Straterra with no ADHD | ADHD Information

[QUOTE=edbson]

What makes you think he does NOT have ADHD? It could be innattentive where the problem is more subtle.

Hmmm...Strattera is dosed VERY strictly by weight, 1.2-1.8 mgs per kilo(2.2lbs) of body weight. A dosage too low or too high could cause Mood swings, irritability etc. It has been linked to liver damage and is usually monitored pretty closely. Yes, it has been known to cause tics, and did in my child. It would not cause Autism or anything that looks like autism. Strattera is a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, and could have some effects on behavior in people who do not have ADHD i suppose.

What makes you think he does NOT have ADHD? It could be innattentive where the problem is more subtle.

www.strattera.com

[QUOTE=Robert_Madison] [QUOTE=edbson]

What makes you think he does NOT have ADHD? It could be innattentive where the problem is more subtle.

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Thanks for your response!

A number of things make me think he does not have ADHD. First of all, Straterra has not helped him in any way that I can discern. But I understand that doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't have ADHD. He is an energetic kid, but no more inattentive than any 8-year-old. Further:

- He does not exhibit any of the physical symptoms such as sensitivity to touch.
- Stimulants help me -- I drink a pot of coffee a day to stay calm. However, give him half a glass of Mountain Dew, and he's bouncing off the walls.
- His handwriting is pristine.
- He has difficulty hearing because of an earwax problem (which the doctor is looking at tomorrow), which could explain perceived inattentiveness.
- He is not exactly a thrill-seeker (any more than any other boy, anyway).
- He sleeps perfectly well, and knows when he needs to take a nap. When he goes to bed, he falls asleep within 15 minutes. (When I was his age, it took at least an hour.)

He is a bit impulsive at times, which usually manifests itself as getting too noisy at inappropriate times. He is also very energetic. But I think those are behavioral things that we can control/channel without a diagnosis of ADHD and without meds. I am especially convinced by his reaction to stimulants -- they ought not to have that effect on him, if his brain is really wired like mine. Know what I mean?
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From my personal experience of having been medicated for the WRONG problem as a child I go more than a bit whacked when someone is medicating for a problem that may not exist.

No matter what anyone tries to say--certain psych meds cause PERMANENT problems with children. I know. I'm the only person in my bio family that wears glasses as a result of a wrongful medication given in childhood. Never mind what it did to my life in school that was already a mess due to ADHD.

Having said that--I made the decision to try strattera as an adult. It's helpful for some things and not others but it's a "touchy" med as far as dosage is concerned.

If your wife has custody for longer periods of time than you do [say all week long] and while the child is in school, she may be seeing things that you don't. On the other hand--I can [and some other adhd'ers] can function quite well with NO meds in certain environments but not in others. So it may be because you have ADHD coping mechanisms and understand your son's eccentricities better, he doesn't seem strange to you.

And I have always felt that ADHD is not necessarily a detriment, it can be a BONUS in certain environments. Unfortunately, the world will not adapt to US, so I have decided at this point, to medicate.

So if you get another assessment and your son DOES have ADHD--maybe it's a matter of environment. But the poor kid has to live in different environments.

Not nice, but that's reality *sigh*

Mountian Dew sets my kids off terribly, yellow and red dyes tend to. Caffeine has no effect on them iether way.

I agree with working together to find out if there really is ADHD present, or not. It would be a shame to have ADHD or something else and not be helped. It would also be terrible to medicate a child that does not need it.

My Psych never did a Connor's and does not feel they are essential to a diagnosis, some psych's use other methods, so one may never have been filled out.

Stimulants can cause increased anxiety in ADHD children. This may also be the case with on ADHD children. Also incorrect dosing or wrong med choice can exacerbate both ADHD and anxiety. Dose adjusting unfortunately comes with the territory.

I am not sure I understand why both the psychiatrist and pediatrician believe he has ADHD and you are still unhappy with this diagnosis. I am glad you are getting another eval. First course for good treatment is a solid diagnosis.

The reasons listed above do not really mean he does not have ADHD. My daughter is not a thrill seeker, the exact opposite actually, she sleeps fine and always did, except on stimulants. Napped until she was 6. She is for sure ADHD.

Every child is different and ADHD manifests itself in all different ways. Again, I am glad you are getting a re-eval, you ALL need to be on the same page. You do not want to medicate for no reason for sure, but you dont want to not help him if you can.

Mountain Dew has yelow dye #5 that will set off my kids! I don't know about your son but I do know that chaos in the lives of sensitive people can have tumultous effects. The very fact that your ex and you are not on the same page can be unsettling to your child.
I would work on working together and come to some plan for all of you to follow. Also take a look at his diet...
one more thing on the Mountain Dew it very well could be all the sugar setting him off as opposed to the caffeine. [QUOTE=Diane V]one more thing on the Mountain Dew it very well could be all the sugar setting him off as opposed to the caffeine.[/QUOTE]

That's a good point. Sugar doesn't normally set him off, but than again we typically don't let him have a lot of sugar. (It's grandma and grandpa that give him the Mountain Dew then give him back to us .... )
Dont you LOVE that! It's just a thought. I'd mention all of it to your psychologist doing the new eval.

Strattera is pretty touchy. If you gain/lose weight, you change the dosage. It takes awhile to get the dosage right, and it only works on 50% of the people. It can cause mood swings, nausea, lethargy.

You probably need to sit in his classroom for 1/2 a day to really see if he has ADHD.

Lots of those things you list my son does not have either, and oh boy, does he have ADHD.

Who filled out the Conner's forms for the original diagnosis, and did you get to see these? It might help to go over these with the diagnosing doc and see if you see the same things as the other evaluators.

Around diagnosis, my youngest was really sweet with me with occasional defiance, but very hyper; not hyper in school, but was failing and shut out the world; and extremely defiant to her dad, but only a little hyper. We all saw different things based on her relationships and tolerance to the behaviors, and her comfort level of letting those around he know how frustrated she was.

Hi everybody ... I'm new here with a question.

First a bit of background:

I'm 32 and I have ADD. Therefore, I am not one, obviously, who does not "believe in" ADD or who would live in denial if my kid had ADD.

That said, my kid doesn't have ADD, I'm pretty sure. I have a number of reasons to think that, and I won't go into them here, but as one who has lived with it and who has finally after many years figured out how to live without Adderal ... I'm sure he does not have ADD.

However, his mom -- my ex -- is sure that he does have it. She got a psychiatrist to diagnose him and prescribe Straterra. She has had his general pediatrician adjusting dosage up and down every couple of weeks for almost two years.

I have an appointment to get him re-evaluated tomorrow.

My question for you all is ... if he does not have ADD, and he's been on Straterra for two years and moving the dosage all over the place (between 15 and 40 mg, once a day as well as broken up to twice a day), what would the effects be? Might the Straterra be causing some of the stuff that his mom wants to attribute to ADD (or autism or turret's, depending on the day)? What might the effect be on his long-term health?

Any insight would be most appreciated.

Robert