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Baylen Dupree-Dooley has shared what happens when she misses a day of her Tourette syndrome medication.
In a sneak peek of an upcoming "Baylen Out Loud" episode shared by People on July 17, the Tourette's awareness advocate revealed that she has previously gone without her medication, meant to help her feel and sleep better.
"In the past, I have missed maybe a day of medications. So having all of these emotions, it’s just my body being all out of whack," she said. "That’s how I used to be unmedicated."
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The TV personality shared that she has been "very depressed a lot of my life." In the upcoming episode, airing on TLC Tuesday, July 21, Dupree-Dooley visits Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with her then-fiancé, Colin Dooley. Despite loving the trip and not wanting to leave, she pays the price of temporarily foregoing her medication.
"I got some sleep from my sleep pills so I’m definitely feeling physically better. Mentally, I’m still not feeling the best," she said. "I would say I won’t start feeling like myself again until like a week and a half, maybe a week."
Dooley, whom Dupree-Dooley later married on May 9, said he "didn’t know unmedicated Baylen. I’ve only known medicated Baylen."
"You know that it’s something that I can perfectly handle and not freak out about," he said.
She replied, "You’ve always really been patient and giving and understanding. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to marry in a month."
According to the Mayo Clinic, people with Tourette syndrome often experience involuntary muscle movements or vocalizations, known as tics, that can't be easily controlled.
Baylen Dupree says doctor told her she didn't 'belong in society'
During a May 26 episode of the "Howie Mandel Does Stuff" podcast, the "Baylen Out Loud" star revealed that when she was first diagnosed with Tourette's, a neurologist rescinded his initial diagnosis due to how "bad" her symptoms were.
"He's like, 'I have no idea what you have, but you don't belong in society. You don't belong in college. You shouldn't get a job. You shouldn't work. You shouldn't drive,'" she told host Howie Mandel and his daughter and co-host, Jacelyn Shultz.
She said their family later learned that the doctor did not specialize in movement disorders and confirmed that he was no longer a neurologist.
"He basically was like, 'I can't even see you as a patient anymore because I don't even specialize in Tourette's.' And we're like, 'Well, why didn't you tell us this at the beginning?'" she added.
She was formally diagnosed with Tourette syndrome at the Mayo Clinic around five months later.
Since being diagnosed in 2020, Dupree-Dooley has long used her platform to raise awareness about the experiences and misconceptions that people with the condition grapple with to her audience of nearly 13 million TikTok followers and nearly 3 million Instagram followers. The TLC reality show is in its third season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Baylen Dupree reveals what happens when she skips Tourette syndrome meds
