Tenex | ADHD Information
My son is 7 yrs old, he is on Concerta 27mg,Clonidine 0.5 mg in the morning and afternoon and 1 mg at bedtime, and 25 mg Seraquel at bedtime. He's been on Ritalin and Risperidal in the past to no avail. My concern is that he is a very very big boy at 125#and gaining but he is 4"5" . I'm contemplating med changes due to his continuous weight gain and lack of control . I'm at a loss. I'm trying to find the meds to help with the ADHD and ODD. Lately he has been depressed and this worries me. Sorry to babble but I'm feeling frustrated. Thanks Denisehi. What is Tenex? My son is on Concerta, but I'd love to get him off stimulants. Strattera didn't work AT ALL - and I gave it 8 weeks!!!! Is Tenex a stimulant and is it new?................................................daraActually, it's not new nor is it a stimulant. It was originally created to treat high blood pressure and is still used for that purpose... My son is only 4 and tried Tenex. He was very aggressive and 'angry' all the time around other kids, like at daycare. He was diagnosed with ADHD and put on Adderall XR 5mg but he wasn't able to control his impulsivity and aggression at all with only that.He tried Tenex, but it didn't really have any effect on him. It was too mild and didn't even help him fall asleep (which was a major issue) after a few days. So the doc prescribed Clonidine. From what I've read, it's very similar to Tenex but has more side effects and is more powerful.
My son takes half tablet (.1mg tablet) in the morning and a whole one at night about an hour before bedtime.
He has seen no side effects - at least not after the first week/week and a half - for that time period, he was very sleep and clingy when it hit him. Now that his body has adjusted, he is SO WELL BEHAVED! He is polite, smiley, intellegent, talkative and cuddly. In other words, his true self minus the anger and aggression.
I would try the Tenex and give it at least two weeks before deciding if it's for you or not. It does take time for the body to adjust. He still falls asleep fast at night once the dose starts to work, but he no longer feels sleepy in the morning or the rest of the day like in the beginning.
It's been a real life saver. Now he can settle down enough to partake in games, lessons and *life*.
Sorry this was so long, but I'm just so happy...
Hey Everyone. My 5 year old son is also on Tenex. He has been on it for about two months. It was the second medication we tried. However after just over a month of taking the meds it seemed they really were not working anymore, so we upped his does to one table in the morning and one at dinner, within a week he was so sick he vomited during the night. So I decided to stop it. We switched him to Concerta which we used for a week
and he was sooooo hyper it was unreal. All the good stuff I had
noticed from the Tenex was gone and I felt like we were back to square
one. So w/the approval our dr we decided to go back to the Tenex
I am just going to mess w/the dosage and timing to see if we can make
it work on a higher dose w/out making him sick.I am hoping we can make it work because the positive results I had noticed were wonderful. We mainly started out on Tenex because no only does my son have ADHD but he also has a high anxiety problem. He is the biggest worrier I have ever met, which is very sad for someone so young.
I am soooo Excited to have found this website!!!
[QUOTE=Supahgirl]Hey Everyone. My 5 year old son is also on Tenex. He has been on it for about two months. It was the second medication we tried. However after just over a month of taking the meds it seemed they really were not working anymore, so we upped his does to one table in the morning and one at dinner, within a week he was so sick he vomited during the night. So I decided to stop it.
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You might want to talk to your doc about Clonidine, too! My son reacted the same way with Tenex so the doc prescribed Clonidine, which works much the same way and the results have been fantastic. I've been very pleased with my son's behavior...
Hi Christie,
I'm actually surprised that your doctor added the Tenex for attention. I was told that it was for impulse control and hyperactivity. My son does not have any attention problems, but he is very fidgety, very impulsive, and can be very hyper and loud. He also has problems reading social cues. We started on stimulants, and they didn't work very well. So we increased the dosage. We started seeing some undesirable side affects, such as insomnia and rebound. That's when we first added the Tenex. We were instantly amazed at how well it worked. But when he started first grade it wasn't enough. But when we increased the stimulants he started getting fixations on things and having trouble speaking. That's when we added a very low dose of strattera, which really helped. Then we decided to increase the Strattera to 25mg and get rid of the stimulant. I tried getting rid of the Tenex but my son says that he wants it- that it makes him feel good. And you can actually see it working. I know that alot of people say that about the stimulants, but they were never right for my child. I never saw any dramatic improvement and there were always noticable side effects. This combination really helps my son, and he is much more even. Before, I always felt like he was going up and down. I feel that if the medication is supposed to enable him to learn to make good choices, then he needs to have that control consistantly, not just during school. And I have also learned that each child is so unique in their needs and what works for them. My son also has OT, which has also made a tremendous difference for him. I hope that this info helps you. keep us posted on his progess. My feeling is that at worst you won't see a difference. I'm curious to know if the Tenex helps with concentration at all.
Christie,
It occured to me that I never answered your specific questions. My son has been on this combination alone for about two months. (Before that he also took metadate 10mg with a lower dosage of Strattera.) He is much less physical and "grabby" that he was before, if that's what you mean by "agressive". And yes, I am very happy with the results. But again, my son's issues were never academic and do not involve attention issues. You may end up needing a small dose of stimulant like metadate or concerta for that.
mom23 -Thank You for your reply. It is good to hear the positive story. My son also did not react well to stimulants. They were a nightmare for him and totally changes my little boys attitude about life. He was always such a happy kids but the stiulants made him very angry.
Yes - I was told also that the tenex would help with his hyperactivity. My son has a lot of energy and just cannot control it. That also goes along with him impulsivity. But the doc also said it would help him consintrate if we could help him learn to control his imulsvity and allow him to use his energy on his school work.
When I heard they used Tenex to control blood presure and learned how it goes into the blood stream I will admit - this makes me very nervous about the long term affect it may have. That is a BIG concern for me right now.
Thanks Again for your reply. I am glad the combination is working for your child - I hope the best that it works for mine!!!
Christie Thank You to all who replied......
mom23 - We are also starting the combination of Tenex and Straterra. My son is seven years old and we were on Adderall XL and he was very aggressive and very mean to others. By doing some research I decided to take him off of the Adderall XL and we went to Straterra. He has been on Straterra before but it has not helped with his attentiveness/consitration so thats the reason that we are adding the Tenex. I actually haven't started the Tenex yet -starting it tomorrow. We are giving him .5 in the morning to see how that goes and if needed we might add another dose in the evenings but just the one to start.
Do you see in aggression towards others when your child is on this combination? And how long has your child been using this combination? Are you happy with the results?
I know every child meds work differently but it's good to find someone on the same med combination as we will be!!
Thanks for your reply!!
Christie
Christie,
They have also found that it does not affect blood pressure in children. My doctor (a pediatric neurologist) checks his blood pressure at every visit , and there has never been a change.
Obviously, there is always concerns about side effects with any medication decisions. But I know that I began to medicate my child because he was so unhappy. He had no friends, his siblings always wanted me to get him away from them and his relationship with his dad was beyond horrible. His self esteem was so low, and he was barely six. I honestly feel that the alternatives weren't there. I tried OT and although it helped in alot of ways, there were other things that clearly required medication.
Good Luck and feel good about your decisions!
HilleMary thanks for the pointer, however I am aware of Clondine :) I did not go w/it because our dr said if Tenex made him tired the Clondine would be even worse. I just dont want him to seem like he's comotose..and on a higher dose of Tenex he already seemed that way.Does your soon seem like a space head on Clondine? How long has he been on it?
[QUOTE=Supahgirl]HilleMary thanks for the pointer, however I am aware of Clondine :) I did not go w/it because our dr said if Tenex made him tired the Clondine would be even worse. I just dont want him to seem like he's comotose..and on a higher dose of Tenex he already seemed that way.
Does your soon seem like a space head on Clondine? How long has he been on it?
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He's been on Clonidine for just over 2 months now. Actually, the Tenex didn't effect him at the smaller dose, but rather than increase the dose (and possibly make him zombi'ish or too tired all the time), the doc tried Clonidine at the lower dose.
So yes, the strength is higher than Tenex, but lower than the increased amount of Tenex you said you didn't like the result of.
Does that make sense? I also have ADD, so I sometimes talk (type?) in circles :)
I am looking for the same information Christie. Thanks for posting the question.Anyone have any positive or negative feedback about Tenex? Our doctor wants to start our 7 year old son on it? Just want a little opinion about it before we go for it???
Christie
My son is on Tenex and Strattera and doing very well. He is 6 1/2. If you ask him, the Tenex is the one that he "likes the best". It makes his "sweet" side come out. He takes 1/2 mg in the morning and 1/2 mg after school. Then he takes the Strattera at night. We've tried many different medications, and the Tenex is the only one that doesn't seem to have any side effects or "down side" at all. The only negative is that for my son, Tenex alone is not enough.
Relieved Mom, Hi! What exactly are you seeing different with the Tenex? My son has the VERY HYPER type of ADHD and I just wish there was something else to give him instead of the stiumlants. The Concerta works fine, but the loss of appetite and not being able to fall asleep at night really upsets me. ........daraFor us, the Tenex seems to increase his appetite (or maybe it just counters his adderall xr) and he falls sound asleep 1-1.25 hours after taking his evening dose of .1mg like clockwork. My son always had terrible trouble relaxing to fall asleep and then wouldn't want to wake up in the morning, leading to a miserable, crankier day.We've experienced a huge difference in his imipulsiveness, violent actions and aggression - and he does fall asleep right away at night.
hi after many years on stimulants my daughter just started Tenex and it's like a miracle. I actually enjoy being with her now. She is complaining of a dry mouth but I have pleaded with her to wait two weeks to see if that subsides. She is very strong-willed so I just hope she agrees to continue. I can't force the pill down her throat. I have kept her on her Adderall XR too while she just started the Tenex but after a few weeks I'm gonna see how she does without the Adderall.
I wish i knew about this option years ago..........it took a desparate move to find out about this. If you want to hear more about it, just email me! :) Oh, she is 12 1/2 years old (7th grade)
my daughter doesn't fall asleep from it anymore but she just is so much more aggreable, noncombative, reasonable, etc......and , yeah, less hyper. But, it doesn't make her zombie like. She is still herself but toned down. It is really amazing to me. She is almost 13, and tenex was never suggested by any of the drs. we saw. She started on stimulants in first grade..............hmmmm. I'm not pushing this because every kid is different, but it is something to inquire about.
At peace at last :)
Hi there.....My son is 4 1/2 yrs old and we were just told that he is ADHD. The doctor put him on Tenex, but to me I feel that he is just medicated. All that he wants to do is sleep. We started with a 1mg tablet at night and a half in the morning but he was like a zombie. So last night we gave him a 1/2 tablet and was ok until we gave him another 1/2 this morning. I was told that there are no other drugs out there for a child under 6 yrs old. I do not have alot of information on Tenex and I am afraid that there are side effects that I am not aware of. I f anyone has any inforamtion please help.
Thank you
Give it a chance - everyone is different, but it takes a while to be sure of what your results really are. Good luck!!
Well my son was 4, even thought he was like this since 3, when he was diagnosed. I know there was very few options because of his age. He didn't start sleeping at night, or atleast some nights, until he was given Risperidal, only problem he has bed wetting issues and they thought the Risperidal was the cause. He was eventually switched to Seraquel and that worked for awhile but then had no effect on him, even with a large dose. He is a big boy so he has to take larger doses to appropriate. Like it's been said it's trial and error, which is hard to do as a parent. I know I had a hard time giving him meds and I have a medical background. I think the combination of psychiatry, therapy and meds gives my son the best options. We finally got approved for a program that offers additional services at home and school for him, which I think will also be a huge help. Overall being a proactive parent is the best thing to help our kids.