Tics have cropped up again

[clairedara7]

Hi everybody, I am new here. I've had tics since I was five or six. They used to be very painful- excessive eye-blinking, jaw moving, biting on the lips and cheek until they were raw, etc. Also, I have vocal tics, such as humming briefly in between sentences. The physical tics died down about a year ago, and the vocal tics are still there, which don't bother me so much. But about a week ago, the biting of the cheek tic started up again, and it's more violent (at least it feels like it.) The physical tics used to hurt, but would be background "noise" so to speak. But this one; it feels like it's just draining me. My tics don't usually interfere with my daily life. I can still do things. I don't think I have Tourette's, but I don't know. I've never been diagnosed. I see a therapist, but she's retiring soon, and she is honestly a wonderful person, but when my tics get like this, there's nothing really to help. I worry a lot, but I've never been diagnosed with actual anxiety. I'm just looking for some people who understand what I'm going through and can give some advice... it was so good to feel like it was all behind me, and just the vocal tics remained. But apparently not. It hurts and it makes me feel bad about myself that I can't stop or control my tics. Please help! Thank you.

[Sheila]

Hi clairedara7-- and welcome to the forums.

 

I'm sorry to read that you have been dealing with different types of tics for many years. It's not a good feeling to have things happening in your body that you sense you have no control over, so it is very understandable why you feel bad about yourself.

 

But the good news is that some people have found they gain control over their tics once they discover what is triggering them--whether it is something environmental, infection-related, dietary, an imbalance of nutrients etc. So please don't despair.

 

The idea is to approach your condition creatively and not assume that everything is just happening without a cause.

 

For starters, can you think of anything that happened a week ago before the cheek-biting started up again? Did you change anything in your day to day life? Any change in health (cold, etc?) or exposures to something (or someone!) new?

 

Please see our triggers list and think over the (many!) possibilities. Everyone is different so that's why the list is so long based on factors that people with tics have reported.

 

You might be diagnosed with Tourette's based on your history of vocal and motor tics, but that doesn't really change the types of approach that you could consider trying in an effort to figure out why you have this problem. The Tourette's is just a label.

 

Let us know your thoughts, OK? We'd be happy to think this through with you.

[clairedara7]

Thank you for responding. I think it was stress of a big project coming up and my brain was a little late to recgonize that the project was over... I'll look at the triggers list next time it happens! For me, the triggers can do a lot with anxiety... which I have a lot of at certain times.

[Sheila]

It's good that you have a sense of what set things off. If you want, you could explore nutrients to reduce the stress response should you anticipate a stressful time again. This article from Life Extension covers a number of them. See here. (This site sells nutrients but their information is usually research based.)

 

Thank you for getting back to us!