Poppy has made me the most amazing gift ever. I’m now the very proud owner of a pair of bespoke padded gloves that are light, beautiful, stylish, comfortable and above all not red.

Don’t get me wrong. I like red as much as anyone else but for almost a year, whatever the weather, I’ve had to wear red woollen boxing mitts to protect hands, chest and face from ferocious and frequent arm tics.…

A couple of days ago I started a course of medication for Tourettes, but now I’m faced with the tricky decision about whether to go on with it. It’s a drug I’d been on a couple of years ago but I gave it up when it stopped working.…

Laura bought me some skin cream for Christmas and it turns out that this was no ordinary cream. I’ve tried loads of other products on my hands to help with the damage my tics cause. None of them have done much good, so I wasn’t expecting much of this one.…

Fat Sister and I had a heated argument about washing up and tidiness this evening, just short of a proper row, and to make matters worse it started moments before our parents were due to turn up for a meal. King Russell intervened by holding my hands to stop me scratching my face so I made my point to Fat Sister.…

This afternoon I had a hospital appointment to see if Botox injections might help prevent my neck tics causing lasting damage. The doctor said they could help for simple tics like jerking my head back or blinking, but they wouldn’t be useful for tics that involved multiple muscle groups.…

I’ve recently described the difficulty I’ve been having whenever I feel any sort of emotion. I’ve always had a problem managing strong feelings but it’s particularly tricky at moment. Sometimes just a flicker of emotion gets abruptly magnified through my tics, and this nearly always leads to a big overreaction.…

I haven’t yet fully solved my sleep problems and for the last few days it’s been a struggle to get to sleep and stay asleep. To wear myself and my tics out I’ve decided to increase the amount of exercise I take.…

I’m hitting my chest very hard at the moment. Earlier, at Leftwing Idiot’s, he’d been holding my hands to stop me doing it, but then he’d needed the loo and was worried I’d hurt myself while he was out of the room.…

I’ve just watched a wicked film with Leftwing Idiot and Poppy called Big River Man. It documents Martin Strel’s 3,375 mile endurance swim up the Amazon. He’s not a natural athlete or a typical hero though what he achieves is incredible.…

I’ve just got a new blanket which is helping me get to sleep more quickly. It’s weighted and goes on top of my duvet.

A weighted blanket applies ‘deep pressure’ and is supposed to have a calming effect. It also provides some resistance to my tics without being too restrictive.…