tics from ADHD meds

Brenda - posted on 03/13/2013

My son is 11 and was diagnosed with ADHD at age 9. He was put on Vyvanse 30mg and it was like a miracle for us. His discipline problems disappeared overnight, his grades went to straight A's and he began to make friends and was much happier. This past fall, it seemed to be wearing off a little before the end of the school day, so our Dr. upped him to 40mg and it seemed to help. Unfortunately, he developed a big tic (shoulder shrugging). We discontinued the meds and the tics subsided and mostly disappeared after a few weeks, but his behavior was disruptive and difficult in school. We tried switching to Strattera which is a non-stimulant and not supposed to exacerbate tics, but after 5 days or so, the tics came back with a vengeance. We saw a pediatric neurologist who suggested that if Strattera didn't work, to try Clonidine or Intuniv. Our regular ped wasn't comfortable with Clonidine as it reduces blood pressure too much, but was okay with intuniv. We just started it yesterday, and already the tics have lessened. The only side effect so far is a little tiredness, but nothing unmanageable. I don't know about behavior yet, I understand it can take weeks until that improves, thank goodness next week is spring break! We have an appointment with another Ped neurologist next month (we didn't care for the 1st one we saw) According to that Ped neur, tics aren't inherently bad, but as a Mom, I can't bear watching my son deal with them. We will hope for the best with Intuniv. Good luck!

Amy - posted on 08/01/2012

My Pediatrician says typically tics come from either a dose that's a little too high, or they might be on the wrong med. He also says sometimes if there's an underlying tendency to have tics, the stimulant meds will bring them out :(



My son was on Focalin XR. When we tried to go up on it, he started to develop tics. We had to switch to a different med, then eventually take him off stims all together. Now he just takes Intuniv 2mg. It doesn't really help him that much, but I was worried about the tics...



Jenni is probably right...the stim plus Intuniv may stop the tics!



Amy

Jeni - posted on 07/29/2012

My son is 15 and has ADHD and bipolar disorder. We've been on meds since he was five. So many meds have cause reactions such as tremors and tics. Vynvanse was by far the worst for this. After his first hospitalization this year, our dr put him On intuniv, a nonstimulant ADHD drug. The aggression stopped and so did the tics. Then with his most recent hospitalization his mood stabilizer was up.... Tic came back for two days but now it's gone. I know how frustrating it is for parents to watch. Keep trying new stuff til you find something that works... Then when he grows, start again. Good luck!

Jennifer - posted on 07/26/2012

I don't understand why he is on Concerta if he is diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. Stimulants just exacerbate bipolar. My son was on Concerta when he was diagnosed with ADHD (before bipolar diagnosis) and never developed any ticks. He went into a mad spiral, wound up in a mental hospital, and the doctor asked me why in the world he was on Concerta. We took him off, started on bipolar treatment, and things got so much better. We treat the ADHD with Intunive, but it hasn't had much effect. I am not a medical professional, just a mom with 4 kids, all with mental health issues. Lots of trial and error going on in the household!!

Adrienne - posted on 07/25/2012

My son was on intuniv briefly for his adhd, because like your son he also has anxiety/ocd. the intuniv made him really irritable and tired , he was falling asleep in the middle of the day, just not himself at all. He is now on zoloft, just started a week ago, but so far so good. He is still really impulsive and hyper so we may have to add concerta again, which with the zoloft should eliminate the tics and added anxiety . at least i hope. good luck to you :) everyone is so different that is makes it difficult to say what is right for anyone.

Adrienne - posted on 07/25/2012

my son was on concerta for 7 months and also developed a tic, he would rub his head so often that he actually gave himself a bald spot! we took him off in may, aside from the tic, he was just miserable (when he first went on it , it was wonderful i will add) He also has ocd/anxiety so he is now on zoloft only, but i have a feeling we will have to put him on concerta eventually as well, he is all over the place, but we will see. the doctor had said if he were on the zoloft with the concerta that probably would have helped with the tics. hope this was helpful at least a little bit. It stinks it is so much trial and error when it comes to this stuff. I wish you the best of luck :)

Amanda - posted on 07/23/2012

My daughter was on Concerta for about 3 months when we noticed a facial tic with her eyes. W stopped the Concerta and her doctor put her on Vyvance, which worked amazing by the way. After only about a month her tics got so much worse and she began to start pulling her hair out in chunks. I had an almost bald 7 year old! One year later she had been diagnosed with having Touretts. She is on Nifedipine, an anxiety medicine compounded for her and she is much better but we will never again try a stimulant!!

Janis - posted on 07/17/2012

We put our son on Vyvanse last year and after the third day, he developed uncontrollable facial tics. The doctor told us to stop the med, we did, but the tics remained for several weeks. Now he is too afraid to on anything else. I know I'm the mom and he's the child, but I feel so as for him. He also has OCD, which is even harder to deal with sometimes. Doctor wanted him to go on non-stimulant Intuniv, but he is scared to death. Any help out there?

Heather - posted on 07/15/2012

My son developed some pretty noticable facial tics when on stimlants, mostly methylphenidate based Ritalin, Daytrana, Concerta, etc. His doctor added in Tenex three times a day to help with the tics, and it helped the tics became much less noticable. He does not appear to have tics on Focalin XR.