tenex

My son is 11 yrs old and has been taking off of Concerta due to "TICS".  He is starting Tenex today along w/ Lamictal that he has been on for several months. They cannot give him any stimulants at this time because of the tics. Is there anyone out there that takes Tenex w/out a stimulant and if so, does it work?

kpons,

My youngest is on guanfacine alone (2mg am and 2mg pm with a 1/2mg booster after school when needed). We stopped the concerta about 3 weeks ago and my daughter is doing great. If the guanfacine works for your child, you can watch for Shire to market thier long acting (once a day) formula for ADHD later this year. They showed improvement in ADHD at doses between 2 and 4mg/day in thier clinical trials.

I would say it is worth a try, just watch how you start and then work up to the effective dose. This med needs to be given every day (no sudden stopping and starting). This will reduce or eliminate any posible side effects.

Hi khmom,

Welcome. My daughter is on guanfacine (the generic of Tenex) alone (she was previously on concerta and gaunfacine). The things we did to reduce the posible side effects were:

Start at 1/2mg and increase by 1/2mg every 3-4 days (some recommend 1 week if you see side effects).

Start with a night time dose so that if there are sedating issues, they will not be a problem at school. Then each time you increase, do it at night first. Here is what my daughter's doctor had us do:

First 4 days: 1/2mg at night (1 hour before bed).

Next 4 days: 1mg at night.

Next 4 days: 1/2mg am and 1/2mg at night.

Next 4 days: 1/2mg am and 1mg at night.

Next 4 days: 1mg am and 1mg at night.

In the shire clinical trials for thier extended release guanfacine (which should be FDA approved later this year) the effective dose was between 2 and 4mg/day.

My daughter takes 2mg am and 2mg at night with the potential for 1/2mg after school when she has plans (she actually has a social life now that she is not so irritating to her friends ).

There are several tenex threads in the medication section that you might find helpful.

I hope this helps.

[/QUOTE]

Here you go, Vicke wrote it all out for you!

Hope your son is doing well on it!!

Along with concerta, guanfacine(tenex) is like the frosting on the cake

My son does very well using it!

Regards!

bethann, that is a great way to describe it!!  Frosting on the cake!  I love it!!

It just seems to be the missing 'something' for my chase as well....the thing that kinda fills in the bare spots....hard to describe, but frosting is pretty darn close! 

my son has been on this medication for 2 years in combination with his concerta. He controls his  overstimulation. It really helps him through his day. We also give him a half a pill at 5:00 sport practice times just to control any impulsive fooling around, etc. as the concerta is wearing off. He doesn't take any additional stimulants to get through sports, which we feel is great!

When my son's meds hadn't leveled off yet and were still upping the dosage, the teacher didn't notice a positive difference as the concerta increased until we upped this med.

Hope you give it a try, it may make a world of difference.

Hi khmom,

Welcome. My daughter is on guanfacine (the generic of Tenex) alone (she was previously on concerta and gaunfacine). The things we did to reduce the posible side effects were:

Start at 1/2mg and increase by 1/2mg every 3-4 days (some recommend 1 week if you see side effects).

Start with a night time dose so that if there are sedating issues, they will not be a problem at school. Then each time you increase, do it at night first. Here is what my daughter's doctor had us do:

First 4 days: 1/2mg at night (1 hour before bed).

Next 4 days: 1mg at night.

Next 4 days: 1/2mg am and 1/2mg at night.

Next 4 days: 1/2mg am and 1mg at night.

Next 4 days: 1mg am and 1mg at night.

In the shire clinical trials for thier extended release guanfacine (which should be FDA approved later this year) the effective dose was between 2 and 4mg/day.

My daughter takes 2mg am and 2mg at night with the potential for 1/2mg after school when she has plans (she actually has a social life now that she is not so irritating to her friends ).

There are several tenex threads in the medication section that you might find helpful.

I hope this helps.

My son has been on it since Christmas break and at first it tired him (first few days) but since then he is doing great!  In his case, he had some aggression/anger/frustration issues and he now seems better able to cope and not explode.

He gained 3 pounds last month while on Ritalin LA, tenex(guanfacine) and Periactin...he had been on the periactin since November, and was slowly gaining, but I think the addition of the guanfacine helped him to gain some more badly needed weight.

On guanfacine (Tenex), we see less defiance, less arguementativeness, anger is more appropriately expressed, no more rages and less impulsivity (in the form of irritating her sister just for the fun of it). It also is helping my daughter make and keep friends now.

There are some good articles to print for the doctor and help with the discussion:

http://www.uspharmacist.com/oldformat.asp?url=newlook/files/ drug/acf2fd1.cfm&pub_id=8&article_id=113

http://www.shire.com/shire/NewsAndMedia/PressReleases/showSh irePress.jsp?ref=600&tn=&m1=&m2

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

And a previous thread:

http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=24770& PN=1

We see the dr on Monday for our regular med check.  Recently we started Ritalin LA and the teacher just loves it   However, he is very explosive at home in the morning.  This morning it was stamping, kicking, hitting.  Telling me that I was being punished and would have to sleep on the couch.  We used to see this type of behavior ALL THE TIME before meds.  Once we started the regular ritalin it almost disappeared.  Now with the Ritalin LA "it's back", but yet the teacher is just tickled pink with what she sees at school.

Could the tenex being something worth mentioning at our next appointment?

I know chase's mom said it makes him less explosive.  What do the others see in terms of behavior?

I want the teacher to be happy so that he can learn up to his potential, but I hate butting heads with him at home?