Ask Dr. Geller - REPLY to Nanci

[Guest guest]

dear nanci

it can be difficult to distinguish between tics and compulsions at times because

they blend into each other however, we generally call symmetry behaviors

compulsions because they are so planful and deliberate movements. there is a tic

like compulsion tho and its certainly possible to have both tics and compulsions

(about 20%).

most of what you describe sound like compulsions

you should not ignore it but get CBT and for tics habit reversal therapy. while

stimulants can trigger onset most believe that persistent tics are due to

inherent vulnerability and likely would have occurred anyway.

mean age for onset of tics is 6-7 and ocd is 9-10

but younger for PANDAS and by the way this ASO titer is elevated not normal

tics usually improve over time and OCD when treated also generally improves

dan geller md

*****

My daughter is a very complex kid, she has had a litany of dx in her short 8

years, but at age 6, we felt we had an excellent evaluation that really hit the

nail on the head and dx her combination type ADHD. We chose to medicate and my

daughter was on Adderall XR, first 5, then 10 mg. We also chose to take weekend

and summer drug vacations. It was a wonder drug for her, very few side effects,

and great results - she was a different kid. In September 2011, we started the

medication again in preparation for the school year. After about two weeks we

noticed a mouth twitch. We thought it was a tic and ended up stopping the

medication, hoping the tic would go away. It didn't. We started Intuniv

(guanfacine) hoping it would help both the tic and the ADHD symptoms. (It

hasn't) We also started