I'm on day 7, and have almost convinced myself to stop taking Strattera tomorrow. I've read a ton horror stories w/ males and side effects, and have many of them....females appear to be less affected, or they're just not posting as much.

I say "almost", because day 2 and 3 I felt like I was on top of the world. Unsure if it was from Strat or not, but if there's hope of getting that back permanently, and these side effects permanently subsiding (sooner the better).....it almost seems worth it. I've read the "positive" sticky here, and I admit it helps sway me a LITTLE bit. Anyways, typical side effects (25mg Strattera for 3 days, 40mg for 4 days, plus on 20mg Lexapro):

- Can hardly sleep (even with the aid of Lunesta). This is in my opinion worst effect of them all.
- Constant feeling of needing to urinate. This is 2nd worst.
- Sweat MUCH more (many times I feel cold, but am sweating)
- Lack of appetite
- If I don't pay attention and go 6-7 hours or more weithout eating, I get uncomfortably "loopy"
- "Male" issues (although not as bad as some have reported)
- Sometimes slight shakes. I play on a pool team, and made it impossible to shoot a ball.
- Significant mood swings

I'm curious on what percentage (even estimates) on these side effects continue long term for males. Many posts are negative, but I (like others) came in search of this forum only when "bad" things began. Even with that positive sticky thread, I'd venture there's plenty of untold success...

For anyone interested in a lengthy read, here's the detailed timeline on how I got here:

I'm a 28 year old male.

At age 18/19:
Started smoking pot and drinking alcohol like most kids this age do.

At age 20:
Get job in my career line (which I still hold today).

At age 21:
Weee!!! Old enough to go to the bar. Started drinking decent amount, 4 nights a week or so. Still smoke pot maybe 4-5 times a week (2-3 hits at a pop....not enough to get comatose). Go to shrink as I feel signs that I understand match that of depression. Quickly prescribes Zoloft, and I ween myself off after approx 6 months due to no longer having emotions. While I know drinking isn't helping, feel I'm too young to entertain thought of stopping...at risk of losing my social life. Begin working out at gym on regular basis.

At age 22-23:
See a counseler (thinking previous shrink was just a pill pusher). She thinks feeling related to alcohol consumption, asks me to stop for month. I refuse, and stop seeing her after maybe 4-5 visits. Still smoking pot at same frequency. See another shrink, and he tells me I have no prob...."everyone gets down now and then." Stop seeing him after 4-5 visits. Still working out (and in great physical shape), and enjoying partying part of my life. Still feeling "down" sometimes, uncertain if due to depression or normal. Have difficulty sometimes in social situations, especially when sober.

At age 24:
Dating great girl for about a year (tying my dating sustainment record). Start calming down on going to bars, but still drinking at home same frequency. Gym stopped for about a year due to work craziness. Still possible feelings of depression, and some social issues. Work performance up to this point is great however, feel proud and confident in that area.

At age 25:
Buy my first house. Realizing drinking is becoming an issue, and calm it down to 2-3 nights a week in favor of daily pot smoking. Ironically smoking motivates me to do things I otherwise have no interest in (house projects, etc.), however due to effects of pot, things probably go a bit slower than if sober. Job still going great (although kinda crazy). Still not back to gym. Depression & social issues feel same (still manageable).

At age 26:
Back to gym. Still smoking daily. Getting bored of work (want to jump to diff career, even though quite successful).

At age 27:
Realizing the memory issues and some other adverse effects from pot smoking are too much. Try quitting, and end up w/ sleeping issues for first time in life (and not aware of relation to stopping smoking). Also very irritable. See regular doc who chalks it up to low level anxiety and puts me on 10mg Lexapro. Pick smoking back up and either the smoking and/or Lexapro handles sleeping issue after a week or 2. Due to possible depression symptoms and what may be some small anxiety-like symptoms, decide staying on Lexapro may be good. Still dating same girl, and things are pretty good there. Back to gym.

At age 28, one week ago:
Decide to quit smoking pot for good. I find myself forgetting stuff all the time, amongst other issues. Also have followup with doc about Lexapro and sleeping deal (no more issues, but just to check up). I go in, and admit the previous smoking habit and that I stopped a couple days prior. Doc makes possible correlation to previous sleeping issue when I stopped smoking then. I state concern of both another sleeping issue, as well as lack of motiviation to do things (again, house projects, etc.) when I'm no longer high. Doc eventually diagnoses ADD, and I'm utterly amazed on match against symptoms. Feel like maybe this is the missing piece to the puzzle of my life. Lotsa of thinking about what she said makes me relate problems reading, listening to people, finishing started tasks, organization (even though I'm made 10's if not 100's of attempts to develop a "system", uninterested in most things but overly interested in a very select few. These are only a few, and while I'm not 100% convinced I had ADD....it makes a whole lotta sense.

4 days ago (Tues):
Start taking 25mg Strattera, and upped does of Lexapro to 20mg....both taken in AM. Feel awefully loopy, but will ride it out. Out of no where that night, sleeping probs are back. Lucky if I got 2-3 hours. Lack of appetite, and more sweaty than normal too.

Wed & Thur:
Ball of fire at work. Talking to people, feel way more social. Switching on and off tasks with significant ease. In GREAT mood. Is this possibly cuz of meds? Seems to early to feel benefits. If this has been the piece of my life I felt missing all this time, I wish it had been discovered earlier. Still have sleeping problems though, and Lunesta doesn't help a whole lot. Started to have feeling of needing to urunate frequently, even though I know I don't need to....rather annoying. Also notice a different feeling with little buddy down below - things still work, just take a little longer to "wake up". Nothing like "output" issues explained by others. Appetite and sweatiness same as Tues. However by Thurs night, side effects have me concerned enough to consider stop taking Strat. Girlfriend (same one, 5 years!) convinces me to give more time, and I hesitently agree.

Fri:
Up Strat dose to 40mg per docs orders. Will be upping again to 65 after 3 days. Loopy again today, like on Tues, although maybe not quite as bad. Urination feeling still bothersome. Little guy still working, but things still seem/feel different down there.

Sat & Sun:
Had borderline shakes. Otherwise everything like Fri.

Mon:
Inadvertantly skipped lunch (rare for me), and felt a lot worse than I would expect by 6PM or so. Felt a little better after eating (although I couldn't finish meal). Feeling of having to urinate was absolutely terrible today.


Sorry for those bothered by long explanation here, thought maybe the timeline would help folks understand how I got here. I really liked the positive effect from Wed/Thurs, and wondering if I should go back down to 25mg Strat or quit entirely. Don't see doc for another 2 weeks or so, and am torn if dealing with the side effects are worth it.

I'm not a guy, so I'll keep this short. I'll agree with you that guys have more sexual side effects-- the rest of them, though, I'll disagree. There are tons of women on these boards feeling lousy for the first couple of weeks. One thing about Strattera-- they are not kidding about the side effects on the warning sheet. I had just about every one I found on the Strat website (and all of them you mentioned except for the sexual one) for over a week. It sounds too good to be true that the bad effects will go away and the good ones will stay, but it happened. BTW, I'm the same age as you. Try switching when you take the dose (day to night or night to day). And give it at least two weeks before you start thinking about quitting. You probably haven't even felt the best of the positive effects yet!

Sounds like you are going up to fast in dose level to me!

My doctor had me go up in dose level every 3 weeks and I found even that rather difficult.

I would ask your doctor to stay at a lower dose level for longer. I mean, who knows, maybe your proper dose level was the first dose you were taking!

I agree with Miriam, the side effects do go away. (Unless of course you keep bumping up the dose level!)

I don't know why doctors start some adults out on the higher doses of Strattera, or have them bump up their doses after only a few days!

I consider myself a tough individual, but starting out at 40mg of Strattera was a rough ride even for me to handle and I weigh around 215 Lbs!

Best of luck! :)

Thanks a ton for the feedback. I've found this board to be a huge repiository of great information, and look forward to staying aprisesd of folks' individual experiences.

Today I took it upon myself to go back down to 25mg. I also was finally able to speak with my doctor today on the phone, and relayed my concerns about the side effects. She pointed out that even so, she still views my "feeling mentally better than ever before" days #2 & 3 on 25mg as a positive indicator that SOME sort of med treatment was appropriate.

Her final recommendation was to stop taking the 25mg after today (I take it in the AM), until I can pick up the samples of 18mg from her on Thurs. This means I'll have 1-2 days completely off the stuff depending if I take the 18mg Thurs PM or Fri AM. She said if 3-4 days of that still gives me the problems at an unbearable level, she'll consider at that point moving to Wellbutrin as a next try.

Thanks again for everyone's info/feedback. I'll post my own progress in the hopes it may help some other suffering soul. ;-)

Welcome to the Forums stratdude.

I'm sorry straterra is causing some unpleasant side effects. As a woman I'm not too shy to say that I had a very mild decrease in drive very little dryness on 80 mg but nothing on 60 mg. I was very very nauseous and lost about 20 pounds. Again lowering the dose and things are fine. It's all what you're willing to live with.

Since you just quit pot, maybe you'll find some support to keep it up in our Substance Abuse Sections (http://www.addforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=78)(public and private).

Hi there. I've suspected for some time now that I suffer from some form of ADD. Things have gotten so bad that I can barely get any work done (programming) and my problem solving capability is completely shot. I finally took it up with my doctor and he gave me the simple eli-lilly 6 question test, then put me on Strattera. 40mg, twice a day, which appears to be 3 times what most of you have started out with! As I type this I am only two doses into it, and am loopy, jittery, and having hot flashes. After my first dose last night I got no sleep, which probably is contributing to my loopiness right now, but I am definitely going to call my doc and clarify things.

I am considering asking for a referral, but how do I go about finding someone who is familiar with ADD treatment?

Yesterday was my last day on Strattera (18mg). The worst side effect was constant feeling of needing to urinate, amongst other stuff.

I go 3 days with just the Lexapro 20mg that I've been taking, and beginning Friday I start 150mg Wellbutrin as the next stop on the bus 'O meds.

Good luck to everyone that it's in the middle of it's evaluation. Seems to be the popular assessment that it's simply a miracle for some, and disaster for others. Unfortunately it was the latter for me :(

Only thing,before I switched to Concerta(which I hate) I had was upset stomach in the morning for not eating a heavy breakfast.i'm not a morning person..only a few times I felt fatique,but i'm only 17.:)

It's not just a male sexual problem. (Same with SSRI/SNRI drug-induced sexual problems.)

Social rules just mean that Males are likely more able to talk about it than females.

Hey stratdude1,

I was in your boat about 10 or so days ago. I started taking strattera a month and a half ago for ADHD (it was the first med i've taken to treat it). Mind you, I was started on 40mg.... but for the month and a bit that I was on it, it was the worst period of my life. The strattera made me really moody, I also had sexual side effects, I would get panic attacks and heart palipatations. I went back to my doc about 2 weeks into the treatment and wanted off it. I tried to convince him to switch me over to Ritalin or Dexedrine but he didn't listen, and instead gave me a lower dose of 25 mg. I took the 25 mg for about 3 weeks after that, untill I found a new doctor and had enough of it. The 25 mg helped ease the symptoms only a little bit, I was still pretty incapacitated. I actually couldn't even go to class because I felt so ridiculously baked all the time. Which by the way, I completely know what you mean about how pot can make somone with ADHD motivated. Anyways, back on topic here.. this is what I have to say about strattera in general. I truely believe strattera is a good med for only a small portion of people with ADHD. I honestly think it only works for about 35% of the people who try it. It is brand new, we don't' know any long term effects and there are no conclusive studies that prove it's effectiveness over ritalin/dexedrine/adderall. In my opinion, if the strattera doesn't work like you feel it should, then don't waste your time on it. I know stimulants sound scary, but they work. I basically dug myself out of a disgustingly large hole in relation to school in 3 days - and im no longer going to have to drop my classes! Strattera is a good last resort medication, and from what I have been told by my new doctor, ritalin/concerta/dex etc should be tried before strattera as it takes time to find the correct medication, and it may not be the first one you try.

I just want to wish you good luck though, I know where you're coming from on so many levels. Let me know how the Wellbutrin works for you, im starting my 150mg dose tonight actually.

As I type this I am only two doses into it, and am loopy, jittery, and having hot flashes. After my first dose last night I got no sleep, which probably is contributing to my loopiness right now, but I am definitely going to call my doc and clarify things.
I started out a week ago on 40 mg per day and had the exact same side effects as you for the first two days. I called my doctor thinking he would reduce the Strattera but he reduced the 200 mg Wellbutrin I was also taking to 100 mg and that did the trick. I'm actually feeling like the Strattera is helping my motivation and organization even at this dose and at one week. Only continuing side effect is vivid dreams but it's not a big problem. Tossing, turning, and sweating all night was.

If you are on other meds, especially antidepressants, that could be part of the problem. But 80 mg may just be too much for your system. Some folks around here thought 40 mg was too high to start out with. I think you should definitely give your doctor a call.

Good luck!

Bea

Hey timmtc -


Which by the way, I completely know what you mean about how pot can make somone with ADHD motivated.

First person since I've been reading here that ackowledged a motivational factor that goes along w/ MJ. Seen some references to folks self medicating w/ it, but didn't see anything specifically re: motivation. Was beginning to wonder if it was just me making an excuse for doing it in the first place. Don't think it's common, as most people I know follow the "I can sit on the couch for 4 hours straight" scenario. Personally I hated that feeling.

Good luck to you as well.....I'll try and post updates for anyone interested after Fri when I start Wellbutrin. Here's to good health and minimal side effects <clanking sound of 2 beer mugs>! :D