Anyone have experience with Intuniv?

[nycgirl56]

My grandson was put on Intuniv. 1mg at 7am and another 1mg at noon. His personality is different on it and I don't like it. I rather have an active child that's pleasant and engaging rather than a docile quiet child. He also becomes more anxious, needy and easily agitated on the meds but his mother likes him on the meds cause it's easier for her to handle him when he's quiet.

[Onthemove1971]

Doesn't sound like a good match.for your child.

Medication is suppose to decrease the symptoms and make things better %60 of the time. The other %40 I'd accommodations and modifications and parental control.

We take ours at night and it is a 24hr. Dose that is for focusing. We also take a medication for impulse control.

Good luck.

[nycgirl56 in reply to Onthemove1971]

For the mother she says it works because he's quiet and calm and she just deals with the other side effects. I suppose he can focus when he's calm. Hes is high energy and alert but I don't think he has impulse control issues or problems focusing. His mother was able to convience her psychiatrist that he's hyper and had him prescribed Intuniv. Can any psychiatrist give a ADHD diagnosis? The school is aware he takes meds but no one has moved on the direction of getting a school classification or set up on a 504 because on the meds he's a perfect student. I would like to hear parents give me their perspective on this. I don't think he needs meds..he's high energy but can focus has good recall and is alert. Im not sure he is benefiting from this as much the adults that rather not have to deal with the attention my grandson requires to keep him engaged. He's very smart and involved with every thing going on around him. I'm not sure that's a recipe for ADHD.

[Pennywink in reply to nycgirl56]

Hi nycgirl!

You previously mentioned your grandson is 5 - so he may not need school accommodations yet. At my son’s school, the accommodations we would have requested are already built in to the typical K & 1st grade curriculum, so we are just now starting down that road in second grade.

I believe any psychiatrist can evaluate for ADHD. However, there is more to it than just a parent wanting meds to make life easy (which is a common misperception.) The psychiatrist does their own assessment, as well as has a parent and a teacher (or someone outside the family who regularly is in charge of the child) each do an independent evaluation. And if enough symptoms are shown across the board, along with impairment, then a diagnosis is made. Having symptoms alone is not enough for a diagnosis - there also also needs to be demonstrable impairment. A parent complaining that their child is too hyper is not enough to get a diagnosis. Sometimes the process can feel quick, especially to someone who isn’t the primary caregiver, but it is surprisingly accurate.

I can understand how it may seem unnecessary to a grandparent. Both sets of my child’s grandparents were (and some still are) resistant to the diagnosis. I’m not sure in what context you see your grandson, but kids with ADHD typically 1. do better one on one with an adult, and 2. can focus quite well on things they are interested in. My son has a lot of interests - so when he’s alone with a grandparent doing something he wants to do, yes, he will seem like a very bright neurotypical kid. But as his primary caregiver, I am the one guiding him when there are other people (especially kids) or overstimulation, and talking to teachers about behaviors, and going to doctor appointments. I’m the one helping him when it’s not something he wants to do (get ready for school, get ready for bed), etc. And not that those things are a breeze with neurotypical kids, but it brings me back to my point of crossing the line into impairment.

Sorry to be long winded there! But as a parent, that is my perspective. Hope you find it helpful!

[Pennywink]

My son was on Intuniv for about 2 weeks (1mg once a day) at age 6.5. It was the first medication we tried. It settled my son down a bit - definitely calmed his body. But for us, it didn’t help enough with focus, and it flattened his personality more than we found acceptable. So we moved on to another med.

Children are moving targets when it comes to finding the right med. So just because it wasn’t a good fit for my son doesn’t mean it isn’t a good fit for other children. I believe some physicians prefer to start with non-stimulants like Intuniv for younger children, as typically the side effects are easier to handle.

[Cjkchamp]

It sedated my son and he had no personality left. He stopped playing like he used to. He wouldn’t go outside anymore. He is now on broad spectrum micronutrients which are supervised by the psychiatrist.

[anirush]

Both of my grandsons are on it. For one it is his main ADHD medication. For the other it is an add on with Straterra and it has given him his best year ever at school. But medications work differently for every child. You are the best judge as to how it is working. I will say it was about a month before they leveled off on it.

[ADHD_DAD]

Hi nycgirl56:

I don't think that it is uncommon for grandparents and parents to disagree on what is best or needed for a child. I know that my son's grandparents don't agree with many of the decisions that we make. They don't even like that he takes medication. I just try to be patient and to be grateful that my son has so many people who care about him. It sounds like your grandson is fortunate to have multiple generations taking such an interest in his well being. While it sounds like your daughter and you disgree on the specific type of help that is best for your grandson, it appears that you are both trying to help him. He is a lucky boy! Be patient and hang in there!!

[Pennywink in reply to ADHD_DAD]

That you for putting things in a more positive perspective - you are totally right! 😊

[Janice_H]

Hi grandmom, my son was on a trial of Intuiv several years ago. Although it made him more calm and quiet, it gave him a flat personality with zombie like qualities. I phoned his doctor and requested a different medication. I totally agree with Pennywink's longer response to you. Hope this helps.

[deni5]

Different medications work differently for different kids. My 8 year old son was on intuniv and it made him aggressive and agitated. We took him off and now he is on a different medication. It is working much better. Unfortunately, finding the right medication is trial and error.