tic or just a new habit?

[EllenR]

My 7yo ds has been on adderall xr for a little over a month. He had a break from it between 12/29 and 1/6 and behaved fine (don't need to be as quiet or still at home as at school . What I've noticed this week is that he's started pinching his upper or lower lip together, not hard or anything, but it's just annoying, at least to me it is ;D He's never done this before but since a lot of kids put their hands either in or around their mouths, how can I tell if it's a tic? He has a 4-day weekend right now so I'm hoping that if it's a tic, he'll stop doing it soon.

Would one way to differentiate be whether or not he stops? If he stops, tic; if not, habit?

He's also had a doozy of a meltdown a couple of times. Two nights ago, he got mad at me because I told my dh to take him to his room -- he'd slapped dh hard (just playng but it doesn't make any difference). Well, then he started yelling and fussing about me and that he wished he could kill me. That upset me worse than anything else he's ever said . He apologized later when he calmed down and was very sincere and sorry. What do you do?

[crillmom]

whenever my son started a new med he would do strange things with his mouth, but it always subsided

[Dad2Brooke]

EllenR, hopefully these actions will stop as he gets used to the meds, but monitor them closely. If they don't then definately consult his pediatrician.

How old is your son?

[EllenR]

Dad2Brooke, he's 7. He's not on the adderall this weekend and, thank goodness, no meltdowns. For home life, it's worth the drug-free weekend. For the tic, I'm trying to pay close attention (or at least better attention). He doesn't seem to be doing it as often and I've asked dh to keep an eye out as well.

I'd told him that I thought it was a tic if he stopped over the weekend and then started again when the meds started, I was calling the doctor. I'd told the ped at his monthly check after starting adderall about the awful behavior when he was coming off it. He said that he can either increase slightly (12mg) or decrease slightly and see what happens. If necessary, he'll switch him to concerta and see how that goes.

Depending on this coming week, I'll be calling the ped. I know it helps at school but the meltdown coming off it is hard to deal with and seems to be getting worse. BTW, he made the A-B honor roll again! ;D

[EllenR]

Well, yesterday, the 4th day with no meds, he still was pinching his lip. It didn't seem like he was doing it as often but still doing it. Is this a tic? Should I call the ped? How do you know when to call if it's not a major behavioral deviation?

Thanks for any advice.

[Dad2Brooke]

I guess you could call the pediatrician to allay your fears. I would tell the doc about the med breaks, as well.

I would think if it was a tic, than you would have seen some abatement from discontinuing the med. Maybe it is a new habit.

Let us know what the ped says.

[AnneM]

Hi Ellen ... Oh Isn't it difficult to tell the difference between a tic and a habit? My son chews his nails - sometimes quite consistently and it SEEMS (or is it my imagination?) worse when he is on Concerta - but then again he has ALWAYS chewed his nails - well before Concerta!! ... so I know exactly what you mean by struggling whether it is a tic or a habit ....

I agree with Dad2Brooke though that if it is a medication-induced tic it would have subsided very noticeably when the medication stopped ... and in the case of the stims these leave the body very quickly ...