Has anyone out there heard of using Straterra for anything other than ADD? Our neurologist prescribed it for my 14 year old daughter when she was 11 years old to control her tics. He diagnosed her with "Motor Tic Disorder" and after trying Clonodine, which my daughter didn't like how it made her feel, he switched her to Straterra. Recently, my husband wanted a 2 nd opinion & the new neurologist we went to said he had neve heard of using Straterra for that purpose & he can't imagine that it works. I am very confused, because we feel we have had good results with it. Any info would be great!!

Hi there,
My 15 year old son also suffers from vocal and motor tics and has been on clonodine since he was 11 years old. He was put on clonodine and it seemed to really control the verbal tics and alot of the motor tics but we have noticed that in the past 2 months his tics are getting worse and the medication doesn't seem to be working anymore. I'm going to talk to his neurologist about changing his medication. I have heard of Straterra being used for tics. Do you see an improvement with your daughter's tics while she is using this medication? Because if you do-I would continue using it especially if you are happy with it. The clonodine has always made my son really tired and dizzy at times too and I am hoping we can find something that works for him. There is also the possibility that your daughter has outgrown her tics but I think the only way to know for sure was to slowly wean her off the medication and see if you notice a change. Good luck to you and your daughter.

Thank you! I wish I could say she has out grown her tics, but they are still noticable at times, even with the straterra. That was why my husband wanted a second opinion. I will leave her on the straterra, but maybe her doseage needs to be increased. I hope everything goes well with your son, too.

An increase in her dosage is a good start, maybe she is going through a growth spurt and I know that at times the tics just seem worse for a period of time and then get better?? Whether meds are used or not. We have just had our son's dosage increased twice but it doesn't seem to be helping but school is almost out and exams are near and I know this causes him stress therefore increasing the severity of his tics. We may try a different med when we see his neurologist in July-I would consider the Straterra as well and he shows no signs of ADD. Good luck!!

Well if she is starting another phase of puberty this could cause an increase in tics and as we know meds aren't perfect. Because I started purbery so early (I was just barely 8 years old when I started) I was in tic hell for the next 4 years and new medications were needed. I was on clonadine and haldol. They took me off clonadine and upped the dose of the Haldol but it never helped the tics and upping it more made me a zomby. So they switched me onto Risperdal and that gave me lactating breasts (I'm a male and please don't you dare laugh) so they got me off that drug quicky. I than tried prolixen, zoloft, depakote and a few other drugs I cannot remember. Sadly to say none of those drugs helped me out but I'm saying this to you so that you might have a better understanding of the path I think you need to take which is either let things go or find new meds.

By the way I was dxed with acute Tourette's Syndrome with ADHD, OCD, OCB and Bi-Polor/GAD between the ages of 6-12 and I still as an adult need to tinker with meds. Does anyone who posted in this thread before me have kids with TS (calling it a tic disorder when its TS) or is it something different than TS.

Tourettes was ruled out with my daughter because she does not have any vocalisations. (I know sometimes one can have Tourettes without the vocal issues, but she didn't meet other criteria either. She was simply diagnosed with "Motor Tic Disorder."

We have been satisfied with the Straterra, but when she is under a lot of stress, her tics become very noticable, so I guess we may need to play with the dosage. Thanks for your input.

My son was diagnosed as having "tics" but I definitely think it's Tourette's. She said because he didn't exhibit other behavioural issues such as OCD, ADD, ADHD and no one in the family that we know of has any symptoms that his were probably just "tics". He has had them quite severe for over 6 years now and has both verbal and motor tics. Now that I know more about Tourettes there were signs when he was much younger but the "tics" really didn't start until he was around 9 and they have never completely gone away-not even with medication and right now the Clonodine doesn't seem to be helping at all.

My son was diagnosed as having "tics" but I definitely think it's Tourette's. She said because he didn't exhibit other behavioural issues such as OCD, ADD, ADHD and no one in the family that we know of has any symptoms that his were probably just "tics". He has had them quite severe for over 6 years now and has both verbal and motor tics. Now that I know more about Tourettes there were signs when he was much younger but the "tics" really didn't start until he was around 9 and they have never completely gone away-not even with medication and right now the Clonodine doesn't seem to be helping at all.

Maybe things have changed but OCD, ADHD and so on can be considered for the dx of TS but they shouldn't be required to be present to make a dx of TS. TS does require at least 1 year of 3 different motor and vocal tics to be dxed as TS at least when I was dxed. Also my parents noticed TS signs when I was 4 but they never got bad enough nor stayed long enough until a couple years later. For about one year I had such bad head jerks I damaged some nerves beyond repair and I still have quite a bit of pain from it. In a few years I might consider their advice of having the muscle removed in that area so I have no muscle to spasm anymore. Now granted I'm a pretty severe case as far as TS goes even though I'm pretty well today but I still have many many tics today as an adult that will never go away but as an adult you manage. I'm also one of the very rare TS patients that continue to tic while asleep which is the big reason why I had nerve demage plus ticcing and a bunk bed are also bad combos when you sleep on the top bunk...lol. I broke my arm three times (one of them falling off the bottom bunk too but all in all I won't deny that its very hard finding that right combo of meds.

As your children get older and more into puberty just be aware that things can really kick into overdrive and you will need to be prepared to take action right away if things get bad enough. Chances are they won't get bad enough but don't allow yourself to be caught off guard is my suggestion. Sadly to say I'm seeing many symptoms I saw in myself in my nephew Chris and I'm also fearing he also has TS as he is getting to that same age as I was when it all started and I sure know what to look for which makes it harder. My brother 100% doesn't have TS but that still doesn't mean he doesn't have the gene to pass to his son which I believe is indeed what has happened. He has been through enough it just pains me more that this might be yet another issue he must deal with. At least he can't tell me I don't understand what he is feeling and what its like...lol.

You mentioned your brother is not affected by tics but probably does carry the gene. I have a younger son too and often wonder if he will get the "tics" my older son has. He has one now that looks like it hurts but when I ask him he tells me that it doesn't-he has had this one in the past as well and his mouth opens wide and his tongue stretches really far out and it looks as though he is pulling his tongue muscles. He has many vocal and motor tics all at the same time and as I said, I am sure it is a ts diagnosis. Do you have any other siblings that have ts and can you trace it to some of your family members? The thing that upsets me most is that I cannot find the heredity link. I hope your nephew doesn't have to go through what you did, I really feel for the kids. You did not mention if you have children and if they are affected? Good luck to you.

SInce my daughter has the motor tics, when it came time to think about putting my son (younger by 3 years) on an ADHD med, we had to go with Straterra because it is a non - stimulant & the neurologist was concerned about anything else unmasking tics in him, even though he has not shown any signs of tics so far.

You mentioned your brother is not affected by tics but probably does carry the gene. I have a younger son too and often wonder if he will get the "tics" my older son has. He has one now that looks like it hurts but when I ask him he tells me that it doesn't-he has had this one in the past as well and his mouth opens wide and his tongue stretches really far out and it looks as though he is pulling his tongue muscles. He has many vocal and motor tics all at the same time and as I said, I am sure it is a ts diagnosis. Do you have any other siblings that have ts and can you trace it to some of your family members? The thing that upsets me most is that I cannot find the heredity link. I hope your nephew doesn't have to go through what you did, I really feel for the kids. You did not mention if you have children and if they are affected? Good luck to you.

I think I was the first in my family to present any signs of TS at least as far as we all know. Also your older son does seem to have TS from my point of view and yes some tics hurt while others don't. I don't have any children yet so until that time comes I'm the only person in my family besides Chris so far with TS and that is assuming I'm correct on the TS dx with Chris and sadly to say I think I'm right on that dx but I need more time to see if it progresses anymore.

Thank you for the information. I hope my younger son does not have to go through all this. My older son had a hard time with the tics in school at times, I think it's better now but next year he will start highschool and I hope the kids are understanding there. I've heard TS is hereditary and I am constantly trying to find out where it was passed on but I guess it really doesn't much matter but I thought with my older son having so many tics that it would be easier to trace but as you said, you are the only person in your family with TS that you know of and now maybe Chris. I hope your nephew gets away with it and is not diagnosed as having TS-it has been so hard on my son and it's terrible that children have to live with this.