How many of your kids developed tics after taking stimulants?

[injured betty]

Originally Posted by Jennita

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.)

[Jennita]

Originally Posted by injured betty

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!

[wfrarck]

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!

[Jennita]

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....