Hi to all! I was looking for opinions/advise what ever input you would like to share. My son 12, was put on strattera, first med ever tried. He was diagnosed 7 years ago and I treated him naturally but I was unable to get a handle on his hyperactivity any longer so I decided to try strattera. he started on 25 mg for the first 4 days. On the fifth day we were to go to the 40mg dose. On the first day of the 40 mg dose he went WILD! He was standing on my coffee table trying to stick his hand between the fan blades while it was spinning on high. Hanging out windows. Putting a knife to his neck with this strange smile on his face. Talking about wanting to die. I called the dr. and obviously he was taken off it. Now they want me to try adderall. I am not sure if I want to try this. I know one is an antidepresant and the other a stimulant. I fear that he could be bi-polar and it scares me to death to try the adderall. I do have a daughter who's 8 who does have bi-polar and a 3 year old with mood disorder/tourette's diagnosis. Now, my son can be very annoying, running, jumping, never sitting still. He will interrupt adult conversations and think he knows it all. Honestly, I didn't think of him as anything but hyperactive but now I am starting to wonder. How many of you would give the adderall a try? Has anyone else here had any bad experiences with strattera and good results with the stim meds? Sorry so long, just wanted to give as much info as possible to get the input you may want to share. Thanks for listening.

Wow I never heard of that reaction to strattera! Adderall at least you should know immediately what the effect is. I'd try it but under extremely close supervision.

I don't blame you for being leery. If you try the Adderall, my advice would be to start at a low dose, and use the short-acting form so it won't stay in his system too long if the results are bad. Good luck ... I hope you find the answer soon!

I would take Adderall over Strattera anyday - I'm actually glad that Strattera's not yet available in Canada so my family Dr can't suggest it. Stimulants are safe, effective and have fewer side effects than Strattera - at least according to what I've seen and read. Stimulants have also been used in children for years and years - so their effects from long term use are well known, and are nothing to worry about.
The only advantage I can see with Strattera is that it isn't a stimulant - which is only an advantage if you have bad stimulant side effects like weight loss (for someone who is already skinny), sleep problems or if you have other conditions that are contraindicated (heart problems, Tourette's syndrome, seizures, high blood pressure, etc.)
Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that Strattera's available - Stimulant's don't work for everyone and it's good to have other options - but Strattera, in my non-expert opinion, is not a first line drug for ADD/ADHD - Stimulants are effective in a higher percentage of people, they work a bit better (anicdotal evidence here - this type of thing is hard to judge), and they work very quickly (vs waiting from 3 days to 3 weeks for Strattera) - not to mention that in generic versions, stimulants are going to be much much cheaper than Strattera if you don't have a drug plan!
So I would trust your doctor's judgement and give the Adderall a try if he recommends it - there is little to fear or lose in trying it.
Good luck,
Greg

I've heard that Strattera, which is an antidepressent, can send someone with bipolar into a manic episode. It certainly seems to have done that for your son.

I don't know that much about bipolar, but I've heard from others that either have a child with bipolar or have bipolar themselves, that it's important to get the bipolar under control before treating the ADHD, since stimulants can make the symptoms of bipolar worse.

Good luck with everything--I know how nervewracking it is!!

Maureen

My son is 13 and has done very well on adderall xr. no side effects except weight loss (about 5 lbs in 40 days)...but he has a few extra to spare.

Be careeful with the adderall. My dd's psych told me to never put her on it. If you have any aggressive behavior, it tends to want to bring it out a little more. My daughter may also be bipolar, and I think the adderall thing may have had something to do with that too. But I have never read this, this is just what I was told for my daughter and every child is different.

What a scary episode to have to deal with. Let me just tell you that my son is 19 yrs. old but also did not do well on Straterra and is now on Adderall XR 20 mg.
I guess its not a good thing to down a certain medication, as certain meds. work well for individuals. In my case tho, I can relate to you so I thought I'd reply even tho our sons are different ages. My son did well for a few months but soon started getting hopelessly depressed, agitated, angry and cried alot. I even had one evening sitting with him while he cried and carried on hitting himself in the head with his hands out of sheer frustration at how badly his thoughts were bothering him and how physically awful he felt. So In my sons' case the Straterra was clearly not working for him.

My son has now been on Adderall XR 20 mg for five days now, and I to was afraid to put him on a stimulant instead of something that was non stimulant, I was really disappointed that the Straterra didn't work for that reason. However, so far (fingers crossed) Justin (son) feels so much better with Adderall. He seems calmer and peaceful and evenly focused. Of course behaviors will be different with the age difference in our sons, but I wanted you to know that you don't have to be afraid of trying this medication this just may work for your son to. This medication also keeps you very wakeful and alert so it may be that your son needs to have another small does of medication so he can sleep, or the other alternative would be for you to give him the Adderall early enough in the morning so that it will wear off close to his bedtime. In any case, of course, discuss this with your doctor.

Currently my son who is 6' 3" and weighs about 170 lbs. is taking Adderall XR 20 mg. and at night to relax and settle him so he can sleep he takes a small does of respiradone .05 mg.

Best of luck with what ever you decide is best for your son, and let me know how that goes ? I'll be thinking of you and wishing you some peace as I do for everyone here, both parents and A.D.D. sufferers.

Kim Dwight

Sounds like way too much too soon! We have started at 10 mg, staying there for 7 days, then 18 mg for 7 days then 25 for I don't know how long. It might still work but it seems to be even more aggressive than the guidelines.

My son is currently taking Adderall XR. I have also heard that Stimulants have the highest success rate for helping ADHD'ers and have been used for many years. I know Ritalin has been used for 50 years! Only recently has non-stimulant medication been used to help those with ADHD, and usually that is only when stimulants dont work.

He should start out at 10mg. And, I suggest starting on a Saturday so he's home the first two days so you can monitor him very well.

My son is 7 and he's currently taking 30mg each morning. He needs a higher dosage and the dr will only increase by incriments of 10mg every two weeks. Next week I'll be calling to get a new script for 40 as the first week he does well, the second week he gets moody. Otherwise, he's great. A little trouble falling asleep so that he used to go to bed at 8PM now he doesnt want to go to sleep until 9 or sometimes even 10 (such as on the weekends when I sleep in a little bit and he doesnt get his medication until a little later in the morning than on school days). He gets a very very slight tummy ach the first day or two of the increase, but that goes away. And it's not bad enough to affect his eating or anything. He's very thin - all muscles and bones! But, he's not loosing any weight on Adderall.

You may end up trying a couple different medications before you find the right one that works for your son. Not all people respond well to all medications. It's one of the hardest parts of ADHD. But, stick with it and evenually you'll get the right med at the right dose and everything will be great!!