Tourette syndrome has been described to be as "the hub of neurological disorders". Over my years of study it seems to be more broadly the hub of everything. Tourette syndrome appears to be related to many other conditions, some which seem to have nothing to do with the brain. These are the ones that I have heard about.
Please note, this page is conditions that may or may not occur with Tourette syndrome, while the page The lesser known symptoms of Tourette's appears to be shared my the majority of the Tourette population.
Conditions that may be related to Tourette syndrome are:
Addictive disorders:
Pathological gambling, alcoholism, compulsive shopping,
drug abuse, compulsive eating
Anxiety:
Phobia, panic attacks
Attention problems:
ADHD, ADD
Depression:
Major depression, Bipolar depression
Discussion: Does Tourette's make you prone to
depression, or is it the cause?
Gastric troubles:
IBS, ulcers, reflux
Inappropriate or abnormal sexual behaviours
Learning Disorders:
Dyslexia, poor handwriting, poor spelling, trouble with math
or reading
Speech problems:
stuttering, hesitancy, talking too loud or too fast, delayed
speech
Sleep problems:
sleep apnoea, bedwetting, night terrors
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a reasonably common and complex disorder. About 50% of Touretters also have OCD which is why it is believed that OCD is part of the GTS spectrum. For more information on this - click here.
I don't feel I could do OCD justice in a small paragraph here, so I have listed a few good OCD sites:
The Obsessive Compulsive Foundation official site
OCD Frequently Asked Questions
Obsessive Compulsives Anonymous: A support site
One of the major studies undertaken by Dr. Comings was the relationship between Tourette syndrome and suppression of inappropriate actions. He came to the conclusion that Tourette's is a disorder of control, Touretters are more animalistic and less civilised than normal people.
I'm not sure anyone would agree with that any more, but a large part of his conclusion was based on the high levels of addiction among Touretters. Addictions to alcohol, food, gambling, shopping, and drugs, both illicit and legal were very common to the Touretters studied.
While Dr Comings' theory that these behaviours are extensions of the lack of control shown in Tourette syndrome, there is another more widely accepted theory. The Touretters I have spoken to admit to addictive behaviours, but claim to be self medicating.
Everyone has heard of retail therapy, and people often eat for comfort so
these two behaviours are easily explained.
Also, and perhaps I shouldn't make this
next point, many drugs are actually good for Tourette syndrome.
Marijuana has long been known to control tics and has been studied as a possible
starting point for Tourette medication. (Marijuana never made it as a
medication. It was found that it is the hallucinogenic chemical in MJ that
controls the tics, so it would not be possible to make a safe drug out of
it.) Alcohol is also a wonderful tic stopper, and also works on any
anxiety the person may have. (I have been very drunk and I have been on high
doses of Haloperidol and both experiences are very similar. Alcohol blocks
all neurotransmitters from crossing the synapses, including dopamine.)
Other drugs, such as stimulants like speed are also good at controlling tics
while you are affected.
It must be remembered, before you all go out and get drunk, that these
solutions are temporary and when you sober up you get the same withdrawal you'd
get coming off any legitimate medication.
ADD (Attention deficit disorder) and ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) are very common in Tourette syndrome and these two attentional problems tend to be considered part of the big three: Tourette Syndrome, OCD and ADD/ADHD.
I do not feel that I can give justice to these conditions in such a short space, so I have chosen some websites to link to:
CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)
With Tourette syndrome Anxiety, it is not really clear whether there is some sort of link between the chemistry or genetics of the conditions that makes them likely to occur together, or whether one causes the other.
It has been found through Tourette databases that phobias are common among this group.
The most common phobias appear to be social ones. It is here where the
lines between cause and effect become blurred. Some Touretters are
terrified of being in public places because of their tics. They
feel embarrassed of their uncontrollable behaviour, frightened of being teased
by others, and feel as if everyone is watching them all the time because they
look like such freaks.
Others feel nervous in public places anyway and the
stress causes them to tic more compounding the problem. Still more would swear
that their Tourette's has nothing to do with a completely separate social
phobia.
Social phobia can be crippling. People are reduced to hiding in their houses unable to venture out into public. Their social circle gradually drifts away until the person is alone and too afraid of people to make any other friends. Sometimes even family will drift away and marriages have been known to end in this situation.
Panic attacks are scary things which are, stupidly, caused by really simple triggers. They can manifest themselves in many ways; shortness of breath, chest pains, dizziness, the shakes, small blackouts, nausea, etc. The feeling can be that you are dying.
Panic attacks can be started by many things. A stressful situation coming up is probably the most common, but they can also be started by muscle strain, a viral infection, dehydration or for no apparent reason at all.
Despite feeling like the end of the world, panic attacks are usually caused by hyperventilation. All you have to do to stop a panic attack is to slow your breathing down to about one breath every six seconds (breathe in for a slow count of three then out for a slow count of three).
I have mentioned on other pages that Tourette's does not cause violent behaviour. It does, however, sometimes accompany other disorders which can cause aggression. If you, or a person you know, has anger problems and Tourette syndrome, you should look for a diagnosis in a separate disorder, such as one of these...
Some people may see others humans as lesser beings.
This may include
Narcissists These are people who see others as non-equals and may not
have any moral issues with stealing or hurting such individuals.
Psychopaths
cannot see through the eyes of others and may also not consider them as equals.
Such an individual may not have moral qualms with seriously injuring or even
killing others.
Otherwise, some individuals whom do not use, or have available, appropriate
outlets could have a spill over of aggression onto others. Or, if a person
has received an reward (money, sexual gratification, attention) due to an
aggressive act that they had performed they will be conditioned towards
committing that act again.
As Tourette syndrome is the repetition of reassuring behaviours, if a child (or
adult) learns that they will get a reward from being violent, then they are more
likely to repeat the violence. And any repeated behaviour in a Touretter
can easily become a complex tic.
Thanks to Aggression types and criminal behaviour website
Three people mentioned that they had IBS. I had no idea what that was, so I searched and found the website for the
Australian IBS society.
IBS is basically what the title says; you have alternating constipation and
diarrhoea, abdominal pains that disappear when you go to the toilet, and a feeling of never quite being empty.
Stress is thought to be one of the main causes of IBS.
Norepinephrine in the brain combats stress, and Touretters have low levels of norepinephrine.
Usually doctors suggest fibre supplements for IBS. But
sometimes this can make the problem worse not better. It is usually better
to incorporate a little bit more fibre into your diet through fruit and
vegetables.
Ulcers seem to be quite common in Touretters as well. These can be very painful and can affect the stomach, duodenum, and intestines. The cause of these ulcers are often unknown and their discovery can lead to a long process of investigative procedures that often rule out the common causes without actually saying what is wrong. It appears proton pump antagonists like Losec are good at minimising symptoms, but it is not a cure.
The cause of 90% of reflux cases is helicobacter bacteria in the gut. However, the kind associated with Tourette syndrome tends to be somewhere in the other 10%. In fact, the Tourette syndrome reflux seems to have no known cause at all and is often classed as a "nervous gut" by doctors and left at that. That's not to say that normal causes are not part of the problem. It is common for Tourette reflux to be made worse by helicobacter, even if it is not caused by it. This reflux responds well to antacids such as Mylanta, and H2 antagonists such as Zantac. Another really good thing to do is eat small meals frequently rather than overfilling yourself.
Often the inappropriate behaviours of Touretters are just copropraxia. But there have been other "deviations" noted at a higher frequency among Touretters. Most of these are associated with the higher androgen levels associated with Tourette syndrome.
Comings (1994) found highly significant statistical correlations between
Tourette's and high libido, inclinations to bisexuality and homosexuality,
exhibitionism, pedophilia, fetishism, aversion to sex and aversion to being
touched.
As you can see not all of these "conditions" are inappropriate,
but they have all been linked to high androgen levels. On a similar note,
some women with more severe Tourette syndrome have also been found to have
higher androgen levels than normal, suggesting this may be a diagnostic device
one day.
It is difficult for me to give much detail here, as I have not experienced a learning disorder firsthand.
So here are some useful sites:
Non-verbal learning disorders - NLDline
The International Dyslexia Association
A lot of the speech problems associated with Tourette syndrome are actually part of the syndrome. Fear of releasing vocal tics can be blamed for any hesitancy in speech. It can also explain hurried speech, as the speaker attempts to get their ideas out before a vocal tic interferes.
Some links:
The International Stuttering Association
Fluency and Personal Development Peer Support Group for People Who Stutter