Guest guest Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 My 18yo son took clonidine when he was 6yo to help with impulsive & aggresive behaviors, as well as sleep issues at night. It made him very drowsy & cranky like a baby fighting sleep during the day. The night dose put him to sleep. Because of the drowsiness, he was switched to Tenex or Guanfacine. He has been on it since then - about 11 years. The dose has been increased a little, but not much. A small dose combined with Zoloft, Neurontin, & Trileptal have been the answer for his depression, anxiety, & ompulsive, aggression issues!Sent from my iPhoneBlessings, DonnaOn Mar 18, 2010, at 6:01 AM, O'Brien <nicole.obrien@...> wrote: So our dev. Ped. has told us to wean off the Risperidone (thank goodness). She said he’s just one of those who’s likely to gain weight with ANY of the a-typicals. She also said the same would likely be true for the group of SSRI medications, which means paxil, Prozac, etc are out the window for options. She has asked me to research Clonidine. Does anyone have experience with this?? Or it’s cousin Guanfacine? Thanks in advance !! =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 When our dev ped suggested we put Caitlin on Zoloft this past summer. My big question was will it make her gain weight, bc I would suffer through and figure out a way without the meds. He told us no it wouldn't. Is that false?? On Mar 18, 2010, at 4:01 AM, O'Brien wrote: So our dev. Ped. has told us to wean off the Risperidone (thank goodness). She said he’s just one of those who’s likely to gain weight with ANY of the a-typicals. She also said the same would likely be true for the group of SSRI medications, which means paxil, Prozac, etc are out the window for options. She has asked me to research Clonidine. Does anyone have experience with this?? Or it’s cousin Guanfacine? Thanks in advance !! =) “Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” - Steve Jobs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 My son took it for a little while. It is actually used as a blood pressure med in higher doses. It is something that cannot just be stopped as it can make their blood pressure suddenly drop. My son started on half of the lowest dose, but fell asleep in school. We cut down to a 1/4 and he was still tired. I probably didn t give it long enough, but I just felt like he was out of it and felt guilty. My problem with meds all along. His 1st med was Concerta which gave him facial tics. They tried Strattera and that did it too. The Cloidine was actually suppose to help they facial tics, but I didn t see that. The only thing that has helped is keeping him off meds.... On Thu Mar 18th, 2010 11:51 AM EDT Byrne wrote: >When our dev ped suggested we put Caitlin on Zoloft this past summer. My big question was will it make her gain weight, bc I would suffer through and figure out a way without the meds. He told us no it wouldn't. Is that false?? > > > > >On Mar 18, 2010, at 4:01 AM, O'Brien wrote: > >> >> So our dev. Ped. has told us to wean off the Risperidone (thank goodness). She said he’s just one of those who’s likely to gain weight with ANY of the a-typicals. She also said the same would likely be true for the group of SSRI medications, which means paxil, Prozac, etc are out the window for options. >> >> >> >> She has asked me to research Clonidine. Does anyone have experience with this?? Or it’s cousin Guanfacine? >> >> >> >> Thanks in advance !! >> >> >> >> =) >> >> >> > > > >“Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.†- Steve Jobs > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 My ADHD/OCD son was on this before the Tenex/Guanfacine and before the Risperidone We used it for the tics the ADHD meds give him and to help him sleep - 'cuz he'd never get any without it! I can't remember why we made the switch to Tenex, they are basically the same thing. We, within the last year, decided to let my son (11 y/o) have some control over his life and he has chosen to live with his tics rather than take a pill for them - this has forced us to use Melatonin to get him to sleep. But we never had any problems with it at all while he was on it. He's chunked up recently and I'm not sure if it's just an up coming growth spurt or the Risperidone. We've also just stopped a trial of Intuniv (a newly approved long acting Guanfacine) and I didn't see any value in it as far as helping any symptoms he has (that, and it's HORRIBLY expensive!.) > > So our dev. Ped. has told us to wean off the Risperidone (thank > goodness). She said he's just one of those who's likely to gain weight with > ANY of the a-typicals. She also said the same would likely be true for the > group of SSRI medications, which means paxil, Prozac, etc are out the window > for options. > > > > She has asked me to research Clonidine. Does anyone have experience with > this?? Or it's cousin Guanfacine? > > > > Thanks in advance !! > > > > =) > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 Yes on Clonidine Son has been taking 1 tablet at dinner time then it helps him to sleep. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't - i think its all dependant on the timing and what he is eating. From: O'Brien <nicole.obrien@...>Subject: ( ) Clonidine? Received: Thursday, 18 March, 2010, 10:01 PM So our dev. Ped. has told us to wean off the Risperidone (thank goodness). She said he’s just one of those who’s likely to gain weight with ANY of the a-typicals. She also said the same would likely be true for the group of SSRI medications, which means paxil, Prozac, etc are out the window for options. She has asked me to research Clonidine. Does anyone have experience with this?? Or it’s cousin Guanfacine? Thanks in advance !! =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 Gosh, I’ve been hearing an awful lot about it helping them sleep – but that’s not really an issue for us. What IS an issue is aggression, irritability… etc. I’m not feeling overly confident about Clonidine being a good choice for us, and am beginning to wonder if perhaps our Dev. Ped. thinks she’s running out of options to offer us? Lol Thanks for everyone’s input on this, by the way !! =) From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of jennifer mackay Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2010 9:13 PM Subject: Re: ( ) Clonidine? Yes on Clonidine Son has been taking 1 tablet at dinner time then it helps him to sleep. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't - i think its all dependant on the timing and what he is eating. From: O'Brien <nicole.obrien@...> Subject: ( ) Clonidine? Received: Thursday, 18 March, 2010, 10:01 PM So our dev. Ped. has told us to wean off the Risperidone (thank goodness). She said he’s just one of those who’s likely to gain weight with ANY of the a-typicals. She also said the same would likely be true for the group of SSRI medications, which means paxil, Prozac, etc are out the window for options. She has asked me to research Clonidine. Does anyone have experience with this?? Or it’s cousin Guanfacine? Thanks in advance !! =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 My son has been on Zoloft for several years and is still a stick so no I wouldn't be worried too much about weight gain from Zoloft. It is not really the same type of medicine as some of the meds others have been talking about that have weight gain as a side effect. Vickie > > > > > So our dev. Ped. has told us to wean off the Risperidone (thank goodness). She said he's just one of those who's likely to gain weight with ANY of the a-typicals. She also said the same would likely be true for the group of SSRI medications, which means paxil, Prozac, etc are out the window for options. > > > > > > > > She has asked me to research Clonidine. Does anyone have experience with this?? Or it's cousin Guanfacine? > > > > > > > > Thanks in advance !! > > > > > > > > =) > > > > > > > > > > " Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do. " - Steve Jobs > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 We found that while clonidine made our son sleepy, Tenex (Guanfacine) did not. It does help with the aggression & irritability. Another thing that helps with irritability is Neurontin.Sent from my iPhoneBlessings, DonnaOn Mar 19, 2010, at 5:53 AM, O'Brien <nicole.obrien@...> wrote: Gosh, I’ve been hearing an awful lot about it helping them sleep – but that’s not really an issue for us. What IS an issue is aggression, irritability… etc. I’m not feeling overly confident about Clonidine being a good choice for us, and am beginning to wonder if perhaps our Dev. Ped. thinks she’s running out of options to offer us? Lol Thanks for everyone’s input on this, by the way !! =) From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of jennifer mackay Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2010 9:13 PM Subject: Re: ( ) Clonidine? Yes on Clonidine Son has been taking 1 tablet at dinner time then it helps him to sleep. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't - i think its all dependant on the timing and what he is eating. From: O'Brien <nicole.obrieneastlink (DOT) ca> Subject: ( ) Clonidine? Received: Thursday, 18 March, 2010, 10:01 PM So our dev. Ped. has told us to wean off the Risperidone (thank goodness). She said he’s just one of those who’s likely to gain weight with ANY of the a-typicals. She also said the same would likely be true for the group of SSRI medications, which means paxil, Prozac, etc are out the window for options. She has asked me to research Clonidine. Does anyone have experience with this?? Or it’s cousin Guanfacine? Thanks in advance !! =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 19, 2010 Report Share Posted March 19, 2010 Thanks Vickie!! I feel MUCH better. Its something I'm constantly worried about. On Mar 19, 2010, at 6:54 AM, baneline1 wrote: My son has been on Zoloft for several years and is still a stick so no I wouldn't be worried too much about weight gain from Zoloft. It is not really the same type of medicine as some of the meds others have been talking about that have weight gain as a side effect. Vickie > > > > > So our dev. Ped. has told us to wean off the Risperidone (thank goodness). She said he's just one of those who's likely to gain weight with ANY of the a-typicals. She also said the same would likely be true for the group of SSRI medications, which means paxil, Prozac, etc are out the window for options. > > > > > > > > She has asked me to research Clonidine. Does anyone have experience with this?? Or it's cousin Guanfacine? > > > > > > > > Thanks in advance !! > > > > > > > > =) > > > > > > > > > > "Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do." - Steve Jobs > “Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” - Steve Jobs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 I have emailed my Dev.Ped and asked her specifically about Zoloft… hopefully she has time to get back to me soon =) From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Byrne Sent: Friday, March 19, 2010 2:21 PM Subject: Re: ( ) Clonidine? Thanks Vickie!! I feel MUCH better. Its something I'm constantly worried about. On Mar 19, 2010, at 6:54 AM, baneline1 wrote: My son has been on Zoloft for several years and is still a stick so no I wouldn't be worried too much about weight gain from Zoloft. It is not really the same type of medicine as some of the meds others have been talking about that have weight gain as a side effect. Vickie > > > > > So our dev. Ped. has told us to wean off the Risperidone (thank goodness). She said he's just one of those who's likely to gain weight with ANY of the a-typicals. She also said the same would likely be true for the group of SSRI medications, which means paxil, Prozac, etc are out the window for options. > > > > > > > > She has asked me to research Clonidine. Does anyone have experience with this?? Or it's cousin Guanfacine? > > > > > > > > Thanks in advance !! > > > > > > > > =) > > > > > > > > > > " Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do. " - Steve Jobs > “Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” - Steve Jobs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 We are trying the Intuniv and right now I can't say that I'm terribly impressed, and as you mentioned, it's expensive. It's $40 WITH my insurance. Luckily, I was able to get a $25 off coupon from the drug company's website. We're giving it a chance (I'm not just going to throw my money away) but unless I see some improvement or an increase in dosage (we're at 1 mg now) makes a significant difference, we may not stay with it. "Scrapbooking is a wonderful way of celebrating what I have, dreaming of what could be and healing, while coming to terms with what might never be." --Mou Saha From: bbrogoitti <bbrogoitti@...>Subject: ( ) Re: Clonidine? Date: Thursday, March 18, 2010, 3:56 PM My ADHD/OCD son was on this before the Tenex/Guanfacine and before the RisperidoneWe used it for the tics the ADHD meds give him and to help him sleep - 'cuz he'd never get any without it!I can't remember why we made the switch to Tenex, they are basically the same thing.We, within the last year, decided to let my son (11 y/o) have some control over his life and he has chosen to live with his tics rather than take a pill for them - this has forced us to use Melatonin to get him to sleep.But we never had any problems with it at all while he was on it.He's chunked up recently and I'm not sure if it's just an up coming growth spurt or the Risperidone.We've also just stopped a trial of Intuniv (a newly approved long acting Guanfacine) and I didn't see any value in it as far as helping any symptoms he has (that, and it's HORRIBLY expensive!.)>> So our dev. Ped. has told us to wean off the Risperidone (thank> goodness). She said he's just one of those who's likely to gain weight with> ANY of the a-typicals. She also said the same would likely be true for the> group of SSRI medications, which means paxil, Prozac, etc are out the window> for options.> > > > She has asked me to research Clonidine. Does anyone have experience with> this?? Or it's cousin Guanfacine?> > > > Thanks in advance !!> > > > =)> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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