Comments on: Intuniv for Treating Tics and Twitches http://www.raising4boys.com/2010/01/28/intuniv-tenex-guanfacine-lexapro-escitalopram-for-treating-tics-and-twitches/ parenting tips, tricks and commentary Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:26:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: kristie http://www.raising4boys.com/2010/01/28/intuniv-tenex-guanfacine-lexapro-escitalopram-for-treating-tics-and-twitches/comment-page-2/#comment-26201 kristie Mon, 06 Sep 2010 13:38:47 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/?p=712#comment-26201 my 11 yr old son just started INtuniv 1 1/2 weeks ago for adhd.. we just started the 2mg and i noticed tics. he has never had facial tics before...can anyone explain this to me? my 11 yr old son just started INtuniv 1 1/2 weeks ago for adhd.. we just started the 2mg and i noticed tics. he has never had facial tics before…can anyone explain this to me?

]]> By: Natalie http://www.raising4boys.com/2010/01/28/intuniv-tenex-guanfacine-lexapro-escitalopram-for-treating-tics-and-twitches/comment-page-2/#comment-26180 Natalie Sat, 21 Aug 2010 10:24:00 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/?p=712#comment-26180 Sorry for the delayed response, Heidi. Yes, my son is only on Intuniv and it has been great for his ADD. We had a "honeymoon" period the first week while on 1mg dose, but when the constant, repetitive tics began again and ADD behaviors crept back, we increased to 2mg. Because drowsiness is a potential side effect, he took the med an hour or two before bed. The reverse happened and he was unable sleep much at all. When he did, he had unpleasant dreams and was just generally off-balance. I made a trial change and we began morning meds two weeks ago. Though it's a 24-hour timed released med, he seems to get the best benefit during the day without tics and sleepiness. At night, he's tired and goes to sleep very quickly and stays asleep. Without restorative sleep, it was hard to tell if it was really working. So far, Intuniv (and the time of day) does work. Best to all. Sorry for the delayed response, Heidi. Yes, my son is only on Intuniv and it has been great for his ADD. We had a “honeymoon” period the first week while on 1mg dose, but when the constant, repetitive tics began again and ADD behaviors crept back, we increased to 2mg.

Because drowsiness is a potential side effect, he took the med an hour or two before bed. The reverse happened and he was unable sleep much at all. When he did, he had unpleasant dreams and was just generally off-balance.

I made a trial change and we began morning meds two weeks ago. Though it’s a 24-hour timed released med, he seems to get the best benefit during the day without tics and sleepiness. At night, he’s tired and goes to sleep very quickly and stays asleep. Without restorative sleep, it was hard to tell if it was really working. So far, Intuniv (and the time of day) does work.

Best to all.

]]> By: Regina http://www.raising4boys.com/2010/01/28/intuniv-tenex-guanfacine-lexapro-escitalopram-for-treating-tics-and-twitches/comment-page-2/#comment-26168 Regina Thu, 05 Aug 2010 23:20:15 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/?p=712#comment-26168 Thanks Heather, that is great advice, I will pass it along to my friend. I just know that being a morning person myself, by nighttime I am exhausted so his not getting sleepy is very difficult. I think he is adjusting to the 2 mg and we may have to up the dosage. We are going tomorrow. Judging by the way he is jumping up and down right now on the mini trampoline after a day of camp, starting at 7:30 til 3:30, swimming, tennis, playing in the sun and he is still jumping, I think he may be adjusting to this dosage! He is the love of my life though. We all cope with so much. It is helpful to talk to other moms about it! Thanks Heather, that is great advice, I will pass it along to my friend. I just know that being a morning person myself, by nighttime I am exhausted so his not getting sleepy is very difficult. I think he is adjusting to the 2 mg and we may have to up the dosage. We are going tomorrow. Judging by the way he is jumping up and down right now on the mini trampoline after a day of camp, starting at 7:30 til 3:30, swimming, tennis, playing in the sun and he is still jumping, I think he may be adjusting to this dosage! He is the love of my life though. We all cope with so much. It is helpful to talk to other moms about it!

]]> By: Heather http://www.raising4boys.com/2010/01/28/intuniv-tenex-guanfacine-lexapro-escitalopram-for-treating-tics-and-twitches/comment-page-2/#comment-26167 Heather Thu, 05 Aug 2010 21:58:43 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/?p=712#comment-26167 Regina, our son has run into some difficulty falling asleep, but STAYING asleep has become so much easier, we decided to adjust. We try to give him the Intuniv a couple of hours before bedtime, and if he's still not sleepy at a reasonable hour, we don't make a big deal out of it (which is not really our style!). We found that if we don't focus on the clock, and let him read or watch something sedative -- like baseball or the Home Shopping Network! -- he gets tired soon enough. And then he sleeps solidly for 10 or 11 hours. Gradually, he has been getting tired earlier and earlier. I struggle with insomnia myself, and I think I get so hyper-focused on it that I cause myself even more problems. I'm trying to help my son learn from my mistakes. We'll see. By the way, what else is working for you all? Our son has been taking tae kwon do for about six months, and I think it's been really helpful. Also, I just heard about something called rhythmic movement therapy, and I've noticed lately that my son finds our backyard swing very soothing. Anybody else? Regina, our son has run into some difficulty falling asleep, but STAYING asleep has become so much easier, we decided to adjust. We try to give him the Intuniv a couple of hours before bedtime, and if he’s still not sleepy at a reasonable hour, we don’t make a big deal out of it (which is not really our style!). We found that if we don’t focus on the clock, and let him read or watch something sedative — like baseball or the Home Shopping Network! — he gets tired soon enough. And then he sleeps solidly for 10 or 11 hours. Gradually, he has been getting tired earlier and earlier. I struggle with insomnia myself, and I think I get so hyper-focused on it that I cause myself even more problems. I’m trying to help my son learn from my mistakes. We’ll see.

By the way, what else is working for you all? Our son has been taking tae kwon do for about six months, and I think it’s been really helpful. Also, I just heard about something called rhythmic movement therapy, and I’ve noticed lately that my son finds our backyard swing very soothing. Anybody else?

]]> By: Regina http://www.raising4boys.com/2010/01/28/intuniv-tenex-guanfacine-lexapro-escitalopram-for-treating-tics-and-twitches/comment-page-2/#comment-26166 Regina Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:39:39 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/?p=712#comment-26166 Heather that is great news that you have figured out the best plan for your son! It is trial and error in the beginning. My son's tics seemed to increase at first but now they seem alittle less, they always come and go as tics do. My son was never a good sleeper!! I now have been giving him melatonin at night only 1 mg seems to work and he needs it even with the intuniv. It has worked for us. My friend is having such a problem with increasing her (11 year old) son's Intuniv due to the insomnia. She can't get it to work. They have him on 1 mg Intuniv then 1/2 mg Tenex at night and she has tried the Melatonin, doesn't work. Heather that is great news that you have figured out the best plan for your son! It is trial and error in the beginning. My son’s tics seemed to increase at first but now they seem alittle less, they always come and go as tics do. My son was never a good sleeper!! I now have been giving him melatonin at night only 1 mg seems to work and he needs it even with the intuniv. It has worked for us. My friend is having such a problem with increasing her (11 year old) son’s Intuniv due to the insomnia. She can’t get it to work. They have him on 1 mg Intuniv then 1/2 mg Tenex at night and she has tried the Melatonin, doesn’t work.

]]> By: Heather http://www.raising4boys.com/2010/01/28/intuniv-tenex-guanfacine-lexapro-escitalopram-for-treating-tics-and-twitches/comment-page-2/#comment-26165 Heather Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:50:43 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/?p=712#comment-26165 I'm glad your kids were able to push through the sensitivity issues with the Intuniv. We talked to our therapist and the pediatrician and ultimately backed our son's dosage down to 2mg; it seems to be just right. His focus isn't perfect, but whose is? There is absolutely none of the depression now, and he sleeps soundly for 10 or 11 hours each night. He jumps out of bed in the morning, gets dressed, fixes and eats his breakfast and reads or watches TV -- usually all before I'm even up yet! He has never been a morning person, but it seems clear now that he just never got much restorative sleep (I actually spent the night in his room a few times to test this theory before we started the medication). He has never taken anything for the ADHD, because we don't want to increase his Tourette's tics, so Intuniv is the only thing he's taking. Thanks again to everybody for your great feedback. I was pretty disappointed that the "support" promised by the makers of Intuniv seems to be missing, so I have really leaned on those of you willing to share your stories. Heather I’m glad your kids were able to push through the sensitivity issues with the Intuniv. We talked to our therapist and the pediatrician and ultimately backed our son’s dosage down to 2mg; it seems to be just right. His focus isn’t perfect, but whose is? There is absolutely none of the depression now, and he sleeps soundly for 10 or 11 hours each night. He jumps out of bed in the morning, gets dressed, fixes and eats his breakfast and reads or watches TV — usually all before I’m even up yet! He has never been a morning person, but it seems clear now that he just never got much restorative sleep (I actually spent the night in his room a few times to test this theory before we started the medication).
He has never taken anything for the ADHD, because we don’t want to increase his Tourette’s tics, so Intuniv is the only thing he’s taking.

Thanks again to everybody for your great feedback. I was pretty disappointed that the “support” promised by the makers of Intuniv seems to be missing, so I have really leaned on those of you willing to share your stories.

Heather

]]> By: Tracy http://www.raising4boys.com/2010/01/28/intuniv-tenex-guanfacine-lexapro-escitalopram-for-treating-tics-and-twitches/comment-page-2/#comment-26164 Tracy Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:49:25 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/?p=712#comment-26164 Regina, That is do very true. We spend so much time feeling guilty about putting our kids on medication yet the overall benefits out weight any guilt we can ever feel. I have spoken to many parents in the same position and all have the same response. It is the best thing we ever did for our children. Those who judge haven't walked in our shoes or our children's. Tracy Regina, That is do very true. We spend so much time feeling guilty about putting our kids on medication yet the overall benefits out weight any guilt we can ever feel. I have spoken to many parents in the same position and all have the same response. It is the best thing we ever did for our children. Those who judge haven’t walked in our shoes or our children’s.
Tracy

]]> By: Regina http://www.raising4boys.com/2010/01/28/intuniv-tenex-guanfacine-lexapro-escitalopram-for-treating-tics-and-twitches/comment-page-2/#comment-26163 Regina Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:45:21 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/?p=712#comment-26163 Hi All, Thanks for all of your posts and encouragement! Heidi, Nancy and Tracy. My psychiatrist said to wait and give the Intuniv a shot with the new therapist and lo and behold, the therapist has helped him talk through his anger and OCD stuff. The medication is definitely helping and his thoughts are clearer, he does not linger in a bad mood now and rebounds really quickly. No one wants to put their child on medication but when you see the benefits we cannot forget that we are helping them help themselves, its for them and their own peace of mind as well. Hi All, Thanks for all of your posts and encouragement! Heidi, Nancy and Tracy. My psychiatrist said to wait and give the Intuniv a shot with the new therapist and lo and behold, the therapist has helped him talk through his anger and OCD stuff. The medication is definitely helping and his thoughts are clearer, he does not linger in a bad mood now and rebounds really quickly. No one wants to put their child on medication but when you see the benefits we cannot forget that we are helping them help themselves, its for them and their own peace of mind as well.

]]> By: Tracy http://www.raising4boys.com/2010/01/28/intuniv-tenex-guanfacine-lexapro-escitalopram-for-treating-tics-and-twitches/comment-page-2/#comment-26162 Tracy Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:40:27 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/?p=712#comment-26162 Heidi, My son is only on Intuniv right now. Tics have mostly subsided and attention improved. He does have some break through behaviors but overall a vast improvement. Tracy Heidi, My son is only on Intuniv right now. Tics have mostly subsided and attention improved. He does have some break through behaviors but overall a vast improvement. Tracy

]]> By: Nancy http://www.raising4boys.com/2010/01/28/intuniv-tenex-guanfacine-lexapro-escitalopram-for-treating-tics-and-twitches/comment-page-2/#comment-26161 Nancy Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:17:44 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/?p=712#comment-26161 My son recently got an offer to go to a better school. He said "no way, I have friends at school." I never thought I would hear that! My son recently got an offer to go to a better school. He said “no way, I have friends at school.” I never thought I would hear that!

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