We started dd on guanfacine a little over 3 weeks ago in addition to her adderall. She takes .5mg morning and afternoon. We are seeing some improvement in hyper/impulsive behaviors but we are actually seeing a decline in the quality of schoolwork. Could the guanfacine actually be interfering with her ability to concentrate or counteracting the focus she gets from the adderall? Since starting guanfacine she has become more scattered and has a very hard time completing classwork. THose things were not a problem for her before guanfacine and we have not changed her adderall at all...........
I like the effect the guanfacine has on her personality but she can't go on like this academically. I am having such a hard time figuring this out and was wondering if anybody had any similar experience. Could the dosing have anything to do with it? I am not sure how long each dose really effects her. SHe takes it in the morning with her adderall and in the afternoon around 4:00 but she still needs an afternoon booster of adderall for homework or sports. Also, I just wonder if it is worth a shot to try it with concerta instead of adderall. My understanding is that concerta primarily effects dopamine, adderall effects dopamine and norepinephrine and that guanfacine effects only norepinephrine. I wonder if the adderall and guanfacine's combined effect on norepinephrine is counterproductive. It seems like most folks on this board combine it with some sort of ritalin drug. Sorry for rambling, this has just got me so confused!
Thanks!
I was going to ask the same question about possible sleepiness or feeling foggy. Also, is the problem w/ the schoolwork consistent throughout the day, or is it more for work done 1st thing during the schoolday/middle of school day/end of school day? If there's some pattern, maybe playing w/ the timing of the meds would help.
Thanks for the replies. It definitley made her sleepy at first but I think that has passed at the current dose. She is still scattered on the tenex though. She left out 4 questions on a social studies test she turned in last week. She skipped them to do the essay and just forgot to go back and do them. Her essay was better than normal but she obviously missed a lot of points on the ?'s she left off. Luckily her teacher let her finish those she forgot to do and gave her some credit. She has NEVER done anything like that on or off stims. She is also coming home with a lot of unfinished class work. She is normally not forgetful or scattered. Typically she is the type who does everything quickly and makes careless mistakes but not one to forget anything. So I think we will try tenex a little longer through the summer b/c I do want to give her a stimulant break and at least it helps with impulsivity/hyperactivity but I don't think we will be using it next school year. I am so disappointed because her main problem is hyper/impulsive behaviors so I really thought tenex would be good for her!