Sexual Side Effects w/ Strattera | ADHD Information

 

Just to add my two cents - my 9 year old son was on Strattera for about 6 months and he had urinary difficulties - he would complain that he always felt like he had to urinate and couldn't get rid of the feeling.  I have come to hear that this is quite common with Strattera.  I don't know if it goes away since we discontinued Strat for other reasons.

Lets put this debate to rest !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Drugs in a certain class(SSRI) do have similarities, however they are not "ALL The SAME".  Each human body is a unique entity that can react differently to the same medication.

Why do you think, in almost every disease state, doctors have several options to choose?
Not all drugs work for all patients.  The slightest difference in molecular structure can be the key to successful therapy in an individual who has failed on 2 or 3 drugs from the same class.

Wellbutrin is a unique pharmaceutical entity.  The only similarity with Effexor is the neurotransmittors that are involved.  Additionally, if you bump up the dose high enough, Effexor has an affect on Serotonin.  This is not true for Wellbutrin .

Wellbutrin has the lowest incidence of sexual dysfunction and weight gain.  Not true with Effexor or the SSRIs.

I think most of us should stop playing the role of pharmacist/doctor and to read these messages as being true to that particular member w/o passing judgement.

I am somewhat more qualified than most, since I work in the pharmaceutical industry and have much familiarity with the drugs mentioned in our discussions.

The American Psychiatric Association has been made the blanket statement that all antidepressants work at lessening depressive symptoms, however the right drug is usually the drug the patient tolerates the best.

The point I am trying to make is :  Drugs in the same class are more similar than not, but the way the patient's body responds to a given drug may be the most difficult part of therapy.

My reason for joining the forum was to determine if my experience with Strattera was comman and if so, how do I counteract the SEs.

 What I have gathered from this forum, is the fact that my experience is not as rare as my doctor reports. He claims it is more in my "Head".  I am surprised by that answer given that he is  a "National Thought Leader" in the field of ADD.

I won't complain. The drug combo has changed my life in such a positive way, I am hesitant to make any drug substitutions.  I can live quite well with some urinary/ejaculation difficulties.

I want to thank all you who have responded to my messaget and hope that we continue to communicate with one another through this forum. 

Lets spend less time criticizing  and more time helping one another cope and educating all of us regarding ADD and its treament.

Reality, are you prepared to offer medical advise if this individual goes off medication per your recomendation and a major tragedy occurs?  Are you medically qualified to dispense said advice?  I'd be very careful with flippant suggestions with no regaurds to the effects on individuals.  Sounds like you are setting yourself up for lawsuits when something terrible happens when you play doctor.

Thank you for your unthoughtful reply however.  Your wording shows your lack of compassion towards others.

 

   GOOD POST HAERT !

if it is a fairly common side-effect perhaps your doctor could explain why.

good luck.
Reality , SHUT UP, you know nothing of this.

 haert,

 This is NOT an ssri drug.
 What it does do is sometimes give muscle contractions and that can lead to "holding back" or sometimes you can have leg cramps associated with them.

  Strattera (atomoxetine), a presynaptic norepinephrine-reuptake inhibitor


 Norepinephrine, along with dopamine, is thought to play a large role in attention and focus. Accordingly, Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals has released Strattera (atomoxetine), a selective norephinephrine reuptake inhibitor, for the treatment of ADHD in adults and children. Strattera is unique in medications specifically indicated for ADHD, as unlike the psychostimulants (methylphenidate, dextroamphetamine, Adderall (a racemic mixture of amphetamine salts)) it affects norephinephrine, rather than dopamine. As a result, Strattera has a very low abuse potential and can act 24 hours-per-day. (It should be noted that some antidepressants, including SNRIs, have been used off-label for treatment of ADHD.)

 wow , look ma, I can cut and paste too!!

    With antidepressants, the sexual and urinary side effects generally go away shortly after you stop taking the drug.

    The drug messes with the neurotransmitters in your brain... not your organs... which certainly implies a brain "connection".

    So, the most logical course of action would be to quit taking the drug.

Hi haert,

I also take Strattera.  I don't have the same side effects to a large degree but this does sometimes happen.  I would also be interested to know what the physical reason is as to why Strattera causes these urination/sexual side effects. I can't find any info relating to the actual reason.  Anyone out there have any medical information directly related to these side effects?

Please just don't just say "it's your brain".  That is a non productive and potential harmful reply.  It's not the brain that can cause the rare but possible liver problems with this drug.  From my understanding those with liver problems is two out of two million.  I am not a doctor however.....

I took Strattera a couple years back but had to stop because the side effects where to great.  Weight loss and the whole sex/pee thing bothered me.  This time around I take a aloe vera concentrate detox oral herbal liquid as well as a aloe vera concentrate stomach formula...oral.  That may be the reason.  I feel much better mentally and feel lucky to not have any side effects.  It feels as if the fog has been lifted in my brain.  I wake up feeling clear headed and don't have a problem getting my day started the way I once did.  Instead of two hours to get out of the house it only takes one.  I can also complete tasks and don't seem to have as many projects going on at the same time.  I am completing one project and moving to the next instead of leaving a bunch of loose threads.  This is very helpful in corporate America!

I plan on asking my Dr about the reason behind the side effects males experience.  I do not see here for another four weeks however (I'm out of town on business) so I won't be posting the answer anytime soon.

Best of luck

I have been on Strattera for slightly over 2years.  It has done wonders for me, however I am experiencing sexual side effects in the form of a diminished orgasm and ejaculation response.  At times I expereince urinary urgency and some difficulty urinating.  I am assuming that the muscles responsible for ejaculating/urination are afffected.

Any advice and/or suggestions would be appreciated.

It's not your muscles problem... it's your brain.

This happens an awful lot on SSRI antidepressants. So, it looks like Strattera has the same effect on some people.

 There's a new warning out about Strattera affecting your liver if you drink alcohol while taking it.

Well the answer to that is the same as the answer to WHY your here posting. there is no answer, because you don't know what your talking about. like tom cruise

my experience with strattra has been WORLD APART from wellbrutrin.  wellbutrin gave me the shakes and made me SOO uncomfortable.  strattera does none of that to me.

Reality, how did those drugs make you feel?

bugz,

    "Strattera (atomoxetine), a selective norephinephrine reuptake inhibitor"

 

   ... or in other words.... an SNRI.... just like Effexor... and Wellbutrin.... until you get to 300 mg doses and then Wellbutrin also acts as an SSRI.

  Besides that.... the list of "side effects" and "withdrawal symptoms" for both SSRI and SNRI drugs are almost identical.

   So, when somebody points out a "side effect" that is listed on the side effects sheets for ALL SSRI AND SNRI drugs.... and Strattera is an SNRI drug,  and the best way to remove the side effect is to REMOVE THE DRUG.... well then... that's the advice I gave him. 

you said ssri,


 all ssri and snri's are NOT THE SAME. you show the stupidity in the same post as you disclaim it. I am dogging you, we all are. until admins do something about it. so just realize you will be discredited as your alter ids as well. 

bugz,

   I never said they were the same.... I said the side effects and withdrawal symptoms are "almost identical".... and they are !

   So tell me... if Strattera is an ADHD med and Wellbutrin seems to be mentioned a lot here, why hasn't Wyeth joined the push with Effexor ? It's not mentioned here much.

I don't know if an amphetamine would help with that along w/stratterra - but they do often give both in cases where the ADHD is severe in many ways and they need the extra control.  Anybody have a personal tale of how that could work?

Good points bugzappers!

Strattera's sexual side effects are much to do with the norepinephrine (which is a fancy word for adrenaline).  The sex organs need a slurry of hormones and other chemicals to become aroused - one of them is adrenaline (that's why they call it being "excited"LOL).

With the amphetamines again it's physical not brain related.  Amphetamines effect the smooth muscles in the body - that includes the blood vessels.  When your body tries to send blood to the sex organs the muscles sometimes are unable to constrict to hold the blood in place.  At least with the amphetamines this is usually a short lasting trouble and goes away in a month or so.

Reality tries to make everything here as an SSRI thing as the anti-med sites seem to be obsessed with that even when discussing our meds.

There are a lot of positives sexually in using our ADHD meds.  When we can concentrate the orgasms are more frequent, more intense and more likely to be far more enjoyable for both partners.  Put THAT in your anti-med pipe and smoke it Reality!

haert my husband experienced that on strattera as well, and he was told that it is a somewhat more common side effect.  it did not go away and he had to switch meds.  bring it up with your pdoc asap!  best of luck. oh my gosh so true!

haert definitely talk to your doctor, maybe just adding some ritalin or adderall right before um, "love time" would help.  sometimes docs do that to offset the problem w/ ssri's.  not sure if it would work the same w/ strattera.  just remember every body is different!