Starting Strattera on Monday | ADHD Information

Okay folks.  I'm brand new to this board.  I have a pretty good case of ADHD.  I have taken Concerta and Strattera in the past.  Both times only lasted for a few months tops.  I always assumed I could somehow manage to get by without meds.  After all, I did make it to 36 years...right?  Well, wrong..lol.  I have just gotten a very good job with good pay and want to maximize the opportunity that I have.  Soooo, I went to the Dr on Friday and thought I would give drugs another go.  I'm going to start Strattera on Monday.  Concerta just didn't seem to do much for me.  I'm sure it did but on the same note I may not have given it enough time.  My heart rate was elevated and I always felt a little high on the anxiety scale.  Again, I may not have given it enough time.  My Dr did give me ritalin once for the morning when I first got up to compensate for the time it took for the Concerta to get in my system.  I'm one of those people that takes 3 hours zto get out of the house in the morning.  On Concerta I still seemed to have an over alert feeling in my head...if that makes sense.  Strattera made me feel calm.  Focused.  Mentally sharp.  I really enjoyed feeling on top of things.  On the bad side I lost lots of weight because of the terrible stomach pain.  I also did not function well sexually.  BUT, I chose Strattera again.  I got some herbal stuff for my stomach.  Two kinds of aloa vera concentrate that you take orally.  One is a detox formula for the morning to flush my liver and kidneys....these drugs make me a litte nervous.  The other aloa vera concentrate is a stomach and GI tack formula to keep your stomach "happy".  I will eat a meal before I take Strattera and I'm also starting at a very low dose.  10mg.

I know I just typed a sh*tload of stuff...hope you guys don't mind.  I just have the feeling that I'm all alone on this little experiment and wanted to share my experience with ADHD with others.  I'm also worried I have chosen the wrong drug and will just have to switch because I can't tolerate the side effects of Strattera.  I hope I am wrong!  I really want to get my brain "right" so I can focus on work and actually get ahead...

Please share any thoughts on meds and how to make Strattera work.  I'll keep you guys posted on my progress if ya don't mind.

Riding the med-go-round is not a fun experience, but it pays off when you find the right one and life suddenly opens up. Easing up slowly on the Strattera is a good call since you had some side effects before. There is never a guarantee that you won't get them again, but at least if you titrate the dose slowly, you're minimizing the risks. Some people have wonderful results from Strattera. I personally didn't give it a very fair shot, due to personal (Ahem!) side effects of the variey you mentioned. All you can do is give it a solid chance. There are always other meds available, but you've chosen one that's fairly solid that you had some success with in the past. I hope it turns out to be the answer you need...