Need help with side effects from meds | ADHD Information

Hello,

I'm fairly new to the board and would appreciate your advice on some side
effects from meds that we're dealing with. My 5 year old son recently
started taking Focalin XR and has been on it for 3 weeks. We give him 3/4
of a 5 mg. capsule. For the most part, it has been very positive for him,
but we're concerned about two things:

(1) Tics - he has started developed this throat-clearing tic and a little bit
of eye blinking. It's not enough to be a problem for him or us right now.
The doctor said we should continue with the meds and monitor it. I'm
concerned about these tics becoming permanent. I've read here on the
boards where the tics have eventually gone away as the child gets used to
the medicine; however, another mother mentioned her child's tics never
went away even as the medicine was discontinued. Any other thoughts on
this?

(2) Irritable and grumpy - as the meds wear off he gets VERY grumpy and
irritable. It's manageable with 3/4 of a capsule, but if I up it to a 5 mg.
capsule he's a monster. Is this normal?

(3) If the tics do become a problem, have any others had success with
switching to another stimulant that didn't cause the tics. It sounds like
there are mixed reviews on how Straterra works.

Thank you!My son was on FocalinXR and now that he doesn't take it I can really see the changes it made in him. He had nightime tics, mightime stomachaches, He said he felt like his personality was gone, dialted pupils, He felt different and the rebound was no pleasure either. If he was having tics I would look into another med after this period of time.my daughter gets tics from stimulants. Yes they DO go away. For us not until we stopped the med, but once we stopped the med, the tics stopped. If the tics were not bothersome and he was doing great and no other side effects, I'd live with that as long as possible, but it sounds like the rebound is fairly significant too? You can try a different stimulant, or Strattera. We are having good success with Strattera. It doesnt cause all that nervousness/anxiousness that the stimulants caused with my daughter. Some people add Guanfacine (Tenex) to their stimulant, this can ease rebound and decrease tic activitiy. It did do this for us, but in our case not enough and the anxiety and weight loss were still present, so we stopped the stims altogether........for now anyway..............

Well my daughter is not extremely hyper. Her main issue is distractability and inattention. Her hyperactivity is in the form of fidgeting, up and down, hopping when standing still, but not running around out of control, even when she was young. She is impulsive, but not terribly so, the same things, getting up from her desk at school, just not able to NOT poke you in the ribs when she's standing behind you, like that. The stimulants stop all that stuff, but make her hyperfocus and increase anxiety and nervousness a lot, tics and signifiacnt weight loss. Plus the issue of unmedicated am and pm. The Strattera is wonderful, she is very much able to stay on task, although we do have to sometimes redirect and prompt her, she can focus on her homework without fighting. It still takes longer than it should, but it gets done. She couldnt even go to the cabinet to get a glass for a drink without meds, without getting off track with all the other things in the cabinet. Or washing and rinsing her hair in the shower without losing focus in the bottle of shampoo and bubble bath on the side of the tub.  Now she can do things. At this point, my giving her one step instructions and reminders is so second nature to me and her, it just happens (she is 13), but unmedicated it wouldnt matter what I said, if I didnt do it with or for her it didnt get done. The Strattera just seems to take the edge off her symptoms without causing any side effects at all. We've never been in this place, many years on many meds, so it is refreshing. She still drives us all crazy with her messy room and having to always have some one with her and forgetting, but at least we can live with her without some much tension and she can actually do things unassisted.

If I were you, I think I'd give it a try, you can always maybe add back a small dose of stimulant in addition to the Strattera. A lot of people do this (we may have to at some point), but it can maybe keep the stim dose down. Just know also, he will mature and some of this hyperactivity will get better just with age. I know that doesnt help you now, but just keep trying.................I hear you on the tics, it is HEARTBREAKING. BTW, the Focalin was one of the worst for us for tics.

Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate it. This morning the tics with
the eye blinking have become more apparent so I think we may need to stop
the stimulants. My son is very hyper and impulsive and I would like to try
Straterra, but I've heard it doesn't always help with hyperactivity very much.
Diane, can you let me know how the Straterra has helped your daughter?
Hyperactivity, focus, impulsiveness?

Thanks!