My 9 year old son, who has ADHD, cannot stop picking at the skin around his nails. It's a compulsion like nail biting. It truly is a compulsion and he cannot stop. I've seen his doctor and he has no ideas I have not tried. I'm almost at the point where I will have to leave his fingers bandaged in the evening so he'll leave them alone, and I feel that's really extreme. I would not do it at school although the majority of it goes on there. The teachers are trying to help, but to no avail. He wants to stop... it breaks my heart. I am sorry if this subject is a bit graphic. I just need help. We assume it's the Adderrall... this started about 4 mos after he started it, maybe less.
Is picking at one's nails or other repetitive behavior ever a side effect of Adderrall?
Question posted by jojojo09 on 10 May 2010
Last updated on 27 December 2021 by Mayadr
7 Answers
Mayadr
28 Dec 2021
It is the side effect from Adderall because when I was taking it the same thing was happening to me. Try replacing his Adderall with Vyvanse.
idkwhatnametouse
25 Nov 2019
A pretty similar experience happened to me except i do this even when not on adderall and i have adhd but when i do take my adderall it gets really bad to the point where i cant touch my sides of my fingers without it hurting and some of my other bad habits increase as well like licking my lips ect.
stopdruggingkids
7 Oct 2010
I feel sorry for young kids taking stimulants, knowing the harm they can do ,when a growing child needs a healthy diet , not class A drugs similar to cocaine. Why don't you take him off the stimulant and see if the nail picking improves. Ask him how HE feels about everything and if something is worrying him at school. Stay close to him and be his best friend. He's only 9
Would'nt you rather have a kid who is always on the go than a sick child . Accept him for who he is. He might be a genious for all you know. Don't drug the life out of him. Every child is unique (LIke fingerprints) I think ADHD is a stigmatising label being overly diagnosed.
rawboots
30 Sep 2010
Hey there JoJoJo09,
My cousin has been on adderall for years and he too constantly picks his hands. Its definately the adderall. My friend too is on it. He too does the same thing. He can pick his hands all nite but damn, the next day hes lucky he could even make a fist !
Rawboots
jojojo09
1 Oct 2010
Thanks rawboots. I worry that he'll get teased because of it. He has made himself bleed from this... sooner or later some kid is going to call him "gross" or worse. Socially he does well, but along with ADHD can come self esteem issues, and he does have those. It does not take much to make a child with ADD dislike something about himself. My son has inattentive ADHD, also referred to simply as ADD... so it does not include the hyperactivity often associated with ADHD.
I also keep an eye on it so that it doesn't lead to infection... another worry. He has eczema on his arms and itches at that too... at this point I think it is an ingrained behavior and he'd do it on or off the Adderall. There are periods of time when he does not do it, and I do not know what is different then. When I look back I think that it really did start with the adderall, but I can't be sure.
Sometimes I think he waits for me to leave the room to go back at it--- then other times it seems like he is really trying to stop. It is probably a mixture. I'm careful not to make him think of it as bad behavior, to let him know we understand he can't stop, but there are times I want to be more severe. I think he sort of tunes out when he is doing this, so it has to stop... he is missing things at school. I am in the process of getting a referral to a specialist. First I had to switch pediatiricans. If your cousin ever stops... be sure and tell me what helped~! Thanks so much though, I know that my son is not alone in this problem.
hernandaz123
12 May 2010
ha. i didnt realize it till now, but i do the same thing,(obsesably) i bit my finger nails, and the skin around it. and i also do weird little ticks and just stuff like that, and everything has to be perfect in my life, (insept my room, haha.). im not all that crazy about that. im 15yrs old, and i had OCD sence i can remember, and i had ADHD sence i was young also. i dont take any medication for my OCD because it dosnt bother me awhole lott, but i bothers my mom alot. i was JUSS perscribed/takeing adderall last month, but i did this before i was on this medication. but i dont know about your son, because Adderall dos have the side-affect "nervesness". witch might cause your son to do that. (its not un-commen for that to happen). the adderall DOES make me do it alittle more often because of that side-affect. its not a real big problam, because if hes like me, it aint that bad of bitting.
it can get anouing, but its not bad, not like hes bitting he's finger off are nothing. im not sure if it will go away, because like i said, i just started takeing Adderall also, soo i dont know about it that good. but you'll find out if he has OCD when/if he stops takeing the Adderall. and if its still happening, I would talk to your docter or like Rachey said, a speialist, about OCD tests if you think it becomes a bigger problam. because i do argre, it does get a little miserable "at times". but most of the time you dont even notice it. well, hope that helped. best-of-luck-to-you.
jojojo09
12 May 2010
Very helpful. Thanks so much!
jojojo09
1 Oct 2010
Thanks~!
Heavenlyhappygirl
2 Nov 2017
I also bite pick and pull the skin around my nails..I have been diagnosed as being bipolar OCD and have PTSD ..I don't understand my disorders and I need help to know because the not knowing is driving me crazy!
Psyched
10 May 2010
Jojojo09,
It could be caused by the Adderall, but it sounds more like an OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) development. Either way, it would be in his best interest for you to mention it to his doctor. Hope this helps and good luck.
jojojo09
12 May 2010
Thanks for your help! I am sure he does not have OCD... he has no areas of his life where he displays any of that behavior, just this..and I do attribute this to the ADHD or to the Adderall, or both. My primary care physician says it's a chicken or egg situation: He may have started this because of his ADHD, or he may have started it of the Adderall... evidently either one can be considered a cause or this sort of thing.
rachey
10 May 2010
I do think that the adderrall can exacerbate an anxious tic like nail picking. Since it's really interfering with his life, I would ask to be referred to a specialist, like a pediatric neurologist or perhaps a pediatric psychiatrist (you can ask your doctor who he recommends). I do think that seeking help is the best thing you can do, since this is extreme, and is making him so miserable.
You can also look on the internet and join an on-line or (an in person) ADHD support group where you can ask for advice from other parents. Good luck and don't give up hope, I think that a specialist will be very helpful for you.
carolyn17603
10 May 2010
I agree. Also take notes until you see the dr. Did he ever do this before? Is he doing it more? Is he starting new places?
jojojo09
12 May 2010
Thanks Rachey. We saw a social worker last year for a while, and I think will contact her. She has worked with only ADHD patients for the last 20 years. I would think that she will either help me or recommend someone who can. Thanks for you help!
Jo
jojojo09
12 May 2010
Carolyn he never did anything like this before he started on his fingers. He would get started in new places if I let him, but I think I have successfully avoided that as soon as I see something. For example, he has excema in the folds of his arms. If I had not been watching he would have gotten it all itcy and inflamed, and probably would have started there too. This is the one and only side effect, if it is a side effect. Otherwise we have been so lucky. No eating or sleeping issues, and he is able to focus perfectly. He has inattentive ADHD, not hyperactive. From the very first dose he has gotten just better and better. But this is disturbing. A specialist it is!
Jo
Related topics
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd), side effect
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