re ..Tourettes

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I have undiagnosed Aspergers...and have had Tourettes symptoms for the last number of years off and on esspecially when stressed,(shout,talkout loud,swear at people ,want to kick out in confined space...I thought it was combination of aspergers ,diabetes,cushings)when Iv'e asked psychiatrics ..they said' it could be anything' (really helfull!)But lately..thinking it could be caffeine poisoning( :idea)..I gave up drinking coffee and tea and went onto hot water and lemon juice! and bingo..a LOT more control of verbals ..I Hope this can help others ..its worth a try ...give it over a week..thats when I started to see improvements in my control.reactions to people/vibes.

Yes, caffeine is a stimulant, and can cause people to act out, and get freaky. It can also interfere with getting enough sleep. Being over tired can also make people act out and get freaky--just think of over tired, cranky kids. Processed sugar, corn syrup, and overly processed honey also have a stimulant effect, so minimize them in your diet. Use only local honeys from local sources, not the overly processed ones from the super markets. And avoid the sugar substitutes. All the ones I know about are toxic, and can cause health problems.

Stevia is supposed to be okay for some people, but it caused problems for me, so I threw out the box, once I realized it was bothering me. There are some other natural sweeteners you can use, including fruit juices that have no added sugar. When I buy canned pears, I only get the ones in pear juice, not the ones in syrup. I save the juice, and freeze it to make a frozen treat. I also like to buy those fruit sauces without added sugar, and I freeze those, too. They are like frozen sorbets.

There are a lot of ways to modify ones diet, and to leave out the toxic stuff, without feeling deprived. My older brother sometimes buys a coffee substitute called Postum. It is grain based, and I believe it has no caffeine. I think people on a gluten free diet may have to skip it, though. However, you can also drink herbal teas with no caffeine. I like peppermint tea, myself. It smells and tastes great. There is another one called chicory, which has sometimes been used either as a coffee substitute, or mixed with coffee to make it last longer. People used to use it a lot in the first Great Depression, and during WWII because they couldn't afford coffee, or it wasn't available.

Have fun experimenting with ways to substitute healthy for bad in your diet.

If you only shout and swear when you are stressed/angry then that's not Tourettes. To have TS you have to have at least 8 motor tics and 5 (or maybe 3 now...) verbal or phonic tics. Swearing, coprolalia, is rare as it is and it is not usually the main symptom. I would say that cutting the caffiene would help though.

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I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

Wasn't it at least 2 motor tics and at least 1 vocal tic for TS?

Anyway, I don't know much about the other thing called tourettism but it came to mind reading this topic and the mention of stimulants, seeing how these can (for the unlucky) either merely increase tics or seem to cause tics out of nowhere (including multiple frequent displays of tics usually associated with TS). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourettism

It has changed since I was diagnosed:

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I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

I'm not diagnosed with tourette's but I have had plenty of tics ever since I was a child.

My current tics are crunching my toes into the ground, tensing my muscles (arm muscles, butt muscles, shoulder muscles), blinking hardly. They go in phases. Sometimes one will go away but another will take its place. I wish I could control it but I cannot. It is a part of me and something I have accepted.

Most people don't even notice most of them. I can usually blend the facial tics into conversation especially if I catch people glancing away. Other times I will make it seem like a part of my true expression to fit the conversation. It is hard because it is embarrassing, but I've learned to deal with it for the most part.

I don't have any overly obvious tics like swearing which is why I was probably never diagnosed.

And yes, caffeine makes it worse. Any stimulant will make tics worse.

Refraining from caffeine is certainly not a cure though, just a way to ease the tics.

I've never been diagnosed with Tourettes but I do have tics, they tend to wax and wane. Sometimes At the end of the day my wrists and eyes hurt from them. Luckily they are not that bad right now. Pretty mild. =]

Tics definitely wax and wane, throughout the day, the week, the year, the decade, etc. I've found no correlation with my caffeine use or sleep patterns. They're definitely strongest when I'm stressed, however.