[QUOTE=Joani]My son is 10 and has been taking 36mg Concerta successfully for the last 3 years. Around Christmas last year he started having Tourette type tics that increased as the months went by. We took him off Concerta all summer and the tics went away. Now 1 week before school I started him on 27mg Concerta and within 2 days he's started blinking hard, stretching one side of the mouth and some throat noises, not alot but enough for me (Mom) to notice. His dr wants to switch to dexidrine. He's already had bad reactions to Focalin, Strattera, Ritalin you name it we've tried it. Has anyone tried a combo of Concerta with say Tenex or Clonidine to combat the tics? The Concertas been great up until now and we know what to expect. Hate to venture into unknown territory AGAIN.[/QUOTE]
My son is 8 1/2 yrs old and on 36mg Concerta since earlier this year (he was on 18mg for the previous year). I had no idea at all about tics and Concerta. Reading how others have children with tics (like the mouth opening), my son does that and other things that I never thought to connect it with the medication. This is really good information which I plan to bring up at his next appt with the Dr.
Wish I could help more, I hope you find the right combination needed for your son.
Hi SmallMom. I have a friend whose son is actually on a higher dose....216mg. He is dx'd ADHD/Bipolar combo and takes additional mood stabilizer plus Strattera. Like us, her family went through years of trying to find the right dose and med combo. There is a small subset of children whose body metabolism is so unique, that standard doses just do not work. From what I've learned, puberty is usually the time which for some of these unique kids, standard doses just don't work anymore. Fortunately not many kids fall into this high dose category. OkiemomHi, my 8 year old is on Concerta 27mg and he had mild tics before he ever started Concerta. They actually exacerbated when we tried to switch him off Concerta and to a shorter acting stim. We or I put him back on Concerta and the doc added tenex. He is up to 2mg daily with the tenex and same dose of concerta (27mg) It is not the cure all but it seems to reduse the tics quite a bit.
Good luck!
ang
olie,
Does the tenex seem to add to the concerta in other ways? My daughter's doctor says it helps with hyperactivity, sleeping, memory and weight issues. My daughter just started the guanfacine and will restart concerta just before school starts. She has gained back the few pounds she lost and has added a few more,
Ya it is suppose to. His sleep isn't much better and his appetite is very poor. He hasn't put any weight on yet which is starting to worry me. But it really does help with his impulsiveness. I guess it's suppose to slow down his reaction time or the "fight or flight" response. Gives him more time to think and make better decisions.
I think in that way the TENEX really helps-but it really hasn't improved his sleep or appetite and only reduced the tics slightly
ang
162 mg of Concerta -- I have never heard of anyone on a dose that high!!!My son is 10 and has been taking 36mg Concerta successfully for the last 3 years. Around Christmas last year he started having Tourette type tics that increased as the months went by. We took him off Concerta all summer and the tics went away. Now 1 week before school I started him on 27mg Concerta and within 2 days he's started blinking hard, stretching one side of the mouth and some throat noises, not alot but enough for me (Mom) to notice. His dr wants to switch to dexidrine. He's already had bad reactions to Focalin, Strattera, Ritalin you name it we've tried it. Has anyone tried a combo of Concerta with say Tenex or Clonidine to combat the tics? The Concertas been great up until now and we know what to expect. Hate to venture into unknown territory AGAIN.My son, at age 11, had the same problem with tics when we raised his Concerta from 27 mg to 36 mg. His tics consisted of brow wrinkling and mouth opening. We did try Clonidine (not with Concerta) -- 0.1 mg at bedtime -- and his tics disappeared. It also helped him sleep at night. It might be worth a try if you don't want to switch from Concerta.Hi. My son is on a combo of Concerta/Tenex. He also is on Zoloft for anxiety. My son is 13 and metabolizes his meds like water, plus he's entering puberty. For the first couple of years we were actually undermedicating him and we finally turned over all his med management to a board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist. He is currently on 162 mg of Concerta with 2 mg of Tenex and it does really well for him, although we do have trouble with it wearing off too soon. He has never been able to get a full 8 to 10 hrs out of the long acting meds. When we first started on Concerta a couple of years ago we had some mild motor tics at first. His was a throat clearing tic that cleared up by itself. He also had a hair rubbing motor tic. It also cleared up after we started augmenting with Tenex. My son never developed the facial tics. All children respond differently to all meds, so it is so hard to compare outcomes.
Okiemom