Re: Intuniv?

[Anonymous]

My daughter and I are using Intuniv. It worked wonders for her right from the beginning. She seems to do best on 2 mg. Any more and she sleeps all day. I am taking 4 mg which is the maximum dose they offer. I’ve noticed some better motivation but no huge improvements. Don’t let that disuade you though, I have tried almost everything made for ADHD and none have helped more than a little.

Intuniv is approved by the FDA for children up to 17 years old only. That’s because the two studies used to get it approved for ADHD treatment only included children. However, if you are in the US your Doctor can still perscribe it for you. Doctors are not restricted from perscribing medicine “off label.” It is done all the time.

Intuniv is Guanfacine in a long acting form. If money is an issue your Doctor can perscribe Guanfacine generic but you will have to take it several times per day instead of just once.

Intunive is only made in 1-4 mg tablets. That is because the studies done to test Guanfacine’s usefulness for treating ADHD showed no significant improvement in symptoms in patients taking more than 4 mg. It is recommended that you start at 1 mg then increase the dosage by 1 mg per week until you see no more improvement. However, remember the studies were done on children and teens only. Adults are larger for the most part and have different metabolisms than children. So if you reach 4 mg and still have little improvement or have improvement with few or no negative side effects ask your Doctor to perscribe 5 mg (4 mg + 1 mg) and see if you have more improvement. Keep going until negative side effects outweigh positive then drop back to the previous dose that worked best.

Remember, Guanfacine was originally created as a treatment for high blood pressure so you must monitor your blood pressure regularly while taking it else your blood pressure may drop too low. It also has a fairly strong sedative effect. You can take Intuniv at night since it is long acting but generic Guanfacine is only available in short acting form so you must take it during the day. Until you know how it will affect you be careful driving or doing other activities where nodding off could endanger your life or others.

Good luck,

WW

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