sgrunin

Is it normal to diagnose that early? I was talking to someone from the Tourettes Foundation over the summer and they told me not to worry about it till 5 or 6 yrs old and a dr wouldnt diagnose until then. I was afraid my 1 year old son would get it so I called them. Just curious Scott

Go to the article..up top in your browser is will say ADDRESS and will have the link...highlight the whole thing then just paste it here! Scott

I would say it has something to do with TS..when I had my baby and came back to work and my tourettes started up again..I started forgetting things to and my short term memory was AWFUL. It has gotten a little better lately but it was so bad that my wife would ask me to go downstairs and get something for her, I would go downstairs and just look around because I forgot what she needed. Scott

I have problems with both...I cant fall asleep each night then I wake up in the middle of the night and have problems falling back asleep :-( Scott

I am going through the posts to see what I might try..I did get some zinc last weekend..I read it helps some people sleep..I have the hardest time sleeping without taking tylonal pm or benadryl.. I just have not started taking it yet..still sitting on my counter.... Scott

Thank you for all the replies! I am kind of a conrol freak also....cant help it though :-) Scott

How common is having tourettes and having OCD? I was diagnosed with tourettes when I was younger but I have always had OCD but I dont remember anyone ever saying that to me. Since I was a kid I have to check the doors 6 or 7 times to make sure they are locked. I flick the lights on and off a bunch of times until the light feels like its off correctly...if it comes up a bit I have to do it again. I check the locks on my jeep multiple times. I use hand wash every time I touch things..I even have a small one on my keychain. If I get one thing on my mind I cant let it go no matter what... I flip the stove on and off a bunch of times cause I am afraid that it is not off "correctly" and when I go to sleep we will have a fire. There are a lot more but I dont have time to write a book right now :-) Do people that have tourettes and ocd get diagnosed for the ocd part? I know a lot of it is because of stress....I have always had ocd but it has gotten a lot worse in the last year. Most of the time it does not interfere with my life..It actually helps at work because my boss said a few weeks ago I never make mistakes... I check every email and read every email at least 10 times to make sure its perfect so it does not hurt my life that much. Lately though with my best friend it has come in the way..a lot.One of the only people in my life I really love a lot and care for..I have something on my mind and I cant let it go..I know she is very frustrated with me and mad at me and probably hates me right now but I really cant help it and cant stop thinking about things.....I go home and want to cry every night....hurts really really bad...ocd seems to be really ruining things right now. Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this. Scott

I have been having a lot of problems sleeping through the night..going on almost a year now...I read here a few people tried zinc and it helped them How much should I be taking each night? I assume you take it before bed. Scott

Well I needed someone to talk to you and this is the best place for it....My wife and I had our first baby last november...I was out of work from Xmas till Mid February When I got back to work things started going downhill for me...My tourettes got worse, my memory got worse. I was depressed at work all the time. I just didnt want to be there. Finally in June or July I talked to my bosses and told them I had tourettes and I was having a few problems.. They asked me if I wanted to step down as a supervisor for a while so I can get back on track.. I told them no and they were very happy I made that choice...Within a month I think I was back on track..Not to where I was the last few years but I was doing much better...Right now I still have a few problems remembering things and such and I do have some back days. I just got my YEARLY review and these are out of 5 Productivity 2 (even though I do more than anyone here, even when I was having problems) Judgement 2 Creativity 2( I spent a year creating a database to automate everything we do in this call center) Innovation 2 Strives to Achieve 2 Dependability 3 Manage Team Efforts 2 Then I got remarks like Thinking Skills Scott has had some difficulty with seeing things clearly this year. Does it seem fair to punish me over something I cant control and they knew about and I worked my butt off to try and fix while I was here at work????? Scott

Elizabeth..I give you a lot of credit for just being able to come out and tell people..I have had TS all my life..I am 31 now..Only a handful of people know...like you its pretty unnoticable...I can control things pretty good so no one really knows I have it unless I tell them. I dont know what I would say if I had a tic that came about one day that I couldnt control...Sometimes I feel embarrassed that people would think differently of me. Scott

I dont think anyone should get offended. I think it was a good and fair question..I have a 10 month old and I think about those things all the time. I would not have changed anything in our decision to have a baby but that was our choice. My wife knew I had tourettes and I worried all the time about if my child would get it. I still worry now about it but I would not ..NOT have a child because of it...Some people might think differently. Some people might think that is selfish. I dont at all. Its everyones personal decision. Maybe you dont want to have kids because of this. Nothing wrong with that. Its your choice either way. There is no wrong or right. If anything maybe you should have worded "I wouldn´t wish that for my kids?!? " a little differently...makes it sound like those who know we have tourettes and have kids are doing the wrong thing. Other than that it was a very good question Scott

Just out of curiosity...how old are you? I would like to try the fish oils also..not sure if 10mg is enough for me.I am 31..ugh Scott

This is kind of strange but I am 31 and I developed kind of a head tic a few months ago..I never really noticed it until about a week ago when my neck was ALWAYS sore and stiff..its not really a head jerking that is noticeable but little jerks that no one can notice...also tightening of the neck muscles... I am guessing that is why my neck is sore all the time....bengay has been my best friend lately....and icy hot....cools and heats :-) None of it is noticable to ANYONE so I guess that is good! One less thing I have to deal with and worry about. I still consider myself new here..This is a great forum with great people willing to help each other. The best thing is that everyone has different things they can bring here from experience to supplements and ways to lessen the tics. The more input means better results and more ways to help each other and our children. Scott

I am with Jeff on this one..I had braces and my tics did not increase at all that I remember. Scott

I just got a new pair of glasses...I dont wear them much because they do bother my eyes even though they are the same prescription..... Things look different through them...normal to touch/roll eyes... Definitely will go away as he gets used to them. Scott

I have tourettes and I have scoliosis..mine was more like 30 degrees though...I had to go to Boston Children's Hospital every week when I was younger. They fitted me for a back brace that I had to wear 18 hours a day. I had to wear this through my first year of college.... If I didnt wear it or if it got worse they would have had to put a metal rod in my spine to keep it straight. I am not sure if there is a connection between them though Scott

Susanna Watch the sugar intake...Its amazing what has sugar in it these days...most juices have a form of sugar..like Jeff said..corn syrup is a culprit also..Most fruits have a natural form of sugar..... That is what makes my tics worse and I am 31..I have to watch my sugar intake.. I get set off pretty easily also..I dont go into any types of rage..I am old enough that I can relax myself but I am easily set off. Scott

Claire Thank you very much. I am going to go check out this forum Scott

Lactaid definitely good and dairy ease what about soy??????? actually does not taste that bad. I buy soy chocolate milk because of the protein..lots of protein. It IS really amazing how many foods have dairy.. Take chocolate..I love m & m's and chocolate has milk and milkfat AND to top it off it has Lactose. I find a lot of humor in that....They really want to take care of those lactose intolerant people so they add as many milk products they can think of..ha ha Scott

Claire, Just out of curiosity..I know its been mentioned that once people have stopped with the computer monitor for a week and the child was better... How do you know if it was from the monitor/lcd or from the video games themselves? Just curious about that. Also would your son have a problem playing a game such as Super Mario Brothers? the newer versions on the N64 and gamecube are VERY colorful and bright..not too too much movement as with other games but very bright.. Bright games dont bother me...I am like a kid when it comes to that...the brighter the more likely I will be drawn to it.... Sounds silly but simple puzzle games get me going. You have to think with them and they can get me frustrated.. Scott

heathz14 You wont believe all the info you get from here..I am still learning medications/vitamins and that stuff but I remember everything that happened to me throughout my life with TS so I am hoping I can take that and help people out...I went through everthing with TS..good and bad and came out pretty good in the end :-) Scott

Hi Claire, I have an LCD and a CRT..I dont really use the CRT for games anymore. I use that on my 2nd computer for video editing. The LCD has a much better picture and clearer but I dont see it being better or worse than the CRT in terms of playing games..at least for me...One does not bother me more than the other. Its always the type of game that bothers me. Side scrollers dont bother me either. There is a lot of movement in those also. It just seems to be the first person games. I always have to have the lights on in our family room at all times..with the tv and with the computer...really bothers me when its dark and the tv and computer are bright. BUT movies in theaters dont bother me at all..We went to a movie a couple of weeks ago and it didnt bother me at all. The only thing that bothered me there was the lights on the ceiling. They always have a few dim lights up on the ceiling and I tend to keep looking up at them and they drive me crazy. scott

Nancy Most of the time I would get mad at myself BUT while playing racquetball I was playing against someone and I would tend to blame them sometimes also. If I missed a shot I would think that my opponent did something to make me lose my concentration. I know this is not what he wants to hear but losing will help in the long run. Kind of hard for him to see that now but its SO true. My nephew is 5 going on 6 and when he comes over and spends time with us, we always have to play baseball. That is all he likes to do. I make sure he does not hit the ball everytime. It sounds mean but I cant believe how well it has made him. He concentrates more. You get lazy if you succeed all the time :-) Again being 9, he wont see that or want to hear that but keep that in mind. Scared of losing and not performing is something he will learn. I learned it quick when I was playing 30 tournements a year. You get over that pretty quickly the more you play. scott

Jeff That is interesting about the sugar...Sugar has always bothered me. I am going to have to keep track of what I eat for a while to see what has artificial flavors. I am guessing almost everything! I remember being made fun of as a kid. Kind of sucked but I learned to live with. I am a stronger person now because of it. Scott

Jennifer, I am trying to picture a flickering vs non flickering video game. I can tell you 1 type of game that bothers the heck out of me and that is first person games like doom, soldier of fortune etc The movement in those games drive me CRAZY..I still play them but I have to do it a little at a time..First person games are the best :-) Any game I think can cause tics to get worse..You get into a game whether or not its action, adventure, war, sports etc.. They can be stressful when you are trying your best to get through it.. Stress can = tics Scott