Concerta vs Guanfacine
 | Concerta |  | Guanfacine |  |
| Methylphenidate is used as part of a treatment program (including psychological, educational, and social measures) to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - ADHD. It can help increase your ability to pay attention, stay focused on an activity, and control behavior problems. It may also help you to organize your tasks and improve listening skills. Methylphenidate is a mild stimulant that is thought to work by changing the amounts of certain natural substances in the brain. | This medication is used alone or with other medications to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Lowering high blood pressure helps prevent strokes, heart attacks, and kidney problems. Guanfacine acts in the brain. It decreases certain nerve signals from the brain to the blood vessels and the heart. This causes the blood vessels to relax so that blood can flow more easily and also slows the heart rate. These effects help to lower blood pressure. OTHER USES: This section contains uses of this drug that are not listed in the approved professional labeling for the drug but that may be prescribed by your health care professional. Use this drug for a condition that is listed in this section only if it has been so prescribed by your health care professional. This drug may also be used for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). | |||
Alternatives
Reviews
| Add Concerta review This was given to my 7 year old daughter for ADHD, she also has Fragile X. This medication caused her to hallucinate, she went 24 hours without sleep and was extremely emotional. We were told to stop the medicine immediately. I have been using Concerta for nearly 10 years now. It has really helped me in school (concentrating in class, getting my work done, organization, rule following.) However, the loss of appetite and the drying of the mouth has always been hard for me to deal with. I am very thankful for what the medicine has helped me do, but at the same time I have to admit that it is often hard to imagine func ... My son has been on this medication for about two months now. It was effective at first and then started losing its effect. We then added a dose of Intuniv and saw great improvements. My son is complaining of his head constantly itching, can't stop pulling at his hair, and his hair has now started falling out in patches. We will be taking him off this and trying another medication. This has been ve ... made me more alert,able to concentrate and stay focused | Add Guanfacine review My 9.5 yr old ADHD (diagnosed 1 yr ago and no meds given at the time), suddenly after a family death in January started have what I call Grand Mall Tantrums that scared the beegeezes out of me and my son. Worked with an outpatient crisis center for children as she was becoming violent. After 5 weeks they prescribed this medication and this time I opted to use. She also was told 1/2 pill in morning and 1/2 at night. Very lethargic and complained constantly of that. After 2 weeks started to see dramatic reduction in behaviors. After 4 months of being on it, the Grand Mall tantrums are GONE!! She still is hot headed but has a window to think and her reaction is so much better. Grades improved and I highly recommend. Con - there is NOT enough studies on the affects this has on children. They really don't even know how it works, let alone the long term affects. I will keep her on it for 1 year and take her off slowly and see if it was a behavior. My 8 year old son is taking half 1mg tab morning and half at night of guanfacine, and one 20mg tab of vyvanse for adhd/odd, so far after being on the guanaficine for a week in a half he is still very moody and very aggressive with outbursts of anger. We are checking back in with his doctor in 6 wks with the results of this drug to let him know if it works...my son has complained of some neck and upper arm pain since starting this medication. Unsure if its a side effect of the medication... I am 20 and yes I still have ADHD this is a very good medication. It is perfect for work and I don't fell slowed down. It is like when i take this medication my ADHD i gone for as long as it's in my system. | |||
