Anyone replacing stim with Intuniv? | ADHD Information

Hi, everyone. Our 7yo son ADHD (hyper, impulsive) and gifted started the school year on 18 mg Concerta. He'd still get upset at what we viewed as the little things, throwing tantrums when something bothered him. So we added Tenex -- .25 a.m. and .5 p.m. We saw 2 great months, then the little things started to bother him again, resulting in him throwing tantrums, reactign impulsively again. Devel ped recommended we keep the Concerta at its level (son also has some anxiety related to the giftedness, so don't really want to up the stim as it can aggravate it) but also add Intuniv to the mix. So we scaled up from 1 mg to 2 mg of Intuniv. Saw a good couple of weeks on that, but now we're seeing a few more fits at school again (although less than before). The bigger problem is we're seeing more negative behavior in the evening, seemingly when the Concerta is likely wearing off. Never had much of a problem with this before. I've heard others talk about stims aggravating irratibility, moodiness, etc., as well as Intuniv sometimes working better on its own for certain kids, so we're considering a trial period of droppign the Concerta and just trying the Intuniv while on winter break. Anyone else tried the same thing -- dropping the stim and doing Intuniv only? Curious as to resuts ... Just tired of getting frustrated when son throughs a major fit and struggling with is it him, is it the meds, is it him coming off the meds, is it not enough meds, etc. Just want him (and us) to be happy ...Also curious if anyone with kids who are ADHD and gifted have had trouble with stims aggravating gifted characteristics (perfectionism, stubborness, anxiety) and are trying just Intuniv. Thanks! DS(ADHD) has been on Intuniv with the Daytrana patch, but we will only be using Intuniv over the break.  Our hope is that DS will start school in January with only Intuniv, but I am not sure that is going to work.  He is on 3mg, but we might try to go up to 4mg in a week to see how that works.  Daytrana has been great for DS, but he doesn't eat much and has tics with it.  If the Intuniv doesn't work by itself DS will be back on Daytrana with Tenex.

DD is gifted, and has ADD inattentive and OCD.  She was on Vyvanse for two years, but it really aggravated her anxiety.  She is now on Intuniv and Zoloft and is doing much better.
My daughter also is inattentive. She does not focus/can't follow directions
for math & spelling at school. She also has anxiety. Does intuniv help at all
with focus?I just asked DD(14) about focus.  She said that Intuniv does help with focus, but not as much as Vyvanse, which she was on but caused an increase in anxiety.  She definitely feels better on Intuniv, but I am not sure it works as well as a stimulant. My son who is 6.5 and was diagnosed 6 mos ago with ADHD and a severe deficit in impulse control, particularly physically.   He was on Ritalin LA and Focalin, at separate times, but became very emotionally aggitated and weepy and anxious.  He has tested an IQ of 140, and read at age 3 but no one has labelled him gifted at this point, I have always known, from the things he says, that he is very bright.
We started Intuniv 1 mg 3 weeks ago and even though it is contrary to the way the medication is supposed to work, we began to see results almost immediately.
He is on Intuniv only, as he is one of the 20% of ADHD that cannot tolerate stimulant meds, according to our psychiatrist.   Everything improved, his school work, relationship with peers, his sisters, the nice boy I always knew he was could finally shine with the hitting, pushing, noisemaking, jumping, rolling, grabbing, etc.
After about 10 days though, it wore off and we went to the 2 mg (he is 50 lbs) and we are back to our happy place.   I have received 3 "happy" emails from his teacher, he had a succesful playdate and overnight camp with my husband and the boyscouts!  He was much more tired on the 2 mg and fell asleep a couple of times on the bus home from school, but that is starting to go away.    He also seems a lot more hungry and gets up earler 5:30am or so.   But I LOVE this MED, it has truly saved us.   I hope you find the same.

Your story gives me hope!

Today is my son's 4th day on Intuniv. He gets 15 mg Focalin xr and 1mg Intuniv in the AM. On day 8 we start 2mg of Intuniv and continue Focalin.

He is ADHD, almost 7 years old and weighs 50lbs.  He hasn't gained much weight lately so we hope to eliminate the stim all together by week 3 increasing the Intuniv as/if necessary.

I have noticed so far with Intuniv that his hyperactivity has greatly decreased in the evenings well after the Focalin has worn off. He's already got more of an appetite at dinner time.

Fingers crossed this works for us too!

 

Update -- Well, maybe I spoke too soon ... we had a meltdown late this afternoon. He got frustrated because he couldn't figure out all of the math in an activity book and got upset -- looked like he was about to cry and couldn't get over it. Then his Dad came home and it got worse because he was worried that he'd thrown a fit and that his Dad would be mad at him (which he wasn't, but son is so sensitive to getting in trouble even though we've really backed off of that). I guess I have to remind myself that no day is going to be perfect even if a med is a good fit (which I'm still hopeful of) and part of that perfectionism is part of son's personality (and being gifted, I've been told). I guess I just want perfect so badly! (Hmm, wonder where he gets it from?!)

Jennt -- We started the Intuniv when we where on Concerta and didn't notice any sleepiness. Once we eliminated the Concerta and have been doing Intuniv alone, we do notice him getting tired earlier in the evening and being ready to go to bed sooner. (In the  past, we described him as the energizer bunny that could go on and on and on.) He actually fell asleep in the car when we went to look at Christmas lights. During most of the day, however, he still has energy. I've heard it can take a couple of days/weeks for that tired factor to wear off for some kids. Good luck! 

My DD (9 next week) Bi polar, Severe ADHD, Servere impulse control issues, and ODD.

We started the 2mg of Intuniv Christmas day..she is tired. We started with 1mg, didn't see much help, then up'd to 1.5 for two days, maybe should have kept it there for a bit longer. She get more tired in the evening and she's very punchy...snarky harsh tone..then feels horrible she had barked at you. Ticks are gone...which is why she's on it to begin with. She falls asleep early, which I am not complaining..she needs good hard sleep to help her get through her days. Mornings are so much easier.She's currently taking:

7 am Focalin XR 20 mg, Seroquel 50mg, 2 mg Intuniv

12 pm 5 Focalin

3 pm 50 Seroquel

6:30 pm Seroquel, omega 3's and zyrtech

HAS ANYONE NOTICED AN UP IN BEING HUNGRY WHEN ON INTUNIV? I have!

Just an update ... 7yo hyper/impulsive type ADHD son has been off of stim (Concerta) and only on Intuniv (2 mg) for the past three days. I don't want to jinx anything, but we've only seen positive results since then. He's much less argumentative, irritable, anxious, etc. Just seems happier overall, laughing a lot more and having a great holiday break. He's still a bit of an overthinker and a pefectionist, but that's the gifted side of him, and even then he's gotten less upset in those situations than he would have before. Also, I know this is only at home, so I really, really, really hope we'll see the same positives when he heads back to school in January. I really feel the stim was bringing out some negative behaviors and hope the Intuniv will be enough to get him through the day at school.did this cause allot of sleepiness? My daughter has just
started Intuniv and she is just lying around, I am hopping
this goes away with time. Any thoughts?

Jennt, my child was very tired the first couple of days on Intuniv, and then it got better.  We also have seen some drowsiness when dosage is increased, but nothing like when he started Intuniv.  I should say that he had been taking Tenex, so his body already was used to guanfacine.