This is a somewhat normal side effect. When DD took Tenex we started at .25 mgs, and the moodiness subsided.
Today is the first day I gave my daughter .5 mg of Guanfacine. (She is also on Concerta). She has been nothing but moody. She has been set off by the smallest things and just starts to cry. This afternoon she looked so tired I told her to lay down and she fell right asleep.
Is this a normal side effect for this med? Anyone have any advice or experiences like this they can share with me?
My dd was prescribed guanfacine to augment her adderall. Her hyper/impulsive behaviors were showing through on the adderall and we didn't want to increase it anymore because she is already on a high dose of adderall. Also, while the adderall gives so many positive benefits and allows dd to be successful, it has always taken away some of her personality and sense of humor.
We started dd on guanfacine about 3 weeks ago w/ .5mg at night only for about 6 days and then added .5mg in the a.m. along with her adderall. She was also moody at first and tired. When we added the morning dose I actually backed it down to .25mg in the a.m. for a couple of days because of the tiredness. Each time we have increased the tenex I have noticed a little moodiness and tiredness but it has gone away. It made me really nervous at first because she is typically not moody at all on or off stims. She is currently taking .5mg guanfacine am w/ adderall Xr & .5mg guanfacine around 4 pm. It is helping but I do think she needs a higher dose. Our plan is to increase up to 1 mg morning and afternoon.
The guanfacine has been a little hard for me to read b/c the effects are not so immediate. I find it a little inconsistent but I think we are figuring it out and seeing the benefits. It definitely calms her and makes her less impulsive, helps w/ rebound and unmedicated times and best of all seems to be helping her socially. The guanfacine seems to take away some of the overmedicated/inhibited behaviors we see on the adderall alone. She is relaxed, chatty & laughs more with the tenex on board. I have been a little worried that the guanfacine was actually interfering with her focus but her grades are good so far. So we are going to stick with it, go up a little more on the dose slowly, and hopefully use just guanfacine for the summer. I was worried and surprised by the moodiness/bad attitude we saw at first but that part has gotten better. I am sorry for such a long post and hope that this guanfacine works for both of our daughters! Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A side effect of guanfacine is tiredness. We started with the night dose and slowly increased and added the day dose with slow increases to 2mg am and at night. This has worked well with both concerta and focalin. During the summer we go with just the guanfacine so she can catch up on weight gain. She no longer has issues with tiredness on this med, as her body has adjusted to it.