Straterra with no ADHD | ADHD Information
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
I do have ADHD and am now a poster child for Ritalin. However, a year before I started on Ritalin, my general practitioner prescribed Straterra for me. I took it for about a week, and spent most of that time in a kind of stupor on the couch; half-asleep, numbly watching TV. It was horrendous. (My brother was also prescribed Straterra by a pediatrician, but he does not believe he needs it and hasn't taken it yet.)
I later went to an actual psychologist/psychiatrist team to be evaluated. They prescribed the lowest dosage available of Ritalin. The first time I took it I knew it was the thing for me. Half an hour after taking it, I sat down at the computer and started editing a script I'd been avoiding/procrastinating working on for the past two months. I completed the project in two hours.
From this experience, I am personally hesitant to trust a general practitioner/pediatrician/physician to administer drugs for ADD/ADHD. I just don't think most have enough knowledge in the area. My GP and my brother's Pediatrician both said they would be uncomfortable prescribing Ritalin because they did not have experience with it, or enough knowledge of it. I wouldn't want a doctor prescribing one medication for me without a full knowledge of the other options available.
Regarding your question about Straterra actually creating ADD/ADHD-like behaviors, I can definitely say Straterra had a very negative effect on my energy, mood, focus, and motivation... all things also affected by ADD/ADHD.
Call_me_Lynn39347.5177199074
I'm by no means an expert, but IMHO a person without ADHD will respond differently to the meds than someone with the disorder. Several years ago I accidently took my DS's Concerta one morning (I was taking an antibiotic and didn't pay attention to what I was doing). Anyway, the medicine made me very hyper - I felt like I had tons of coffee to drink. My DS takes it and it acually calms him down (he is very hyper).
Good luck.
[QUOTE=Robert_Madison]
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.
How do you figure your wife "got a psychiatrist to diagnose" anything? That would be the psychiatrists' opinion due to the questions he asked not only her, but the child and possibly the school, as well as his medical opinion. S/he wouldn't just automatically agree with your wife since difficult behaviour can be from many different causes.
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?
You can research some of this. Strat hasn't been out that long for long-term study. Dosage is weight dependent and I gained weight [yay!] when on strat--so that might explain the dosage changes, plus it must be "ramped up".
Any insight would be most appreciated.
My honest "insight" is one you may not appreciate.
Being blunt--here's my insight:
I suspect that you and your ex are in a power struggle over this child. Before you can decide what's in his best interest you BOTH have to step back from your own belief systems about ADHD and help the child decide what HE wants. Then both of you need to abide by that.
My suggestion is that you and the ex go for some kind of mediation to meet the needs of this child.
Robert
[/QUOTE]I think you need to contact the psychiatrist yourself and talk about why he made the diagnosis. Maybe you can go with your son the next time he has an appointment and talk to the doc about what he is seeing and what he used to assess your son. You have a right to do this and it seems like the obvious first step.
NOOO! Don't do 40mg... When I took Straterra with 40mg I was depressed and feeling guilty. I was 10 when we went up with the dosage... How old is your kid???
go with somewhere in the 20mg's thats my dosage...
Stratterra is dosed on weight for kids (unlike the stims). Here is the dosing per the manufacturer:
Strattera dosing
http://www.strattera.com/hcp/strattera_dosing.jsp
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