Can caffeine cause tics? For me, definitely. For you, possibly.
I was in my local coffee shop. I ordered a ‘weak latte’ and headed back home to study. Before I knew it I was on the phone to my GP during a major panic attack with increased tics.
I know that caffeine affects everyone differently. I can only share why I decided to switch to decaf*, and a statistic that links caffeine with an increase in tics in some people with TS.
Conclusions: Results from this first survey investigating the influence of special foods and drinks on tics demonstrated that 34% and 47% of responders, respectively, assessed that coffee and coke deteriorate tics.
The study also states that ‘A significant negative correlation (tic improvement) was not found.’
It seems that some people find caffeine can cause tics, however rarely (if ever) do tics get better with caffeine.
When I looked into caffeine and the effect on those of us with Tourette’s Syndrome, there really wasn’t much out there other than discussions on Reddit.
What is caffeine?
Caffeine is a stimulant. A stimulant works on the central nervous system and increases our alertness, making us feel good as a result.
This is also why it isn’t a good idea to have it before sleep. It is added to tea, coffee, soft drinks, foods as well as medication, sometimes catching us off guard.
Caffeine makes the brain more sensitive to dopamine, a ‘feel good’ chemical, which explains why I liked a cup before getting started on my daily tasks. It motivates us and gets us out of a rut.
It is also addictive, another reason why we crave it so much and feel moody when we don’t get our fix.
Poll results from the R/Tourettes community
I asked the 14,000+ strong R/Tourettes community if caffeine affected their tics.
264 people voted (including myself as I can’t seem to see the results live unless I vote) on the poll.
I asked, ‘Does caffeine make your tics worse?’.
136 people (again, including myself) believe that caffeine makes them worse. 101 of those still consume caffeine.
63 people don’t see a change, and 56 people don’t drink caffeine.
Only 9 people felt caffeine reduced tics.
One issue I have with my poll is the option ‘I don’t drink caffeine anyway’.
As I used the word ‘drink’, some voters may have only considered their coffee or soft drink consumption.
I opened the poll with a couple of paragraphs explaining my situation and how coffee has made my tics worse. Voters may have been focused on answering about drinks more than other caffeine products.
Regardless, the poll has been valuable. Caffeine can cause tics for people with Tourette’s and tic disorders.
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