Medicines
The good news for many TS patients is that their tics can often be controlled or minimized by medication. It’s important to find a physician that has experience in treating Tourette Syndrome patients when considering any treatment for the disorder, because caution must be taken in determining the proper dosage levels.
To date, no one medicine has been initially invented specifically for TS. One recent anomaly occurred in 2000 when Layton Biosciences received FDA approval for a nicotine patch used to treat Tourette Syndrome in combination with traditional drugs used to treat tics (e.g. Haldol).
The primary pharmaceuticals that have been found to minimize tics are normally used to treat other serious illnesses (i.e., high blood pressure). Hence, these drugs can often cause side effects or present risks serious enough to cause some TS patients to opt for living with the tics rather than take medication.