Hello,

My name is Andy and I am 27 years old. I was just diagnosed with ADD (innatentive) yesterday and given a free month supply of samples for Strattera. The Doc started me on 60mg daily (move to 80mg in 1 week), which I thought from what I read is kind of high (most people I've seen start on 25mg or 40mg. Also, I'm a lightweight with meds as I'm only 155lbs and 5'10"). But I took his advice and took the first 60mg pill today. I usually have anxiety when I take medications (and only then), but so far no panic attacks and no side effects yet (only been 2 hours though ;) ). Anyway, I'll keep everyone posted of my progress.

~Andy

Hmmmm, that didn't take long to change. 30 minutes later I have some pretty good dry mouth (keeping water bottle within reach at all times). My muscles feel tired and I'm getting shaky. Then all of a sudden I get light headed and feel the anxiety kick in a little. I get up to go to the restroom to walk it off. After getting back, I feel a little better now but I know it's just starting. LET THE FUN BEGIN! :eek:

Hey Andy,

I felt strong side effects since Friday (which is when i started the meds at 25mg) but yesterday they decreased a bit even though my hunger isnt back, and im still a little nausea...but i started to feel the difference in my concentration..your dose does sound high- but im no dr....

Well, it got pretty bad. I was experiencing about every side effect you can. After the shakiness my stomache began to hurt, but only for about 15 minutes. Then I got pretty dizzy (I've seen this happen to others too). This of course made me nauseated (that's a word, right?). The dizziness lasted quite some time. I also felt very tired. It was a weird tired though. I wanted to go to sleep, but when I layed my head down and closed my eyes, there was absolutely no way I was going to sleep. I also experienced the loss of appetite and forced myself to eat some so I would feel a little better (it did work a little). I called my doctor and he said your body is just getting used to it so take it every other day until you run out of the 60mg pills (there are 7). Then up it to 80mg and take it daily. So I will take it on Saturday and then again on Monday, but if the side effects don't improve, I'm not going to take this medication anymore. I did NOT do a single thing yesterday at work, I couldn't. And I can't afford to be that way for possibly 2 weeks or longer! Heck, I would fire myself if I worked for me. :) So hopefully things will get better but otherwise I'm going to ask for new medication on Monday if it's the same. Also, I've seen a lot of people talk about how the tired/sleepiness does NOT go away with time. If this is the case, I don't want to use Strattera anyway. Even if it helps with concentration and focus, what good are these things if I feel so tired I can't work?

Also, I found out my insurance will cover Strattera but it's $45 co-pay per month instead of $10 for generic's, such as generic adderall or ritaline or dexedrine. I don't believe there are any generics for Strattera (please let me know if there are) and $45 is a big amount of extra cash to come up with for me. Plus, my insurance said they wouldn't even cover Strattera until I tried a generic first (such as adderall or ritaline) and discovered it doesn't work. So we'll see what happens, but with all the factors surrounding my situation, I don't see myself staying on Strattera. I'll keep everyone updated.

Oh, also, I feel much better today. I was able to sleep a little, but I woke up MANY times last night, so it wasn't a good sleep.

First of all, you are starting at way to high of a dose. The highest you should start off at is 40mg and titrate your way up the ladder until you find the dose that works for you. Tell you doctor, is he a psych or a FP? Anyways, I think most competent psychs would be well versed in the dose-response curve and titration for strattera since its a very, very popular drug.


Also, I urge you to try and stick it out with strattera. I'm in my second year of medical school and I did my time with concerta, adderall, and ritalin in undergrad. So far strattera has been the most 'normal' medication I have been on and I have been very successful so far. The after the 2-3 weak initation period, its been great. Its reported that it only works in 30-40% of individuals with ADD, but on wards of my teaching hospital I have heard that it works extremely will with inattentive (type II) ADD.

Also 45 dollar copay is a great deal in my opinion. I pay about $250 a month for mine. I could easily switch to XR or Concerta and it would save me about 150 dollars a month, but Strattera has been working pretty good for me so far.

Good luck and stick it out.

jaymarc,

That's what I thought (starting at too high a dose). He's an FP. Too high of a dose may have been the problem all along, but after taking it again on Saturday and today (Monday), it's just getting worse. I would think we should have cut down the dose but regardless, I got absolutely nothing done at work both Thursday and Today and I can't afford to do this any longer. I called my doctor today and explained the side effects and he said we will try Adderall. So I am picking up my rx tomorrow. I know I didn't give Strattera enough time to make any kind of a judgement on it and it may have worked. But I don't have weeks (possibly months) to deal with these side effects at work as I'm sure I wouldn't have a job any longer if the side effects lasted that long. Maybe I'll give it another shot down the road when I have 2 weeks of vacation time to use (what a fun vacation that would be). :) Well, looks like I'll be posting to the Adderall medication forum soon. See ya around.

Andy,

I'm a wuss also :D ....I was on Strattera for almost two weeks & was having some side effects also....I was feeling fuzzy headed & had trouble sleeping....
then there were the urinary difficulties & ED symptoms.....I was able to focus a little better while reading but still had a hard time listening to people......I couldn't get the music outta my head either......I called my PMD & was going to make an appt to discuss continuing the Strattera or starting something else.....
the nurse passed the info on to the doc & he told me to stop the Strattera & he is going to start me on Adderal......so I guess I'll be seeing you in the Adderal forum.....

Nick