Intuniv vs Strattera

My son has been diagnosed ADD for since age 6 and is now 8. At first we tried working 1/1 with school psychologist and made many action plans, rewarding him when he focused most of day, also eating good diet and vitamins fish oil and ADDED Attention. But throughout 3 years of school, it was obvious he needed more. My husband and I were so scared of starting him on meds, especially stimulants, so we started Intuniv 1 mg for a week and now on 2 mg for second week. He was a little sleepy the first 2-3 days and then was fine. I have seen good results so far, not as easy to argue and works well with others and not as 'one track minded' as he usually is. He has always been a sweet kid and a hugger, still is and he seems like his thoughts are more organized and can voice his oppinions in a clear way. I am hoping when school starts his teacher sees a good change like I have. So far, I'm happy with Intuniv, as this was a very difficult choice to try any medication at all.

My son (almost 13 now) has been taking this med 3 years. He has *packed* on the pounds, even getting a note from his school about his high BMI. This is a boy who was always active in a good way and who burned off everything he ate. He craves carbs and (because it's a BP med?) he doesn't want to do anything that requires moving his now-chubby body. Worst of all, his level of focus, impulsivity and executive skills have not substantially improved in three years. Every child is unique so that's great for those for whom this works, but I'm ready to try him on something else, even if it means stimulants.

My 6 year old son took this med for a period of 5 days. He experienced stomach pain, drowsiness, tiredness, dry mouth along with a strange twitch. The worst side effect was he was in a state of depression for the entire 5 days. I wanted my normal child back so I stopped the med immediately. I want him to enjoy his summer and be normal so will just see what happens when school starts. If he starts having trouble focusing, I will call the dr.

My 8 year old has been on this drug in combination with Concerta for almost a year. It has done wonders for us! He finally sits in his seat, can focus and concentrate in school, is finally reading (because he can sit long enough to focus on doing it!) and pays attention in class. We are up to 2 mg. It is perfect but it has sure helped him tremendously. We give him his meds with breakfast and besides having a headache and being sleepy for a day or two when he first started taking it and again when we upped his dose, he has had no side affects. Like I said, it is not perfect but if he misses a day of taking his medication we can definitely tell the medication is working! My husband and I were very anti medication for years regarding our youngest. We have seen the benefits.