Tourettesgirl

Hi my name is savannah, this is a side blog where I can post moslty about how I am dealing with my tourettes.

[p5anic]

Just because it’s not normal doesn’t mean it needs a cure.

Delsin Rowe, Infamous Second Son. (via p5anic)

[ticandpout]

Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder NOT a mental illness. Stop spreading incorrect information!  This isn’t up for debate. You wouldn’t call epilepsy a mental illness, because it’s not.

This isn’t saying don’t support people with mental illness so don’t start that, because none of you care about tourettes to begin with besides to make jokes and inaccurate headcanons …. 

Please reblog even if you don’t have TS, spread the word to you non ticcing friends.    

[a1a1b]

Support people with Tourette’s Syndrome

who have severe motor tics

who scream

who swear

who are random

who need mobility aids

whose tics are barely noticeable

who need help with eating and dressing

who are under eighteen

who are over eighteen

who love their tics

who hate their tics

whose tics exhaust them

who can’t work

who have been kicked out of places for ticcing

who are bullied and mocked

whose tics cause them pain.

Support people with Tourette’s.

[tomblr-in-action]

TFW you social justice so hard you come full circle and make yourself into a huge asshole.

I mean to be honest I wouldn’t have known what those were for either but I also wouldn’t have made a big deal out of it.

Source

[tourettesnetwork]

shoutout to all the kids with tic disorders going back to school right now and having to explain themselves to a whole new set of teachers and classmates

[missmentelle]

Let’s Talk About Tourette Syndrome

I have Tourette Syndrome. 

When I was 10 years old, I developed a vocal tic out of nowhere. One week I was fine, and the next, I was making a small vocalization every 3-4 minutes. A couple of months later, I started involuntarily shrugging my right shoulder as well. My tics have changed and evolved throughout my lifetime, but for the last 14 years I have not experienced a single tic-free month, and in all likelihood, I never will again.

Tourette Syndrome is one of those things that pretty much everyone has heard of, but very few people know anything about. When most people think of Tourette Syndrome, they picture an adolescent boy uncontrollably swearing in public, or a little boy consumed by bizarre physical tics. But that’s not the reality for me, or thousands of other people with Tourette Syndrome. So here are the facts:

- We don’t actually know how many people have Tourette Syndrome. Around 0.3% of the population is currently diagnosed, but researchers estimate that about half of all cases of Tourette Syndrome go undetected. Either way, it’s one of the rarest of the neurodevelopmental disorders.

- Boys are three to five times more likely to have TS than girls. I’ve actually never met another woman with Tourettes, only men. It appears in all ethnic groups, but Caucasians are twice as likely to have it as any other ethnicity. 

- Tics can be “simple” or “complex”. A simple tic is one that includes only a few body parts - things like sniffing, eye blinks, or shoulder shrugs. They usually take place only on one side of the body. Complex tics involve multiple body parts and may be a set sequence of events, like clapping, snapping one’s fingers and then shrugging.

- The majority of cases are mild. Most people, including myself, experience only simple tics. There are people who’ve known me for years who still don’t know I have TS. Tics also tend to get milder as you get older.

- Most of us don’t swear uncontrollably. Coprolalia, or random outbursts of swearing, occur in less than 10% of cases. If I swear, it’s because I fucking well chose to. 

- Tics can be suppressed, but it sucks. Suppressing tics is physically and psychologically uncomfortable. It’s like trying not to scratch an itch; you can do it, but over time, the urge to do it grows until it’s all you can think about. 

- Tourette’s almost always comes with a second diagnosis. 80% of people with Tourette’s have a second diagnosis, usually ADHD or OCD. Those three disorders seem to run in families together, and appear to be strongly genetically linked. I was unlucky enough to get all three. Tourette’s also appears alongside anxiety and sensory processing disorders.

- Tics wax and wane. Tics tend to be subtler when a person is calm, and at their worst when a person is stressed out or excited. My tics are usually mild to unnoticeable, but my mother says that when I was filling out grad school applications I was twitching so badly I looked like I was on drugs all the time. Tics will also change naturally over time; an eye-blinking tic will fade away, only to be replaced by a wrist-rolling tic that “fades in” to take its place. 

- There is no cure for TS, and it’s largely considered untreatable. People cannot learn to stop their tics through therapy, and there are no drugs specifically designed for Tourettes. There are some drugs that can stop tics, but the side effects are so horrific that they are only considered as a last resort for extremely severe tics.

- Tourettes does not impact intelligence. On average, people with Tourette’s syndrome actually have slightly higher IQs than the average population. 

- Tourettes can cause physical damage to your body. Doing repetitive motions over and over and over again for years is hard on you. I’ve been rolling my right wrist as a tic for about two years now, and I sometimes wake up with a tender or swollen wrist. There’s nothing I can really do about it. 

Tourette’s Syndrome isn’t necessarily something that needs to be cured; it’s just the way we are. My Tourette’s, along with my OCD and ADHD, are impossible to separate from my personality at this point. It’s just who I am. So if you have Tourette’s, or if your child has recently been diagnosed, don’t worry! With a little bit of understanding and patience, people with Tourette’s grow up to lead full lives. We’re just a little twitchy, is all.

[hdhskkshsjjsjsjskshsj]

How ppl view tourettes: Doesn’t have coprolalia: not real tourettes. Has coprolalia: faking so u can swear in public.

[tourettesteen]

The things they won’t tell you when you’re diagnosed with Tourettes

They won’t tell you that you become you’re biggest critic

They won’t tell you you’ll never believe someone loves you tic’s and all

They won’t tell you that your tics will feel like a different person

They won’t tell you that you’ll be convinced you’re crazy

They won’t tell you that the you’ll always feel stared at in public

They won’t tell you that you’ll fall asleep crying and wake up ticing

They won’t tell you people will constantly question your disease

They won’t tell you that normal people won’t and can’t understand

They won’t tell you that most people won’t even try to understand

They can’t tell you about the life time of self doubt you’ll have cause they cant imagine it.

[whatshouldtourettespluscallme]

When I'm in a quiet space for too long

[tourettesteen]

Tourettes problems

Trying to explain waxing and waning without sounding like a werewolf, especially with twitching or barking tics

[xkriechenx]

Jesus, thank you. Not all of us swear, PLEASE REALIZE THIS. There are some of us who devote ourselves to not swearing because we know if we do we can’t stop. Tics are the same though mine are more visible. It’s called more mild cases. And WE ARE NOT FREAKS. Rant over.

[toktics]

And in that month, I swear, all of the Tourette’s blogs came out of the woodworks and reminded people that they exist. 

[justtourettesthings]

[moonprincessi0-blog]

Hey guys! (Kinda lame, I know…)

Anyways, it is Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month from May 15th to June 15th. I myself have TS, and I want everyone to know what Tourette’s is all about! Wear teal on any Tuesday during the month to show your support!

If you have any questions, check out the official website here, and my ask box is open for questions! Ask me about Tourette’s, or share your stories about living with Tourette’s! 

[tuskactonesdf]

since tourette’s awareness month starts next week (May 15 - June 15) i should try and clear some stuff up about us! (heres a small source!)

we cannot help our tics; only suppress them for a short period of time. this can cause some people physical pain...

[neurosciencestuff]

Researchers find rare genetic cause of Tourette syndrome

A rare genetic mutation that disrupts production of histamine in the brain is a cause of the tics and other abnormalities of Tourette syndrome, according to new findings by Yale School of Medicine researchers.

The findings, reported Jan. 8 in the journal Neuron, suggest that existing drugs that target histamine receptors in the brain might be useful in treating the disorder. Tourette syndrome afflicts up to 1% of children, and a smaller percentage of adults.

“These findings give us a new window into what’s going on in the brain in people with Tourette. That’s likely to lead us to new treatments,” said Christopher Pittenger, associate professor in the psychiatry and psychology departments and in the Yale Child Study Center, and senior author of the paper.

Histamine is commonly associated with allergy, but it also plays an important role as a signaling molecule in the brain. Interactions with this brain system explain why some allergy medications cause people to feel sleepy. 

In 2010, Yale researchers showed that a family with nine members suffering from Tourette’s carried a mutation in a gene called HDC that disrupts the production of histamine. The new work demonstrates that this mutation causes the disorder. Mice with the same mutation develop symptoms similar to those found in Tourette’s, the Yale team showed. Also, these mice and the patients that carry the HDC mutation showed abnormalities in signaling by the neurotransmitter dopamine in parts of the brain associated with Tourette’s and related conditions.

Drug companies have developed medications that target brain-specific histamine receptors in an effort to treat schizophrenia and ADHD. While not approved for general use yet, those drugs or others that target histamine receptors should be tested to see whether they can treat symptoms of Tourette syndrome, Pittenger said.

[kaelaaawellerrrr]

I have TS. And I’m proud of it. It’s made me who I am today😌

[tourettesteen]

Tourettes Things

Knowing if there ever is a zombie apocalypse you’re screwed.

[toktics]

Are you kidding zombies basically walk around making involuntary groaning noises and twitching their limbs all the time we would fit right in

[tourettesteen]

You're right! We'd probably survive the longest. :)