:confused: im considering going on this drug but i feel it will be a "fake" me- even if my life is better it will feel fake like a substance has created a mirage- any thoughts on that? i wish i didnt feel that way..

Not me... strattera has made able to concentrate, others tell me I'm better at following conversations and make more sense when I speak. My procrastination has gotten a lot better. I am much more conscious of what's going on around me. I've gotten better at following through on things. It shouldn't change your personality in anyway, although everyone reacts differently to meds. I'm just giving you my experience with strattera.

Hey Irishguy,

I hoping thats what is does to me but i cant shake the feeling- and i reaally am trying to change my views, that yes u may be concentrating better- but are you really? i feel like this is who i am for better or worse and taking a substance can only give you a falsehood- and once you stop taking the medication you go back to the "other life". im not critsizing im just trying to make my self more comfortable with meds and my pyschologist suggested i try a blog

I am not very objective as to what I seem like to other people...but I am in no way able to fake anything and get away with it. I still feel like myself and do not feel drugged.

Maybe you are afraid that taking strattera will dampen your personality. It hasn't hurt mine..if anything, I have improved because I have better control over impulse. I am still just as creative and alert as I was before taking strattera.

I definately dont think it will dampen me but on the contrary will better me- i guess what im struggling with is will the improvement will be mine- or medicine and whats the point if u go "back" after stopping the meds:confused:

You may have heard this before, but there is no "magic pill".
In addition to meds it takes a lot of work on your part to get organized and put things together. Meds just help you focus easier in order to get the job done.

You can use the medicine as a teaching "tool". By this, I mean that it can help you get yourself more aware of how your weak spots can be tackled. The areas of your life that are improved by medication can be noted more readily and therefore you can focus your efforts to improve on those areas by other means if you decide to stop the medicine.

My son is a senior in college. He stopped taking meds last summer, but had settled into a way of organizing himself to where he felt he no longer needed them.

I have noticed that he seems more fidgety again and daydreams a lot, but he has maintained his organization skills learned while on strattera. Before meds he was overwhelmed by symptoms to the point of not being able to study. Now he makes excellent grades in spite of no meds. He may find at sometime down the road that he needs help from medication again..perhaps when he begins his career or starts a family. There is nothing wrong with taking meds. We have found them extremely helpful. But we also know there is a lot more to be done than to take a pill.

If you use the meds wisely, the improvement will be all yours :)

thats helpful, thank you

I agee with Gourmet. Medication is only one tool in the treatment of ADHD. It helps you learn to develop processes. It should only calm your mind and not change who you are. If you or others notice a physical or mental change once you take medication, it should be reviewed with your doctor. Maybe you are taking too much or maybe you're taking the wrong medicine. It might be as simple as splitting the dose.

I used to take 60 mg of Strattera in the morning. By 3pm I was ready to fall asleep. I tallked to my psychiatrist and he recommended splitting the dose, because Strattera has a half-life of 5 hours. I now take 50mg in the morning and 25 in the afternoon. Wow, what a difference.

Strattera definatly keeps my mind from wandering. I still get some intrusive thought but they either flash by or happen mush less frequently. Along with learning some coping skills and that I have a disorder and not a screw up has helped quite a lot.