questions about medications

[Lovedogs17]

Hello- my child-6 year old girlhas been diagnosed with anxiety, adhd-combined, autism level 1 and sensory processing. She is on 15 mg of Prozac in the morning and 3mg of Guanfacine at night along with hydroxyzine 25 mg at night. We tried Concerta for 3 days and had a terrible reaction. It seems she could benefit from something to help focus at school, be less impulsive, etc. she needs many movement breaks at school and seems to be overstimulated every day around the Same time in the afternoon. Hoping to get ideas. I also give her magnesium and vitamin D. We attend OT, Speech, counseling. Some days are really hard. She has an IEP at school. Any suggestions or medications that have helped your kids that doesn’t aggravate anxiety?

[Onthemove1971]

We were told that when the medication is the correct type, at the correct dose and giving at the correct time 60% of the symptoms should go away. Guanfacine is used for focus and mood control, if you explain focus is still an issue they may consider increasing the Guanfacine.

Hope you can get it dialed on, it is life changing when it all works and the symptoms go away.

Take care,

[Elembe]

my son is 8 and is dX with all the same. My guy is super impulsive high movement and struggles with self regulation We’ve tried lots of different things and have found astaryz in morning helps with focus and impulsivity during school day- like no problems at all! He takes Seroquel in evening along with qelbree at night(for sleep and to wake up in morning not going 1000mph) The dr is thinking of adding 1 guanfacine mid day for help with impulse control-mood (we get the behaviors after school is out). Nothing for anxiety at the moment. Adding folate too Good luck! It’s such a hard journey.

[El-Eektrified]

I’ve been diagnosed with the same conditions like your daughter. I’ve struggled with hyperactivity, and been on Guanfacine (4mg) for nearly 2 years. It did help decrease my hyperactivity which in return helped with focus and peace of mind. But my sensory issues were getting worse, might have been caused by stimulants… so my psychiatrist added aripiprazole and this felt like Guanfacine 2.0. So we decided that I could try to titrate down and stop the Guanfacine, which I did. If you would ask me what has changed… I probably can’t explain…

Because of my autism, it takes time to realize what helps, and titration works best if it’s done “slow” because every change is hard to notice and I need more time to figure this out.

Every med changes something in our brain, change isn’t always causing the right response, therefore we need more time to self observe.

I can imagine being 6 years old, taking all sorts of meds, having to judge if it helps… feeling pressure and things I don’t understand, this can cause hyperactivity by itself. Give your daughter time to find out if she can benefit, don’t judge too quickly!

[Lovedogs17 in reply to El-Eektrified]

Thank you so much for sharing this. Would you be willing to share more about your experiences as a child. What helped or didn’t help as a child? My goal is to learn as much as I can to advocate for my child while teaching her to advocate for herself/ learn about what her brain/body needs.

[El-Eektrified in reply to Lovedogs17]

I could give it a try 😊 my mom died 3 years ago, this was life changing for me, in a negative way, because then I realized how much I needed her to guide me through my emotions.

When I was a child, she always knew instinctively how I felt, and she was able to tell me. f.i when I was tired, sad, or felt things I didn’t understand.

So as a mom, you are able to tell how your daughter is feeling, just trust your natural instincts!

But in terms of medication, you can only observe, and realize that we have difficulties understanding what internally changes.

I wished that I would have known sooner, and I’m still learning about autism. It’s good to share and understand difficulties we might face. Like not always having the same energy like our peers. Knowing that it is OK to have down time. Learning to plan, ask for help! need visuals and being stubborn at times, when things aren’t going the way they supposed to…

Hope this helps!

[Willowbee37]

as much outside time as you can! Buy a little indoor trampoline and use it before school. After school “nature walk” even if it’s just around the block. I cannot recommend outside time enough. They are free to discover and get some energy out. Fresh air is exactly what they need after being confined at school.

[El-Eektrified in reply to Willowbee37]

Perfect advice! 😊