Anyone have Tourettes & ADHD? | ADHD Information

Hi...does anyone else have both Tourettes and Adult ADD/ADHD? I have had both since age 6 (am 55 now), but only dx'd in last two years. During the 1950s, I was just considered a hyper, over rambutious kid who couldn't keep my mouth shut or sit still for more than a minute (I'm still called a yo-yo). As I was growing up, no one ever questioned all my tics (legs, arms, head). Oh how different my life may have been if I'd been dx'd back then. Although I have had many interesting lives.

I currently take both a mood stabilizer, which helps with mood swings, anxiety, anger and outbursts, and Paxil 80mg for depression (high dosage helps some with tics). I don't want to take any of the ADHD meds because I've read they all can make tics worse, even Wellbutrin. I would love to be able to focus more on what is needed to be done, like cleaining my home. I have no motivation for anything! The only one who seems to accept me as I am and love me unconditionaly is my feline roommate! And when I think no one is watching me walk down the street, I look like a contortionist. Should I join the circus?   

I self medicated many years with alcohol...however, am proud to say I've been clean and sober for 12 years. I can't even count the number of jobs I've had over the years, even after my sobriety. I either quit because of boredom, confrontations with co-workers, or asked to leave.

Any input from you lovely people who have helped me feel I'm not alone any more? At least I can concentrate (more like hyperfocus) on reading your posts in this forum, hoping to find a med that will help with both. It beats going out and making a fool of myself, like opening mouth, inserting foot.      

Thanks!
GypsyWomyn38363.0256828704 hi,,i am a grandmother of 7,,raising three of them,,,two of them have adhd,,,and more hang ons,,,but one has adhd,bipolar,tourettes,,the meds she is using is lamicatal,lithium, clonidine,and benydril,,,it helps with her ticks,,,but what about outburst,,attitude,,and hormones,,,,she is 10 now,,,did you go thru that,,and what can i do to help her I have both Tourettes and ADD. I have had symptoms since age 3. I was diagnosed Add as a child, but the Doc. said my tics were caused by the Hyperness. I was diagnosed Tourettes at age 26. My tics became very mild as I became an adult. I started ADDerall xr 20 mg about 4 months ago. I am now taking 30mg. I notice a slight increase in tics when I up the dose or when I start back after a break. After a few days I seem to aclamate and tics settle back down.

Adderal used to make me grind my teeth and bite my cheeks accidentally or my lips or whatever, it was not fun.    I have a form of Tourettes in that I play and chew on my hair.  Medication actually helped me not play with it for a while, but then it came back.

I think that if you stopped taking your meds for a while to see if the tics go away, then you would know if it is caused by the meds or not.  Can you take a break?  I know people sometimes take a vacation from meds to make them more effective when they go back on.

My little brother was diagnosed ADHD and Tourettes.  He never went on any medication though, because my mom didn't believe in the diagnosis -- why she even took him to a shrink, I don't know.  Think the school may have recommended it or something.  Anyway, my other brother and I, and I'm sure many other of our siblings (theres 11 of us) have ADHD and her solution for ANY kind of 'disorder' that wasnt a physical one was going to talk to a priest through the Catholic Diocese!  So my poor little brother with Tourettes and ADHD (and OCD and I'm sure Bipolar too) had to see a priest as his treatment!  He died before he was able to get out of the house and on his own seeing a real doctor.

I wonder if I do - but am confused about it.

I've been on dexedrine spansules (30mg twice a day).  I've been on them for 10 months now.

When I started them I had no symptoms.  I never had as a child, and my parents don't have it and say they know of no tourette's in the family going way back.

Now, the last 2 months I've had symptoms I don't know about.  Firstly, I've been finding myself grinding my teeth all day - involuntarily.  I can stop for a while - but it's distracting.  I know that clenching the jaw is part of any long-term use of amphetamines (as per the websites for adderal and dexedrine).  Now what disturbs me is that recently I find when not thinking about much of anything (like at work while busy), I'll spot myself making grimacing faces and moving my tongue around in odd ways.  I never feel it - but can spot it when I stop and concentrate.

Now - is this another rarer symptom of long-term use, or a form of tourette's?  I don't want to bother going to the MD with this yet (it's not causing trouble yet), but thought I'd pass it around and see if any of you have dealt with this.

I wouldn't worry if it was tourette's - I always knew there was a risk of getting it to come forward if there's some genetic background.  But would like to know if it is - so I can be prepared as I hear it doesn't get better if you have it .  If it comes to my meds or a tourette's there's no contest.  I'll keep the tourettes thanks!

 

- Glen

Hi. I don't have tourette's but I do have autism along with adult add/adhd, along with other problems. Also, as a kid I was really hyper, my punishment as a kid was being sent to my room alot, often times I enjoyed going to my room to just get away from all the noise. Mainly I was hyper at home because I felt safe at home. Still even to this day, I have some sensory issues like I did as a child, just not as severe. Something that I still do from childhood is "stimming". Stimming is a part of autism, it's to cope with heavy sensory issues in our environment if there's too much of it going on, like..in a classroom which can be noisy. One of the things I do is rock, I've done it for 21 years now. Not on a rocking chair neither, but on the couch. I rock in the car as well, and it moves sometimes and people have noticed. The most times that I rock are when I'm listening to music and alot of times I turn it up loud, and according to my mother "too loud". Other things I stim about are: hand flapping, hand clapping, cog-wheeling (it's a certain wrist movement). I hope to hear from you again.  
        GypsyWoman > >     I'm glad to hear that your
sober and clean {did you just take a shower
[yuk,yuk] }. I understand the self-medicating with
alcohol, having been down that road a while back.
But it's lonely road that leads to nowhere.

p.s. Don't hyper-FOCUS do long, you could burn a
        hole in your moniter !