I've found that any sort of movement or action that becomes a regular habit can easily become a tic if I am not careful. It's like my brain gets used to doing something procedurally and will at times suddenly want to go back there for no reason. The way I feel about tics is that they are not as much a byproduct of Tourettes, as they are a strange outlet that the mind is using to deal with the deeper, underlying imbalance in the brain. So yes I think it is possible.

I do the same thing... I am also Bipolar 2. I only laugh HARD for a few seconds though! Then everyone looks at me like I am crazy..... I am also curious if this is a manic symptom or a tic!!!

I do it as well. It's part of my tourettes so probably for you too.

My daughter has TS and bipolar also. She had giggling fits when she was hypo manic or manic. Since her episodes were mixed and rapid cycling, these fits often lasted only minutes. Her TS was very severe and she had basically all the common tics, but never giggles as a tic. Though that certainly doesn't mean it can't be one!

After further reflection I think the bouts of laughing were due to greatly elevated levels of dopamine brought on by hypomania. If it was a tic my guess would be that the laughter would only last a few seconds at a time. I was also experiencing varying degrees of euphoria so that's another reason why I suspect my bipolar was likely the culprit there. Incidentally, mania especially hypermania can put your tic frequency into overdrive. So if one has Tourette's Syndrome and bipolar disorder, one way to deal with the TS indirectly would be to keep the mania in check with a mood stabilizer.