Posted: 05 October 2005 at 7:58am | IP Logged

We prefer silly unstill  boy. Good choice your making.

Posted: 09 October 2005 at 9:54pm | IP Logged

When I started with Strattera, I was hit with dizziness and nausea. I lied down for a couple of hours after which it subsided. But regularly I used get dry mouth, my appetite has definitely decreased and would have regular problems in sleeping. I have to take two pills of 40 mg each. My doctor suggested to take both of them together in the morning, and this got rid of the sleeping problem. The dizziness has gone almost gone away, but sometimes after taking the medicine I still feel the dry mouth. My appetite had drastically reduced but it has recovered a little bit. But the medicine has definitely improved my situation.

Posted: 13 October 2005 at 2:21pm | IP Logged

The average risk of suicidal thinking was about 4 per thousand patients treated with Strattera compared to no events in placebo-treated patients.

Well, thankfully that is very low.  I have to wonder, is it because they already had a predispostion for suicidal thoughts? 

My son cannot handle a stim, but does very well on Strattera.  He is happier, sleeps better, gets straight A's, is more creative, better at sports, & handles social situations so much better on then off.

Posted: 16 October 2005 at 1:21pm | IP Logged

exactly!!

At 4 per 1000 (a .004 percent average), it's almost certain that more than that number would normally feel suicidal thoughts and have a tendency towards it - due to either genetics, social standing, upbringing, etc.  You can cancel it out as an anomaly - something not caused by the meds itself.  You'd need higher than the general populations' tendencies towards suicide before it begins to show as a side-effect.  Also, when the number of patients studies is low like many of the test results we see - it's hard to get a real fix on numbers.  The closer to 100 percent studied - the more valid the numbers become. 

Posted: 16 October 2005 at 9:08pm | IP Logged

   How can you say that 4 per thousand is low ????

   Especially when you compare it to NONE on placebos.

   Are you implying that no suicidal people took a placebo and all the suicidal people took Strattera ?

   Don't you think that's just a little too odd ???

Posted: 16 October 2005 at 9:09pm | IP Logged

ok - where in the study did it say nobody committed suicide while taking placebo?

Posted: 17 October 2005 at 5:11am | IP Logged

You find me a group of 1000 that does not have 4 people with suicidel thinking.

Posted: 17 October 2005 at 3:59pm | IP Logged

On Strattera's manufacturer's (Eli Lilly) own site? Thats the first place I looked to check it out.

http://newsroom.lilly.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=175142

"...In conjunction with a request from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Lilly submitted to regulatory agencies an analysis of adverse event data from its Strattera clinical trials database that identified a small but statistically significant increased risk of suicidal thoughts among Strattera-treated children and adolescents (5 cases out of 1357 patients or 0.4 percent vs. 0 cases out of 851 patients taking placebo)..."

Balanced may not post links to what he says, but he does have the facts straight as far as I can see.

Please note its .04, not .004 which I realise may well have been a typo or innocent miscalculation in your earlier post, but there's a rather large difference - so needs attention.

In reply to CSMommy

["You find me a group of 1000 that does not have 4 people with suicidel thinking."]

851 (study participants that were on placebo) is more than half of the Strattera-treated children.  So if its difficult to believe that anyone would find a group of 1,000 that does not have 4 suicidal people in it, particularly bearing in mind that these are children and adolescents with ADHD rather than any group of 1000, then the placebo looks rather promising as a future treatment.

Even without an expectation that 4 in any group of 1,000 people are going to be suicidal and going only on the study figures: 

If 5 out of 1357 children experienced suicidality on Strattera, then between 2 and 3 children at least out of 851 should have experienced suicidality on placebo.  In fact, if Strattera is an effective medication, then presumably those going UNmedicated should have experienced suicidality at an even higher rate than the group being medicated.

Presumably then, the placebo and its inactive components are effective in preventing suicidality (and should be used as treatment) or Strattera  causes suicidality. 

As far as I can make out. ?