Other Tics

[Deleted member 27340]

Anyone had tics? I don't know if they're because of PTSD or if I just randomly developed a tic disorder, but the past week I've had lots of tics. Now as I'm sitting in my room, I just let them all come as they please without making any attempt to suppress them at all. I make odd head movements, close my eyes really hard, sniff, squeak, do stuff with my shoulders and arms as well as twisting my entire body.

I've had twitches occasionally before, but now it's all the time and more severe. I exhaust myself trying to keep it under control when I'm with other people, and then it all comes out whenever I'm alone.

I can feel that a tic will come because tension builds up in that area and keeps on increasing until I do the movement. I HAVE to do it. If I don't, the tension will continue until it's painful and I do the movement in a more severe way or multiple times. I feel like my tics aren't "real" tics because I can predict that they'll come, and feel like I'm faking it for attention, even though I'm absolutely not. I can't not do the tics, and they are annoying.

Just for reference, if I *tic* were to insert *tic* it in the text every time I *tic* ticced, it'd look *tic* something like this. *tic*

Probably not completely accurate as I was focused on it and typed slower, but you get the idea.

Anyway, I know that this has been going on for only just under a week. If it keeps going on for a long time, I'll see a doctor. It's not something I'm absolutely terrified will ruin my life or anything, I can live with it if needed, I'm just curious what it is and why it is.

I've done a lot of research on tics, and the thing with increasing tension until the movement is fulfilled and other things are apparently common description by people suffering form tic disorders.

Any of you have tics, and is it because of PTSD or something else? How/when did they start, how long did they go on... etc?

 

[Deleted member 20280]

Yes I get loads of Tic's, especially when I am stressed. I developed tourettes a while ago as well. I believe as part of my symptoms more than any other reason.

 

[Deleted member 27340]

Are you diagnosed with Tourette's?

I will await two more weeks to see if they stop by themselves. If they don't I'll go see my doctor and ask to be referred to a neurologist.
I know my sister used to have tics when she was younger. She'd make noises and twitch her eye.

 

[Anarchy]

There are some good essays in one of Oliver Sacks' books about people with Tourettes. One guy is a surgeon, and also flies, and his tics subside when he's really concentrating on something he enjoys. Can't remember whether it was the same guy, who played jazz, and if he was on medication for the tics, his jazz playing lost its spontaneity.

This is going back a over 30 years, there was a guy in the year below me at boarding school, who had tourettes, and was on all sorts of shite to try to suppress it (to save other people the embarrassment of hearing his shouts, rather than for any benefit for him). needless to say he still had loads of tics and shouts.

The September after I left that school, he was taken ill, and died within a few days. The best I can make out, it was the medication, that wasn't even doing what it was supposed to, that killed him.

I only worked out a few years back, that he had been able to use his tourettes as cover for shouting "W! W!, f*ck W! f*ck W!...." at the bullying little narcissist of a deputy headmaster in morning assembly.

I don't know whether he had a trauma background, but to an extent, all of us had been cleared out of our family homes under some pretext or other - like "getting a good education" - so in that sense, he probably did.

 

[shimmerz]

I would have it checked out. I know that meds that my friends son is on cause tics. I would check to see what the side effects of your meds are and whether they include tics.

I know that my somatic responses had me drop into an almost 'tourettes like' behaviour for more than a year. I wasn't swearing etc but instead was moaning, continually saying 'no, no, no' etc. Trauma, defensive like talk. It doesn't sound like that is an issue for you though.

I would check on your meds and talk to a doctor about it.

 

[Go Hungry]

Well I'm not sure if they're tics, and they certainly don't build up pressure in the manner you describe, but I do have involuntary muscle movements sometimes. It will sometimes be like a big scowl, or sniff, or my head or hands jerk. These are more pronounced when I'm at home, having a bad time, or when Kid is about. I've gotten really good about keeping them very slight at work, to the point that they are largely unnoticeable. But still, they are there. It happens when some stray unhappy thought goes through my mind.

 

[garden]

In the past when I've been awake for days at a time I have facial twitches and muscle twitches. My face twitches are annoying cause I try to lay down and rest but I keep feeling my face movements. the muslce twitches are in and around my neck shoulders and arms. It has not happened in a long time, because I have been sleeping every night. I did notice that It has only happend when I've been awake for more than 48 hours. I think it's just my muscles firing for no reason, it's an over active, mal functioning central nervous system...maybe, I don't really know.

 

[WildMermaid]

@Trauma I found some interesting information regarding tics here... http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Tic_disorders.aspx
If they keep up or increase may be a sign of stress but may need to be checked.

 

[greenleaf]

@Trauma -- I may be going through some similar things but am not defining them as "tics" to myself due to my inner sense of their origin. I could be wrong of course but just don't feel I am.

My sense is that it's connected to dissociation. Since it is coming up in connection to increases in my ability to get a sort of deep body sense on my left side, I think my brain might be exploring how to do this at some level almost out of my consciousness. Or something.

I'd lacked the same connection to spatial awareness of muscles in my left back, foot, and maybe also face? that I had on my right, and didn't notice it... (if you're dissociating, the dissociation won't really work unless you ignore that you are ignoring something.) Lots and lots of massage, a great physical therapist, and some yoga have very slowly made me aware that I wasn't feeling the same thing deeply in limbs etc. on my left as my right; when the massage therapist pressed on both sides of my back up near my shoulders about a year ago was the first time I really realized this as in comparison it was really evident. I always had skin sensation so I never noticed a big anesthetized patch or anything.

The muscles that were numb were often locked and tight. The PT has been working on them for months and there will be small changes slowly, accompanied by deep itching as something wakes up. Then that thing will slowly feel more normal over time in general.'

Getting back to the OP... the motions for me are not mostly really what I think a facial tic would look like; sometimes they change over a few days, eventually are shaky and there is emotion that comes out, shaky overwhelmed sorts of emotion. I have been reading the Peter Levine stuff, which makes sense to me... "Waking the Tiger" and so on, have you looked at that?

Holding/gently pressing the arm or whatever can give me a feeling of reassurance.

I also read somewhere that we can need to integrate "horizontally and vertically" in our brains sometimes. Horizontally I think would be the emotion to more cognitive parts/sides of our brains, but vertically can maybe include somatic stuff, frozen reptile brain stuff. I think. Gosh, that sounded scientific, huh...:rolleyes:

 

[Deleted member 27340]

and his tics subside when he's really concentrating on something he enjoys

This happened today when I explained mathematics (basic algebra stuff) to a girl in my previous class! She thinks very visually I figured (I've believed that for quite a while, today my theory was confirmed) and by explaining it all through putting everything in boxes she could understand it. The x-boxes had angry spikes and killed everything nearby until they were the only box on their side and the other side also only had one box. I didn't have any tics at all while working through some tasks with her :)

I would check on your meds and talk to a doctor about it.

I'm not on any meds. Medication is a last-way-out-thing, at least where my T works. Maybe it's a Norwegian thing, I don't know.

It happens when some stray unhappy thought goes through my mind.

To me it happens all the time. Now it's been a week since they started, and I'm beginning to understand them more. They happen randomly, but it seems like they can be triggered by bad thoughts as well, on top of the "random" tics. My tics decrease when relaxes or, as mentioned, extremely focused, and increase with stressful environments or mental states. If I attempt to suppress them it takes a lot of effort, drains me and will leave me like I am right now; loads of tics when I'm finally alone.

mal functioning central nervous system...maybe, I don't really know.

Probably the nervous system, that's at least what's normally associated with tic disorders.

Thank you, @WildMermaid , I'll look at the link :)

@greenleaf Thank you for your reply! It doesn't sound like what I'm having (the only reassurance or relief I get is from ticking), but the input was valuable. Having to connect different parts of the brain would make sense too, only if it hadn't been for that I keep having tics all the time for days.


Just a regular update:

I saw my T today, and she said it's no point in going to my doctor. He'd only refer me to the service she works for, and getting referred to a place you already are is pointless. Or, if he didn't send me further, he'd only tell me to await and observe the ticks over time, as the time span is important when talking about these things. Many people have tics for a shorter period of time, if it lasts more than a year, it's either Tourette's Syndrome (both motor and vocal tics) or Chronic Motor/Vocal Tic Disorder (vocal OR motor tics, not both). If it's less than a year they call it Pervasive Tic Disorder. Anyway, as my T said, there's no point in making a big fuss else than that I use her for coping with it. If it lasts for a long time or anything else requires it, getting a formal diagnosis would be an option.

So basically I need to wait :P It can end within the end of the week, or continue for the rest of my life. No one knows. I'm prepared for both, and have chosen not to make any expectations or hopes regarding this. What happens happens. I can live with it.

 

[IanG]

I have had verbal tics most of my life when I'm stressed, scared, restless, or uncomfortable. They were a coping mechanism for me and consist of nonsense words blurted out. But it only happens when I'm with my immediate family and I tend to suppress that (and everything else) in public. My therapist told me this can happen in PTSD from childhood trauma and is a way to express and release the pressure inside...kind of like a safety valve of some kind.

 

[Forgetful]

I see this thread is a couple of months old but I just found it.

I'm not sure if what I experience is the same as what you are experiencing. I have permanent constant muscle movements. They occur in my hands, arms, legs, neck and facial expressions, and rocking back & forth. They were caused by one of my medications I was taking for auditory hallucinations. I will have them for the rest of my life. I take a medication 3x daily to lessen them but nothing will completely stop them. I carry with me a worry stone whenever I leave the house. By holding it in my hand and concentrate on the feeling of rubbing between my thumb and finger they lessen a little more. All of that concentration and trying to supreme them is exausting but I don't want to be known as that crazy lady who rocks in the grocery store.

You should seek the advise of a neurologist and try to find the cause if it continues.

Best of luck