7 Year Old on Guanfacine for ADHD

Yes and no.
Basically ADHD people are always ADHD people their whole lives but as they grow and you grow as a parent you both learn coping techniques - and just knowing how to handle situations put you in a better place along with managing their meds.
Once you find one med that works - it's no guarantee it will always work.
When one stops working you and the doctor will have to try others till you find a new one that works and then repeat as necessary.

I don't know if the Guanfacine is long acting or short acting.

I will tell you my experience with my son. He is on a long acting medication. He takes it around 7am and by the time he gets home from school at 3:30pm it is wearing off fast. If not already gone from his system. He can melt down into a big old hot mess real quick.

He was 11 when he started the medication and is now 12...so he is a little easier to talk with him about the melt downs. And with his doctor. The doctor prescribed a short acting medication that works for three to four hours for after school if he needs it. Does he have an after school activity that day or now in middle school a ton of homework? Then he has a choice if he wants to take a second dose of medication to help refocus on it OR can he calm himself down to do what needs to be done?

I also started giving him a orange and mango smoothy (his two favorite flavors) when he got home from school. I put powdered magnesium (known for its calming properties) and a very high grade liquid fish oil that tastes like orange and not at all like fish in the smoothie. Both are on the list of supplements that can actually help with ADD/ADHD.

Now he will ask for the smoothie or extra dose of medication if he needs it but usually only once or twice a week at most. He knows the melt down feelings are his brain going back to its typical unmedicated self and it isn't as startling to him. Also, he is learning coping techniques to calm himself.

But by the time dinner is over he is done and totally finished for the day. One stare from his sister from going over the edge so we quickly heard him off to bed.

The medication for him has literally been a life changer he is getting all As in school and LOVES going to school for the first time ever...we were slow catching the problem because he wasn't hyper. Message me anytime if you need to...big hugs....

There is no magic pill. I hate when people say I give my kids meds to make them behave better. No, I give them meds so that they have enough control to learn how to behave. She is probably still having melt downs because her life lacks structure.

So if you hoping she hits an age where she suddenly realized how to behave it isn't going to happen. What will happen is you realize how out of control she is in her teen years and then there usually no fixing it. If you are not up to it get her a behavioral therapist.

It's really going to come down to what else you are doing with her. Having ADHD means that her brain functions differently from most of society, and taking meds can help her brain adjust. But any behavior challenges she has or has had are habits now. If she is used to having a meltdown when things don't go her way, she will need to learn at better way to handle those intense emotions. That's going to take time, and that's going to take a lot of work on your part.

You will have to become very good at anticipating the times when she is likely to meltdown and try to jump in ahead of time and guide her. You need to teach her better ways to respond when she feels like she is losing control.

Our son has ADHD, but he also has Aspergers. I'm not sure how much of his situation would be similar to your daughters, but our son has been in speech therapy (for social skills), social skills groups and occupational therapy. They have all helped in various ways to teach him better ways to respond and teach him to be more self aware. When he is able to realize that he's starting to feel overwhelmed or out of control, he is able to manage his behavior.

If you aren't sure how to approach her meltdowns, it would probably be a good idea to consult her doctor. Her doctor should be able to point you in the right direction as far as finding therapist or play groups or something to help her become more self aware and learn strategies.

It can get better, but medication alone is usually not enough.

3 of my grandchildren, ages 5,13,16 are medicated for ADHD. The 16 yo takes quanfacine. The 13 and 16 yo also take a form of amphetamine salts. Ritalin and Adderal are amphetamine salts. They tried different combinations and different formulations of amphetamine until they found what works. Sounds like the guanficine is working for your daughter.

My daughter dealt with meltdowns separate from medication.Just as with typical children you treat meltdowns in a way that works for each child. If you're not getting professional help to learn what to expect and how to manage, I behaviour for your child I urge you to do so now. Read about child development and ways to discipline. Take a parenting class that incudes ADHD issues if you can find one. One to one counseling may help. Work with her teacher and school counselor. If she doesn't have meltdowns at school, learning her classroom structure may help.

What issues cause the meltdowns. How does she act in a meltdown? What is your response to a meltdown? What can you do to reduce meltdowns?

If she has temper tantrums, completely ignore her. If she cries, respond with love, without trying to talk her out of the way she feels. Help her to use her words.Keep your involvement brief. Often parents want to fix how the child feels and the reason she is crying or being angry. That is impossible. Focus on preventing the behaviour. If she wants a hug or to be held do that, without talking except to mirror her feelings. "I see you you're upset. I'm here for you. You can calm yourself down." Above all, never give in to what she wants or doesn't want. Help her use words such as I'm angry because I want to do such and such. Soothingly tell her she can't, or has to do such and such. Give her an alternative. "When you stop crying, I'll help you put your toys away." "You must go to school now. I'll see you tonight." Don't linger at drop off.

My 3 and 5 yo daughter's have frequent meltdowns. For the first few years their dad would hold them and try to soothe them. Now he says, "stop that. It's You're OK." He's more and more letting them work it out by making suggestions. Meltdowns are shorter. Girls move on to something else. Sometimes with Dad's help. Sometimes on their own.

The 3 yo often has a crying meltdown when I leave. I distract her by asking her to open the door for me and push the elevator button. The elevator is just a few steps away. Another thing her dad does is to help her get involved doing something she likes. She soon forgets that I'm leaving. When the 13 yo has an angry meltdown, parents ignore him and talk with him later.

Perhaps your daughter has meltdowns because she has sensory issues. My 5 yo and 13 yo have sensory issues. They often have difficulty with noise. Both of them have learned to go to their room and shut the door. The 5yo gets angry, slams the door and yells go away. We leave her alone. She eventually calms down.

Kids have meltdowns when they're hungry or tired. Treat/ prevent meltdowns by feeding them and seeing they get enough rest/sleep.

I'm just guessing on what kinds of melt downs she may be having.

Yes kids grow out of meltdowns when they are helped to learn to use their words and ways to help child learn coping skills, parents anticipate, and learn how to head them off, and don't reward the meltdown by giving the child too much attention. Be briefly sympathetic and move on.

Without knowing why your daughter has meltdowns and how she acts, I may not be addressing your needs.

I do think maturity helps reduce meltdowns. The 13 yo and 16 yo don't have meltdowns. They do get angry and need skills to deal with their feelings.

We've recently had a couple of questions about meltdowns. The posts have not mentioned ADD or ADHD. Kids without those conditions also have meltdowns. I think in one post the child was 5 or 6.

hard to say, really. medication helps some behavioral issues with some kids, but all kids need reliable structure in their lives whether or not they're medicated. you may have a slew of external triggers in your home that are causing the meltdowns beyond the ADHD.
the very broad answer is that most likely it's a yes that she'll have fewer meltdowns as she gets more mature.
khairete
S.

My son has ADHD but we were blessed beyond measure to find a pediatric psychiatrist for him that is a master in his knowledge of medicines. I can't encourage you enough to find such a doctor in your area. In our case, he is now 15 and doing very well. Hang in there Mama, there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel.

Medication can be great for focus issues. A consistent home routine that meshes well with the school routine also helps.

Is she seeing any kind of therapist or receiving in-school support services to teach her the skills she needs to deal with the social and behavior stuff? Those are the things that she is going to need most, now that the focus issue seems to have been sorted. The sooner it starts, the sooner things will smooth out for both of you.

She will never grow out of her medical condition, but maturity and receiving appropriate supports for her particular issues will play a big part in being able to handle it later.

Our son also has ADHD, plus a learning disability. I devised a system:

Red: angry, leave me alone
Yellow: okay to talk, but be very gentle
Green: a happy camper
Blue: sad
Brown: tired

At various points in the day, I'll do a check: What's your color? And, he'll tell me: I'm a little pink and I'm brown. That tells me that he's irritated and tired, and I should just him alone.

I acknowledged, finally, after many years, that kids are people....they are up/down and points in between. They can't always identify what they feel. This system has helped him to identify his feelings, share them with us and for us to respond accordingly.

Hi Kate,

Just FYI, my daughter was diagnosed with ADD/ADHD when she was 5 as well. I never tried the meds because I had been "medically abused" as a child....tooooo many meds. About the same time I was at the end of my rope, my Dad with Alzheimer moved in with us. Long story short, I detoxed my home because he was trying to drink my cleaning supplies (e.g. windex looked like blue gatorade). When I detoxed my home, Lydia's behavior started shifting. Family members noticed, she was on grade level within 8 weeks and at her next doctor's appointment, the doctor removed her diagnosis and asked me what happened. I am convinced that there are a lot of misdiagnoses with ADD because of all the neurotoxins we have in our homes. Not saying your daughter doesn't have a true diagnosis, but might be worth a shot to help her. I do know that even now when my daughter is around synthetics a little more than usual her attitude reverts. I'm an open book if you have any questions.

Regards,
M.

Guanfacine, also known as Tenex, is a high blood pressure med that they found didn't handle blood pressure particularly well but calmed some people. So, it became one of the mild ADHD treatment options. We tried it when our son was very young and it did absolutely nothing for him. You have to taper up on it until you get the right dosage and down if it doesn't work.

Stimulants are really the powerhouse medications in treating ADHD, so it's no doubt disappointing your daughter can't take them. You're not out of options if this one isn't a match, though. For example, Straterra is a non-stimulant that can help and it's always been intended to treat ADHD. If you're not completely satisfied with Tenex, don't hesitate to let her psychiatrist know so you can explore other options.

Our son is 13 and we've been dealing with his ADHD for 10 years now. I'd say the only way it's easier is that he can communicate when his medication isn't working well anymore (you'll be changing dosages and medications a lot over time as your child grows). He can describe which symptoms are worst at the moment so we can tell the psychiatrist and behavioral therapist. However, his symptoms remain the same overall. He still has extreme ADHD-combined type, so he's just now a really big kid who's hyper and unfocused when the medication isn't active. We've been told he will be on medication his entire life because his symptoms are so extreme.

Have the melt downs decreased at all? After we recently started medicating, we noticed a decrease in meltdowns and now my 13 yr old daughter only has trouble if she's hungry, overly anxious, tired or her meds are wearing off. One other thing that really helps my daughter is avoiding food dyes and preservatives. Before meds, we tried a diet that eliminates them and found that she would be a mess after food dye in particular. It's also easier as they age to a degree, because they can tell you what is bothering them a little better and they know what works for them to start calming down. Although, they still get flooded with the emotions and don't always think before they act or speak. We try our best to encourage our daughter to remove herself and go calm down in her room if she's frustrated. Now she will remove herself without any prompting most times. However, we do still have moments (especially at night) where she doesn't think clearly and the impulsivity comes out.

Maturity plays a big role in all of these behavioral issues. So, will it get better? I would definitely think so.

That being said, has she been formally evaluated to determine the underlying causes? Are there learning difficulties? Or, is it mainly just focus? How does she do socially?

Hi Kate, this can't be easy for you. I have worked for years with parents just like you, and about 90% of the time, once we change the child's diet, behaviour changes. As a Special Needs teacher for over 10 years, I saw it all, meds, anger management, behaviourial management, but rarely food. I took that on as my specialty.

There are so many artificial ingredients in our foods that those little bodies can't process. And we keep doing it to them. If you are interested, we could do a quick chat. You could send me a PM if interested.

In the meantime, take out things with artificial colouring (any of the dye #??). That is often one of the biggest causes.