Our 8 year old son was diagnosed a year ago with ADHD and has been on various meds since August. He’s now on methylphenidate (Ritalin) for about 4 months. It has worked fairly well but now it’s efficacy on th ER has worn off so we are down to 2 short term ones. Over the last month and a half he has developed these loud and annoying noises, screams, and strange laughs that come out on a regular basis, mostly at home but I’ve heard him at soccer practice as well. He claims he doesn’t do it at school and I guess if we did the teacher would tell us by now. He has plenty of friends and the noises haven’t scared anyone away yet but we’re concerned as he gets older what kids will think. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it a side effect of meds such as a tic, or is it just a nervous reaction, or done out of boredom? He claims he can control it but it seems like it sometimes escalates at home and turns into a meltdown. He’s already been through focalin and vyvanse but had to stop because of major letdowns if meds are the cause. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Loud and strange noises caused by rit... - CHADD's ADHD Pare...
Loud and strange noises caused by ritalin?
It does sound like a tic. My son has a tic disorder which is (for him) mostly head movements and throat clearing. We were warned that the stimulants could bring these out. We were also told that guanfacine can help control the tics as well as help with ADHD so it is definitely worth a conversation with your psychiatrist.
Thanks for your message - we just started Intuniv last night so we’re hoping it works for a lot of the issues we’re having.
My adult daughter was on ritalin all through grade school. It actually had the opposite effect. She had a tic where she was constantly clearing her throat but once she stabilized on ritalin that went away completely.
Some medications do cause tics. Some will get better with time but we have had to take a child off medicine completely because the tics got so bad they interfered with normal functioning.
What does your doctor say?
Hey, I actually just posted something similar. It’s a tic, going through the same thing with my son, who is 7. I stated to keep a log, and we have an appointment in two weeks.
My son has a tic disorder- and it sounds a lot like a tic to me. The current science is leaning towards that stimulants don’t necessarily cause a tic disorder, but it can unmask one in a child who may be prone to it.
But, like everything else with ADHD meds, all kids respond to drugs differently.
Kids will typically try to suppress the tics at school, and then finally have to let them all out when they get home - which is what it sounds like to me.
Hopefully the guanfacine (Intuniv) should help a bit!
My son also was on focalin and Ritalin but for short terms for those didnt work for him. Vyvanse is the one he was on for like 5 yrs. It sounds like a tic but I don't know for sure. It could also be side effect from med. My son never did that but our neurologist would ask if he did those type of questions at his appts
My daughter has been on Ritalin for almost one year now. She takes the generic form. She was diagnosed by her pediatrician after taking Wisk-IV. That wasn’t enough for me to agree to give her meds, so she took the test KiTap for attention, and the results were very consistent with ADHD.
There has been no “light switch” for her while on Ritalin, which is what I was hoping for, but I don’t want to change meds or alter the dosage at this point in time as she just turned 7.
I never noticed any side effects like the ones you mentioned. I’ve noticed a lack of appetite and getting her feeling hurts much more easily. Her doctor told me: this medicin is not a magical pill. The difficulties will still exist, it will just help her focus more while doing activities she would otherwise have a very hard time doing.
Good luck!
Hi there. My 8 y/o son is also on IR Ritalin 20 mg in the morning and 20 mg in the afternoon and we have 5 mg doses for afterschool activities if needed. He also is notorious for noises and shouting things. For us and his teacher it happens when his meds are wearing off. It’s almost like he’s been suppressed and now all this energy is coming out verbally. His doctor wasn’t too concerned about it but we do find it to be a little strange and disruptive. So we aren’t sure if it’s part of his ADHD or a side effect of Ritalin but it’s manageable so we just kind of live with it. He’s been taking Ritalin for over 2 years and before that we tried Vyvance (which was awful) for our son anyway. Hard to know though what’s causing it???
Hi, I am currently experiencing something similar with me daughter. I see you posted this two years ago. How did it work out for you and your son?
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