My son developed tics within a short time after taking Adderall. We took him off the Adderall immediately but he has had various motor and vocal tics ever since. It has been 4 years already.

I know stimulants often cause tics because I've spoken to many parents who have had similar expereinces. So, yes, I DO WANT TO WARN PARENTS THAT OFTEN STIMULANTS CAN AND DO CAUSE TICS AND THEY CAN SOMETIMES BE PERMANENT.

Some say the tics MIGHT have occured anyway. I do not believe that is true in the majority of cases. I don't care what some pharmeceutical supported study shows. I only wish I had read this or heard about this before I agreed to put my son on a stimulant.

How many of your kids have developed tics after using stimulants? Would you have put your child on a stimulant if you had know this?

Thank you!!

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[This message has been edited by city mom (edited 09-04-2003).]

Tic developed: Clearing of the throat. Also started nailbiting.
You also asked if I had put my child on drugs had I known he could develop tics? Answer: I would not have put my child on drugs, if I had known, that they were not even approved for kids under age 6!

[This message has been edited by Susi (edited 09-04-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Susi (edited 09-06-2003).]

Sad..some people dont know the true effects until they happen to their child. Tics are just one of the side effects of stimulants. It is much more common than some would like you to believe.

However, long term use of stimulant medications can have even worse after effects.

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

--Pablo Picasso

Our son developed tics also. Luckily, our family physician took him off the Adderall. I wish the Psych. Dr. who had first prescribed the medication had been more truthful about the side effects. I will never take my son to another Psychiatrist or Psychologist.

I have had 3 sons on Ritalin and the last switched to Concerta. My eldest developed the blinking if the eyes. As the dosage was adjusted to best fit him, this tic backed off. He has been off of the medication for a few years (he is an addult) and there is no sign of the eye blinking. The second child never did develope any tics. He was OCD before that and that did not alter either...the OCD is associated with Aspergers. My youngest developed the eye blinking tic with the Concerta. He was off the Concerta for the summer and the tic went away. He is now back on it (at his request...36 mg per day) and the tic reappeared. I would have to say yes to the connection, but no to the tic being permanent. It may be with some, but not all.

Yes, it does seem that many of those who get tics from stimulants have the good fortune to have the tics stop and not return when the stimulant is stopped.

However, there is also the subset of people who have long term or permanent tics after stimulant use regardless of length of time on stimulant. Unfortunately, my son falls in this category.

He only took a very low dose of Adderall for 2 months. He is still ticcing 4 years later although the tics have varied over the years and there have been tic-free periods. They come and go and change over time. His doctor says that the stimulant triggered the part of his brain that regulates this type of impulse control and that it may or may not be permanent.

Of course, no doctor warned me that this was a possible side effect of stimulants. For whatever? reasons, most doctors do not tell parents that this could happen. THAT IS WHY I WANT EVERY PARENT TO KNOW THAT THIS CAN HAPPEN BEFORE THEY MAKE THE DECISION TO PUT THEIR CHILD ON A STIMULANT DRUG.

AFTER this happened to my child, the doctor who originally prescibed the stimulant told me that about 10-15% of the kids he put on a stimulant developed tics. HOW COULD THIS NOT BE SOMETHING THAT PARENTS SHOULD NOT BE TOLD ABOUT? I didn't even know what tics were. In fact, I spent hundredds of dollars having him allergy tested because I mistook his sniffing, eye blinking, and throut clearing as allergy symptoms at first.



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I too have a child who developed tics after a brief 4-month period on Ritalin/Dexedrine. He was 6 years old. Someone told me that if he developed tics that it really meant he had tourettes syndrome. Well, I took my son of the drugs because I found the side effects were worse than the actual "perceived" problem - which was mostly experienced by teachers and caregivers. I have done well with behavior modification, loving him more, constructive ways of discipline (not saying NO constantly but finding other ways to have him learn), and activities to keep him busy - not just physically busy, also mentally.

The first tic I noticed was a "rolling" up of the end of his shirt - he did this constantly. He really didn't make too much noise or move his eyes, it was mostly hand movement. And yes, whenever I pointed it out to him and tried to make him stop, it got worse. It took a few months for the tics to go away after stopping medication. Now whenever he is stressed (11 years old), he crosses his fingers over the other on the same hand. When he does this in my presence, I just put my hand over his and rub it and smile - letting him know he can relax.

I agree that doctors should tell every potential user of these drugs that they can cause tics that may or may not go away.

My neighbor's child rolls his eyes to the back of his head so severely that once in my house he walked into the wall. I'm not sure what meds he is on.

[This message has been edited by sawbuck44 (edited 09-05-2003).]

[This message has been edited by sawbuck44 (edited 09-05-2003).]

The funny thing is that some of the stimulant drugs NOW list tics as a potential side effect and/or they state not to give to persons with a history of Tourette's. Other stimulants actually list Tourette's Syndrome as a potential side effect. Unfortunately, none of these warnings were listed on the package when my son took Adderall 4 years ago even though it was happening frequently.

Tourette's normally occurs in something like 1 out of every 2000 people. My son's doctor told me that appro. 10-15% of the kids he prescibed stimulants get tics. Of course, he told me this AFTER my son had them. ???? Obviously, the stimulants cause many cases of tics that would not have occured otherwise.

Go to any support group for ADHD and listen to all the moms talk about all the tics their children have gotten after taking stimulants. IT'S SAD!!

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[This message has been edited by city mom (edited 09-05-2003).]

The plain fact is, speed is speed. It's not a "medicine". Sure, in prescription it is controlled in dosage and use compared to the street version, so far less dangerous, of course. But, I like to tell people is that a little poison isn't as harmful as alot; but it's still poison.

I'm so sorry to hear about your son's tics, city mom, especially since they seem to be permanent. I hope somehow he will outgrow them or perhaps they may at least diminish over time. I feel it is absolutely criminal that they do not warn parents enough of this or the other physical/mental/neurological problems that can come from stimulant use.

If you hear enough about most psych meds, you find many problems emerge that were not present before, or previous symptoms worsen over time. Most psych docs will say it' the original condition, or a hidden disorder unmasked by medication or a pre-dipostion, etc. They'll blame literally anything except their drugs while they continue to play around with neurotransmitters in the brain that they are not able to acurately measure or know how much is a normal amount...unlike their favorite diabetes/insulin comparison, which as we know can be measured in blood tests.

So it's one big brain experiment, originally based in theory of how since street drugs have certain "desirable" side effects, people must somehow be deficient and actually need these drugs. They shouldn't claim a toxic drug isn't a toxic drug, just because they say so. Poison is poison. But these drugs are their bread and butter, or better put their Jaguars and European vacations so they will continue to deceive the public as long as the public will let them.

Sorry for the long post, but it makes me angry that there is a child of a poster here suffering from a possible permenant neurological problem now because of this. He deserved better from the ones who are supposed to be more "educated" then the rest of us; the professionals who act like we are fools for even questioning anything they say. Well, why don't those doctors show that poor little boy those framed papers hanging on their office walls and see if that makes his tics go away.

Thanks, Jennita and others. I have to say I'm very relieved that no-one has jumped in to defend the doctors or argue that he would have gotten tics anyway. I have brought this topic up in other ADHD forums and been attacked.

I'm not against parents medicating their children necessarily. I just think parents should be informed of all the risks before they make the decision to medicate their child with a stimulant.

I want to get the word out to parents who do not know about the side effect of tics. Keep your comments coming. If even one parent is dissuaded from putting their child on a stimulant med after reading this thread, I believe that would be a victory.



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Hello everyone,

I started a thread awhile ago about this very subject. Check it out...its called "Concerta...Horrifying Tics" on page two of this message board. You will see that I also had the frustrating experience of watching my son develop several tics during his medication of Concerta. He has since been switched to a non-stimulant, Strattera and the tics have completely disappeared. You will also see that someone has tried and succeeded with an herbal alternative to ADD/ADHD medications with her son.

So nice to know that Im not alone!!

Saph

Just wondered how strattera has worked for kids with tics. my 12 year old has had tics since he was 5.......never been on any meds but now is very self conscience about them. taking him to pediatric neurologist and want to see what non-stimulant drugs are out there.....any suggestions?

Tics can be a result of neurological damage from amphetamines, although there are other causes, just like there are various causes of cancer, blood pressure problems, etc. But amphetamines can cause or worsen existing tics, so those are out. I have heard Strattera does not aggravate tics. Cal/Mag supplements and fish oil have been reported as good for ADD if you try natural routes, plus something called Be-Calmed although I'm not familiar with that last one.

Hi there I have a 10 year old boy with adhd.I ran across a magazine with product called calmtabs I have taken valerian root myself which is in this product it calmed me down like a nerve pill would.If you are interested they are on sale at 2.73 per 100 tablets we plan on trying them.Call 1800puritan to order them. Kathy

Thanks for your replies. I will check into that. We have an appointment with a pediatric neurologist in October. (tourettes specialist) and I'll let you know what happens....

beCalmd is AWESOME!!! Thats what I take. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif Tics are bad yes, and seem worse when they happen to your child but unfortunantly stimulant medications many times cause even worse permanent side effects. They cause the same brain damage as cocaine when they are given to children. What happens is the normal working level of dopamine is 10 in adhd kids its about 7 so they treat them with stimulants and then their brain works at a level 10, but after the stimulants are taken away their brain now only works at a level 4 (3 points less than originally) There is NO reason to give stimulant medications to children who have basic ADHD symptoms. The only reason these medications should be used is if a child has SEVERE adhd and other symptoms that complicate or worsen behavior. And even then, all natural treatments should be tried first. By the way, natural treatments along with biofeedback..AWESOME!!! Get sound machines to mess with your brain wave patterns and help with focus.

“Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work.”

--Thomas A. Edison

My daughter (9yo with ADHD, OCD, and possible Tourette's) had in increase in tics when she was first put on stimulants 6 yrs ago. Even then, I knew they were contraindicated with Tourette's or a family history of Tourette's. It is a parent's responsibility to check out the meds before they are given. Her doctor at the time refused to accept her father's TS as a reason not to take stimulants and since she already had tics, I chose to use the stimulants. I found that different formulas and dosages of stimulants work on the tics differently for an individual. In her case, adderall had the least affect on tics and more on the OCD. Dexedrine increased tics 6X on the first dose. Ritalin caused mood swings and maxed out the dosage FAST! Concerta is the same as ritalin in that. Maybe next will be strattera. Anyone any experience with that? Thanks.

Vrie - You said, "It is the responsibility of the parent to check out meds before they are given." Well, your statement hit a nerve with me. When medicating my son for ADHD was suggested to me by his doctor, I was very reluctant. I only considered it after lots of trouble at school, etc.

He was prescibed Adderall in 3rd grade. I researched this med extensively and questioned my son's doctor about it's safety and side effects. His doctor told me it was extremely safe and had been used for years with minor side effects. He DID NOT not tell me about the possibility of tics. The package insert and pharmacy insert DID NOT mention tics or not to use in persons with Tourette's Syndrome at that time.

My son had absolutely no tics before starting the med and there is no family history of TS. However, within two months, my son developed tics from this med. I did not know what tics were. I just knew he was twitching,etc. His doctor who prescibed the Adderall told me what was happening. He also told me AT THIS TIME that about 10-15% of patients who are prescibed stimulants will develop tics to some degree. WHY DIDN'T HE TELL ME THIS WHEN I WAS RELENTLESSLY QUESTIONING HIM ABOUT THE MEDS SIDE EFFECTS? I'm still not sure!

The worst thing is he is now in seventh grade and he still deals with tics!!!!! ADHD by itself would have been a cakewalk by comparison!!!!!



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My son developed tics within a short time after taking Adderall. We took him off the Adderall immediately but he has had various motor and vocal tics ever since. It has been 4 years already.

I know stimulants often cause tics because I've spoken to many parents who have had similar expereinces. So, yes, I DO WANT TO WARN PARENTS THAT OFTEN STIMULANTS CAN AND DO CAUSE TICS AND THEY CAN SOMETIMES BE PERMANENT.

Some say the tics MIGHT have occured anyway. I do not believe that is true in the majority of cases. I don't care what some pharmeceutical supported study shows. I only wish I had read this or heard about this before I agreed to put my son on a stimulant.

How many of your kids have developed tics after using stimulants? Would you have put your child on a stimulant if you had know this?

Thank you!!

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[This message has been edited by city mom (edited 09-04-2003).]My daughter is 10 and diagnosed with OCD...she takes prozac and has developed tics..they want to add tourettes into diagnosis...is prozac a stimulant?????????????? is this the reason and its not tourettes??????????????????she has developed severe behavioral issues also....now I am really confused!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:eek:

My goodness, Kimberly, you had to go back pretty far to find this thread, but that's fine.

Prozac is not a stimulant medication although it is one of the more activating SSRI's. I haven't seen anything about its use being associated with the development of tics.
Did your daughter have any tics prior to the Zoloft? Could you describe a few of her tics?

My 13yo DS had multiple tics including vocal tics between the ages of about 6 & 11 to the extent that he had a Tourette's diagnosis. At that time, he had never had any psychotropic medication. Because he hasn't ticked in a couple of years, we are now very slowly and very cautiously trying stimulants.

My goodness, Kimberly, you had to go back pretty far to find this thread, but that's fine.

Prozac is not a stimulant medication although it is one of the more activating SSRI's. I haven't seen anything about its use being associated with the development of tics.
Did your daughter have any tics prior to the Zoloft? Could you describe a few of her tics?

My 13yo DS had multiple tics including vocal tics between the ages of about 6 & 11 to the extent that he had a Tourette's diagnosis. At that time, he had never had any psychotropic medication. Because he hasn't ticked in a couple of years, we are now very slowly and very cautiously trying stimulants.
Thanks for replying:) My daughter is on prozac (not zoloft) and she did have a few tics before then...but they have progressed and become more often as well. She growls (like a dog) yells fat cow for no apparant reason...does muscle contractions throughout her body repeatedly...does this thing with her eyes...a few others but not really noticable...she didnt have any tics untill she was diagnosed with ocd then put on a different anti depressant which we took her off almost immediatley because she got so sensitive about everything...but then her ocd really got outta control so now we are trying prozac....hmmmm just dont know, thanks so much for replying...means a lot. :eek:

What does her doc say? I think I would be asking about stopping the antidepressants if I were in your shoes.

Is he considering Catapress or Tenex for the tics?

My daughter does extremely well on a low dose of clonidine for her tics. tenex has also been mantioned. In her case, the tics are fairly easily controlled and are much less of an issue than the ADHD and OCD. OCD is very common in girls with the gene that causes Tourette's. ADHD also goes hand in hand with Tourette's. Although my daughter has a family history of TS, her biofather did not. Twenty years, he was told none of this was nor could be genetic. My daughter was first placed on stimulants 6 years ago and the research on tics was out there.

All I can say is that different stimulants affected my daughter's tics differently. Dexedrine was the worst and Adderal the best for her in respect to the tics. Ask about changing the stimulant formula or about adding something to control the tics. I took my daughter off stimulants for years (resulting in 4 different day cares etc for being kicked out of several) until I accepted that more than one pill (or one type of pill) was necessary.

My daughter is 10 and diagnosed with OCD...she takes prozac and has developed tics..they want to add tourettes into diagnosis...is prozac a stimulant?????????????? is this the reason and its not tourettes??????????????????she has developed severe behavioral issues also....now I am really confused!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:eek:

Prozac is not in the same class as "stimulants", I think those are basically dopamine drugs. However, what is over-looked by some is that serotonin, the neurotransmitter effected by the SSRi's, is one of our "excitatory" neurotransmitters, so yes, it makes sense the nervous system and brain are stimulated by those drugs although they are not the typical known stimulant drugs. If you download the PDF of most SSRi's, you can find alot of nervous system adverse effects are listed there..but look under "Other events observed in clinical trials" to get more details than the basic charts; you may have to also get to an online medical dictionary to determine what those are since they use medical terms to describe things, such as a word like akathisia, which is defined as:

1. <neurology> A condition of motor restlessness in which there is a feeling of muscular quivering, an urge to move about constantly and an inability to sit still, a common extrapyramidal side effect of neuroleptic drugs.

2. An inability to sit down because of intense anxiety at the thought of doing so.



So just because something isn't in a certain class of stimulants doesn't mean it doesn't stimulate the nervous system in an adverse way.

Prozac is not in the same class as "stimulants", I think those are basically dopamine drugs. However, what is over-looked by some is that serotonin, the neurotransmitter effected by the SSRi's, is one of our "excitatory" neurotransmitters, so yes, it makes sense the nervous system and brain are stimulated by those drugs although they are not the typical known stimulant drugs. If you download the PDF of most SSRi's, you can find alot of nervous system adverse effects are listed there..but look under "Other events observed in clinical trials" to get more details than the basic charts; you may have to also get to an online medical dictionary to determine what those are since they use medical terms to describe things, such as a word like akathisia, which is defined as:

1. <neurology> A condition of motor restlessness in which there is a feeling of muscular quivering, an urge to move about constantly and an inability to sit still, a common extrapyramidal side effect of neuroleptic drugs.

2. An inability to sit down because of intense anxiety at the thought of doing so.



So just because something isn't in a certain class of stimulants doesn't mean it doesn't stimulate the nervous system in an adverse way.


Prozac maynot be in the same catagory as stimulants but if you do your research you will find that it is basically legal speed. The kids at school trade it around for that effect.

As for tics and Turrets, OCD, I posted a family history on one of the message boards yesterday. We did quite a background research on our family as my brother suffers from diabilitating Turrets. In the research that we did we found that Turrets is the grand daddy to the disorders such as anxiety attacks, depression, OCD, ADHD, ADD, etc. Everyone in our entire family suffere from some form of this, this is why we researched it.

When I was on Prozac I went a million miles an hour. I found that my OCD was so bad that I could not work. I have never had tics but I can see where it might contribute or be in the same family.

I am not trying to be judgmental but I would question any doctor putting my daughter or my child on an anti-depressant, especially one like Prozac. There are lots of books on this one out there. "Talking Back to Prozac" or "Prozac Nation" is two that I would start with. (I am in no way affiliated with this author or the books.)

Prozac maynot be in the same catagory as stimulants but if you do your research you will find that it is basically legal speed. The kids at school trade it around for that effect.

As for tics and Turrets, OCD, I posted a family history on one of the message boards yesterday. We did quite a background research on our family as my brother suffers from diabilitating Turrets. In the research that we did we found that Turrets is the grand daddy to the disorders such as anxiety attacks, depression, OCD, ADHD, ADD, etc. Everyone in our entire family suffere from some form of this, this is why we researched it.

When I was on Prozac I went a million miles an hour. I found that my OCD was so bad that I could not work. I have never had tics but I can see where it might contribute or be in the same family.

I am not trying to be judgmental but I would question any doctor putting my daughter or my child on an anti-depressant, especially one like Prozac. There are lots of books on this one out there. "Talking Back to Prozac" or "Prozac Nation" is two that I would start with. (I am in no way affiliated with this author or the books.)

You also bring up a good point. Besides all the concerns on the drug effects on the minds of the kids and the health concerns, all this excess prescribing is causing a new problem of the possible ways these drugs can be abused. Now the kids don't have to go to a drug-pusher on the street!

My son has been on Concerta for about 2 years. Yes, the medication exaggerated tics! But you do need to know that the latest information is that it does not actually CAUSE the tics. Ours happen to run in the family. So, our psychatrist put him on Tenex for the tics! Works great! It has a double affect in that it helps him to sleep at night!

I am now also on Concerta and just began taking Tenex for a tic disorder. Again - it works great!

I have read where people do develop tics after being prescribed the stimulant whereas they did not have them previously. Discontinuation of the drug caused them to disappear in some cases; some became permenant.

Now, just because tics run in the family does not let stimulants off the hook...if they bring out the condition, then it's their fault, period.... if they worsen any existing tics, then they are to blame for exasperating that condition. Doctors love to give excuses for the side/adverse effects of these drugs, but they are clearly to blame for alot of physical/health-related problems.

Diabetes runs in my mother's immediate family, her mother and brother. She's 80 years old now and does not have it. Clearly, when something runs in the family, it doesn't mean you'll get it. But taking something which could trigger it, will almost guarentee you will get it so it would make sense to avoid such things. I'm surprised that with a family history of tics, doctors would even consider giving a stimulant to a child. But then, this is the big thing/moneymaker today.

Well, so much for taking an oath to do no harm....