Both of my sons have been on Strattera for three years. It's been a godsend for my oldest who metabolizes stimulants like they're water. He was on extremely high/frequent doses of stimulants for years before Strattera. Now one dose a day and we're doing great!
The other son can't tolerate stimulants at all - they make him jittery and anxious but Strattera has been wonderful.
Strattera doesn't seem to work 100% as well as the stimulants for my oldest son, but it's better than a high school senior taking medications 4 times a day!
Strattera IS also an anti-depressant and anti-anxiety pill, it's true. It was originally developed as an anti-depressant, but then they realized it had uses for ADHD, and as the only non-stimulant ADD med...well that had more market value.
Selective Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (like strattera) used to be frontline defense against depression until SSRIs came into play. It turns out that norephinephrine also plays a huge role in anxiety, in addition to concentration and focus. Give strattera a few days, it generally starts to kick in a bit within 3-5. Usually around 2 week you start to get the full effects. Be aware, SNRIs aren't like stimulants. This means that you need to be prepared to change increase the dosage more often than you do for stimulants (your child's body will adapt to strattera more easily than a well dosed stimulant; which also means that many of the initial side effects will fade quickly). It also means the side effects are a bit more diverse (though some people experience none at all). Finally, unlike stimulants, strattera works all day. It means no peaks and valleys, but it can also mean no relief from side effects. With one dose stimulants like ritalin and adderall, for example, you may lose your appetite when you take it and for a good 8 or 9 hours afterwards, but you'll typically regain it late at night or early the next morning before your next dose. With strattera, you're talking about 24 hour appetite loss. Watch your child's eating carefully and try to force them to eat with regularity. Taking strattera with food can also help mitigate some of the more serious side effects like abdominal pain.
Good luck! I had great success with the drug for many months (I discontinued because I was one of the rare few with serious abdominal pain that never went away). It helps a lot of people!
The Concerta story sounds all too familiar. My son who is 7 had been on Concerta for about 7 months when he became depressed, showed signs of agitation, and a regression in behavior. We immediately took him off of it, and he went several weeks without any meds as his doctor was on vacation, and we wanted to try some omegas, etc. Unfortunately, he was regressing in school at an unbelievable rate, and we felt we had to try another medication. He has been on Strattera for 2 days, and so far seems OK. He started at 18 mg, and in a few days we will boost it to 25 mg. After that, we'll see how he is doing. It seems it is a trial and error system when using meds...they never perform the same for all individuals. I'm hoping this is the one that works for him. Good luck to you.
HockeyMom
Just my non-medical opinion, if they want an antidepressant/antianxiety drug, Lexapro is really effective, and I didn't have any side effects. Straterra was utter crap for me. Good luck! Let us know what happens.I agree I believe this should get recalled our experience has been bad. A LD specialist told me the parents she has meant say this didn't help enough. I don't agree though that getting someone focusing changes the problem anyhow. I think most of the SE kids probebly need a different teaching method. Just my opinion.I am a 36 year old woman and was just diagnosed with ADD and am currently on Wellbutrin 300mg a day. When I started Wellbutrin ( for depression ) , I began to feel normal and alive again. However, my ADD was just out of control, so my Dr. put me on Stratera 40mg a day to start and then to go up to 80mg in a week. I could not even get through two days!!!! I feel terrible, after 30 minutes of initially taking it. I am in a sad, drunken state all day, I feel like I have a tight metal clamp on my head, my eyes feel weird, then I come home from work and cry and feel a huge lack of motivation. I am not going to take it tomorrow - I know that some say to try and get through it for a few weeks, but I can't. I don't even talk when I take it, I am like a zombie. I am just going to take the Wellbutrin, which has worked wonders for me and hopefully, when I go back to my Dr., she will be able to do something different for the ADD. Does anyone have any suggestions? I am really concerned and would like to get these ADD symptoms under control (obviously without taken Stratera).
Thanks, Pam
Hello Pam, Dont know if this will help at all but my son was on concerta for 6 months & became worse. put him on st johns, vit b complex (nerves) & omega oils for about 2 months & noticed great improvement - so much so that now his appointment has come up & they have put him on another drug am almost thinking keep him on st johns. (but he is 22 & its not my decision)
A alternative medicine page (in UK magazine) recommends Solgar's Vit B 6 100mg per day and Rhodiola both available from Revital www.revital.com
take as directed on bottle
another UK website www.whatreallyworks.co.uk
or have you tried Attend Extress Depress or Memorin on US website www.add.-adhd-help-center.com/add_typesmain.htm
hope it works for you xx
Hi all, Can anyone advise me on Atomoxetine - Strattera
My Son (22 years old) was on concerta for about 6 months & had some very bad side effects. eg depression anxiety even a little paranoia. He has been off of it for about 2 months & has been on St Johns, Vit B complex & Efalex oils & seems much better. They now want him to go on Strattera saying it is an antidepressant & anti anxiety pill - is this so? I am afraid of putting him back to where he was - in a black hole. I have only read bad things about this drug - any good news please? (His dosage is to be 25mg in morn for one week then 60mg each morn)
All information gratefully received Good wishes to all