I tried to look up calcium and tics and found out that tics also can be a result of a magnesium deficiency. Maybe it's the magnesium in the milk that is doing the trick. Here are some magnesium rich foods. Since my son never had the tics before medicine, I am wondering if the medicine negatively impacts the absorption of calcium or magnesium.
Brown rice
· Buckwheat
· Corn
· Dandelion greens
· Dark green vegetables
· Legumes
· Nuts (almonds, cashew, brazil)
· Rye
· Seeds (sunflower, sesame, pumpkin)
· Wheat germ/bran
· Whole grain cereals
Here's a medical study of ADHD children and magnesium levels.
Here's a parent's observations
http://www.ctds.info/tics.html
Just a thought.
WOW. Look at all of these people who's children developed potentially permanent nervous system damage from these drugs. These frequent probelms are well documented, but it is stunning nonetheless when you see the totality of people being affected it by it. And to all, I am sure, the doctor's claim was that the drug did not cause the tics, just brought them out.
To all of you, do your research. You will find that in MOST cases where the drugs casue these tics and are continued despite the disability, the effects become permanent. It would simply be best to wean your child off of these drugs as soon as possible. Please put his or her needs above any whining by teachers!!!
Wow. Look at our resident Troll spreading his lies and using scare tactics.
Newbies, ignore him. He has no clue!
My 12-year-old ADHD son also developed tics on Concerta. Our docs have told us that ADHD and tic disorder frequently go hand-in-hand. Our docs also said that stimulants can exacerbate tics, but do not cause them. My son's tics come and go regardless of whether he is on medication. We have been told they may subside after puberty. That's really interesting about calcium stopping the tics. I have never heard that and will have to give it a try.
In terms of OJ and stimulants, our ped specifically warned us not to have my son take Concerta with OJ because the acid affects the time-release delivery. I imagine it's the same for any long-acting stimulant like Focalin XR or Adderall XR. To play it safe, I always have my son take his pills with water.
My 11 year old daughter also developed tics while
macE,
I'm very interested in the absence seizures your daughter was having. Were they picked up on an EEG? Are they still occurring now that she's off Concerta? Is she on anti-seizure meds (anticonvulsants)? Have the tics stopped now that she's off Concerta?
I'm curious because my 10-year-old daughter (non-ADHD) has two small lesions in her temporal lobes (picked up on an MRI) and emotional dysregulation. I do catch her staring from time to time. She had a sleep-deprived 30-minute EEG, and it was normal. However, she is on Depakote, an anticonvulsant used both for mood disorder and epilepsy. Her neurologist said if her current level of Depakote stopped working, we would need to do a 48 to 72 hour EEG to see if she is having absence seizures. We're at that point now. So I'm expecting we'll be doing the long EEG in the next month. So clearly, your post piqued my interest. Good luck with your daughter -- I'm sure you're concerned about her symptoms.
My son developed tics (clearing of the throat and sniffing) after being on Concerta for several months. It took not being on meds at all for 1 month for the tics to disappear. The doctor prescribed Focalin and my son developed the same tic. We waited 2 weeks without meds for the tic disappear, but it did not. Instead of continuing to wait and losing out on valuable classroom time, we decided to try Straterra. The tics decreased in frequency, but did not disappear.
I read somewhere on an internet message board that calcium helped a chid's tics decrease in frequency, so we tried it. One day, while on Straterra, my son was clearing his throat so much (every 5 seconds) that I decided to give calcium a try. It worked! Now, in addition to giving him milk after taking the medicine after dinner, whenever I hear him start to clear his throat or sniff, I offer him a glass of milk (either hot chocolate or cold chocolate/strawberry milk) and the tic either completely disappears or decreases in frequency.
In the past my son has drunk orange juice with calcium soon after taking his medicine. Now, I've stopped having him drink the orange juice with calcium at all. I'm wondering whether the orange juice was breaking down the medicine too quickly. He gets his vitamin c from other juices instead.
Hi Haley 4,Calcium can be interfered with when taking non-strattera meds for sure - I'm not sure about the stratterra though. And for juices when taking Ritalin and other meds it can decrease the effect of them significantly. They recommend not taking near each other's time so as to not decrease dosage effect.
Taking more calcium-enriched products could cause cramping when used with ADHD meds. It did with me. If it does - ask your MD about dicetel - it's a calcium antagonist and removes it from the intestine decreasing cramps a great deal. It made such a difference to my comfort level.
Hi Ann2, How much Magnesium are you giving your son and in what form? Thanks!!!!This is very interesting. 3 weeks ago we started our 9 yr old son on Magnesium for tics. We noted an immediate improvement. They are now only mild. He has adhd. We tried ritalin very briefly last year and he has had tics off and on since. He is also calmer on the magnesium. Thanks you all for all your help!