One of my kids takes guanfacine ER. We didn't seem much improvement of his ADHD symptoms but did see improvement of his emotional regulation (he's also got anxiety). For him, the length of effectiveness has been more of a factor of his metabolism. When his metabolism is ramped up (like when he was growing like a weed), he burned through all his medications more quickly. We give him the Intuniv about 2-4 hours before he goes to bed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Intuniv has 24 hour coverage, but guanfacine/tenex doesn't. This article says it only works for 8 hours. Presumably 1.5mg is a lower dose, since it only goes up to 4mg.

https://www.aafp.org/afp/2011/0215/p468.html

"The duration of action of guanfacine, at least at lower dosages, is no more than eight hours"

You didn't provide the full sentence/quote:

....The duration of action of guanfacine, at least at lower dosages, is no more than eight hours, and higher dosages may be needed to produce sustained effectiveness.

....and Guanfacine is the generic name of Intuniv. When it's guanfacine extended release, it's Intuniv. When it's not extended release, it's Tenex

Anonymous wrote:I think Intuniv has 24 hour coverage, but guanfacine/tenex doesn't. This article says it only works for 8 hours. Presumably 1.5mg is a lower dose, since it only goes up to 4mg.

https://www.aafp.org/afp/2011/0215/p468.html

"The duration of action of guanfacine, at least at lower dosages, is no more than eight hours"

You didn't provide the full sentence/quote:

....The duration of action of guanfacine, at least at lower dosages, is no more than eight hours, and higher dosages may be needed to produce sustained effectiveness.

I think Intuniv has 24 hour coverage, but guanfacine/tenex doesn't. This article says it only works for 8 hours. Presumably 1.5mg is a lower dose, since it only goes up to 4mg.

https://www.aafp.org/afp/2011/0215/p468.html

"The duration of action of guanfacine, at least at lower dosages, is no more than eight hours"

Guanfacine doesn't wear off like a stimulant, so if it works, you should see him acting the same way all the time.

Without getting into the minutia, does anyone know how long immediate release (not extended release) guanfacine/tenex lasts?

I know it takes a couple weeks to build up in the system before you see its full efficacy. But once DS takes a pill, after how many hours would i expect to see his adhd impulsivity rear up again? DS takes 0.5mg in the am, and 1mg in the evening (1.5mg total). I know in the case of stimulants, IR only last 4 hours, and ER maybe last 6-10 hours before the kids look like their pre-medication self (even if the meds aren't technically out of the system). Is the concept similar with immediate release guanfacine?

I ask because i'm trying to figure out where my DS's baseline is these days (i.e., what he looks like with no medication). When he was on adderall, you knew his baseline based on how he woke up every morning because it wore off so fast and consistently. Is tenex similar?

For instance, DS takes the tenex at 7pm. When he wakes up at 7am, would you expect the tenex to still be helping his behavior?