Al-Anon, alcoholism & Tourette's? - Al-Anon Family Group

Hal Lee · Member

Al-Anon, alcoholism & Tourette's?

pinkchip · ~*Service Worker*~

There is a member in the AA meetings I go to that has tourette's. He has a decade sober now. Other than that....no experience here.

rosielee · Senior Member

my son has tourettes- and self medicating is a big worry for me- so far weve not needed meds- but i wouldnt hesitate to get some for him if he felt like self medicating. i suggest he quits the booze- and gets proper meds from a doctor and then gets his condition monitored properly- good luck- there is light at the end of the tourettes tunnel- drinking wont get him there xxxx

Lindaoakford · ~*Service Worker*~

I believe AlAnon is a place that allows us to live our lives in a more manageable way.
From this programyou can 'take what you like and leave the rest'

At this point, what I hear you say is that your son uses alcohol to self medicate, what I hear outside of that is that he prefers that method to the medication he could take, which may mean he may not be able to drink (that is a guess, I don't know for sure). Does that sound logical to you? He is an adult and he has made a choice. I do not know anything about his illness apart from the movies which I am sure are not acurate, but I am making the assumption he is not impaired in his ability to make decisions.

Either way, I think Al Anon has some fantastic tools

Breakingfree · ~*Service Worker*~

I believe A.A. and/or Al-anon has tools for anyone who is dealing with issues of alcoholism in friends or family members.

Hal Lee · Member

Thank you so much for your comment. It was the first time I have heard

of anyone in Al-Anon with Tourette's. Is there any chance that the

person you know would be willing to communicate with me? I certainly

respect his or her privacy if not. But again, thank you.

Hal

hlf6410@aol.com

Hal Lee · Member

It's so good of you to respond to my post.

The reason I posted my message was to try to understand if having Tourettes makes it harder to quit drinking than most of the other problems that cause people to drink? Have you had any thoughts or conversations about this? May I assume that you are in Al-Anon in order to help deal with his drinking because he won't stop? Thanks again.

Hal Lee

hlf6410@aol.com

Hal Lee · Member

Thank you for that. That's a great perspective on it that I hadn't thought of. I appreciate it.

ilovedogs · ~*Service Worker*~

My son has Tourette's, he's 13, though. I think that alcohol would make tics worse because it raises dopamine levels and that will increase tics. Personally, I know that nicotine and even weed can ease tics and Tourette's tics and symptoms. There is research out there on folks using the nicotine patches for tic reduction. I'd be more afraid of that. Of course, along with the tics there are usually other co-morbid conditons. My son has anxiety issues and is extremely nervous in certain situations along with some OCD and learning disabilities. I agree with RosieLee, there are other ways to handle Tourette's than using substances just as there are other ways to handle depression or anger or anxiety. There are medications, natural treatments (we've personally used GABA, magnesium, B6, and Kavinace to treat his anxiety and tics), and dietary changes that may be making tics worse. We've made diet modifications that do seem to help: taking out all food dye from his diet, staying off all crappy food, and taking epsom salts baths at night. He also sometimes drinks lemon balm or chamomile teas.

Hope this helps!

Hal Lee · Member

Thanks for your advice. We've tried most of the things you talked about except weed which I've heard has helped, but that seems to be trading one addiction for another. Granted, weed is probably a lot better than alcohol.

I'm looking for people in Al-Anon who have kids that are alcoholics and have Tourettes and whether it is harder for kids like that to get free of alcohol when they medicate with it.

Debilyn · ~*Service Worker*~

People use alcohol because they are an addict for whatever reason. Not all people with tourettes drink.So it is not the tourettes.

These people with T are very sensitive to the horrors of uncontrolable behaviors. Then know people stare,make horrible comments,laugh at them,point, are afraid.

So they self medicate dull their senses to what they are experiencing. Sadly if they are A they have woke up that dna that predisposes them to being an addict.

I would search T and addiction, or T and alcoholism. Also there is surely a T association, and support groups online where you can find others just like what you are going thru. Yahoo groups you could search there.

You could look up the latest helps for this disease.Every case is different.My husband had years of being on strong program. Had a brain surgery and all that work and serenity was taken away from him. He never got it back, turned into a monster I could no longer live with, too brain damaged to quit again.

In many states Pot is legal for medical reasons. Myself drinking or eating it is better than smoking into your lungs. I do not know if it helps T. But all drugs are that,drugs, pain pills, downers, many many meds are made from plants.

I hope you can find a group, I can tell you are hungry to talk to others in your position.

sending you hope and faith,debilyn

Debilyn · ~*Service Worker*~

http://tsa-usa.org/aabout_tsa/about_tsa.html

Yahoo has many groups who discuss tourettes.

Also I searched and there are many sites of,"tourettes and alcoholism.

xeno59 · ~*Service Worker*~

Hi and welcome

I wasn't sure about your question so I asked a couple of people I know in AA with long term sobriety.
They all seemed to agree that if your son has a drinking problem whatever the reason may be it's his drinking problem that has to be faced first and foremost.
They gave me examples of several people (including my own son) who have mental or physical health issues and turn to chemicals to self medicate. In many instances say if the person is Bipolar and is self medicating with alcohol, then they find they are in fact bipolar, given meds to control it etc and they and thier familes then think that is the cure all.
But unfortunatly the person is still left with an addiction problem. So in thier experience it is vital that along with any other therapy etc the person may recieve that they must continue to work on thier sobriety.
Thats the best information I could get
I wish you all the best, hope you start your own recovery very soon!
Blessings

Hal Lee · Member

Thanks very much for your insight. I am definately getting the reality that no matter what the reason for addiction, the addiction needs to be overcome.

Hal Lee · Member

Thanks for both of your responses. I appreciate the infomation. I'm sorry you have gone through such sadness.

The material presented here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method to exchange information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal level.