Tenex side effects | ADHD Information

My 6 yo son was diagnosed  with adhd  and takes 40 mg of Strattera  a day.   He has  recently started on Tenex for his impulsive/aggressive  tendencies, anger and  anxiety.   He has taken 4 doses (1/2  tab 3x a  day) and is complaining of his head and eyes aching.   This morning he also has a fever.  I'm wondering if  its  just coincidince that he may have come down with something,  or side effects from  the meds... anyone know?

Fever indicates an infection (usually viral this time of year), but that does not rule out side effects from the med. There can also be an additive effect. I personally cannot take my blood pressure meds when I have a fever or I get really low blood pressure and get really dizzy.

On the Tenex; my daughter's psychiatrist had us start at 1/2mg in the evening for 3-4 days; then increase to 1mg at night for 3-4 days; then change to 1/2 am and 1/2 pm; then increase the night dose by 1/2; then the am dose by 1/2; etc until we got to 2mg am, 2mg night and a 1/2mg booster mid day if she is having a busy social schedule. This very slow increase in med reduces/prevents side effects.

You migh talk to the doc about trying to go with 1/4 tabs and see if things go better, then increase slowly. On one of the Tenex threads, I posted an article on ramping up the dose for minimal side effects (there are many other articles as well):

http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=24770& PN=2

vickie39128.4458796296

My dd is 9, and uses .25 mgs in the evening, once a day.

 

The side effects could also be from the Straterra, what is his weight?40 mgs is alot for a small child, it is dosed at 1.2-1.8 mgs per kilo.

My neice and nephew both had similar side effects on Strat, then I found they were at the wrong dose, their dose was too high.

His target dose is 25-35 mgs, so yeah 40 is too high. That is probably why he is having these side effects. How long was he at 25 mgs?

He was at 25 mgs  for about 6 months, then his attention was still good, but he was aggressive, angry,  etc, so his neuro up'd him to the 40 in November.  He just started the Tenex a couple  of days ago.

Thanks... he weighs  48 lbs, and the  dose was upped when the 25 mg dose didn't seem  to be working as well.  Maybe with the tenex  he should go back down to 25...thoughts?Talk to the doc about reducing the strattera and see if the guanfacine augments a lower strattera dose to get effective symptom control. My youngest had guanfacine added when we could not increase the concerta due to weight loss. She was then doing so well that we decided to try the guanfacine alone, which for us works for attention, hyperactivity , defiance and impulsivity. She has gained back the 5 lbs she lost plus 3 more (she is now at 63lb- a new high for my almost 11 year old). Just take the med changes slow with both of these meds.