Kapvay and Mood Swings: What Users Say

• Mel...
• February 26, 2016

For ADHD "My son was diagnosed with ADHD in 1st grade. He's now in 6th. We've tried so many meds... Concerta, Intuniv, Focalin, Metasomethingoranother, and more. The stimulants caused massive mood swings. And the other stuff just didn't work well either. He's now on Kapvay, the generic form of it, and so far, so good. He takes 0.1 mg in the morning, and we just increased the evening to 0.2 mg. The only trouble we've had is sleep. He falls asleep but wakes up by 4 a.m. And then, doesn't fall back to sleep until 6 but has to be awake by 7:30. So, right now, he's texting me to bring him coffee. Not sure what to do about the lack of sleep, but I'm really happy with how he's responding otherwise. The mood swings have lessened. Now they just seem tween-typical."

• Ami...
• June 29, 2015

For ADHD "My son is 6 years old and was diagnosed with ADHD, ODD, Asperger's syndrome, and possible bipolar disorder. We have tried so many medications: Ritalin, Adderall, Focalin XR, Risperdal, Seroquel, and regular Clonidine. He is now taking 300 mg of Trazodone, which doesn't help, 15 mg of Abilify, and Kapvay. I've spaced the three medications out, but he still wakes up at 9 am and goes to bed at 3 am. I am at a loss right now because the psychiatrist says he's limited as to what he can put him on, but the Trazodone, I swear, seems to wire him up. He's wide awake as I am writing this post. The Kapvay does make him cranky and irritable during the afternoon. Any advice, please."

• Mar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 6, 2017

For ADHD "My son has used various stimulants for 5 years. Still struggling because of impulsivity and super high metabolism, the doctors wanted to add non-stimulants. We started with Intuniv, which dropped his blood pressure way too low (75/43), so we stopped after 2 weeks. Tried Clonidine IR, and it worked GREAT the first 2 days, then fine (not great, just fine). The doctor changed to Kapvay for long-acting effects, but we stopped after 2 weeks because he got awful insomnia (took 2-3 hours to fall asleep instead of his usual 15 minutes). Last night, we went back to Clonidine IR - he fell asleep quickly and slept great! I give Kapvay a 2 because it decreased his impulsivity a bit, but the insomnia was awful, he got more aggressive/emotional, and really affected him negatively."