I have been hesitant (to say the least) about putting my seven year old son on medication for his severe ADD. We tried Adderoll XR last year and he had a side effect to where he rolled his eyes around in his head and tried his eyes out horribly. Then I was really freaked out by medication.
After talking to behavior modification specialists, teachers, counselors, a pediatrician, and a nuerologist I finally conceded to try again yesterday. I decided not to be so bull headed and give my son a chance at medications. We decided to put him on a non-stimulant. He started today........then I get on this board. To say the least, I am scared now. It seems that almost nobody has anything nice to say about this drug. Am I doing the right thing? Does anyone have any positives?

Everyone's body chemistry is different.

What works for one person, may not for another.

7 yr olds are still growing & developing,therefore things that work now may not be as effective later on,and vice versa.

Where we live, the pediatricians who formerly disliked Straterra are prescribing it more often now.

While strictly anecdotal, that does tell me something .

Good luck.

Old dude has got a point

I have been hesitant (to say the least) about putting my seven year old son on medication for his severe ADD. We tried Adderoll XR last year and he had a side effect to where he rolled his eyes around in his head and tried his eyes out horribly. Then I was really freaked out by medication.
After talking to behavior modification specialists, teachers, counselors, a pediatrician, and a nuerologist I finally conceded to try again yesterday. I decided not to be so bull headed and give my son a chance at medications. We decided to put him on a non-stimulant. He started today........then I get on this board. To say the least, I am scared now. It seems that almost nobody has anything nice to say about this drug. Am I doing the right thing? Does anyone have any positives?
Welcome to the group. :) I went back and read some of your old posts. You are doing all of the right things, it just takes time and patience. A lot of trial and error, but eventually you will find the correct treatment. I took me over 1 year to get things worked out. My son is seeing great benefits from Ritalin SR. He is in 2nd grade and getting all A's, reading at a 4th grade level and excelling in soccer.

If he skips his medicine, everyone can tell. He is literally bouncing off the walls and making all kinds of sound effects. It becomes a really tense environment with myself, wife and his younger brother.

Adderall XR is a strong stimulant. Did your doctor mention anything about Concerta or Ritalin? The side effects you mentioned have been reported.

There is nothing wrong with Strattera. I feel a lot of people have experienced bad side-effects because they were prescribed too high of a starting dose and moved too quickly to their target dose. I am not a doctor, so please follow your physician's advice before mine, if you choose Strattera.

My doctor started me at the lowest dose available and slowly moved me through the different dosings until I reached my target. I even experimented with taking it at different times and splitting the dose, as well.

It can take sometime to build up in the system. Anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks, once you reach your target dose.

By your old posts, the doctor is taking the correct approach. A lot of people have gotten diagnosed by a general prat. without seeing any specialists. By seeing the neurologist and psychologist, you are ruling out any other conditions.

Good luck and please keep us posted. You're doing great. :D

Thanks for the encouraging words! Let me ask you this. My son started taking 40 mg of Strattera on Monday. Everything I've read said that it should take about 1 month to get in his system. My son's teacher said that she could tell immediate benefits on Monday morning, just about three hours after his first dose. Is that possible?

Thanks for the encouraging words! Let me ask you this. My son started taking 40 mg of Strattera on Monday. Everything I've read said that it should take about 1 month to get in his system. My son's teacher said that she could tell immediate benefits on Monday morning, just about three hours after his first dose. Is that possible?
Again, I am not a doctor but some people have posted having quick results when first stating Strattera. You might want to explain to your doctor what the teachers observed.

How much does you son weigh? Did he start at 40mg? That is a pretty high starting dose compared to what the Strattera site explains. See below:

Children (up to 70kg body weight): STRATTERA should be initiated at a total daily dose of approximately 0.5 mg/kg and increased after a minimum of 3 days to a target total daily dose of approximately 1.2 mg/kg administered either as a single daily dose in the morning or as evenly divided doses in the morning and late afternoon/early evening. The total daily dose in children and adolescents should not exceed 1.4 mg/kg or 100 mg,whichever is less.

He weighs 80 lbs. I'll double check tonight about the dosage, because according to that his dose is way high. Maybe I misread it! I thought he said he was starting him at 40 mg for the first seven days (he gave us a 7 day sample pack) and then the prescription he would start on the eighth day was 60 mg. I'll look at it tonight and reply back tomorrow. Thanks Tim. You have been so helpful!

He weighs 80 lbs. I'll double check tonight about the dosage, because according to that his dose is way high. Maybe I misread it! I thought he said he was starting him at 40 mg for the first seven days (he gave us a 7 day sample pack) and then the prescription he would start on the eighth day was 60 mg. I'll look at it tonight and reply back tomorrow. Thanks Tim. You have been so helpful!
80lbs = 36kg
.5mg/kg x 36kg = 18mg
1.2mg/kg x 36kg = 43mg

Strattera comes in 10, 18, 25, 40, 60 dosings.

As long as your son is not experiencing any side-effects, I would follow the doctor's directions. The slow ramp-up is to reduce the reported side-effects. Ask your son if he is experiencing any.

Some people, me included, split the dose. When I tried 80mg all at once, I experienced a lot of the common side-effects. The 50mg/25mg seems to be doing a good job for me.

Thanks for letting me know! It was 40 mg and then to 60 mg after the first 7 days. I hope that is not overdoing it. The only real side effect happened today. Today is the first day that he took his medication on an empty stomach. I teach 4th grade where he goes to school, so his teacher sent him to me saying that he was sick to his stomach. Oh yeah and, ..... the first day he fell asleep on the playground after lunch, but his teacher said he was alert during class that day.

I hope that is not overdoing it. The only real side effect happened today. Today is the first day that he took his medication on an empty stomach. I teach 4th grade where he goes to school, so his teacher sent him to me saying that he was sick to his stomach. Oh yeah and, ..... the first day he fell asleep on the playground after lunch, but his teacher said he was alert during class that day.
If you are concerned about the dosage, please contact your doctor. Explain to them that you read the product insert and was wondering about the 60mg target dose.

These symptoms are all very normal. I remember getting very tired at about 2:00pm. I split the dose and it seemed to help. Since you are at the same school at your son, it should be easy to administer a second dose in the afternoon, if you and your doctor agree on splitting the dose.