Was wondering if I could get some feedback on the medication Stratterra. My husband has been recently diagnosed Primary Inattentive type. Hes not hyper at all. He has just started taking this medication and I was wondering how it worked for some of you. This is all very new for me and him.

I'm a total inattentive type and I've been taking Strattera for 8 mos. It helped a lot with mental fatigue (no longer feel shredded at the end of the workday) and organization. I've caught up on a lot of old projects and remember appointments better. I do better when I meet people-- looking them in the eyes, keeping my attention on them and remembering their names when they introduce themselves.

If Strattera has any drawback for me, it can leave me feeling a little "flat". I feel mentally in control of things, but don't look or feel energized. (Most of us inattentives dreamed of being energetic dynamos on meds!) Probably the best solution would be Strattera plus a small dose of stimulant. My psych has offered, but I've turned him down because my job doesn't allow stimulants. I exercise to try and charge myself up a little more. It's not perfect, but it's pretty good.

Overall I recommend Strattera highly. After the break-in period I have no remaining side effects and there is no up-and-down throughout the day. If your husband still lacks energy after settling in, talk to the doc about a tiny dose of stim to top it off (if it's an option-- I would if I could)!

I took Strattera for about five days and it made me come to the conclusion that it would probably help the hyperactive ADDer mor than the inatentive. Sense it made me feel very sluggish and tired I thought it would probably just level the hyperactive out. I have very low energy any way so I didn't like taking something that made me even more tired. I am on Adderall now and that gives me the energy I need. Strattera works differently in everone. It could be right for him or he could hate it. Never know until you try.:)

I completly agree with Miriam. I have been taking Strattera for 5 weeks now. In the beginning, there were no positive effects and many side effects. I almost decided to switch to something else, but decided to give it the full six weeks before giving up. I am REALLY glad I did! Now.....All of my irritability and road rage and extra anger is gone. I dont feel uptight, I am able to pay attention to conversations better, follow lectures in class instead of thinking about the odd arrangment of the floor tiles, and I feel rested when I get up in the mornings. In addition, all the side effects have pretty much gone away, except for feeling sleepy a few hours after I take it (I switched to taking it in the evening to prevent this from being an issue). There are also no up and downs or rebound with this med. It works 24/7 (as long as you keep taking it that is). It can be a little frusterating being newly diagnosed and not seeing results right away, but bear with it, it does get better! I am at 80mg per day now, and doing great. I am supposed to ramp up to 100 in a couple more weeks. I didn't notice any of the positive effects until almost week 4, so it does take some time to build up. You may have to fiddle with the time of day that you (or your husband) take it. In the beginning, it gave me a lot of energy too, so I had to take it in the am, now its just the opposite. I am also primarily innattentive type, and it has been my "wonder drug." While meds do work differently in different people, I think that sometimes we are too eager to drop it after a week or two. I guess in my mind, the few weeks of side effects and what not were a small price to pay for a lifetime of difficulty. Welcome to the forum and best of luck to both you and your hubby!

I completly agree with Miriam. I have been taking Strattera for 5 weeks now. In the beginning, there were no positive effects and many side effects. I almost decided to switch to something else, but decided to give it the full six weeks before giving up. I am REALLY glad I did! Now.....All of my irritability and road rage and extra anger is gone. I dont feel uptight, I am able to pay attention to conversations betterHmmm this makes me wonder if I wasn't misdiagnosed. I was diagnosed ADD Inattentive type, however I personally think I have combination of both. I am not the overly hyper running around type, but very fidgetty, have issues with cutting people off during coversations, and restless, etc..

My Psych said Strattera works best on Inattentive types and not as much on Hyperactive types. I've been on Strattera 60mg (started week 1 on 40mg) now for 4 1/2 weeks. I've noticed that my irritability, patience and even road rage has gotten worse! It seems to wear off around 5pm after taking it around 8am. Once it wears off I'm extremely tired at night, still having many side effects and my blood pressure is elevated.. it used to be normally around 90/60 at most 110/65.. Yesterday it was 133/106! I went to the Dr today and it was 136/82 Still high normal. But wow.. it was up there yesterday! I can't get ahold of my Psych and I'm scared to go off cold Turkey. I suppose I'll deal with the dizzy/headaches and faintness until I see him on Weds for my appointment.

I was under the impression that strattera was a medication you had to build up in your system, say over several weeks, before you would really notice the benefits. But once this happens the effects should be 24hrs lasting. I'm on edronax (spose to work similar to strattera) and it is certainly the case with it (although I only got he anti-depressiant benefits from my edronax). Anyway, with this type of medication if it is designed to build up in your system, I would think that if you decide to go off of it you should go off slowly, easing the dosage down rather than going cold turkey.

It is a building effect. I didnt notice anything other than the side effects for the first few weeks. Now the side effects are gone and it is working great, all day long. I take it before bed because it can make me a little drowsey. I take 80mg per day now, and feel great all day every day. I still get a little irritated at people from time to time, but hey, thats part of life. I even quit dippin....successfully...and didnt go into homicidal rages!!

ShawnB...Is it possible that as for the irritability that you just NOTICE it more now? I tend to not notice habits untill I focus on them while trying to get them under control, is this maybee the case? I would try taking it at night before bed and see if this helps things a bit. As for the blood pressure, as long as its still normal and your doctor isnt worried about it, Id say youll probably be ok. Continue to moniter it and talk with your doc about any changes. Hopefully for you as well the side effects will go away after a little while. Best of luck!!

PS: I also notice the meds worked better when I quit consuming caffiene. My pdoc said that caffiene can really affect the ability of the Strattera to do its job.

I started strattera last week on 10 mg and got really drowsy and have had a sort of goosebumpy sensation all over all week. Mentioned that to the psychiatrist today but she thought that's still ok and upped the dose to 20 mg. I'm mostly curious. If it gets too bad she told me to stop it and then we'll try something else (this is my first med)

:-) ~

the goosebumpy sensation is one of the things I like best about Strattera :)

I have ADD inattentive-type and Strattera has been great. The anxiety and irritability are controlled with Strattera very well; finding the right doseage was key. I started with 40mg and titrated up to 80mg, but settled on 40 for about 90 days. Recently the side effects became worse and I dropped my dose to 25mg - so far so good. I also take a 10mg daily dose of Adderall XR.

There are a couple of things I notice. Strattera can be unpredictable and I have really had to stick to a rigid schedule to get the most out of it. I have to take it at the same time, excercise routinely at the same time of day, keep my diet the same, etc. If I don't, its strength changes for good or bad.... if that makes sense.

I think too many times people with inattentive type like myself are given too high a dose at first and wind up feeling worse. I can tell when I have too much of the med - I feel lethargic and have absolutely no motivation. The Adderall helps...

I like Strattera. For me a small dose works the best 25 mg or even less. It has helped with focus, impulsivity and has reduced my irritability.

Strattera alone wasn't enough for me. It helps me in conversation, but not on individual tasks.

I just started taking 5 mg Adderall XR (to start, probably will end up at 20 mg) combined with the 40 mg of strattera that I've been taking for 4 weeks.

I've been on this for a few days now, and it is very effective. I feel like more adderall would help, because the keeping on task part is better, but could be improved.

I previously took 20 mg Ritalin SR and 5 mg in the afternoon for 12+ years, but it was losing effectiveness.


It's a good combo, and there's a thread about it that encouraged me to try it. Basically:

Adderall:
Keeps me focused on individual tasks
increases organization

Strattera:
Conversations are so much more fluid. When I speak with someone, I'm almost in a state of hyperfocus and I never have to ask anyone to repeat themselves.
Reduces Anxiety.

Now, after 4.5 weeks of taking strattera I *still* only have side effect. Really sluggish, goosebumps (though I don't mind those), somber moods, a bit unsteady on my feet / dizzy, restlessness. All in all it rather seems to make my condition worse instead of improving it: feeling slower, more distracted, staring off into the distance, eyelids half closed, slightly anxious. Bwah. :-(

I also got 'Delivered from Distraction' by Hallowell & Ratey. In the preface to this new edition it says:

"THe new medication Strattera held great promise a year ago, as it is not a stimulant and therefore not a controlled substance (...). However, both Dr. Ratey and I, and most of the practitioners to whom we have spoken, find it not as effective as hoped. With Strattera, it takes weeks to reach a high enough dose, and the drug often fails to effectively relieve symptoms and carries some burdensome side effects (...)"

Ah well. Maybe hold on a couple of weeks more but I don't think strattera's for me. I feel like wasting my time on it.

I'm on 60 mg of strattera and my dr. at one point wanted to bump it up to 70 mg!

I'm inattentive and I like Strattera, although not on it's own. While I could get by on dexedrine alone, I find my focus and concentration is much better with both my dexedrine and Strattera.

I'm thinking about the side effects and my only complaint is how hard it is on my stomach. But than again, I had the same complaint about dexedrine.

My doctor perfers wellbrutrin, but unfortuntely I'm allergic to it.

Michiko,

I'm curious how much you pay for Stratterra, My Psych thinks it would work very well for me however its not covered by my plan, and he says its very expensive. I'm curious how much he thinks very expensive is, I'd concider paying for it if i could budget it and its not rediculously priced.

I paid about CAD 80 for two weeks of 25 mg. That's CAD 5.70 per pill.
I have no idea whether other strengths are priced differently. I cannot remember what the 10 and 18 mg cost.

That is a hole load of money for a med that Dr Hallowell thinks "usually does not work all that well".
OK, of course it might help some. But not me.

I paid about CAD 80 for two weeks of 25 mg. That's CAD 5.70 per pill.
I have no idea whether other strengths are priced differently. I cannot remember what the 10 and 18 mg cost.

That is a hole load of money for a med that Dr Hallowell thinks "usually does not work all that well".
OK, of course it might help some. But not me.
So are you in Canada? Or is this your conversion?

So are you in Canada? Or is this your conversion?Yes, I am in Canada (Victoria, BC), and yes, that's what I paid for it. :eek:

Yes, I am in Canada (Victoria, BC), and yes, that's what I paid for it. :eek:Well SH*T! I don't think the price is gonna be different from me, I'm just up island.

I am inattentive and Strattera has been great. Stimulants didn't work for me, mostly I think because the side effects were awful... it did take the full six weeks for me to feel any "clearer" and be able to remember things better, but it wasn't too long after I started taking it that I started actually turning off lights when I left the room and closing the microwave after I used it. ;) I had to battle feeling sleepy for a long time, and just drank caffiene right when I knew the drowsiness would hit. That's tapered off slowly, although it still makes me a little sleepy. Overall, I'm a huge fan. I am curious now that some have suggested adding a dose of stimulant along with Strattera... I've felt a little less creative and "alive" since starting it, and when I was in high school I refused to take it because I felt "boring." Perhaps a small kick would complement its effectiveness?

my insuranse company sent a message back to me saying that i had to fail on the stimulants befor they would cover me on the non stimulant. well i know what one of the side effects of strettera is. low limbido thats right no sex drive, none . when you come off of it very suddenly, you get the feeling that some one just kicked you in the groin about six times. today my pills ran out and i got to the pharmacist late and i got that feeling and just paid the hundred and seventy nine dollars for the pills. so that i would be more attentive and wide awake in the morning , and energized and less compulsive , and have less anxiety and more energy and more motivation to get the projects done . I have found that when i am on it i can actualy follow the conversation of just about anyone and not look at the light behind them that is blinking and here everything that the person is saying. I can also hold thoughts longer and not just interupt people in the middle of conversations, because in the past i would know that i would forget what the thought was , and not be able to remember it . Being on strattera is awsome for me i am no longer lethargic and i dont drink eight shots of espresso at a time anymore. I used to self medicate on marijuana at least 2times a day not anymore. been clean for six months. If i were going on strattera i would go on it slowly. start with a ten and move up to twenty and then to thirty and so on . it would be helpful to everyone including your self if you kept a note book and wrote down all the feelings that you had on each new dose , so that if you got all the way up to 80mg and did not like the feeling that you got you could go back down to the dose that had the most benefits to you. I have found to my experience that the doctors give too high of a dose to the inattentive types.

one hundred and seventy nine dollars