Extreme Tiredness with Intuniv | ADHD Information

My 5 year old son has been on Intuniv for almost 3 weeks, he has PDD-NOS (autism) and ADHD, we started with 1 mg for a week, then 2 mg for a week, then 3 mg currently. He has been very tired at first with each new dose. Yesterday was day 4 on 3 mg and he was just like out of it all day. He didn't even want to go outside to play at school, and just layed around the house all day. I am concerned because his appetite has decreased and he seems constipated lately, also he complained of a headache last night. I am thinking maybe 3 mg is too much. At first it seemed wonderful, he was calm but not excessively tired but after a few days it didn't seem to have the same effect anymore. That's why our Dr kept increasing the dose. I'm really having second thoughts about using this medication. I want him to be able to focus, and have been told by his teacher that they are seeing huge improvements in that area, but I don't like that he doesn't seem alert anymore. I am so torn, do I just need to give it more time?

Anyone give Intuniv at night? My ds is soo sleepy and I would like to switch
to evening. He is on 2mg now for two weeks. (1 mg. the first week). His
anxiety has also skyrocketed. Still takes Concerta 36 - 54mg per day and
Zoloft 50mg.My son also took the 1 mg. for one week and is at 2 1/2 wks at 2 mg.  He also complains of being very tired.  He receives his meds. at 8-9am in the morning.  At 3 pm he is falling asleep.  That's when I break out the caffeinated soda and give him a full glass.  My son is not usually allowed to drink beverages with caffeine so this does the trick for us.  It gives him just enough to let him get through dinner, dessert (sugar) and then he crashes and sleeps well at 8:30 pm.  My son is almost 8 though.  The Intuniv is dosed based on weight.  My son weighs 61 lbs. and his neurologist said that 2 mg. was the correct dosage for him.  I don't know how much your son weighs, but at 5 1/2 years old 3 mgs. sounds like a lot.  Hope this helpsMy DS is 10 and weighs about 60lbs and is currently taking 1mg of Intuniv.  The doctor said he was between 1mg and 2mgs dose per his weight.  He was previously on Tenex and was VERY tired on it so we had to discontinue.  He isn't experiencing as much tiredness on the Intuniv.  Before he was napping every day at school and he hasn't napped since he changed over.  At the last doctor appointment the doctor wanted to up him to 2mg and I said no because I was too afraid of him getting sleepy again.  My son's blood pressure was very low on Tenex also but seems to be in the normal range on Intuniv.  I would ask you doctor about lowering his dose, 3mg seems like a lot to me too.My 5 1/2 year old son has been taking Intuniv for about 3 months.  We took him off of the stimulants because of the horrible rebound he had...extreme tantrums, not sleeping, anger, frustration, aggression, etc.  He has been doing wonderfully on the Intuniv  barring one side effect...extreme tiredness. 
We initially started him on Tenex, but even on 1/2 mg, it lowered his blood pressure so much that we ended up in the ER with a bp of 70/30.  With the Intuniv, we didn't have any problems with his blood pressure.  We started on 1 mg for 2 weeks, and then upped it to 2 mg for two weeks, and then 3 mg.  All along, he's been extremely tired.  His teacher reports that he falls asleep almost every afternoon in school.  Today, they had a field trip and he slept through the entire thing!  He comes home from school and immediately crawls into bed.  It's almost impossible to wake him up.  If we go for a ride in the car, he's asleep in literally seconds. I'd almost compare it to narcolepsy...one minute he's talking to me, and then next he's sound asleep, snoring loudly!  I feel awful for him, and really don't want him to miss this much school.
The doctor says that he shouldn't be this tired after all this time.  He suggested giving the med at night, but I worry about it working the entire next day, as he seems to metabolize meds so quickly.  Has anyone else experienced this extreme sedation with Intuniv?  Does it ever get better?  I'd appreciate any advice!

Kelli
My daughter is 10 years old and we are just trying the Intuniv.  We have quit Focalin XR because it causes extreme anxiety.  We started on Intuniv 1 mg 4 days ago.  There was no anxiety, but also alot of hyperactivity.  It was like she had no meds at all.  She did sleep at night, however.  (She was taking Clonidine but quit when she started Intuniv.  I called her doctor and we upped it to 2 mg today.  She was much calmer today, but now she is asleep at 3:30 in the afternoon.  She hasn't done that in YEARS!!   Anyway, I knew it could cause sleepiness, but am wondering if it will go away.  We go to the doctor next week.  I want her to be calm, but not sleepy and out of it.  It is just so weird for her to be asleep in the middle of the day!

Hi Jenng...

I can tell you, be encouraged... it does wear off...... after a while the tiredness isn't a problem.  My son is on 3mg still. Just don't miss a day cause that throws them all out of wack! Concerned because he still has mood swings, but he had that before the meds. Focus is better, but not optimal. My son also has a lot of anxiety.

I hope this helps.

Thank you so much for your reply and the encouragement.  The doctor said the sleepiness may wear off and if it doesn't we would discontinue.  We are on our third day of Intuniv 2 mg.  In your experience, about how long does it take for the tiredness and lethargy to go away?  My DD was having so much anxiety.  That is gone now, but we have swapped it for the sleepiness.  I really believe the Focalin was causing anxiety.  She is also  eating, eating, eating!  She actually has an appetite now and says "I'm hungry."  That is hard to get used to also!

Thanks again! 

Hi Jenng,

Until you get to your target dose (my son's was 3mg) you might still have the tiredness.  He still has some days where he is tired, but for the most part... he is good. Gosh, I would say it took about 2 - 3 weeks.

My son doesn't have a problem eating either.  I am happy about that.  He reacted badly to stimulants also.

Hope this helps.

My son is 6 1/2 yrs old and is currently taking 3mg of Intuniv. He started on March 3rd with 1mg and then to 2mg.  He is about 65lbs.

My son went through the extreme tiredness, but it did seem to go away.  The other day he missed his meds and now it seems like he is overly tired again.  Fell asleep in class the last few days.  I am happy that he wants to nap, but lots of times it messes with his sleeping which causes problems. 

He is also very moody. He had this problem prior to Intuniv though.  I think maybe he was better on 2mg.  Going for a med check on Monday so we will see what the doc thinks.

Yolanda

My son, who just now turned 8 years old is still on 1 mg. of Intuniv.  We lowered it down from 2 mg. due to extreme tiredness about 1 1/2 months ago.  I didn't think it was having any effect on him except that he wasn't as tired.  This past week, he missed two days of meds.  He didn't take them and I thought that he had until I found the pills.  I definitely saw a difference.  He was not as focused, jumping up and down (his ADHD), and he was talking out of turn.  Today, back on meds.  He came home irrritable and cranky.  I think because he was extra sleepy from being back on the meds. and his body adjusted to the two days off of the meds.  I honestley do not know which is best.  My son was animated and expressive off meds. during the weekend, but had it been during school days, I don't know how well things would have turned out.  Any ideas for the summer?  Meds. or no Meds.?  My 5 1/2 year old son (diagnosed with ADHD a year ago) started on intuniv 1 mg about a month and a half ago.  I saw great results within 4 days.  it wore off the last couple of weeks so it was upped to 2 mg.   The sleepiness was ridiculous for the first 3 days but now it has evened itself out so he is at a smooth alert but controlled non-defiant, happy and focused kid level.  The defiance has come down 70% at least.  He was on only stimulants (methylphenidate, concerta) for almost a year but it stopped working and was always a rollercoaster during the day and him going to sleep at night was impossible.  I am very pleased with the results and he is happier because he is able to do things with much less frustration and much more focus.  His hyper and impulsiveness is his greatest hurdle to overcome and the intunive seems to be helping with that DRAMATICALLY without the up and down of the medicine kicking in then wearing off, plus the side effects are much less than most of the stimulants.  By the way he weighs approximately 45 pounds.My DS who is 8 was taking Intuniv 1mg for about three months.  He weighs about 61 pounds, I do agree with the other posts, I think maybe the dosage is too high.  We tried 2mg for a few weeks and saw extreme tiredness as well, so we moved back to the 1mg, I can't imagine him on 3mg.  Good luck.  

My son takes his between 7-8 pm at night and goes to bed at 8:00 on school nights.  I think giving it to him at night as opposed to the morning makes a huge difference.  I tried giving it to him in the morning at first but he was very tired all day.  It seems to metabolize just enough overnight so he has a smooth transition during the following day plus he gets a good restful sleep but doesnt "PASS OUT" when it is time for bed either.