moderate sore throat for a day or two, and that was it.

Clonidine reduces tics. Seafood increases them :( GNC Men's Multivitamin increases them (it contains a lot of stuff; I'm not sure which ingredient is responsible for the increase) Everything else is neutral. I eat MSG all the time and it has no effect. I avoid caffeine so I'm not sure if it affects it or not.

Hmm... first post is promoting an expensive MLM product. That's not suspicious at all

edit - I know I spelled Crohn's wrong. But this stupid forum software won't let me change the title. LAME!!! I remember a few people here either had it themselves or had children with it. A few gastro specialists still aren't sure if I have it, but I know enough about it that you can't just treat it by taking a vitamin. That being said, I found this new study published Jan 27, 2010: Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/201...c-vds012710.php Now, has anyone had any experiences with Vitamin D and tics?

Sounds kind of like OCD. X happens --> I have to do Y. OCD and tics can be related. I read a paper somewhere called "tourettic OCD." Perhaps OCD can trigger the urge to tic.

I see what you did there I got a PM explaining DD, DS, and DH. I'd just never seen them before on any other forums so I wasn't sure what they meant

What does "DS" mean? I see "DS" and "DD" a lot, even on other forums, but I don't know what they mean.

I've been on Clonidine for a bit over a year now and it has made a big difference for me. If you're going to try it, start with a LOW DOSAGE. One pill is 0.1mg. That's what they will probably try to start you at. I take 1/4 of that (I have to break the pill into quarters), and I weigh around 160 or so. I know some younger (and lighter weight) kids are on bigger doses, but there's no reason to start with a heavy dose. The doctor wanted to start me on a pill nightly, but I decided I was going to take 1/2 instead, but even that made me super tired throughout the day, and super dizzy every time I stood up, so I cut it down again to 1/4 pill, which still has all the benefits without the sleep side effects (in my case). So right now I'm on 1/4 pill, which is 0.025mg. Don't get confused with the extra zero in there You don't want 0.25mg... that would be 2 and a half pills! Start low. I noticed an effect within a few days, but if you're on like 1/4 pill and don't notice anything after a few weeks, then maybe bump it up to half a pill. Or try Tenex, which is supposedly the same thing without the sleepy side effects. I know I wrote this whole post talking about "you" when it's actually your child. Sorry, I'm tired (but it has nothing to do with Clonidine this time!).

You mean during the 1.5 seconds they're being swallowed they somehow lose their effectiveness?

I had a thought this morning. I remember people talking about how steroids exacerbate tics. Someone said their husband(?) had a shot of prednisone years ago and hadn't ever recovered from the flareup in tics. And I was thinking... my tics started when I was 17, about the time I was going to the allergy doctor. He was giving me allergy shots on a weekly basis (which I think I researched and they do not contain mercury, but I just remembered, he also gave me FLONASE. I checked and it is a corticosteroid. I remember I enjoyed using it cuz it cleared out my nasal congestion. Discuss the feasibility of a corticosteroid such as Flonase inducing tics in someone who previously did not have them. Are there any documented cases of corticosteroids inducing tics in someone who was genetically predisposed? If I could go back in time I would tell myself not to ever go to the allergy doctor. (It also sucks about the steroids because I was planning on using HRT as I got older to retain my youthful strength and energy, but not if an increase in tics is the side effect. Maybe in the next 20 years they will cure tic disorders and then it won't be an issue )

o rly? I live in an area with fluorinated water, and I use mouthwash with fluoride in it every night (Act brand). On that note, I've heard that Act is the only brand of mouthwash worth using because it's the only one that has fluoride in it. Listerine and all those just have alcohol and glycerine or something in them to make your mouth *feel* clean, but they don't actually really do anything for your teeth. However, that could be propaganda. I'm not sure if there's fluoride in my toothpaste or not. Guess I should go read that link Chemar posted.

Aww, yeah, I'm cute!!! :lol:

This is why genetic research and the progression of medical technology should be at the top of society's priority list. What could be more valuable than extending and improving human life? Of course, people don't want to do that because they'd rather sit around being stupid all day. edit - I can't believe I held my tongue in this post and didn't launch into a political tirade sprinkled with misanthropy and cynicism!!! :D

I bet you're right. Almost everything on TV, even reality TV, is staged. Still tho, exposure to TS isn't a bad thing.

No, I agree with you. Saying "elephant in the room... do you have Tourettes?" or whatever he said wasn't the most polite way to approach the subject. That being said, it's not like it's terribly common so maybe he didn't know how to approach it. I mean... there's only two other possibilities: 1) The person who has TS announces it beforehand. 2) Everyone ignores it (awkward for everyone, because then the person with TS is wondering "do they notice? Do they notice? Am I ticcing a lot? Is it distracting them?" and the other people are wondering "what is going on? Should I say anything? Why does he keep doing that? Does he know he's doing that? That's weird." and can't focus on whatever the person with TS is doing and/or talking about) So I still agree with you. "Do you have Tourettes?" is weird, but... how else was he supposed to ask it? I guess it's better than saying "why do you keep doing [insert tic] all the time?" Or maybe it's not, as at least that question could yield an answer of "oh, I have Tourettes."

TD has its own set of symptoms and is only caused by using neuroleptic (antipsychotic) drugs (such as Haldol) or atypical-neuroleptic (atypical anti-psychotic) drugs (such as Abilify). There's a lot more drugs in each of those classes, though. It's not just Haldol and Abilify. Here's more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardive_dyskinesia Some people say it can only occur after long term use of those medications, but other studies say that it can happen even after short term.

I had my immunologist give me the strep test because I asked for it. He's a super cool guy. The conversation went like this: Immunologist: So I'm going to give you these 8 blood tests (checking for something totally unrelated) Me: Hey, while you're sending me over to the lab, do you mind adding this strep/antibodies/titers (forgot the name of it) test onto the list? In rare cases it can cause tics, etc. etc. Immunologist: Well, a lot of people read horrible medical advice on the internet and I don't think that strep is what caused your tics, but I will include it if you want. Me: Cool, thanks. I figure as long as I'm getting blood taken, what's one more test Immunologist: Of course it came back negative, but whatever. Cliffs Notes: - Your doctor sucks. Find a new one. - Seriously. Be your own advocate. If a doctor is ever rude to me, or isn't "listening" to me, I find a new one. This isn't communist Russia where you are only allowed to see one party-appointed doctor. Doctors make mistakes, and some of them don't believe in stuff just because it's "new." Remember back in the day everyone thought shock therapy was the way to treat depression.

My (personal) general rule is you want to avoid anything that can cause Tardive Dyskinesia (which includes Abilify). Other people may not follow that rule. However, TD is essentially like another form of TS, so it sure would suck to have TS and then get TD on top of it. There is no cure for TD. Sometimes if they detect it early enough and you stop the drug it will go away, but sometimes not. I guess if the tics were like extremely bad then I might consider an atypical-neuroleptic (one of the classes of drugs that cause TD), but only if I had tried Clonidine, Tenex, Topamax and marijuana first and they didn't work. Oh wait, and I believe there is a class of drug called "calcium antagonists" that sometimes also work on tics but don't cause TD. They have other potentially bad side effects, like cardiac arrest or something... but hey, the neuroleptics can cause TD and sudden death so I think I'd take my chances with cardiac failure over TD and sudden death.

"Researchers studying Tourette's syndrome in Germany compared 98 patients with 178 healthy controls. They found an association between the syndrome and the SNP rs4565946 in the gene TPH2. People with two copies of the C version of the SNP had over two times the odds of having Tourette's syndrome compared to those with one C or none." Source: https://www.23andme.com/health/Tourettes-Syndrome/ I kind of agree with what I think you're saying. People don't want to see it. It's why I take medication for mine. It makes life easier and makes dealing with other people easier. Even if they accept it, you're still "that guy with the tic" so you're instantly put in another class from everyone else. People do this unconsciously... even the most open-minded, accepting people in the world still do it subconsciously. It's a survival trait that is implanted in our brains, much like how stereotyping and prejudging are actually survival traits from back in the day when cavemen were trying to not be eaten by wild animals or killed by rival cavemen. The thing is, no one wants to admit that because it's not PC to do so. It's like when people say "oh, no way, I'm not prejudice!" Well, actually, yes you are, unless your brain is malfunctioning. But anyway, if this guy does well on American Idol, he doesn't seem to be embarrassed or care much about his tic, so maybe it will shed some public light on tics and raise awareness so that people don't just consider TS to be "that disease where you swear really loudly." Public awareness may lead to some sort of research and cure. For example, all the girls fall in love with this guy (as they usually do for the "cute" guy on American Idol) and then they all feel bad for him cuz he's got TS so the gears of the media get into motion cuz "hey, let's cure this guy!" and then some new non-neuroleptic drug gets developed that permanently suppresses tics for life with no side effects! Or not.