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How much time ya got? A (long) list of my current tics

So I decided to make a full list of every single tic I have at the moment that I can actually recall and put down on paper, or in this case, the Internet. A rough estimate, I think, is that I probably have more than 50 tics at the moment. My guess is somewhere between 50 and 60.

Let’s see how close I am with that. I figured I just wanted to see how many I actually have right now. I doubt I can even list them all there are probably so many. Thank you, Tourette’s! (That’s sarcasm!)

  1. Eye rolling to upper right corners
  2. Fast blinking
  3. Hard blinking/squinting
  4. Hard blink and hold eyes closed in a squint as hard as possible for 3 or 4 seconds
  5. Grimace with mouth combined with eye blink
  6. Grimace with mouth without eye blink
  7. Pursing lips silently
  8. Pursing lips to make a slight and quiet kissing sound
  9. Lifting upper lip
  10. Pouting lip
  11. Slight raising of lips into fast smile
  12. Sticking tongue out
  13. Chomping teeth
  14. Opening mouth really wide (looks like a silent scream)
  15. Twisting lips to the left or right side of face
  16. Entire face squint (just-tasted-something-really-sour face)
  17. Slight neck bend to left or right side
  18. Neck turning which results in neck cracking
  19. Violent head/neck jerking forward
  20. Shaking head fast from side to side
  21. Bending head backward
  22. Shoulder shrugging, both at same time or one at a time
  23. Pulling shoulders inward toward sockets
  24. Cracking shoulders
  25. Jerking both arms fast outward in front of me
  26. Cracking elbows
  27. Stretching arms all the way straight in front of me slowly
  28. Tilting head backward while taking in a sharp breath
  29. Tightening muscles in neck
  30. Tightening muscles in arms
  31. Arm contortions
  32. Jerking both arms toward chest vertically pretty hard
  33. Jerking right arm toward chest vertically pretty hard
  34. Hitting chest pretty hard with right hand
  35. Hitting stomach very hard  with right hand (sometimes so hard that I feel dizzy and start coughing and gagging as a result)
  36. Pushing hands against face really hard
  37. Hitting inside of elbows with hands
  38. Hitting things (chairs, laptops, desks, tables, anything in reach, etc.)
  39. Hitting eyes/parts of face or head
  40. Making fists with hands and clenching them
  41. Finger stretching and moving
  42. Bending hands at wrists fast
  43. Extending middle finger
  44. Making guns out of my finger
  45. Cracking knuckles
  46. Tightening all muscles in hands and fingers
  47. Tightening muscles in chest, throat and stomach so tight I am not able to breathe
  48. Lurching neck forward
  49. Tightening muscles in legs
  50. Jerking legs outwards
  51. Stomping
  52. Rolling ankles
  53. Standing up on tip toes
  54. Kicking
  55. Drumming on tables
  56. Knee knocking
  57. Almost constant leg shaking when sitting
  58. Foot shaking really fast
  59. Separating toes
  60. Raising big toe
  61. Crossing over first two toes
  62. Jerking entire upper body backward
  63. Full-body jerking tics
  64. Rolling neck
  65. Scratching entire body all over really fast
  66. Grabbing crotch area
  67. Hitting back of neck and back with hands
  68. Full-body muscle tightening, which causes me to slip down in my chair and hold the position
  69. Rubbing feet together in bed
  70. Jerking body upward in bed and just jerking all over the place in bed (fish-out-of-water tic) … Oh gosh I haven’t even gotten to the vocal tics!!!
  71. Screeching sound
  72. Forceful “Huh” or “Heh” sound
  73. Bird-chirping sound
  74. Whistling
  75. Loud sniffling
  76. Slurping sounds
  77. Gasping
  78. Taking in sharp breaths/breathing tics
  79. Clicking in back of throat
  80. Loud high-pitched noises
  81. High-pitched tea-kettle noise
  82. Hitting bottom of hands together forcefully
  83. Hitting feet together
  84. Forceful coughing so hard that it makes the muscles in my back hurt and gagging as a result
  85. Clearing my throat
  86. Grunting noises
  87. Air swallowing
  88. Biting my lips
  89. Licking my lips
  90. Picking my lips
  91. Sucking in the side of my lip to make a pucking sound
  92. Hiccuping noises
  93. Squeaking noises

And I think that’s it! Wow, 93! Talk about a lot of tics … I way underestimated. I can’t believe that I have that many! Gosh! How many do you have?

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RuthieP

13 Comments

  1. Yeah I have about all of those like in all body parts lol but without the loud vocal tics or motor tics that usually catches peoples eye. Unless it’s really bad then I’ll be like rotating whichever shoulder like 50+ times in a minute, along with what I like to call it “stretching” my eyes to where I’m told I’m “rolling” my eyes at someone lol But I actually have PANDAS diagnosis since age 9 and I’m 19 now, it stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal infections so from strep throat and the antibodies attack the brain instead causing inflammation of the Basil ganglia part of the brain which controls motor, behaviors, and emotions with sensory issues due to neurons of the area being damaged. I got misdiagnosed with Tourette’s since I have the symptoms listed above and long story short my initial primary doctor who helped me when I was little got old and retired and now my new primary is young and fresh and says since I’m not pediatric anymore do not test positive for strep in that current moment that I dont have PANDAS anymore and that now i have the above listed misdiagnosis now and it’s very frustrating and I hope I don’t end up like many with PANDAS in adulthood where they can’t find anyone that actually knows about PANDAS ever since they became an adult. There is so much more and awareness needs to be spread I’m glad I found this website though because listing symptoms do help a lot when brain fog hits lol Much love to everyone <3

  2. I may or may not have Tourette’s. This never usually happens in public, if so very rarely. Randomly with no control, I tighten all of my muscles to the point of we’re i don’t breathe. I also clench my fists and smash them against my face. I sometimes make a sniffing sound when I try to control it. Most of the time I make this loud screech or some loud noise randomly. I don’t like when this happens, it usually happens from intense motion like happy/ excited, or scared. Any thoughts?

  3. That’s a lot! I haveamy of those same tics too! Get so many stares from people, but I just be myself

  4. Golf sounds fun! I’m a coxswain for a rowing team. So I basically sit in the back or front of the boat and steer the boat and well as motivate the rowers and act as a leader to make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to do! Glad you don’t let your tics get in your way either. That’s the way it should be! :)

    • I’ve never heard of a coxswain before. You must have a lot of strength in your arms! That must be really tiring after a while, I give you a lot of credit!

    • I have maybe a little over 2/3s of those physical tics, and a few of those vocal tics, plus some tics of my own. I haven’t been evaluated for Tourette’s Syndrome, and I’m not sure I have it because a lot of tics doesn’t necessarily mean I meet the criteria. I’m also only 15 and I’m told they could go away in adulthood (or at the very least, diminish.) If anyone with a similar experience wants to talk about it you can contact me at the following:
      Discord: Dunno#4757
      Email: cartfullofdiamonds@gmail.com
      It is more likely I will answer you if you message me on Discord, as that email address is mainly for junk.

  5. I get extra time and accomodations too! What sports do you participate in? I want to do golf in the spring! Wow, those are pretty difficult schools to get in to. I give you a lot of credit, you must be really smart! I never let my tics get in the way of what I want to do either!

  6. I manage just fine. I am an A student, the editor-in-cheif of my schools literary magazine, a published poet, and I participate in sports (crew as a coxswain!). I’m a senior in high school and I have applied to schools like Princeton, Yale, Washington University, Brandeis, and Duke. I know I will love college! I never let my TS stop me from doing what I love and succeeding!

  7. Don’t feel bad for me! I’m so used to all the tics; it’s just part of me. It is hard to concentrate in school for me sometimes or to take tests but I get extra time and accommodations in school and on standardized tests which really helps. Also I don’t necessarily have EVERY single one of those tics in one day. It really varies. Some days I’m mainly just making squeaking noises and doing facial tics and then other days I’ll say…..have very few vocal tics and will just be doing arm tics and muscle tics. Every day is a different story and a different set of tics.

  8. I feel so bad :( It must be really difficult for you to concentrate in school. How do you mangage with all of these tics?

  9. I know! I was amazed that I actually have that many! I just sat down and listed as many of them as I could think of! Lol :)

  10. Oh my goodness that is a lot. How in the world do you count them all? I tighten my muscles in my arms too.

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