thanks for the reply JO58! We have been on this med roller coaster going on 3 years now.. We have tried Ritalin, Metadate CD, Concerta, and now Dexedrine Spanules.. They have all caused negative side effects, including the tics , which go away shortly after he comes off of them. Im hoping this round of tics go away because they are quite disturbing and he is embarrased by them. We started tenex beause of the tics, but since it didn't work anymore, we felt like why give it to him (it scared me that its actually a high blood pressure med), I got really scared with the headaches when we tried to increase it.
Im praying he is able to manage at school unmedicated. Im just waiting for the phone to ring if you know what i mean..
Daytrana doesn't cause tics? That is something we haven't tried yet.. That will probably be our next med if he can't manage at school.
sjbmom, we have the same story, basically. Most stims caused significant tics that subside once we stop the stim. Tenex didnt help either. We used Daytrana and the tics were for sure LESS. They werent' absent, but liveable. We ended up stopping it for other reasons. I think it definitely worth a try though.
We are now using Strattera and recently added 10mg of methylin ER and seem to be in good shape, but this is a new combo. Every other stim the tics started immediately, so I am thinking we might be ok with the Methylin ER.
my 10 year old son was on dexedrine spansules 15 mg. and tenex 1 mg am, 1mg pm for this past year. he was on tenex because of tics he developed from the stimulant. Tenex helped for a couple of months and then the tics came back with a venegance. Pyschiatrist suggested increasing tenex which we tried, yet it gave him horrible headaches, and extreme tiredeness. We are now back to square one, and decided to pull him off of everything, to give his little body a break for the summer. (it takes a long time to decrease the tenex.) Has anyone taken their child off of tenex, and if so, are there any side effects that i should look out for? I 'm not so sure he will be able to manage without any stimulant for the remainder of school, yet I am afraid to put him on them because of the tics.HELP!!
Have you tried any other stimulants? They effect each person differently and each stim can effect your child differently. Just because one stimulant causes tics for your child doesn't mean they all will. It seems like the Daytrana patch may have less tics associated with it.
I am sorry the tenex didn't work out for you. My dd is still in the intial stages of tenex so I don't know about stopping other than you have to wean them off slowly to avoid side effects. Because of the tiredness we dropped dd to just 1/4 of a pill in the a.m. for 4 days then went to 1/2 of a pill and that made a big difference. She is now on .5mg in the am and .5mg in the afternoon along with adderall XR in the am and sometimes still an adderall booster for sports or homework. Right now it is not sedating for her but I know we have to increase slowly to avoid the tiredness. DD has never had any tics, we started tenex to augment the adderall because she was still hyper and impulsive even on higher doses of stimulants. So far, the tenex does seem to help her stay calm and really helps with impulsiveness. Her behavior is much more age appropriate. It took a while to see results and our plan is to increase the tenex slowly up to 1-2 mg am and pm and hopefully take away the adderall just for the summer. So far I really like the effect the tenex has on her personality. On stimulants she could get in her own little world and didn't interact that great with her peers. SHe seems much more aware of what is going on around her and much more chatty with the tenex on board. I hope it keeps working for her but I hate to get my hopes up.
I hope that you find something that works for your son with out the side effects. There are lots of med choices out there so don't give up. Good Luck!
JO5839573.2528935185yes Methylin is generic Metadate. Not Metadate CD, but Metadate ER (extended release). So far she's eating, no tics, no rebound, not sure we're where we need to be but it wasnt a disaster, it's only been 1 week with the combo. Short actings tend to be worse for her for tics. It is methylphedinate. She ahted the pacth and at 13 almost 14, I am trying to include her in all these major decisions............it makes it harder and she knows I get the final say, but I am trying to repsect her feelings when she really doesnt like something.
FYI-
I have a friend with 10 yo dd with the hyper/impulsive ADHD and they have been on the med rollercoaster for years too. Her pediatric psychiatrist refered her to a neurologist b/c of the tics she was getting with the stimulants. Since the fall, the neurologist has had her on Daytrana in the am and clonidine at night only and she has been doing great, by far the best she has ever done with no tics.
Diane-that is great that your dd's current combo seems to be working. What is methylin, some sort of ritalin drug? I hope the success continues for her.
we just started adding tenex to dd's adderall. We did .5 mg in the afternoon for a week and overall she did well. So we've been giving .5 mg in the morning WITH her adderall XR 30 and continuing with the .5 mg in the afternoon. Today is day 3 of .5 mg a.m. and p.m. Here's the thing she is SOOOO tired during the day and almost out of it but not in the afternoon/evening. I kept her home from school today b/c she is so tired and sluggish. I thought that since she takes the adderall in the morning along with the tenex we wouldn't see such tiredness during the day. It's almost like the tiredness is worse w/ the combo in the morning vs. the tenex alone in the afternoon. I wonder if the adderall contributes to the tiredness??? SHe has always actually slept better with the adderall in her system. Concerta on the other hand tends to keep her up. Maybe I shoud try the tenex with concerta instead.
I wonder how long it will take her body to adjust? Since she's been on the 1/2 mg for 3 days now, should I just stick with it or drop down to 1/4mg for a couple of days first. I feel like we will never get to the right dose if every time we add 1/2mg we have to go through this for a week. I'd love any advice!
Thanks!
JO5839566.2850115741Tenex lowers the BO, so that may be why she is tried. I would try .25 in the evenings, and see if that works, or try .25 in the am also.