Tenex (guanfacine) is supposed to work well with all of the stims. Look at the tenex threads for lots of information about it. It is important to start the med slow (and with the nighttime dose) and make slow increase to the effective dose. This eliminates/reduces side effects. Read the thread and the links for lots of information to help you get the most out of this med.
Here is a link for people who rate thier meds (you can find where others are useing this with adderall):
http://www.remedyfind.com/treatments/121/779/
I am really pleased with this med for my youngest. It helps with hyperactivity , calming, defiance, impulsivity but not so much for focus (this is where the stimulant comes in).
HTH
vickie39149.8050462963I have not seen the two paired together, but I have seen the tenex paired with almost every other stim, so I don't see why pairing the adderall with it would be much different.
My son took it with both Concerta (for about 3 weeks) and ritalin LA since just after Christmas break. It has helped him tremendously in social settings....he seems more able to tolerate classmates and does not over react to the mormal things that 10 year old boys do and say to each other....before the tenex (my son takes the generic, guanfacine), the bus ride home each afternoon was horrible for Chase..anything the other kids did drove him nuts...some of it was mean, some of it was just normal kid stuff...all of it reduced him to frustrated tears...since the guanfacine, he gets off the bus in a good mood, calm and happy. The guanfacine just mellows him out a bit, smoothes out the rough edges...it is the final puzzle piece...it helps him to sleep, and has helped him to gain weight I think...he also takes periactin to stimulate his appetite, so I am not totally sure, but in the first month after starting the guanfacine, he gained 3 pounds, and he had been on the periactin for a few months, and had gained only a pound or two a month up to that point.
I have not seen any bad side effects from the guanfacine, once he got used to it, for the first few days he was a bit tired, but that quickly went away, you may want to start it on the weekend so he has a few days to acclimate, or if you get a Spring break, that would be a good time as well to begin the med.....
My understanding is that Clonidine is very similar to Tenex and my son is on 50mg of Adderall XR and on clonidine as well for the impulsivity. It took me a long time to ok this additional medication, but we finally agreed, and it seems to be making a huge difference in his impulsivity!! This is the very first week all school years that he hasn't gotten in trouble for "yelling out" impulsively in school.Hi,
Thank you for answering my posting! We just got back from the pyschiatrist a couple of hours ago and she put my son on 1 mg of tenex. I start with 1/2 mg for 1 week and then go to 1mg.
I have been a little nervous about this medication, too. But the kid has not slept, like I said earlier, for more than 5 hours a nite, since January. It's crazy!!!
She said not to get to excited if I didn't see any difference in the week, but that it might take a little time. Right now she just wants him to be able to sleep and see if some of his behaviors go away.
The impulsivity is a major concern of ours, and his mouth! It is getting totally out of control, so I sure hope it works.
We have tried sooooo many things for the impulsivity, no medication has even come close. It's soo hard. and I know that he really doesn't enjoy it either. I can't imagine what is going on in his little head. (ok, he's 13 yo., his head is starting to get a little bit bigger!)
It's like I keep looking at the clock, so I can say, "Time for bed!!"
And CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Tell your son I said so too! I can only imagine how wonderful and up he must feel.
Kendra
I hope this does well for your son. The reason we started the Clonidine is because of my sons impulsivity...mostly his mouth. (he is almost 12) We also noticed that it has helped us get through homework more easily as well!! (he takes one pill in am and one right after school.) We have been able to decrease his seroquil that is to help him sleep as well.
We just started Tenex with Adderall XR. Our Dr. said that the two work well together, the Adderall for focus and the Tenex for the impulsivity. He also has a motor mouth and will still do many impulsive things. I so hope this works, I was quite against it at the time, and put off starting it until today, but realized I needed to do what was best for my son, so we shall see what this does. We should post and tell if we have improvements!! Noah is on .5 3 times a day.
Alyson and Noah - 6 years, ADHD
Emma Kate - 3 years
Hi,
My son is 13 yo. and the doctor wants to put him on tenex along with his adderall xr. Has anyone had any experience with this? They say that tenex is suppose to help with the impulsivity and anger. and sleep.
Since January, he maybe sleeps 5-6 hours a night, at the most. We have tried everything! So I am hoping this will work.
Please let me know if you guys know anything about these 2 medications working together!
Thanks,
Kendra
T