OCD or TS?

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I have been diagnosed with OCD since the age of 11 (I’m 17 now) however over the past four years I have been developing what I guess could be described as tics- movements that I do for no reason other than intense discomfort, an almost burning sensation, that is temporarily relieved by doing the tic (until it happens again). I guess it is like an itch, you scratch it, and it feels better, but then it keeps coming back. I do things like stretching in certain ways (I have to get a specific feeling from the stretch to get relief) blinking, tapping things, making the peace sign with my fingers, touching my hair in a certain way(I didn’t even realise I did that one until it was pointed out), and vocal things like snorting, rolling my tounge etc. I can control it to a certain extent, but it is intensely uncomfortable and the pressure builds up until it becomes unbearable and I have to let it all out. Certain situations will ‘trigger’ it, stress, but also random things- if I see the word ‘pig’ I generally get the urge to snort (niche example but hopefully you get the idea). I also went through a period of time a couple of years ago where I had to repeat various words over and over again, which has mainly subsided now, but sometimes pops back up. Things come and go, and sometimes two tics will merge together.

I recently went to stay at a friends house and apparantly I do some of these ‘tics’ in my sleep (certain hand movements, leg stretches)

People have always put this down to my ‘ocd’ but recently my psycologist has questioning whether it is actually ocd related (TS was mentioned, so I wanted to find out more about it. Googling things is quite one sided- hence me posting here to see if anyone had any personal experiences)

Apologies for the length- concise writing is not a skill I have. Thanks!

There is a fantastic poster who I haven't seen for a while who would be able to give you some excellent insight into this.

I hope she spots your thread and posts.

Sadly I don't have any answers for you.

Have you searched for tourettes here , there are plenty of threads on it.

This is just one of many viewtopic.php?t=109558

Since you mentioned seeing a psychologist C&S, I'm wondering if your on any psych meds & if so Have you noticed any effect on your so-called tics that could be related to meds Some meds can help with tics & others can aggravate em or cause some. I've had a few similar type behaviors in the past that seem to be related to OCD & got better after I started taking the rite med for my OCD but I've also had some tics caused by a psych med which went away after I quit the med. Some of what you said sounds more like tourettes than OCD to me thou but I know very little about tourettes.

I have wondered if my meds affect that sort of thing actually, they have been shifted around quite a lot though so it would be hard to tell. It is worth bearing in mind. I’m on meds that are supposed to help with ocd and it is really frustrating because they have done nothing, but I guess meds react differently to different people....