Strattera and Depression.. | ADHD Information

I like the color Idea!

I have been taking Strattera since March 05. In the beginning I had trouble going to sleep...staying a sleep...then I wanted to nap all day. It is better now. I want to give Adderrall sp? a try I don't feel the Stratterra is helping all that much. I Have had depression for at least 20 years. I have been on tntc different anti D meds with little to no relief. I have been doing better just recently... I'm Reading... another self help book. Very interesting book, has helped...Title, "Excuse me your life is waiting" By Lynn Grabhorn.

I think and hope...as I get my add more under control... I won't be depressed.

LTC1...more similarities between us....depression for..ever....lots of med trials. Have you tried Celexa? Best ever for me, the last four years. I'm thinking perhaps Ritalin instead of Strattera....why do you think Adderal might be good for you?

Hey David....You CAN be bitchy! In Spanish even!! I'm very impressed! I've gotten much better at pre-emptive verbal strikes....the words come when I'm in the situation, not later. But if I ever have advance warning of the need, I might consult with you first.

As Martha Steward might say..."It's a GOOD thing!"

Okay, Dave....I'll start posting in MY favorite color. Can you guess what it is?

Dave....do you ever get cranky and bitchy? I mean, the male equivalent of bitchy? You seem like such an optimist! I want some of that!!

[QUOTE=LTC1]I like the color Idea!

I think and hope...as I get my add more under control... I won't be depressed.

[/QUOTE]
Color is a key to my coping mechanisms. I color code a lot of things. I find that color even effects my mood, and the mood of others around me. I work on farms, so I wear boots and jeans, but I'll wear long sleeve white dress shirts, light blue dress shirts, and grey dress shirts. My clients seem to open up more when I do. When I travel, I wear nicer clothes, with dark long sleeve shirts, like midnight blue or black. I've sensed a response to authority when I wear those in those conditions.

At home, b/c I've sensitive skin, I prefer to wear nothing but tagless bermudas, except in the winter then I like pima cotton underclothing, and fleece synthetics. I hate shoes, and commute barefoot, only booting up at the last intersection b4 my stop.

Boy, was that distracted! I wonder if anyone has tried Straterra + ADDrall, or Ritalin? Straterra is an AD/HD med, but it has a distinctly different non-stim MOA (mode of action). As I've heard a lot of complaints a/b it solo, what a/b a reduced rate CNS stim + Strat? Ask your dalks, and see what they say. Could be a kicking foot combination.

Considered comorbidity, has your dalk? I take Cymbalta for the ADHD benefit, but primarily for the anti-D factor, which calms my bitchiness. I used to have such a short fuse. Now I have a fuse, but it de-fuses rather rapidly, which I like b/c then I can dispute calmly and logically, in stead of impulsively and blurtedly. I can be verbally / emotionally abusive, which has contributed to a lot of the marital strife in my family. It was a coping mechanism as a child, b/c it drove away attackers from my ADHD events, but that is not constructive as an adult.

Good luck to us all, and keep posting your stories. They do help us out, evidently.

Thanks!

D

David, I'm sure the comorbidity of depression and ADD will come up....if I can restrain myself from giving my 'dalk' a sharp tongue-lashing because he never considered ADD before...although I ALWAYS had the lingering problem of difficulty concentrating, focusing and being motivated, once we found an effective anti-d.

In fact, he asked me why I drank, and I told him that I felt guilty because I was never motivated to do what I had to do at home, particularly after a day at work trying to concentrate and juggle too much. As if I had 'used up' my mental and emotional energy during the day. He knew I couldn't 'thought-stop', but would obsess about things...like some kind of broken record, playing over and over and over and over.....

I am so glad that you are all here because no one...NO ONE... I've talked to understand like you do...the apprehension, the confusion...the certainty that ADD explains you...when so many people still think it's an excuse. I know once I get past the adjustment phase, and grieving the loss of...hmm, my self-deprecating way of life? The idea that I shoulda, woulda...if only I coulda. I will get to a place where I can accept myself as I am...and maybe discover a way to tap all those ADD qualities that I always thought were liabilities.

Well, anyway.....Thanks.

Joyous5638578.5850231481 [QUOTE=Joyous56]Hey David....You CAN be bitchy! In Spanish even!! I'm very impressed! I've gotten much better at pre-emptive verbal strikes....the words come when I'm in the situation, not later. But if I ever have advance warning of the need, I might consult with you first.

As Martha Steward might say..."It's a GOOD thing!"[/QUOTE]

Yeah, it was a great way to pass the two hours waiting for the next flight. Do you know that in Costa Rica there is no authority available over American Airlines employees on weekends? All I kept doing was explaining the situation, and asking them to let me on the plane. When they'd say they didn't have the authority, I'd ask "may I speak with your supervisor?" I made it up three levels, then struck out.

So it wasn't just learning to express myself in Spanish, I was also testing the system to see how far I could push. I learned that in college, where we had to role play international politics, and keep the world from nuclear disaster.

Then we were challenged in a sales and marketing course that no does not mean no, it means try again with a different tactic. So, with time to kill, I hone my skills...

How utterly ADHD of me...

Once I defended our community from a liquor license, and won. Several people thought I was a lawyer... Hey, all that TV paid off, eh? hehe

Dress like one, talk like one, act like one, and they'll beleive you.
OMG, I've even done that in the ER of hospitals. Twice now I've been asked to assist b/c they were short handed, and I look like an EMT. Which I am, btw, but a volunteer ski patrol, so I have a utility belt, and wear the dark clothes thing, and the ADDitude.

REmember the TV show, the pretender? I can do a lot of that.

Remember the movie Catch Me If You Can? Frank Abagnale? I met him and talked to him for a while. It's all about confidence and projected perception.

[QUOTE=Joyous56]

I am concerned that he may continue to be reluctant to prescribe a stimulant because of the addictive potential. I've never gotten into drugs...and even when I had tons of them at my disposal, I never overmedicated. Addictive potential to the non-AD/HD maybe, but not to the properly medicated/supervised ADr. And the nOrmal who gets addicted to stims is psychologically addicted, not physically addicted. Develops a tolerance, too, which is a reaction of the body increasing it's metabolic rate in processing the molecule. Huge difference, medically. Besides, the doses for AD/HD are quite low compared to the abused rates.

And the abused compound (methamphetamine: 1-phenyl-2-methylaminopropane; d-phenylisopropylmethyl-amine) is different from the medicinal compounds (amphetamine: dl-alpha-methylphenethylamine, 1-phenyl-2-aminopropane, beta-aminopropylbenzene); methamphetamine + amphetamine; dexidrine; methylphenidate; deximethylphenidate; etc.

There are a lot of chemical biology differences, such as blends, enantiomeric ratios, formulation inclusions, impurities, etc. that differentiate the beneficials from the junk. Why do you think they call it "Junk"? (junk is heroin, which had it's medicinal applications).

Listen to this: the main reason doctors do not readily make AD/HD diagnoses, nor prescribe stimulants as mitigation, is because of their medical malpractice insurance. They are afraid of a law suit.

They are AFRAID!

Make sense?

Fear is a lack of faith, and faith requires belief. Belief comes from education and experience, so we as those who have suffered MISDIAGNOSES need to calmly and professionally educate and share our experiences with those who make these decisions.

Well, anyway.....Thanks. On behalf of my contributions, you are welcome. And thanks to you for your help! D[/QUOTE]

Davidornado38578.613599537

I haven't tried Celexa. The reason for wanting to try Adderal is the number of posts on the board that say how much it has helped.

[QUOTE=Joyous56]

Okay, Dave....I'll start posting in MY favorite color. Can you guess what it is? uuuhhhh, mmmm, GREEN???

Dave....do you ever get cranky and bitchy? I mean, the male equivalent of bitchy? You seem like such an optimist! I want some of that!!

[/QUOTE]

Hi JOY of my threads, what a wonderful color! I like green too, b/c of photosynthesis.

I've been calling our forums a "Tapestry", b/c if it is made up of individuals adding to individual threads, then we must be creating a masterpiece. Kind of like a DNA molecule in construction.

Yes, I get cranky and mean. Like yesterday. I posted a vent that I really meant, and it wasn't uplifting. My wife (legally we're still married, but she has definetly left me) stole my guns and sold them for a dime on the dollar. One alone was worth ,000.00, and she sold it and another for 0.00.

More than anything she's done, she even says she hates me, this lit me up.

Remember I got fired in June? I'm suing them out of vengeance. That's pretty bitchy, I think. For m. That's real bitchy.

Maybe once or twice a month. But I calm down real fast, and usually end the conversation with a surreal calm. So they are still yelling, and I say, very calmly, I'm not yelling, why are you? This heaps burning coals on their heads. So I'm vindictive. I'm combative, and competitive, and will take on a loosing argument just to see if I can win.

I forgot this part: you know how we're always talking about an inner child? I have an inner warrior. I've always thought I was a warrior without a war. Too young for 'Nam, to old for the rest. I'm very competitive, and hate to loose.

I have nothing to loose, and sometimes do turn it around. Several times in the past year I've taken up disputes with the airline authorities when I miss a flight (I flew on 280 planes last year), even in spanish, to hone my negotiation skills. I was even thrown off an airline for being "beligerent". Hey, I was just practicing arguing. I've even done it in Spanish, so I could practice spanish style combat (verbal).

I don't do it 'cuz I'm angry, as a matter of fact I'm very calm, but it lights them up. I got thrown out of an airport once by security, but then when I showed them my credentials, they reversed their position. But they did follow me around until I got on the airplane.

ADHD events.
Davidornado38578.5721643519

Has anyone here experienced depression on Strattera? I read it was one of the less common side effects, but it feels like I've gotten more depressed since I went on it.

However, I started Strattera the day after my ADD diagnosis...and maybe I'm just depressed because I have ADD.

Also...I'm not sleeping as well, tossing and turning and being over aware of every little sound (like my ceiling fan goes click,click,click, which I never noticed before). Insomnia could be causing me to feel more 'down' than usual as well.

Plus...the Strattera doesn't seem to change anything...which is depressing in itself.

Sometimes I think a rubber room looks pretty good.

Hang in there, Joyce, you'll bounce back. And not off the walls, either...

Hey, what's your favorite color? Can you guess what mine is?

I feel better comm'ing in my color than in black. That's a downer. Try it sometime. I mean, not black, but your favorite color. Man, words are hard. They can get you in trouble.

I like pink too, but my feminine side comes out. It's not that I'm gay, or anything like that (but my boyfriend is). I guess it's one of my inner children. Not that I have any gay ones, or anything like that. Oh, I better shut up, before I say something politically correct.