Vocal and Motor Tics

[buttondowns]

I do not believe I have Tourettes, as I do not feel an urge to perform my tics, but I have experienced chronic and transient vocal and motor tics. I am diagnosed with ADHD as well as Aspergers Syndrome, but my symptoms have become mild enough with age that I have been without psychoactive medicine or counseling for a year. I express tics while alone or while feeling alone, and they are usually triggered by strong negative emotion toward a memory/conversation or stress concerning work/obligations.

 

My most common vocal tics are complex--blurting phrases like, "I'll kill you," "I'm going to kill myself," or "I hate you" without directing it toward another person. I've experienced this for four or more years, but I do not remember the exact date it started, and I've never treated it as something debilitating. More annoying are the simple transient motor and vocal tics which have included at one time or another convulsion, foot-stamping, silent/vocal screams, and now hiccuping/sharp intake of breath. These usually last for a period of months and peak in severity when I feel as if my obligations are not being met. I am not very open to natural remedies/medication, and would much rather appreciate advice on how to control and deal with these tics.

 

Edit/Update: My hiccuping tic has gotten worse, coming in quick bursts of up to ten. My family is not used to me expressing a tic so frequently and noticeably, and they're finding it hard to believe that I have no control over it. I tic louder at home. Elsewhere, I am able to tic under my breath without really thinking about it.

 

I have been trying to pinpoint when I started expressing tics, and I remembered experiencing crying almost like a tic. I would cry without actually being sad, and a person speaking to me during these episodes could cause the crying to continue. Although crying would occasionally be out of genuine sadness, it was often linked to an event, interpersonal problem, or conversation, and the act of crying was actually an involuntary overreaction. Could crying be tic? If so, that would make my tic disorder concurrent with my autism.

 

Extra info: I participate in Taekwondo, and I am occasionally frustrated by my clumsiness. I run regularly. I have two fairly close friends, but I am fairly antisocial, dipping into short periods of seclusion. My mother is schizophrenic and bipolar, and rarely is she completely balanced, so we argue often. My family tends to hoard, and while it is not so bad that I can't see the floor, it embarrasses me enough that I don't have company over. I feel sheltered and stupid often, but I do well enough in school. I finished in the top of my class, but I slacked off at the end, and I'm not proud of that. I am going away to college in a couple of months, but I don't feel all too prepared. I spend more time than I should on the internet, and I read very little. Overall, I lean toward being a happily disposed person. I sing prolifically, although sometimes it is to cope with depression, and I love to dance.

Edited August 3, 2012 by buttondowns

[guy123]

Have you tried any medications or supplements to deal with the tics?