We have a short experience with Strattera.
DS, age 7, ADHD, Tourettes, SPD.. he is unable to take stimulants due to the tourettes. His Dr indicated that strattera was his last option. I was nervous about it.. For the first week he took 1 (18mg) dose.. he was pale with black circles under his eyes and sleeping 4 hours in the afternoon. We did not up the dosage ..but DS developed a complex tic (shoulder shrug with neck roll). We had not ever seen this tic ..we stopped the med and the tic went away. Dr said that the tic was not a result of Strattera..but we are uncertain.
DS's primary care physician was concerned about Strattera ..she did a complete liver panel before she agreed that he should try it. She also indicated that we should be very observant regarding "dark thoughts".
HTH.
We are just about to discontinue Strattera after a trial of several weeks.
DS13 seemed to do well on it, but we increased the dose and he began to get very depressed, telling me he had "bad thoughts". The doctor wants him to discontinue the meds, and see how he is in a week.
I find this very confusing, since puberty is such a moody time anyway, and school just started, which is stressful. I would actually be open to having him go back on Strattera at a lower dose again if the doctor recommended it. He was really doing well at the beginning.
DS is also on Concerta, so it is not as if we are going back to square one by discontinuing the Strattera. The doctor was just optimistic that he could really improve more with the combination.
my twelve year old son is taking strattera for past 18 months, very early on he had anger outbursts but gradually disappeared, he is doing fantastic on this medication, he is focus in school and can concentrate and is more relaxed at home.Anyone have any thoughts on stattera?My doctor has been changing my sons meds alot to get the right combo and he just started this med..
Heather
I found the opposite with my 11 year old son. Strattera helped focus, but not hyperactivity/impulsivity or anger. The doc put him on 50 mg of Zoloft along with his 40 mg of Strattera and we were able to limp through the spring standarized state testing. We are currently taking a break, but if we resume pharmaceuticals, this was the best combo for us after 2 years of trying. We can't take stimulants b/c of tics (that only came out when we were on Strattera the first time!) Focalin, Intuniv were both bad for us....very emotional and angry.I started taking this and found it helped at first - but was wearing off by the afternoon. so we upped my doseage.... I honestly thought that it was working just fine but my husband thinks that I may have been getting depressed so I stopped taking it. (this was over the course of about eight months)
I'm not really sure....and now that I'm off it I'm back to square one >.< and pretty much screwed at work.
We started our daughter, (10 yr, 56lbs), on Strattera a week ago. The Dr. told us to give it to her at night due to some of the side effects. After a few days, she began exhibiting behavior that is completely opposite her normal temperment. She was very argumentative, weepy, irritable, didn't like to be touched or held. She would get so angry that she would shake with rage and then almost immediately have a headache. (my thoughts are that her blood pressue rose very high). She has dark circles under her eyes by 4 pm and cannot focus at all for anything. She is also taking 10 mg of Focalin XR which she has been taking for a year now. It tames her "chatty/disruptive to the classroom behavior" but doesn't really help her focus. I'm ready to take her off the meds and have a call into the Dr. My son started Strattera 2 1/2 weeks ago. His speech therapist and his OT both say they have seen positive changes, but I don't see much. he is as hyperactive as ever at home. His teacher also says he seems more focused, so maybe it wears off, although I don't think it is supposed to.After suspecting for several years, my teenager was finally diagnosed with AdHd--clearly the inattentive type. Because she's underweight and we have concerns about appetite supression, the evaluator suggested Strattera.
From what I'm reading on this forum, however, it seems like it is mostly prescribed for hyperactivity (not a problem with her). She's already somewhat low-energy. Has anyone had success treating Attention Deficit with Strattera?
Strattera worked for 5 months. I liked it because my child was young, too young for stimulants IMO.I am 23 years old, Strattera made me feel like an emotional zombie. I felt 'numb' emotionally is the only way i can describe it. I eventually halved my dose, on my own, and felt a little better but haven't been taking any medication since. The effect of Strattera I did not feel was as significant at stimulants, but it still helped.