I am not sure where exactly to post this.. so please bear with me.

My 6 yr old son was diagnosed with ADHD almost a year ago. Throughout the summer, I tried everything from behavior modification to changing his diet, with no avail. I was told by his school that if I didn’t “get him under control”, he would be placed in a special class for behavioral disorders.

I finally turned to meds. His doctor started him on Adderall. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t see any difference at all.. but the school did and his teacher was sure this was the answer. I, however, did not agree. The side effects of this drug, really took a toll on him. He was staying up until 10 pm at night, unable to sleep (he had previously gone to bed at 8:30) and he seemed to be losing weight. I took him back to the doctor and it was confirmed that he had lost a massive amount of weight (almost 10lbs, which for an already small 6yr old is significant). He wasn’t eating anything. He would go all day on a slice of toast and a cup of fruit.

The doctor took him off of Adderall. The nasty notes from his teacher almost immediately filled his backpack. During Christmas break, I kept him off meds. He gained 2 lbs. The Friday before school started we went back to the doctor, who gave us a sample pack of Strattera.

The first dose was a nightmare. My son has difficulty swallowing pills and after 2 hours, he finally got it down. I had been opening the Adderall capsules and sprinkling them on applesauce for him (which worked fine). When I read the website for Strattera it said not to open the capsules.. my doctor, however, told me it was ok?!

So, I guess my questions are: can you open the capsules or not?? And, has anyone who experienced bad side effects with other drugs experienced them with this drug?

The Strattera has a warning in the insert, which you can get from a pharmacist even if you don't get one with the samples from your doctor, not to let it get in your eyes.

This makes me assume two things.

It got in someone's eyes. It hurt like hell or worse.

It also makes me think that VERY SMALL amounts, may be even what drifts in the air, constitutes enough, to cause real problems, but this is a guess.

I'd be very careful!

the other thing is that a "hostile" environment exacerbates the problems.

A "special room" sohould not be a threat, like a dungeon. if it is more appropriately run, it can be a real blessing. student after student, above and below average have raved about 'getting the attention and services they needed." A special room doesn't guarantee that, but if it is what happens, don't delay would be my say.

http://www.samgoldstein.com/

check out Sam Goldstein. He doesn't want to hear from me, ever again, and i am not an unqualified cheer leader for him, but he has done some important work recognizing non-drug factors that are associated with better long term outcomes for children, than drugs are.

Checking into those should be helpful. He still advocates drugs for adults, because they seem to help. He goes by the numbers, to his credit.

the Strattera is a drug with a wide range of impacts on people at different levels. It is appreciated a great deal by some, but is not the universal "answer" that it was originally advertised to be. Still, if you son is one for whom it works well, that could be a nice interim step.

don't take medical advice from me... i'm not a doctor. check with others, and good luck.

I spoke with Gina, a Strattera specialist at the Eli Lilly Company today (They manufacture Strattera). According to Gina, the reason why they state that the Strattera capsules should note be opened and sprinkled on food, is because the effects of this method of dosage has not been studied by the company. Eli Lilly, therefore, is bound by FDA regulations to indicate that this is not a recommended method of administring a dose.

However, Gina did also confirm to me that she has heard of no reports of negative side effects, related specifically to sprinkling Strattera on food vs. the recommended method of taking the medication orally.

Gina also confirmed that the contents of the Strattera capsule is not time released.

All negative side effects of Strattera should be reported to 1-800-LILLY-RX

Isn't the reason why Stratterra shouldn't be taken that way because it is Atomoxetine-HCl (i.e. Hydrochloride) and can burn your oesophagus if not swallowed in its given form? At least that's what I have heard.

Again, according to Eli Lilly, there are no known reports of problems related to sprinkling strattera on food, however, they have not studied it as a dosing method, and thus, according to the FDA rules, can do nothing but tell people how to take the medication, based on the testing that WAS done.

If it were not for the warning against contact with eyes (a vulnerable mucous membrane) I'd question you.

But bearing that in mind, i think you are specifically correct.

I spoke with a chemist who looked at all the ingredients and could not see any reason why I could not sprinkle it on food. His pediatrician doesn't see a problem with it either.

Anyway, I decided to give it a shot and this morning I opened one of the capsules. I can clearly see why it isn't advised now. The insides of the capsule are nothing like the Adderall. It is a thin powdery substance (almost like powdered sugar).. I had a hell of a time getting it all out of the capsule. I actually don't know if I got it all out or not.

So, I am going to probably continue opening them throughout this week.. and in the evenings and this weekend try to teach the kid to swallow. Someone suggested I try little tic tacs or m&m's..

Thanks for helping!

I can testify to the fact that if the Strattera touches your tongue it has a caustic ,very ,very bitter taste. And the bitter aftertaste is horrible.I know one person who puts it on bread, and then wads the bread into a ball, to avoid contact with the tongue. i have also tried mixing it with jam. But I can certainly see why a child would react very negatively to Strattera powder outside the capsule.

Capsule's are usually composed of geletin which will disolve in warm water...What we do in the long term care facility I work at is place the capsule in 30cc of hot water and let it disolve then we add the med to a strong tasting liquid i.e. grape juice just enough to put in a syringe and can be shot by the patient behind the tongue which gives them control...We have found this to work well and is much less stressful on the patient and the person giving the med. Hugs and good luck

If either strattera or adderall don't seem to be giving you the desired effects, you might want to ask your doctor (and do some of your own research) about the dosage. I havn'et gotten far enough to go through it yet myself, but from what I've read it seems like most people go through a lot of different meds and dosages to find the right thing for them. If your son's dosage of Adderall was too high, it might have been the reason for the side effects. Then again, it could have been the Adderall itself. i did a lot of research on this myself becuase I'm going to be trying strattera soon, and I want to try adderal and ritilin if it doens't work. Appearantly the recommended INITIAL dosage for strattera is 18-25 mg, but a lot of doctors start right off with 40mg. I'm not tryiing to say that I know ANYTHING about this (i'm definately not a doctor and I'm new to ADD) but if strattera ends up giving him bad side effects too, that might be why. Again... it could very possibly be strattera itself. Also, many people work up to higher dosages (60, 80 mg or whatever) so don't be worried if your doctor prescribes that. Also, all my info is from stuff for adults, so for yoru son it will probalby be a lot different.


Doctors really can only guess about what to give someone to help them. Everyone's brain and physical reactions are totally different, and what works for some won't work for others. the only way to know is to try it... so in some ways it really sucks!

Just thought I'd pass on what I've found to you. good luck!!

hi,
Maybe you've already solved your "problem" of not being able to swallow the pills. but what seems to work for us...as we are also on adderall xr, Drew eats something like instant oatmeal or a granolla bar. He takes at least 2 bites first as that seems to relax his throat a bit. Then, swallows the pill with milk...tho he is finally relenting to at least trying different drinks...then finishes his meal. for whatever reason, this works-for him.
hope it helps you too.
Drew's mom