March 29, 2010

Why I heart Intuniv


This is my updated post about my son's experience on Intuniv. You can read the first one here. It has worked wonderfully for us, and I say us because having a child with behavioral challenges effect the entire family. He's taking 2mg of Intuniv in the mornings with 5mg or 10mg of Focalin XR. During the school week he takes 10mg, and weekends 5mg. The reduction of Focalin XR helped him gain 4 lbs! By dinnertime his Focalin has worn off but the Intuniv is still going strong helping the hyperactivity. Not only does he now have an appetite but, he can sit still long enough to eat a meal! Whooo hoooo!

I'm am guilty of taking him off of Intuniv for a week. I just wasn't 100% sure the benefits were worth paying for two non-generic medications (I love my $5 co-pays for generic) equaling to about $100 a month. Sure the evenings were chaotic and drama filled. Sure I wanted to pull my hair out like usual. We had lived through it this long and if it saved us money...why pay more? Then, the weekly progress report came home from school with a note saying "he seemed to have problems focusing this week. Is everything okay?" Grrrrrr. So, the next day I picked up the refill. I didn't get truly elated about Intuniv until we went in for his check up and there was a 4 lb weight gain. Weight gain was a hump that we couldn't get over for so very long! No more Boost, Carnation Breakfast or costly Ensure shakes.

2 comments:

stephanie said...

I found your blog when I did a google search for "Intuniv" and I am so glad I did. My daughter was on concerta and it worked terrific for about 1 1/2 yrs. The combination of build-up and puberty caused a tic that made her rip her hair out...a lot of hair! Bye, bye concerta! We have been off of meds for about 2 months now and we are about to start Intuniv on Monday. It's nice to hear about a success story. Did your son have any side effects?

Tia said...

Hi Stephanie-Intuniv has more than proven itself in our eyes. We haven't noticed any side effects at all. I do notice that if I want to skip his Focalin dosage than I have to skip the Intuniv as well. The 2mg of Intuniv alone makes him very drowsy. I wish you and your daughter success with Intuniv. Let me know how she does!