In case you missed the first part, you can kindly click it below to check out, thank you. Part 1
TREATMENTS
There are no medical cure or treatment for Tourette Syndrome but there are treatments available to help manage the tics.
Not everyone needs these treatments, especially those who don't have a problem with the tics or those that the tics don't stand in the way of their personal life, school life, and even work. They are those who do not have any major problem with the tics because the tics aren't as severe as in other people's cases.
But for those who are severe and posing as a problem to them then these treatments are available for them.
Such treatments include;
Behavioural therapy
Medications
BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY
Behavioural therapy is not a cure for tics, rather it is a treatment that teaches people with tics how to manage their tics. Managing your tics can help reduce the number of tics, the severity of tics, the impact of tics, or a combination of all of these.
Behavioural therapy is usually provided by a psychologist or a specially trained therapist.
There are two types of behavioural therapy and these are;
Habit Reversal Training (HBT)
Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP)
Habit Reversal Training
This approach involves working out the feelings that trigger tics. The next stage is to find an alternative, less noticeable way of relieving the urge to tic.
Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP)
This method trains you to better control your urge to tic. Techniques are used to recreate the urge to tic to train you to tolerate the feeling, without doing the tic, until the urge passes.
MEDICATIONS
Medications can be used to reduce severe or disruptive tics that might have led to problems in the past with family and friends, other students, or coworkers. Medications also can be used to reduce symptoms of related conditions, such as ADHD or OCD.
Medications do not eliminate tics completely. However, they can help some people with TS in their everyday life. There is no one medication that is best for all people. Most medications prescribed for TS have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating tics.
As with all medications, those used to treat tics can have side effects. Side effects can include weight gain, stiff muscles, tiredness, restlessness, and social withdrawal. The side effects need to be considered carefully when deciding whether or not to use any medication to treat tics. In some cases, the side effects can be worse than the tics.
Even though medications often are used to treat the symptoms of TS, they might not be helpful for everyone. Two common reasons for not using medications to treat TS are unpleasant side effects and failure of the medications to work as well as expected.
