This has been a very bizarre afternoon, I think it is because I took my first dose of Strattera today. I took my first pill (40mg, that's what the doctor said to start on) and two hours later I went nuts! I feel all this nervous energy inside but can't figure out anything to do. I am totally restless but whenever i think of something to do I say no and then I think of something else, no....on and on. I had to take my son to my mom's house because i was afraid that if I was stuck at home (my husband is away right now and after my son goes to sleep I can't go anywhere) I might lose my mind. My scalp is crawling, I am getting hot flashes followed by chills and goosebumps, which make my scalp feel even worse. I am pacing the house and am surprised I am sitting here long enough to type this. I think i am typing faster than I ever have. All of my movements feel 100 times faster than normal, and my mom seemed annoyed with me because i couldn't stop talking when I dropped of my son. I don't want to sit at the house tonight and feel lonely and crazy, but I don't know what I would do if I left the house. Anyone else have Strattera make them crazy?? Is this a normal "side effect"? Should I keep taking it and wait it out? I have felt this before to an extent but never this intense and no creepy crawlies or hot flashes! Help please.

I forgot to add that it seems to be making me think weird things. Not suicidal, but reckless. I was trying to figure out how to tell my mom that I spent the money she loaned me the other day and ask for a little more, when it popped into my head that I know where she keeps her cash and I could just take a little!!!! I have NEVER EVER EVER stolen anything in my life. A little later, I was thinking about what I could do tonight and I thought about going to Barne's and Noble, but then i thought I don't have any money, then I thought about stealing a book!

My husband just called and now he's worried and can't be here to help me, and all I could think about was how much I wanted to get off the phone. I feel like I'm tweaking (even though I've never done anything but pot and don't know what it feels like to tweak).

How much are you taking? Are you takin it with any other meds ?
You really should talk to your doctor about it if this continues.

ME :D

I had similiar side effects on 40 mg emotional, frantic, hyper
and they say it's not a stimulant?
40 mg as a starting dose may be too high for you. As always check with your doctor chances are he/she will have you take a lower dosage for a while.


IMO You might need to go down to a lower dose and take your time maybe even stay on a lower dose for a few weeks if you need to then increase 40 mg as needed.

best wishes and keep us posted

I think I've officially crashed. Now I am tired, a little depressed, and have a big ol' headache. Anxiety seems gone though. So...to make myself feel better I went and bought a new video game (Impulsivity rears it's ugly head!). My mom cashed one of the checks I was given for Christmas for me, I don't have a bank account so she is used to me signing checks over and it didn't raise any questions about the other money. I'm having a little buyer's remorse but can't do anything because I've already installed it. I was a Christmas gift...oh well. I am worried about tommorow's dose and will try to contact doctor beforehand. I can't just cut my dose in half myself because the samples she gave me were 40 and 60mg. I'm not sure I even want to continue on this med. I know I shouldn't decide this after just one day, but man that was HORRIBLE!!! I will post more as to my doctor's decision and my progress! Thanks so very much for replying, it is so wonderful having this forum to find support from people who are just like me. It's always felt like no one ever truly knew who I was....I think I'm still working on that one myself! Thanks again.

You may have started at too big a dose. I started at 12 mg and it worked great for a while, then I had nasty side effects. What you described sounds like you just took too big a dose to start out on.

ME :D

Called my doctor today (don't get me started on what a pain THAT was!) :) Finally got a call back from the nurse and she said to stop the Strattera and to come get a script for Adderall. I haven't gotten it filled yet because my insurance wants pre-authorization for it, so I'm playing the waiting game right now. Which is fine...I've lived 28 years without ADD meds, I guess I can go a few more days. :) Thanks again for helping me out. I guess my medication questions will now go in the Adderall forum. :)

We just started out daughter on it and the doc has her ramping up each week. We started one week on 10mg, then 18mg, etc until we get to 40mg. Is your doc open to suggestions? Do they specialize in ADD?

My son tried Strattera in 8th grade. Started him at a low dose for a few days, then upped it. Then upped it again. 40 seems like a very high dose to start off on. We did end up taking him off of it because he became very very irritable on it. He raged, got angry very easy, moods swings were horrible. I talked to our doctor about it and she said it was hormones, being that he was a teenager. I think not. I took him off of it and he went back to his normal self. He started on Adderall XR in Dec. of 05. Worked much better for him. He is a senior this year, and we just had his dose upped to 30 mg. It is starting to work better again. Call your doctor.

im feeling the same way like you did lilyfrog60 the horrilbe scapl feeling like crawing going around ur head and a big huge nervous were u can' stopmoving and did you ask your doc y this was happening cause i told my doctor and he said keep taking it.Im on 18mg of strattera instead 40mg its crazy cause they say its a non stimulant :rolleyes: huh an does any one knowwhats a good bipolar med ihave both add.bipolar and also aniexty/painc attacks:faint:

I never got a direct reply from my doctor, just a message from a nurse saying to stop the Strattera and start Adderall, which I in turn haven't been able to fill, b/c my insurance wants me to try somthing cheaper first. I am now trying Ritalin, and so far it seems alright. I don't think it is something I want to stay with but i am not having all the problems from Strattera.

Has the dosage change helped you? I was afriad my doctor would do that but i just wanted something else. Is this your first medication you've tried or did you have a hard time with stimulants before?

i have try adderall ritalin and concertra before and i like adderall good focuse you get ritalin made me really depress cause of my bipolar but i think u like adderall im trying to get on adderall now but my insurence is the problem so he gave me strattera simples and i would go with adderall xr they should prob have samples

Wel I didn't get as crazy as you, but I'm glad I stopped with Strattera!
I'm not good without meds, but better then with Strattera, It's trash!

I've got the horror story of them all with strattera... Just like SSRI's on the third day on it I woke up and had delusions of grandeur... was going to impeach George Bush and take over the country, I stopped it and was depressed for a week and then was back up to par soon.

Wow! Maybe it wouldn't have been so terrible if you followed through with that, though ;) j/k I hate to hear about other people having the same experience but glad to know it wasn't just me.

I'm now waiting on my insurance to authorize Concerta. Did anyone else feel like they'd been through the wringer trying to find a med? I almost feel like my doctor is going so fast, switching me around. I might end up switching doctors. She says her son is ADHD and does well on Stratterra but it seems she maybe isn't as up on ADHD as she could be. We'll see.

My experience with Strattera was blaah. It seemed like the first low dose worked best but not enough to really improve focus, planning and follow through, what it did do on that dose was clear up my head a bit you know the brain fog that a lot of us have. But the minute I bumped up I became a disfuctioning pool of emotion and tears and so irritable that I felt bad for anyone who crossed my path.

I'm having a tough time right now finding treatment. Had a little run in with the psych and don't know if I want to continue with him.
Why is it that the process takes so loong between the Health Insurance company restrictions, nasty receptionists, and the waiting game for appointments and returned telephone calls. it really gets me down.:(
But I will not give up;)

Oh my gosh, I can totally sympathize, Swede. Everytime my doc wants to try something new I have to go through hell with the insurance company because i am OVER 18, that's a new one for me! I realize that most drugs are only approved for ADHD in kids, but you think by now they'd realize that adults have ADHD, too, and they need the meds just as much as kids. I also realize it is a precaution against abuse, but it sucks that those who need it and don't abuse have to suffer the consequenses (sp?).

My doctors reception staff and nurse are also very nasty. I can just HEAR them rolling their eyes when I call. The message I left about the Stratterra explained how crazy I felt. Later when I hadn't recieved a call I called again. She asked "Did you tell the person you talked to it was Urgent?" Did I REALLY have to do that? Common sense says that's urgent!!

I'm glad you are keeping up hope, so am I. We just have to be persistent and who cares if the receptionist thinks I'm crazy. I'm doing what I have to in order to get the care I deserve. These doc offices make a lot of money, maybe not the receptionist, and it is their JOB to care of their patients. I know they are busy, but I will not let them ignore me. This is my LIFE we are talking about! :)

yeeeHaaa more power to you:D
That just gave me the strength I needed for today.
I'd like to find a doctor who has ADD or at least has family members who do. Some people here have a much better relationship and better results when their doctors have ADD too. I think that when I see my next doctor I am going to ask that question in a respectful way of course

You were obviously started at too high of a dose. I read this time and time again, Doctors starting patients right off the bat with 40 mg. I myself was started off at 40 mg and didn't sleep an entire night! Of course at the time, I never took it again. If you do some research on the net, the starting dosage is 10-20 mg. Now I see a mental health physician and she started me out at 10 mg with a totally different experience. It has been wonderful for me at a lower dose. She also said that doctors are told now that less means more. She is actually pushing for a 5 mg tablet because many patients just don't need that much. I would tell your physician about your experience and ask if what your experienced was an allergic reaction or just too high of a dosage. Ask to be started out at 10 mg and then move up from there.


Good Luck and sorry you had this experience!

Janell

Finding the meds that work best for you with the least side effects IS a trial and error endeavor.

Everyone responds differently to the same meds or combination of meds. I went from Concerta (which worked great for me but made my heart race at night) so my doc prescribed Strattera. I didn't get any mental benefit from Strattera but experienced all of the urinary tract side effects. I stopped taking it and will be asking my doc to put me back on Concerta.
I haven't tried Adderall but from everything I'm reading it seems to work for a lot of people who has poor results with all of the meds I've tried.

I totally understand the trial and error part of getting medicated, but have a hard time accepting the fact. Due to my nature of "I WANT IT NOW!" and instant gratification, I've always had a hard time waiting for meds (ie anti-depressants) to work. I'm working on my patience and learning to take a deep breath, relax, and know that things are in progress.

My frustration with the actual doctor's office is a seperate issue from the medication. To me, that is a matter of respecting the patient.

I'm hanging in there waiting on my insurance to approve the Concerta. I know that it will happen early this week, so I am continuing to take the Ritalin and deal with the rebound. In the meantime, I am keeping myself busy employing the new strategies I have learned about organization and decluttering. I still get distracted (case in point: I am writing this post, instead of finishing the laundry up :)), but I just keep at it!!!! Thanks to everyone for the great information and support!

Just remember--some things that don't get done right away aren't necessarily all that important.
Pick what you feel is crucial to always stay on top of and cut yourself a break on everything else.

Like, paying bills on time is crucial. Skipping the laundry until you realize you ran out of shorts isn't. :D