Issues with the little man, my perfect child, an eight year old boy. He's had behavioral problems since pretty much first grade, the complaints were: Disruptive, talks a lot, does not listen to the teacher, always in trouble.

He is now in third grade and at this point his grades are suffering. He reads at a sixth grader level, but really isn't able to focus, so he does not retain the information that he reads. The teacher says that she can explain something and then ask him what she talked about, and he'll just stare at her without saying a word, he is easily distracted and his grades are average, often doesn't complete class work.

At this point she's referring his case to what is called a "Think tank". A group of teachers that will go over his issues and will recommend the best set of actions in their opinion.

We took him to his pediatrician and he pretty much told us what we suspected but really didn't want to hear: ADHD. He prescribed Adderrall XR (extended release) at the minimum dose 5mg. We started him last Monday despite my fears and all, though I've done research on Adderrall the doctor reassured me that even if the little guy develops tics, they would go away if we take him off the meds. By Wed of same week he began rolling his head (pulling his neck) and complaining that his neck hurts. Initially I didn't think much of it. Thought that he slept in a bad position and woke up with a sore neck. But it worsened, and pretty much every 5 to 10 seconds he makes that movement with his head that breaks my heart. I began doing further research and found out that it's an adderrall related tic. And sometimes even if you take them off the meds the tics wont go away. Of course I yanked him off the meds and Friday of same week was the last day that he took the meds.

I feel so horrific that I listened to the "you have nothing to lose we can always pull him off the meds and try something else".

I'm worried sick that the tic wont go away. The doctor tells me that the tics should go away within 72 hours after you stop the meds, but it's been 72 hours and he still does the horrible neck/head roll. The doctor was telling me that sometimes it's not medicine related and that kids with ADHD have that like turets, but that the medicine will bring it out. I felt angered when he said that to me because before hand he was telling me something entirely different.

I'm horrified and don't know what to do. My doctor says "Go see a nurologist"...

I'm at a loss :(

I know how badly you feel. My 10 yo started at a too high dose of biphentin (methylphenidate in sprinkle form) back in December. First meds he was ever on and he was prescribed a 40 mg dose. (I wanted to start lower, I questioned it but didn't push it.)

Well, within a couple of hours he developed muscle twitches in both his legs. They were quite jittery. We were on the same dose for 4 days (long story) before we stopped. And then the twitches continued. They seemed to stop when he fell asleep. They continued over Christmas and we got the pediatrician to refer to a neurologist. We saw them early January and were basically told that the twitches were a "tic" due to the meds and that nothing else was neurologically wrong with him. What I should have asked for, I think, was a consult with a psychopharmacologist....someone who knows what the meds do, not just how your system functioning. Someone who could tell me why, and how long it would last.

Well the short story is, that the twitches eventually went away but it was hard to say exactly when. It could have been as long as 6 weeks afterwards. The reason we're not sure is that he did not complain about it all the time, and when we checked his legs, he seemed to voluntarily make it happen or make it worse...we're not sure. I do think it continued though.

I felt terrible about it and searched the internet for info everywhere. Our doc kept saying she was certain they would go away but I couldn't find any information on how long they would last. It was a really bad feeling, I felt like I messed up his life, but THEY DID GO AWAY. And now we have started Strattera, with so far very good results....starting at a really low dose and moving up extremely slowly.

I'd be interested in knowing how this turns out. Can you keep us posted? Good luck to you and have hope that this will stop. It did for us and all is well now.

I'd be interested in knowing how this turns out. Can you keep us posted? Good luck to you and have hope that this will stop. It did for us and all is well now.


Thank you so much for your reply and kind words, as well as sharing your child's and your experience. I will most certainly keep you updated and post. Knowing the anguish and pain that I feel as a result of my own stupidity, if my words could possibly ease up the pain of others in a similar situation, my words will be posted.

Thank you again,
-M

Thank you so much for your reply and kind words, as well as sharing your child's and your experience. I will most certainly keep you updated and post. Knowing the anguish and pain that I feel as a result of my own stupidity, if my words could possibly ease up the pain of others in a similar situation, my words will be posted.

Thank you again,
-M

Please, PLEASE! don't beat yourself up over this. That's one of the worst things parents can do to themselves.

Hindsight is always 20/20, and all too often we look back and kick ourselves for what we should have done, or what we could have do better. We're not perfect. We try to do the best we can for our kids, with what we have. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't. With others having taken the same medication, with no problems, there is no way you could know for certain that your son would react that way.

All you can do is try to do what you feel and think is best. Don't beat yourself up over what didn't work, but instead be happy for what does.

I wouldn't call it stupidity! I researched and researched the drug issue before we started and I felt quite comfortable "knowing" that if there was a problem, we would just stop and the drugs are gone in 24 hours. I didn't know about any lasting effects--from any of the credible sources I read. (I stayed away from the anti-Ritalin books...not feeling that they were based on any scientific evidence). If I had read about lasting tics, it didn't stick with me.

However, even if I had remembered reading about lasting effects, I've asked myself if I would still have tried the meds, and the answer was yes. I would still have given him the same drug, not expecting to be that small percentage of people who have a reaction.

I've never hesitated to take a prescription med myself in my whole life, and felt brave enough to try it with my son. I guess my only concern with meds now is the long term effects, which I try not to think about at this point (lol)..its only been 4 weeks!

Hope you can calm your nerves, you didn't do anything wrong. It'll all be ok.

I'm with Lady Lark and Canukie 100%. Don't feel guilty about starting medication that the doctor prescribed. Every gut-wrenching decision you make is to try to help your son. Unfortunately the only way to solve this jigsaw puzzle is to try each piece until you find one that fits.