Hello,
My name is Clark and I am new to this site. I was diagnosed with ADHD when i was a child but my mother would not let me take any medication for it because she said "I don't want you to use it as a crutch." The symptoms have not gotten any better and the doctor decided to put me on medication today. I have used free samples of adderall and they worked great. But he said he wants me to use strattera. I have not had any experience with this medication. I was wondering how many of you have used this and what your experience with it was/is? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Clark

edit: The doctor said that he would put my on vyvanse if I wanted which he said was a newer/better version of adderall. I just want to know any experience with the strattera. Thank you.

Keep looking thru the post on here. I havent taken strattera BUT all the things I have read on here say the side effects are AWFUL! I have been on adderall xr for about 3 months now. Its working pretty well. Not really having any side effect unless I add caffeine to it. I usually get a extra boost of energy. If i do to much caffeine with the adderall it makes me *****Y! So i dont do that much tea. I LOVE TEA! I bought decaf though so I dont get to caffeinated. LOL. I you have combined type add/adhd where you are kinda hyper and impulsive then the stimulants tend to work better for you is my experience so far and its what alot of people on here have said as well. Vyvanse has gotten alot of good reviews.

Feel free to browse our medication section (http://www.addforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=18) to find information on those most commonly used for the treatment of ADD/ADHD

Thank you. Sorry I did not spend more time reading before I posted. I was about to fall asleep when I found this forum so I just posted instead of continuing to read lol. I will read through more posts when I get home from work this evening.

:)welcome aboard cy...this forum is a wealth of info....hope you find what

you need....

keep us posted ....we really care:)

I've recently stopped using Strattera after two years. There were a couple of reasons why I chose to do so.
I found Strattera to be a fairly effective drug in that it allowed me to be more organised and to get through my work day with relative ease.
Being inattentive, I found it near useless for two of the major issues that really bug me, that is dysthymia and lack of motivation.

A bonus of Strattera was that it allowed me to have more control when it came to impulsivity, giving me the ability to have greater foresight in action/words and to plan ahead; to be dispassionate in my decision making, and to not get so emotionally and mentally invested in things that didn't really require it.

Another plus was not having to deal with the "boom and bust" of short acting medications, which in itself was kind of distracting for me in the workplace.
I found though that a long acting medication is a double-edged sword.
By the end of the night I would find myself unable to sleep, and not treating the dysthymia I was unable to become engaged in something interesting enough to give myself relief. After all if I'm awake I may as well be doing something mentally stimulating.

After using it for two years I simply felt that some of the things I loved about being me such as spontaneity/humour/creativity were kind of ebbing away. Also I find I like at times being able to hyperfocus, thinking is in itself incredibly enjoyable for me.

My partner observed that I spent a greater deal of time looking out the window than usual, that my face was less animated while conversing, and that he wondered if I was upset about something from my outward behaviour, when I was actually just a million miles away mentally.

I now take Ritalin again, and simply accept its drawbacks as stated above. This forces me to have my hand at the wheel at all times (boom/bust) as opposed to taking my meds and floating through the day appearing outwardly functioning and organised, while on the inside being bored stiff and fairly aloof from the here and now.



I guess the bottom line for me was that in the end though I was "functioning", it minimized the enjoyable aspects of my experience. I figured life is too short to be spent in its entirety working to deliver whatever it is the outside world demands of me.
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Physical side effects I experienced were mainly sleep issues, a little headachey, increased thirst and lessened appetite.

Well, I have started the Strattera. I think I can tell that I am a little more focused but I know that it will take weeks for the full effects to kick in. The only thing that I could tell was that I have been waking up every few hours throughout the night. I think I laid in for about 30 mins before I fell back asleep. I will keep posting about my experience as it continues. Thank you.