ocd or Tics

[JRog]

Hello everyone, I'm a 56 year old male who really didn't suffer from tourettes as a child. I would do some foot flexing and abdominal clenching when I laid down at night to go to bed, but nothing that effected me during the day. My tics were pretty much nonexistence. I was even able to serve in the military without any issues. Then I caught a real bad cold and my life hasn't been the same since.  During the cold I developed a  few tics like Ear Popping tic that comes and goes I also developed a grunting tic over the years that comes and goes along with facial tics like nose twitching and facial grimaces. None of them really bother me because they are normally so mild no one even notices them. But without fail whenever I catch a cold everything gets worst, it's like I cant control them. The worst part is I become so obsessed with them I get enormous amounts of Anxiety. The reason I ask if it could be OCD or Tourettes is because if I don't think about them I fine but the moment they enter my thoughts I have to do them. And if I don't do them exactly right it creates anxiety for me. And why do they seem to only surface when I catch a cold? It just seems kind of odd that me being the youngest of eight children from the same parents is the only one who suffers from this. I also have two adult children of my own and neither of them suffer from this as well.

Thank you for any insight you can provide me on this.

 

[Sheila]

Hi JRog, Welcome to the forums. I'm so sorry you are dealing with tics that also are accompanied by obsessions and related anxiety. 

It does seem like you have symptoms of Tourette's since you've had the vocal and muscle/motor tics over an extended period of time. 

Some people have tics  and OCD that are triggered or made worse by an infection. Often it is a bacterial infection, but it can be viral as well.

Does the anxiety go away as soon as the cold disappears--like within two weeks? Or, does it linger on? 

Have you noticed anything else, besides a cold, that can affect your symptoms?  I look forward to reading your reply. 

 

 

 

 

 

[JRog]

4 hours ago, Sheila said:

Hi JRog, Welcome to the forums. I'm so sorry you are dealing with tics that also are accompanied by obsessions and related anxiety. 

It does seem like you have symptoms of Tourette's since you've had the vocal and muscle/motor tics over an extended period of time. 

Some people have tics  and OCD that are triggered or made worse by an infection. Often it is a bacterial infection, but it can be viral as well.

Does the anxiety go away as soon as the cold disappears--like within two weeks? Or, does it linger on? 

Have you noticed anything else, besides a cold, that can affect your symptoms?  I look forward to reading your reply. 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Shelia thank you for responding. Everything seems to go back to normal usually within weeks after the cold leaves. I still have some little tics like facial grimace and nose twitching but not to level I had when the cold was in my system. Colds seem to be the only trigger that really gets my tics going. But at anytime If I think of a tic I have to carry it out and continue to do it until it just feels right. 

[Chemar]

Hi  @JRog

Sorry I can't post more right now - but do look into what is known as Tourettic OCD (when tics and OCD morph)

and also possible PANS (infection triggered tics/ocd etc)