I have been taking Stattera at 40mg for four days now. I had some weird mental side effects on it so far. I haven't seen much of my ADD symptoms going away and I know that is suppose to take time.The side effects for me are mental my brain seems to pull up thoughts out of no where that have nothing to do with what I am doing. I went to my doctor to get help for my ADD and he says Stattera has good results with people he knows. I am still making really stupid mistakes at work and catching hell for them in the mean time. Stattera made me make more mistakes. I have an already low self asteem anyway but this morning I was laying in bed telling myself that their would be no more mistakes if I was wasn't around and that my kids don't need a mother who is going to screw their life up too. I was talking myself into suicide. That is not like me at all. I am 26 with a great life and a great husband and two kids. What is WRONG with me??? I am not liking this stuff.I don't think I will take Stattera today. THAT isn't worth it.:(

cloud1,
First off, welcome to the forum!

Are you taking just the strattera or in combo with something else? My pdoc has me taking strattera and wellbutrin. It does take time, but for me it has been well worth the wait. I am in my fourth week, and the difference has been amazing. You might want to talk with your physician about your issues with it before stopping all together. For me, the first week was the worst of the side effects, but they have been steadly tapering off ever since. Best of luck to you!

Suicide is serious! Please let your husband know about your feelings right away. And then talk to your doctor ASAP.

Hopefully, the feeling is only temporary. And if it is, when it passes, talk to your boss and explain to him/her where you are in your life. That will provide you with some legal protection. But bosses are human too. Many are sympathetic and want to assist an employee in becoming the best they can be. Hopefully yours is one of those and will be supportive of you.

Best of luck.

I am not taking anything else. I am suppose to be taking Nortriplyline for migraines but I wanted to see how the Strattera would react to me before I combined the two. I just don't like that I am thinking very crazy thoughts and if I continued on this medicine would it make me more prone to carry them out? I am scared of that. I am also scared if I go to my doc with this he isn't going to give me anything else for ADD because he will think I am nuts and that I would have the same reaction to another med. My husband who is very non-ADD is actually supportive with my adventure in seeking treatment. I will tell my husband how I was feeling. I will call the doc tommorow and tell him I can't handle the side effects. He knows I can't handle some stuff because he had me on Topamax for migraines and It had similar side effects as strattera to me. I might be better with something that I can take when I need it so that way I can tell the difference and I won't have mental side effects. I can handle physical. I am rambling.....thank you guys for listening.

Your doc is no doubt used to hearing about problems such as yours and will most likely not think you are crazy. Doctors know that different things work in different people, and no two react the same. He might reccomend you continue with the strattera and add a anti-depressent (like wellbutrin). It is often the case that there is comorbid depression with ADD. The path to finding the right meds may be a long one, but well worth it in the end.

Boy, it sounds like your psychology is very complicated. I'm glad you are confiding in those who want to help you. One other thing, I hope you are seeing a psychiatrist rather than just an internal medicine person. The pysch guys manage cases like yours all the time and will not abandon medication but rather experiment with alternative strategies for you with greater knowledge and insight. They'll also more closely monitor your condition as you try new things.

SteveM

Yes I thought it was deppression at first but he said the deppression was from ADD. I was on prozac when I was a teen and it worked then but I tried taking it a coulple of years after that and I felt like I was in a cartoon all the time so I quit it and then had the weirdest panic attack of my life. It is so encouraging to here people on here that have had success with their meds. I have never been one who could stick to one thing long enough to see results. I would consider sticking with Strattera if it didn't make me feel this way. I guess I just feel weird about something that affects my brain. I feel like I have been in some dream since I took the first pill. My thoughts are so jumbled. I don't know, medication just might not be the road for me. This is the only thing I have tried as far as ADD goes. I wanted so hard to give it a chance. I need a change in my life but I don't need crazy thoughts. I still havent taken the pill yet this morning....too scared. Still rambling........:(

One other thing, I hope you are seeing a psychiatrist rather than just an internal medicine person. The pysch guys manage cases like yours all the time and will not abandon medication but rather experiment with alternative strategies for you with greater knowledge and insight. They'll also more closely monitor your condition as you try new things.

SteveM
Steve, Im glad you rememberd that! It slipped my mind somewhere between starting the reply and finishing it. lol

does insurance like Blue cross cover therapy?

Often times most insurance has a behavioral health portion. Usually you will have a copay and a limited number of covered visits per year (mine is 40 visits with a $10 copay). If your ins. dosent cover behavioral health, then you might consider asking your primary care doc for a referal to a neuro doc. They are a little more experienced in dealing with the brain (I have a dizzying ability to state the obvious, dont I?).

I am actually seeing a neurologist for my migraines. They were doing pretty much the same as my regular doc, actually alot less but with a higher copay. I like my curent doc I have had him for 4 years and I trust him. He told me that if Strattera didn't work for me we would try stimulants. Just like with every doc I guess they don't want to deal with that hassel of prescribing them. My husband even said if they work than it is worth it. I don't mind going to him every month for a script if it improves my life. I feel better I guess Strattera wasn't for me, I glad other people on here have seen results. I guess I am not much of a soldier to wait out the side effects. I don't think things like this off of the medication so I can only say it didn't work the right way in my brain. Everyone is different. At least I can say I tried it. If my doc doesn't help me much I will seek counceling. Thank you for your advise.:)

I told my doc today that I didn't have a good experience with Strattera. He gave me Adderral 10mg. It is the regular Adderall because the pharmacist didn't know if he wanted XR or not. So for now I am trying the imediate release. I will see have this works and hopefully I will have a better experience. Thank you guys for your concern I will let you know how it goes.:)

Yes, please do. Have your side effects cleared up from the Strattera yet?

The side effects cleared up pretty much. I did feel tired and kinda grumpy today. But I am definatly not in a "dream" any more. I think maybe I will ask the doc if maybe I started on too high a dose. I feel better today.

Ok guys I am not gonna leave you hangin. This week was so much better with the Adderall. For Me The Stattera was just strange, I guess I am just not one to take anti depressants or drugs close to it. I am on a low dose of the Adderall right now but I can tell it has worked, I have gotten a lot more done. I don't want to scare people away from Strattera I definatly think people should give it a try and see how they react. The FDA didn't approve it for ADD for nothing. So good luck to all my fellow Strattera fans. Thank you guys for your concern I sure am glad I found this forum and I know that there are actually (a lot) of people out there like me ;)