Is strattera a stimulant?

I thought syrattera wasnt a stimulant and wanted to try it for my adhd because the only thing my pdoc will treat my adhd with is welllbutrin and telling me to get workbooks. The wellbutrin helps my deoression but only barely helps my adhd at all.

I brought up strattera with my pdoc and he said no because its a stimulant like adderall. Is he wrong or right? Or in between? I really need help with my adhd so if anyone knows any for sure non stimulant adhd meds let me know.

RisuNeko

Strattera is not a stimulant. It is a (SNRI) antidepressant class medication. (serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) It was approved for the use in ADHD patients but it is long acting and has been helpful in some people with ADHD but not as effective as the stimulants for most. It can cause insomnia. I have ADHD. My first pdoc prescribed it to me but I refused to take it because I already have insomnia. It may not cause this in you but since it is a 24hour action medication, I declined to take it.

It might be that since it deals with norepinephrine that it works similar to stimulants but he is a little off in his describing it as a stimulant. It is not.

Hope this helps.

Weird how doctors are different. I tried Wellbutrin because I heard it might help and my doc was OK with it but at the same time he says it does nothing for ADD. And he was totally correct.

thats so weird. I know snri's are not stimulants. Ive been on effexor before and been fine isnt that an snri too? My pdoc seems to think everything is going to cause mania. Im really not very sensitive to stimulants. A friend of mine who also has adhd gave me 10 20mg adderalls one time during finals (which is when i usually go manic) this is before i was diagnosed. ( and yes i know youre not suppised to share pills but it was college and i was in a pinch. Those 10 days were the most normal and effective i jave ever felt. I wasnt scattered or manic. I was just a normal person who could actually focus for once. But i cant tell my pdoc that without him thinking im a druggie can I?

I've never felt anything resembling mania on Ritalin. I have though on SSRIs. One really made me manic. That risk seems not to exist with me and Ritalin. If anything as long as it's in my system it makes me MORE in control of my emotions. The hard part for me is when it wears off. I chose not to take Ritalin anymore but that is based on other things, I feel it messes with my creativity.

A lot of people who get manic take stimulants and most tolerate them well, especially if they are on a stabilizing med also. Some of course do not tolerate the med and get sort of hyper. But just strictly personally I have seen hyper people calm down on Ritalin instead of the opposite.

It's always hard to know how to tell a doc that you tried pills prescribed to someone else. I have wanted to as well, but I know how it will look and I don't want to risk losing other "narcotic" meds in the process. So if someone has a suggestion how to say this in a good way to a doc I'm also interested in hearing...

Yes i would be interested to. I think he knows i have tried sone drugs in college maybe i can introduce it that way? "hey, when i was in my experimental drug phase in college a friend of mine..." He seems unshakable in his no stimulant rule and by persisting on the issue i feel like hes just going to think im drug seeking, but all i really want is more relief of adhd aymptoms than low dose wellbutrin can provide, which is like none. Adhd ia ruling my life right now and its only going to geg worse if i get into grad school soon like im planning/hoping.

It's not a stimulant. It's mechanism of action I guess you could think of as stimulating maybe. It's a selective norephinephrine reuptake inhibitor. It doesn't reuptake serotonin at all. Wellbutrin is a dopamine and norephinephrine reuptake inhibitor. Stimulants work by increasing norephinephrine and dopamine release and by blocking reuptake of dopamine and norephinephrine so it works partially like a stimulant, but not all the way if that makes sense.

That makes some sense. So it works kind of thr same way as stimulants do but its not a stimilant. But it shouldnt matter anyway because for all i know srimulants dont cause mania in me. But my pdoc doesnt know or wont listen.

That's frustrating. I hope you find something that works.

I sent him a semi-fiery email (it was more assertive than fiery) saying that i really need my adhd addressed and that i now know that syrattera is an snri like effexor which i have been on and not had any problems with. I also braved up and told him that i have used adderall during a prefinals period in college back when i was still experimenting with drugs and that period was the most normal i had ever felt and the only time i didnt go manic/hypomanic during finals week. I dont know what he will make of that. I also emphasized that i am not seeking out a particular drug i just want my symptoms addressed rather than just swept under the rug and i think hes being unnecessarily cautious. I almost never get manic. I spend most of my time depressed. And i am not semsotive to anu drug class including stimulants as far as i know.

Since I have ADHD with the H in (bold) I do not get a hypomanic reaction to stimulants but I do to certain antidepressants.

Is that because the stimulants calm you down so much?

They think, emphasis on the think, that ADHD has to do with under activation of various areas of the brain, primarily the temporal lobe, during certain tasks such as time discrimination and other executive tasks. The stimulants work by activating these parts of the brain. Mania, they think, primarily has to do with changes in the levels of serotonin. I'm guessing that's why stimulants wouldn't trigger mania? From what I've read, during episodes of mania, there are higher than in unipolar and/or non-depressed patients levels of norephinephrine. I guess giving something like wellbutrin or Strattera or a stimulant that increases NE levels could theoretically potentiate a manic episode. Maybe prolong it or worsen it. But I'm having a hard time seeing how wellbutrin or Strattera or even a stimulant would directly trigger a manic episode. I don't know. Maybe I'm not seeing something, but I don't think so.

Your thinking sounds reasonable. I think pdocs are just trying to cover their a**es.

+1 on what sideblinded said.

I've refused Strattera, because of my previous overwhelming adversion to medication, and stimulants were bare accepted by me. I also refused Strattera because of the many problems i've read about it.

SNRIs aren't stimulants, and I don't know that much about antidepressants, but i've tried a few SSRIs a 1 SNRI to no avail.

I read recently though MOAI, one of the older types of antidepressants can/do/have a stimulant type of affect, and there's a problem with blood pressure and diet, and taking stimulants with an MOAI is not advised (or VERY closely watched by a skilled and experienced doctor, and following their instructions to the letter)

I KNOW how difficult it is to get prescribed the right thing for ADHD. I suffered endlessly with my previous pdoc. I also was all to well aware of how I could/would come off if I kept on about prescribing something.

I actually went through asking for several suggestions and alternatives that I was obsessively forced to research, but to name two, Wellbutrin and Pseudoephridrine and ending up buying Sudafed and saying to my previous Psychiatrist "LOOK IT IS BLOODY DIFFERENT FROM MPH, STOP TELLING ME DEX isn't different and don't have different affects!", but ultimately DEX I knew with a high probability it would be far more likely to be beneficial for my ADHD symptoms.
(I had experience at 17&18 with street AMP, and all the things I read online confirmed my experiences and what I was trying to say to my idiotic incompetent scared and yes covering their own *** pdoc)

This is in the UK though, i'm quite suprised from what I read you're struggling to get a stimulant like Adderall or DEX in the states!

I self medication with Sudafed (PSE) for a while. (not that I recommend it ofc, it did help me better than MPH, this is just my experience)

I just want to say though, I completly understand where you're coming from and to hang in there, and don't spend unecessary time with a pdoc that doesn't understand or have issues with medication and doesn't prescribe based on an individuals symptoms/diagnosis.

Finding someone who has experience and even interest with ADHD, is the BEST thing someone can do in this situation. It took over 2 years before I was switched to someone who has an interest (clearly suffered with) in ADHD, and the difference between pdoc is night and day, it is UNBELIEVABLE (and i've been left quite angry and somewhat bitter about it), and now i'm prescribed DEX. (I'm looking into mood stablisers now, but all the same).

Personally I think any one who is a specialist in ADHD or Bipolar for that matter, should be hugely experienced in the other disorder as well, because they are frequently comorbid and alike.

Here's a video I found earlier which helped me understand the problem a bit better


I went through hell because of this issue of medication and it/pdoc almost killed me.

Try to find a new pdoc, it's the best thing you can do, I cannot recommend this enough.
Goodluck!

That was a helpful video. I wish my psychiatrist would listen to the part that says after a stable mood has been reached and a mood stabilizer is being taken, a stimulant can be added without an increased risk of mania.

Strattera is life changing for me! I'm angry because my psy was treating me only for depression. What I did not know is that I scored positive for ADHD on a test she gave me. However, it was her nurse practioneer who looked into my test results after the meds I was taking were not helping my inability to focus. She put me on Strattera. I was able to go back to work two weeks later and right now, can honestly say I don't remember when I have felt this good! The only side effect for me is dry mouth.

That's good news! My pdoc still refuses to evaluate me for adhd even though I have presented him a list of all of my symptoms and believe you me i have most symptoms and signs of adult adhd. He just ignores me and said flat out last time I saw him that he wouldn't evaluate me for the rest of my 3 months at the clinic before I have to move out of county and get a new mental health team. That will be good riddance. I'm going to try to find a psychiatrist who specializes in both bipolar and adhd. I hope i can find someone good. I hate pdoc hunting. It's such a pain.