What could this tic disorder be?

[Tickiemctickface]

The symptoms of the tic disorder lead me to believe that I have Tourette's Syndrome, but the episodes began to occur mildly around the age of 18. As of this writing, I am 33. The conditions have waxed and waned in their severity over the years with seemingly no trigger for their worsening or lessening over time.

Symptoms include general overall discomfort prior to a tic (not pain), muscular tics around the top right corner of the mouth and lower outer right corner of the eyebrow as if I'm squinting from the right side of the face (From my best estimate, the Zygomaticus and the levator labii superioris alaeqe nasi appear to be activating). Head quickly twitches to the right; sometimes it's a rotation (as if I were turning my head), sometimes it's a tilting motion (as if I was bringing my ear to my shoulder).

There's also a shuddering sensation throughout my body. Less often are vocal tics, normally shouting. Occasionally, but also worth mentioning, I also tend to have shaking of the hands and a very unsteady grip, and makes anything requiring the utilization of precision/fine motor movements daunting at best, and nearly impossible at other times.

If the episodes continue for an extended period of time, it affects speech to a point of where the cadence is slow (about 1 syllable every 1-2 seconds) and I find it very laborious to speak, or it also comes to a point where I lose the ability to speak for a short period of time. Also, I deal with some sort of pseudoseizures, during which I remain conscious. I am certain that they are non-epileptic as evidenced by unremarkable brainwave activity during an episode occurring at the time of a brainwave activity scan. I'm unsure of this; however, I cannot help but suspect that these may possibly be somehow related.

Both Tourette's and Conversion Disorder have been brought up as possibilities, but conversion disorder can be ruled out as Stress seems to be as much of a trigger as being in a non-stressed environment.

Symptom relief through the use of traditional pharmaceutical therapy tend to yield an effective window of between 2 weeks to a month with increasing of medication dosage proving non-effective.

On account of this, I have tended to opt for staying at home rather than being out in public.

So far, the only things that I have found that have proven useful in the long term have been either manual stimulation of the back of the head with light pressure, or vaporizing CBD oil in an e-cigarette at a concentration of 16 mg/ml (equivalence: 1000 mg/60 ml), and dosing at 1-3 ml, depending on severity.

[specialmom]

Hi.  Thanks for sharing your story!  I have a son who has tics.  He has a neurological delay called sensory processing disorder and a great deal of anxiety.  He's had these tics off and on since about 6 years old.  They change all the time.  He has had simple vocal tics and complex vocal tics (the simple has remained fairly constant which is a hum when he is trying to sit still).  He has had motor tics as well.  His motor tics are very much related to either being extremely nervous, feeling on the spot or excited.

Do you notice any pattern to your tics?

I've been reading a lot about CBD oil (although I'm not sure about vaping it.  I've read about other forms working very well for anxiety).  Mostly very positive things with the one draw back being a less sharp mind at times for cognitive endeavors.  That's a rough one for my son as he is in school where his academic performance is important and he is afraid to risk that.  So, we are going to give it a try in the summer.  But we are looking more at the supplement form.  Vaping has a very bad reputation these days and will steer my son away from that.  Are you noticing any difference with the cbd oil?

[Tickiemctickface]

Hi, specialmom. Thank you for your reply.

To answer your questions - There are absolutely no triggers or patterns to the Tics that I can pinpoint.

In terms of CBD oil when it comes to dealing with cognative sharpness, i haven't noticed any declines in that area, and I tend to do a significant amount of cognative-based work. If anything, I have noted that it has less of a detriment to cognitive function than average prescription psych medications (and I have been on trials of several psych medications over the past few years) and tends to give me a sharper mind simply due to the fact that I am considerably more clear-headed.

I can understand your concern about vaping, but please take heed - do not let its reputation ruin possible therapeutic application methods. Find what works best for your son as far as application is concerned. Personally, I have found for my body's physiology that oral, non-vaporized administration of CBD oil is not as effective as when it's administered in vaporized form. If it seems like oral administration of the liquid works best for him, by all means - use it. Also, start with the lowest concentration and the lowest dose possible and wait to see if he begins to respond to it. One of the first things you probably will notice is that his tics will have subsided substantially. as it metabolizes, he may notice that he feels calmer and more collected.

Repeat dosings as often as necessary. Once the dosage has been worked out, try moving up to a higher concentration and halving the amount of oil you are giving (say, you find that he begins responding eventually at 4 drops at 250MG/1 Oz concentration, move up to 2 drops at 500 MG/1 Oz concentration, then 1 drop at 1000 MG/1 Oz concentration).

The Four ingredients of an unflavored CBD oil for are Water, Vegetable Glycerine, Propylene Glycol, and CBD oil. The main side effect is some throat irritation, but that's aggrivated by how much power is applied to vaporization coils. I've come to find that 60 watts on a mesh heating coil or 30 watts on an average single coil vaporizer provides optimal vaporization while minimizing throat irritation. Vaping with good quality components and cbd oil is about as safe as an albuterol inhaler.

In terms of personal effects, for me, it tends to start making the tics subside within 5 minutes and tends to come to peak performance within 20 minutes,  essentially making the tics stop in its tracks. I also feel calmer as time goes on. There are times when I will have breakthrough tics, but the occurence of the tics tend to be substantially diminished.