Turretts and Concerta

[amyof3]

Ok, I am reading here and everywhere that concerta can cause turretts like symptoms, which my daughter is now doing, but my question is, she has been on the concerta for over a year, no up in dosage and the tics just started, it THAT normal?? I tend to be seeing that its immediate onset with the meds, so does this tell me that in her case since it took so long to manitest, that it might actually be turretts? looking into turrets the signs begin at the age of 7, which she turned seven this year and boom, started with the tics almost a month after her b-day? I just would like some other experiences for my own knowledge, we will be seeing a neurologist soon and I want to be able to tell him everything so he has an understanding before hand. Not that he will be stupid or anything!!!

[index.html]

Hi Amy,

It's all very difficult to sort out. The important thing is that you talk to the neurologist soon about it.

Tics are exceeding common in seven year olds. Normally, they are outgrown rather quickly. The diagnosis of Tourettes only applies to those who have had multiple tics for at least a year and include a vocal tic. A vocal tic isn't necessarily a word (the infamous swearing is actually quite rare); it is often throat clearing or the like. The tics of Tourettes often come and go - "wax and wane" - and usually change from one tic to another.

The scary thing is that (as you know) stimulants can cause tic disorders, including Tourettes. Interestingly, stimulants can also decrease the frequency of tics, as they did in my son who was diagnosed with Tourettes when he was younger.

So, you see, it's hard to know if, in fact, your daughter has developed a transient tic or something more serious and it's also difficult to know how much or how little this is affected by the Concerta. The best thing to do is to talk to your doctor.

Another interesting thing to consider is this - has your child recently had a strep infection, like strep throat? If so, mention it to the neurologist. In the last few years, it has come to light that the streptococcus bacteria seems to cause or aggravate tics in some people (the anocronym for this PANDAs if you want to research it).

Let us know what the doc says!

[Jennita]

Although it's hard to say if the Concerta is actually doing this for sure, it's most likely.

Side effects are not always immediate but can be culmative side effects meaning they can occur after some years on the same drug, same dose even if the side effect didn't occur before. I heard a doctor describe this once, and he mentioned it is not commonly talked about. It is like allergies; consistant and repeat exposure to something can eventually cause a new allergy a person didn't have before.