Muscle & joint pain | ADHD Information

My son is having muscle spasms and joint pain in the wrists and ankles now that he is on medication for add. When the dosage is increased the pain is more pronounced. The doctor says it is not a side effect. He is on Concerta 18mg. We tried Adderall and he still had the pain. Has anyone had this experience? All extensive blood tests have come back normal. Any ideas?

Try stimulating the muscles by having him rub his wrists and ankles in soft, circular motions.

Causes could be a lack of nutrition in the blood, or since Adderall is a vasoconstrictor, it could be the lack of blood flow in his outer appendages.

It's no coincidence that the pain is in the wrists and ankles...many people complain of having cold hands and feet because of a decrease in circulation.

Good luck.
I don't know.  If he hasn't had any other meds that may have that side effect, I'd consider a second opinion.  Hope you find an answer.The doctors did all sorts of blood tests and nothing has been found. Muscle spasms or joint pain are not a noted effect of Concerta or Adderall. Raquel, I'd see the doctor.  My son had severe muscle spasms on Risperdal (a noted, but unusual side effect).  The spasms got so bad after a week that he could not put any weight at all on his feet for a couple of hours after taking two Benedryl (doctor's order).  He was taken off the med.  I don't think I'd mess around with muscle spasms.  I'd talk about alternatives.  Good luck.

Nuclearvenus, so glad you wrote. Thanks for the heads up.

lavendar oil and chamomile are good relaxers. Give flaxseed oil or fish oils or joint replenexer might help also. Most adhd kids have joint issues do to spine issues as we found out in our son. He was given a ful xray at a Chiropractors office. They found his discs are not all moving properly. Unfortunately this isn't covered on our Ins.

Thanks!

If anyone else's child experienced this type of pain on Concerta and Adderall, let me know. Decreasing the dosage has made a difference in the pain. Unfortunately, the ADD is more pronounced at a lower dosage. But for now, that is the trade off.

 

Raquel,  I had a lot of joint pain, too, when I started on ADD meds, and this may sound strange, but it has really worked for me.  Baking soda!  Weird idea, even longer story.  I first found out about it from my acupressurist.  He is a very interesting Korean man who believes that the government is trying to keep us sick by putting Vitamin C in everything.  He says it makes our bodies too acidic, which we have a problem with anyway because Americans tend to have a very acidic diet (coffee, juice, etc).  Anyway, he was trying to work out a particularly tense knot in my back, and it hurt so badly I couldn't relax enough to let him push on it.  He disappeared and came back with a cup of water with a small amount of baking soda in it.  I swear, no less than a minute later, he was able to push on the same spot with very little pain at all!  Now, I don't know if I completely buy his theory, and this is way beyond what you're asking, but I have begun to hear that acidic environments are more conducive to illnesses like cancer, and he says taking baking soda balances our ph levels out, because it is alkaline.  When I read that some AD/HD medications cause joint aches, I began taking it faithfully  Taking a half teaspoon of baking soda twice a day helped my joint aches tremendously.  I found it takes about a week.  I have a hard time remembering (or even wanting) to swallow a mouthful of baking soda and water, so I made up capsules with empty gelcaps from the health food store and just take it with my vitamins.  I have no idea what a medical doctor would say to this or if there are any possible negative effects.  I haven't had any.  It might just be crazy enough to work.  Good luck!cheyanne38505.0042939815

Wow, Thanks Cheyanne. This brings hope! Thanks for the tip on the empty gelcaps! (and yes, I'll check to make sure my son's doctor says there's no harm).

Raquel

 

Ok, about the baking soda idea.  If you think baking soda is a good idea for relieving stress... MAKE SURE  you aren't on any amphetamine related ADD medications (adderall, dexi, ritalin, concerta etc.) baking soda increases the absorption of the amphetamine and will make you feel like you're own some kind of cheap street upper.  This can be found in the fine print on  drug interactions if you look for it.  So watch out for that baking soda thing... it's not a good idea.