Hi,

Well I thought my son finally found a med that was going to work. Its been 4 months now with the first 2 just getting Strattera into the system and the last 2 fine tuning with Ritalin in the morning. Seemed to be working wonderful but now, just like all the other meds, it has stopped giving him any benefits at all! So frustrated!!!!!!!!

Now what?? Seems we have tried all the first line meds for ADHD over the past 2 years, all working for a time, some longer than others, some with more side effects, but they all seemed to help for a while.

Anyone gone through this? Hopeless and Helpless is what I am feeling now:confused:......

What dose of strattera is he currently taking?

60mg of Strattera in the evening(causes sleepiness) and 5mg of Ritalin in the morning.
The Dr. says this is the max he can take safely for his size. All the meds he was on we went up to the max. dose then had to switch.

Wow. I understand the struggle you are going through. I've gone from medication to medication because lots didn't work for me so I know how tough it can be going from medication to medication. Did the doctor ever try Wellbutrin XL? It's a different kind of medication. Wellbutrin XL is an anti-depressant that's used commonly for ADHD. Also, there's a newer medication called Vyvanse that could also be tried if it has not. Vyvanse may not do the same thing but that's a guess and not a definite answer.

Thanks for your reply and suggestions. We had talked about Wellbutrin but it is really not for under 18. My H is on it (as well as Concerta)so I was thinking it could work but then for how long?

This is what I am wondering, has anyone gone through building up tolerances to meds that worked and what did they do about it.

I'm sorry to hear this, Mrs. A. I know you have been working on this for quite some time to find the right meds/combos. :-(

Tolerance can be a good thing in the case of say side effects being reduced.
I would guess for every drug it will interact with a large number of proteins.
The body having some varying degree ability with each protein/drug interaction to try to minimize the effects of the drug on those individual systems(homeostasis?).

The lowest dose of a drug is often prescribe initially so the body can adjust to
it. And ideally the lowest effective dose of a drug should be used. But its effectiveness might get reduced by the bodies homeostatic mechanisms. My guess is there is a dose of strattera the body will not be able to adjust to related to the intended action of strattera(like its noradrenalin re-uptake
action). Though presumable some of the side effects might be unavoidable at that dose. So it really amounts to increasing the dose till the side effects
can no longer be tolerated. Presumably the developers of strattera have determine a reasonable dose will work long term in most users.

Thanks theta I am not sure if he can go any higher as he is at the maximum mg/kg now.
We will be going back next Thursday so hopefully he will have some answers. I am just so frustrated. I have heard of going back and forth from one med to another every couple of months or so, but that wouldn't work with Strattera as it needs to get into the body for weeks before any positive results are seen.