When I was nine years old, I was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. Many of you who just casually know me and have only been around me a few times or only know me online would likely not know I have Tourettes.
Here is a blog post I wrote about having Tourettes:
I have a mild case, and have somewhat of an ability to minimize my “tics” in the times in which I am interacting with people. However, though having just mild tics, Tourettes plays a big role in my life.
I am constantly thinking about my tics. My tics are mild and include but aren’t limited to: looking down 5-10 times per minute, pulling at my ear for 20-30 seconds every few minutes and a quite vocal tic that sounds like I am clearing my throat. My tics take energy from me, and thinking about them constantly causes stress, which is a viscous cycle because the more you think about it and stress over it, your tics increase.
As an adolescent, I tried almost every type and combination of medicine you can think of. For me, the side effects of the medicine was worse that Tourettes itself. When I turned 18, I made the choice to go medicine free. For the most part, with the exception of a few tough years around age 23-25, that worked well for me. However, in the past year, for the first time in over 15 years, I saw a significant increase in my tics, which lead to an increase in my stress level. This caused me to limit, and all but eliminate, any interaction in person with other people. Work. Workout. Rest. Repeat. That was my schedule. I figured the uptick would decrease after a few months. It didn’t. I contemplated medication, but I really did not want to go that route.
A few months ago, I met an owner of a CBD company, SANA Supplements. I’ve always been anti drugs. I never tried marijuana. I learned that CBD is THC free (basically, it won’t get you high and it is legal in all 50 USA States). I was still hesitant to try it. I am not that into any alternative medicine or health. However, I read a lot about the benefits for those with Tourette Syndrome, and as an ultra marathon runner, I had heard from a lot of fellow runners that they were taking and benefiting from CBD as a replacement for NSAID’s. I decided to give CBD a try, starting with the film strips in low doses that SANA offered. (this is what I tried first: SANA CBD Film Strips)
I will admit that I did not notice much, if any of a difference the first week or so of taking CBD. It is not like a typical medication or like Tylenol in which you feel an effect quickly. However, after about two weeks, I did notice that the chronic inflammation I had been experiencing in the ligaments in my feet, which flared up anytime I’d run further than 30 miles, was all but gone. I was a believer in CBD as a benefit for ultra running, but I did not yet see a benefit forTourette Syndrome.
I then tried a much larger dose capsule (this is the capsules I tried SANA 50mg CBD with Duterine). I did notice I seemed to be more relaxed in the first week, the kind of calmness you might feel after having some tea or after a short nap. Though, my tics did not decrease. I kept taking a 50mg capsule daily. After about two weeks, I noticed something: I no longer had an anxiety over my tics. I could not yet notice much of a difference in the frequency of my tics, but I was not stressing over them.
It is tough to explain what a big difference in my life not stressing over my tics made, but those who suffer from Tourettes will understand. While we can’t control and often don’t know when we are ticing, we are often aware just after we tic or we’re aware we’re doing it more and then we’re thinking about if we are disturbing other people, and we’re thinking about how are own tics are distracting us from what we are doing, and it is this vicious cycle of thought and stress that is never as simple as the advice people give – “just don’t think about it or worry about what others thing.” We can’t just turn off that worry, we can’t just turn the switch off on anxiety over our tics. However, CBD helped me do just that. Then, around 20 days or so, I noticed my tics were declining in frequency. I can’t 100% say that the decline in tics is from CBD, but as I changed nothing else in my life during that time, it is most likely that CBD was what helped.
I am going to continue to take a 50mg CBD daily, and I am going to continue to take a CBD film strip before, in the middle and towards the end of any long run I do over 30 miles. If you have Tourette Sydrome and you’re looking to try something different, or if you’re an ultra marathon runner looking to get some help from inflammation, give CBD a try. I’d recommend purchasing from SANA because you want to make sure your purchasing from a reputable company. I trust SANA.
– KP Kelly
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Pizza 