New ADHD diagnosis | ADHD Information

Hi! I'm new to this board. My 7 yo DS was recently diagnosed w/moderate to severe ADHD. My husband and I had suspected for a while that DS had ADHD but were reluctant to use meds as a treatment. We were sure that we could treat using behavior modifications. But after several months of dealing w/teachers and school (DS has been in LD classes since Pre-K), we decided to speak w/our MD. Our MD is a family doctor, but insisted we get testing from outside the school system before initiating treatment. He refered us to a child psychologist who did several tests over many visits before formally diagnosing DS. We went back to MD who started DS on Concerta 18 mg. DS was doing better on meds, but about 2 weeks ago, started having simple facial and vocal tics (clearing throat and opening mouth wide). MD took him off Concerta, had us wait 10 days for med to clear system and prescribed Adderall 5mg twice a day. We are starting new med tomorrow and quite frankly, I'm scared to death.  I am afraid that DS will never be tic free again. He's so little to be on such scary meds.  His behavior over the past week has reminded us why we started med but I still have alot of doubts. I'm terrified that we are doing the wrong thing for our little guy.

It would be great to hear from anyone out there w/similar situations. Right now I feel like we are quite alone in this.  There aren't any types of support groups around as we live in a pretty rural area.  Also would like to have any suggestions for discipline for ADHD children. DS does do better when we have a set routine but thats been tough to set into motion in our crazy household. Sorry for rambling but there's just so many worries in my mind right now.

Me 34; hubby 33; DD 18; DS 7; DD 3; DD 1 on 3/25

 

 

My ds started Adderall first, but the tics increased dramatically so he was changed to Concerta - he's always had one or two "tics" (I think just from his nerves) that he does for awhile and then go away only to bring on a new one entirely - sometimes I think they even rotate . They were still noticeable to me on Concerta - when asked, some teachers noticed, some did not. Now on Daytrana, I'd say they're a little less, but he still does the clearing throat, opening mouth, shrugging shoulders, etc. just not as often. I've come to the point of acceptance now knowing this med seems to work the best for him so far and the frequency is less.

Look at the overall view, at first some of these tics will drive you crazy, but many also go away or lessen over time. If the med is doing it's job, and the tics lessen and don't appear to be a problem in social situations, I would give a new med some time to see it's effectiveness and if the tics subside.

Ah yes, the school staff pressure. Lovely, isn't it? Well, welcome. This is a pretty good support group actually . Whenever I've had some ADHD-related crisis, I get immediate feedback here. Seems like it would be better than the in-person type. You can ask WHATEVER you want because you are anonynous! LOL. Check out the ADHD medication board for tic issues. And for discipline, check out the Marbles thread at the top here.

All of the stimulant meds have "tics" as a listed side effect. There are meds to control the tics, and therre are also non stimulant meds out there.

You really did not have to wait 10 days, Concerta is out of the system within hours, and has no residuals.

So sorry you are having to go through this. But I think it really is the rule that you have to try multiple meds before you find the one that works the best. It took us about a year to find the right ones for dd. In our case (dd has an LD also), I felt that she would fall farther and farther behind academically unless we medicated. She just wasn't able to absorb all the information coming at her in first grade. After meds, she went from being behind academically to being on track. Not all at once, of course, but she was able to keep catching up over time. Such a relief for us I cannot tell you!My son started Concerta18mg last week after not having success with Strattera (a non stimulant); my situation is probably scarier since he is prone to tics. He has been on Concerta for about six days and I have not noticed tics yet. I have too much hope in this med since I already started to notice some progress; but at the same time I am terrified with the tics issue. I hope everything remains as it is. The doc wants to for wait a month before upping dose to see how he does with tics if they happen to show up.