[BamaRedhead]

Anyone have any thoughts on Straterra? I was put on it after eing diagnosed with adult add. I have only taken it a couple of days. The doc put me on 25mg to start with samples and i go up to 40 mg when I get it filled next week.

Thoughts?

Jodie

[mak62184]

Personally, I did not like it at all. I had to take it at night because it made me feel sick to my stomach and sleepy. I also don't think it really helped me. But, everyone is different.

[ndn_butterfly81]

I was just recently diagnosed with adult add also and my doc put me on Strattera too. He started me on 40mg then on week 2 I take 60mg. I really hate it, because it makes me sick and sleepy. But he wants me to try it for at least a month before he will try anything else. I feel more scatterbrained than before and more forgetful too.

[chaotic13]

I was on Strattera briefly about a month before I switched to Adderall. I was told that the Strattera takes a while to notice the effect. I would not expect to see a night and day difference like you do with a stimulant. At the time I went on Strattera I was also depressed and it did seem to make me feel a little better towards the end of the month. However, this could have been a placebo effect. I did not notice any changes in my ADHD symptoms in that time.

[ndn_butterfly81]

Thanks for the info. I don't think it's going to help me either. When I go back for my next appointment I'm sure we'll try something else. Is Ritalin better than Adderall? Or is there something better than another?

[chaotic13]

I've never taken Ritalin so I don't know how different the two are. I do know that it seems like the whole medication process is one of trial and error. I feel like my dr is just giving me stuff to try and then letting me tell him if I liked it or not. The last time I went he we were working on managing my BP and he gave me 3 different Rx... Told me to try each one for a week and keep a BP log. Seems like the process would be more structured...but in my case with my doc it isn't

[ndn_butterfly81]

well thank you for the advice. I hate to think about trying a whole bunch of different meds, but really need something that will work for me. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what my doc says when I go back to see him next month. This can br really frustrating!!
well good luck with you're meds and thanks again for the advice!

[carolinagirl]

I've been trying to "work out" my dosage of straterra for over a month-- and the only time I ever feel well is if i DO NOT take the medication. Therefore, I'm not a big fan of straterra. I have taken it before bed, in the morning and in the afternoon-- and it either makes me lie awake all night and/or be extremely out of it and tired all day.

However, I am also aware that everyone reacts differently to medication-- so straterra may work well for you. My physician personally uses straterra and thinks it is a wonderful blessing...

Good luck finding the medication that is right for you.

[ndn_butterfly81]

Well I ggo to my doc today to try something different. The Strattera did nothing for me. Hope he finds a good med that works quickly! That way I'm not having to try so many.

[Simcha]

Originally Posted by ndn_butterfly81

Well I ggo to my doc today to try something different. The Strattera did nothing for me. Hope he finds a good med that works quickly! That way I'm not having to try so many.

I'm surprised that I find a lot of doctors that prescribe Strattera as the first medication to treat your ADHD, instead of a stimulant. Heck, they prescribed my sister Wellbutrin (an anti-depressant) for her first ADHD medication, and I'm not surprised that it has no effect on her symptoms. She does not have any health or mental health problem that would contraindicate prescribing a stimulant either. The first-line treatment as FDA approved for ADHD are the stimulant class of drugs. Ritalin is only the most well known (due to the massive advertising campaign in the late 80's and throughout the 90's), but there are several forms and formulas of the myriad of stimulants (used for over 50 years safely, FYI).

Strattera doesn't usually work as well compared to the stimulant class of medications. Unfortunately some doctors aren't very educated about ADHD or ADHD treatment (especially in adults), and they have unsupported "beliefs" about stimulants, which usually consist of: 1) the adult is drug seeking, and/or the doc wants to rule out drug seeking behavior; 2) stimulants will make the patient a drug addict/dependent; 3) they believe that ADHD doesn't really exist; 4) they are trying to please the patient or the child patient's parents, without causing what they erroneously believe to be harm to the child (by prescribing stimulants).
I'm sure there are more reasons but that's off the top of my head the most common ones. Sigh-- ignorance prevails sometimes even in psychiatry.

Sometimes they are legitimately not prescribed, depending on the medical history of the patient. If a patient has ADHD and Bipolar Disorder (1 or 2) for instance, in many cases it is contraindicated to prescribe a stimulant as it can cause serious problems for the patient with Bipolar. If they do prescribe it for a patient with ADHD comorbid to Bipolar then they are closely monitored. I'm sure that they probably (but I'm unsure) do the same for folks who have comorbid psychotic type disorders. Another reason to prescribe something else in place of a stimulant is if they have a health condition like a heart problem or thyroid disorder that might be severe enough to contraindicate it (but even with those problems, they can oftentimes still prescribe a stimulant).

Are you seeing psychiatrist or family doctor/general practitioner/other practitioner? Do you have any other disorder that might be complicating your ADHD treatment (and account for the Strattera not working well)?
There is no guarantee that a stimulant would work better, as it's a question of trial and error adjustment, and just as with all medications, sometimes people have side effects that outweigh continuing the drug.
I hope your doc really finds something that works for you. If he doesn't, I would personally find another doc-- from what I know now about ADHD and it's treatment (and I make it a point to learn as much as I can), and actually the psychiatric system in general, I don't waste any time with doctors who I discover don't know that much about my disorder (common).
Anyway, that was far longer than I wanted it to be! Good luck!!!!

[jasen]

Thanks for this post. It really helped me understand more about the drug