Medication
BOTH OF MY BOYS TAKE STRATTERA. WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT IS THAT MY BOYS HAVE THEIR PERSONALITY BACK. MY OLDEST SON IS NOT AS MOODY. WHEN HE WAS ON CONCERTA, OUR MORNINGS WERE HORRIBLE. NOW, HE WAKES UP IN A GOOD MOOD. HE DOES GET A LITTLE MOUTHY IN THE EVENINGS. THE BEST THING ABOUT STRATTERA IS THAT IT IS NOT A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE. I DO NOT MISS CALLING THE DOCTOR EVERY MONTH FOR A PRESCRIPTION. I HAVE HEARD THAT ALL MEDICINES FOR ADHD ARE HARD ON THE LIVER AND THAT IS WHY THE DOCTORS ARE ALWAYS DOING BLOOD WORK. IT'S NOT EASY FINDING THE RIGHT MEDICINE FOR YOUR CHILD. I HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH THIS FOR OVER EIGHT YEARS. NO ONE KNOWS THEIR CHILD BETTER THAN THE CHILD'S PARENTS. JUST KEEP DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND WORK CLOSE WITH THE TEACHERS AND DOCTORS. IT'S GOOD THAT YOU ARE DOING THIS WHILE THE CHILD IS STILL IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, IT IS HARDER IN MIDDLE SCHOOL.
GOOLD LUCK!
KATRINA
I lost my link to this message board, so I was glad to get an updated posted email today!!
Strattera has continued to work the best for my daughter - as long as everyone is working with her (siblings, school/teachers, parents, etc) This year was rough as we were having trouble getting the school to work with her (mainly a first year teacher) by the end of the year we got it all worked out. Got her on an IEP and the Special Ed teacher involved just to check on her throughout the day and give her a quiet place to go if needed. We took her off of the meds for awhile because of the situation at school - mostly to get the point across to them that they have to work with her/us! and it helped put weight back on her. And because of the weight loss we are going to take her off of it during this summer. She also has the moodiness phase during the day. I do see some improvement when she is off the meds - but it is still a heads up situation. I found some good free info at www.PediatricNeurology.com
[QUOTE=ashamae]I have heard that strattera causes kidney failer and the FDA want to take it of the market. [/QUOTE]
Where did you read that the FDA wants to take it off the market? Only 2 out of 2 million users had a problem, & once off Strattera their livers went back to normal.
my son was put on stratera, and we had a rel bad experience with it. His fingers would go nume, his toes and complained about head acks. This was when he was asleep!Then the big one! His penis would not go down and it begen to hurt him. Nothing that i have tried is'nt working.
Even Natural paths. Nothing seems to work!My son started Strattera 2 weeks ago and yes his dr. said it would take about 5 weeks for it to go into full effect but since he started taking it, he is doing great in school. A complete turn around! Were amazed!! My son has seen every specialist, hes in a special school for kids with adhd and we have tried every medication. All the meds we tried, ritlen-caused nothing, adderal-caused violence, and concerta-caused speed! The dr. didnt want to put him on Strattera because of the side effects he had with adderal but anohter dr. said we should try it. At this point i had taken my son off all medications and me and my husband were going crazy! My son was like Tigger or the enigizer bunny who just kept going and going! On the Strattera, for the first time we can see results, he eats, unlike other medications, were he lost alot of weight. The only side effect we see with Strattera is that he seems to be tired, but to solve that his dr. said to give it to him before bed cause the pill last 24 hours. I thought we would never find a med that would help him, meds effect each child diff. and you just got to keep tryen to find one that works with your child. If you see side effects that is violent, or they dont want to eat, or what ever, pull them off of it dont waist your time with that pill or put your child through that, try something else. If i would had left my son on adderal like his first dr. wanted im sure my son would have killed him self, it effected him that badly and the dr. said hes never heard of that before. If you feel the medication is making your child worse your right!! You no your child better then a dr. Stop that med and try a diff. one! GoodLuck
Hi everyone! I just joined your boards today! My daughter has ADHD. She was diagnosed at 3 1/2 yrs. old. She is now 6 1/2 yrs. old and in 1st grade. She was started off on ritalin and has since changed over to Concerta 18 mg. about 1 1/2 yrs. ago for Kindergarten. The doctor upped her dose of Concerta to the next dose (i forgot the mg. - blue pill) and she gets terrible headaches, stomach aches and won't eat much (also zombie mode). We had the Dr. lower the dose back to 18 mg. and it seems ok, in regards to no headaches and eating better.
Now the 12 hr. time release seems to be "wearing off" as my daughter goes to her afternoon reading/english class. It seems as she's metabolizing it too fast or just has developed a tolerance to the medication. She also goes to after school care until 5:30 every night, and has been "written up" for her "active" behavior. She has another visit with the neurologist in March and hopefully maybe we can put her back on the 4-hour Ritalin and have her take her 2nd dose in the nurse's office after lunch. We'll see what the specialist recommends...I hate the thought of ANY medications, but we're going out of our minds with the teachers and after-care, as well as her "hyperactivity" on weekends (we give her a "break" with the meds on weekends so she can eat!).
Any advice would be greatly recommended!
Thanks,
Corinne in NJ
My daughter (8) just started Strattera (4th day) - she was on Concerta 18mg for 3 months with severe headaches, loss of appetite, and insomnia. After a couple of headaches that ended up in vomiting episodes - we stopped the medication. She has no attention problems, just hyper and impulsive. I will let you know how her journey goes.
The above post was Jan. 12th today Feb. 24 - she is doing great on the Strattera. No headaches, she is eating normally, sleeps well - she may get up to get a drink in the middle of the nite but goes right back to bed & sleep, her behavior at school has greatly improved and at home. She has maintained her personality which is great. The only thing that stands out with the Strattera is in the evening around 4pm she really needs to take a nap or she gets really moody and mouthy in the late evening. But we can live with that, its better than dealing with it all day long.
[QUOTE=juliw70]He said that Strattera was for the behavior, not Attention Deficit. [/QUOTE]
this is really interesting to me. My son has a diagnosis of ADD - inattentive and the doc wants to give him strattera... Behavior is not an issue for us
my son john has been on concerta for about 2 weeks and i see a total differnce in him the only problem i have is that now it seems that it isnt helping as much as it did the first week and he cant sleep the dr told us to give him benadryl for the sleep but when he comes down off the meds he is worse then he was before he started any suggestions[QUOTE=juliw70]I wanted to ask if anyone's child was on Strattera and how they liked or disliked it. My son's doctor wants to put him on it and I've heard a few bad things. I haven't heard anything good. Thanks![/QUOTE]
hello, i do not know if i am doing this right, but here it goes.
my son(9y/o) was put on strattera about 7 months ago and since then he sleeps ALOT better and as long as he sits up front in class he does really well. it has been tons better for him than ritalen{sp},concerta,and adderall which he has been on all of. i really got interested in the fact that it is not controlled.thanks
It has been a little over a month since my son has been on Strattera and he is doing great! We had tryed 3 other types of medication that did not work and thats when we decided to have him see a specialist. That doctor examined our son and said he had add not adhd. I was amazed at this because he was diagnosed as having adhd by 2 other drs. When our son was on the other meds it semmed as if we were giving him pure speed, it would get better for about a week or so and then he became 10 times worse then when he wasnt on meds. The other drs were giving him concerta, aterol, and ritlin witch were all speeders. This dr. said we needed to give him a downer (Strattera) and it worked like a charm within 2 days we saw a diff. and the dr. said it would take a whole 5 days. Strattera was causing him to get extreamly drowsey and he started getting heartburn. so the dr said to give it to him at dinner time to ride of heartburn and because it is a pill that works 24 hours a day that he could take before bed so he wasnt so tired and it would still last throughout the next day untill dinner time again. It has taken 2 years to find a medication that would work for my son. and i also had a feeling that my son was mis diagnosed and he was. he did not have add with hyperness he just had add without hyperness. They gave him pills for a child with adhd and that was the mistake. Now that hes on the right meds he is doing great in school at home and with friends it just makes me mad that it took this long to figure out the problem and because it took so long my son has missed everything from kindergarden to 3rd grade and has learning disabilities. He reads at a 1st grade level. Please Get help if the medication dosent work after 2 months or even one month go to a diff. medication, see diff doctors, dont wait, dont think hes doing a little better, if you dont see a major diff. then the meds arnt working. Please dont wait, the longer you wait the less they learn at school due to their lack of concentration. Yes my son has a learning disability with reading but the teachers and drs. say his iq is higher then other children his age, but because of the add and not being treated properlly in the past, he has missed alot in school, due to concentreation. Within 2 days teachers, and other childrens parents could see the diff. in our son. I find that explaining to everyone that comes in contact with my son like teachers, coaches, boy scout leader, and even other parents that my son has add, seems to help them understand him a little better and seem to be more patient with him. I also have a paper that explaines to people what to expect from my son, how to handle and deal with add. Its not my sons fault our my fault its nobodys fault that he has add it just happens and it is hard. Just remember to please get help and dont wait keep trying. GOOD LUCK!!My stepson was put on Strattera and we had nothing but problems. He had severe memory loss and violent outbursts. These symptoms stopped after we took him off the Strattera. Hope this helps.my son is dexderin for his adhd but the doc want to put him on consoler can any one tell me about it please
My son is on strattera also and we have had a few violent episodes. I do not like it. I will give strattera credit - he has brought home 100% in school. I would like to know any information about natural products or vitamins. Does anyone know anything on this topic? I am concerned about the long range issues with strattera. It is so new, I'm not sure that they know enough about it.My daughter (8) just started Strattera (4th day) - she was on Concerta 18mg for 3 months with severe headaches, loss of appetite, and insomnia. After a couple of headaches that ended up in vomiting episodes - we stopped the medication. She has no attention problems, just hyper and impulsive. I will let you know how her journey goes. My son 6.5 has been on Concerta for 2 yrs. and it helps with his staying still and paying attention, etc. but does nothing to help his impulsiveness and ANGER 
! We tried to put him on Straterra but we just had no luck with it. He was not only all over the place but his misbehaving got worse. He is on 54 mg. of concerta and we are having real bad problems with his behavior. Mostly in late afternoon, almost like the med's have worn off. He's more likely to get into trouble in evening and night. Late afternoon at after kid care at school and it ended up getting him kicked out of after kid care. I am looking for help for his behavioral problem. 
I wanted to ask if anyone's child was on Strattera and how they liked or disliked it. My son's doctor wants to put him on it and I've heard a few bad things. I haven't heard anything good. Thanks! my five year old child has been taking strattera for 12 months. I like it much better than the others medications we have tried. nothing else seems to work for him.And with the other stuff he was upset about having to take it during the day because he would have to stop what he was doing. strattera is a once a day pill to take in the morning . there is no up and down times and it works for a full 12 hours .Kato are you sure about that? Strattera was only approved in january of this year.My 13 years old son has been on ritalin for few years. He has been doing excellent in school so far. But recently he fainted once, and afterwards, in a different day, he experimented a very strong head ache, so strong that it made him cry. Both symptoms while he was taking a warm shower. Can anybody tell me if this is a secondary effect of the medication? Could the hot/warm temperature plus the medication be related to the symptoms described above? Thanks.
My son has just been diagnosed with ADD and his ped wants to put on Strattera. kato, any side affects? Does anyone else have comments? How about alternative treatments (diets, supplements,etc.). Has anyone had success with non-drug treatments? Since my last posting, my son's dr has added Strattera to his Concerta. He said that Strattera was for the behavior, not Attention Deficit. So now my son takes the two together. The two most common side effects are sleepiness and hunger loss. I have not had any success with non-med treatments. I have restricted sugar and caffiene and I watch for certain dyes. No one treatment seems to work, rather a combination of different things. My son is also starting behavior modification therapy.Hope this helps the last two postings and thanks for all the responses. This has really been an uphill journey for us.
mys son was on strattera for about 6 months and initially it worked but then like all the other meds we have had him on it becomes ineffect after awhile. also he was disinterested in eating and he is small anyway so he could not be allowed to lose any weight. He also has a congenitial heart defect so he needs all the meat on his bone i can get on him.
My 6 year old son has been on strattera for about 2 weeks now for ADHD. Although we haven't seen the full effect because it does take up to 6 weeks, he has had no problems. It has really helped him to control his body (frustration would build all day long then he would explode at the end of the school day). Since being on the strattera he has not had any episodes like that, though at this point he is still rushing to get his work done and is very impulsive. He goes back to the doc. today for a 2 weeks check-up. Well see if he can continue the dose or if they need to add something else.
He has had no side effects from the medicine that we know of. The only thing is the past 2 days he's complained his foot hurts (like it is tired) so well ask if that can be some associated with the Strattera or totally different.
1/12/2004: My daughter (8) just started Strattera (4th day) - she was on Concerta 18mg for 3 months with severe headaches, loss of appetite, and insomnia. After a couple of headaches that ended up in vomiting episodes - we stopped the medication. She has no attention problems, just hyper and impulsive. I will let you know how her journey goes.
2/24/2004: The above post was Jan. 12th today Feb. 24 - she is doing great on the Strattera. No headaches, she is eating normally, sleeps well - she may get up to get a drink in the middle of the nite but goes right back to bed & sleep, her behavior at school has greatly improved and at home. She has maintained her personality which is great. The only thing that stands out with the Strattera is in the evening around 4pm she really needs to take a nap or she gets really moody and mouthy in the late evening. But we can live with that, its better than dealing with it all day long.
TODAY 10/8/2004: Haven't been to the board in a while (life just keeps us all busy). To update you, my daughter is still on Strattera 25mg. She was taking it in the evenings around 7pm, we have now (started in August) changed her to the mornings before school starts. This seems to work better. She has maintained her personality, but on occassion is moody. We have in the last months been working on weight gain. At first it didn't seem to affect her, but the longer she takes the medicine the more her appetite seemed to trail off. So we constantly work on making sure she is eating and she sees the doctor every 3 months to keep a good check on things. She still sleeps well and is doing good in school. We are working on her focusing on getting things done with a daily chart. And she is bad about talking back or giving go to h_ _ _ looks, so we started on Mondays giving her $5 worth of quarters and everytime she does one of the 2 she pays us a quarter - makes her think more now. So at the end of the week she gets to keep what is left and start all over on Monday.
Take care!
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