My 9 year old started using Guanfacine last night and started on 1mg. I know it’s still very new but did anyone here experience increased appetite?
Also any thoughts or experience with Guanfacine that you could share with me will also be helpful.
Just a little background. We have tried Strattera, Adderall, and Focalin that did not work for him either we did not see any change or made his tics unmanageable. Also might not be the proper timing for him with those meds.
Thank you for your support!
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Sounds like my son. He’s 7 yrs old and has adhd, autism, tic disorder, and epilepsy. He is on Guanfacine 3mg per day and it’s working well for him. It doesn’t take away his tics completely but they did decrease significantly. I have also taught him that stress brings on tics so I teach him how to calm his body by doing breathing exercises and this helps calm down tic episodes. At least with this medicine the tics are not as aggressive and happen less. I noticed increased appetite so I am careful of what he eats. I make sure he has fruits and veggies in his diet and make sure he gets active play for at least 1-2 hrs a day. I also noticed he began to have sleeping difficulties so I added melatonin 5 mg at night to help him with sleep. Melatonin is a natural supplement you can get over the counter. Melatonin has antioxidants that help calm anxiety too so it works well for several things. I hope this helps! Good luck.
Melatonin shouldn't be used long term or every single night, because it can permanently disrupt your child's brain from naturally producing melatonin on its own, and your child will be dependent on supplements, not to mention permanently disrupt our circadian rhythm, or sleep cycle. Our natural melatonin production regulates our circadian rhythm, introducing supplemental melatonin regularly will tell your brain, "I am have enough melatonin, I do not need to produce more," so will stop producing naturally. Please talk to your pediatrician about melatonin before giving it to your child.
Guanfacine worked well for a time for my son, who had an adverse reaction to stimulants. It took at least a few days to begin to see the results, if I am recalling correctly, and longer to really gauge whether it was working, but ultimately it helped with his (minor) tics, impulsiveness, mood dysregulation, and focus. Eventually, though, his body adjusted and it stopped working as well, so we have switched to Clonidine, and are still working out the kinks. My son's appetite wasn't affected by guanfacine. Is your son taking Intuniv or Tenex (in other words, immediate or extended release)? Assuming extended based on your comment regarding 1mg at night, I would just caution that you must be in the titration stage--starting very low--what my psychiatrist friend would refer to as a "microdose". Don't be surprised if you need to bump up to a 2 or 3mg dose to really see results. Good luck!
Hello! My son tried Guanfacine about 4 years ago. He has tics, as well. Not only did the medication not reduce the tics, I would say it greatly exacerbated them. He also seemed to become more irritable. He was 7 at the time. I hope this is helpful.
Sorry another question....what examples of irritability would you say you saw? I’m just trying to have a comparison if it’s something I am seeing as well.
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