adhd medication and tics | ADHD Information

Hi Ta jane, my daughter has had tics in the past. Hers seem to be directly related to meds. When not on stimulants, no tics. Although she is now taking a small dose of methylin along with Strattera and is "tic free". I agree with John to discuss with your doctor. Our doctor has always changed meds for us if the tics were significant and sounds like his are. Sometimes my daughter has a passing eye blink tic that we cna live with, but if she is constantly blinking or scrunching her face, or whistling or jumping, all tics she's had in the past, we stopped the med. Some were worse than others. Always gone when we were using non stimulants, like Strattera or some of the different antidepressants. The best way to know if the tics is being caused by the stimulant, obviously is to stop the stimulant and see what happens. The reduction in tics for my dd was immediate and generally after the first week or so off they'd be gone. hey thanks so much for your replies, i'm really grateful. I am trying to get an appointment with my sons doctor at his clinic so that i can get something sorted out.
I feel a little better knowing that my son is not the only one having this problem. Once again thanyou.

my 8 year old son has been taking ritalin for a year now, he is on 10mg 3 times a day. Over the past 4 months he has developed vocal tics and now most recently (last week or so) he has begun to jerk his neck from side to side then backwards. Has anybody else experienced anything like this? I've been trying to find out if it is a side effect of the ritalin or if it could be tourettes but all the sites i've been looking on have conflicting opinions on the matter. Can anybody help please.

Hi and welcome Tra-jane!  There's quite a few postings similar to yours on this message board--you might want to click on the search tab and check some of them out...  I read up on tics (muscle, not vocal) after I started twitching using adderall (like Ritilan, a stimulant med.).  I agree with you, there's lots of conflicting stuff written, all the way from "at sign of first tic, stop medication and try another" to "stimulant meds don't cause tics, but will make them worse in someone who already has them".   Not much help, really!

You should discuss these tics with your doctor immediately.  From what I gather, there is a chance both types (vocal and muscular) may persist after the medication is stopped, though this is rare.   It'd be good to also discuss with your doctor something called Tourettes syndrome, and to explore whether or not any other family members experience vocal and/or body tics.

Bottom line advice from me:  talk to your doctor.  If doctor says not to be concerned, get a second opinion from another doctor.  If this is the first ADHD med your son has tried, discuss with your doctor switching to another med for a trial.  It appears that the most common course to avoid tics when medicating for ADHD is to use a non-stimulant.  As always, it's a balancing act between treatment and quality of life comprised of three equally important actors: you, your child, and the doctor you have confidence in.