Intuniv helping, but may also be agitating

[gcvmom]

difficult child 2 has been on Intuniv coming up on 6 weeks. We added this to help with focus and attention, and it seems to be helping him stay on top of things much better at school. psychiatrist wanted me to give it until the end of next week before we consider bumping it up. And to tell you the truth, I think we need to leave it as-is.

difficult child 2 has been more irritable and argumentative since going from 1mg to 2mg. At first, I thought it was just a fluke, but he's been like this pretty consistently so I think this is real. Plus, he's had a harder time going to sleep and is up much later than usual. Again, I thought it was just an aberration, but now it's happened enough nights that I feel I can safely say it's the new medication. While it's not a crisis, it's definitely noticeable and I'm not sure if it's something we will be able to manage through talking to him or if we'll have to reduce the dose. I'll let the psychiatrist know next week.

It's disappointing to feel like we finally found something to help him with school, only to have it be a negative for his behavior.

 

[crazymama30]

That is dissapointing. Hugs. Maybe psychiatrist has other tricks up his sleeve.

 

[barneysmom]

Hi there,

We're trying intuniv for gfg12, for attention and focus and also oppositional behavior. I'm thinking he does better on 2 mg, as he got more irritable on 3 mg and couldn't sleep. I was pretty happy with the results on 2mg.

I work in a psychiatric hospital and there are quite a few kids on 1 mg maintenance. pretty much whatever works I think.

Good luck on your journey with intuniv.

 

[Wiped Out]

Sorry; I know how disappointing that can be. difficult child used to focus much better on a stimulant but they really agitated his mood.

 

[gcvmom]

CM, who knows... psychiatrist may have other ideas, or a work-around for this medication even.

Barneysmom, thanks for sharing that bit of info. Too bad there's not a 1/2mg tablet for this medication!

Sharon, I remember the days when stims did okay for my kiddo, too. He's got a different brain now, unfortunately. Sigh.

 

[smallworld]

Is it possible he doesn't need both Namenda and Intuniv? Or are they not interacting?

My understanding, from talking to an Intuniv drug rep in our psychiatrist's waiting room, is that some kiddos are using Tenex in conjunction with Intuniv. Possibly how you get a 1/2 tablet's worth?

Hope you get things straightened out soon.

 

[gcvmom]

I asked about whether we were discontinuing the Namenda, and for now the psychiatrist says no. My understanding is that they don't interact and work on completely different neurotransmitter mechanisms. That's a good point about combining the Tenex with-Intuniv. I'll put that out there to find out if it's an option. Maybe we can drop down to 1mg and add the Tenex.

 

[barneysmom]

gvc mom, let us know how the intuniv/tenex situation works out. That's a great tip for those of us who are using this drug with our fingers crossed. Gfg12 actually did some homework tonight after consistent homework refusal since Sept.

 

[ML]

I like the idea of decreasing the dose and adding tenex or clonidine at night. I sure hope you can manage the behavior because it definitely sounds like you're seeing improvements in the focus and attention. It's so hard finding the right balance. Hang in there! ML

 

[gcvmom]

Yes, it's supposed to help working memory, and I definitely see it helping there. He's remembering (for the most part) to get his planner signed, write his assignments down, etc. And he's getting through homework better than before. Not perfect by a long shot, but a marked improvement.

 

[Shari]

Wee's been on Intuniv for 3 weeks, too. It does help him at school, however, I've noticed he's way more out there at night, as well. Unlike on Clonodine, he's not aggressive or anything like that, just over the top and intense. We weren't able to use Tenex with him because even at 1/8 of a tablet, it knocks him out cold most of the time...

We're currently fighting insurance to cover the Intuniv, too...at $500 a month, it won't be an issue if they won't cover it.