Hi! I have been on Strattera 6 months. My doctor has increased it so that I have been on 130mgs for about a month. I am a 110 lb. female. My family and friends notice that I slur my words and have a tendency to stutter. Have any of you experienced this side effect? Thanks so much!

I had different side effects...not what you're experiencing. But, I read large dosages increase the chance of side effects. Why don't you reduce your dosage?

From my doctor and a book I read, the Strattera dosage is determined as 1 mg per kilogram of weight. 1 Kg = 2.2 lbs. So, at 110 lbs, that would be 50 mgs. Did you work up to this dosage? Maybe your doctor has determined you need a higher dosage?

For my weight, I was prescribed 80 mg. I went on 40 mg for 2 weeks, then 80mg. I felt side effects at the first 40 mg and then when I went up to 80mg. Since I had more side effects at 80mg, I experimented with the dosage. I tried 40 and 60 for a week. When I went to 80, some side effects returned but subsided with time. I've determined 80mg works best for me. My goal was to find the lowest dosage with acceptable results and minimum side effects.

Koty, I've been on Strattera for about 1.5 years, and just went cold turkey. (from 80 mg per day, 40 morning, 40 evening) The side effects of coming off the strattera aren't that much fun, but I think it's worth it, and here's why.

I found that I couldn't do any real deep thinking while on the stuff. The only thoughts coming out were task-related and problem-solving, but I was totally unable to emotionally connect with my wife. The only way I could do any deeper thinking was to have some bourbon.

I had some speech issues also... I'd often start a sentence and then just stop and not finish what I was saying. This drove my wife crazy. I also had difficulty with word recall. I'd often be talking about the um... the ah... umm..... and my wife would say "refridgerator?" or whatever, to find the word for me.

Now that I'm off the Strattera, I'm amazed how I can converse with my wife - that my mind isn't a blank slate any more, nor am I an emotionless zombie.

good luck in figuring it out - I know that dealing with brain chemistry drugs is messing with big guns, so I hope you have a really good psychiatrist.

:soapbox: soap box alert: (do NOT let your regular M.D. try to play super hero and think he's a psychiatrist - what I've learned is that for my form of A.D.D. my doctor gave me an SSRI, which is the worst thing you can do. He put me right into panic attacks. I quickly changed doctors, and got a good psychiatrist to handle my brain chemistry issues.)

anyway, good luck
Scott

Scott, which SSRI were you on?

Koty, I am female, on 80mg, and 125lb.
It sounds like you are taking a lot according to my doctor's preferences.
Did he increase your dosage of strattera because it wasn't working for you?
I haven't noticed any side effects other than dry mouth and insomnia.

~gourmet~

My doctor felt I wasn't getting results, so he increased it gradually.

Hi! I have been on Strattera 6 months. My doctor has increased it so that I have been on 130mgs for about a month. I am a 110 lb. female. My family and friends notice that I slur my words and have a tendency to stutter. Have any of you experienced this side effect? Thanks so much!
That sure is a large dose for someone of your size. Lilly only recommends 80mg per day, but I have seen some people prescribed 100mg-110mg per day. If I remember they weighed 170 lbs - 200 lbs. though.

Is your doctor a general practice doctor or a psychiatrist? I would explain your family's observations to your doctor. This is something that needs to be re-evaluated.

Good luck.

This seems to be a reoccuring theme in the Strattera section of this message board. Light females have been prescribed rather large doses. I mean, I'm 6'1 280 lbs and the max my psychiatrist has mentioned for me in the future is 80mg, or more likely 100mg. He mentioned 120 mg once, but that would be much later on. And again, for someone who is my size. How can a 110 lb woman and a 280 lb man be heading toward the same dosage of medication?

Scott, which SSRI were you on?
Imnapl, my M.D. put me on Lexapro, which made me panicky. Since writing my last message I checked, and found that my Cymbalta is another SSRI. So much for my theory about Seratonin. :foot: Maybe it's just the formulation of Lexapro?

Well, my quick assesment of the info in the book by Dr. Amen is that it sounds like i may have Limbic system ADD in which case I need more dopamine, not Seratonin. I'm really tempted to just spend the money and get a Spect scan, so I can know for sure and quit guessing.

An update since I quit taking strattera - my emotions have since turned sour again - it seems that the only emotions that work for me now are anger and negativity. The 5-HTP that my psychiatrist gave me seems to maybe be making it worse, although I only just started. Last night is the first time I ever remember sleeping 12 hours and still feeling drowsy getting up. :confused:

thanks for any advice anybody can give
Scott

I have been on Strattera for over a month now and am only on 80mg and I am 215lb. Your dosage does sound high. Then again I don't think mine is working so perhaps I need to be on a bigger dose.