Guanfacine 2 mg side affects

amother

Mon, Nov 06 2023, 4:39 pm

we upped the dosage of my child from 1 to 2 mg of guanfacine.
child started on Friday morning.
on shabbos child started to feel unwell. headache and cough and chest congestion.
sunday we went to the pediatricain. chils has bronchitis. started zpack yesterday at night.
child is EXTREMELY tired. and sluggish with headaches.
im not sure if symptoms are from bronchitis or quanfacine.
my question is, is this normal? how long can I expect until child's body regulates and child starts feeling normal?

amother

Mon, Nov 06 2023, 6:11 pm

I don't think I can do 2 weeks of this.

Said child is sitting around telling everyone to be quiet and nag nanagnagnag.
This kid has adhd (inattentive) we have more kids w adhd (hyperactive) and other (no adhd) kids too. This is a noisy chaotic household. I'm plotzing away here.

amother

Chambray

Mon, Nov 06 2023, 6:43 pm

The child on guanfacine has inattentive? Because guanfacine is mostly for hyper and impulsive from what I understand. It doesn't help with focus. At least not much. My inattentive child is on a stimulant. My child on guanfacine has combined adhd. Did you see any difference on 1mg? Because if it didn't help at all you don't simply increase.

amother

Mon, Nov 06 2023, 6:47 pm

amother Chambray wrote:

Inattentive, impulsive, rigidity and taurettes. These were the main symptoms.
And we saw a huge improvement on 1 mg. But with lots more to be desired. So doc said to increase and see how it is.

amother

Chambray

Mon, Nov 06 2023, 6:51 pm

amother OP wrote:

Inattentive, impulsive, rigidity and taurettes. These were the main symptoms.
And we saw a huge improvement on 1 mg. But with lots more to be desired. So doc said to increase and see how it is.

How long did you try 1mg? Because the longer it's in the system, the more it works. Rigidity I didn't see improve with medication. That has to be taught. And the other needs have to be met. Does this child get any therapy or counseling? I have found occupational therapy and a good psychologist helps as much as medication when combined. Is this child in a special ed program? How old?

amother

Mon, Nov 06 2023, 8:19 pm

No.

Child is getting all the help possible thru school / services and private pay. We've been supporting Child for years. But came to the conclusion that Child is just barely surviving needs more than services and help becuase Child needs to thrive. It has been affecting Child socially and emotionally. so we decided to try this.

Bh Child is doing amazing. Started caring about grades and actually being on time. For the first time. Child is able to transition without tantrums and stubborn stuckness and is actually reasonable in most situations.

My child is able to evaluate social situations appropriately and has started gaining more confidence in child's ability to function and be loved and wanted and therefore reaching out (and getting positive feedback too) and is therefore able to hold onto relationships outside of school.
For the first time ever my child built something extremely complicated with the clicks. Even though Child js very very artistic, my child had NEVER finished any projects on her own or with help. Only with comolete supervision and lots and lots of help and even then it took forever. Until now!!! My child is able to finish projects. Will do homework by themselves and finish it in one sitting.

And best of all. Child is actually able to learn and absorb skills that we've been trying to teach for the last 5-6 years.
The only symptoms that hasn't improved much is tics. And now with upping the dose the tics actually got worse.

But oveall we saw at least a 70% improvement in symptoms with meds + services/therapy. And we are hoping for even better with upping the dose.

amother

Mon, Nov 06 2023, 8:19 pm

amother DarkOrange wrote:

I'd be worried about the upped dose plus the z pack. It often takes my kids about a week to get ovwr the extra tiredness from the new dose. And a z pack can knock me out and cause a lot of those side effects on their own. Has he been on it before?

I guess. I will text pediatrician now.