My 6 year old son has ADHD and Tourette's. He has been taking Metadate (for ADHD) AND Tenex for tics (which was later added when the Metadate made his tics worse). Both prescribed by his Neurologist after what seemed like an exhausting search (and experimentation) for the right meds and doses. We thought we hit the right combination because we felt like we had our lovable, "normal" boy back. He recently started to get up to go to the bathroom at night a lot. We weren't sure if it was anxiety over going back to school (change in routine) or a physical reason. After consulting with his doctor, he felt that the Tenex might be the cause, so we weaned him off in the hopes that the problem will go away and the tics won't be so bad after all. No more midnight bathroom trips several times a night! Instead our son was out of control again when his Metadate wore off mid afternoon and we WAY underestimated how much good the Tenex was doing for him by controlling not only tics, but "bridging the gap" for medicating his ADHD after the Metadate wears off. After a few days, we put him back on the Tenex and he got up to go to the bathroom only once last night. We sometimes feel like sucky parents for making our kid some sort of science experiment with the meds. The payoff? Last year, thanks to the meds, he went from being the "class bully" in kindergarten who couldn't complete an assignment, to making the honor roll the last 2 semesters. Hang in there! It's a tough road sometimes, but the bottom line is we all want to do what is best for our challenging kids so they can feel successful and maintain good relationships with family and friends. If Tenex helps, and behavioral therapy isn't enough (that's a whole other thread!) we choose to give it to him and closely monitor the potential side effects working with his doctor. Good luck and I hope you make the right choice for YOUR child! :)

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Have you tried Melatonin to help him sleep? My 5 yr son has ADHD and he used to lay in his bed awake for hours upon hours after put him to bed. His doctor recommended trying 3mg Melatonin, its over the counter and does not need a perscription. We use Nature Made, 3mg Melatonin. He takes 1 pill a night. It has done wonders to help him get to sleep and he has been sleeping longer with out waking up. We give it to him about 30 min before bed time. During that 30 min he does either quite play or we read stories, which ever he chooses for that night, to also help calm him down. We are also starting him on Tenex after school. He takes 1/4-1/2 of a pill to help easy his hyperactivity once his medication has worn off. Before Tenex he would be bouncing off the walls uncontrolably! He has not had any side effects from it and it has really helped him stay calm but still active like a 5 yr should be. Talk to your doctor maybe Melatonin could help your son sleep too!

I hope this helps! God Bless!

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My son was prescribed tenex in combination with dexedrine at age 10. he has been on concerta then dexedrine since age 6. We saw little difference in the behaviors, until I cut his stimulant dosage down during the summer in half. he took 1 mg of tenex twice a day. He had little or no rebound anger, impulsivity, or defiant behavior. His appetite increased and I found him less stressed. I took him off the stimulants for three weeks and just gave him tenex, WHAT a HUGE difference, happy, hungry, sleepy, normal child. He still is a little hyper, but his impulsivity totally decreased, his anger gone. I was worried that the stimulants were making him too edgy and I was right. I'm not saying it is for everyone , but I'm going to try him on stratera in conjunction with the tenex . If he didn't have to be in school where he is still overly chatty and a little distracted, I would leave him off. its worth a try . again I saw little effects with the tenex and his dexedrine until I decreased it. they don't tell you that it cause a lot of the symptoms for ADHD- stimulants can make you hyper, impulsive, angry ...

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Oops, forgot that I had posted this thread here. I am not a regular poster, but find this a great resource, so I will make sure to stick around!

Thank you all for sharing your stories, and it really does sound like we will have to do some trial and error, as Tenex seems to really help some kids. As for my son, we did try it. It helped him sleep... for about 2 weeks (with lot's of night-talking for some reason). His tics even decreased somewhat. But the anger and sensitivity increased. Major fits and tantrums. Then I guess he adjusted to the feeling of being tired, and went back to waking multiple times a night, as well as early (early!) rising. But the moodiness stayed and tics also increased due to being so tired.

He is currently on 1mg and we will stick it out for a couple more weeks per his neuro's advice, but I don't see it helping any. He had been on melatonin since about age 3 (helped to go asleep, but not stay asleep), but stopped the melatonin before we started Tenex. When he started sleeping a lot less again, his neuro recommended reintroducing the melatonin. Now it has NO EFFECT whatsoever. He used to fall asleep within 20 or 30 minutes of the melatonin, now it does not help at all. He is so wired and chatty at bedtime. His latest obsession is YugiOh cards and he'll rattle on about them for an hour before sleeping if you don't keep reminding him to be quiet. Ack.

I wonder if he stops the tenex if the melatonin will help again? I don't see why it would interfere with the melatonin, but it is?

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