Your experiences with STRATTERA | ADHD Information

What is the B club??Hi,

You've probably seen my answer on other posts, but here goes....I was prescribed 45 mg of Strattera and to take one pill a day for the first 10 days and then I am to up it to two pills a day.  I only took it for 3 days (last week) and have stopped because I was having blurry vision and nausea.  I can deal with the nausea, but since I leave for work in the dark, and now come home in the dark I need to make sure I'm seeing those taillights clearly.

Unfortunately, that's the only thing I noticed about it.  I'd also love to hear from people who have given it the 6 weeks recommended time to kick in.
I was not quite as forgetful, I was always tired, had no sex drive, and in
the begining I had night sweats.

I want to try Adderall.

Welcome to the forum and, Good luck!LTC138635.3385763889

I am about a few days new to this message board; newly diagnosed with moderate inattentive type adhd--female age 32.  While skimming this board, I've noticed several ppl. commenting that Strattera did not work for them, or they did not like it at all. 

I was wondering if those of you who tried Strattera or are currently taking Strattera could share your experiences with it---good effects and bad effects, how long it took to see results, etc... 

I've been taking it for about a week.  First 4 days---40 mg; thereafter, 80 mg--two 40 mg capsules together.  40 mg was fine.  With 80 mg, i feel like i've drank 20 cups of coffee---like there's a motor INSIDE of my body, plus i have trouble sleeping.  First few days, i thought I felt a difference with focusing, less distractibility--but maybe that was just a "placebo effect".   I'm also taking Wellbutrin 150 mg for depression. 

Any comments would help!  Thank you!

I first started taking Strattera two weeks ago.  My doc told me to start with 40mg and then up it to 80 after a week.  I haven't upped the doseage because the 40 has been hellacious.  I am constantly nauseous, have horrible headaches, and I wake up after two or three hours only to not be able to get back to sleep. 

The side effects have been so bad that I decided to stop taking it this morning. 

I tried it for a short while - I had heard of other's taking it with their amphetamine meds to increase attentiveness and smooth out any areas where they needed help.  Boy what a mistake!

I started taking them - and within the first week it was like I was reverting back to my pre-med self!  I was cranky, tired and unattentive.  People noticed - it wasn't a good thing for me.

Also - I noticed that I felt stoned all the time!  It was like when I was 17 and experimenting - the same feeling of pot where I would sit and hyperfocus on a point on the wall.  Never what I wanted to focus on - just some spot and I'd phase off into wherever my brain went. Not what I wanted.

I hear it a lot - either it works fairly fast and you feel your ADHD melt away or you feel spacy, tired, irritable and hyperfocused.  Doesn't seem to be a nice in-between unless they don't feel they need the forums.  I personally am sticking to my dexedrine as it was so fast working and has kept me happy for over 10 months.

Been taking Strattera for 3 months 40mgs  now with lexapro 20mg  It is helping me stay on topic better, a little better focused.  Don't feel like its enough, though
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I have read about all the horrible side effects and am so glad that have not experiecnced any of those.     the only side effects i've had have been pleasant ones.   Strattera was not the med for me. It helped me focus but the side effects were too much to live with.  I have the inattentive type of ADD, and the last thing I needed was to be sedated, and I was most of the time. I went to work, went home and slept, that was my life, as before Strattera I was out and about all the time trying to stimulate my brain to distract it from boredom.  Also, on a personal note, for the first time ever, one night I couldn't achieve an erection before sex, that was the single factor that made me get off the Strattera. Have had no problems since (I'm 30 years old).  I also had involuntary tics, dry mouth, ocassional headaches, and involuntary mood swings (I'm a very easy going person in which a simple smile from another person makes my day)..my girlfriend at the time as well as those around me told me that I was hard to be around because of these changes in mood. Strattera just wasn't my med.  I've been on Concerta now for almost 3 months and its perfect for me, the only side effect I have is loss of appetite, other than that it gives me the pick up I need to be motivated without feeling speedy, I can sleep off it no problem (With Strattera it made me feel sleepy but I couldn't sleep), and the focus is incredible, my work productivity has shot up since I've been on it.

 

I tend to get a little personal , sorry, but it's stuff I think anyone starting to take Strattera needs to know.....

I took Strattera for about 2 months. I started on 40 mgs/day....the first few days I had: dry mouth (yuck), extreme sweating (yuck), headaches, loss of appetite, could fall asleep but could not stay asleep, EXTREME nausea (to the point of dry heaving ), my libido went through the roof! (didn't need any help), made me VERY quiet, tired, didn't help my focus or memory or concentration at all, made me a little calmer..My husband noticed a difference before I did....he just said that I acted calmer..

after 4 days I was to increase my dosage to 80mgs.....same SE, but nausea was much worse....I kept taking it as prescribed and a few SE lingered even after a few weeks, the sleeplessness at night went away....the sweating went away very quickly, the headaches went away eventually ( i really think it was my BP, which is high, anyway..I think it raised it and made it worse, which always gives me a headache) the loss of appetite came and went....I HAD to eat something before I took it, so I probably gained weight on it, but didn't eat much later in the day. I got 2 bladder infections while on it,.    it HAD to be "not being able to urinate" SE, but I didn't feel like I wasn't going regular,  I never had constipation, which some people (esp women) complain about...I just could not deal with the nausea!!  It was horrible. I NEVER had morning sickness THAT bad !! 

One thing that worried me was a thread I read on here about 9 months ago from some men who had been prescribed Strattera for their AD(H)D .....They ALL complained about sexual dysfunction and urinating problems.....That just really scared me..I know I didn't have sexual problems, just the opposite.....It just scared me that they would continue to give this drug to men knowing the problems it causes. It can't be good for men to have to go through that. It was a VERY long thread with MANY men responding. I'll never forget it...I felt so sorry for them......what if it did long term damage ?? 

I asked my psych about it the last time I went , he said he's never heard anything bad about it !!!!  I told him how unhappy I was with it and the next time his drug rep was there, to please tell him.    I am now on Adderall XR 30 mgs, and I LOVE it.....much better in every aspect except sleeping, although that is getting better, too. My house is much cleaner, more focused, able to remember more things...not perfect, but MUCH better..

jlieb- hope you do well, wish you luck.....BTW, I'm 37, female

Kimberly (slugbug)