Adderall vs. Strattera

[msam76]

Just wondering if anyone has had experience with both. I have taken Strattera in the past and really didn't care for it. Only took if a few days, really messed up my stomach. Adderall do the same thing?

[Bipolarruledout]

They are really very differant drugs. Stratera I'm not a fan of for a few reasons but for some it has been a wonderfull drug. First it's more of an antidepressant rather than a stimulant and needs to build up in your system. It makes some people very tired and this is NOT what I'm looking for. As a new drug it's not very well researched and I'm not a fan of new drugs when old ones work better in some cases and are cheaper and safer. Thats a personal opinion as I have a love/hate complex for drug companies in general. And that brings me to the fact that much of it's marketing rests on the fact that many parents don't like the idea of giving their kids "addictive steet drugs" thus helping to further distort the misperceptions of stimulant therapy. It's also apparently has some nasty sexual SE's like more other antidepressants particularly if you happen to be a male. Good things? It can work great COMBINED with stims for certain types of ADD and I think it's very underrated for use in other mental illnesses. Watch for it to be approved for all sorts of things in the future. It's not controled so you can all the refills you want.

I happen to think lilly pushed it out the door for a quick buck but I guess it's good to have another tool in the tool box. If your concidering it I would not downplay the effectiveness of wellbutrin. Another drugs that underrated for ADD and does NOT have many sexual SE's... unless you count it working a little like viagra to be a problem. Most people don't seem to mind that.

[spunkysmum]

I took Strattera, didn't really see a dramatic difference, so stopped taking it eventually. My take is, if you don't remember to take it, it's probably not working all that well.

I just got a prescription for Adderall and am waiting for it to come in the mail from my company's health insurance provider's mail-in pharmacy.

After reading about it, I'm really getting excited to get started on it.

The only thing that worries me about it is that I hope it won't give me headaches, like I have gotten from herbal energy formulas in the past. Also hope it won't exacerbate depression.

[nzkiwi]

lilly originally investigated the drug for depression, didn't work so well. After spending all that money on research and patent protection they decided to find some other use for the drug(adhd). I agree that there are probably better medicines for add/adhd, that being said i'm sure it helps many when stimulants fail.

[nzkiwi]

I can't imagine strattera being much better for adhd than wellbutrin, perhaps a different side effect profile. Wellbutrin could have very easily gained fda approval for adhd if glaxo wanted to spend the money, probably didn't because of patent expiration.

[*~ §EEK ~*]

I took Adderall for 10 years (5 years of IR and 5 years of XR)

I now take Strattera and I've been very pleased with it.

In my opinion, neither Adderall or Strattera is a perfect ADD med.

They both have there Pro's and Con's.

Adderall is like a bandaid, where as Strattera is like an antibiotic ointment. (to me)

Neither work perfectly by themselves, but together they might be the perfect combo for me.

I'm going to talk to my doctor about this combo at my next appointment.

[nzkiwi]

If strattera is working well for you I would not change a thing. Why do you want to include adderall?

[*~ §EEK ~*]

Originally Posted by nzkiwi

If strattera is working well for you I would not change a thing. Why do you want to include adderall?

Strattera has a bit of sedating effect to it, which tends to effect my motivation in a negative way. However, it also has a calming effect and I'm not really sure if it's related to the sedation or not.

Adderall really motivates me. It gives me a little push to get things done and I really miss that. However, I certainly don't miss the insomnia I got with the Adderall.

Strattera fixed my internal clock. I use to be late all the time. Now I'm never late anywhere. I also don't seem to need as much sleep as I use to need. And when I wake up, I am really "AWAKE", almost as if I had already drank a pot of coffee.

Adderall never effected my internal clock. I was still late all the time. However, as I said Adderall motivates really well and I really could use that little nudge to get things done. All the focus and concentration in the world won't help you much if you are unmotivated.

So, as I said they both Adderall and Strattera have there Pros and Cons, and neither is a perfect ADD medication. But I'm thinking that perhaps smaller amounts of both medications might work very well for me.

[msam76]

Seek~ I love the signature line!!!

[*~ §EEK ~*]

Originally Posted by msam76

Seek~ I love the signature line!!!

LOL Thx

I got tired of saying "I'm not a doctor, but in my experience......."

[Hyperion]

Wellbutrin could have very easily gained fda approval for adhd if glaxo wanted to spend the money, probably didn't because of patent expiration

Wellbutrin has a nasty side-effect profile, and can induce seizures at doses not much higher than those used therapeutically (it was originally introduced at higher doses that could cause seizures). I think that GSK was concerned that they would have a very difficult time getting it approved for use in children as a result, and an even harder time marketing it with those risks. Keep in mind that children make up the majority of ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions.

Amphetamine and methylphenidate are two of the safest (when used correctly), most studied medications on this planet, but look at the panic that people manage to stir up over any perceived safety risk whatsoever...there's no way that bupropion would have been approvable or marketable in the current environment.

Maybe when other (non-ADHD) people gain some sanity on the subject of ADHD and stop acting (ironically) like a bunch of hyperactive ten-year-olds about how we're "drugging" our nation's children, it might be possible.

(I apologize to any hyperactive ten-year-olds who might be offended at having their emotional maturity compared to that of Tom Cruise and his cult)

[msam76]

Originally Posted by *~ §EEK ~*

Adderall really motivates me. It gives me a little push to get things done and I really miss that. However, I certainly don't miss the insomnia I got with the Adderall.

Yes, I can see exactly what you said. I started Adderall XR yesterday and was up until 2am, back up and wide awake at 5am. And I am only at 10mg. Wonder what will happen next week when I go up to the 20mg??? I do notice a difference in Adderall and Straterra already. Straterra seemed to be very sedating, even the first day or two I took it. I felt like a zombie. Adderall is the exact opposite. I think I am really liking the Adderall compaired to Straterra.

[RD592]

Im currently on strattera right now. I was med free for 9 years up until about 5 or 6 months ago. Adderall was my last stim medication that I took. I don t really remember if it worked or not but I do remember that I had head aches and I would stay up all night. I also remember that it used to give me lots of energy, but to sum it all up I stoped taking the med because I failed college and I got off of my parents insurence. I was having problems due to my ADHD so I went to the doctor he put me on strattera. He told me to give this stuff about 3 weeks to work. I was ready to give up after week 1, I felt like calling my doctor a letting him have a peace of my mind, then when I uped my dosage I really got p'd off but I stuck it out, and Im glad I did.
I have been on strattera for 5 months now I it has did wonder for me. I did have a some side effects that almost made me give them up, but the doc got the dosage right.

Im just saying dont knock something before you try it. ( give this stuff time to work) I read too muck on this sight and oters about strattera and I wanted to give up the first week but Im glad I didnt.

[msam76]

Originally Posted by RD592

Im just saying dont knock something before you try it. ( give this stuff time to work) I read too muck on this sight and oters about strattera and I wanted to give up the first week but Im glad I didnt.

Good point. Many will tend to do that. I will admitt that I gave it up in the first week due to the side effects. I had to, side effects were interferring in my job. I am glad it is working for you. The last thing I wanted was a stimulant that would keep me up half the night. Some psychiatrists love Straterra, others stay as far away from it as possible. Everyone will react differently to each medication. Hopefully, with little trial and error, we can all find what is right for us.

[msam76]

Originally Posted by *~ §EEK ~*

But I'm thinking that perhaps smaller amounts of both medications might work very well for me.

Great thinking! I wonder if a pdoc will do that? Let me know how you make out and if your pdoc does it, keep us posted on results!