just wanted to say nice to meet you.

I was checking out other members profiles and it seems a lot of them haven't logged on in a long time.

I have to apologize that I haven't been to the TS forum myself...

Would you mind telling us a little bit about your TS connection? Only if you want to.

nice to meet ya, by the way...

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.

hey Lyn,

feel free to ramble as long and as much as you'd like. That's what we're here for, to listen to each other...

I think everyone has OC tendencies...it is true OCD when it would affect us in our daily routines...

like my obtrusive thoughts. Sometimes the scratch until I have to draw blood among others.

I think a lot of TSers have the co-morbids and they usually are more troublesome than the actual TS...

the worst thing about the TS is probably getting teased....everybody gets teased but TSers probably get teased more regularly and more often...

and for me, my TS is beginning to take its toll on my in the fact that I have these tics in my joints and I think I am wearing the heckit out of them and now that I am getting old...my joints are beginning to really hurt from the tics.

So while the tics didn't hurt when I was young and younger, it is hurting me now...(joint related tics)

well, just have to live with it....

please keep yakking...I think it is all good info what you're sharing...



while I can't feel real hugs right now..I've found these cyber hugs very therapeutic.

((((((HUGS))))))

Hello again...

Regarding the OCD... I think my daughters symptoms are manageable now... but it did really interfere with their lives before. My older girl got so fed up with it she used to cry herself to sleep, that's if she could get to sleep. lol We were just talking about this a couple of months ago when she very proudly announced that she has some control over it now. She said she just got so sick of it one day and decided it was not going to rule her anymore and after all those years she feels better. Ofcourse it is still there but she has learnt to de-stress alot. { she has a managerial position so something had to give. lol}

My younger daughter with OCD is on medication for depression now which also seems to have eased her OCD.
She has had some very dark days and nights that girl.

There is also the tendency to be obsessed with "needing to know" something... that can end up really peeing others off. This goes beyond the usual "Tell me now!" thing.

The constant needing to check things, and feeling something bad would happen if they didn't carry out a ritual was a big problem for my girls too. {and for me at one stage too, I think age and logic helped me ease that one. lol}

My son seems to have some behavioural problems with his TS... it can be more of a problem then his tics. He use to be so placid. He behaves in school but lets it out at home... usually with me and his sisters. Apart from that he is a great little boy who is very protective of his family. Love him to bits.

I'm looking forward to hearing more of your story... you have a way with words...

Take care,
Lyn.

gosh...

I can relate to EVERYTHING you've mentioned...

((((BIG HUGS))))

your little boy...the behavioral (or behavioural, depending on which side of her majesty's ocean we live in. )problem sounds so familiar...

I did my share of taking it out at home as well...

here is my thought on that:

I think part of it is the suppressing of the tics while he was in school.

I know that when I was in school (and even now) I try hard to suppress my tics, even though people knew that I ticced, I still suppressed it.

Ever had an itch you can't scratch...then, finally you're able to scratch it...

I can imagine if he's suppressing that ALL day at school...and how that could become part of his frustration.

There may be "let out moments" where he'll let them loose, but it is NEVER fully loose...so, when he gets home, that release comes out...

thus the other part: it's being release not only in the form of tics but maybe anger, frustration, shouting, or other "behaviour" problems...

with holding tics can be very draining both mentally and physically...

I know that whenever I'd have to hold it in for a long time, I can become quite irritable....

I remembered that I was angry ALL the time...didn't know why..I would always wanted to throw things...

when I got older, I would buy a lot of eggs and cheap plates and I'd go out back and just throw them...it felt good to see the eggs crack....or the cheap plates crack...(I am not suggesting this, I am sure there are better ways, LOL)

I also was into cutting veggies up...just taking a cleaver to lettuce really really helped....

this was years ago when TS was still a mystery...

perhaps finding out a way to let him vent his frustrations out would help.

I know video games has helped me as well...

I remember when video games was a controversial topic in the TS chatroom...
some parents say that it made their kids ticced more and then there is that "violence" factor...

I don't play shoot them ups...I play fantasy ones where we fight monsters vs going out and rob people...and I, myself have found those to be very "healing"

yes, it might intensify the tics, but I just tic away with it and then release it through fighting the monsters...

in talking with some TSers themselves, we have found that was a nice release....

of course, not trying to endorse violent video games...especially the ones where they are shooting people...

but I think the right video games might help ease some "tension" .

and perhaps eggs...they are cheap and fun to just throw and see them crack!! LOL

I have seen novelty bricks at stores that if you throw them, they'll break but you can put them back again and again...not sure if they still sell that anymore or do they sell that in Oz....

of course, I am sure there may be other factors, is he being bullied? Does he feel like he's behind in school? And there could be tons of other issues...and if he's like me, he'll probably feel embarassed or uncomfortable talking to his mum about it. LOL
is he of age that maybe he likes girls and feels either embarassed about himself or the girl he likes is unapproachable?

I know we all tend to think: TS= Dopamine irregularities

but I like to think outside the box and think of it as a whole picture, one thing affects the other and that it is more than just irregular dopamines that make us tic...

that really is for EVERYONE, really...I think TSers are just more sensitive to these issues...you know, mutants (I am using that in a nice way, I think of X-men, when I think of mutants...LOL Evolution and advancements)

anyways, I am rambling on and I probably don't know what I am talking about..

Thank you so much for that!!!

It all makes alot of sense, truly. {and yes, the accents come out in our writing, don't they?? behaviour v behavior. lol}
I have often thought my son is releasing built up tension when he gets home. He doesn;t have a huge problem with tics normally, he's mild, but as I said his behaviour is a pain at times.

He is actually doing very very well at school, achieving "high standards" and "very high"... he's the top reader in his class and is way above average in sporting abilities. He seems to achieve this effortlessly, which is great. I've never been one to put too much pressure on my kids, as long as they do their best that's all I ask.

He's just finishing the 2 week school hols, staying up later and getting up even earlier than usual, soccer activities, friends over, so I think the poor kid is worn out. {so am I!}

As for the bullying, no, that's not a problem. He's one of those kids who just make friends with everyone. He's the one who sticks up for other kids who are being bullied, even if he doesn't know them. lol. Makes me very proud.

As for girlfiends, lol, he's 8 and has a few girls interested and he's enjoying that side of it. {Me? Well, I'm thinking "this is way too soon!!!!"}

I know he tries to behave, and I can tell there are times when it's not fully under his control. But I'm so glad he's an angel at school, that'd be a whole different ball game.}

Thanks again for all you said, it is much appreciated.

Lyn.