My daughter was on Ritilan LA for about a year and a half. Although she was a tiny child, there was still concern that during this time she only gained two lbs, and 1 in in height. We started 18mg of strattera one week ago today. I also started keeping a food log, just so I could see what she was eating. Within a two days I realized that although she was eating on the Ritilan, she wasn't asking for food. But with the strattera she would eat a good meal, and three hours later she was coming to us and telling us she was hungry. She gained one lbs in this week. We start 25mg strattera today. Although she wasn't zoombie like on the ritilan, she clearly did loss her bubbly, silly personality. Within a couple days on the strattera I saw she was calmer, but was still herself. I do not think the 18mg of strattera was giving her the focus ability the ritilan LA did, so I am hopeing that 25mg of strattera will help that. We will see this week. I am glad though to see her eating eating eating
Hope5
I've been on straterra for 4 weeks and I have lost 15 lbs, but part of my self medication was eating, I am also 33years old. I think you must weigh all the factors, but it is definitely an appetite supressant.
wow...my son is 11 years old and takes 80 mg of strattera once a day. he has gained from 94 lbs to 117 lbs since Octboer of 2004. I am really trying to either switch him becuz for some reason I just cant see it helping him but they upped the doseage last friday because I refused to give him Effexor...a new medication she wanted to try. I heard some horrible stories from Effexor and it really put fear in me. So now he is taking 80 mg a day. I give it to him at ngiht after dinner on a full tummy and he sleeps well.
I started taking strattera two weeks ago. This is the first timeI realize the weight thing with stimulants is an issue, my 9 year old son is on adderall and has been for 3 years. before that we tried straterra to no avail it just didnt work. anyway, were you or your husband thin as children, sometimes i think the stimulants take a little to much of the blame, if you make your child eat 3 meals a day and make him eat everything you put on his plate then he is getting enough nutrition he may just be naturally thin, (something he will appreciate later in life) I was stick thin as a child just naturally and my children are the same way but the thing is I have one who takes adderall and one who takes nothing (doesnt have ADHD). so, unless his weight is so low he will be ill I wouldnt change anything.
I dont give my son the choice of what to eat and when, he eats what i give him or he loses privledges, ( given the choice he wouldnt eat either). I also keep his favorite snacks in the house at all times that way i can say do you want a cereal bar and he will get one. it also helps that he doesnt have to stop what he is doing to eat it. he can take it with him and play on the computer or read or whatever. I have found that he gets involved in things and just doesn't remember to eat.
My son was switched to strattera from concerta for other reasons but also when he was on concerta he just would not eat. he even refused to take the concerta because he said it made him not want to eat and he is only 51/2 years old! Anyway he's been on strattera now for 2 1/2 weeks. I stopped giving him the concerta for 1 week now even though the MD wants me to continue it for 3 weeks until the strattera starts taking effect. So the first day I took him off he eats well and continue to eat well.. too well actually. I give his strattera at night after dinner. He sleeps well too. I hope this helps.
Unfortunately we tried the Strattera last week. Within 2 days he became angry, irritable, developed a fever (that lasted for 6 days), slept for 30 hours STRAIGHT, had muscle aches, etc. It freaked me out. He took his last one last Thursday and is finally back to normal. He wants to gain weight but is tired of arguing with me over trying to force him to eat even when he's not hungry. I've read everything I can about this problem with the meds, tried buying only foods he likes, etc......it sucks. But I can't take him off the meds, because the quality of his life, his self esteem, etc. have improved so vastly and he is happy. I was stick thin as a kid so maybe that has something to do with it.
when i was a kid and i couldn't really understand the concept of needing to eat even though i was never hungry (at this point i make myself eat something even when i'm on meds only because i know i have to eat) my parents timed my meds really carefully. i took one when i came down for breakfast in the morning and by the time i finished my food it took effect. make sure he doesn't get involved in some interesting conversation while he's eating, though, or else he won't finish eating before he's no longer hungry. then i took one right after lunch and by the end of recess it took effect. it wore off at like 4 in the afternoon and then i ate dinner at night.
btw i was on ritalin. even though they timed it pretty well i was still a tiny tiny tiny child. keep in mind though, i was a gymnast. i was always really small but it was from the gymnastics. i think the tininess was exasorbated by the decreased appetite, though