Straterra Help!!! | ADHD Information

My son was on Straterra 25 mgs for about 1 year.  We upped the dose in December to 40mg and I began noticing signs of depression, being tired, moody and not caring.  He even made a suicidal comment.  I brought him back to the DR who reffered us to a Psychologist.  The 1st appointment I could find was March 21st.  I had a serious 1 on 1 chat with him and he told me he can't stay focussed in school. All of his grades are D and F.  This is a first for him  I don't know what to do.   Its been a long time since I felt helpless.

He is 12 years old and weighs 79lbs.  He is in 6th grade so hormones are starting to play in his life.  He was diagnosed with ADHD in 3rd grade and took Adderall then Adderall XR.  This medication lasted about 1 year when he started neck tics (constantly cracking his neck) We then switched to Straterra and it has worked well until about 3 months ago.  His grades started to bottom out and we started playing with the doses.  It seems like the dose is either too low or that we need to change medications. 

I have a meeting with all of his teachers this week and I know its going to be tough.  One change I want to make is to put him in gym and remove his music class.  He has no outlet to run his energy.  ANyways I would appreciate and comment you may have.  Take care.....Colleen

His target is between 40-60 mgs. If he is too low you are going to continue to see the problems , but they would probably disappear if his dose is raised. Strat is dosed by weight, not symptoms like stims. I just switched to Strattera from Concerta. I took my first dose - 40mg - and was sleepy right away. Spent most of the next 24 hours napping. 40 still sounds low. My daughter is 82 pounds 7th grade and is on 54 mg. Although we are seeing the same thing, it was GREAT for a few months, but lately it's not working. We see the doc this week and we will probably either add a low dose stimulant or just drop the Strattera and switch back to stimulant. She also gets tics, so we're not too happy about this, but she is not progressing in school due to her inattention.Straterra does not wear off like Adderol?  I have always given it to him before he left for school.  Thats what I did with his stimulant meds.  I am calling the doctor to see if we can increase his dosage while we wait to see a Psychiatrist.

Keep the suggestions coming. ......Colleen
Matt weighs 79lbs and he is on 40mg.  They raised it from 25mg to 40mg about a month ago. I normally give him med breaks during vacation time and weekends.  Since it is a 24 hour med should I be doing this?  Our pediatrician said it does not matter but unlike the stimulants Strattera needs time to build in the system.

I gave him his 40mgs last night and I am trying to get our doctor to give him an additional 10mgs to raise it to 50mgs

Diane we started Strat because he developed neck twitches and the adderal was not working.  We chose it because of the anti-anxiety affect it has.  The stim plus the Strattera sounds like it may be a good alternative if the dose increase does not work.  We have to do something because he is all over the place, and he is failing 4 subjects. It has been a nightmare for the past 2 months.  Hopefully we can get this fixed so he doesn't lose any more of this school year

Oh I hear ya. My daughter is the same size. She is taking 54mg, but it's not enough. So I can see that 40 is probably not enough for your son.

You cannot take a "med break" with Strattera. If you mean you want to be on the Strat plus a stim to take a stim break on vacations, I'm also with you on that one. I am thinking that may be our plan too.

We do not have any anxiety or tics with the Strattera and it is better than no meds at all, but it just doesnt seem to be enough for us.

 

 

try taking at night for the first few weeks. We actualyl split DD's dose. 36 mg in the am and 18 in the pm for this reason, and to spread coverage out. We gave it to her at night to start though and added our increased dose at night each ramp.Strat is a 24 hours med, and is dosed by weight, not like adderall. What is his weight, and what dose is he on? yup it's 24 hours, but we did see a drop in coverage after peak, so around dinner time, plus we wanted it to help with morings, so by splitting the dose we avoided the tired feeling and spread the med ou throughout the 24 hour period. Most people dose it once though and if he's doing fine one a single dose leave it alone. He needs more than 25mg at his weight though. Minimum of 45 mg.