ritalin side effects

My son was started on Ritalin at the beginning sept. (7 yrs - ADD, moderate - severe)  he was getting 2x5 mgs a day.  It was increased to 7.5 + 5 mgs a day with very good results.  It then went to a max of 7.5x3 times a day. After about 8 weeks of taking the drug, things at school began to fall apart.  He was 'hyper', not listening, etc.  The doctor cut him back to 2x5 mgs a day as she felt he was getting too much.  This happened last week.  My son has now developed what I would call 'tics'.  He is wiggling his fingers, making noises, twirling his hair.  It is not constant or severe, but it is definitely there.  He did not have these behaviors before.
(he did make some noises but the doctor said it was not unusual for ADD).  I stopped the ritalin 3 days ago as I was getting very worrried.  The 'tics' have been reduced but still there.  

My questions are:

(1) can Ritalin cause these tics or is this Tourette's syndrome?
(2) can ritalin cause permanent neurological damage?
(3) I have read that sometimes it takes a week or so for all tics to disappear after the medication is stopped.  IS this true?
(4)  Could he take concerta or other med after having this experience with ritalin?

I really hope there is something else we can use because for the first few weeks, he did amazing on it.  Everyone commented on it.

thank you very much for our insight.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

Ritalin can definitely cause tics and you were right to stop it. It has a relatively short half life, so the symptoms should be gone by now or at least very soon. You should definetly talk to your doctor about finding the right dose. You can also ask this same question on the child behavior forum here at medhelp. they have much more experience with this and may be of more help.

[racket girl]

regarding add and ritalin.  my son is 17 and has add and ts.  he started on ritalin when he was 7. 15mg 2x, 10mg 1x, each day.  he developed tics.  the ritalin doesn,t cause the tics but if ts is present in the genes the ritalin will bring it about.  clonidine added to the ritalin will help quite a bit.  you have to weigh the importance.  my son is now taking concerta and clonidine and he will still have tics occasionally.  he was off all ritalin for 2 years and only on clonidine and the tics disappeared completly.