My son is on Dexidriene 2x a day and Clonodine at night before bed and if finally sleeping. Which is great because we are getting a better understanding of him now that we know its not just lack of sleep... lolI have never heard of rhese meds- my son is 3 and weighs 43 pounds. he is autistic and nonverbal and very hyper with escalating bad behaviors.. nothing is helping and I am at my whits end. Would theses meds help and is he old enough to try them? Who would prescribe them-his ped neuro? Thanks for your help.With Clonodine, you can get a very small amt to start with...take it before bed...no side effects here...only good stuff...
They just added Colnidone in the mornings as well as at night. I getting a much needed break with his behavior.
Tenex is also a BP med. I knew nothing about Clonodine.Kaden has severe sensory processing issues which the experts believe are inhibiting his learning. He is in OT 2x/week, however, this is only skimming the surface. They've recommended increasing to 3x/week.
His psychologist has recommended Clonidine or Tenex to help not only with his sleep issues, but to decrease anxiety and help relax him so he is able to focus on learning. He feels the medication in conjunction with ABA will benefit him.
Can anyone tell me their experience with either of these medications? From what I understand, these drugs can be used short-term and discontinued at any time?
We use Clonidine to help "calm" Payne down - he can't take any ADHD meds and it also helps take the edge off...he sleeps well with it too. This can be discontinued very easily. It works for a lot of kids - my understanding for dr. He is a ped. psychiatrist and pediatrician and he has been using it "off-label" for years.Jamie gets Tenex to help him calm down, too. He cannot take any typical ADHD med. This is not officially an ADHD med, but it seems to help with his hyperactivity (tho not with focus, the way Ritalin would). It's a Blood Pressure med, so your son would have to have his BP taken regularly.
Pyane's mom & tzoya:
Your situations sound very similar to mine concerning my daughter. We are in a rock and a hard place because she can't take ADHD meds. either. BN used to be on clonidine and it helped in school but when she got a 2nd dose in the p.m. all she wanted to do was sleep and got insomnia in the middle of the night. Since we can't do respirdal or methadate I think its a try to start on just an a.m. dose. I have a history of bipolar and for myself I know if I take any antidepressants I feel like I drank a whole pot of coffee. Just curious what's the difference between clonidine and Tenex? They sound very similar.
RA
I don't know about the Tenex...clonidine is actually a blood pressure medication...it at first made Payne very sleepy, but eventually he got used to it...he was taking .01mg 3x day for awhile...we just dropped that down again now that he takes the other stuff too. I am bipolar and I can not take the antidepressants either. Payne does ok w/ his prozac - he's bipolar too.My daughter is 9 years old and recently diagnosed with a chronic tic disorder. They put her on Tenex (which is a bp medication). It was amazing how quickly her tic subsided and how her academics improved within a months time.
Our son's doctor prescribes clondine. His dosage keeps increasing, though because it stops working. He is only 40 lb and 6 yrs old and has been on it for a few years. Now he also takes seroquel because the clonodine makes him sleepy (he could never take it in the day) and the seroquel keeps him asleep.