My doctor prescribed me Strattera at 100mg for the first four days, then increase to 120mg after that. He told me to take it in the morning. I'm also on Klonopin 1mg in AM and 1mg at PM. Does this seem like a high starting dose for Strattera? Has anybody else started out at this high of a dose?

Seems totally high. Check out the prescribing guidelines from the drug co.

Does not seem like a normal dosage to start, that said there could be a condition where the higher dosage is called for. I am not a doctor and don't know all the facts, so I can't say for sure it is too high.

Wow, as said, there might be a reason for such a high dose. My understanding is that a slow build up from a low dose, like 40mg is more usual.

I found Strattera to be a very powerful drug, even starting at 40mg it did some very wierd things to me.

I would take it as suggested but at the first sign of overwhelming side effects I would call your doc asap and ask to start on a lower dose and then build up.

Might be worth asking him/her how many times they have prescribed this drug too.

Good luck and I hope it works for you!

That seems high for a starting dose. You may have a worsening of unwanted side effects. I would check with your doctor again to make sure he is sure this is the right dose for you to start out on.

Well, I started the 100mg of Strattera with 1mg Klonopin this morning, and so far (5 hours later), no real negative side affects. Dry mouth is about it. It's really got me really focused and I feel like I'm thinking more clearly now, so that's good. I guess we'll see how the rest of the day goes. Thanks for all the responses.

Everything went fine today until about 2:30 and it felt like I just came crashing down and I couldn't think straight and I got really sleepy. And for some reason it made me feel really depressed. I was totally unproductive at work for the rest of the day.

Everyone in this post said that seemed like a high dosage, so shouldn't it have lasted longer? Does anybody have it last most of the day? It was my first day, so I guess I'll just try again tomorrow and see what happens.

It is not supposed to work like that. It is supposed to build up in your system over time. Other medications for ADHD do work like that however.

That said, for me, I can still feel it wear off as the day progresses and I have been on a month now. But I got the impression it is supposed to more constant than that, hehe, maybe I misread how it works.

It does last for most of the day with me.

Well, I took my dose this morning and now it's like I didn't even take anything. I don't feel nearly as focused as I did yesterday. The side effects are still there and actually are getting worse. I have severed dry mouth and for some reason my genitals are hurting like crazy, has anyone else ever experienced this side effect? It feels like my boys are on fire down there. :confused:

One of the side effects can be an enlargement of the prostate

Srry to intrude on your convo here, but i just wanna let u know that from research and my doctor, 100mgs is the highest dosage that Lilly (strattera's manufacture) makes it in. The FDA did approve a higher dosage, which i believe is 120mgs (60mgs X 2).

100mgs isn't a high dosage, per say, it just depends on the person and how your body is going to react. 20mgs might be too high for person A, while 120mgs might be too low for person B. Its relative, however, I personally believe that 100mgs is wayy to high to start at.

I took 80mgs for about 5 weeks and given the fact that I started taking it at 25mgs and very quickly increased to 40mgs, 60mgs, and 80mgs respectively, I was feeling unbearable side-effects and by the 5th week I had to stop taking it.
80mgs might not have been too high for me at all, but it was the fact that the dosage was increased so rapidly from 25mgs to 80mgs (1.5 weeks span) that my body wasn't able to keep up with the changes the the side-effects were intense.
After all, there is a reason why Lilly makes it clear that a patient needs to start off at a low dosage.

Personally, i think that starting at 100mgs, never mind increasing too quickly, is certainly high. I can't even imagine what kind of intense side-effects that would have on me after a few days. :/ But of course every person is different and your doctor may have thought that it was better that way, but its certainly a much different path than most people take.

Good luck. Hope it does work out. :)Strattera is after all a great medication, too bad it doesn't work for everyone.

Well, I took my dose this morning and now it's like I didn't even take anything. I don't feel nearly as focused as I did yesterday. The side effects are still there and actually are getting worse. I have severed dry mouth and for some reason my genitals are hurting like crazy, has anyone else ever experienced this side effect? It feels like my boys are on fire down there. :confused:

I'm curious did you get any blurry vision or anything else? It seems like that high of a dosage to start would have bad side effects. I had 40mg for the first 4 days and now I take 80mg. I have been taking Strattera for a total of a week and a day and it finally seems to be taking effect.

Well, I've tried this for 11 days now, and I'm calling it quits. I'm on 120mg, and the side effects are kicking my a**. It's just not worth it.

Well, I've tried this for 11 days now, and I'm calling it quits. I'm on 120mg, and the side effects are kicking my a**. It's just not worth it.


How bad are your side effects? Strattera rlly is a great med that provides 24h effects as well as an aid in anxiety and depression. The hard part is sticking through the first 4-6 that are the hardest since the body has to adapt.
In my opinion, i think that if your side effects aren't too severe, then you should give it at least 4 weeks. Sticking through it is worth it bc it has a lot of many benefits stimulants can't offer.

In my case however, I stopped taking it cold turkey at my 5th week on Strattera because the side effects I was experiencing were making my life harder than it already was, and I was too impatient to wait for improvements and too anxious too try the widely known stimulants. I didn't want to wait for the painful side effects to slowly go away and I wanted to see results!
I urged my docter to take me off Strattera and give me something different because I couldn't tolerate it any more. He then put me on Ritalin and then concerta with ritalin booster.

I'm now seriously contemplating on giving Strattera another shot because despite the hard adapting period, i notice now that i was a happier person when i was on it. I was much less depressed in general, and i was somewhat more responsible. I think if i had given it more time that i would have seen a much bigger change and less side effects. Stimulants definitly give me more focus (although not as much as i'd like), they also cause other things like anxiety, insominia, and decreased libido.

But of course, everyone is different and although with patience and time, it may prove to be very benefical for a lot of people, it is also said to be very difficult to handle even after the body adapts.

So thus I ask, how bad are you side effects? Bc if they are really severe then nevermind what i just said. But if you think that you can hang in there for a while longer, then it might be worth it. :)

I really wish I could keep taking it, because I'm not too keen on taking any stimulants. I had a wide variety of side effects on Strattera. For me, it actually felt like I was on a stimulant. I took 120mg in the morning and within an hour, it felt like I suddenly had a real sense of urgency about everything. I felt a real anxious feeling in my chest of all places. Kind of like butterflies in your stomach, but in my chest instead. Then I also had very severe dry mouth. I also had some more graphic side effects, so you may not want to read the next few sentences. My genitals would hurt like hell and it felt like I always had to pee, even immediately after I would go, I still felt like I had to pee. Plus, it hurt after sex. And I was also extremely constipated.

So the combination of all those side affects just isn't worth it. It's literally too physically painful to keep taking it. It may work well for others, but it just didn't work out for me. I'm at my wits end though. I tried Vyvanse first, but I almost ended up in the emergency room from that, now this. I don't know what's next, but I'm really starting to doubt anything's going to help. I don't know what to do.

Humm... wish i could help some more. :/
I think you should call up Lilly (makers of strattera). I called them when i was taking it and told them of all the side effects. They are very helpfull, and if they hear a side effect which they know to be dangerous, they then ask your permission to call ur doctor themselves and let him know. Also, Lilly might be able to tell you if side effects like those are known to disappear after a few weeks or even if they are serious.
Anyways, I understand ur situation, i've been feeling pretty hopeless myself. I'm on stims now and they aren't very helpful. The only thing that seems to work is adderall which i tried from a friend, but can't tell the doc that, so he keeps giving me different forms of ritalin and its making my life horrible.

if u don't mind me asking, y did u end up in the er from vyvanse?
well, anyways, good luck.

I didn't actually end up in the ER, but I almost went. Before being prescribed Strattera, my doctor first prescribed Vyvanse. I don't recall the exact dosage, but I think it was 90mg?, but I'm not positive. But the first day I took it, it was literally the worst experience I've ever had. My heart felt like it was racing, I had cold sweats, and a migraine headache. I could feel every vessel in my head pounding with every heartbeat and it felt like my head was going to explode (and I don't mean that figuratively, it literally felt like that was going to happen). I was very disoriented. I tried to drink some water and eat a cracker. Even after drinking the water, it felt like I was trying to eat sand when I was eating the cracker. Then I immediately threw it all up. I immediately called my doctor. Oddly enough he told me to immediately take another pill. He said I had the symptoms of an overdose, but it was really an under dose. I was very skeptical (and scared as hell), but I followed his orders, and sure enough about 30 minutes later, everything started returning to normal.

He called me later on that evening to check on me, so I thought that was thoughtful of him. I continued to take it for a couple more weeks, but the stimulant effect was too much. So I refused to take any more, and thus the Straterra. I don't know what to try next, but this has been the most mentally and physically painful two months trying to get this figured out. I feel like I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown. Right now I'm on 1mg Klonopin in the morning, 60mg Cymbalta in the evening, and 1mg Klonopin in the evening. This was prescribed to me along with the Strattera. I feel no effects from the Cymbalta, good or bad. The Klonopin definitely evens me out, but I still don't feel "right", if that makes any sense.

It could be the medications acting with each other. Strattera is a NRI (norepinphrine reuptake inhibitor), and cymbalta is both an NRI and SRRI. So it could be overdosage. Calling Lilly would definitly help you out since both of these medications are made by Lilly. :)

I didn't get to 100 mg until the start of my second year on Stratterra. I have been at 100 mg before bedtime for a year now. I am now in my fourth day of detoxing before I meet with my doc to ask him to put me back on an extended release stimulant. I think I am gonna ask him to let me try out VyVanse.

I didn't get to 100 mg until the start of my second year on Stratterra. I have been at 100 mg before bedtime for a year now. I am now in my fourth day of detoxing before I meet with my doc to ask him to put me back on an extended release stimulant. I think I am gonna ask him to let me try out VyVanse.

Headspace, can I ask why it took so long to go to 100mg? My child is at 35 mg and has been for 5 weeks. We went slow for a variety of reasons. As we've increased, his appetite worsened and he had sleep problems. Just wondering about your experience.