Hello everyone. I am in desparate need here. I have a 15 year old daughter who was just recently diagnosed with ADHD - combined type. She was first put on Adderall and did not tolerate it well, then switched to Focalin and that was even worse. Finally, she has been on Strattera for about 4 months. She seems to be doing fine, but said she still had trouble staying focused such as when she was reading. Her doctor added 5 milligrams of Adderall back to the Strattera and so far so good. I think that some of the problem when she tried the stimulants previously was that she was nervous and anxious and that just made the stimulants worse, but she seems to be doing fine now with the 5 milligrams added to the Strattera.

Since beginning the Strattera she has begun pulling out her eyebrows. When I question her about it she says that she doesn't know she is doing it. My question is, could the eye brow pulling be a side effect of the Strattera? I know it isn't the Adderall because she was doing it before she was put on the Adderall. She has never had this problem before. I do not know if she has developed a habit or if it is due to the medication, what do I do?

Certainly it could be a side effect of Strattera - really, anything could be. I think, though, that it is more likely another manifestation of her anxiety. That's my guess. Is she in counselling?

Not at the present time, no. She has seen a psychologist for severe anxiety attacks in the past, but it has been well over a year since she has even had an anxiety attack. (She began having them when her Grandmother (to whom she was very close) became very ill and then died). I hope it is simply a habit that she will get out of, I probably should talk with her doctor to see what she thinks.

karel,

I used to pull out my eyelashes and chew my fingernails and twirl the ends of my shoulder-length hair when I was younger. I wasn't on drugs at the time. It has been mentioned in a few of these threads that a bit of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) often goes along with ADD. The drugs might be increasing her tendency to do some repetitive action, of course, and this must be watched as perhaps an unwanted side-effect. But it could also be that it's merely a visible behavior -- meaning that some of us have similar "tics", we just manage to do things that are not so noticeable. :D

--Rheanna