Three days I started my 7 year old on Strattera. He's on the beginning dosage so I see no effects positive or negative at this point.

My question is... Is it working for anyone? I see so many negative comments on this board that I would like to know if anyone thinks it works. I understand that it is the nature of this board for people to come here with problems as opposed to successes - perhaps we're just not hearing those success stories.

I definitely think that the manufacturer should read what's being reported here.

DawnP

I agree we should report our experiences to the manufacturer. My son (10) went downhill after about the fifth week on the drug. He often said he was "arguing with my own brain" and simply was not the same kid. We just removed the drug (found out you can do so abruptly) so we should see a change in a few days. Good luck to you, but in our house it was a poor decision to try Strattera (hindsight, of course).

i am new at this message board thing,but i am at my wits end. we have been using stattera for atleast 2 months. It has been a night mare. iwas sold on it by being told the the mornings and nights would be better.My son who is 12 was taking 108mg of concerta a day. It was o.K. but the mornings and evenings were wild. the meds didn't work the full 12 hrs. we were told that it would build up in the system and would be a more even day. We spent the first 3 weeks in a whirlwind. We were told to be patient that it seem to talk a little long then first told. they finnally up the dose to 60mg. It seemed to work ok in the morning but afternoons were wild. At 6 weeks i place calls to the nurse only for them to tell me to be patient again. i tried to tell them that they just didn't understand. I had to keep an eye on him 24/7. Then he burn his leg .3degree burns .Called Dr. they put him on 60 mg straterra and 54 mg concerta. He is not sleeping ,not eating and he has lost 5 pounds. He only weighed 74 to begin with. I reduced it to 40mg straterra. A little better. But we need some help.

My son is 8 years old and he has been on Strattera for 3 weeks now. He has improved so much at school. He even got an award last week for being the "Neat kid of the week" for listening and paying attention. His report card was wonderful this week. He got all "S" on his conduct grade. This is the first medication he has ever been on, that may have an effect on him.

My other son is only 6 and has been all sorts of medications. Right now he is on Concerta and is not doing well on it. He got 6 "N's" in conduct this report card. I want to put him on Straterra, but the Dr. said No to it right now.

This is so frustrating!

So as far as Strattera, I would keep your child on it for a while and give it a chance.

------------------
Single Mom of 2 boys with ADHD.

We've given it a chance and we don't like it. It adversely changed our son's personality and overall outlook on life. We are now exploring alternatives.

My son has been on 40 mgs now going on week 4. At first this really seemed like the right med for him, he seemed calmer, nicer... but by week 2 on the 25mg does it was like he is not on meds at all.. I am tempted to call the dr and ask if his dose needs to be increased. Before this we were using adderall xr which was working fine, I tried this because it is not an amphetamine and he has always been real thin because of the adderall.. I will give strattera the rest of the month, If I don't see some drastic changes i am switching back to adderall xr.

Today is the end of week four for my 9 year old on Strattera...By the end of the 3rd week I was ready to call it quits...he was very moody, unable to focus in school and it just didn't seem to be doing anything that we had hoped (or anything at all for that matter). This week, however, has been much better, he is doing well with his schoolwork...has had a couple of issues at recess, nothing major and nothing that is unlike any other 9 year old boy...The biggest thing for us, however, is that he seems so much happier and more like his old self than he did on any stimulant med (he was on Adderall for the past 1 and 1/2 years, which helped him focus in school and made him less impulsive but really dulled his personality which I hated)...I am still not convinced that this is the treatment answer for us but if things continue to progress this way, I would be thrilled...I will keep posting.

This is the end of week #8 for my 8 year old son on strattera. Though I was ready to call it quits a few times along the way I'm glad we stuck with it. My son weighs 57 lbs. and is taking 36 mg. of strattera a day and things seem to be leveling out. I spoke with his teacher yesturday and things are looking good. He's getting his work done, his reading has improved (whether this is the med or if he was just ready to move up is unclear), and mornings are so much easier than with the concerta. My son also has tourettes disorder and experiences both vocal and motor tics and is taking a low dose of risperdal to help with those as well, and because of the tics I have always been concerned about his socialization in school and whether or not he would be left out. But just yesturday my heart was so uplifted when after a conversation with his teacher and her assurances that for the most part his peers accept him for who he is his tics and all she invited me down to the classroom to see him at a table with about 6 other boys and they were all engaged in conversation with my son and a book that he was holding. It felt so good to see him in that setting and being just like any other 8 year old boy. I'm sticking with this for a while longer, I feel like I am seeing glimpses of my son before all the troubles started and I realize how much I missed him! He was definitely a different child on the concerta, sure he could focus but he was sooo different. I also firmly believe that he experienced some withdrawal symptoms after stopping the concerta. We had a few days where he was just off the walls, practically climbing out of his skin--it was very painful to watch. So anybody out there who is seeing a worsening in symptoms after being on the strattera for a few weeks, consider it may not be the strattera causing the behavior, but possibly the body reacting to not having the stimulant any longer. I hope this helps anybody who is on the fence and considering stopping after just a few weeks. It may just need a little more time.

I am a 25 year old male. Today is my second day on Strattera and I already feed a difference. im still on the starting dose (i think its 40mg then up to 80). the first day i actually felt high but my mind was clear. today my mind is finnally quiet. today for the first time i looked out the window and was able to think about nothing. it was a peace ive never known before. i don't know what to expect in the future, but so far so good.

CMMG

I just wanted to reply to your comment about the withdrawal. My son has been taking Concerta for a year. When he is "off" the medication in the evenings and mornings, he is wild!! My husband swears he is worse than he ever was before we started meds. I think it is a withdrawal! You have a valid point worth repeating - especially about parents mistaking the withdrawal for the Strattera not working.

I think I am seeeing positive effects although we just started the Strattera. He is still taking the Concerta during the day but I will be taking him off in a few weeks. I think I will wean him off though instead of just going cold turkey. His evenings seem better. I'll keep posting.

DawnP

We are into week six on Strattera. The first week he was extremely tired and no appetite, those symptoms have passed. He was very jittery when we first upped his dosage but that passed. He has had a few 4-5 episodes where he gets very upset, cries and complains of confusion and tenseness. But we haven't had one of those in almost two weeks. Now all we are seeing are very positive results both in school and at home. We are keeping our fingers crossed. I too would like to hear any more success stories on Strattera. Good luck to you it seems like the answer for us I hope it is for you as well.

Its not that stattera is horrible or doesnt work. For me, I just feel like its very inconsistant. Somedays I feel like I can do anything and actually do it. Otherdays, im at a lost and have such a hard time in school. Its only my 5th week on it, and im on 40mgs. Because i live out of state (living at college) my doc. gave me a prescribtion for 60mgs. Im tempted to go get it filled because I finals coming up but i've heard so many bad things about people being on the 60 mgs. If anyone can give me their opionon that would be great!

my son weighs 123 lbs and is on 60 mgs, he started at 40 mgs for four days then upped to 60 he is in week 6 and is doing fine now.

My son started Straterra 5 1/2 weeks ago. He was on Concerta, too, but we dropped that after a week on the Straterra. It has definitely been a roller coaster ride and I was ready to give up after 4 weeks, too, but then things started looking up. He is behaving better in school and doing his homework again. He had a lot of difficulty behaving and his grades dropped drastically in weeks 1 to 4 and behavior at home varied tremendously in that time. Week 5 was the turning point. We went back to the doctor yesterday and since my son is still having some difficulty behaving and focusing, the doctor added a second dose in the afternoon. My son now takes 40mg in the a.m. and 18mg in the afternoon. I know it's too soon to tell but his teacher said he was VERY good today and he was a joy to be around at home. He worked on his homework for an hour and a half and got it done, too. I hope it keeps working because my son gained only a pound in a year while on the stimulants and now he has gained 4 pounds in 5 weeks! He never got to sleep until 11 o'clock and now he's asleep by 9. He says he's happier on the Straterra and everyone he's around notices more personality than before. So far I'm glad I stuck with the Straterra through the rough parts!

My 7yo DS started on straterra 2.5 months ago and is doing really well on it. Yes, we had some bumps in th road, with fatigue and some stomach troubles early on, but I'm also glad we stuck with it, because the side effects have tapered off and things are much better. His personality still shines through, which it didn't on the stimulants. And he's not "in a fog" after school or in the mornings, so I can help him with schoolwork and reading much more effectively.

One strange thing we're noticing is that some developmental stuff is happening now that would have happened years ago, if he'd been getting the external stimuli. He just developed separation anxiety a few weeks ago, and I'm convinced that he just flat didn't notice our being gone sometimes before, or he couldn't focus on it. But he's learning to deal with that, slowly but surely.

Is it perfect? No--he still has some physical impulse control and his focus isn't ideal, but wow, things are so much better than they were on the stimulants, we feel like it's a godsend. And he eats! He actually LOST weight on the stimulants, so I'm thrilled to see him gaining weight and height again.

My advice would be to be patient with straterra. It takes a while to get used to and to become effective.

My 9yo son has been on the Strattera since late February I beleive. We have had some very up & down days there in the beginning. But waited it out. He was on Adderall Xr for a couple of years. I wanted to try tthe Strattera because he was so verbally aggressive and physicallly here at home and thought perhaps the stimulant increased this. Well, I dont know if that was the case..but immediately he was able to sleep at night, and fall asleep without help from another medicine. He also seems to eat better. His teacher and I started passing the "red book" which basically she scores him on a scale of 1-10. THis week he got Five 10's in a row.!!!!!!!! Wow.....Is this due to his medicine...?I beleive the non stim has helped... Aslo alot of prayers are going up. Right now I am going to keep him on the Strattera for hte time being....he has actually been invited to 2 birthday parties recently...something which just didnt happen before, eeither. Oh yeah...she rates him on if he talks back, has to sit on the bench at recess, how he gets along with the otherkids, and if the other kids come up and tell on him for this & that.

I am on day 10 on Strattera. So far I have not noticed any side effects nor any positive effects. I take a little Efexor with it and a very small amount of Ritalin (about 2.5mg every 4 hours). I plan to stop taking those the closer I get to the 4 week mark.
No medicine has worked for me longer than 2 weeks (except in the beginning). This was my last resort. Hope it will help.

My 13 year old son took one dose of Strattera at 25 mg. and pretty much slept for an entire day. We discontinued the medicine and started a week later (today) at 18 mg. His mood and tiredness seem ok, but I wonder if this dosage will do anything. do most peole stay with their stimulant for a while before only using strattera?? Do you have to wait weeks before seeing results?

My son has been on 60 mg. Straterra for about 4 months. I've been on 80 mg. for 3 months. We had the usual sleepiness for the first couple days and other intermittent side effects while we were getting used to it, but nothing earth shattering. It was more like a month before Straterra was fully effective, even though the brochure said it would be about 2-3 weeks, and I noticed some improvements even up to 6 weeks.

It's too bad that it takes so long to see results and that there's no way to tell at first if it will even work. It makes it difficult to know whether or not to stay with it in hopes things will get better or to cut your loss and use something else. We were both using Adderall and it wasn't working all that well, so we didn't have much to lose by trying Straterra in preference to trying another stimulant medication.

I'm a 25 year old female on 80 mg. of Strattera. My doctor plans on upping me to 125(?)mg eventually.

I think that this drug is my MIRACLE that I have been waiting for. Stimulants do not work for my type of ADD (I am EXTREMELY hyper-vigilant.)I am also on 500 mg of Depakote nightly. Since starting Strattera I am much calmer and focused.

The most major negative side effect for me is when I have withdrawal symptoms from low levels in my blood stream. I have to be careful to take my Strattera at all of the scheduled times, otherwise if it gets too low, I feel EXTREMELY light-headed, dizzy, and "car sick" feeling. Since realizing what the cause was, I have to set my alarm to remind me to take my medication the same time every morning, even if I planned on sleeping in. But I haven't had problems since then.

okay I've read so much on AD/HD recently my head is about to explode. My daughter is 7 years old in 1st grade and we have just since Dec. been trying to figure what medication to put her on. She definitely has vision problems which we've been told has been corrected, but of more concern has been her life long problem with controlling her impulses to the point that we worry about her safety and the safety of those around her. She also has never been able to focus on a task long enough to follow it through (AD/HD? We just don't know--this condition does run in my family)

She was on concerta for about 3 months. Although her impulse control at home wasn't greatly improved, her reading went up 5 levels and her teachers said they no longer had any behavior problems any more (which was our greateset concern). We did start to notice some developing tics and a loss of weight which made me extremely anxious, so when we heard about streterra we figured we'd try it. She's been on that for about 10 days and she has been really sleepy. I volunteer in her class and to be honest I don't see a big difference be/tw her behavior now than on the concerta. I didn't think the concerta made her zombie like--although she was a little more withdrawn around her peers. Likewise on the straterra I don't think she's zombie-like but she's is napping a lot. Should we expect this to wear off or will she just need more sleep now?

overwhelmed, I am going through the exact same thing.

My daughter is 7 years old. She had a psych eval in November and has been seing a therapist. A month ago she told the Dr. that she hears voices in her head talking to her all the time. They prescribed Risperdal for that. The psych eval discovered that she has adhd. She just started Strattera on Friday. She has been very sleepy and quiet. She plays a little but is just very very quiet and sleepy.

I've been reading the posts on this board and a few others and I see that some children react the same way. I just want to know if she is going to snap out of it or not!! I'm kind of scared.

Today is the first day that she's been to school since starting the meds. She's on 25mg for 7 days and then the dosage is being upped to 40. I'm wondering how this is going to affect her. If she's this sleepy now on 25 mg, what is she going to be like on 40?

Anyway her teacher called me this morning (she'd only been in school for around 1 hour). She noticed a change in my daughter immediately. She said that she very calm but she seems sleepy. Can't keep her head up and was complaining of a headache.

So they put my daughter on the phone and I asked her what was wrong and she's saying that it's the voices. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif

This is driving me crazy. I would have never thought that I'd be going through this. Sorry to have rambled on.

courtneys_mom,

Did the dr's address the voices issue at all? My daughter talks to heself in the 3rd person a lot and had an imaginary friend up until late last year but I assumed these were just coping skills.

I found with my daughter that she usually wakes up at her normal time pretty perky then about an hour later I give her the medication and by midday she's sluggish. At first I thought it might be the effect of her coming off the simulants but it doesn't sound like your daughter was ever on stimulants.

overwhelmed,

The dr. and I listened to what she said regarding the voices. My daughter (Courtney) said that the voices tell her to do things. She told us that she hears the Devil in her head. She can hear him when he's sleeping (she said that she hears a constant snoring sound then) and he tells her to do bad things. She is telling us that he tells her to hit people and call people names. He also says mean things to her about herself. I had never heard of this before.

A few months back her teacher told me that Courtney often times acts as if she's talkiing to someone who isn't there. The teacher moved Courtney so she pretty much sits by herself and yet she is still talking to "someone". She said she almost seems tormented. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif

Again, this was the first time that I had heard this. The dr. thought that possibly this could be why she was having such a hard time paying attention in class and following through with tasks. So he prescribed Risperdal. We waited until she was on that for a month to see how she was doing.

The nonfocusing has not stopped and the ADHD symptoms still exist. This is why he than prescribed Strattera.

This is the first medication for ADHD that she has been on. I give her the Strattera around 1/2 hour after she wakes because shortly after that she is off to school.

She just seems so tired during the day.

I spoke to the dr. today and he told me to try to give it to her before bedtime. I'm hesitant because I'm wondering if I give it to her at bedtime, will she still gain the benefits of the drug during school hours? Won't it wear off say mid-morning? The dr. said no, but I'm still hesitant.

My son has been on Straterra for 2 months now (diagnosed at age 5- 95% range). He is 11 yrs and weighed 64 lbs at the start dispensing 40 mg per day. The first week was good-he finally slept! Now he's 69 lbs and has increased to 54 mg due to the fact that the Strat was helping him to become much more functional, but was not addressing his hyperactivity. Dr. said they had just learned that the lower dose was responsible for that. His tics have diminished (although we are still in line to see a nuerologist who specializes in ADHD), although the snorting, spitting, are back but has been diagnosed with a sinus infection. It's either that or we're back sliding-hopefully not! It's nice to have my son back-no edginess and sharpness in his personality since he's off stimulants. Am in the process of taking him off Wellbutrin (Dr. said not a good mix)so we are hoping fot the best. Can't really tell for sure if the Starterra is totally responsible for happier child since I was also able to put him in S.E. at school to help remove anxiety). Hopefully, we can now better address his other issues-coordination disorder. (still learning about that one.) But like most of you-just glad to be off stimulants-he's happier sensing he has better control over himself.

Has anyone been on the strattera and had the sleepiness wear off. I heard that it might wear off
but not from anyone first hand.

Also has anyone used any behavior modification techniques for impulsiveness that really works (coupled w/the medication)? My daughter knows what's right and wrong but just doesn't seem to learn from her mistakes ( even after praise for the right behavior and consequences for wrong behavior)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by COURTNEYS_MOM:
[B]
<<My daughter is 7 years old. She had a psych eval in November and has been seing a therapist.>>
Did they come outright and say "Your child is suffering from schizophrenia"?.. BTW: What time is she taking the Risperdal(I am on this as well and take it at night)
<<She just started Strattera on Friday. She has been very sleepy and quiet.>>
This is a common side effect.I'm struggling with it too. Today was my first day on the med and I had to leave school because I couldn't stay awake.
<<I've been reading the posts on this board and a few others and I see that some children react the same way. I just want to know if she is going to snap out of it or not!! I'm kind of scared.>>
Well, Risperdal is classified as an anti-psychotic and I think that should cover any problems with the voices. If she is not having trouble with the voices I would not scared(not that all schizophrenic's are violent, but the voices may tell them to do dangerous things)

<<I'm wondering how this is going to affect her. If she's this sleepy now on 25 mg, what is she going to be like on 40?...>>
The side effects of most medicines decrease the longer you take them.I would not necessarily assume that the increase will double the side effects, though it will take a while for her to adjust.

<<This is driving me crazy. I would have never thought that I'd be going through this. Sorry to have rambled on.>>
It's understandable to be upset about this. It's a very hard process, but once your daughter reaches the right level of medicine(s) or finds an alternative it will be well worth it.I have experienced this with my depression.With anti-depressants it can take up to 6 weeks to feel any difference,and I've had to try different levels of Prozac,Wellbutrin,Paxil,Zoloft,Effexor, and Trileptol and am still searching for the right amount.I also developed involuntary twitches that will sometimes last from a second to three days. I've had problems with my ADD as well because while taking Adderrall xr(MIRACLE WORKER!) I developed heart problems (not from the adderrall itself we believe, it occurred 9 months after the start of that) and wanted to try and find a better medication. I started the Strattara today taking it in the morning. I believe my psychiatrist may have told me to take it at night so I might try that.Sorry for rambling on...

It has been our experience that the sleepiness does wear off. The sleepiness on Strat lasted about 2 weeks. My son is basically back to normal, but I still have to watch to make sure he gets enough sleep. He has learned now to take his shower in the mornings because he said it helps him wake up. Anything he can do on his own to help him feel like he has control over his life is a good thing.

My son was sleepy the first week on STrattera and then it wore off. When he does get tired now he gets very emotional and tends to have little fits. It doesn't happen too often, maybe five or six times since we started about two months ago. Another thing we noticed is that if he doesn't eat with Strattera he gets very ill, nauseous, dizzy and the sweats. Not sure if that's the same for all. Other than this he is responding very well, this is our first med. He seems much calmer, more focused and is beginning to build up his self esteem a little. He also pees less frequently, he used to get up two or three times a night now he doesn't get up at all (he was incontinent at night til he was 6). Hope the worst is over with side effects, got my fingers crossed. Anyone else had similar situation?

Okay today is day 6 for my daughter. She has been taking 25mg of strattera. She was very tired at first, pretty quiet and different. But she seems to be perking up VERY good. This morning she was really back to her old self.

I spooke with her teacher yesterday and she said she has noticed an improvement. She said that Courtney actually finished work in her classe (she has never finished anything since the begining of school).

She said that my daughter is also much more calm and has not let small things bother her. My daughter tends to be very sensitive, combative and aggressive at times.

Rainbow, The Drs. have never said anything about schizophrenia at all. She takes 1mg of Risperdal at night around an hour before bedtime and does not need to be persuaded to go to sleep. She usually falls asleep right after here head hits the pillow!

Tomorrow her dosage of strattera will be upped to 40mg. I'm a little nervous about that. But her teacher said that she will give me a call if she notices anything. Plus, we have a long weekend so I'll be able to watch her carefully!

Help. My 10 year old son was diagnosed with ADHD last summer. This school year has been a roller coaster ride of medications. We started on Adderall and he had terrible stomach aches so we switched to concerta which seemed to work for awhile. Two months we decided to try staterra and he immediately seemed happier but he has had several violent outburst and aggession that we never saw on the other medications. Has anyone else experienced this? I stopped the staterra today because I was afraid he was going to hurt himself or someone else. He has an appointment with his doctor next week but I just don't know where to go from here. Any advice anyone?

------------------

My 6 yr old has been on Strattera since mid Feb. He was 65 pounds and on 40 mg. He was ultrasleepy right at first. He still gets sleepy. In fact he falls asleep almost every afternoon. He seems to be the exception to the boards as he has lost about 10 lbs. However, I still am pleased with Strattera. His attitude towards school has improved and his teacher is very pleased with his progress. He did go through a weird week were he freaked out and beat up a snowman. This is very unusual for him. He has always been a happy go lucky kid with lots of GO GO! That seemed to pass. We also go through the "wearing off" stage (that isn't supposed to happen.) We went back to the Dr this week. We have lowered his dosage to 36 mg. According to the Dr.'s scale he has only lost 4 lbs. I think it is wrong, but... We are also going to try giving him one dose in the morning and one in the afternoon. Is anyone else doing this? If so how is it working? All in all we have been very pleased with the changes. We just keep monitoring it. He's a great kid, and I want to keep him that way.

Our son will be 11 and was on 54 mg Concerta for about a year and a half. Worked great for the ADHD, but weight gain was minimal and insomia was terrible (wouldn't fall asleep till 11pm-1am nightly). Tried Strattera for 6 weeks. First week he was constantly tired, but that passed. He gained 5 pounds the first two weeks he was on it and went to sleep from between 9-10pm every night. Also, the sparkle in his personality returned--his personality was somewhat dulled on Concerta. The Strattera also helped his anxiety level. But, it didn't seem to help tremendously with his focusing/attention and he seemed scattered. So, we stopped Strattera and tried Ritalin for a week--15mg in the am and 10mg in the afternoon. Timed it so he'd eat lunch and dinner and be tired by a reasonable hour. But the evening let down left him wired and anxiety returned. So, we are now back on 40mg of Strattera combined with the two doses of Ritalin per day. Going on two weeks and things seem okay. The Strattera seems to aleviate the let down when the Ritalin wears off, it helps his anxiety level, and he's eating and sleeping well. Also, the Ritalin is making his schooldays productive. We'll see how things go...

I am 20 years old and have been on Strattera for a month now. I just wanted to let ya'll know how I have been feeling since alof of you are concerned about your kids.. My parents all along told me to give it time, but I recently decided it how I was feeling wasn't worth paying attention.. Strattera made me depressed, and irritable, I am ushually easy-going and I became more moody and sensitive. About an hour after I'd take it I would have to take a nap or else I couldn't function, it made me feel as if I had mono, I didn't eat, I noticed one evening that I hadn't eaten anything all day, which also made me feel worse. I had a stomache ache, and if I did eat I would feel nausea and really cold. I also noticed my skin broke out.. I have HATED this stuff, I was not myself on it, I felt horrible physically and emotionally. I would NOT recomend taking it. I would try something else. I have friends who are on aderal who said my symptoms were abnormal and they never felt as bad as I did...I hope this helps, listen to your kids because being younger I can imagine it's frustrating not understanding why you're acting and feeling like you do, I am glad I could understand that those symptoms came from the medicine..