My son was diagnosed with ADHD at 5 years old in May of 2014. Since this time he has had a 1 on 1 aide during Kindergarten and Camps, as well as attending Speech, OT, and Social Therapy.
During his 6 month retesting with his Clinical Neuro-Psychologist, he recommended speaking to our Pediatrician about medication as he is not retaining as much as he is capable of during his therapy sessions. We did speak to a Pediatrician in our practice who specializes in Behavioral. After her observation, she recommended Tenex / Guanfacine to help with his focus, attention and impulsivity control.
Does anyone have an experience with this medication - side effects, overall experience, long term use, weight gain or loss ?
We have been resistant to start because we thought he could benefit from all of his therapy alone but I think we need this extra help for body control and focus.
I am hoping to gain some insight from other parents like us who have used it firsthand.
Yes, we've used it and have used it for a long time. We started with Tenex but then for insurance reasons switched to guanfacine (generic version). My boy's been on it for at least four years at this point. It's been so long since we started on it that I can't quite remember the real reason we started but it wasn't because of violent behaviors (which a recent doctor asked me). I think it was just because it's been shown to help these kiddos. In our case, it did help. Not HUGELY, but enough that when we tried taking it off we noticed and went back to it. Keep in mind with Tenex, it's not one you can just stop suddenly. So if you're a person who does "breaks" or "vacations" from meds, this isn't one to do that with. My boy had a combo of Focalin and tenex. Love and light to you and yours. HR Girl
We have been on Intuniv for almost 3 years and won’t go back. My son takes it to head off afternoon meltdowns as his Vyvanse is wearing off. Even when we are taking Vyvanse holidays, he takes his Intuniv.
Tenex is the instant release form, Intuniv is extended release.
My son (age 6) diagnosed with ADHD at 4 is on Guanfacine for about four months to decrease his impulsivity and hyperactivity. The side effects he has had are afternoon fatigue, a bit cranky at times, and slightly increased appetite. I feel it works well to decrease his impulsivity and his hyperactivity although not for focus or attention which it truly isn't intended for. He recently went on a long acting stimulant to increase his attention and now is doing quite well seems to decrease the afternoon fatigue so far. His true self is shining through and the impulses he used to get are much less frequent. He is on low doses of both because he behaves quite well at school but gets it out at home. I'm concerned he has a Learning disability as well which we are having him tested by a neuro-psychologist. We see a psychiatrist for his medication though who has been very helpful in educating us on the choices of medication and monitoring the reaction to the medication. I understand your hesitance being that your son is only five guanfacine is only FDA approved for age six and up. I waited until my son was five year nine months and now I'm happy we made the decision to try medication because it has helped him have better self-control and get in trouble less and get along with others better especially his sister.
My son is 8. He's been on a combination of guanfacine (1/2 mg twice a day) along with various stimulants for about a year. It's hard to say what effect the guanfacine has because we started it with the stimulant, however when we went on vacation in February and to my horror I forgot to bring it with us, he suddenly, after 5 days off it, had meltdowns and rages. I managed to get an emergency Rx (not easy to do!) just to make it through the last 2 days of the trip. After I gave him a dose he was his old self again. He has ODD tendencies, but is not diagnosed ODD. That made me realize how important that medication is, and now I triple check we have a supply with us if we are ever going to be away from home.
I have a 7 year old boy is is going to be starting guanfacine (Intuniv) this weekend. We have tried several other medications and there have always been awful side effects. I am really hoping this gives my son some relief and he can settle his mind.
I would love to hear how it is going for you, as we are both trying the same meds. I will add you as a friend and send you a message! :-)
We started the Tenex 1/2 of 1 mg in the evenings for 5 days starting last Monday. I started Sunday with 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the evening. The first few days were complaints of headaches but he also developed a bit of a cold the day after we started. He has also been more short-tempered.
We received very positive notes from his speech therapist as well as his social therapist on Friday. So I was feeling good about it working and him being able to get more out of his therapy. We have done Speech, Social and OT for a year before we decided to try the medicine.
However, yesterday I took him to a birthday party and we were a few minutes late, he became VERY anxious and didn't want to stay, I finally convinced him but then he didn't want me to leave. This is very unusual for him. He also was playing fairly aggressively. This wasn't a problem before. Has anyone experience this?
The Intuniv actually helped my son with his anxiety. About a month after starting it, he was more relaxed and more willing to try things he had never done before. Are things any better now? I really did find it took a full month before we really started seeing the effects of the Intuniv.
MAMAC said:
Thank you everyone!
We started the Tenex 1/2 of 1 mg in the evenings for 5 days starting last Monday. I started Sunday with 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the evening. The first few days were complaints of headaches but he also developed a bit of a cold the day after we started. He has also been more short-tempered.
We received very positive notes from his speech therapist as well as his social therapist on Friday. So I was feeling good about it working and him being able to get more out of his therapy. We have done Speech, Social and OT for a year before we decided to try the medicine.
However, yesterday I took him to a birthday party and we were a few minutes late, he became VERY anxious and didn't want to stay, I finally convinced him but then he didn't want me to leave. This is very unusual for him. He also was playing fairly aggressively. This wasn't a problem before. Has anyone experience this?