Wombat's New Hole

[NakedWombat]

I found this place through a Tourettes Forum, a Canadian site despite living in Australia.

I am a 38 year old fella with wife and kids living in tropical Queensland, Australia. I have only been diagnosed with TS in the last few years and am seeing a neurologist to see what the one or two other neurological conditions are. My Neurologist has told me that he thinks he knows what else is wrong and most likely be untreatable.

I developed TS as a child at about 10 years old not that anybody knew what it was and much of what I started to do, I kept to myself such as having to count to four while walking home from school on the footpath/pavement. I don't like classroom environments as it sets my TS off making it hard to concentrate.

It most came under control but I had a line of neurological attacks with two big ones and that brought on a return of my TS with a vengeance as I started to experience things I had not experienced before.

With all the PC crap and science knowledge we have today, I preferred it back when I left school in 1987 as when I looked for work and got it, I was seen as a person with a tic. These days, most employers view it as a reason to not employ you on the thinking that I would be highly likely to take a lot of time off sick or such.

I tried doing some casual work as a courier delivering pre-ordered Art Union tickets that raised money for a charity for a sporting organisation which helped disabled people. I left as my brain hates anything to do with maths so I kept miscounting and losing money and the tickets which cost me money from my income.

Finding work is difficult as labour intensive work doesn't like me. I mowed the yard one go two years ago, now I do it in three parts.

Away from the health stuff, I like ecology including spiders. I am a member of Toastmasters International which I use now to manage my TS and self confidence. I am near the end of my 12 months as a Club President and will soon be starting a 12 month term as an Area Governor.

I also like camping though I have not done it seriously for a long. I am also good at amateur fishing should you enjoy eating boots. I've caught a few bootfish in my time.

 

[Retired]

Welcome to Psychlinks, Wombat! Thanks for joining us and I hope you find our Forum interesting and even fun at times.

Like you I was diagnosed with Tourette relatively late in life, living my early years wondering why I did the things I did (tics). Sorry to hear aout the difficulties you've had with employment. Does Australia have legislation to prohibit discrimination based on disabilities?

Would you care to share what are the two other neurological conditions your doctor is investigating?

I presume your children are young...have you noticed any indication of Tourette with them?

In discussions with members here on Psychlinks, we have often suggested Toastmasters as a way to improve self confidence and conversational skills. Your insights into how Toastmasters can help will be welcomed.

Finally, what's a bootfish?

Glad you've joined us.

 

[Murray]

Welcome to psychlinks NakedWombat :welcome2:

I don't know anything about Tourettes, sorry, but I think I heard that we do have a member that is very knowledgeable in this area. I am sure that you will find this site to be a great resource. I know I have.

Finding work is difficult as labour intensive work doesn't like me. I mowed the yard one go two years ago, now I do it in three parts.

I have found that just not mowing it at all is an even better way to avoid that labor intensive work...not sure how the neighbors feel about it

I have heard that Toastmasters is a great way to gain confidence and skill in public speaking and just in socializing.

I am also good at amateur fishing should you enjoy eating boots. I've caught a few bootfish in my time.

That's funny. Sounds like you have a good sense of humor, so important in life.

Anyway, welcome

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Welcome, Wombat.

 

[NakedWombat]

Hi Steve - bootfish is a boot. You see it's the real Leather Jacket fish.

Organisations like Toastmasters International are self help groups that do more than help you learn public speaking. You do learn by doing following speaking exercises set out in manuals how to construct a talk, concentrate in certain elements of speaking such as body language, vocal variety, speaking while using a visual aid, etc. My prop was a the stool to sit on as a storyteller and a small djembe(African drum) which I used occasionally during the story.

By doing the exercises, I learned how to manage my Tourettes better which lead to speaking better. I have found that when I have taken a break, my TS does worsen as does my confidence levels does suffer as well.

There are other chances to speak such as the mini speeches given on a a moments notice to help you learn to think and talk on your feet. Then there are the leadership positions on club executives. I've held Secretary and Vice President Public Relations and now, President which finishes on the last day of June. Then from July, the following 12 months will be as an Area Governor which is a leadership position where you guide and more act as a middle man between the club in your area and those holding positions above you.

If you find the right club then it can do wonders. My club is a supportive club. We have another member who joined to manage anxiety.

---------- Post added at 03:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:49 PM ----------

With the introduction of Discrimination Laws, I have found that this has only made it harder. The laws only seem to have the opposite effect not helped by politicians who only get heavy on the race baiting thing where some get help and others are ignored. You know, the usual PC rubbish.

Can't really say much about the other neurological matters as the neurologist is keeping fairly tight lipped though he had said that he's looking at Mitochondrial Disturbance. I have to see a neurosurgeon to have a two small muscle tissue samples to check for genetics as there are issues on my father's side including MS and Lupus. When the neurological stuff flairs up, I tend to look like I've got Parkinson's Disease some of the time. I've had attacks that look like Fibromyalgia.

 

[Retired]

I learned how to manage my Tourettes better which lead to speaking better.

I am curious about how your Tourette manifests itself in your case, Wombat. Are your tics predominantly motor tics, or vocal tics or a mixture of both; and are you successful in voluntarily suppressing your tics for any length of time?

 

[Andy]

Welcome to Psychlinks NakedWombat! :2thumbs: I like your name.

 

[Daniel E.]

:welcome:

 

[forgetmenot]

Hey welcome to PL

 

[NakedWombat]

I am curious about how your Tourette manifests itself in your case, Wombat. Are your tics predominantly motor tics, or vocal tics or a mixture of both; and are you successful in voluntarily suppressing your tics for any length of time?

Well, it is a mixture really. I use Toastmasters to control my speech as much as possible as my vocal tic makes a choking sound. I had to elbow someone once who came up from behind and wrapped his arms around me thinking I was choking on something and started to squeeze me. LOL It also helps with my self confidence. There are tics that I don't have control of as I don't realise I'm doing most of the time and didn't realise until a Psychiatrist pointed them out such as sniffing, clearing my throat and shaking my head.

There are other things where as a child I count things but not any more, some I still do and things I do now. I still can't sit in a classroom environment.

I did have a bad night at ER once where I experienced limb twisting. My feet were bending in, my spine arched inwards and my left hand tucked under and pulled right up so that my hand was flat against the arm just past the wrist. I don't know what hurt most - when the hand was bent up or when the doctor snapped it out of that position.

With working with my TS in Toastmasters, I have learned that I cannot fully control my TS but I can work with it. If something happens while talking, it makes me learn to think fast to include in my speech. Such as, while delivering a speech during a competition, I felt a tremor being in my left arm. I finished of what I was saying then stood silent as still and looked around at the audience while concentrating on my arm. Once it started to settle, I continued my speech and kept the tremor under control which soon disappeared. A more recent example was while giving evaluations for three mini speeches(Impromptu, Table Topics). As I was speaking and thanking at the end of what I was saying and about to move on to my next words, my hands came up in front of me and clapped once. I quickly grabbed onto my hands and pulled them under my chin and pretended to think. That way, nobody was left wondering what the clap was about.

I do watch my children. I'm going to take one of my kids to the doctor because while she lays on her front and only her front, her body will stiffen up, the legs would bounce and her shoulder muscles will tense up.

 

[Retired]

As you may know, there are certain co-morbid or accompanying disorders related to Tourette such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) which may account for the counting you did in younger years.

Many of us with Tourette have adapted to our tics by redirecting them to other parts of the body or by disguising them as you described, to make them appear as some other gesture. I used to do that by wiggling my toes inside my shoes, when interviewing clients as a redirection strategy.

Your great attitude toward your Tourette, along with your obvious healthy sense of humor about it should be a valuable asset to your children, if they happen to have inherited the gene.

With greater awareness in recent years, children can be provided with pro-active strategies to deal with their Tourette such as having a ready, simple explanation that Tourette is an involuntary brain disorder. By being pro active, kids can often prevent teasing by other kids.

Even if your children do not exhibit any signs of Tourette, when they are older, it would serve them well to know and understand the genetic potential for Tourette for your future generations.

 

[NakedWombat]

I'll start a thread in a general section for using Toastmasters with a couple examples fed through YouTube.

---------- Post added at 03:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:36 AM ----------

Here we go. My Toastmasters thread is in the Coping section in General Discussion. If you're interested, click HERE.