hi all :)

[linzi1908]

hi all

just wanted to say hi to you all as i am new to this and am looking for some advice from other parents with children with ADHD, that are also taking meds.
my little boy carter was recently diagnosed with ADHD/global delay down to being born premature.
carter is 6 and finds day to day life hard as he doesnt seem to understand right from wrong he also has speech delay aswel. we started him on 18mg of concerta for a 2 month trail but then stopped him taking them as he started showing side affects... tics! we now are trying 5mg equasym 3times a day, they seem to calm him down alot and help him in school but the shouting out random words and now starting to clear his throat alot is worring me to a point were am wanting to stop it again. he only started this once he started taking meds. has any of you had this problem thanks linzi

[BR549]

Welcome to the forum!

Be sure to check out Dizfriz's Corner as well as our Parents of Children with ADD section.

[LynneC]

Hi linzi and welcome! The equasym has the same active ingredient as the Concerta (methylphenidate). Unfortunately, stimulant medications do aggravate tics in some children.

My son also takes a stimulant medication, and I have found that giving him an electrolyte packet (like what you can buy at Vitamin Shoppe) a couple of times a week seems to help with the tics. This is something that seems to help my child, but it may not help yours.

You should report the tics to his doctor; there are non-stimulant medications that he might suggest you try...

[JenE]

Welcome to the boards!

Did he have the vocal tics before starting meds? It sounds like this class of meds may not be the right one for him. There are other stimulants and there are non-stimulants. I'd definitely talk to the dr about them.

[Flory]

welcome to the forum you will get lots of help and support here

would be interested to know why they swapped to equasym as it is virtually the same drug as concerta ?

[linzi1908]

Thankyou all for your replys. carters doctor recomended aquasym as it is a slow releasing drug but as you say they still are in the same drug group as concerta. i will deffo have a chat to our doctor about his tics and meds again. he never had any sort of tics befor starting on meds it only started after him taking them what makes me think the meds may be causing it and they might not be the right ones for him. i feel somtimes like am stuck in limbo with trying these meds on him as up to now having no luck at all with them. my son already has other problems to deal with so i do not want to keep giving him meds if its gonna give him another proplem for him to cope with in his life. thankyou for your advice :-)

[JenE]

The med trials can take a while and can be very frustrating but when you find the right one or the right combo it can be such a help. Hang in there and keep us posted.

[happytexas]

I'm not sure if this is the case with your dc, one thing to keep in mind is that ADHD medication may not be as effective if the symptoms are caused by a "trauma" (I remember one post where the ADHD-like symptoms were a side effect of the child having had chemo).

[Amtram]

(Raises hand!!!) I've been trying various medications for my depression and ADHD for several years, and found that the tumor in my skull that's smooshed my brain may well be to blame for my limited success. That being said, I had ADHD and depression well before this thing started to grow, but the physical condition of my brain after it got big had a serious impact on the efficacy of the meds. If there's an anomaly in the physical structure of the brain, medications might be limited in their usefulness.

[linzi1908]

thanks all for your input. i am keeping a close eye on my lil one on this meds trial and hopfully we find the right one for him soon, it does get very frustrating with the tics present at the moment. going to docs tomorrow to have a chat about it