Hello.
Well, I just really got on the internet and found this message board. Wow, what a great resource! Anyhow, this is my problem and I hope somebody might relate.
Since I can remember, maybe about the age of 11, I have always had some sort of nervous disorder. Sorry if my description is not clinically correct. At a young age it started out as a vocal grunt. I had no idea why I did it, and since I came from a alcoholic, single parent home, nobody ever really cared. I would not do this vocal grunt as I slept, and I could control it. As you can imagine, it was really annoying. As I got older, it was obvious that people looked at me poorly, so I would confine it to when I was alone. As I would curb this, other things would trigger. I started having a little neck twitch. I think people call it a tick. Since about the age of 14 I have had this darn thing. I try really hard to suppress it, but I guess its some type of stress release. Its crazy, because it happens even when I don’t feel stress, it is also voluntary. If I try to stop altogether, then the little grunt comes back! I am sure its having a effect on my neck muscles and I can see that as hard as I try to stop, my neck and head even have started tilting a bit off of center. Its kind of a cocked look. I am not sure where to go with this. I have always had a bit of mental problems, but its always been confined to myself. I have a terrible time learning things, but I have been very successful because I just give everything 150% I envy people that can comprehend and take in things very quickly. I want to get rid of this thing, I just turned 30 and its crazy to keep this up. I am sure with a lot of people with stress problems, we all live a normal life on the outside, but something is going on. I have never gotten into the whole terrible childhood thing, but I did have a awful childhood. Can I still be harboring all the negative things from that, and bringing them out in physical problems even at the the age of 30? Maybe it has nothing to do with a mental thing. As you can see, I am a little confused!
Thanks in advance for any advice anybody can give. Also, what is good recommendation for help?

What you just described sounds like Tourette's Syndrome. It's basically involuntary movements or sounds. They're not usually anything to be overly concerned about but I'd check with a doctor to get an accurate diagnosis. Do a search on Tourette's and see what you find. I think there's a few sites.. tourettesyndrome.org and .net I think

They tend to come and go. And like you stated, if one stops, another tends to take its place. But in some people, they completely stop altogether.

Sounds very much like a mild form of Tourette's Syndrome. But it if I were you I'd check with your Dr. to be sure. Tourett's is really very common, and easily treated. People with Tourette's get a bad rap because everyone thinks they all curse or act inappropriately in public. That's not the case. My son has it to a very mild degree. He has vocal tics and twitches. He takes adderol and chlonodine. Since he started the meds, he rarely has a problem.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

Kim

[This message has been edited by kim simone (edited 04-19-2003).]