guanfacine experience?

[SavingHope]

is anyone using guanfacine? Can you share the experience of this med? Thank you

[elizabethspencer416]

hi there! My 6 (almost 7)yo son has been using it for two years now. He’s currently on 4mg of the ER formulation, taken every night. It’s been a massive help for him, but it’s important to note its use before getting into it. You won’t really see any changes in attention span or hyperactivity. It’s mostly for the impulsivity and mood, in our case. So it really depends on what you’re trying to get out of the medicine for your child.

[SavingHope in reply to elizabethspencer416]

Thank you 🙏 this is all new to me. Thanks again sharing your experience.

[Pema20]

my the 17 YO daughter used it. She was on 1MG. It took her a couple of weeks to adjust to that, but she did adjust. It seemed to tone her emotional dysregulation down and helped with sleep at night. However, she felt it did little else except make her sluggish. She tried 2mg and fainted so much, we couldn’t get past the first 6 days. After 4 months, she elected to go off it and I think it was the right choice. She’s stopped napping as much and has been more active. She continues to sleep better at night and overall, her emotional dysregulation is much reduced, which is largely due to CBT therapy and maturity. Basically, Guanfacine was not for her. Our blood pressure runs low and this may be a factor. Others have certainly benefitted so it really just depends on the person. Good luck!

[SavingHope in reply to Pema20]

Thank you for sharing your experience. 🙏

[Lillianmcmcl]

I find everyone's comments so interesting! My 8 year old has taken 2 mg a day for the past year and while it has been very subtle, I think it helps with her hyperactivity, impulsiveness and anxiety. My husband and I both have high blood pressure, so I think this must be part of why it's a good fit.

[SavingHope in reply to Lillianmcmcl]

Good info…that’s my concern on other meds blood pressure …thank you 🙏

[arrh121]

My 8 year old son has been on guanfacine ER and atomoxetine for 2.5 years. Since starting, his behavior has significantly improved and he has gone from being in a mixed/special education class to doing well in a mainstream classroom. It is hard to know how much is maturity and how much is the medication, but we think it helped him, mainly with impulsivity and mood.

[SavingHope in reply to arrh121]

Good to hear! Thank you 🙏

[Nebrat526]

hi there, we just started on 1mg for about 5 days now and see an improvement in mood, patience, anxiety and his impulses. His appetite is a lot better. The first 2 days on it he was INCREDIBLY sleepy and fell asleep for 2.5 hours but now he still get “tired” but not drowsy like before..

[SavingHope in reply to Nebrat526]

Good to know this med didn’t loss the appetite…thank you 🙏

[Onthemove1971]

We have had a very good experience with our 17 year old son. He was also taking a stimulant until we struggled to get medication so it was recommended that he take Wellbutrin and the two together have really worked well. When he was younger he used Ritilin with Gucanfcine and this worked well. I will say how important it has been having a child psychiatrist helping us on this journey. I was able to have a person to bounce ideas off of when things were rough.

[SavingHope in reply to Onthemove1971]

Awesome!! Thank you 🙏

[Mamamichl]

we used to take it. My partner got light headed. My stepkid did the same as well as got sleepy. He even feinted once because it’s originally a blood pressure med.

[SavingHope in reply to Mamamichl]

Oh no…meaning it lower down more on the blood pressure…noted!! Thank you 🙏

[Mamamichl in reply to SavingHope]

I believe it works to keep you from escalating/freaking out. To me, it would seem like it doen's help with your thoughts.

[Alt49]

6.5 year old has been on it for a few months in conjunction with methylphenidate. .5mg 2x per day. It’s helped a ton with evening him out so there isn’t such a stark difference when his stimulants wear off. Before adding the guanfacine the evenings were a disaster. For him it’s less about controlling hyperactivity and more about emotional regulation. No real side effects for him

[BrainSaladMa]

I am new to the community and my 5 yr old is new to guanfacine, too. The good news is that, as people have noted, it can help with impulsivity and emotional regulation considerably! Our son was rolling around in class and having trouble controlling his body. The teacher noticed a marked improvement in that aspect of his behavior after trying this med.

We chose this because we were somewhat leery of stimulants at his age. However, it is worth noting that it hasn’t helped with hyperactivity or focus.

I hope this helps! I wish I had this community when deciding hat meds for my son to try. 🙏

[PrincessAsh]

My 14 yo took it for a few weeks and had to stop due to side effects. He had light headness, blurred vision, nausea, and struggled to stay awake in the day which was already a problem for him.

[SavingHope in reply to PrincessAsh]

Noted!! Thank you for sharing hope he feel better now..🙏