Calling all Moms of younger kids on Strattera...... - ADD / ADHD Message Board

mommtothree · 07-01-2003, 02:18 PM

How about we post how are kids are doing with it?

My son who is 9 will be starting on Saturday. 25mg for 4 days then 40 mg for the rest ...... He is 72 pounds and tall... I will start posting a diary of what is going on if others will do so too to help me.... Sound like a good idea?......

[This message has been edited by mommtothree (edited 07-01-2003).]

crillmom · 07-01-2003, 03:52 PM

My son is also 9 but only weighs 56 pds. We started straterra 5 weeks ago and overall I am very pleased. He is much happier and calmer than he was on adderal he also can now fall asleep much easier and he is eating which is huge because he is so skinny. I will warn you that at week two he became very moody and emotional. It did go away within a few days. also I find that one dose a day ins not enough to make it through the day. I give him a 10mg. pill at about 4:00 and that makes it last.He takes 25 mg in the morning. If you have any questions let me know. Good luck

suzy_Q · 07-01-2003, 04:18 PM

My son is 8 and has been on Strattera for about three months, this is his first med. The first week or two were tough very tired and nauseous. We too went through a moody stage but he seems to be out of it now. Overall the response has been great. Much calmer more focused, we had big impulse issues and this seems to have helped alot. He got the best report card he's ever had this past June. He is starting to make some friends and his self esteem is slowly working it's way up. I don't think I saw how much the adhd was eating away at his self confidence until we put him on the drugs and saw the change. Good luck to you hope you have the same results we did. Any questions... shoot them my way I'd be happy to help if I can. I know this board has saved my sanity, having people to relate to been priceless.

[This message has been edited by relieved mom (edited 07-01-2003).]

KayKay · 07-01-2003, 08:21 PM

My son is 11 years old. Weight 70 lbs. We tried ritilin, aderall, and Concerta off and on for 2 years. Doctors took him off all meds when he lost way to much weight and the meds would stop working and they would increase then a few months later they would stop again.

After 2 years of no meds. We tried strattera. Started on 25mg for 4 days. Had to give it to him at night because he could not stay awake during the day. Seemed to be working. We did note the moody period about 1 week into the meds. Then he started complaining of a stomach ache. Found out he was constipated. Gave him something for that. Which gave him some relief. Then it keep happening. Went back to the doctor she said give it 2 more weeks if the constipation does not stop take him off the meds.

Well after a month of meds we had to stop. He would go for 6 days at a time and not be able to go to the bathroom. Even after starting him on benifiber 2 times a day.

So we are medicine free again. I will report that the strattera just did not seem to work all that great. It did slow him down, but was not a calm effect it was a dead tired state. Also did not seem to help him focus. Only good thing I noted was he went to bed really early and his mood was some what better.

Oh also the meds caused him to wake a number of times during the night and had a hard time returning to sleep. Now that he is off the meds. He is resting well again and the constipation has stopped.

We are going to stay off meds for the rest of the summer and see how he does when school starts.

Kay

T-bone-Mama · 07-01-2003, 10:05 PM

My son who just turned 9 was on Strattera for two months (Feb.-March) His behavior took a drastic change for the worse. He became paranoid to the point of being terrified of going to school because he thought bombs were going to blow the building up. He could not function in the classroom - he would hide in the closet, lay down under his desk, and constantly call out. He was in the Principal's office every day, and did not even understand why. It took several weeks for the drug to get out of his system, and it was during this time that he was re-evaluated by the child study team and diagnosed with Pervasive Development Disorder NOS with a recommendation for full-time special ed in a class for kids with behavior disorders. The ONLY time my son had such severe symptoms of PDD was while he was on Strattera; he is otherwise a pretty normal ADHD kid with some outstanding qualities along with his idiosyncrosies. He is now on Ritalin (15 mg. in the morning and 10mg. at lunch time), and is doing very well. For him, Strattera was literally a nightmare.

[This message has been edited by T-bone-Mama (edited 07-02-2003).]