completely different person. tourette s, you have a lower range where people can control the symptoms and learn to channel some of that. then you have extreme cases, which is what he went through. incredible. 200,000 americans diagnosed with tourette s syndrome every year. robby was on 42 different types of medication. at one point the side effects were so extreme he attempted suicide three times. we re glad to see he s doing much better now. absolutely. coming up, hangover helpers. the new products and ideas to help keep the next day headaches and queasiness at bay. you re watching world news now. announcer: world news now continues after this from our abc stations.
robby s tourette s and ticks are so severe. the worst i ve ever seen. reporter: he implanted two pacemakers with wires deep into robby s brain. the hope the jolt would stop his overactive nerve cells from misfiring. this was robby then. and today hey. good to see you. after ten years of torture, he has his life back. it s been three years and robby has only had a few small ticks. how has your life changed in those three years? it s been the most challenging and most incredible three years of my life. i woke up and it s like, wow, i am in full control for the first time. and i m experiencing this whole world on my own and i can do everything that a normal person can do. reporter: he s a sophomore at the pratt institute where he s studying film with a 4.0 average. and an added bonus? he s dropped 120 pounds after stopping his medication. dr. richard besser, abc news, new york. wow. what a completely different person.
childhood to a severe debilitating condition now cured. he suffered from a severe case of tourette s syndrome but today he s thriving. abc s chief health and medical editor dr. richard besser has the story. i try not to think about it. when i do, it s like looking back at a nightmare. reporter: robby s nightmare began at age 7 with a diagnosis of tour ret s syndrome. miss firings of the brain with involuntary movements and vocal lieizations like these called ticks. yes, yes, yes! reporter: by the time he was 8, they were brutally overwhelming, taking over his life. sometimes they d last for hours. i had no control over it. i m conscious. i hear everything, feel everything that s going on, but it s like someone has a remote hey remote control and is just taking over my body. reporter: no medication can control his symptoms. so in 2011, robby tried a radical experimental surgery for tourette s. deep brain stimulation.