Body and facial twitches

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Hi, I'm new here, for those of you that get the twitches, do you have any way that has worked for you to keep them down, mine are really bad from head to toe and does not have anything to do with caffeine (I've checked).
My face is the most obvious, for a rather obvious reason, but my hands and legs get kind of jiggy with it, but other then the twitches seen, my muscles get really spastic.
Any advice?
Thank you, Lilola

Welcomed to Wrongplanet !

I have both vocal and motor twitches, or tics, and the best way to get rid of them is to stop thinking about them. Some autistic people experience tics or Tourettes, and there isn't a quick and easy way to get rid of them. You kind of just have to wait it out. If it is really severe, you might be able to get some sort of medication, but it seems like this isn't severe. Try waiting it out, since it sounds transient based on what you've written. I also find my tics get worse when experiencing stress or another strong emotion. I get that they can be annoying- sometimes I start grunting and waving my arms around and I can't stop it. I hope you can find a way to work around them!

It depends-on what you mean, by "twitches".

Hands: Could be Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, or too much sugar/carbs in your diet.
Legs: Could be a lack of potassium, or too much sugar/carbs in your diet.
Muscles getting "really spastic": Could be a lack of potassium.
Face: Could be tics (maybe massaging your face, when it happens, might help; it's worked for me).

I have Tourette's Syndrome, and like StampySquiddyFan said, there's not much you can do about it. For me, over my lifetime, the tics have gone in cycles----like, I might sigh for a period of time (maybe days, weeks, months), then I'll clear my throat for a period of time; then, I'll go back to sighing (or something else). The same with the physical ones (right now I'm going-through a period of my knees, locking; it's quite annoying when I'm walking, and I'm quite anxious for this cycle, to be OVER!! LOL).

Also, like StampySquiddyFan said, they get worse when experiencing stress, and other really strong emotions----like, for instance, when I get out of the doctor's office (I might've been anxious, angry, whatever).

I can control them, fairly well, while in public, just by keeping on the lookout for them, and then keeping it in the forefront of my mind, to stop them - or masking them, in some way (like, if I'm walking with someone, and my knees decide to lock, I immediately look down, and say, something like: "Oh, I thought I saw something on the ground, there")----but, when I'm alone, I let 'em RIP!! LOL After a bit of time (maybe a half-hour, depending-on whether they were triggered by an emotion), they subside. When mine are triggered, SOLELY, by Tourette's, and I am in private, they often start/stop almost without my noticing them.

Thanks Campin_Cat . You explained that much better than I did.

Do you find that stimming helps reduce tics somewhat (if you stim)? I also don't understand why they won't diagnose Tourette's past the age of about 10.

Huh. I'm thinking you might be right, that stimming reduces them----I stim, but I never thought-of that; GOOD JOB!!

In which country do you live----maybe that has something to do with your not getting diagnosed with Tourette's? There's this young girl (I'm thinking she's around 12-ish), in a PBS commercial, who says she has Tourette's----so, apparently, SOMEBODY'S diagnosing it, here (in the U.S.). I was 30-something----but, that was the '90s, though.

Thanks for the compliment on figuring out that stimming might reduce tics . I just noticed that my tics get really bad when I am happy or excited, and that's when I tend to feel the need to stim the most as well.

My country may have something to do with it. I don't give out where I live, but the doctors (at least in my area) seem to not want to give out a Tourette's diagnosis to older people.

I don't "want" the diagnosis, per se, but it would be easier to explain to other people than something like "transient tic disorder" because most people know what Tourette's is (or at least have some ridiculous stereotype in mind).

I get eye and facial tics, hand tics - used to get head and vocal ones too. They still come and go, but I've found that magnesium supplements and avoiding sugar and starches helps in my case. Low blood sugar makes the tics worse and contributes to anxiety and shakiness. I do my best to stick to a ketogenic diet. Sleep quality and stress make a difference. I had to quit coffee because I was burning out my adrenals, but it also seemed to increase tics. Eye strain and sensory overload also contribute - my eyes vibrate and my eyelids do weird things if I'm on the computer too long or have a light source shining into my eyes. I had a Tourette's-like little barking behavior as a small child, but I learned to suppress that. I still stutter badly on occasion or become unable to get words out...

I get funny eyelid twitches occasionally.

Thank you guys for replying. What is stimmer? Mine come in cycles, then it's really bad, I can only hold it a bit for a short while, then I'd rather be at home because they come on full throttle.
I'm going to try changing my diet, thank you for the suggestion. Looking back I get worse when I'm majorly emotional, then my head turns exorcist style (apparently) with noises and funny faces. I'm almost 30 and a mom and a wife, my husband loves how "brutally honest" I am, and that I am different and I seem to see and say random, fascinating things, to him at least. But I don't like it when people see me twitch, they stare or laugh, or both. I don't want my son to see people laugh at his mommy.
I think I'm done now. Bye for now.

Swimming is any voluntary repetitive movement. It can be conscious or semiconscious, so you may not always realize you are doing it. Stimming includes things like rocking back and forth or side to side, hand-flapping, spinning in circles, pacing, etc. Neurotypical people stim as well, but the key difference is the motivation behind the behavior. Autistic people stim because we need to. Our brains are constantly overloaded (or undersensitive) and stressed because we need to process information from our senses. Since our senses are either hyper or hypo sensitive, this puts a lot of stress on our brains and our bodies. Stimming is basically a way to cope with/block out/create sensory input.

I hope your tics get better soon! I know how stressful it can be to have to explain to people that you make random jerky movements and sounds (or whatever your tic is) all the time. My tics have gotten a lot better since dealing with what was causing me stress. I hope you can find what works best for you .