Guanfacine

[Chitchatter]

My son started on 10mg of guanfacine at night for one week. We haven't seen any positive changes at school or home. He's still verbally impulsive, mean and invading others personal space at school and still talking non stop, interrupting and not staying on task at home. Yesterday, we gave him 10mg in the morning and he took a nap in the middle of the day! The main side effect on this med is that it will make him tired. A nap in the day is uncharacteristic. My husband said his body has to get used to the medication. Are others finding this to be true as well or is this possibly the wrong med for my kiddo?

[SSperber]

We tried Guanfacine as well for my 9 year old boy- and he didn’t like how tired it made him feel either. We stopped after two weeks. I found a natural supplement called Serene that I give him at bedtime along with Juice plus capsules (vitamin supplement). This has worked much better! Takes several weeks to notice a difference tho....so must be patient. Also be sure to watch his diet during the day- limiting sugar, processed food, food dyes, nitrates etc. Have you tried a naturopath doc yet?? They can often find imbalances that lead to a lot of the symptoms your discribing!

[Chitchatter in reply to SSperber]

Yes. I had him tested for food sensitivities and put him on a strict diet for 6 months and saw no changes. We've used peaceful child essential oils and pure therapy liquid GABA. I've had him on probiotics and vitamins since he was a baby. He rarely has artificial colors, processed foods (birthday parties and holidays). We do mostly organic foods at home too. Since ADHD kids require a lot of protein, we give him nitrate free pepperoni for snacks and nitrate free turkey sausage at breakfast. None of it worked which is why we are seeking medical interventions. The nurse at the neurologist's office said that it does take a while for his body to get used to the medicine. Since it's Thanksgiving and he won't be in school, we're going to keep it up through the holiday. I think. Waiting for the nurse to call me back.

[tszklare]

My understanding is that Guanfacine has to build up in the system and can take a few weeks to become effective. My son (6) started on this medication however we did not see enough improvement either, so the dr. Suggested adding a stimulant medication (which was our last choice). Give it some time and then re-assess. Some kids respond well on non-stimulants compared to others.

[eversolepm]

Obviously I'm no doctor but from what my son's doctor told me it is usually started on a very low dose 1mg and slowly increased until the proper dose is reached. It is suggested to take it at night because it can make them very sleepy. I don't remember how long it takes but it isn't an immediate result like with stimulants and can take several weeks for it to have improvement.