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stressed out mum

Ritalin

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Hi

Havent been on the site for a while (internet problems).

 

My son is twelve and has been on Ritalin, 10mg twice a day, for two years.

 

Everything was going fine until this morning when I noticed that he was shaking when he was doing up the buttons on his school shirt.

 

He says that he has been shaking after taking his tablets for a while but didn't tell me because I would worry :( .

 

I have phoned the doctor and he hasn't heard of anyone having this problem after so long on the drug but has given me an appointment for my son to have a check up.

 

I just wondered if anyone had any experience of this happening with Ritalin or has a child who shakes mildly because of some other reason.

 

Any comments would be appreciated!!!

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Hi Stressed out mum,

 

My son took Ritalin for about 2 years and in that time he developed a tic. It didn't start as soon as he began taking the tablets, but a while afterwards. His Paed. did keep a close eye on things though and he told me that he was aware that this can happen. My son was taken off Ritalin (not for that reason though) and hasn't had the tic since.

 

Annie

XX

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Hi Annie

 

Thankyou so much for your reply.

 

Spoke to the nurse who administers my sons medication at school and she said that her son, who is also on Ritalin because of ADHD and behaviour problems, had to change to a slow release tablet because of tics and she would keep an eye on him for me.

 

Is your son on any medication now?

How has his personality changed since he stopped?

Did they tell you why it caused tics?

 

The leaflet that comes with the drug has so many things on it to make parents worry. How do you know if you are doing the correct thing by medicating?

 

I know all children are different but I would quite like to try having a break from tablets really but my son says that it helps him to concentrate in class. He has no friends in school and is very shy so if he can't concentrate in the classroom I wonder if that will make things worse for him. Going to the nurse at lunchtime is also the only time he spends talking to other children because they have to go to her for all types of medication.

 

Sorry I am rambling now maybe I need to ask more questions.

 

Any other experiences of Ritalin would be appreciated.

 

It is all so confusing!

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Sorry I've taken so long to get back to you.

 

Alex isn't taking any medication now. I think he was on Ritalin between about 8 and 10 years old. He was taken off of it becaue his appetite became non-existant and when he was 'coming down' off of it in the evenings it was meltdown city in our house every night. His sleep problems also got worse.

 

When he came off of it there was absolutly no difference in his behaviour. His school complained to me for obvious reasons, but he stayed off it.

 

I know it's not much help, but I cannot remember what the doctor told me caused the tics. All I can remember was that he asked me to look out for them and other side effects.

 

Alex used to have a break from the Ritalin in the school holidays.

 

It took us a while to decide to try Ritalin. At first it did seem to make a difference, but as time went on, even after adjusting the dosage, there didn't seem any point staying on it anymore.

 

Annie

XX

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Hi Stressed out Mum,

 

My son (7) was on Ritalin for 6 months earlier this year. He has ADHD and has now been dx with ASD too. The Ritalin did calm down his hyperactivity and also really helped him concentrate.

 

His appetite went down, but in the evenings when the medication wore off, i fed him!

 

He started biting his nails alot when he was on Ritalin. The reason i took him off it, was because it seemed to be making him down. It accentuated his ASD behaviours (ie he became really obsessive), and he was withdrawn. Having said that, he was also out of school at the time and i was suffering from depression, so i'm sure that didn't help.

 

He was also tried on Straterra, which is a new non-stimulant ADHD medication. Unfortunately the capsules were too big for him, and he couldn't swallow them.

 

He is now on Clonidine, which is usually given with Ritalin. I have only got him on half the dose, as if i give him the full dose, he falls asleep in the day. It doesn't seem to have altered his behaviour in any way.

 

I would definately consider trying Ritalin again, as Kai is settling into his new school now. He is still extremely hyper, and doesn't concentrate for long. I'm going to discuss it with the school and see what they think.

 

I've never heard of shaking after taking Ritalin. If your son were to react to the drug, i would have thought it would have happened sooner, not after two years. Definately dicsuss it with the doctor though.

 

I find i so worrying giving medication to my son, so i know how you must be feeling. I think it's a case of weighing up the pros and cons and getting as much information as possible. If medication enables someone to lead a happier life, then that's a good thing.

 

Loulou x

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Hi Loulou,

 

Thank you for your reply. I totally agree with you that 'if medication enables someone to lead a happier life, then that's a good thing'. After all that is all we want for our children.

 

After reading some of the other discussions on this forum I think that although my son has been diagnosed with aspergers it does seem to be mild now.

Is it possible that as children get older they can learn to live with their Aspergers and keep themselves in check.

When he was in infant school he was extremely disruptive and I was being met daily by the head at the school gate to be told, infront of the other parents, how much trouble he had got into during the day. But now he is twelve and a strapping 5'6" tall the senior school he is at tell me that he is a real gentleman and the only problems he has are with concentration (unless he has 1 2 1) and his social skills are poor.

 

I would be interested to hear from adults who have grown up with Aspergers. My son is very open with me about his feelings but can't tell me why he behaved so badly at school when he was younger and I am wondering if he will have to struggle all through his adult life aswell. As if it isn't enough of a struggle at times being an adult anyway!

 

 

Stressed out Mum

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Guest hallyscomet

Hi,

Please read my post today to the lady post about ADHD and ASD medication.

Hope this helps.

 

The medication added called Catapres helps with the wind down and no tics.

 

Regards

Hailey

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Guest hallyscomet

Hi,

Please read my post today to the lady post about ADHD and ASD medication.

Hope this helps.

 

The medication added called Catapres helps with the wind down and no tics.

 

Regards

Hailey

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Hi

 

Sorry to bring this back to the top but we saw the psyc today and at my son's request he has taken him off Ritalin.

 

I have started him on eye-q this morning which he is happy with because they are just vitamins :)

 

I have written to all of his teachers and asked them to keep me informed of any changes in my son, good or bad. I also spoke to his Head of House who said that he will collect all of the teachers information and relay it back to me regularly :blink:

 

Wow how come we had to wait for him to go to senior school to find anyone helpful?

 

I picked my son up from school tonight and he was like a different boy. He is so much happier, not that he was miserable before but he said that not taking Ritalin is like a weight being lifted off his shoulders.

 

Had to share this with everyone, some good news at last :dance:

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