Adult-onset tics?

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I didn't display tics as a kid (to the best of my knowledge), but within the past year, I've been exhibiting sporadic vocal tics. The tics aren't related to anything I'm doing, but are completely random. For instance, I was just reading an article about China's economy online, and I randomly said the word "girlfriend" out loud. There was no impetus for this--I wasn't thinking about romantic relationships (nor am I particularly interested in them at this time), and my reading material was completely unrelated. Earlier today, I was walking down the street past the mall and I said the word "Grecian"--again, no correlation to anything I was doing. I was wondering if it is possible to have adult onset tics, and if anyone here has experienced them. I'm not on medication and haven't made any significant lifestyle changes, so I have no idea why this is happening. These tics are somewhat rare, but they definitely become more frequent when I am stressed, particularly when I am nervous about an upcoming event or feel embarrassed about the way I handled something in the past. However, there hasn't been an increase in my stress level lately (in fact, I think the overall trajectory of my stress has been downward), so I am rather confused. The odd thing is that I've never had this happen in conversation--yet anyway--and it usually is when I am walking somewhere, reading, thinking to myself, on the computer. I am hoping this doesn't escalate into a more frequent issue. Could I be developing Tourette's, or is there another disorder I could have? Are some vocal tics considered normal?

My son has a vocal tic. Well - it morphs. It started with a tongue click when little. Then when he was school age he cleared his throat/coughed. Now in Junior high he does this really quiet high pitched whistle through his front teeth that makes me half bonkers. Yet it appears only I notice this one. He was mortified to learn I can hear it. He thought he finally found one that drew no attention.

As for the word thing you describe - I catch myself doing that one now that I am aware of it. I have never thought of it as a tic though. My boyfriend used to ask me if I was whispering to myself. I would tell him no... I had no clue I was doing it. Then one day he forgot his video game screen capture running when we came out of a fps game... and it recorded us talking after. It just so happened to catch me at it. When he played it for me I felt a bit mortified myself. All those times I insisted I wasn't saying anything... I was.

We just overlook it now - especially once we started for the AS diagnosis.

Hope it is just a passing thing for you.

I can pretty much guarantee that it's not Tourette's.

#1: Tourette's starting After 18 is VERY rare. In almost all cases of Adult Onset TS, the patients had mild tics as a child.

#2: Complex Vocal Tics are the least common type of tic.

#3: Tics typically follow a progression of minor simple tics to slowly more prevalent complex tics. It is much more common to only have motor tics than it is to only have only vocal tics.

#4: Most people with Tourette's to the severity of complex vocal tics have hundreds of simple tics a day. Tics that are few and far between are unusual for the disorder.

However, honestly this is a very good thing. Having Tourette's is NOT FUN. There are however a whole slew of things it could be, and Tics not in Tourette's is called Tourettism. You can read the other things here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourettism

That said, I'm just some person with the disorder on the internet. I don't know you personally, and I'm no Doctor, so I could very well be wrong.

what you describe sound more like OCD/stimming to me.
I sometimes have it too with certain words that I HAVE to repead them, but having also tics, I feel the difference and those random words definitly aren't tics in my case.

Also, how it is already said complex vocal tics are very rare and also what you say and how it started is not typical for vocal tics at all.
Also the onset doesn't really fit and also in nearly all cases of tics that could been found, when you have vocal tics, you also have motor tics (it doesn't have to be the other way around though).

Thanks everyone. It's good to see that most everyone is concurring that it is not anything significant. I am relieved.