Tenex | ADHD Information

My 11 year old son's psych recommended that we start him on Tenx. Has
any one had any experience with this med? My son's biggest adhd issue
is that he difficulty focusing, and has some smaller impulsivity problems.

In third grade, my son started taking meds. First Adderall XR -- but he
didn't tolerate the stimulant well. Then we tried Concerta but that didn't
seem to do anything. He went back to Adderall XR on a very low dose,
and increased slowly. That seemed to work for a while (6 months), but
then started having problems with the stimulentmost disturbing was the
hand wringing. In the middle of 4th grade, he went back to Concerta, and
it seemed to work pretty well, without the side effects, but still no eating.
After a break this summer, 6th grade, we tried Daytrana Patch, in an
effort to use lower dose, and not encounter the stomach issues. He was
eating his lunch, but was too quiet in school, not participating, exhausted
when he came home, and started trying to come home from school with
stomach aches -- anxiety or constipation -- who knows?

Now, for the last week, he hasn't taken anything, but having some trouble
focusing and is anxious. Dr. thought Tenex might do the trick since he
doesn't seem to do well on the stimulants, and it might help the anxiety.

Any suggestions / experiences?

Tenex (guanfacine) is a blood pressure med that has effect in may symptoms of ADHD. Recently, Shire has completed clinical trials and asked the FDA for permission to market thier form of guanfacine for ADHD treatment. My daughter is on concerta and guanfacine and is doing very well. For her, guanfacine alone was not enough (but we did not increase the dose to the full amount) and concerta alone could not be increased to an optimal dose for best effect (due to weight issues). The combination for her is wonderful.

Guanfacine helps with calming, hyperactivity, impulivity, memory, ODD, sleep issues and eating issues. Here are some articles:

http://www.shire.com/shire/uploads/press/shire/CONNEXYN_NDA_ Submission_240806.pdf#search='shire%20guanfacine'

http://www.peacehealth.org/kbase/topic/detail/drug/hw164961/ detail.htm

http://www.indegene.com/Psy/Home/indPsy_Ind_News_09-08-2001_ 1.asp

Hope this helps.

Vickie,

Thanks! The websites are very helpful, I appreciate your response.