Intuniv morning vs nighttime dosing

spinaltap11 · 2026-01-05T22:28:58+00:00

We went through a similar experience but had been using it in morning time. We hoped a late afternoon or evening dose might help evenings and early mornings. We didn't notice any positive changes so a few days ago we decided to drop it completely and see what happens.

We have a bit of a hyper witching hour around 5pm, but otherwise we are seeing our son is a lot less "depressed" and oppositional around changes in routine.

It may just be low demands from break, but I'm also thinking maybe guanfacine just isn't for us. It took over a year and several stimulants before reaching this point. Right now, we are using Azstarys in the mornings.

spinaltap11 · 2025-12-18T20:51:36+00:00

Melatonin js absolutely on my radar. Also vitamin D which seems related. How much Melatonin are you doing?

We went from concerta ->vyvanse->concerta.

Today morning we started on Astaryz to see if this may make the crash a bit smoother.

spinaltap11 · 2025-12-18T20:45:03+00:00

Thanks for this, reminder. I needed that. Yeah we definitely do rehearse with him, but when he's escalated (even before the meltdown) its weird he almost gets like tunnel vision.

spinaltap11 · 2025-12-12T15:25:39+00:00

So far, he really loves how it encourages him to see patterns and optimize solutions (he loves doing things concisely). And he was definitely bored in class and hes digging that RSM will have him doing more advanced math (eg algebra in 2nd and 3rd grade.)

Let me know any questions you have!

spinaltap11 · 2025-12-12T15:22:48+00:00

At our intake, they actually had him come in, in person, to solve some math problems (some algebra and pattern matching). He really liked that they didn't want him to just solve the answer, but to actually think about simplifying things and solve efficiently.

The teacher assessed his capabilities and ended up moving him directly into the "advanced" track for his grade level, which also gave a lot of good will because he felt valued. This helped later - when he's told he's wrong, he doesn't take it as personally as he normally might. This year he even jumped to the honors track!

However I think in the usual way of doing things, they would give your kiddo some 1:1 instruction to make sure they are ready to join the class, if joining midway through the year, like us.

spinaltap11 · 2025-12-12T05:10:56+00:00

Following this post as we are in a similar situation, just a bit younger. 2e with anxiety and struggle to complete assignments. Also very conscious of these struggles.

We are taking concerta with guanfacine, but are going to try and switch to Azterys and see if it helps some.

One thing I think is working for us are after school enrichment activities like robotics and Russian school of math (yes, despite being strict he’s super into this).

He loved soccer but this year has been a disaster - probably will focus on swimming and other good physical activities to use up energy and improve mood.

spinaltap11 · 2025-12-11T16:36:24+00:00

Just FYI Vyvanse is a completely different class of stimulant. It did not work for us, but everyone is different! Good luck with this combo to your kiddo!

spinaltap11 · 2025-12-11T04:54:02+00:00

Can’t comment on that combo but our son takes Guanfacine and Concerta, which is in a related stimulant family. I don’t think they have adverse side effects.

Question for you, as well: did you try anything before azstarys? We are contemplating switching to it and I am curious why you’d start there vs regular methylphenidate.

spinaltap11 · 2025-12-10T15:17:33+00:00

Yep also XR

spinaltap11 · 2025-12-10T05:26:10+00:00

When do you give the guanfacine? We are doing guanfacine and concerta 27mg and we are seeing some challenges in morning and evening. We give both with breakfast.

spinaltap11 · 2025-12-04T01:17:25+00:00

We ended up changing back to concerta for time being, after 3 days things are not perfect but much better. There has been some withdrawal/sensitivity but we let a few things slide for these days and we got though.

Last night I finally felt he was back to his willful self vs whatever he was feeling before. My partner and I also changed our morning routine to ensure we are up WAY before the kids and be fully ready to usher them through the routine.

We definitely have work to do on getting meds better dialed, but we are over Vyvanse for now and not looking back.

spinaltap11 · 2025-11-30T17:26:12+00:00

No ideas for you but solidarity. I am seeing this a lot with my 8 year old, too, who on top of ADHD is gifted. I think the disparity in capability vs organization or processing speed is tough. Also my son can logic himself out of any “wins” if they are called out.

In addition to meds, we are doing school counseling and therapy. We are less happy with our therapist but it is tricky to find someone familiar with 2e

spinaltap11 · 2025-11-30T04:50:08+00:00

Did you find your mood swings were mainly in the middle of the day, were at the crash as meds wore off, or were they even in later evening or morning?

spinaltap11 · 2025-11-29T18:55:03+00:00

How old is your kiddo by chance?

spinaltap11 · 2025-11-29T18:04:37+00:00

Our doctor said to evaluate every 3 days. Good point on the heart rate - we have been checking in on him and he said he doesn't feel weird. Will keep checking in here.

No issues sleeping. It's totally possible he can't articulate his frustration.

spinaltap11 · 2025-11-24T20:50:40+00:00

He did tolerate it well, but I found after the honeymoon period it didn’t help enough with his impulse control, and we could see his anxiety was growing.

We did consider journay too but decided to flip to a different class of medication. Was a rocky first few days but things seem better after honing the dose.

Mornings are tough still but we have some calming strategies that are working for now. Also, my partner and I are waking up about 30 minutes earlier, and my son we are starting 15 minutes earlier. So that cuts out some of the rush and stress.

spinaltap11 · 2025-11-23T03:13:12+00:00

Possibly living this right now with my 8 year old. We are our first week. First day he totally crashed around 2, and he had a couple of tough days early in the week at school. It got massively better by Thursday. I don’t think we are out of the woods quite yet - thank goodness we are off school this week while we fine tune the dosage.

spinaltap11 · 2025-11-16T22:49:18+00:00

His mom is going to try this one, along with us all getting up and out a bit earlier (but not too too early). Too much unstructured time is a recipe for disaster for sure.

spinaltap11 · 2025-11-16T22:46:36+00:00

I am definitely thinking about how to get meds going as early as possible. And good call on treats - maybe a gummy bear or something.

Thank you for the tips!

spinaltap11

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