Thursday, November 20, 2014

Another day in the life....Tics being set off by sniffing

Today i'm doing research in the lab over at the medical school campus and the other student that sits next to me has a cold today and keeps sniffing really loudly. It's killing me because every time she sniffs I feel the overwhelming urge to do my sniffing tic! 

My sniffing tic seems to by one of my tics I have the least control over as I hardly ever feel the premonitory urge before it happens, so it's certainty a strange feeling and something very new for me to feel the urge SO strongly today as I sit next to a person who keeps sniffing and setting me off. I feel really awkward having to sniff repetitively every time she sniffs. It's pretty embarrassing because although she may have some idea that I have TS, I haven't talked to her about it and I have no idea how much she knows about "being set off" and about how Tourette's works.

It's getting to the point where every time she sniffs, I feel the urge so strongly and try to hold back so much that it sets off multiple motor tics in addition to the sniffing that eventually happens even though I try to hold it back. I'm supposed to be in the lab for another two hours, but I don't know if I can take another two hours of this!!

2 comments:

  1. It's crazy how tics can seem to "jump!" When I watch the movie, "Front of the Class," I have to suddenly suppress my blinking tic, even if I wasn't blinking when I started watching the movie. I hope whatever is making her sniff goes away soon for your sake!

    ReplyDelete
  2. A sniffing neighbor can drive you nuts, even if you don't have TS or a sniffing tic!

    Not sure if these ideas would help, but here goes --
    - set a package of kleenex in front of her
    - explain to her the effect it has on you, the way you explained it to us
    - listen to music or white noise with headphones (tune the radio between stations for easy white noise)

    ReplyDelete