Guanfacine

[willandgrace]

My 14 year old hates his Vyvanse. He started off well with it, but lately he says that it makes him grumpy and sad, not to mention that he has no appetite (and he's very thin). I am wondering if anyone has any experience with Guanfacine (I think it's the generic for Intuitiv). It's a non-stimulant medication that can help with ADHD. I'm looking for solutions because he needs help with focus - He's not overly active or disruptive in school. His biggest issue is paying attention when he thinks something is boring (SCHOOL). I'd love to hear if anyone has experience with this medication. TY!

[Adhd-mom]

I think the guanfacine is better for the impulsive symptoms but not so great for focus. The stimulants are the best for focus. Has he tried a different stimulant? In our case my son could not tolerate dose escalation of the stimulant due to exacerbation of motor tics. So he stayed on a low dose stimulant and guanfacine was added (to help with the tics). It didn’t do much for the focus but did work well for the tics. But erevyones experience can be different- so worth a try.

[mdmom]

My 13 year old son was on a combination of Vyvanse and Guanfacine. We took him off Vyvanse for the summer, and when we tried to put him back on it he said he did not like the way it made him feel. Right now he's just on Guanfacine. It helps a little but not as much with focus as stimulants. We just decided to see how the school year progresses before trying another stimulant. When you first start guanfacine it can take up to six weeks to see the full effects. If giving it a go does not help with the focus, you could give another stimulant a try.

[seller]

I agree with the other posts stating that the stimulant meds are really the only ones that help with focus and this is what most teens need. I can tell you that my son, who is now 24 and taking Vyvanse again for college, told me that he likes the way he feels unmedicated - his brain "races" and he feels very energetic....like he can do all kinds of things at once. However, he now realizes (most of the time!) that most people don't feel like this....our brains rarely "race" and we can focus on one thing at a time without being pulled in all directions. So it's possible that your son just may not like the way he's supposed to feel....and this is certainly caused by the Vyvanse.

[stw298s]

My son is only 8. He is now on Intuniv. It seems to help with impulsivity and hyperactivity but not as much with focus and concentration. He was previously on straterra which helped more with focus but we switched to intuniv because he was having such bad mood swings with straterra. He still has some irritability with intuniv but not as bad.

[Janice_H]

My son was on this for a short trial. It did not work well and caused mood swings, lethargic behavior and loss of appetite. He was also sleeping most of the day (on weekends). I quickly informed his provider who changed him to a new medication.

[Ayak]

My 15 year old daughter is on guanfacine and adderall. The Guanfacine didn't help with focus but it definitely has helped with her anxiety, so we are continuing it.

[willandgrace in reply to Ayak]

Has the guanfacine made anyone drowsy?

[Ayak in reply to willandgrace]

It supposedly causes drowsiness, so we were advised by her doctor to take it before bedtime.

[Eclecticentric77]

Hi there I have Inattentive ADHD and was diagnosed in my mid 20s. People with ADHD lack multiple neurotransmitters, and the ones I mention below I believe are of the most crucial importance. When you have a low level of a neurotransmitter, it basically gives you major difficulty in the areas that it would otherwise be helping you out in. Stimulant medications primarily work with Dopamine and Norepinephrine, which takes care of those neurotransmitters, but what about those other important ones? Thankfully supplements, besides helping fight off bad side effects from stimulant medication, can also help with synthesis of these neurotransmitters we lack. Taking stimulant medication by itself can cause a lot of bad side effects that can cause people to stop taking a medication that is helping out their condition, but is causing a lot of discomfort. Supplements greatly help diminish and eliminate the side effects from stimulant medication. Protecting heart rate and blood pressure from rising is crucially important, especially having a good amount of antioxidants in order to fight off oxidation from the medication, which is bad for the body. I'm currently in grad school to become a psychologist and supplements along with medication have done wonders and have made my life a whole lot smoother.

Neurotransmitters in the brain that people with ADHD lack:

Dopamine : A neurotransmitter in the brain that affects your levels of concentration, motivation, pleasure senses, and sense of pain.

Norepinephrine : A neurotransmitter and stress hormone that deals with attentiveness, emotions, impulse control, planning ahead, sleep, and interpreting actions of others.

Serotonin : A neurotransmitter that deals with mood regulation, sleep, nervousness, empathy, appetite, digestion, and sexual urges.

Acetylcholine : A neurotransmitter that deals with muscle contraction, pain responses, mood regulation, REM sleep, and coordination.

GABA : A neurotransmitter that deals with anxiety, sleep, and how relaxed or tense the body feels.

theres a link on my profile page of a google doc I made of every supplement I take. It mentions what grocery stores and online stores (Amazon has all of these supplements a lot cheaper than markets like Sprouts and Whole Foods) sell these supplements, and some information about each of the supplements and how they help out people with ADHD, in case you're interested. Supplements have greatly helped me out, and have also done wonders for some families and individuals I've worked with, hope this helps.

[ccandyau in reply to Eclecticentric77]

Aside from testing neurotransmitters, what other tests are good before blind supplementation?

[Eclecticentric77 in reply to ccandyau]

There's a website called ncbi.com, where millions of scientific and peer reviewed articles of research on ADHD , ADHD supplementation, and tons of other scientific inquiry are thoroughly discussed. Most of your questions should be answered there. Once I complete grad school shortly, I will be obtaining my phD. as a clinical psychologist and plan to contribute more research to this website. I've been researching ADHD for about 5 years now and have discovered that the neurotransmitters I mention are some of the biggest contributing factors to the issues people with ADHD face. Some supplements work for some people, while some don't. Thankfully there are multiple alternative supplements that help with the same neurotransmitters, incase one does not go well with your body, you'll have other options. A great website I discovered early on nootropicsexpert.com , has an encyclopedia worth of information on different supplements and how they help people with ADHD. The supplements I take work for me, but may not work for others. Best advice is to have a game plan set about what neurotransmitters and brain functions you want to improve, then select a supplement for each. I would never recommend to take supplements blindly. The website supplement link I gave you, does a great job at helping you out with a game plan for setting up your nootropic stack (supplements you take). I had to do trial and error with a few supplements (odds are so will most people), and noticed that the scheduling and time you take certain supplements is quite important. I have a post on my profile about my daily supplement schedule in case you're interested. Hope all this helps

[Princess023 in reply to Eclecticentric77]

Do any of these supplements help with tics in children? My son is 11 and has really constant vocal tics.

[willandgrace]

what is your profile page ? Id like to see the list of supplements. TY

[Eclecticentric77 in reply to willandgrace]

To access my profile page just clink on my profile picture next to my name, which will then take you to my profile, where towards the top you'll see my bio, click on my bio and you'll see the supplement link we're talking about.