Concerta and Intuniv(tenex long act) | ADHD Information

OK we tried the Strattera with the 72mg of Concerta and it stunk big time no symptom relief at all. Now the doc has started him on Intuniv the long acting dose of Tenex. He has only been on the 4th day of the med at 1mg so we haven't seen much change yet. we go up to 2 mg this week. he is still on Concerta 72. I am interested if anyone else has tried and had any success with the longer acting dose as he would not take it during the day. He is 11, in middle school and would be too embarrassed. Also I had no idea of the eating factor. if I give him the Concerta and wait too long he will not eat. it gets in his system pretty fast and food is the 1st thing to go. should I try not to feed him 15 min or so till after the meds have been given. he only eats toast and milk or a waffle with whip cream. that is it. Any advice would be appreciated. How long ios this Intunive supposed to last? doc appt not for 1.5 weeks

 

spamula40265.3671296296Well it sounds to me that the 3mg od Intuniv can be causing some of these problems . We had major issues at 3 mg but now back to 1mg and things are getting much better. My son is 11 and on Concerta 72mg. any less and he would be a crzy hyyyyyper person. I would get with a doc right away. good luckIt's been a while since I have been on here but ADHD along w. some other
issues are surfacing again....here I am!!!! My son was on 25mgs of
Strattera and we started 1mg of Intuniv and then ramped up to 2mgs.
That made him SO out of it and sleepy at school. So we went back down
to 1mg of the intuniv. Now our insurance changed and they will NOT
cover the Strattera until he is 6. (that will be in Sept) but they cover the
Intuniv. So we give him 2mgs of that. He is grumpy, fresh and flies off the
handle quickly. We have a vist w. his Developmental Ped next week and I
am looking for a local psychiatrist to follow him closer....I am trying to
stay away from stimulants but it looks like I may need to try something. I
understand how you are feeling. It is affecting his schooling. He is in a
special class of 12 and if they did not open a new class for Sept. for
children w. autism (8 kids) then he would have been placed out of district
for children w. behaviors. His adhd is the major problem. He is doing 1st
grade work but can't attend or transition easily. I need to keep myself
active on here for support because I a scared and I hate meds!!!!!! But
some help......thanks for listening and sorry to take over your post. I am
also going to put this in another section. Oh and also the nightmares are horrible....like i posted elswhere my son 11, was getting much too tired and having mood swings on Intuniv 3 mg so doc just backed him down this morning he seemed to be ok on 2 mg.

Well down to 1 mg now. He was getting to many fits  like major behaviors that were getting worse. Now on 1mg in the am, he comes down after school just in time to come down hard and this time he is more emotional. He had his best report card he's ever had and the teachers seem to be please. but why is that?

over medicated?

Hi, we decided to remain on 1mg of the intuniv. We give it to our ds at night
before bed. He is getting good reports from school. I do see him becoming
semi un-glued in the afternoon and at night.....not very bad but just not
really paying attention and hyper. I'll take it if he is doing well at school.
Also...lots of weight gain....hope thats a growth spurt! Hi, I used to frequent this forum often but haven't been on in a year. I was reading through this thread, trying to find info on negative reactions to Intuniv. My son is on Concerta and Trileptal (the latter for nocturnal seizures). We just added Intuniv a few weeks ago and it hasn't been a great experience. He is EXTREMELY anxious (e.g. worried about sharks in the bathtub -- and he is 10!), although I can't find anxiety as a side effect listed anywhere. It may be due to the 3-med combination. Who knows? Anyway, I'm not sure this medication is the end-all-be-all for everyone. I wish it were because it does calm him down.

For the person whose child acts out as the Concerta tapers off -- don't forget the rebound effect, which can be quite significant. Sometimes a short-acting Ritalin in the afternoon can help with this.

Peacefulmom, could your son's current problems be from the Strattera? Lots of people have trouble with that particular med. My son became a different child on it and it was a nightmare. He is good at expressing his feelings, luckily, and he told me that he wanted to hurt someone and generally felt mentally horrible. Our current child psychiatrist (who wasn't the prescribing doc at the time) told us that he rarely prescribes it any more. He also said that in his experience, kids with autism spectrum disorder fare worse on Strattera. Food for thought from a doctor who deals with a lot of complex cases. I think that Strattera also makes you eat, if I recall correctly.

Joy2

My son startted adding Concerta 18mg today to his Intuniv 3mg.  He was taking just Intuniv and having terrible bouts with daytime sleepiness and then waking up way to early in the morning..... He came home today having major nervous tics, licking his lips and talking so freakin fast! This is scary.  Not giving him the concerta anymore!!! I don't care what the DR says.

Waiting for an email back from the doctor. He also has outbursts and mood swings, but it tends to only be at home...not at school.  Not sure why that is.

Anyway, any input would be appreciated.

CJ is 6yrs old and is diagnosed ADD. Not sure if he is considered Hyper.... today he is!!

Blessings,

Yolanda

Hi Joy,
We are only on 1mg of intuniv now. School has reported he is better behaved
and focused but I see him unwound by the evening. We do give him the 1mg
at night so maybe it is wearing off.....It's so hit or miss with meds. He had
no appitite on Stratttera. Since on intuniv he eats more and more often. I did
try the 2mgs but he was way too sleepy. My son is showing anixity now too.
Like to Shrek. He used to love it. Now he covers his eyes, or we are going to
Disney and he said he is not going and I said yes you are and he said fine I
will cover my eyes for Mickey because he is for babies. I find him more
tearful now too. Not sure what is best but for now....this works. I liked the
Strattera but insurance is a pain in my butt! Happy Mothers Day all!

OK. i JUST NEED TO VENT. THIS HAS BEN THE WORST DAY EVER. tThe Intuniv has done nothing for my son who has been in blow up stage all day i am going to cry. it is Passover and my family will not even let us sit together as a family. My husband and son are so upset it is unbelievable. This is the worst day I have ever had. when does this Intuniv kick in for Gods sake???????? It has been almost 1 week at 1 mg and I want to go up now. I don't think I can wait I am ready to scream!!!!!!!!!! Helppppppppp.

No advice, just wanted to emphasize with you. It is really hard when it happens on/around a holiday - especially when, say, your sister's kids are wonderfully behaved. We've all been there.

Is he still on the Concerta? We tried Intuniv, too, but never got past 1 mg because our daughter was too sleepy on it. Then again, she's 5. I hear it works really well for some!

Have a good night's sleep and take care of yourrself. Here's to a better day tomorrow!

Oh I hope, hope, hope your tomorrow is better than your today. I haven't noticed a big difference with the tenex yet at our house but it IS better than the first week. I've heard it can take 4 weeks or so before there is an evening out of the sympathetic nervous system.

I took my son to a birthday yesterday and he kept having break-downs and tantrums even worse than before he ever started this med. I am going to be patient, though. And NOT take him to any more birthdays until we've figured it all out.

I am sooooo sorry you had to try and do a family event before any positive results were seen on the Intuniv. Will your doc let you go up sooner or do you have to wait 4 wks and see if 1 mg will be enough? Our doc is so confused with my son's case that he almost lets me be the one to decide where we go next.

I keep telling myself that this stage can't last much longer. I even go so far as to say, "Hey, in 15 years or so I'll have my life back." LOL But I tend to have a morbid sense of humor...that's what keeps me going through the rough times. Whatever it takes, you can do this and you will make it through another day! Hang in there.

LOL thank you for letting me vent. We started today on the 2mg Intuniv hopefully we will see some more results this week, we see the doc in 1 week

Then we will see what will happen with the dosage and my son's behavior. Things have been still rough around the edges here, a fight with everything, but he is getting out more and doing more instead of sitting at the computer loke mom LOL!!!!

My doc also lets me make the call as I am the one who has researched everything and know what direction I want to go.

I'm new here and found this post while trying to find some info about taking Concerta and Intuniv together.  My son (7) was on Concerta for 18 mths and only at 27mg, but he was still very aggressive and defiant so when I get the info about Intuniv I was excited.  We started it 2 weeks ago and we are now going up to 2mg but he is still having a lot of attention issues-  the doctor took him off the Concerta.  I'm wondering if we should put him back on the Concerta with the Intuniv, but I haven't found any info on whether there are any adverse side effects with taking them together. 

I know that your son hasn't been on the Intuniv much longer than my son but he's been on the concerta also and so I'm wondering if you have, over the last couple weeks, seen any improvements.

Thanks
Jenn