Hello!
I hope everyone is doing well. I emailed my doctor to ask her opinion on something that has been going on. This is the email I sent her.

Hello,
I was hoping I could get your opinion on a couple things that have been going on.
Last night I got extremely irritable. I tried to ignore it, but certain things just really bothered me. I had to take off my pants because they bothered me. I went to bed and could only pull a little section of my blanket over the middle of me (my butt and stomach). The feeling of it on me bothered me.
It's not the first time, either. Sometimes my sister will randomly try to hold my hand or hug me or make physical contact in some way, but I just can't stand the feeling and I just can't let her. I know it seems rude to her, but I just can't handle it sometimes.
The store where I work painted the walls yellow inside. Bright yellow! There are times when I'm feeling this way that I have had to wear my sunglasses inside because the brightness just bothered me.
And, as always, feeling that irritable feeling or being uncomfortable causes me to tic really badly. I had to come home early from work one day because I couldn't handle my clothes, felt irritable, and couldn't handle how bright it was. I came home, stripped to my underwear and a sports bra after I had a shower and was fine.
Last night, I did the same thing; stripped to my underwear. I snuggled up to my boyfriend. That felt okay when nothing else did. I could only cover that certain part of my body and had to ditch my pillows.
Do you have any ideas about this? I'm fine if I can just remove whatever is making me uncomfortable. I would just appreciate any insight on this, though.


She replied and said that what I'm experiencing isn't unusual with TS and that she highly recommend seeing the psych she had me see once before. The problem is that it is two hours away and I don't have insurance. So, I'm afraid of going and there ending up being no point. I'm afraid I'll go up there and come home with another diagnosis added to the list and that's all.
Is there something I'm missing here? I emailed her back and asked her why she thought I should see the psych and what she thinks is going on. I'm still waiting for her to reply again.

If anyone has any input or ideas, I would really appreciate hearing your take on this!

Thanks!
Jasmine

Hi Jasmine,

I'm Rake. I too have TS and have had it for several decades.

I experience what you describe on a regular basis but mine is much worse.

I cannot stand to be touched at anytime. I go for 2 or 3 weeks at a time and do not wear clothes. I keep a robe handy in case someone comes over.

Usually the only time I wear clothes is when I go to the doc's office and then it is something that fits very, very loose.

As far as covers in bed well, most of the time I do not cover up past my thighs unless I take extra anxiety meds and then I can cover up to my waist.

Also, I cannot take heat at all. If I get the least bit hot I feel as if I am going to have a heart attack, get super dizzy, hyperventilate..etc. I keep the temp in my house at no more than 69 in summer and winter.

My wife freezes to death all the time. Wouldn't you know it the one person that is willing to marry someone like me and they have to be cold natured.

You say you are able to shower, that is great. I have not had a shower in over six months. I have to take sponge baths as the water hitting me in the shower causes me to have a panic/anxiety attack and I cant breath and will almost pass out.

Bright colors drive me nuts. Loud sounds will send me off the deep end very quick. Perfumes (any loud smell) will set my tics and anxiety off.

I could go on and on but I want. I'm a bit older than you and have been through this for many years so if you have any questions just ask and I will do the very best I can to help.

BTW, In my opinion it is panic/anxiety attacks that are causing it.

I take clonazepam for it as needed. Valium also works as needed. I like clonazepam better as it has a shorter half life so you can take it more often as needed where as valium cant be taken as often and even though it stays in your system longer it may not be enough to curb the fight or flight feelings you are feeling during these situations.

Again, that is just my opinion but its an opinion from someone that has TS if that means anything.

Also, I'm not sure what meds you take if any but some of the meds I've taken in the past for depression causes my anxiety to get much worse and then everything we have talked about gets worse with it.

Rake

Hi
I am rather surprised your doctor is suggesting a psych??? for what appears to be Sensory Processing Disorder(aka Sensory Integration Dysfunction) something that is very common in people with TS.

Many people with sensory issues find occupational therapy very beneficial.

In terms of psych help, some aspects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help a bit with sensory processing issues, but it really is more an occupational therapy thing.

Although this website is specifically related to kids, it explains Sensory Processing Disorder well ( we used the book, along with OT, when my son was younger...very helpful!)
http://out-of-sync-child.com/

Hi!
I wanted to post sooner, but I have been really busy.

She talked to the psych and then emailed me back. I didn't want to drive the two hours to go up there an things are tight financially.
She said it's probably just sensory hypersensitivity. They said I could try upping my sertraline to 200mg and see if it would help. I'm at 150 mg so far.

I don't get anxious or panicky as Rake described. I get really uncomfortable and irritable feeling.

I have been trying to be more aware of myself and the things I do, especially things I avoid doing.
I can't handle any kind of cloth or fabric touching my teeth. I can't even handle it if it's someone else's teeth. If someone bites their shirt or touches their teeth with any type of fabric, my teeth hurt really bad. I know that sounds weird, but they literally hurt!

I will check out the website you posted chemar.

Thanks guys!

Hello

To start off, I do not have TS. However I do have a couple of related disorders. One particularly made me want to post, which is Sensory Processing Disorder.

Your first post JNT I also automatically thought of related SPD. However what really wanted to make me post, is your quote^

I have this exact same reaction, and it's not weird at all to people with TS and SPD.

SPD generally is helped with Occupational Therapy, although CBT and medications (as mentioned) are also used to help. So there are a few routes to explore to helping you with this.

Good luck

Sweets

Thanks sweets!
I'm starting to think this is something worth looking into further.
I had a problem today similar to the others I mentioned.
Anytime my fingernails touch fabric, I cringe and my teeth have the same horrible feeling as if I'm rubbing the fabric on my teeth. It's almost midnight, and I can't sleep because I am having the same problem now with my toenails touching my blanket and the sheet on my bed. I'm not seeing any restful sleep for myself tonight.

Do any of you know if there is a checklist online to see if you have stmptoms of sod to see if you should actually talk to your doctor more in depth about it? Again, I face the problem of distance and finances, but I'm starting to get rather aggravated. I am working on raising my meds. I am almost to the dose my doc told me to raise it to. It doesn't seem to have helped any yet.

Hi
just Google sensory processing disorder symptoms and you will get many results. including the SPD foundation, WebMD and more

As mentioned before SPD is a very common condition occurring with TS. Often, OCD is also present and so you can have a lot of "morphing" of the symptoms.

imho Therapy is a far better treatment than meds for SPD
A combination of CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and OT(occupational therapy) can be very beneficial, and often you can do these on your own once you understand the basics.

I second ^this^ completely!!

OT is the main treatment for SPD. I did say medications can be used to help, however they are generally used in conjunction with OT and not as a treatment by itself. Medications generally help with the reaction of sensitivity, rather than the actual sensory processing issue itself.