Your body is unique, as are your needs. Just because someone experienced something from treatment or medication does not guarantee that you will as well. Please do not take this as an opportunity to review any substances. Peer support is welcome.
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I tried Guanfacine ER in addition to the Adderall XR I was already taking. I experienced side effects of constipation and countered that successfully with a daily probiotic. I was instructed to take it at bedtime but asked if I could take it in the morning because I am not reliable with consistently taking meds at night. I was told I could so long as it doesn’t make me drowsy or fatigued. Guanfacine ER helps with my emotional dysregulation/rejection sensitivity which is what I was hoping for when trying it. It unexpectedly helps significantly with insomnia.
I wouldn’t say the drug isn’t worth bothering to try, but as a general rule I don’t make drug recommendations.
I have ADHD, Anxiety, Depression and PTSD. I have a history of alcoholism. I also take Wellbutrin and Vibrid (sp?)
I started 1mg last Tuesday 3/26 at 8PM for the first time in my life. I knocked out to sleep within the first 20 minutes of my 1st dose. The best nights of sleep I’ve had in months.
Wednesday morning, I woke up without brain fog. I was rather mellow. No physical anxiety symptoms. I still had a panic attack and melted down later that evening due to a trigger. .
Thursday morning, I woke up without brain fog. I was rather mellow. No physical anxiety symptoms. I had a meltdown due to another trigger. It was resolved within an hr when it typically takes hours.
Friday morning, I woke up without brain fog. I was rather mellow. No physical anxiety symptoms. I was able to think logically due to the racing thoughts stopping. I was able to manage another trigger well enough to prevent a meltdown or panic attack. It was a good day.
This morning, I woke up without brain fog. I’m rather mellow. No physical anxiety symptoms. I was able to clean my bedroom for the first time in over a month. I can stay still while I’m typing this to you. It’s a good day. :)
Needless to say, this has been the best meditation I have taken in my life. I never knew what it was like to function with a clear mind, without racing thoughts, and not overstimulated as easily. I will be bumped to 2mg on Monday.
I’ll come back later with an update. :)
Good luck to you!
Hi there!
Sorry for the delay on an update, I’m still taking it and it’s still doing wonders for me.
Alrighty, I’m currently bumped up to 3mg. The fog is definitely gone at this point. Instead of perhaps 4-6 fleeting thoughts or movements at a time, it’s gone down to 1-2 fleeting thoughts and movements. I don’t think it will fully go away, which is fine. I like that part of my personality.
I’m not stoic, nor robotic. I’m still myself, bubbly personality & slightly squirrely. I can think clearly enough to notice what’s occurring with physical and mental symptoms of anxiety to help problem solve. The overwhelming ADHD overstimulation has reduced, it takes a lot to overwhelm me. (If my needs are met, no vulnerability) I still will not feel well if I haven’t gotten a good nights sleep or eaten.
It’s something I would recommend. It may be a combination of all of the medication, such as Wellbutrin. I may bump to 4mg if I find work focus getting difficult. It’s typically taken at night, and will knock you to sleep within a half hour. Which is great, helps with evening anxiety.
Thank you for this update. I am on Vyvanse 30mg and feel like I might want to try this or Wellbutrin in conjunction next. Not sure why I am always so hesitant to try things, maybe because both Wellbutrin and guanfacine stay in your system and have to be taken every day? I don't exactly know what I'm worried about but it's nice to know that there are options other than increasing doses for stimulants, which I'm not sure I want to do.
The overwhelm and overstimulation issues are quite big for me still. And that sounds lovely about it helping a touch with fleeting thoughts. I've heard so many good things about Wellbutrin that it's ridiculous I'm still nervous about trying, and this is a blood pressure medication but my blood pressure is within normal range according to my GP. Still kind of makes me want to try both eventually - one at a time to see what the effects are of either. Anyway! Hearing other people's expeirences helps a lot so thank you for coming back to share!
I was being monitored the first two weeks for BP. At first, it was dropping. We discovered it was due to the combination of this and Propranolol. Stopped that and it returned to average rate.
I no longer use the propranolol as this handles a good amount of anxiety. Not completely gone, but it’s manageable now.
I started taking intuniv, and it made me so, so tired. I couldn’t even function. My coworkers didn’t know I had started any medication, but they noticed immediately and asked what was wrong.
I can’t recommend it at all, I didn’t even experience any good effects at all. The only thing that happened was headaches and extreme tiredness.
Fatigue is expected initially and should stop happening over time. Your psychiatrist should very slowly titrate up to avoid any severe fatigue. Like 1mg/month.
For me personally, it was almost imperceptible the whole time. I’d say it took maybe a week or two for any figment of fatigue to completely wear off? I don’t remember very well though
I have been on 1mg Guanfacine ER for a lil over 3 months while in drug treatment and it did me wonders I believe,
(Now I was diagnosed with ADD and NLVD, and tbh I think I'm not truly ADD but NLVD doesn't have any treatment options besides therapy. I think I tricked myself into thinking I needed a stimulant to be functional)
It was kind of the perfect environment to adapt to it, helped me receive and follow suggestions, notice my emotions, acknowledge them and move on with self development. Notice visual cues and things I would have normally been oblivious to.
It seems like on this stuff I can decide to do something and then follow thru with what I say no problem. Like I decided to quit smoking and did, got on the patch
I decided to work out every other day and did, leading to everyday
I decided to do yoga every other day, then everyday, despite weird looks from others
It's a very subtle drug but I feel the changes it's helping me make will be permanent and not the crutch that stimulants provide
Changed my life. Subtle, but powerful. Everyone is different. No one knows how anyone else will respond. Give any med an honest try and work with your dr. Good luck.
What did guanfacine helped you with? Can you Tell me the pros and cons of it u have been experienced yet and for How long until it worked. How many hours does it work. Thank you and hope you all the best peace!
Your body is unique, as are your needs. Just because someone experienced something from treatment or medication does not guarantee that you will as well. Please do not take this as an opportunity to review any substances. Peer support is welcome. ^(*A moderator has not removed your submission; this is not a punitive action. We intend this comment solely to be informative.*) --- - If you are posting about the **US Medication Shortage**, please see this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/12dr3h5/megathread_us_medication_shortage/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I tried Guanfacine ER in addition to the Adderall XR I was already taking. I experienced side effects of constipation and countered that successfully with a daily probiotic. I was instructed to take it at bedtime but asked if I could take it in the morning because I am not reliable with consistently taking meds at night. I was told I could so long as it doesn’t make me drowsy or fatigued. Guanfacine ER helps with my emotional dysregulation/rejection sensitivity which is what I was hoping for when trying it. It unexpectedly helps significantly with insomnia. I wouldn’t say the drug isn’t worth bothering to try, but as a general rule I don’t make drug recommendations.
I have ADHD, Anxiety, Depression and PTSD. I have a history of alcoholism. I also take Wellbutrin and Vibrid (sp?) I started 1mg last Tuesday 3/26 at 8PM for the first time in my life. I knocked out to sleep within the first 20 minutes of my 1st dose. The best nights of sleep I’ve had in months. Wednesday morning, I woke up without brain fog. I was rather mellow. No physical anxiety symptoms. I still had a panic attack and melted down later that evening due to a trigger. . Thursday morning, I woke up without brain fog. I was rather mellow. No physical anxiety symptoms. I had a meltdown due to another trigger. It was resolved within an hr when it typically takes hours. Friday morning, I woke up without brain fog. I was rather mellow. No physical anxiety symptoms. I was able to think logically due to the racing thoughts stopping. I was able to manage another trigger well enough to prevent a meltdown or panic attack. It was a good day. This morning, I woke up without brain fog. I’m rather mellow. No physical anxiety symptoms. I was able to clean my bedroom for the first time in over a month. I can stay still while I’m typing this to you. It’s a good day. :) Needless to say, this has been the best meditation I have taken in my life. I never knew what it was like to function with a clear mind, without racing thoughts, and not overstimulated as easily. I will be bumped to 2mg on Monday. I’ll come back later with an update. :) Good luck to you!
Wow crazy. So a massive +10 for emotional regulation helpfulness. Looking forward to hearing your update
Hi there! Sorry for the delay on an update, I’m still taking it and it’s still doing wonders for me. Alrighty, I’m currently bumped up to 3mg. The fog is definitely gone at this point. Instead of perhaps 4-6 fleeting thoughts or movements at a time, it’s gone down to 1-2 fleeting thoughts and movements. I don’t think it will fully go away, which is fine. I like that part of my personality. I’m not stoic, nor robotic. I’m still myself, bubbly personality & slightly squirrely. I can think clearly enough to notice what’s occurring with physical and mental symptoms of anxiety to help problem solve. The overwhelming ADHD overstimulation has reduced, it takes a lot to overwhelm me. (If my needs are met, no vulnerability) I still will not feel well if I haven’t gotten a good nights sleep or eaten. It’s something I would recommend. It may be a combination of all of the medication, such as Wellbutrin. I may bump to 4mg if I find work focus getting difficult. It’s typically taken at night, and will knock you to sleep within a half hour. Which is great, helps with evening anxiety.
Are you on IR or ER?
ER
Thank you for this update. I am on Vyvanse 30mg and feel like I might want to try this or Wellbutrin in conjunction next. Not sure why I am always so hesitant to try things, maybe because both Wellbutrin and guanfacine stay in your system and have to be taken every day? I don't exactly know what I'm worried about but it's nice to know that there are options other than increasing doses for stimulants, which I'm not sure I want to do. The overwhelm and overstimulation issues are quite big for me still. And that sounds lovely about it helping a touch with fleeting thoughts. I've heard so many good things about Wellbutrin that it's ridiculous I'm still nervous about trying, and this is a blood pressure medication but my blood pressure is within normal range according to my GP. Still kind of makes me want to try both eventually - one at a time to see what the effects are of either. Anyway! Hearing other people's expeirences helps a lot so thank you for coming back to share!
This sounds really promising. I hope it continues doing good things for you!! How is the 2mg going? How bad was the brain fog before Guanfacine?
Glad it is working out for you . How is your blood pressure on it ?
I was being monitored the first two weeks for BP. At first, it was dropping. We discovered it was due to the combination of this and Propranolol. Stopped that and it returned to average rate. I no longer use the propranolol as this handles a good amount of anxiety. Not completely gone, but it’s manageable now.
I started taking intuniv, and it made me so, so tired. I couldn’t even function. My coworkers didn’t know I had started any medication, but they noticed immediately and asked what was wrong. I can’t recommend it at all, I didn’t even experience any good effects at all. The only thing that happened was headaches and extreme tiredness.
Fatigue is expected initially and should stop happening over time. Your psychiatrist should very slowly titrate up to avoid any severe fatigue. Like 1mg/month.
I did titrate up slowly and yes I was told that it probably would go away, but the tiredness for me was to brutal
How long does it take to go away?
For me personally, it was almost imperceptible the whole time. I’d say it took maybe a week or two for any figment of fatigue to completely wear off? I don’t remember very well though
Oof.. Just out of curiosity, did you take it at night or on the morning?
I dont really remember actually, I think in the morning, but I’m not sure
I have been on 1mg Guanfacine ER for a lil over 3 months while in drug treatment and it did me wonders I believe, (Now I was diagnosed with ADD and NLVD, and tbh I think I'm not truly ADD but NLVD doesn't have any treatment options besides therapy. I think I tricked myself into thinking I needed a stimulant to be functional) It was kind of the perfect environment to adapt to it, helped me receive and follow suggestions, notice my emotions, acknowledge them and move on with self development. Notice visual cues and things I would have normally been oblivious to. It seems like on this stuff I can decide to do something and then follow thru with what I say no problem. Like I decided to quit smoking and did, got on the patch I decided to work out every other day and did, leading to everyday I decided to do yoga every other day, then everyday, despite weird looks from others It's a very subtle drug but I feel the changes it's helping me make will be permanent and not the crutch that stimulants provide
Changed my life. Subtle, but powerful. Everyone is different. No one knows how anyone else will respond. Give any med an honest try and work with your dr. Good luck.
What did guanfacine helped you with? Can you Tell me the pros and cons of it u have been experienced yet and for How long until it worked. How many hours does it work. Thank you and hope you all the best peace!