My son is 7 and has been recently diagnosed with a mood disorder. I just took him in because I feared he was developing tourettes. In talking to the ped, I discovered that his moodiness, anger, short fuse, and bossiness, coupled with the tics all go together. When he was 3, I suspected bipolar disorder, but the ped stopped short of calling it that. I have given my son 3 doses of clonodine, ie: 1/2 tab at night and by the second dose, no more tics. He was doing eye rolling, vocalization, and body shrugs. I am going to put him on a 1/2 tab at night and 1/2 tab in the morning, and hopefully with him no more. The usual dose is 1 tab at night and 1 in the morning. If that doesn't work, (which right now, for him, it is) they want to try tennex, than resperdal. Maybe that's all your son needs. Good luck.
My son has tics too. When he was diagnosed adhd the doc said that his first choice for a med was a non stimulant drug because stimulants tend to worsen tics. So my son is currently taking Strattera for his adhd. As I have said many times here in different posts, I am not completely satisfied with this med in regard to concentration, he keeps being unattentive( maybe a little less than before, but definititely he still is). BUT, I have seen that his tics have decreased a great deal. I can say that currently he is tic free. The last neuroped that saw him told me that sometimes Strattera has shown to be helpful in diminishing tics. My son tics are mainly associated to stress. I could say that Strattera has helped my son with stress issues, he seems to be less anxious than before, and it is logical that in his case the tics have kind of subsided.
I am not a doc, but this is my conclusion based in my own experience.
Here is some information on tics (including links to transient tics, chronic tics and touretts):
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001410.htm
http://www.tourettes-disorder.com/symptoms/tics.html
Hope these help.
I was wondering if any of you had kids that have tics and if you have found anything that makes them better. My son has had tics since he was four. They used to be just vocal but in the past year he has started with motor tics such as shoulder shrugging, arm shaking, facial movements and eye blinking. The neurologist said that it may be Tourettes. His tics can last from a day or two to several weeks and there can be a few weeks or a couple of months with no tics.
Have any of you had any luck with medicines to help control the tics. I just hate for him to be picked on at school. Right now he has an eye blinking tic and it is very obvious and I know kids at his age (3rd grade) can be pretty mean.
I have heard that sometimes ADHD meds can make tics worse, but he is currently not on any meds. (He has been in the past)
Thanks for your help!
My DD has mild Tourette Syndrome (as well as ADHD). She takes Tenex (generic is Guanfacine) for the tics. It has worked well. Her tics are very minimal.Thanks for the tic sites, very helpful.