ADHD, Concerta and Eye rolling

[laynie9]

We tried putting my 9 year old son (who has ADHD) on Concerta about a month ago and after about 4 days, he started frequently rolling his eyes involuntarily up and to the right.  We took him off immediately, but the symptoms have persisted.  I'm not sure if it was caused by the Concerta, as he'd previously been on it for a month about a year ago and did not display the eye rolling.  Does anyone know if there is a correlation, and if this is something that will stop?

[Sandman2]

        Nice information.  Tics are always an ever present side effect.  I had not heard of tardive dyskinesia before and will check it out.  Thanks for the info.  Hope you drop by more often :)

[ILADVOCATE]

   Yes that class of medications has the potential to cause tardive dyskinesia which is a long term movement disorder. One way it can express it itself is tardive tourettism which is clinically similar to Tourrette's in the way it presents itself but not in cause. These concerns can persist after the medication is no longer being used as well. If a person notices any abnormal movement movements or tics that start to occur it they should call it to the attention of their psychiatrist as soon as possible. If this concern is noted it would be worthwhile to ask for a referral to a neurologist who is a  movement disorders specialist to further identify and treat it. There is a worthwhile article on tardive dyskinesia on Emedicine and also  one you could find by doing a google search for the term "Patient Education Tardive Dyskinesia" (note as the site itself says "some of these medications may be medically neccessary).
   Also the medication websites itself list the full information as regards potential side effects which can be of help. All this information can then be discusssed with the psychiatrist or physician who prescribed the medication so they could decide what the appropriate follow up would be within their clinical discretion.

[kimberly_todd822]

I have been on Concerta for nearly 2 years, I am 29 and I am also experiencing the eye misalignment, rolling and blinking. I'm getting ready to request a different med as Concerta is a Tier 3 drug on my insurance plan where as Dexedrine and Adderal are Tier 1 and $30 cheaper per month. I hope to god the tics stop! I went off the meds for about 2-3 months and didn't notice tics but that my eyes still seemed misaligned.

[gv44]

We just put our son (11) on concerta. He took it 3 days and the same thing occured. This was last week. We took him off immediatly. Though not as bad, he is still doing it to some degree 2 days later. Has your son stopped?

[LetaB]

I've never heard of this condition specifically but a greater occurance of "tic" are well documented for users of stimulents such as this.
You've had him see his doctor concerning this, right? His psychiatrist must be informed right away as well - both of the symptoms and that you've stopped the meds. They should be able to give you the answers you need.