My son has been on 36mg Concerta plus 5mg Methylphenidate for about 1 year, and began having some relatively minor (shoulder shrugging) tics that progressed to more of a full body shrugging thing. We didnt want to make any change so close to the end of the school year, since the Concerta seemed to be working so well for focus and such, but at appt with psych last month discussed trying Vyvanse to see if the tics would diminish. Worked ok for a couple of weeks then started getting very emotional and tics have now become like this painful to watch shrug-throat clearing-jump-hop thing to the point the child can barely walk across the room. I switched him back today to the Concerta (since I had nearly a whole bottle left) hoping we could just go back to a shrug till we see the psych in 2 weeks, but no help - maybe only worse. Psych has mentioned a couple of times adding Clonidine or Tenex, but I am fearful about adding another med, and especially the blood pressure thing. Has anyone had experience with these whole body tics and what has helped? Any feelings about the clonidine/tenex? Going w/o meds only works on days when we are home all day and will not be interacting with other life-forms
I did give only the methyl. on the weekends when he was on the Concerta, but dont know if i can mix that in with the Vyvanse. I am desperate to find something that will help before school starts or i know he will be ridiculed horribly with all these new tics. We added Tenex to my daughter's stimulant (concerta) to help with tics. It's worked well for us. While it has not made them totally go away (they do appear when she is anxious), but they are greatly reduced. She experiences the eye blinking tic and for a while had deep breathing one. In addition to helping with the tics, she is generally more even keel as well. The effects of the tenex can be subtle and you don't realize how much it helps until you stop.Thanks, Horsemom! When do you give the Tenex? Have you had any issues with blood pressurre? (I think that is the part that is scaring me.)
We give our son clonidine for tics and that helps. He still has a few but not bad. We have noticed no problem with the bllod pressure. I think i works differently on kids. He also takes focalin XR for the adhd. We got the clonidine from the pediatric neurologist- She wanted to start tenex because it has less of the sedating side effects but i read a good article about clonidine and she said we could try that first. I think tenex is prob a better one because it lasts longer.
My son has been on Tenex for the past month, and it works well on his vocal and throat-clearing tics from Focalin.... so much so that in the late afternoon when it's wearing off, the tics noticeably increase (he takes another dose at bedtime).Oh, and it hasn't even touched his blood pressure (I'm a paramedic and I check it often)....
FYI, Vyvanse was totally evil for us as well.... but it works for others.
Audrey
My son is on Tenex not specifically for tics but for the calming effect. It's worked wonderfully for us! We haven't had any blood pressure issues and it just gives him an overall calmer mood. Don't fear adding another medication. It could be exactly what you need!
Good luck!
Well, so far so good - the tics have diminishedthrough the week, though not completely gone - and this weekend we are doing only the clonidine - giving his system a break from stims - and no tics whatsoever. I have seen that he is a good bit calmer. Many thanks for your reassurances - it has made this all so much easier having support from other parents who have BTDT
[QUOTE=100mph]Thanks, Horsemom! When do you give the Tenex? Have you had any issues with blood pressurre? (I think that is the part that is scaring me.)[/QUOTE]Sorry for the delay in responding, I've been out of town. We have had no issues with her blood pressure. They check it both standing and laying down at every appointment - which are 8-10 week apart. We give the tenex in the AM with her stimulate and in evening. The evening time varies from day to day. It depends on when we remember.
Does someone know of a new combo drug that was supposed to be approved this month that would help ADHD and reduce tics?
[QUOTE=MomwHorses]Does someone know of a new combo drug that was supposed to be approved this month that would help ADHD and reduce tics?
[/QUOTE]
i have just read a little about a new drug called Intuniv that has either just been or about to be approved, that is basically a long acting version of Tenex. I am interested to see how it goes...
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