my older daughter, after she married and moved out, let the doctor talk her into trying ritalin. it was the smallest dose possible - what they call a microdose - yet it was enough to send her tourette's spiralling out of control.

when she was living with my mother, my mother decided to try the meds. nik was prescribed clonidine, haldol, and something else. the tics were suppressed, but she suffered periods of disorientation, short-term memory loss, and loss of balance, causing her to veer off unexpectedly and hit the wall or almost go off the side of the stairs. that experiment lasted about two weeks until i found out about it and put a stop to it.

i used only herbal meds and behaviour modification with her and the results have been eminently satisfactory: she didn't make it through high school, but will be starting university september to get her degree in commerce.