Docs don't believe me, son has tics from meds

[mimih]

Hi.

I guess I'm looking for validation or other people who had the same experiences. Everything I read from the pharmaceutical industry and from doctors says that stimulant meds do not cause tics. That they can only worsen tics if someone already has them. My son, who is 22, has been on Adderall for the past seven years. He NEVER had tics before he started the meds. For the past few years, I've noticed that he will have little body jerks, first his leg, then his shoulder, etc. about 10 seconds apart.

He denied it for a long time because the meds really help him focus. He has very inattentive ADD and is a senior at a university in physics. He finally, with my urging, talked to his psychiatrist about the tics and his only response was, "Then do you want to go off the medication?" Of course my son said NO. The doctor didn't offer him any more suggestions. My son tried essential fatty acids, and Concerta in the past and neither worked. He is pretty much refusing to go off the meds because they help him so much but I'm really worried about him now. Since he's almost 23, I don't have a lot of power in this.

Our family doctor now wants him to see a neurologist which tells me he doesn't think the tics are from the meds either. Does anyone have any input about this? Anyone else who got tics from stimulant medications? I'm so scared they will not go away even if he stops the meds. When he goes off the medication, during a break from school, they do seem to lessen, but he has not been off them long enough to see if they will completely go away. Thank you so much for any information or advice.

Mimi

[ozchris]

Seeing a neurologist is really the only thing you can do to find out what's causing this. I think it's very important he does this.

Some people DO develop tics while on medication and it goes away when they stop. Usually this happens much earlier in treatment and not 7 years on though.

Has he had his dose increased lately? Is he on any other meds?

[Louder Than Love]

Tics and Muscle Spasms are a VERY different thing.

I'm sure both can be embarassing, but remember , Adderall is a pretty potent stimulant... 7 years even, he could just be tensing up so much that he's having spasms.



- Rivers

[strange&unusual]

Originally Posted by Mindspin

Tics and Muscle Spasms are a VERY different thing.

I'm sure both can be embarassing, but remember , Adderall is a pretty potent stimulant... 7 years even, he could just be tensing up so much that he's having spasms.



- Rivers

DITTO......

There are a lot of conflicting reports of stimulant therapy increasing movement disorders over a prolonged period. There are also reports stating that people with ADHD with comorbid anxiety disorders can develop tics without necessarily being on stimulants. I can't say who is right and who is wrong because there is not enough conclusive research.

I used to have embarrassing eyelid tics/spasms when I was feeling overtly anxious..and that was before stimulants. I can only recall one episode post treatment.

I hope you find an answer to your son's tic problem..good luck

[Dizfriz]

ADHD and Tourette's syndrome are connected but the mechanism is not known. It is well known that the medications will sometimes cause tics to start and sometimes for those with Tourette's sometimes the ADHD medication will cause tics to cease.

I suspect that your family doctor is just being cautious. What you describe does not sound like the usual pattern of medication induced tics but it may be. Usually the onset of tics is right after starting the medication. It might be worth while to have this checked out just to be sure.

You can look up adhd and Tourette's and get almost 400,000 hits if you need any data to support the connection between ADHD and Tourette's.

Good luck.

Dizfriz

[Imnapl]

mimh, are the tics life threatening?

[Colin]

My understanding is :- that stimulants arent considered to cuase Tics.
Tics are a seperate conditon and can be treated seperatly.

however stimulant may well make the exsiting Tics worse, or in some cases bring to the surface an existing underlying condition wich was not bad enough to be considered a problem before.

ofc everyone is unique, and the above is obtained from statistics.

blaming it on this or that probably isnt helpfull, its finding what works.
it all depends on weighing the benefits against the problems, and finding if the problems can be avoided with a better medication, or by an aditional one.

[Dizfriz]

Originally Posted by Colin

My understanding is :- that stimulants arent considered to cuase Tics.
Tics are a seperate conditon and can be treated seperatly.

however stimulant may well make the exsiting Tics worse, or in some cases bring to the surface an existing underlying condition wich was not bad enough to be considered a problem before.

ofc everyone is unique, and the above is obtained from statistics.

blaming it on this or that probably isnt helpfull, its finding what works.
it all depends on weighing the benefits against the problems, and finding if the problems can be avoided with a better medication, or by an aditional one.

I stand corrected. I used the term cause loosely. What the meds can do is to result in an onset of tics where they were not noticed before. The phenomenon is not all that rare and is normally not a reason for alarm. What you say are good suggestions.

Mimih
If your son is ok with the situation, perhaps it is best to let it ride but with some parental suggestions to get it checked out. It may be that for him, the benefits of the medication greatly outweighs the problem with the movements. It is tough dealing with a grown child. Sometimes it leaves some severe bite marks on the tongue
Diz

[mygreycard]

Oh I got those with the concerta I was on last.
I had to stop taking it because I am a sales person and my neck would start to spasm while talking to customers, and than my jaw would clench up.
I would feel so embarressed. Not very attractive. lolz.

[Colin]

ive not experienced these myself but im merly repeating what ive heard on other forums over time, i dont claim to know what is correct, but I have recently heard it said they can be treated independantly and alongside the treatment for adhd, but I also remember hearing long time ago it was dificult to treat both.

so i think its at least worth looking into. its hard if you get any sort of side effect, wether its cuase or just made worse its stil the same, hard to know what to do and if you have to keep functioning at work its all the more dificult to persrvere to see if they diminish or start trying to find other treatments/ combinations some of wich may be worse. ive been through so many wich made me bad, all the antidepresants , finaly the stimulants worked fine, i just hope i can get them again and they stil work.

[Mister U]

Have him supplement with magnesium to help with muscle spasms, but do go to a neurologist just in case.

[moralecl]

My daughter has been on every ADHD med in existence I think. Focalin XR was working well but she would start to get emotional (crashing and/or puberty) so the Dr asked us to try Vyvanse. After a few days she developed a persistent cough and clearing of the throat. I took her to the doctor and told her she had the cough for several weeks. She insisted it was a virus and would go away. Well, it didn't (which did not surprise me). In fact it got worse and kept her up at night. Then I started to notice her blinking her eyes a lot. Red flags went up as I seen previousl post about tics such as eye blinking. Then I put two and two together and wondered if the persistent cough and throat clearing were a tic too. I took her off the Vyvanse and put her back on the Focalin and low and behold, the blinking, coughing, and throat clearing are almost gone within two days of her last Vyvanse dose. Hmmmm. I called the doctor and left a message. I doubt I will get a call back but hopefully the next time a kids comes in with these symptoms, they will consider the possiblity of tics. We will stick with the Focalin for a while. I think I can manage the emotional rollercoaster as it's not as bad as it was with some of the other meds. The focalin has been the best because she retains most of her personality but is able to concentrate for most of the day. It has also had the least amount of side effects.

[zarazz]

When ever I go on stimulants I almost always have some sort of tick going on. Eye winking, grunt coughing, talking to myself, and neck bending to the side. I can't remember but I think some other meds may have caused them too but when I am not on any meds ticks are quite rare for me.

[zarazz]

I am reconsidering what I had previously stated. I think that with the aid of the meds I have become more aware of the tics. Most of the tics I had before were subtle ie. toe crunching. or were diagnosed as allergies for instance I had a tic that would make me bend my neck side to side.
tics can be made to be less frequent and therefore less evident when dealing with being focused. Being the type of ADDer that can hyperfocus that could have augmented tics and now with that lifted it seems as though it is purely the meds that have created the issue.

just a thought as others sugested if it is detramental to social/ physical health go to a neurologist if not then I guess it's up to him.

[Ed63]

As I understand it, the current thinking is that stimulants don't cause tics, but rather "reveal" them. That is, folks with a lower threshold for tic behaviors are more likely to be set off when taking stimulant medications. Presumably, this is because stimulants do seem to have activity in the striatum part of the brain, from which tics arise.

It is thought that some of the non-stimulant ADHD medications -- such as atomoxetine--do not have a similar locus of activity and would therefore be less likely to trigger tics.