Stimulants cause terrets syndrome in my s | ADHD Information
My son is extremely sleepy on Strattera and his teacher said the same thing, just not acting like himself and out of it. SO, the psychiatrist told us to give it to him at night. Have you thought about that?I'm sorry to hear that your son is going through this. Stimulant medications don't cause tourettes syndrome but in some chidlren they can cause a temporary tic disorder which goes away once the meds are stopped. Some children develop a sensitivity towards stimulant medication and just can't take them or sometimes the dose is too high and needs to be adjusted or changed. Straterra is a blood level medication and can take up to 6 weeks before the full benefit is seen and as the abover poster suggested, maybe you should try giving it to him at night. Please come back and let us know how your son is doing as there are some very supportive people on this board who totally understand.My son was diagnosed as having ADHD at age 4. At age 5 he was started on 10mg of adderall XR. The first day he took it I noticed that he was making noises and movements which he was unable to control and didnt even seem to know that he was doing it. When I brought this to the doctors attention I was informed that stimulant medications can bring out turrets syndrom in some kids. They decreased the dose to 5mg which stopped the turrets but was totally ineffective in controlling his impulsive and hyperactive behaviors. A rediagnosis of ODD was made and they stopped the adderall and put him on a mood stabalizer. This has helped to stop the severe ups and downs but the impulsive and hyperactivity continued. So they put him on 10 mg of ritalin 2x per day and for 2 1/2 months it was perfect. I had the kid i always hoped he would be. Then one morning he awoke and the ritalin was of no use anymore. His doctor put him on ritalin LA which we stopped after 2 days because the turrets was so bad he was suspended from school for doing things he not only didnt know he was doing but was beyond his control. Back to the doctor where they decided to skip concerta since it will most likely do the samr thing and try strettera. That was yesterday. He came home from school and fell asleep until this morning. I talked to his teacher and she said that he didnt seem like himself at all yesterday.
Is there anyone out there with some advice as to what I can do to help him? He is so smart. His teacher said that he is one of the most brilliant kids she has ever taught. But the behavior is so uncontrollable I dont know what to do anymore. I am embarassed to send him to school because he is so impulsive I just dont know what he will do from one day to the next.
Jessica,Does your son confirm what the teacher says he
does? I wonder if — but am not suggesting that —
it's not as bad in class as she's making it out to be. I
know of a teacher who, after a couple of episodes
with a child starting medication and adjusting, began
to target him. She even singled him out in class
several times.
She doesn't do it in the presence of other adults,
though.
Have you tried standing outside the door and
watching for yourself, without your son or the teacher
knowing?
What does your son say about class?
And don't be embarrassed. Your child is gifted in a
way that others aren't.
Also, I don't know about your son's class, but at my
son's school, they only get one recess. They might
get two if they all behave really well and the sun is
out and it's warm. But I live in Ohio, so it's safe to
assume they get one. That is insane. I don't know
how any kid, especially boys, ADHD or no ADHD, can
sit in a chair for six hours and listen to the same
teacher day in and day out.
Believe me: I understand your worry and frustration.
I'm feeling it now. But get his side of the story, too.
ScottyboySleepyness My son is on Strattera with depakote given together. He was sleepy before. I think it's also a long day for kids. After a while the tiredness is subsiding. I give a snack after school (high protein).This seems to help keep him stay awake longer. I let him nap for 1 hr.tops then wake up .do home work,dinner , bath bed 930tops. If home work not done finish in morning. Our school gives lots of homework also.They are very standards here. I never had homework this young. Ous school has Saxon math so that work is just duplicate work from class. What ever happened to being a kid too! rshn
I know how you're feeling about the school thing. My son is very bright also, but is ADD, with some of the H. He was also defiant, and I realized had a lot of social anxiety. He didn't know how to make friends and interact with kids, he'd just annoy them and drive them away. We'd tried tenex, which my psychiatrist says it has been used for 10 years to treat symptoms of aggression and impulsivity. It's main use is for high blood pressure, but to my knowledge the side affects is headache and lathargy for about 1 week, then once the body adjusts he was fine. The one thing I didn't want is a med that made my son some kind of zombie. He isn't super hyper, but he does have aggressive behavior, and oppositional defiant behavior that was making his life harder on him. We have noticed marked improvements!! He took 1/4 of a 1mg pill to start, then up to 1/2 pill. For everyone it's different. Your son could try less, then more depending on his weight adn age. good luck!
About the school system, don't feel embarrassed and don't let them make you feel guilty or like you're doing something wrong. They should be educated on this disorder and it symptoms and how it affects our outstanding special children. They should have resources, and help for you and by law must make adjustments in classroom structure to help him in a normal classroom environment. Search on google.com for more information on classroom structure, teaching methods, etc. that will help your son have success and feel good about himself in the classroom. For example, he needs to be in the front of the class where the teacher teaches, so she can keep him focused. If they need an additional aide in the class to help out then, the school needs to provide that. I have just found, that our school has teachers who are good and teachers who don't want to be bothered, and want to seperate these children from others in the class in the name of distraction. Empower yourself to educate your school on their obligations under IDEA and the 504 laws.
good luck
edhmom
One more thing....
the school needs to provide special opportunities if your son needs it to have that extra play time and get out his energy. The teacher, only on her own perspective will judge him to be distracting, or hyper, while for others that may be normal boy behavior. They cannot! suspend him from school or havehim sit out his recess or lunch as a punishment. Don't let them do that, it's ineffective and inappropriate way to have consequences for his disorder. Always get a second opinion from a qualified adolescent and child psychiatrist. I've met a few quacks in my day that claimed to be "Dr.s" but weren't!
Go to www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/add_adhd/ael_legal.html to empower yourself to be an advocate for your son.
good luck,
edhmom
Thank You all for your input
My son has been on strettera for a little over a week and I think it is helping some. The first 5 days he was on it the school called on the average of twice per day. He wasnt doing anything real bad like he did on ritalin. Things like flipping up his finger and grabbing at his crotch. And on ritalin he was so angry a lot of the time and just couldnt seem to vent it the right ways. On strettera he seems a lot happier throughout the days. The sleepiness wore off after a couple days so i started giving it in the morning again, it seems to work better during the day when i give it in the morning rather than at night. Yesterday he brought home 5 smilies on his daily behaivor log at school, and he only has 4 goals but he did so well all day his teacher gave him an extra oneToday he brought home 2 which we consider to be good because if it wasnt very hard for him to get any one smilie we probably wouldnt have it on the list of goals. And considering the first week on strettera he brought home 2 smilies the whole 5 days i have to say
. Maybe i will get lucky and this will work well.
The turrets syndrome from the ritalin seems to be wearing off. We are still seeing some noises and stuttering but the more time that passes the less we see.
Good Lord, a 4 year old child being prescribed 10 mg of a drug that is highly addicitve and has never even been approved for use in children. God help him.
Jessica, these drugs do not BRING OUT Tourettes in children, they CAUSE Tourettes in children. This is a long known fact and it appears in the medical reference books. It is inconceivable to medical ethicists that a doctor (I'm sure a psychiatrist) would encourage you to take such dangerous action.
In most cases, the tics caused by these drugs are the manifestation of PERMANENT nerve damage. That was a high dose. It is difficult to imagine what circumstances would be deemed "appropriate" for giving that drug for a four year old, who is not even in school yet. I sure hope you find the proper advise to wean him off all of those immediately.
The above poster is a troll[QUOTE=bugzappers]
Well that makes it all clear
[/QUOTE]
I'm sorry, but I have to laugh. Oldtimer aka Pastmember aka Brent and what were some of his other names?? Sorry, but your comment Bugz just made me ROTFLOL!
[quote]When in our Dr.'s office yesterday I saw a Adarall add that said Turette's can be caused by this medacine. R Nelson[/quote]
Yep ... that's a standard leftover from the days before the newer studies, and here's an explanation for how that myth came about, from the head of a neuropsychiatry clinic in Vancouver, and a former member of the Tourette Syndrome Association Medical Advisory Board:
Roger Freeman MD on how the tics/stimulants myth came about:
http://www.tourette-confusion.blogspot.com/
Tourette Syndrome: Minimizing Confusion:
"Why Do Books Say That You Should Never Give a Stimulant Drug to Someone With Tics/TS?
There was an observation on a few cases over 25 years ago that some children with ADHD, given a stimulant like Ritalin or Dexedrine, developed tics. This seemed to confirm some animal research showing that high doses of these drugs brought out stereotyped behaviour. For years after this publication, no one had the nerve to continue treating a person who developed tics, to see what would happen. Then drug companies were sued in the US, claiming that the childrens' TS was caused by the drug. The Scientologists picked this up and (through their "Citizens Commission on Human Rights") started warning people that if their child takes Ritalin, he/she will develop TS. To this day, the warning remains in the US and Canadian drug books, despite much clinical experience and research that shows this is not usually so. A recent study showed that roughly 22% of children taking any drug (including Ritalin) had an increase of tics temporarily. ADHD normally starts in very early childhood, so when TS followed, it was assumed that the drug was the cause; at that time TS was thought to be very rare, so something external had to be causing it. We use stimulants for concurrent ADHD fairly often, regardless of whether the child has TS, and have been doing so for years. But don't expect to see the warning removed from books any time soon!"
And this from the published journal report of a current member of the TSA MAB:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/02/020226075048.ht m
New Treatment Options For Children With ADHD
“This is an effective medicine that doctors have been told for decades not to use in children with tics, such as children with Tourette’s syndrome,” says lead author Roger Kurlan, M.D., a neurologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center. “There’s even a warning in the Physician’s Desk Reference, and for 40 years physicians have avoided treating children with ADHD and tics with Ritalin because of a fear that the tics would worsen. But the warning was based on slim evidence and had never really been checked out thoroughly.”
Other journal-published literature:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&a mp;db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12930697&qu ery_hl=3
Tourette's Syndrome: are stimulants safe?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&a mp;db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11865128&qu ery_hl=6
Treatment of ADHD in children with tics: a randomized controlled trial.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&a mp;db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15319016&qu ery_hl=9
Emergence of tics in children with ADHD: impact of once-daily OROS methylphenidate therapy
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&a mp;db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12449103&qu ery_hl=9
Ritalin is okay for kids with both ADHD and Tourette's syndrome, study says.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&a mp;db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11835432&qu ery_hl=9
Methylphenidate to treat ADHD is not contraindicated in children with tics.
--
Tourette Syndrome - Now What?
http://tourettenowwhat.tripod.com
Thank you very much! Now here is some unbiased information! Woo Hoo!
Yeah, TNSW!!!! Now I got me a lot of readin' ta do!
Glad your back. I though you hate my posts anyhow. We have been having battles with professionals over our sons dx since he was 4 months old and he's 9 now. I feel know one can make a proper choice if the dx is not correct. I am basing our sons dx. on my own source of all his history and time I spend with him. I am with him more than anyone. No one wants to tell us I guess cause of the reaction they might get from me. I am a x epileptic Ld adult. Meds only improved my concentration and that was it. Even with them I still had a hard time. I just feel meds bandaid the truth. With the cause you can not really get proper treaments. Regular med bandaids and doesn't look for the root cause. They just look at symptoms only. Alternative looks at the whole body. It looks at the blood and urine results. These tell you what is causing the body to act that way.
R Nelson
Well that makes it all clear
Look, if you want to help your kids and yourself, SEEK medical attention.
Like NEUROLOGY, and NEUROLOGICAL PSYCOLOGISTS.
Any university medical center can point you in the direction you need.
And there are NO CURES FOR 99%, Just about everything is a band-aid.
Cancer, no cure. adhd, no cure. Heart Disease, no cure. Flu, no cure. Colds, no cure.
The only cure there is for some things is the removal of the organ.
gallstones, appendix, etc.
So seeking cures is a waste of time.
old timer
stick to your alternative posts on the alternative boards, you have millions.
like we can't figure out who you are.
Check out the book Stopping ADHD. It is a method of exercises that have helped me eliviate many of my ADD symptoms. I know that they help.
I was dx ADD a few years ago, but since doing these exercises, my symptoms have diminished a lot! I have a better memory, organizational skills, etc.
The exercises are all in the book. It doesn't cost much. It is definitely worth the read. There are a couple of others trying it out. Check out the alternative board and the debate board for my posts on there for more information.
Good luck to you and your son.
Here is a summary of the latest research about tics and stimulants:
http://tourettenowwhat.tripod.com/tics_and_stimulants.htm
http://p082.ezboard.com/ftourettesyndromenowwhatfrm5.showMes sage?topicID=74.topic
Tourette's syndrome is a genetic disorder that hits a small percentage of the population. Medication won't cause it but can bring it to the surface and make it seem worse.
There are combinations of anti-tic medication with Ritalin or other stimulants that can give your child the best way to both control the ADHD and not make the Tourette's symptoms worse.
Hopefully you won't be totally turned off the stimulant solution as it works best with children and there really isn't a good substitute. There are many anti-tic meds that no longer cause the extreme sleepiness that they used to in the past.
Good luck to you and yours Jessica - there is a good end to all of this.
[quote]Tourette's syndrome is a genetic disorder that hits a small percentage of the population. [/quote]
Tourette's and tic disorders are now known to be relatively common. Recent research shows that almost 20% of school-age children have tics , and almost 4% have Tourette's. These new numbers show that Tourette's and tics aren't rare.
http://www.tsa-usa.org/what_is/Faqs.html
http://www.tourettesyndrome.net/tourette_primer2.htm
[quote] Medication won't cause it but can bring it to the surface and make it seem worse.
There are combinations of anti-tic medication with Ritalin or other stimulants that can give your child the best way to both control the ADHD and not make the Tourette's symptoms worse.[/quote]
As posted in the information above, it has been shown by numerous studies that Ritalin doesn't increase tics any more than placebo does ...
http://tourettenowwhat.tripod.com/tics_and_stimulants.htm
When in our Dr.'s office yesterday I saw a Adarall add that said Turette's can be caused by this medacine. R Nelson