straterra feedback? | ADHD Information

i am 39 and I have been add most of my life i was originally diagnosed as
a child put on ritalan. from about age 12 till recently i have managed it on
my own with diet and exercise. i worked for myself so it was hard to tell
how it affected my work. i recently took a full time corporate job that i am
in danger of losing because of my add symptoms. I started Straterra a few
days ago i was extremely emotional even before i started because of my
fear of losing my job. he feelings of hopelessness have gotten worse in
the 3 days since I started but that is hard to tell if that is because of the
drug or not. i have no appetite at all I have had to force myself to eat. this
is not usually a problem for me i love to eat. i am also very lethargic but it
is again hard to tell if that is the drug or just where i am at right now.
I am supposed to double the dosage from 25 mg to 50 tomorrow i am
afraid it is going to make me very emotional. does anyone have any
experience with this?
BTW I did seem to notice improved concentration the last few days but
since the drug is supposed to take weeks to work I was not sure if this
was a placebo effect.
[QUOTE=rjbs] i am 39 and I have been add most of my life i was originally diagnosed as
a child put on ritalan. from about age 12 till recently i have managed it on
my own with diet and exercise. i worked for myself so it was hard to tell
how it affected my work. i recently took a full time corporate job that i am
in danger of losing because of my add symptoms. I started Straterra a few
days ago i was extremely emotional even before i started because of my
fear of losing my job. he feelings of hopelessness have gotten worse in
the 3 days since I started but that is hard to tell if that is because of the
drug or not. i have no appetite at all I have had to force myself to eat. this
is not usually a problem for me i love to eat. i am also very lethargic but it
is again hard to tell if that is the drug or just where i am at right now.
I am supposed to double the dosage from 25 mg to 50 tomorrow i am
afraid it is going to make me very emotional. does anyone have any
experience with this?
BTW I did seem to notice improved concentration the last few days but
since the drug is supposed to take weeks to work I was not sure if this
was a placebo effect.
[/QUOTE]

Strattera's a weird drug. I didn't get the concentration for a long time [still isn't all it could be] but I got good mood calming effects from the beginning. I too, was very tired at the start.

I wasn't hungry at low doses either then when I ramped up I was positively starving. I had to ramp up fast because I only had 40mg pills and it was a bit of a haul but I like some of the effects.

I suspect part of the mood is drugs and part is understandable panic about your work environment.

My suggestion is to speak with your friends/partner to keep an eye on you and let you know if THEY witness improvement in 6 weeks. Due to the side-effects and the fact we aren't "normies" I find it's sometimes better to ask the people close to us to keep an eye out about whether we are getting better or worse on a med in the long term. Plus we have short attention spans anyway
Strat needs to be ramped slowly, even for adults, from 10 mg up. You were started too high and ramped too fast, that is the reason for the side effects./

I registered on the site just to respond to you.  Don't give up on the Strattera.  I too had some side effects but they went away and my concentration is now great.  I have just a little anxiousness but nothing else.  Actually, I have a significantly increased sex drive.  I started at 40mg and went up to 60mg a week later.  I have more energy, I'm happy, motivated, and no longer dread certain tasks.

Hang in there and give it some time.  My side effects lasted only 4-5 days, before disappearing and leaving me with the positives.

Don't give up too soon!

thanks Metis,
i got some encouraging feedback at work today so i am less painced than I
have been. i am actually good at my job I worked for myself for over 10
years when it was my own thing i structured my work in a way that worked
for me but in this enviorment i need to adjust a few things to succeed hence
the idea of taking meds. Day 5 and second day at 50mg i think I see an
improvment not tired today and head seemed clearer. I have not sen to
many other side effects yet other than constipation. I always wake in the
middle of thenight so it is hard to tell if the drug is making it worse. I
ppreciate the feedback