hi, I'm from the Bipolar community. I don't know anyone over there with both bipolar and tourettes.

If you are experiencing mood shifts as fast as you say it probably isn't bipolar.

With bipolar you would find that when you have an elevated episode that you will speed up - have racing thoughts, speak faster (to the point other people can't understand you as you speak fast and change the subject), you also won't be able to sleep and generally have more energy, ideas. Usually people are also physically restless. Also their inhibition usually decreases so more spending, risky driving, maybe affairs, crazy business ventures etc.

It may or may not escalate into delusions or hallucinations but that doesn't happen for certain types of bipolar - the whole sppeding up thing is something everyone with bipolar will have - for some it feels good for others it feels really uncomfortable and yuo can get the irritation and anger.

But if you don't get the speeding up then it probably isn't bipolar.

I do have some of those symptoms, but always, not just during episodes. Thanks for your response! It helped.

It's entirely possible to have bipolar and Tourettes at the same time. According to what all that I've read so far it's fairly uncommon. I haven't very much luck yet on trying to find any statistics about this. Tourettes along with depression is a more common combination. Far more common conditions that you tend to have if you have Tourettes are OCD and ADHD. Have a look at this web page for an examination on the subject of Tourette's Syndrome being possibly linked to bipolar disorder: http://www.healthguideinfo.com/bipolar-disorder/p96333/. In my case, I have bipolar schizo-affective disorder along with Tourettes and OCD. All of this makes for an interesting combination to say the least.

I seem to be pretty stable, especially regarding my bipolar, however, I kind of question in some ways how well I really am regarding the intensity/frequency of my tics, intrusive/repetitive thoughts ("mental tics"). obsessive thinking, and compulsive activity because much of what I've been calling compulsions for many years I'm seriously beginning to suspect are in fact tics of a more voluntary nature (a pure tic in Tourette's Syndrome is close to completely involuntary; an example of such a tic that I have like that is when my head twitches; I basically have zero control over that and it's very difficult to anticipate when that tic is going to happen; likewise for a tic that I have in my left hand that can cause me to sling an object if it just so happens that there's something in my left hand when that tic happens; one more example of a tic I don't have any control over is one I have in my left leg that causes me to shift most of my weight to my right leg if I happen to be standing when it occurs; on a few occasions when this tic has happened I've nearly fallen down) or are tic-like compulsions (a compulsive action that bears a resemblance to a tic) or are some kind of hybrid behavior --- a cross between a tic and a compulsive action.

My personal theory is that these semi-voluntary tics are in fact true tics; what has happened here is that my OCD perhaps along with the bipolar has caused my Tourette's to have a weird presentation. This oddball version of Tourette's features several complex motor tics and quite a few complex phonic tics. Simple motor/phonic tics are most evident though. A few of these tics seem to have some kind of purpose. Many of them are executed in a particular order and are based upon some kind of numerical scheme. Some of what I speak of is part of a set of simple rituals that I feel strongly that I have to observe and perform exactly. If I should somehow make an error in performing these rituals I may start over or take what I call "corrective action" which is a special ritual (there is more than one type of this that I developed over the years) that I use to fix the problem with the mistake I made in the ritual. If all of this sounds complex to you it's because it is. Very few people know I do all of these strange things because much of what I do is done in private and what I do in public is hard for people to detect because over the years I've discovered ways to camouflage what I'm doing. Only someone with a trained eye would be able to catch me at it.

Right before I perform the semi-voluntary actions, be they tic-like compulsive behaviors or a blending of a tic with a compulsive action, I sense a urge that varies in power from moderately strong to very strong that compels me to execute these actions. It's rare that I'm able to not give into these urges; it's like I have to do them no matter what; most of them don't serve any kind of purpose really. With the pure tics they tend to come on so fast it's usually the case that they're very difficult for me to attempt to suppress them. My primary care physician has told me many times that if I get the bipolar under control the OCD will then be controlled. It would seem that his theory is correct at least in my case anyhow. I think what happens is that mania and/or racing thoughts increases obsessive thinking and compulsive activity. I have a feeling that the OCD tends to worsen the Tourette's. It's also possible that the bipolar can directly jack up the Tourette's. Therefore, my educated guess is that if one has bipolar and Tourette's, taming the bipolar might also tone down the Tourette's and this would even be more the case if that individual also has OCD which is another aggravator of Tourette's.


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