Strattera with Tenex??

DS started taking 25mg Strattera for about 2 full weeks now and we have noticed some positive changes at home,less irritable,more compliant,calmer,more loving,to name a few.Not as many battles over things too.Not perfect but I'll take it.His teacher doesn't seem to notice as much improvement.She has been very patient with his many med changes/no meds since fall so I have to trust her observance but I am surprised to hear her say he is a "little" bettter.

She says he is still having many disagreements with friends daiyl.He is very bossy/nosy and the impulsiveness makes him not help himself with inviting himself into other peoples issues.He is respectful and polite to adults but classmates are becoming annoyed with him. He calims it is all them picking on him.He believes he is just being helpful when he interceedes.I cannot seem to get things to improve with rewards,etc.

Spoke to ped today and he says maybe we can try .5mg Tenex before school.It may help with irritability/impulses.Very low dose as DS is super sensitive to meds.Intuniv was awful for us.

I wonder since he is my oldest...is it ADHD,is it being a 7.5 boy,is it that we have worried so much over the years about the agressive behaviors in the past yrs that we neglected to parent him properly on appropriate behaviors? Ped also suggested counseling with a new impulses specialist.Went yrs ago and it was a waste.Our psych we see now is a waste too,she won't even discuss parenting advise.

I really didn't want to do 2 meds as we've had trouble w/meds in the past.(tics) It's so hard to decide.Do you medicate to give him a better quality of socialization but chance the side effects or bland personality OR do you not do it and chance him having social issues all his life bc you failed him.I already see other kids his age having more outside school relationships that he doesn't have.

Anyone have a crystal ball or so real life advise??

I'm sorry I don't have a crystal ball.  I wish I did!   If you are on this board seeking help I seriously doubt if you're the type of parent that somehow "neglected" to teach him the proper behaviors!  It soulds like it's the ADHD to me!

If he's still having those issues at school then the meds probably need to be adjusted one way or another.  If they are working properly then he shouldn't still be having those problems.  Tenex may be just what he needs.  It helps my son tremendously but it's not enough by itself so he's on other meds too.  If it doesn't work then you can quickly switch to something else!  Good luck and I wish you the best!

Thanks Logans' Mom,

I gave him the 1st 1/2 dose today .5mg.I'm hoping it will help him with the school issues.I was so happy to see positive results with the Stratera...finally.I wish I didn't have to do both but he obviously needs help with the impulsiveness.

I'll keep you posted.I'm pleased that it will be a quick result at least. 

Good luck with it!   And remember it may take a little while to really kick in.

Question to Logans mom?  Just wondering now that your son has been on Strattera for a while are you still pleased with the results?? How does the Strattera compare to the experience he had with the stim?  More foucs/less, irritabilty, etc.  I know that everyones chemistry is different, so really just trying to gather more info./expereinces from Strattera.  We have not had great luck with the stim, currently trying Intuniv and are seeing some outbursts, which is very new to us, just really coonfused on what to do next?  thanks for sharing with me.

Hi rgtaylor! Things are actually really good right now! But my son's behavior is cyclical (sp?)(as many ADHD kids are) so I don't know if he's just in a "good" cycle or if we're on to something!

The Strattera was not enough by itself so we added a small dose of Ritalin back in (about 1/2 of what he was on before).  On the Strattera alone he was still just too hyper.  When Ritalin was his main medication he had a lot of "emotional reactivity".  That's what the doc called it anyway.  That's why we tried the switch to Strattera.  Here's what I've noticed through this lastest trial with the meds:

Strattera: helps with the hyperactivity and impulsiveness some but not enough for him because he's ADHHHHHHHHHHHHHHD.

Ritalin: I've found that a stimulant is absolutely necessary for my son to control the hyperactivity/impulsiveness. But stimulants aggravate his emotions and sensory problems so much! The Strattera helps just enough to allow us to cut his Ritalin in 1/2 and the emotional stuff is gone!

Tenex: Helps him stay calm overall and helps a lot with the impulse control

He was still pretty hyper on this current combo of meds until about a week ago then it seemed to smooth out.  We're hoping it's not just his normal cycle!  It's hard to say about the focus because he's only in preschool but I do notice that he's sticking with things longer buy not hyper-focusing as much. Fingers crossed!

Just remember that the Tenex will take up to several weeks to get to full strength. The same with Strattera.  It look longer actually.  It took about 6 weeks to get up to full strength on that.  But with both medications we noticed at least some positive results within days. Good luck!  I hope it works out for you.  Keep us posted!