I felt a lot better since my last blog. My IBS had relaxed a little and I was feeling more positive about things... Then two days ago I got a REALLY BAD pain in my chest and a cough... Assuming it was yet another chest infection I went to the doctors only to be told that the infection is actually in my ear! It's started to travel though which could explain the dodgy eye, sore throat and chest pain. Blech...
As most of you will know, on Monday there was a documentary about Tourettes. A few of my friends were on it. For once it was a brilliant documentary (a lot of them somehow manage to be stereotypical or patronising!) which showed both the negative and positive aspects of TS. Personally I don't have a brilliant musical talent, only a slight one so I can just about bang out a tune on the keyboard or sing. I did actually sign up for the show but apparently I couldn't do it because of my autism (they had already done the show with autism!). So if anyone wants to do a documentary about a gal with five neurological disorders and mental health problems, here I am!
Tic wise things did get much worse after the IBS attack. I also developed a few interesting new ones while watching the documentary! The worst tics were the dystonic ones which were twisting my back repetitively and also rolling my shoulder and neck. They were so painful that I went to the doctor and begged him for some medication to help. He gave me Baclofen, a muscle relaxant. Initially I was a little skeptical as to whether it would help or not as there hasn't been much study done on it's effects with TS, however after taking it for nearly a week now I have noticed a huge improvement. Okay so my short term memory has got worse and I don't seem to be able to sleep through the night any more but the painful tics have gone! Of course, Tourettes wasn't satisfied with my new improvement and replaced the agonising tics with annoying vocals instead. I have recently been watching 'Father of the Pride', an American TV comedy about white lions who live in Siegfried and Roy's compound. For those who don't know, Siegfried and Roy are a real duo of magicians who worked with white lions and white tigers. Their 'catchphrase' was 'Siegfried and Roy, masters of the impossible'. When shortened, it spells 'SARMOTI' which is their 'magic word' and also the name of one of the characters on FOTP. In one episode, Sarmoti comes to stay with Larry and Kate (the main characters) and when they open his crate, Siegfried and Roy do this pose and say 'SARMOTI!' in a funny way. I can't stop doing it now!
youtube.com/watch?v=tWcQ9CA...
Watch at 1:00 to get the exact moment! (please note that some of the jokes are a little... shall we say... adult so don't watch the whole thing with kids!)
Other recent tics include a head shake, probably due to the irritation of the ear infection, having to touch just about everything (also can I get arrested for poking someone as a tic against their wishes? Someone told me I could...), making a horrendous squealing noise and my 'bup' tic has come back.
