I thought I might shed some light on the real issues that people who suffer from Tourette Syndrome deal with everyday. Here is an “FAQ” from a series of questions I’ve received in the past. I hope you enjoy them and that they give you a better understanding of what it’s like to live with the disorder. Also, It’s important to note that if I quiet my mind, relax, and come to peace through meditation, you can relieve Tics from my life.
- What does it feel like to have Tourette Syndrome. Does it hurt?
- That’s a very interesting question. I really can’t tell you how it feels because I’ve always had Tourette Synrome. I can, on the other hard, tell you how it feels when my Tics are bad and when they’re not bad. When they’re bad, they take over my entire life and everybody can notice (although sometimes I don’t notice most of them). My eyes blink uncontrollably, my throat constantly clears over and over again, I experience an annoying “hum” sound with my voice that usually interrupts me from speaking or having a decent conversation, I make sounds with my teeth that sound a bumble bee, I constantly cough, sometimes I pull my eyelashes out of my eyes, I move my elbows and flick my arms out, stomp my feet, and a few more. You probably get my point. Is it painful? Most people would say no, but I believe that it is very painful. It’s really embarrassing trying to explain the disorder to people who don’t understand it. It’s also tough to function normally when all of this occurs. There have been times where I’ve hurt myself accidentally as the result of a Tic as well. Now when I’m at peace, my Tics are gone or barely noticeable–I function like a normal human being.
- Do you ever swear or blaspheme uncontrollably?
- No. Although I’ve certainly heard of cases where that occurs, I understand it to be extremely rare. The media, out of an attempt to create humor about this serious disorder, uses clinomorphism as a symptom of Tourette Syndrome. People laugh and assume that they’re telling the truth about Tourette’s, but it is my experience that coprolalia (uncontrollable swearing) isn’t experienced by most sufferers. I’ve heard statistics that state that only about 15% or fewer people who suffer from Tourette’s actually experience coprolalia.
- Isn’t there something you can do about it. Can you take any medication to treat Tourette Syndrome
- Unfortunately, there is no medical treatment (to the best of my knowledge) and there are not any drugs that treat Tourette Syndrome (as a disorder). From my understanding, doctors are only able to treat the symptoms, but not the actual disorder. The way doctor’s treat the disorder is usually two ways: through sedation and through anti-depressants. They’re actually really simple treatments if you think about it, but the side effects of both of those kinds of drugs are absolutely horrible. Between the ages of 10-13, my doctors put me on a very heavy regiment of both kinds of those drugs. The side effects were awful. I never ate anything, I was anti-social, and I was a complete Zombie (you can ask my parents, the drugs are the worst thing you can do for Tourette’s, but that’s only our opinion). Those drugs treat the trigger behind Tics, which is stress, anxiety, anger, etc. There are plenty of ways to eliminate stress in a person’s life, no matter what your age is.
Let’s keep this open like a forum. Leave your comments below and I’ll answer your question!
