I read somewhere that they don't like to prescribe stimulants to patients that have tics, because it can make them worse.

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My son also has ADHD & a Tic Disorder, he is taking stratera as well. He has always taken it in the evening to help him calm down & sleep along w/taking Focalin in the AM. We have tried many different stimulants w/him both long acting & short acting & I found the Focalin short acting to work the best b/c of his tics. Sometimes stimulants make children's tics worse & the long acting ones seem to for my son. I have just stopped the Focalin for the summer to see how it goes actually. I hope that helps a little.

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I am currently reading a book on ADHD and comorbidities and it talked about tics and Tourette's Syndrome. They mentioned that there have been studies that have shown that in some cases stimulants actually decreased the tics for some of the patients. They also found that in some situations, a low dose of methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta, Focalin) did slightly increase the tics but at a higher dose of methylphenidate the tics decreased. It also mentioned that the addition of another medication, such as clonidine, may help to control the tics.

I hadn't read up that much on tics before since we don't have that problem but perhaps you can find out more information at www.chadd.org or www.drthomasebrown.com Not all doctors keep up on the latest research and findings, especially if ADHD is not their specialty. There may be more helpful information out there. I am curious myself so I plan to research it also.

Good luck, Elaine

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I found a good article called, "Management of Comorbid ADHD and Tics" while googling ADHD and Tics. I'm not computer saavy but I'll give you the web address I was at and hopefully you will be able to access it.

www.neuropsychiatryreviews.com/apr01/npr_apr01_adhd.html

If it doesn't work then google search for ADHD and Tics and you will find several different links on the subject.

Elaine

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Thank you for the information. I have heard about that clonidine also. I am going to have to ask his pediatrician if he will prescribe it in addition to his stratterra and ask him about the focalin. I really like those websites also.

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Hi, my son just turned 8 yrs old. We have tried stimulant medications and they seem to help for a week and then stop working completely. We have changed the dosage and that doesn't help either. He started developing tics and I wanted to take him off the medicine. My husband wants to treat our son with meds, but it kills me to give it to him when I don't see any results. We have tried Focalin XR 5mg, 10mg, 15mg, 20mg, Adderall 10mg and Daytrana patch. We had to give him Prevacid when we tried the adderall, but not with others. The adderall and Focalin (15 & 20 mg) gave him 'devil' fits when he came off the meds. He had horrible, scary mood swings. He would go from quiet to screaming mad and then cry. The patch did nothing at all for him. I put him on a 'vacation' from meds over the summer and today was the first day he was back on Focalin. We are thinking of switchig to Strattera. I hear good and bad about it and I know it's trial and error with each cihld. My oldest took Focalin XR 5mg for 2 years and is now on 10mg. It works well with him (14yrs old), but he's not hyper. My youngest son (8 yrs old) is extremely hyper, also has hyperfocus and talks your ears off. :-) He is extremely intelligent, but I just can't get him to concentrate and complete his work. The hyperactivity does not bother me. I mean he is a young child. However, he has been held back twice! I really wish I could give him one-on-one attention, but I can't afford to stop working. Good luck to all and thanks for all the postings.

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