Starting Meds: Tenex, Cateres (scary!)
Hi All,
My daughter is 8, and we've done the behavior therapy route. It's time to start the meds in conjunction. Thankfully, she holds it together socially, but we're starting to see ADHD affect her school work.
Knew this day would come, so I'm happy to have it here and get it over with, but so, so scared. She cannot swallow pills, so many options were out to us. The best thing seems to be Tenex, Cateres.
How do you all handle this in school if they need a dose? In the beginning is it trial and error to see just when the right time is for it?
What have been your experiences on either? Right now we're focusing on hyperactivity...she's scored in the 99% (thatta girl!). I feel strangely validated, like, "See, she is exhausting!!" 
.
Has anyone seen this improve schoolwork in dealing with the fidgeting/squirming, etc.? These feel like rookie questions, but I am a rookie to this board, and also to the world of meds.
So glad to have found you!
My 11 year old grandson is taking Tenex. His main problems are hyperactivity and impulsivity. The Tenex has definitely helped settle him down in school. His grades have moved upward sine we started in November. If you go the route of Tenex, please note that you will probably see extreme drowsiness in the beginning. It does wear off after a few days to a week. But, each time you increase the dosage, you'll encounter it again. Good luck!
As for school dosages, you'll probably need a note from the doctor. The school nurse usually gives out meds. Don't worry, there are plenty of kids in school who go to the nurse each day for their meds. My grandson takes his tenex in the am before school and takes it again after school. It is usually a 2x/day dosage and you can probably schedule it the same way.
That said, I'm sure the procedure varies, but what our school does is have kids come to the nurse right before lunch. You'll need to have a dr. note to dispense. IMHO, it's worth it to ask them to keep the reason your child is going to the nurse on the DL, it's not anyone's business what she gets meds for or when she gets them and kids can be pretty mean about silly things like that.
Since the XR version (Intuniv) is new, many insurance companies won't cover it because it doesn't have a generic. It is quite expensive if you have to pay for it yourself. That's why we use the short acting version (Tenex). I also like it because you can adjust the dosage by 1/4 or 1/2 mg at a time with the Tenex, since you can cut the tablets. You cannot cut the XR version.
My son was on Intuniv and he did really good at first,
great in school. He was still not sleeping much at night.
So his dr. upped his dose to 2mg at which point he became
very angry violent and depressed. So I put him back on 1mg
til I could get ahold of his dr. She today prescribed
Tenex, so we are hoping for a better outcome. Any advice?
My 10 yr son was super hyper and also had trouble with impulsivity. He also had a hard time with reading and writing. We use the Daytrana patch. No pills. It's great! I can use as needed. During the summer, I noticed he was not so hyper, so I have just been using as needed. This morning for about 2 hours, then took it off.
After he started the patch about 1. 5 years ago he has improved greatly at school. He got straight A's last year. He had rebound at first very moody in the afternoon when it wore off, but it goes away. I would start with a small dose. 10mg is the smallest patch, but you can cut them. I have 15 mg right now, but am cutting into thirds as he seems (strangley enough)much less "ADHD" this summer
.
I was very greatful for the meds, and really didn't want to at first.
Good luck!
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