Tic Chick

[Sunshine]

Hey there tic chick.
Have you tried IVIG for your Tourette’s?

[tic chick]

hey sunshine!

i knew there was something wrong with me when i was about 5-6. i always felt this nervous energy inside and i started to blink my eyes and have other single motor tics. i also developed a sniffle, which is a vocal tic.

some children develop tics and other tourette-like conditions after getting a strep infection. here is a short description:

PANDAS stands for pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcus. The syndrome involves sudden and often major changes in personality, behavior, and movement in children following an infection involving Streptococcus pyogenes (streptococcal-Ainfection). Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...

i think those children would be the ones who would benefit from IVIG.

most cases of tourette syndrome aren't related to strep infections. ts is a problem with brain chemicals being picked up between nerve cells in the brain. there are chemicals that start a movement and ones that stop a movement. in ts, they're all screwed up as is the communication between nerve cells. it might be part genetic, part environmental.

i didn't see a doctor for my ts and panic attacks (from ptsd), until i was 30 and done having babies. i knew i had ts when i read an article in the paper about it when i was 19. doctors always told my mom i was a "nervous child". so, when i went to the neurologist (well respected university educator and doctor of neurology), specializing in "movement disorders", specifically ts and parkinson's disease, i told him the panic attacks were crippling my life more than the ts. he started me on klonopin and within 2 weeks i had no panic attacks (i was having them about twice a week from age 19 to 30). the klonopin kind of makes my tics lessen, but there is no specific medicine for tics. i tried about 20 drugs in 7 years to try and see if any would stop the tics. usually the antipsychotics and atypical antipsychotics work on the tic symptoms of ts, but they all have side effects. i was on abilify for 2 years and had my tics reduced by about 80%. unfortunately, i started getting obsessive-compulsive disorder and i would constantly rock in chairs and bang my head into walls behind me. no more abilify. my neuro never recommended i try ivig.

i have just decided to live with the ts, the stares, the sometimes comments. i will never see most of those people again. my friends either know i have ts or i have told them why i tic. i tic less when people know i have ts. i can blend tics in with my normal movements, postpone tics...other little tricks to not draw too much attention to me. i tic more when stressed. all in all, i've lived a pretty normal life, whatever that means :)

thanks for asking, sunshine and thank you all for reading,
jeannie