My 7 yo daughter has severe ADHD. Since December, she has been taking Focalin 5mg twice a day. While there was some improvement, it was not enough. She was still having problems in school with friends, classmates, her teacher, homework, etc. Her doctor recommended that we supplement the Focalin with Intuniv. She has been on Intuniv for just under 2 months, and we are stunned at the difference. She is happy, attentive, and able to follow instructions. She listens when she is being spoken to, and is not anywhere near as hyperactive. For 3 weeks in a row, she has brought home nothing but praise from her teacher. For over 2 weeks, her teacher has indicated that Lauren is not "interrupting" or "calling out" in class. Intuniv has worked wonders for our daughter. Her relationships with her peers, classmates, friends and teacher have dramatically improved. Things around the house have improved dramatically, and our stress levels have gone waaaay down.

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Hi my son is about to start intuniv this weekend, we have tried almost every stimulant out there and he is currently on Focalin, which I like because he is able to go to bed and eat on it, and the agrression that we experienced while on vyvanese is not there. My son is adhd with sensory disfunction. He is 6 now, however was diagnosed at age 3. I have experienced agression, impulsivity, lack of focus, although he tries desperately to control it. I have found that the biggest part of his agression comes for the sensory disfunction. He seeks out additional sensory input, and doesn't realize that he is playing that rough. To assist with that we go to an OT Therapist and she works with him on ways to recoginze how his body is feeling and get it back to that just right place. She also suggested Theraputic Listening. It is a 12 week program with cds. there are different sounds/pitches underlined with music, that triggers the vestibular within the ear drum. We had success with it, he is able to pull himself out of his episodes and express when he needs assistance slowing his body down. (I call it his spastic moments). I am really nervous about the Intuniv as the research I have done states that with decreased blood pressure there is a possibility of irregular heart patterns. Has anyone experienced any of that? My dr advised that if he is falling asleep in class that his heart rate/blood pressure need to be checked right away....has anyone else heard anything about this, or experienced this?

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Little-Star,

My son has not had any issues with irregular heart beat, or any related heart issues. From what I have read in these post's, some Dr's are suggesting giving intuniv at night before bed. I give it to my son in the morning, as directed, and he is fine during the day at school. Our Dr. said, if you give it in the morning, the sleepiness will usually occur in the early evening, which is exactly what I have found. So far, I'm loving Intuniv!

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Little Star-My son has been on Intuniv for almost 4 mos. Even though we give him the (3mg) dose at night, he still falls asleep during the day in class. He has an IEP in place, so they allow him rest periods. The sleepiness could also be due to the Abilify, which we give him for agression in the morning. We have not experienced any issues with low-blood pressure but his doc continues to check him. I suggest trying it and see how it goes. As with any med, you and your child's doctor should be monitoring your child for any questionable side-effects and the doc should adjust the dosage when necessary. Simply put, don't hesitate to ask questions. Only you know your child best and if something doesn't feel right, speak up! All the best to you.

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My 5 year old has been taking 1 mg of Intuniv for two weeks now. We started him today on 2 mgs. The first week was great, he had a complete turnaround in school and was behaving and completing his work. The teacher called Friday to tell us that he has been starting to lose focus and act up in class again this week, so the doctor increased the dosage. Today was the first day on the new dose, so far I haven't noticed any drowsiness. We won't really know if the increase helped his issues in school or not until he goes back to class Monday. His behavior has never been a problem at home, so it's hard to tell about the effects of the meds unless he's in school. We haven't had any side effect issues, but the doctor did require us to get him an EKG before he took the medication.

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My son is 9 years old and has Tourette's and inattentive ADD with some anger/aggressiveness issues at home (never at school). He had been on Tenex for a couple of months and was not improving so the Dr. upped his dosage to 1.5 mg a day instead of just 1 mg. His teacher said his ability to focus actually worsened so we took him back to the doctor to try something else. She strongly believes that the medication was just too sedating so she put him on Intuniv. He just finished week one today (1 mg) and starts on 2 mg/day tomorrow. I really would like to have him off all meds if possible so I started looking into diet and lifestyle changes. He started a no sugar diet a few days ago and is doing MUCH better. Of course he hates the diet but he himself has said that he feels much more awake and attentive at school. Since we started this while he is on the Intuniv we don't really know if the diet or the meds are making the difference but it's worth a try. The only sugar he gets is the sugar in his soymilk (he is allergic to milk) and in fruit.

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Have you ever had your son tested for Hypoglycemia? I have it and the signs you describe of your son having an inability to focus awith sugar in the diet definitely sound like it. Usually, after sugar intake, your blood sugar level spikes and then plummets, creating 'fuzzy thinking' and fatigue. Great that you are able to make this change. Keep me posted on how things progress.

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My daughter is six years old this is only our second try of adhd meds. The first was daytrana the patch.. While it worked wonders with her school work, It caused ocd with cleaning and organizing, and major meltdowns for over an hour at night when we took off the patch. So we moved on to Intuniv.. we are currently on 2mg. Its been about eight days now. we started with 1mg and moved five days later. Im very concerned with the fact that she is always tired.She seems to always be falling asleep and although it has helped her adhd I feel as if she is not our daughter so laid back and almost drugged looking in her eyes... Does this go away? If we keep at it will the tiredness subside. She fell asleep in class friday and was so embarassed.. I don't want that either? I guess im looking for that miracle drug. one that helps in school and also helps with the other diagnosis besides adhd which is oppsitonal defiant disorder.

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When do you give your daughter her Intuniv? I give it to my son in the morning and don't see sleepiness until early evening, which is good for us. I see some Dr's are recommending giving it in the evening, which I think results in the child being sleepy during the day at school. Shire recommends giving it in the morning for this reason.

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My 7 year old son just started on 1 mg on Intuniv 4 days ago. Since I read a lot of posts on this site, I decided not to give it to him until the afternoon. I'm glad I did this, because he gets tired exactly 5 hours after taking it - goes right to bed (first time in his LIFE he actually asks to go to bed!) I don't see any negative side effects, but I'm not seeing any great changes in his behavior!!! Crossing my fingers!

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My son just turned 8 and is in first grade. We have tried/tested many medications over the last 3 years, incuding Focalin, both short acting and long acting (in varying doses and combinations), Vivance and back to Focalin XR (5mg 3x day). Then about a year ago we switched to the Daytrana patch to avoid the multiple dosing. That worked well, but he still had impulsive moments so we added Guanfacine, again multiple small doses a day. Once Intuniv came out we tried it immediately. We have had very postive results and while he was always good with us (his problems manifest in school or other settings with lots of people), he has been even better, positive, helpful and using his manners. In school, things are better as well, still an occational bad day, but they are fewer and further between. Our son is 50 lbs and is on the 3mg dose of intuniv and a 20mg Daytrana patch. Since mornings can still be tough we get up an hour before he does, put his patch on (which takes an hour to kick in), give him the intuniv and 2.5mg of Focalin short acting (ask him to swallow and go back to sleep). Most mornings this works and when he gets up an hour later things are a bit easier. If he's already awake and we go in, it's more likely to be a rough morning, but by the time he gets to school everything has kicked in. The Intuniv take about 3 hours.

The other thing we do with him each morning is some kind of exercise. Either he does 100 jumping jacks or jumps on a mini tramp or goes for a walk and does a few sprints between mailboxes. The purpose of this is to 'wake the brain'. This has really helped.

He also takes a Nordic Naturals EPA Xtra fish oil capsule and 15 mg of zinc each day and 3 mg of melatonin at night (1mg short acting and 2mg time released)

Does anyone else have experiance with Daytrana?

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sf said: My 10 yr old son has been taking Intuniv 4mg since Nov. 09. In addition, he also takes Vyvanse. We have seem remarkable results with his anger, moodiness, restraint with brother/friends, etc. He seems to be making a real effort to get along with his younger brother instead of ALWAYS trying to take over and control everything. School is much better with grades and also friends. He just seems more calm and content. His manners are WONDERFUL! He has been very thoughtful and helpful. It is like I knew this child existed, it was just that I did not always see these wonderful traits. He follows directions without arguing so much easier now. The side effects for us have been mild with some stomach irritation. Sleep and the night time routine have improved. I'd love to hear other experiences with this mediciation.

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My 7yo son was diagnosed with ADHD-HI and PLMD (sleep disorder) in 6/09. He tried clonidine but it was not as helpful as we had hoped with his impulse control. He started on Intuniv a week and a half ago and is now up to his full dose of 2mg before bed. He was very sleepy and not quite himself this past weekend. I'm wondering what your experience is with the sleepiness and how long it lasts before his body gets used to the meds. I know it is different for every child but it would be comforting to hear from other parents with first hand experience. Thanks!

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Today is our first day without Vyvanse for my son, who is 8 years old and in 3rd grade. We are going to start Intuniv on Monday. He has been Vyvanse for almost 2 years anywhere from 20-40 mg tablet once a day. He had done well in school and at home. However some siezures have been developed including a life threatening 90 minute siezure followed by a drug enduced coma. He recovered with minimal brain damage but is now on Trileptal. We are also going to increase this dose from 150mg twice a day to 225mg twice a day. Reading the posts gives me some insight on what is to come. We are going to start with 1mg in the am for 2 weeks then 2mg for 3 weeks then go from there. The sleepiness does concern me but we will watch this and the school will be willing to accomodate his needs. I will appreciate any advice!

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TandRFarms said: Today is our first day without Vyvanse for my son, who is 8 years old and in 3rd grade. We are going to start Intuniv on Monday. He has been Vyvanse for almost 2 years anywhere from 20-40 mg tablet once a day. He had done well in school and at home. However some siezures have been developed including a life threatening 90 minute siezure followed by a drug enduced coma. He recovered with minimal brain damage but is now on Trileptal. We are also going to increase this dose from 150mg twice a day to 225mg twice a day. Reading the posts gives me some insight on what is to come. We are going to start with 1mg in the am for 2 weeks then 2mg for 3 weeks then go from there. The sleepiness does concern me but we will watch this and the school will be willing to accomodate his needs. I will appreciate any advice!

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Vyvanse was not necessarily the main cause of the siezures but it did lower the threshold for a major one to break through. But all stimulants lower that threshold as we all know. My son had an unexplained stroke at birth, causing a brain injury hence Cerebral Palsy diagnosis. Our neurologist and developmental pedicatric doctor believes that this may be a good route to go for him but we have to manage both the Epilepsy, CP and ADHD. However, I am still VERY scared about the future. Having this forum will help get advice - thanks!

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My 13 year old daughter has been taking Intuniv since January 2010, and we are very encouraged. She has tried different medications in the past few years, and nothing has really helped. She can not tolerate stimulants and Strattera didn't work well; she had constant nausea and headaches and her moods were unstable. She struggles with anxiety and stimulants made it worse. I can sympathize with every parent and every child who has been spoken of on this board. It is so hard and sad to see that your child isn't happy and reaching their potential. Even worse, feeling helpless. She now takes 3 mg of Intuniv and 15mg of Lexapro every morning and the results have been very positive. The best part is that there are no side effects other than being tired at first, but that went away. She said, "I don't feel different, I'm still myself." However, we have all noticed a difference in behavior and mood at home and in school. She is completeing her school work, and she cares about it. She is effectively and appropriately dealing with social situations. She is less impulsive and she sleeps at night for the first time in 13 years. Mornings.... oh so much better! I think it's really important to keep up with therapy and social groups because she is now able to take in things that she couldn't before, and she is also reflecting on past behaviors, and that is hard. She is starting to utilize the support systems and advice that has always been there. She's still my intelligent, witty and creative girl, just happier and able to make better choices. No calls from school in weeks. She's not angry all of the time and her friends are around more. I think every child is different and every medication will effect each child differently, but for us, the results have been entirely positive. For the first time, I have no reservation refilling this prescription for her.

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Hi, My son had great results on Concerta for 1 1/2 years... except that he had little appetite and had pretty much stopped growing- not OK at 9! I should note that he is a very good student and really hasn't had any behavior issues at school, though he is very quiet and shy there. He doesn't have the "H" in ADHD, he just has trouble focusing and getting down to work. The only thing that happened at school when the meds weren't right is that he'd fail to complete work because he got distracted, and he kept bringing little toys to school "for recess", and then the toys would come out in class. I feel very lucky that he is so able to function at school and his teachers love him. We tried Stattera, got tics and no real help with attention, tried Vyvanse for a few weeks and he started to say some very dark things... I was at the pediatrician's office the next day, without my son, saying that this wouldn't do. He put him on Metadate, which was effective with attention only at a pretty high dose (50mg for a 70# kid). School was better, but at home my son was very argumentative and uncooperative. One of the worst things was that he refused to take his meds, and every day we had a battle over that. I always won, but it was exhausting. I asked for help, and my pediatrician kept him on Metatdate 50mg and prescribed Intuniv 4mg once a day, in the morning. It has really helped. He is much more cooperative, takes his meds OK and in the beginning he went to sleep at night with the most ease he'd ever had- but that has abated and he still takes melatonin before bed. I'm grateful for the Intuniv; the time where we were trying all of the meds that didn't work and had bad side effects was awful. I had no idea what parents go though with medication management. It's so important that we keep at it until we find what works for them. I worry for kids whose parents just figure they are just angry, depressed kids, when it may be their meds.

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So glad I found this site. My 9 year old started Intuniv 1mg for 7 days and then increased to 2mg. He is so tired and his teacher said he was lethargic the last few days. I know all kids are different, but does anyone have any feedback of how long the sleepiness lasts? His pediatrician said to "ride it out" but I need as much info as I can get to rest easy. Thanks !

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My 8 yo son has been taking Vyvanse for 19 months. At about 16-17 months, we noticed that his behavior was becoming worse. He was more argumentative, he meds wore off sooner in the afternoon, and it was more of an effort for him to sit down and do his homework every day. My son's behavior issues rarely happened at school, but his teachers said he was very fidgety and had trouble keeping control of his body. He was not eating well so his growth was definitely stunted. Our doctor recommended that we look into a new non-stimulant Intuniv. We started last month gradually adding dosage from week to week. The third week we were supposed to take our son off the Vyvanse and just have the Intuniv take over. Well that lasted 2 days. My son became very abusive, verbally and physically, he couldn't write, his teachers claimed that he was acting "drunk". Other kids complained that he was "spanking" them and hitting them in inappropriate places. The second day I took his backpack out of his locker and discovered about 30 coins falling through the holes in the bottom of his backpack. When we asked him where they came from, he said he couldn't remember. So the doctor recommended that we re continue the Vyvanse with the Intuniv. His behavior was better but he still seemed pretty emotional. Then when we tried to take him off the stimulant AGAIN, his behavior just escalated and I took him out of school to keep him from getting suspended. Finally, with the full dosage of intunive we put him back on the Vyvanse (still 40 mg) and his behavior was beautiful for 2 days. He was helpful with his sister, he did his chores without complaining, etc. It was such a relief to find my happy and respectful, and caring son again. Over the weekend the doctor had recommended that we take him off his intuniv to see if that medication was CAUSING him to behave worse. We probably could have told him that the our son acted much worse with the intuniv alone than with the vyvanse alone. Now we are going to try the Vyvanse and Intuniv (4mg) for one month. We're crossing our fingers because I doctor doesn't seem to think we have many medication options left. Now he is eating like there is no tomorrow. He's already gained one pound in one month. Woo hoo! Thank you for sharing your story too sf. How are things going now?

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My son is 7 (turn's 8 in May) and in ther 2nd grade. He has Aspergers/ADHD/OCD. He has been on Luvox for a little over a year. We tried stimulant ADHD meds last year, but they were horible and sent him way over the top. Today starts his 3rd week of Intuniv and I am SO HAPPY WITH IT! We have been seeing a drastic improvement in school and homework for about 3 days now. He was VERY tired for several days teh 1st week (on 1mg.) and then got not so tired. When we upped to 2mg., he was VERY, Very tired for about 5 or 6 days. Yesterday, his teacher said he was very awake, attentive, and completed assignments. She can not believe how great he is doing!!!! I am so excited. It is a new concept for me to get a call or email from school with a good report! I really like that! I know it is still early. I hope things stay this good or get better. I will keep you updated.

Moms, if your child is not on a 504 plan, I would HIGHLY RECOMEND it! If you ask the principle about it and she says he/she can not be on one or doesn't seem to really know about 504s, call your school district Special Education department. It is my understanding that an ADHD diagnosis will qualify your child for 504 accomidations. These accomidations can made a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE!!!!

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After reading these postings, I was very excited to try this out for my son. But rereading them I am noticing a difference in some things. Some people are using Intuniv alone and others with the stimulants. Are those who are using it alone generally those with kids that do not have the hyper in the ADHD? I know we were told to not even thy Stratera because it does not control the outbursts. Has anyone found that Intuniv helps control the hyper activity? Also reading this I was surprised to learn that Vyvanse adds to the anger a child might have. I wish I had known that sooner. My son was always such a sweet little boy and in the past year has really become more aggressive. I was assuming that was because he has been so frustrated with all his learning disabilities, he is noticing that other children do not have all the same problems he does with learning now that he is in 2nd grade. What I am wondering is, does Intuniv work alone, or is it something I should plan on using in conjunction with another ADHD medication. i would love to hear from those who have a child who has been known to have outbursts and less focus in the past. Thanks also for starting this forum, it is nice not to feel alone.

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My son just turned 11 and has been on Abilify for just over a year, and on Intuniv since December. He is taking 4mg Intuniv in morning and 5mg Abilify at night. His only problem for the first couple months on Intuniv was falling asleep all day at school. He is now doing ok with that. He's still been having trouble controlling his temper and following commands of teachers, which has him in timeout room or sent home. I should mention that he is in a special ed class of 9 students that are like him and have been labeled Emotionally Impaired. He was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 5. His psychiatrist last week added 27mg of Concerta in the morning, in addition to the Intuniv. So far seems to be working. We were all very concerned with the 25 lb. weight gain he has had in last 3 months, which doctor thinks is due to the Abilify. All in all, Intuniv is working very well.

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Debannie said: My son just turned 11 and has been on Abilify for just over a year, and on Intuniv since December. He is taking 4mg Intuniv in morning and 5mg Abilify at night. His only problem for the first couple months on Intuniv was falling asleep all day at school. He is now doing ok with that. He's still been having trouble controlling his temper and following commands of teachers, which has him in timeout room or sent home. I should mention that he is in a special ed class of 9 students that are like him and have been labeled Emotionally Impaired. He was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 5. His psychiatrist last week added 27mg of Concerta in the morning, in addition to the Intuniv. So far seems to be working. We were all very concerned with the 25 lb. weight gain he has had in last 3 months, which doctor thinks is due to the Abilify. All in all, Intuniv is working very well.

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I appreciate the information and history from all the parents. Our 6.5yo ADHD-Impulstivity/ODD is on the thin line of getting expelled from his private school. He is currently on Vyvanse 30 mg and tenex 1mg in the morning and evening. With his last episode-kicking the principal and having parents complaining and worried about there children's safety- we of course called the doctor and said we need something else and by the time we got in 2 weeks later-he has gotten all good reports in school and no major issues. I am holding off starting the Intuniv due to the lethargy-that equals meltdowns for us- till next week he has a short week of school then off for spring break. Thanks for being helpful-I don't feel like such an outcast. When the school told my husband and I they don't know if the school can accomdate anymore my heart sunk this is EXACTLY what happened last year at another school. The upside is the principal got the school district is to an emergency re-evaluation. Not sure if that is a good thing or not could solidify the case that the private school doesn't have the means to accomdate since he falls under the emotional disability. Saga continues.

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