Experiences of guanfacine for ADHD / tics / anxiety?

[Sensibletrousers]

My DS (10) has just started on Guanfacine for anxiety, tics and ADHD. Prescribed by child psychiatrist.

Wondered if anyone could share their experiences?

(Already tried Concerta and atomoxetine - awful side effects)

My son doesn't have tics but it has worked well for his adhd. He's highly anxious too (diagnosed) but more about changing the environment / people to reduce his anxiety.

He could of had an ssri for anxiety along side intuniv but he can be hit or miss with taking pills in a morning so decided against it ..... as you have to take it religiously or bad side effects.

He has put on a lot of weight with it - as I suppose it's stopped the hyper bouncing / running around - that's the only down side

DS’s psychiatrist was keen to try it for our son. It was a disaster for him- he became depressed, sleepy all the time and had sensory disturbances. Also, terrifying freaks which led to weeks of upset.

However, I know it can be helpful for some young people. And I hope it works well for your son.

Medikenet worked okay for a while but DS chose to stop because he didn’t like the ‘low’ feeling it gave him. He’s unmedicated now and we’ve found ways of managing and strategies to support him, which is (mostly!) fine, but quite tiring for us!

We did it for a period of 6 months or so.

Side effects were mad nightmares, very sleepy (though this wore out after a few weeks). It did reduce his anxiety at first so became more social which was great but after a while he became really lethargic, didn't want to do anything or go anywhere. Almost like his light had been put out, like a person with depression. That was when we stopped.

He also had a massive school aversion around this time, which I've heard elsewhere about kids on Guanfacine.

This is shared in the spirit of helpfulness... with ADHD meds my experience is every child is different, one kid's disaster is another's miracle so I wouldn't let this put you off.

Thanks for the replies. This is the third med we are trying. He reacted terribly to concerta and atomoxetine.

He already has school aversion - attendance has been about 30% - due to anxiety, so that can’t get much worse!

We’re so desperate to find something to help him as the anxiety and ADHD are crippling him.

Hello, I know this thread is old, but I wanted to comment because our situation is very similar.

my 13-year-old son has adhd, ASD and OCD, as well as tics and a strong tendency to being anxious. The stimulant meds did seem to help him with focus, but he became very on edge, even more anxious, and bad tempered/angry/reactive in a way that was unlike him, or like an extreme example of how he is at his worst.

hes now working his way up the doses with guanfacine and is on 2mg. We understand 3mg is likely to be where he’ll need to end up. We haven’t seen any side effects, but a noticeable reduction in tics, and he’s much more self contained and calm in himself. He really struggled last year with his first year of secondary school, both academically and friendship wise. He’s just started year 8 and things seem to be going ok, but hard to tell if anything has changed much. At home though he is much easier to be around.

How have you found things a year on?

After trying 3 stimulants my son 16 is on Guanfacine 1 mg. He has been on it 8 months now and is more stable. It has been the best for him by far, the dose is low so still lively but anxiety reduced concentration a better and he just got 10 decent GCSEs. He has ADHD, ASD and tics. The tics have not changed. He hasn't gained weight but does exercise a fair bit. He doesn't suffer with a drop in the afternoon like he was on stimulants so we will stay on this for a fair bit I think.