hi

The reason I came across this forum was because I was searching for some up to date info for my son. He turned 8 in April this year and was diagnosed in May with mild TS. I had come to realise this in the month before though so I knew what the diagnosis would be and had my head around it a bit by then.

My brother who is now 52 has TS but it has never been spoken about. About 15 yrs ago I saw something on TV where they showed a guy with TS and noticed straight away that was what my brother had. I spoke to my mum about it. {my brother is 8 yrs older than me so by this time he was an adult himself} Mum said she had taken him to s DR when he was about 10 to see if they could see the problem, but from what she remembers she was just told to go home. {typical of back then really} I assume my brother has had a Dx himself at some stage but I'm not sure. But I do know he has TS. It has never been spoken about, when we were growing up it was a huge taboo, as was epilepsy etc.

His tics have eased alot as he has aged but they are still there. I don't feel like I can talk to him about my son because I'm not sure if he is sensitive to it or not. It has never held him back, he has always had lots of friends, married twice {break ups had nothing to do with TS} he has a great job and does well. It was from my father the horrible stuff came. Dad treated him like rubbish. He was very nasty to him, which still hurts him to this day. I think it's disgusting when the very ones who should support you are the ones who ridicule.

To me he was not different from anyone else, and he is the favourite of all my brothers.

I think this is what made me suspect TS when my son started showing signs about 2 yrs ago. {though I hadn't known then that it was heriditry} From when my boy was little he used to do some things like sniff, smell things and blink, but not so much as to worry about. {kids do that sort of thing} It was in April this year during his much loved soccer game that he started with a neck jerk... almost the entire game... and after. That was when it finally hit me. I admit I was so scared and heartbroken. It took me a week before I'd even discuss it with my husband {not his bio Dad} I needed to find acceptance myself first. I tend to be a total worry wart when it comes to my kids and over protective, so I didn't know what to do. By the time I made a Dr appy he was hardly ticcing at all. So when we had the referral to the Ped, he was diagnosed as mild.

I find that he tics more when over excited but much of the time it's not too obvious. He is a very outgoing boy with alot of friends, very athletic and talks way too much... but I wouldn't have him any other way.

I have 5 kids, and only this one had TS {the youngest}. Out of my other brothers none of their kids have it. My brother with TS didn't have kids but that wasn't because of a fear of passing it down I don't think. He has told my mum that he now wishes he had kids.

So that's my connection with Tourettes.

Interestingly though I've heard that OCD is often linked even if you don't have TS symptoms. I have 2 daughters with OCD but their symptoms are managable. My Dr also said epilepsy is linked with it somehow and my other 2 kids have that. I find that intriguing. Dr didn't even know at the time what my other kids have. I probably have a bit of OCD myself, but not too bad.

Sorry this is so long but that's my story... thanks for asking!

Take care,
Lyn.