Medication stopped working after two weeks?

[daemaitehn]

Hello Support team (Yes, you all are),

My daughter is currently on Focalin XR which was increased in dosage, and started Guanfacine about 3-4 weeks ago. When the guanfacine was started, it was almost night and day. We had tons of great reports from school, she was making great progress at home. Fast forward to this week, almost 4 weeks into the addition of Guanfacine and she is getting rough reports of impulsiveness and not following directions. We have also noticed this at home.

My question or concern is that I wonder why this would all the sudden be changing almost like a light switch and also unsure what we should do. We do have a good psycologist, and we have the option to increase the guanfacine, but I am just unsure since it was so effective to start. To our knowledge, nothing further has changed. Thanks everyone

[Onthemove1971]

Just a few thoughts.. Are you watching her take every dose? Not taking her word for it. Also did she start a new bottle? Wonder if the RX is wrong?

I would really recommend you guys see a child psychatrist, they specialize in working with medication.

[daemaitehn in reply to Onthemove1971]

We are watching her take every dose, and the same bottle she started with

We do see a child Psychiatrist, so good there too.

[Pennywink]

How old is your child? My first suspicion also is if she stopped taking one of the prescriptions. This can be particularly dangerous with guanfacine, which needs to be much more regulated & consistent than a stimulant.

However, guanfacine can take 2-8 weeks to really show its effect, so it could also be her body adjusting to the medication. I would consult her prescribing physician.

[daemaitehn in reply to Pennywink]

She is 7.

[Janice_H]

Speak to your doctor about modifying the medication. You are great at watching and taking note of the behavior changes.