My Little Blessing

    Service dogs have long been a part of our society. Some serve in our protective units such as firefighting and police work. Others serve as guides and/or companions for people with many different disorders or disabilities. There have been dogs in my house all through my growing up years. They've always been a big part of my life, but I had never found one that I really bonded with until 2011. I had been wanting a dog of my own for some time. One that I had used my own earnings to get and one that I could train and bring up myself.
    In the past I had either been too young and/or too immature to take on such a task, but one day I found myself at a local pet store. I had decided that I wanted a dachshund. We already had a pack of four canines at home, so getting another pet sounded a little daunting. I had found out they had a mini, smooth-coat dachshund there and went to check her out. She was only ten weeks old and had one brown eye and one blue eye. I always admired that in a dog. I was petting her and a loud sound scared her and she ran and hid under the bench. I called her back out and despite being scared, she came to me. I was hooked and I knew she was mine.
    So, against some of my better judgment I took her home. That was back in July of 2011. My dog, Princess, is one of the best things to happen to me. She comforts me when I'm sad, sick, or having a bad tic day. Any time I'm feeling lonely, I can cuddle her and she doesn't mind. She's the sweetest thing, has even learned to smile, and is always so happy to see me when I get home. She puts her face up against mine whenever she wants love or knows I need some. She may not be a certified therapy/service dog, but if she was, I couldn't ask for a better one.

Music To My Ears

    Good Evening! I got some great inspiration for my blog today and thought I would give my own spin on it. I was reading a comment on the TS FaceBook group I belong to and a boy mentioned how music helps him. I love music. I have noise-canceling headphones that I wear with MP3 player and I love it. It's like reading a good book in that it can feel like I'm in a whole new world. (No pun intended lol) When I put them on and I start singing and dancing, my tics don't bother me. They outside world takes a back seat and so do my tics.
    So, an update on Jazzercise. I love it! I took tap and jazz when I was little and it's so great to be dancing again. Then there's that great perk of getting exercise. I've been going every other day with little to no soreness. I was talking to a friend at Jazzercise the other day and mentioned that I had TS. Her reply was, "You must have them (my tics) really under control." However, I explained to her that when I dance, the tics take a back seat because I'm so focused on what I'm doing. Not to mention there's so much movement going on that I don't have time to tic! That's a good thing by the way. I have also noticed an improvement in mood and anxiety levels. It's so that I always look forward to going back.

Tic Replacement

    Has anyone ever been sitting in class, a business meeting, or a friendly  get-together and all of the sudden there's a sudden twinge in your foot and you feel like if you don't scratch it, you'll just scream? So you take your discreetly move your foot around pretending that nothing is going on, but that itch is still there and you cannot get it to stop. That is what some tics feel like. If you don't press, shake, sniff, etc. just right, not only will the feeling not go away, but it gets worse.
    I have a particularly bad pressing tic on my shoulder. Sometimes my muscles get sore and tense from it too. Unfortunately, when it's bad, no matter how many times I press, the feeling will not go away. I heard about this thing called tic replacement therapy or habit reversal.  A consultant of mine suggested getting a hand grip and whenever I have the tic, instead of pressing my shoulder, to press on the hand grip. Now for someone with TS, a regular grip wouldn't cut it, because there's individual fingers involved. While researching different grips, I found the Grip Master. It can work your fingers individually and has a number of uses. The best part is they're small and discreet and there's different strengths for different people. I ended up getting mine on Amazon and going with the extra light tension, which is 3lbs. per finger, which may sound like a lot but actually isn't. There's an xxlight too.
    So, I suppose you're all wondering what I thought of it. I was pretty hesitant about it at first. Would it work? Would it cause another tic? It's no miracle cure and it didn't help overnight, but I found that by working each finger individually and/or all at once (with the hand that did the pressing) that it did actually seem to help. It reduced the tic. The trick has been to remember that I have it and when I get the tic, to use my gripper.