How to diagnose Tics?: head, neck, and facial muscles are a Posted: 10-24-06 09:49am
My current symptoms:
it isn't exactly a twitch, but I am
reguarly compelled to close my eyes very
tight and roll them back, putting major
strain on them. I feel a buildup up
tension before doing this and even though
I try to hold back, it gets to the point
where I must perform this. Sometimes i'll
do it 5 or 6 times in a row. More often
when I am stressed out, or bored. (this
happens mostly while I am driving, which
is dangerous because I drive for a
living). My tics also manifest themselves
as my needing to look at things a certain
way.. For example, I am constantly turning
my head to the right to line up my vision
with the top of my passenger side mirror.
Again, I will do this more than a few
times in a row until i'm able to snap
myself out of this. If I feel the need to
do this, I can hold back for a few moments
before I either do it accidently or kind
of blow up, doing it many times in a row.
Sometimes I get (what I call) the "blinks"
where I blink a few times in a row very
hard straining my eyes at the same time
(sometimes I slightly jerk my head while
doing this).
History:
i've had these symptoms regularly for
almost 20 years but have never had them
diagnosed. I remember being 7 years old
and having to kind of jerk/shake my head
constantly and uncontrollably. Most often,
I feel the urge coming on and can do
little to keep myself from doing it,
otherwise its a mental struggle to stop.
When I was 12/13 I would constantly roll
my eyes to the back of my head, being made
fun of at school for it. At this same time
frame, I was also doing something weird
with the muscles in my mouth, stretching
out very quickly into a kinda of large
smile in a jerking fashion.
What should I do about this? I've brought
it up once or twice in therapy but my
therapist suggested I relax more and
breathe deeply when I feel the urge,
stating that it was stress related.
Sometimes I blink when i'm not even
stressed out..Sometimes just thinking
about my tics brings them on. It is
beginning to interfere with work..
According to your description, you might
be experiencing chronic motor tics
disorder. Tics are sudden, involuntary
spasmodic muscular contractions,
especially of the facial, neck, or
shoulder muscles, which may become more
pronounced during moments of stress. Tics
are typical during childhood but can
continue showing up in young adults. Tics
are usually due to an anxiety disorder
(neurosis). There is a form of chronic
tics (Tourette syndrome) that can be due
to genetic constitution.
Treatment depends on how bad the tics are
and how the condition affects a person.
Medication and psychotherapy are used only
when tics have a substantial impact on
daily activities, such as affecting school
and job performance.
Drugs used to treat tics include dopamine
blockers, such as pimozide and
risperidone. However, they are not always
successful and can cause side effects. In
your case (school bus driver) medicines
are not recommended.
You can ask help from a mental health
doctor.
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