Tenex, Ticks and ADHD meds | ADHD Information

We tried Tenex for tics. It helped but they did not completely go away until we stopped the stimulants. The only medication my daughter can take without tics is Strattera. This is what she is on now. It is helping some with her symptoms, not as sucessfully as the stims, but we've just increased her dose again and will add Provigil if this doesnt work. we are ttrying to stay away from traditional stimulants if we can.

Not sure I was much help, but am in the same boat.

Are you using a pediatrician or psychiatrist?

i can only tell you the good concerta has done for my dd, i have no experience with anything els! exept for melatonine to help her fall asleep in the eavening!

dd does not get mutch side effect from concerta, and it has improuved dramaticly in all aspect, she did loos a few lb, but i'm learning tricks to get the lb back on ( using cream cheese in mashed patatoes is one example)

If you have not tried concerta yet, I would feel more confortable doing that, than giving him all this extra stuff!

 

My son is 10 1/2. He has found success in taking both concerta and tenex. He had NO luck with adderall.

Without the tenex, we found that his concerta alone doesn't do the trick. We learned that when we were figuring out his dosing level.

His only tick is when his meds start kicking in, he will pucker up his mouth, and maybe clear his throat, that is all. We just ignore it.

Maybe try the tenex in addition to his adderall, or try conceta with tenex as well.

Tell the doctor you will never know until you try. If it doesn't work, then there is definelty something else to try! Why not???!!!

All I can say, is with our experience, I highly recommend it. He takes 1 mg each morning along with his concerta.

Let us know how you make out at the doctors.

 

My DD uses Concerta on school days with great results. She takes 27 mgs. I agree about the band aid thing, I would not give it to cover another symptom

I don't know if tenex would necessarily get rid of any ticks. It helps relax my son, helps with anxiety, helps with impulsiveness and hyperactivity.

He does NOT take it for tics. I didn't even know it would be prescribed for that.

Some meds give people/kids tics, some don't, some can't take stimulants because of tics I have read on the boards so they try tenex alone.

Keep trying, and again, let us know how you all make out today!!

I just discovered this message board today. Great timing! This afternoon I am off to the doctor (again) to discuss what to do about my 9-year-old son's medication. I am exhausted and frustrated, hoping for some advice from parents who have been through this. My son tried Adderall, which worked great, but he developed eye ticks. The doctor took him off it right away, telling me that ticks can become a permanent problem with no cure. This scared me to death! We tried other stimulants, same thing. Ticks after a month or so of meds. The doc suggested we try tranquilizers (am I the only one who thinks this sounds horrid for a 9 yr old?), so we gave Buspar a try. The poor kids hasn't had a restful night's sleep since he started it. He sleeps one hour (and that is with some Benedryl the doc said I could give him to help him sleep), then either sleepwalks (never did that before) or wakes up (loudly) upset and confused. His grades are slipping dramatically (on Adderall he got straight A's, was happy and confident) and now he is grumpy and difficult almost constantly. I asked the doc last time if we could try Tenex to prevent or reduce ticks so he could go back on Adderall, or maybe give Concerta a try. He is very conservative (which I appreciate, yet it's a little frustrating), and he said he feels using Tenex would be putting a Band-Aid on something his body is warning us it doesn't like. I am completely confused on which way to go with this. We need to do something soon, my poor son is getting depressed and ready to stop trying at school. Any suggestions? Anyone out there with good or bad experiences with Tenex and Concerta? Thanks!We added Tenex to our Concerta about 7 weeks ago.   We did it mostly to help with tics - which usually happened due to anxiety or when her meds were wearing off.

For us, the combo of the two is working really well.   She is much more manageable in the evenings,  winds down for bed much easier, falls asleep faster and is sleeping much better.    We used to use melatonin to help her fall asleep.   We haven't used it in probably 6 weeks.

I also think she has less anxiety.   I had never really thought of her as being an overly anxious kid, but I've noticed changes since starting the tenex.  

As for the tics,  they have decreased, but not totally gone away.   They are less bothersome to her now then they were before.

Overall, I am happy with the combo.
Thanks so much for all the comments and suggestions! We saw the doc (psychiatrist) today, and he stood firm in his conviction that he wants to stay away from stimulants to avoid those tics. He suggested we try Tenex alone.   It is encouraging to find out what is working for others. Bethann, the symptoms you mention in your reply are what we are dealing with, so I am cautiously optimistic that this may do the trick. Does Tenex help with focus in the classroom? I will let you all know how it turns out. Thanks again!

Hi,

Just adding my two cents. My son developed tics when he was on Wellbutrin and Ritalin LA. Wellbutrin is sometimes used for ADHD because according to my son's doc it has some stimulant in it. His was an eye rolling sort of tic. It annoyed my husband and I but did not seem to bother him. I asked him if he was teased at school and he said no. His doc (psychiatrist) does not like to prescripe meds for tics unless they are vocal tics which will disrupt the class and embarass the child. The tics went away when we slowly stopped the Wellbutrin. My son has an appointment today and I plan on asking if tics can become permanent. I had never heard that. 

I would be curious if anyone's child stopped the tics after a period of adjustment to the stims. I know other side effects diminish over time and I wonder if the tics can too. Or, does the child just trade one tic for another??

Chrys,

Hi, I don't know if it those two things in particular, but is sure is helping with everything overall. I know that it contributes along with the concerta to having a successful day. His grades are GREAT! Mine is in 5th grade and gets letter grades. He will do things that they have told me have never been done academically before. And we live in a town known for having a really good school system.

It is doing something positive for him.
I just can't say that it is for focus, but it must. He is relaxed, paying attention, less impulsive - if at all. So it has to be contributing you would have to think.

I know that it is great in combination with the concerta!!

never went away for us until we stopped the stim. Stims stop so did tics, started a new stim, tics back that day.

we are in the exact same boat.. tried metadate cd, then concerta and now we are on dexedrine spansules..15 mg..  The dexedrine spansules seem to keep him very focused at school, yet the tics are very bothersome..my doctor prescribed tenex, it it used for tic disorder (google tenex). i must be honest and say we haven't seen tremendous improvement yet i was told to hang in there, it sometimes takes a while to work, we might have to increase his dose (right now we are on 1/2 in the pm, 1/2 in the am  tenex does nothing for focus and attention it mainly calms them down and takes away the impulsivity and supposed to help with the tics.. good luck