Guanfacine is doing well so far...

[Sunshine1966]

Hi,

I just wanted to post a note saying how things are going okay this week on the guanfacine. I had my doubts since this was the 2nd medication we were trying for my difficult child's hyperactivity and irritability. Strattera was the first and it only made him more violent and oppositional to the point I was fearing injury of some sort. We ended that and are now on our 2nd week of Guanfacine and its going well. I have noticed so far that he is more cooperative, polite and doesn't hardly escalate to the levels he did previously when he would get angry or frustrated.

My husband and I were talking last night and he said that he actually thought this medication was helping and that he could see a difference. That was a big thing because he's been leary of trying the medications. We have both noticed a lot of positive things. difficult child is actually sitting at the table for dinner with us getting up only 1 or 2 times vs. running past the table to grab and bite and away he would go!

I am very thankful for this past week. I pray that it continues to go well. I have my eyes open and am prepared for whatever happens since I've read how many times things eventually fail later in the trial of taking medication. We got a good report from his teacher in preschool this week too.

So, here's to hoping. Thanks so much for all the care and support you all give on this site. It is a godsend to me and I can't imagine what I'd do if I didn't have this great place to come to and communicate with all of you.

Take Care! :smile:

 

[totoro]

That is great!!! I hope it lasts! It is always nice to hear when a medication is working!!!

 

[SRL]

Excellent! Good news around here is like music to our ears.

 

[busywend]

:thumb: I hope it continues!

 

[tired Cheryl]

great news! Thanks for the update.

 

[Sunshine1966]

I definitely wanted to post the good news as well as all the questions I always have, etc. The one thing I have noticed with the guanfacine (Tenex) is the sedative effect. My husband and I were discussing the fact that we thought it was working pretty well. We have both noticed less hyperactivity and less defiance/oppositional behavior. I feel like I have been watching our difficult child like a hawk for any signs or symptoms that were negative.
Last night I did notice that difficult child was more tired than usual. He seemed to be walking around like a zombie, quiet (which is not his way!) and talking very softly. At one point he started crying/whimpering on the floor. I asked him what was wrong and he just came to me and hugged me. He said he wanted to go upstairs which means that he wants to go to bed. So, we ended up laying down on the couch and he fell asleep for 45 min! So, I think we will go back down to the lower dose of 1/2 mg in the afternoon instead of 1 mg and see if that helps with the sedative symptoms.
There is definitely no other negative things I've seen so far. With the Strattera we saw all sorts of side effects such as constipation, itchiness with skin splotchy areas, decreased appetite or even lack of interest in food not to mention the increase in violent/oppositional behavior which was a clincher in stopping the medication.
I read so many things about the bad results from different medications, etc. and I just wanted to be sure and report about the good results too. It can get depressing and disappointing when all we are reading is about the hard times. I want to hope and believe that we can find something that will help our children each in their own way. There is no magic pill or magic formula, that's for sure.
I really, truly appreciate all the support and encouragement I get on this site. You are all a godsend to me and thank you for that!

Debbie :its_all_good:

 

[jannie]

My child did very well with tenex...he was on it for about two years. It did make him tired. He started taking it at the age of 4 1/2 and guess what....he started napping every day after preschool....this from a child who stopped napping at the age of three.

What time are you giving the afternoon dosage? We gave it around dinner time...

Glad things are going so well.

 

[Sunshine1966]

Hi,

So your child was on this medication for 2 years? What made him go of the medication or change medications? My son is 4 1/2 as well and attends preschool and we were just getting out of the nap phase and then boom, here we go again! He just can't last. What dosage did your son take?

We give the second dose around 4 pm per psychiatrists instructions. I think its basically up to us for coverage for the rest of the day. Did your son have any troubles in going to sleep? My son has actually asked to go to bed as early as 6:30 or 7 pm sometimes and I try to keep him up until 8 pm otherwise he'll be up at the crack of dawn!

I'm glad to hear that your son had success with this medication and the fact that he was on it for two years gives me hope. Any advice or tips you have about it would be appreciated.

I am really liking being able to have a quieter home life and everyone is in a better mood. Its been great!

Debbie

 

[jannie]

I don't recall exactly why we stoopped the tenex....actually I think I remember wondering how much it was really helping...my difficult child was in a therapeutic preschool and overall he was doing ok, but still having some pretty difficult times at home. I wondered if the tenex was really helping....and I was concerned about some of his agressive behaviors....so first we slowly cut back on the tenex...and decided to see what happens with nothing and if medication was neeeded we would trial respirdal. Well without the tenex he was totally hyper and impulsive...We decided to trial risperdal which at first really helped, however we decided to add back the tenex because of activity level. So for awhile he was on both medications....and over time we decided to add trileptal (we did this 8 weeks before the start of kindergarten).

I think our dosage varied over time....the most possibly being 1 1/2- 2 mg total per day. I was very pleased with this medication....and it's really the most mild of all with very few negative side effects. I hope it works for you.

 

[busywend]

My difficult child took it at night. It worked great for helping her get to sleep earlier.

 

[Sunshine1966]

Thanks for the tip. I think I will try giving the 2nd dose later in the day. Otherwise, my difficult child is doing well on it still and its been so nice to have improvement over the behavior I was getting for so long. We have our moments, but that will probably always be. I can deal with that. I thinks he's more content and calm and that gives me peace about it.