My son has been diagnosed with adhd a couple years back. He was taking Adderall XR but it wasn’t the right fit for my son. He is now 10 and we are starting with medication again along with therapy to help.
My question is; can anyone share their child’s experience with me on this specific type of medication? I know every child is different but I would like to know ahead of time what is expected and what worked and didn’t work!
Thank you so much !
This medication has been amazing for our son. He went from having meltdowns to being able to go long periods without major behavior issues. We continued the stimulant and added the Initiv. Since it is a non-stimulant it is not controlled so there was no shortage of the medication. Our dose was a 24 hour dose and we gave it at bedtime. We had to adjust it as he grew to 2x a day.
Hope this helps.
I will say our son doesn't take these any loner he takes Wellbutrin and Intiv now and it has been working well. We started this due to the shortage of stimulants.
Thank you for sharing, you said you give it before bedtime? His psychiatrist suggested 1x a day in the morning. Does it make him sleepy or sluggish? I also like that it was a non stimulant and not controlled like the adderall xr he was taking but than we stopped due to shortage reasons and fell off. Did it help with mood swings?
We started at night time then later on had to add a dose so he took it am and pm. Nope-no sleepy or slugishness.
If I were in your shoes I would add Initiv and then get that dose and timing before making a decision about the stimulant.
It killed me to give him 2 medication but we had no choice.
Just know if that doesn't work, what that means is 60% of behavior should be gone ( at least, our son it was more like 80-90% now) then you could try wellbutrin and Initv and both are none stimulants.
Hope this helps..
You guys will get there it just takes patience.
Guangfacine helped my son slow down his reaction time so that he wasn't always overreacting to things and making us walk on eggshells around him. We have had to increase the dose twice since he started on it and will probably have to do so again when school starts in the fall because his problems are starting to increase again. We're told 4mg is an average dose, and we're up to 3 now.
When we were giving my son guanfacine right before bed, he would take hours to fall asleep (like 10/11pm). When we happened to mention this to his psychiatrist, she told us that guanfacine can take 6-8 hours to make you sleepy! So we started giving it to him right after school (2:30) and he started sleeping great (8:30).
We eventually moved it to an hour after school (3:30) because he was having meltdowns getting ready for bed so I figured maybe he was getting tired too soon, and now it's better getting ready and he still falls asleep between 8:30-9. Gotta find that sweet spot.
Guanfacine extended release is helpful for my 10 yo as well. However, he could only take 0.5mg at night. Otherwise it makes him too tired in general. He also takes a stimulant in the morning that really helps him with school.
adderall is a stimulant med. Guanfacine was originally used for blood pressure and not a stimulant. It didn’t work for my family, and we learned we would have adverse effects through a gene sight test we took later.
My partner got light headed, and my step kid even feinted on Guanfacine . It works for many people because it won’t let your pressure raise when agitated. I recommend a gene sight test if insurance will pay or if you can afford it. It’s like $5k though out of pocket. Gene sight tests helped me and my partner find the right medication, and I will be doing one for my daughter this summer so we can find a good med for her.
Our son is 8 and has been on Guanfacine ER and Atomoxetine for more than a year and they have worked well for him. He didn’t respond well to stimulants. His issues are mainly mood and impulsivity and it feels like they give him a little extra time to consider his actions.
Hello areh121! Are you able to give atomexitine and Guanfacine together? I would love to try that for my 10 year old who gets extremely excited and is very impulsive! Please let me know the doses that have worked for you! Thank you
He takes 2mg guanfacine ER and 36mg atomoxetine together, we went through a period of figuring out the right dose with his psychiatrist. It helps him but he can still be very explosive and impulsive, though things are much better than they used to.
I hope you and your doctor are able to figure out something that works well for your child!
Gaunfacine has been positive for us. My 9YO son has been on it for about 1.5 years now. He takes just 1mg in the mornings, and it has been helpful in regulating his emotional responses. We recently just tried to bring a stimulant back in again (after two bad experiences 2 years ago with two others that he didn't respond well to.) He started on Vyvanse a month ago, and it has been great! He continues to take the Guanfacine as well. After two weeks of adjusting to Vyvanse (main symptom being a huge crash in the afternoon), things are going really well. He is eating and sleeping, and his teachers have noticed he is more focuses and on-topic at school (and able to sit for longer periods of time). The best part is that the new medicine hasn't changed his personality at all!! (Which was a concern of mine.)
Anyhow, good luck in your journey. Gaunfacine has a couple weeks of an adjustment period as well, so stay patient. 
My daughter, then 17, tried it for about 6months. It helped with emotional dysregulation a bit, but she was really tired all the time. She has been much more engaged and active, much less time on the couch, since she went off of it. She was on 1 mg and noticed no difference with focus. We tried 2mg, but she could not tolerate it at all; we had to stop after 5 days because she kept fainting. Her blood pressure runs on the low side any way so it was not a good fit for her. Others have had good experiences; it’s all trial and error.
Guanfacine didn’t seem a great fit for my 7 year old boy. We added it in when nightly outbursts (aggression, destruction) occurred when his stimulant wore off. We tried it for 6 weeks to try & give it a good chance. We also tried to play around with the timing of giving it, but after 6 weeks of deteriorating mental health & home life, I had to put a stop to it. He was drowsy & very flat. He was getting even less sleep than before & his outbursts were more erratic & unpredictable, making them harder to manage. He was having difficulty playing sport at his usual ability, which had a negative impact on his friendships at school.
On the positive side, we have started anxiety medication & melatonin, in addition to his stimulant and things are really improving for my son.
Guanfacine
Adderal XR and Guanfacine
non stimulant trial with guanfacine
