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0 pointsMicanthus1y ago0 comments

Likely guanfacine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanfacine

Looks really promising for people who don't like stimulants or can't take them for other reasons, slowly gaining popularity as well. Unfortunately not yet approved for adults in Europe, or I would have tried it. I'm fine with stimulants, but I'm a little wary of the effects on heart health over decades and I would like my appetite back. I also dislike that with stimulants I don't have any attention span in the evening, guanfacine provides more of a steady effect from what I can tell.

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mtlmtlmtlmtl1y ago

I dunno about the EU, but guanfacine has been approved in Norway for a couple years now, and AFAIK our approval process is fairly tied to the EU one, though I can't speak to the details.

There's also clonidine which has roughly the same mechanism of action as guanfacine and has been used for ADHD for a long time.

MicanthusOP1y ago

Sorry I did mean in the EU, specifically Germany. It's available for children, but for adults it's considered "off label" so it's hard to convince a doctor to prescribe it, usually they only go off label for people who have contraindications for all of the approved medicines.

It could be that the EMA has approved it for everyone, but Germany is more restrictive. It's been my experience that Germany as a society is terrified of medicine, and takes forever to adopt new drugs. They also have an attitude towards ADHD in particular that it's just for children, until somewhat recently you couldn't even be diagnosed as an adult here. Even today if you get diagnosed as an adult many doctors will demand "documentation" showing you were affected by ADHD as a child, some even want to speak with your parents.

cbsmith1y ago

This stuff knocked me on my ass when I took it. I literally had to lie down on numerous occasions. I'm just an anecdotal case, but it unfortunately did not work for me at all.

DANmode1y ago

Would you describe the effect as fatigue?

Something else?

Thanks.

cbsmith1y ago

My best guess is that my blood pressure dropped precipitously. I would get light headed if I stood up. It would happen roughly 15 minutes after taking the medication.

viraptor1y ago

The effects ramp up over a number of days, but it works for me until the day after taking it - which is great.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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mtlmtlmtlmtl1y ago

I dunno about the EU, but guanfacine has been approved in Norway for a couple years now, and AFAIK our approval process is fairly tied to the EU one, though I can't speak to the details.

There's also clonidine which has roughly the same mechanism of action as guanfacine and has been used for ADHD for a long time.

MicanthusOP1y ago

cbsmith1y ago

This stuff knocked me on my ass when I took it. I literally had to lie down on numerous occasions. I'm just an anecdotal case, but it unfortunately did not work for me at all.

DANmode1y ago

Would you describe the effect as fatigue?

Something else?

Thanks.

cbsmith1y ago

My best guess is that my blood pressure dropped precipitously. I would get light headed if I stood up. It would happen roughly 15 minutes after taking the medication.

viraptor1y ago

The effects ramp up over a number of days, but it works for me until the day after taking it - which is great.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse