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Woman Wakes Up With Tourette's Syndrome Out Of The Blue - And Now Can't Stop Outbursts

Woman Wakes Up With Tourette's Syndrome Out Of The Blue - And Now Can't Stop Outbursts

Hayleigh woke up shaking before developing Tourette's tics, despite no previous underlying health problems.

Joanna Freedman

Joanna Freedman

Young mum Hayleigh-Elizabeth Honey's life changed out of the blue when she woke up shaking, only to later learn she had developed Tourette's syndrome.

The 27-year-old had no underlying health problems before the tic's emerged, meaning her sudden bouts of swearing came as quite a shock not only to her but to the rest of her loved ones.

Now, she constantly calls her husband a 'c**t', tells her children to 'f**k off', and sticks her middle finger up at everyone she sees and says 'have one of these'.

Plus, she blinks, twitches and jerks her body involuntarily.

Hayleigh woke up one day in September and found herself shaking and she quickly developed muscle spasms and inability to control her speech.

The mother, from Penryn, Cornwall, said: "This is completely new, I had no idea this was going to happen. I've never had anything like this before.

"It all started in one day, I woke up with shakes that I thought nothing of because I hadn't eaten yet but it didn't ease off.

"Around lunchtime I started having shoulder twitches, and when my husband got home at about 7pm I was hitting myself and shouting out random phrases.

"The next morning it was so bad I could only speak with a stammer, I couldn't talk properly, so I went straight to my doctor."

At first, Hayleigh's doctor thought the outburst could have been triggered by a viral infection, telling her to wait at home for it to pass.

Hayleigh had no underlying condition before her tics appeared (
SWNS)

But when Hayleigh's tics got worse a week later, she returned for more tests.

"I saw a different GP and was referred the same day medical assessment unit at Treliske Hospital. There, I had a CT scan - they didn't want to do an MRI because I would have to stay still for too long.

"They took my fluids and they did tests, and it came back clear."

Tourette Syndrome is a condition which affects the nervous system and causes people to have sudden twitches or movements known as "tics".

Hayleigh has to wait a year before being given the official diagnosis, so she's currently waiting to see if her symptoms subside.

She continued: "The only thing they could put it down too was genetics or chronic anxiety, I wasn't stressed at the time but in the past I have suffered with mental health issues.

"It's hard to tell because at that time there was nothing stressful in my life, no more than any other mum.

"Now I'm learning to live with it, I have to wait and see if it goes away on it's own or if this is my life now.

"My tics are changing every day, I get new ones depending on what songs I listen to or who I talk to."

Hayleigh's family have learnt to live with her Tourette's (
SWNS)

She recalls how, on one occasion, Hayleigh went to see her Optometrist and found herself uncontrollably swearing.

She said: "I went in and explained and said I had a tic disorder, he said that was fine and then I told him to f**k off.

"He was fantastic, he laughed it off and said he played rugby last night so had been called worse.

Hayleigh is married to Matt Honey, 27, the skipper of a pleasure ferry, and together they have two children - Luna five, and Zephyr, two.

Discussing what her family thinks of her tics, she says, luckily, her "two year old hasn't noticed" meanwhile, elder daughter Luna finds it funny.

"My husband ignores all my ticks, I never had to apologise to him. I call him the 'c' word more than I tell him I love him and it doesn't bother him," she laughed.

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

Topics: Life News, Real, health news, Health