Straterra | ADHD Information

I will be starting strattera tomorrow. I have been on zoloft for years now. I take Benedryl at night to sleep. And I drink alcohol on a regular basis. I realize this isn't healthy. I am a 42 year old female and I would like some feedback on Strattera. Does anyone like it? Does it work well for you? I won,t take the Benedryl anymore because I don,t know if I should mix those. What can I expect from this medicine? side effects, How long it lasts? Could someone fill me in?I would appreciate it so much. ThankYou

 

congrats on the plunge.  I'm 57yo male; started 30days ago (40mg for 4 days then 40 in AM and 40 in PM).  No major side effects 'ceptin cold feet.  I take Lexapro - much nicer than Zooloft and use 1/2 dose trazadone generic for sleep.  Been reading reports from people for first time tonite - EtOH (alcohol) will probably screw up an accurate personal experience on either antidepressants and/or strattera.  This is VOE (voiceofexperience).  I've stopped all drinking after decades of regular use.  After 20 years, i can finally figure out what my 'real' chemistry is.

Do a Google on strattera.  Found some interesting stuff at Harvard using Goog's university search.  Your reactions to Strattera will probably be will probably be as unique as your personality and fingerprints.  The first week may seem strange.  Just hang on!  It takes 10 days/ 2wks to saturate your neurons - kinda like the SSRI's of which Zooloft is one variety.  This is an SNRI, selective norepenepherin reuptake inhibitor.  It works by keeping your neuron's norephendpherin active longer instead of being reabsorbed immediately by the nerve cell.

I feel better now than I have in 30 years; as they say, your results may vary.  Try to stick with it at least three weeks, a month is better.  And, stop the EtOH ASAP.

SantaFeADD

Well I have been taking 40mg of straterra in the morning and 18mg in the afternoon, I also take 300mg of zoloft once a day. I am not feeling so dizzy anymore and strangly enough I have no desire to drink alcohol. I am still extremly active and I think I can think better(my mind has slowed down). So for now things are lookin pretty good.

 

My Dr started me off easily on Strattera: 25mg for 3-5 days, 50mg for 3-5 days, 75mg for 3-5 days on up to 125mg.  I'm at 100 now and it's great.  You don't get the full effect for quite some time, like 4 - 6 weeks.  I was taking Adderall 15mg, not enjoying the roller-coaster, and drinking too much EtOH to calm down at the end of the day.  Apparently they are finding that Adderall interferes with Strattera so that it takes longer for the Strattera to work effectively.  At 100mg Strattera I've quit the Adderall and I really don't have the string desires for EtOH anymore.  As long as none of the side effects start kicking up this is great!   An earlier post asked how long it lasts.  http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic3/strattera_cp.htm states that the half-life of Strattera is 5 hours.  However, the effects of Strattera build up over time so the serum level of Strattera must not tell the whole story.  My Dr told me that if it worked, it would work 24/7 and not interfere with sleep.  So far, if anything, I'm more sleepy.