Strattera not working??? | ADHD Information

Hello, I am new here and very desperate to find a resolution to my very annoying ADHD. 

I was recently switched to Strattera from Adderall (which made me break out horribly) and I have been on 80 mg of Strattera now for approximately a month.  For the first 2 1/2 weeks I felt no change.  For several brief days last week I thought I felt a twinge of calm and peace quite unlike my normal 100-mile-a-minute mind that I am used to.  HOWEVER, I have lost that calm and quiet mind and I am very much back to my old self.  I am frustrated as I am having to pay 0 out of pocket for this medication and cant afford to do it if it wont be working for me.

PLEASE, is there anyone that can offer me some insight into this Strattera situation?  Is this normal?  Should I abandon this medication?Strat takes 6-8 weeks once reaching the target dose to show effectiveness. Most common dosage for adults is 100 mgs.  Hang in there....you have a bit longer. thanks so much for your help.  I am so happy to have received a response so quickly.  :) 

I just now read a thread on Phosphatidyl Serine in the "alternative medications" section of this board and have read a lot of wonderful things about it from people who have tried it...I just ordered it online and will be trying it once it arrives.  If that works for me as well as it has for those who have tried it I will end up abandoning the Strattera.  I hate to not give the medications a chance to work for obvious reasons, but if this other thing works for me then I will save myself approximately 0 a month on medications!

Cross your fingers for me!  I am trying not to jump up and down and scream as I will wake up my kids, but I am SO STINKIN' EXCITED!!!!  :)Strattera knocked me out when I first started it which I hate, very tired for a couple of weeks. Normally I am running to fast and can't calm down til around 2pm for focus but with Strattera within an hour I am feeling it and focusing. So it works different for everyone like every med. It gives me dry mouth all the time even after I settled in with it.Oh ya, same here with the drowsiness...I am still so stinking tired.  I work from home and it is so hard for me not to just go lie down in bed when I should be working...its a struggle because not only do I struggle with the inability to focus, but now I am so tired as well.  Makes me just want to cry.  I am tired of struggling, you know? kellijean39313.9474652778 [QUOTE=kellijean]Oh ya, same here with the drowsiness...I am still so stinking tired.  I work from home and it is so hard for me not to just go lie down in bed when I should be working...its a struggle because not only do I struggle with the inability to focus, but now I am so tired as well.  Makes me just want to cry.  I am tired of struggling, you know? [/QUOTE]

Hi there. I use strattera and I have a few strategies.

Put your friends/family on "med alert". Often times we aren't the best judge of what works well or not. When I was ramping up the dose I  was soooo tempted to quit because I felt like a squished bag of sh*t but my friends encouraged me to stay with it because they could see differences I couldn't. Also, on days I was weird they knew what happened.
I used caffeine [and still do] for the flagging feeling. It made me a bit shakey when I was getting used to the med but at least I stayed awake.Patience. This is a patient drug. If you had a couple of good days then there will be more. I didn't get full benefit from it for about 8-10 weeks, really. Now I'm motoring along nicely. If you got a good couple of days before ramping up--then that is what it will do when it's fully integrated into your system.This is no miracle drug. None are. But it WILL have good benefits and make your life just a little bit easier if you wait and if it's the right drug for you.I take 80mg per day and might try another ramp to 100 if necessary. At 80mg I don't have super focus but I can get things done and I feel pretty able to do things. My attention span is not huge but if I work in chunks I can get a lot accomplished in a week. This stuff will NOT make you wonder-woman. What it seems to do is enhance your skills around living with ADHD. If you haven't developed coping skills then you need to do that as well and that's when the benefits become apparent.Don't give up yet. I had a rough time getting on this drug but like you I had a "few good days" and I wanted MORE of them so I waited it out and voila! Now I have lots of good days

That is a good thing to know.  I really appreciate your help.  :)

....another question:  what if I need the 100 mg dosage?  My insurance through work (the best and most expensive one available to me) doesnt cover adult ADD/ADHD drugs and I already pay 0 for a month's worth of the Strattera (that is the discounted price through a discount program that Arizona state offers - otherwise I would be paying another -30 more).  I believe the highest dosage they make is 80 mg which would require me taking a 2-tablet dose each day...meaning 60 tablets a month...MEANING AT LEAST 0 A MONTH out of pocket!  I just want to cry.  How do people afford ADHD drugs???  It makes me so sick to have finally gotten a diagnosis that puts things into perspective and then to find that the medications are so horribly expensive makes me so sick. 

Sorry about the venting here...I want the medications to work, but on the other hand they cost so darn much money...makes me want to cry.  I really appreciate everyone's input, though, and I look forward to any and all advice from all of you.  :)