Tenex for ADHD | ADHD Information
My son has done very well on Tenex he takes concerta along with it but we are considering dropping concerta and just doing the tenex. It does not help him sleep but it calms him down so that he does not have outbursts like screaming at us or crying fits. It doesn't seem to help with focus in school though so we are still trying to find something that works better for that. Tried 10 focalin for a few days and he was wide awake until 4:00 a.m. each night. So now the doctor is suggesting we try opening the focalin and cutting it to 5 mg instead of the 10. And drop the concerta again of course. It's all such a juggling act or the doc. said we could just try raising the tenex. My child's experience has been that Tenex helps for impulsivity and hyperactivity, but it does not help w/ focus. The dr. agreed w/ this. Tenex also helps w/ anxiety, if you face that issue. Mom2ADHDboy39749.3438078704My son is on 1/2 mg of tenex and 36 mg of Concerta in the morning. He was on just the tenex for awhile and it did help with the hyperness/impusivity (not all of it). But he was having behavior issues - angery outbursts, sometimes violent, non-compliance and major distractability. He developed ODD and that's when we started on Concerta - one med adjustment and on the whole - my son is great. Calm (never sleepy or comatose), focused, happy, compliant (as well as a typical 8 1/2 year old can be )We have no major side affects or any wearing off issues.
A lot of time Tenex is perscribed with Concerta or another form of that type of drug to help with appetite b/c it can affect their stomachs.
Hi Mali, My son just started omega 3's about a week ago, from what i have read on the alternative site is that it will take 3 weeks or more for us to see any kind of change (if any). My son also interrupts the class etc. Yet my son is very smart. His teacher did not even realize that he was paying attention to her --for example at story time, he doesnt sit still - taps other kids, etc. she thought he wasnt even listening until i told her that he comes home and can repeat to me the whole story --- even little details. He is a quick learner, my 9 year old is learning spanish in school and tells him what she learned, he has picked up on that also. I am hoping with him it is the apnea --- but things are never that simple. I hope all of us find answers for the kids and for us. We all need this support system.
Hi, Momw3kids, my daughter also just started to try omega 3 (150 mg for her weight of 55 lb). She is 6.5 years old first grader and on Concerta. What dosage of omega 3 you are using and how long you need to take to see effect?
I also did sleep study for my daughter and took her tonsils out. She sleeps better than before (it will take 3-4 months to sleep better after tonsil removal. so wait!) but now clearly she needs Concerta. If she misses concerta for one day, she would interrupt in class a lot and not get work done at school, and it seems she would fall sleep at 3pm (less stimulant!).
About Tenex, I thought doc only put Tenex with one other stimulant, such as concerta or ritalin. The stimulant raises blood pressure while Tenex drops it and also relief some of side effects of stimulants.
Tenex is used for high blood pressure, but technically what it does is relax smooth muscles. lillian38847.8452546296Valerie318...thank you so much for the reminder not to stop it quickly and to wean it off.....I had already forgotten about that. THANK YOU!! My son is on Tenex for ADHD, and it has worked wonders. He does not have any aggressive behaviors or mood swings--just hyper and impulsive--and Tenex works like a mild sedative for him. It does not help with sleep, however. He's a major night owl, and Tenex has not changed that. lillian38845.6305555556
MY son 5yrs old was also on Tenex, 1mg at night and .5 mg in the AM.
We tried it for about 4 weeks without any change in his behavior, not better not worse, he is very very Hyper, impulsive. The only thing I notice while on Tenex is that he had a hard time falling asleep and woke up @ 6am every morning. After we stop taking it he went back to his normal sleep routines.
He is on Metadate 20mg only. This one helps alot but lasts about 5-6 hours, sometimes we need to give it to him 2 times a day. As long as the second one is not later than 1pm.
We have also tried Ritalin, Adderall, Focalin, Concerta, Clonidine, all of those either they did not work or had bad side effects.
Good luck.
Also go to the top of this page and go to SEARCH type Tenex ..then put topic/subject. and on the parents of child adhd board
Good luck
Hi, my son was on Tenex for a while for his ADHD also. It is an alpha blocker commonly used to treat high blood pressure but it is also effective in helping with sleep. My son was only on the Tenex for sleep reasons but our experience is it did not help. Be warned - do NOT stop an alpha blocker cold turkey. It must be weaned off over a period of 4-6 weeks.His child pyschiatrist is the one who has prescribed the tenex. I have called crying to her asking her why are these meds not working?? Does he really "have" adhd.....it is so frustrating. He has not had a "medical" work up for lab results. Maybe I should request that on our next visit??!! It is true that the tenex just makes him tired...which could easliy frustrate him more and have more outbursts because he is so stinkin sleepy??!! Oh, I wish there was this magic wand that we all could obtain :) But because the other meds didnt work...I dont want to give up on this one...because it hasnt made his worse like the others it just really hasnt made him "better" either. So that is why I am trying the increased dose. Just to give it a "shot".....she is thinking about focalin for the summer...which I am pretty sure is very close to Ritalin which didnt touch him even with the maximum dose. Thank you though for writing me back....I truly need to hear that others go through this and it is just not me. Our counselor tries to instill that in me but it is hard to wonder what in the world did I do wrong with this son and not the other!! Have a great day
Jacob has uncontrollable outbursts. Like he is a maniac or something. Eating out or even going to Walmart usually causes some outbursts of some kind. He will get on one subject and we will hear the same thing over and over and over. That is why she is trying Zoloft on him for OCD. Sometimes I wonder if he isnt just a spoiled brat but I know he wouldnt act like that if he really could help himself. Right? He has so much trouble focusing at school....he never had a "behavior" problem at school only at home....our counselor says because he is more comfortable at home. He just rushes through his work and makes lots of mistakes. But when I can get him to settle down....he does great. Anyway....wouldn't it be great to go and get his tonsils out and presto.....a happy content child and mom:) ??? I wish the other lady the best and I pray that it helps her and her family. He made it to dinner tonight...I lowered the dose back down....still praying for a miracle. thanks and have a good night.
Good luck with your son. Wouldn't it be great if it was from his tonsils. All the best.Tenex IS a blood pressure pill. It's used a lot for sleep. It's purpose in ADHD is negotiable. My son's ex-psychiatrist didn't use it for ADHD. He said it doesn't work.Clonidine either. It didn't matter turnes out son was misdiagnosed and never had ADHD. How does your son experience "outbursts?" Are they short and impulsive or violent? He could have more than ADHD, which is why the meds aren't working. Zoloft can be very dangerous for certain disorders. There is a warning from the FDA about SSRIs and kids under 18. My son, who is on the autism spectrum, had a bizarre reaction to Prozac, which is a cousin to Zoloft. He wouldn't stop talking and climbed on his desk over and over again jumping off. My son has never been a behavior problem. That day was the first and only day a teacher ever called and she was more scared than anything. The stimulants and Prozac hit the trash, and then we had a wrong diagnosis of bipolar. It's hard to diagnose our kids and the first diagnosis is often wrong. I strongly advise, if the outbursts are more like rages, seeing a Neuropsych or a Child Psyschiatrist (with the MD) for another evaluation. Psycologists (except NeuroPsychs) and other non-MD therapists aren't very good at figuring out what's wrong with our kids. They also don't do any tests. NeuroPsych's do lots of testing and can figure out ADHD and beyond. Pediatricians are pretty awful too. They can fix an infection, but don't know much about childhood disorders. Schools are probably the worse. Your son will do much better once you have a very clear picture of what's going on, and you don't yet. I wish you luck!Sounds so much like my son. I feel for you. I am going through the same exact feelings. You feel sad for your son (mine is 5 1/2) and you also feel so alone. You dont want people to think your son is a monster ----because there is a sweet side to him too. My son has been in trouble in kindergarten countless times. He was on concerta and then focalin. I feel neither helped --- he got angrier too. Teacher said he focused more --- but doctor said anyone on the med will focus more. So we stopped all meds until we find out what really is going on. He just had a sleep study done, found to have sleep apnea (he stopped breathing the night of the study 28 times in the course of the night) -- so now they want to remove his tonsils. They say sleep apnea will show the same symptoms as adhd in kids. So, he said we should see improvement after removal --- his tonsils are very enlarged. And if not, we will look until we find the answer. It is so frustrating --- knowing that he is a sweet and caring boy---- but something takes hold and he is a total different boy --- and i think he can not control it either. I have tried many routes. Right now, since we are off meds --- which i think is good anyhow --- i am so afraid of these meds --- my 9 year old daughter is adhd and on concerta. She benefits from the meds, my son does not. But we are trying the OMEGA 3's. Only been a week.... we will see!!! My son also has had many side effects of the stimulants and had severe anxiety while on Strattera. We went to the neurologist today and are going to try Tenex also. I'm nervous that it will completely knock him out. It's supposed to help the impulsivity and hyperactivity. I'm glad that Lillian's son reacted well to it. Anyone else with any comments on it?Hello everyone...I havent been on here for awhile. My son is 6 years old and is now trying tenex to help him with his adhd. Has anyone else tried this and what results did you get? He has been on Ritalin, Adderall, Conserta and all of them have made him worse. He acted out much more while on these meds. He is also taking Zoloft. Lord sometimes I feel so awful shoving these drugs down him but I love him so much and he needs SOMETHING. He acts out so much....are these helping?? Somedays I think they are but others I feel like I am not even giving him his meds. He is such a great child......he just cant help his outbursts and it's a living hell!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for letting me vent. Any help would be appreciated.
The mom of a great 6 year old boy!!!
jakeszachsmom wrote:
My son is 6 years old and is now trying tenex to help him with his adhd. Has anyone else tried this and what results did you get?
It is not uncommon for a doctor to prescribe Tenex or Clonidine to promote sleep as many Adhd'ers suffer from insomnia. Tenex is also used in the treatment of tic disorder. However, they are blood pressure medications and are not given as a first line of treatment for ADHD. I dont have any experience with tTenex but perhaps you will get some responses from posters who have used it with regard to any other benefits tenex might have.
Also, if your son has gotten worse on ADHD medications, perhaps you should revisit the diagnosis and get a second opinion. Don't feel guilty about giving your son medication because your intent is to provide him with quality of life and thats what a good parent does. Sometimes its a long journey trying to get an accurate diagnosis, the right medication and the right dose but the earlier you start effective, proven treatment, the better the outcome down the road. Vent away. That's what we are here for
Isn't Tenex for high blood pressure? Iv'e never heard of this for treating ADHD. Does it maybe slow him down;calm him down a little?
Has he had a thorough physical, with the bloodwork, and a psych or neuropsych eval? Getting an appropriate and correct diagnosis is the first thing to do, if you haven't already. Maybe he has something else or other than ADHD going on, is why you are having trouble with the meds not working? The first thing we did was go to a pediatircian. He did nothing but check his hearing and ask him a few questions. I could see how the med merry-go-round could start from there, if we had not gone on our own to go the more thorough route.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record on this board, have you looked into alternatives at all? Many folks have had great sucess with the omegas and magnesium supplements. You can add them in at the same time as taking the meds. Does not have to replace them. A good number of ADHD kids have low serum levels of mag, and supplementing helps to calm, and it's something the body needs anyways.
I'm glad you came here. I wish I had this place years ago before we had the DX, and our lives were an ADHD shambles!
Dylan was on Tenex - 1 mg. once a day. It made him comatose. He wouldn't wake (he was only 4 at the time), he was a zombie.
It IS a blood pressure medication, and yes, some pdocs DO prescribe this for ADHD (as well as Clonodine, which is in the same family) - although it is not specifically for ADHD.
If you're seeing manic episodes - if you're thinking possible Bipolar (I know nothing about OCD, sorry), the stimulants will probably make your child worse. My son has tried them all - 17 medication trials over 6 years - and NOTHING worked.
Manic episodes are uncontrollable, and your child's outbursts probably are out of his control. I don't think it has anything to do with him being spoiled or not - when my son would rage he had no control over any of his emotions at all. It was like he was psychotic, then when it was over, he was exhausted. He would sit and stare into space, and you'd ask him why he did what he did, and he wouldn't know why.
You may want to think about a mood stabilizer for your child. IF there is a concern of Bipolar, that is the best way to start.
Janna
My friends son has ADHD, and Bipolar and he is on Tenex as well as Adderal and she has told me it has been working wonders for his uncontrolable outbursts.Gosh I wished this would be making a difference in my son. Today after school I gave him 1 1/2 mg and he didnt even make it to dinner. Knocked him right out. I want a calm son not a sleeping son. So not going to do that anymore....will have to call the doc and tell her this isnt the right med for him. Poor baby....and to think this lowers his blood pressure to the point of putting him to sleep. What a proud mom moment this is. Sorry...but giving him this has never been a comfortable thing for me. thanks everyone once again for all of the information...it really makes a difference!Hi, Momw3kids, Thanks for replying. How much dosage of omega 3 your son takes? My daughter also interrupts a lot in school.