Intuniv---anyone have a child that takes it?

[blessedby3]

We have a dd 12 that has adhd. She is currently taking concerta and has been for a few years. She has emotional outbursts that I think are tied to the impulsiveness from the adhd. A friend of ours said her relative takes this Intuniv with her adhd stimulant med and it has helped in the outburst area a lot. DD has a checkup appt soon and I was trying to get info before we go. Anyone have a child that takes this and do you have info to share? Thanks

 

[AmyBWV99]

Our son takes his ritilan 3times a day along with valproic acid twice a day and the addition of that made a huge difference in the impulsive outbursts. Really his mornings are all that are sketchy he's doing great now, we also did 5 months neurofeedback which also helped. A lot.

 

[annacali]

My DD9 has been on Intuniv for about 18 months and Tenex, which is the short acting version of the same drug, for about 5 years before that. She does not tolerate stimulants at ALL, so Intuniv has been our miracle drug. Titrating the dose is a long, slow process...if you go to fast, there is way too much sleepiness that catches up with the child. We moved to 4 mg too fast and she was a zombie. We backed off and things were better. We also had to adjust the time of day she gets it, because she was too tired in the day and not sleeping in the night when we gave it in the mornings...now she gets it at 4pm and it is perfection. Our mornings are so smooth now...no more fighting and nagging, she just gets up, gets dressed and comes down for breakfast---in less than 10 minutes. She can be up, dressed, fed and ready for school in 30-35 minutes when it used to take hours. She is functional at school--gets her homework done in 30 minutes after school. No side effects from the med...she eats her weight in food (but it's OK, she is tiny!) She is in her second year of competitive gymnastics and doing very well. I can't imagine our lives without Intuniv.

 

[blessedby3]

My DD9 has been on Intuniv for about 18 months and Tenex, which is the short acting version of the same drug, for about 5 years before that. She does not tolerate stimulants at ALL, so Intuniv has been our miracle drug. Titrating the dose is a long, slow process...if you go to fast, there is way too much sleepiness that catches up with the child. We moved to 4 mg too fast and she was a zombie. We backed off and things were better. We also had to adjust the time of day she gets it, because she was too tired in the day and not sleeping in the night when we gave it in the mornings...now she gets it at 4pm and it is perfection. Our mornings are so smooth now...no more fighting and nagging, she just gets up, gets dressed and comes down for breakfast---in less than 10 minutes. She can be up, dressed, fed and ready for school in 30-35 minutes when it used to take hours. She is functional at school--gets her homework done in 30 minutes after school. No side effects from the med...she eats her weight in food (but it's OK, she is tiny!) She is in her second year of competitive gymnastics and doing very well. I can't imagine our lives without Intuniv.

So she doesnt take a stimulant at all? I thought the Intuniv was taken with a stimulant. Glad that it has helped you. I am anxious to talk to the ped when we go. I cant take too much more of her outbursts, although at this point...I think she may be in the habit of having them. I am looking for a miracle to help with it, so maybe the Intuniv will be the answer.

 

[blessedby3]

Our son takes his ritilan 3times a day along with valproic acid twice a day and the addition of that made a huge difference in the impulsive outbursts. Really his mornings are all that are sketchy he's doing great now, we also did 5 months neurofeedback which also helped. A lot.

What is valproic acid?

 

[annacali]

So she doesnt take a stimulant at all? I thought the Intuniv was taken with a stimulant.

In our case it is a solo med, but it can be taken with a stimulant as well.

 

[blessedby3]

In our case it is a solo med, but it can be taken with a stimulant as well.

Gotcha...Thanks!

 

[AJRitz]

DS4 is currently on Intuniv and Adderall. He's been doing much better on that combination than he did on either Intuniv or stimulant meds alone. Impulsivity is a major part of his ADHD issues.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

What is valproic acid?

Valproic acid is the generic name for Depakote. It was first used as an anti-seizure medication for epilepsy, but is now also used as a mood stabilizer in people with bipolar disorder.

My DD has BPD with comorbid ADHD. She cannot tolerate stimulant ADHD meds because they throw off her mood disorder. A little over a year ago, we tried Tenex followed by Intuniv to help her control her impulsiveness and angry outbursts. It was a complete bust for us. DD had a paradoxical reaction and ended up in a series of rages. At which point, I stopped the medication. It was most frustrating for me because DD's psychiatrist kept insisting that all we needed to do was increase the dose and switch from Tenex (short-lasting) to Intuniv (long-lasting) and everything would be hunky-dory. This was one of the major reasons we are now working with a different psychiatrist. The paradoxical reaction is rare, but it can happen so just be aware.

 

[blessedby3]

Thanks for the replies