Strattera - Why are so many doctors against it?

mdloops

Let me preface this by saying that YOU have a right to dictate the medical support for your child, or yourself. I have learned this through 4 years of experience. You know your son better than anybody.

Strattera IS perscribed according to your weight whereas the stimulants might not be (to an extent). Here is my thought on why your doctors may be a little more reluctant:

1) Strattera is new and stimulants like ritalin have been around for 50 years or so which means we have has a ton of time to research the long term effects.

2) There is a rumor that Strattera only treats the hyperactivity and depression of ADD and not the failure to focus aspect

3) Your doctors want you to see immediate results (like you will) to either make you more happy or to make themselves look more efficient

4) They are scared to try it because they have probably been treating children with the same medications for so many years it has almost become a policy to do so.

Take what I say with a grain of salt because I am only 22 and I do not know what it is like to have a child. I do have 4 years worth of experience in being counseled, college, been on every medication know to man including Strattera and Concerta. I got off of strattera because of the many side effects I was experiencing. If you want to know more send me a pm and I will add more to this post, otherwise I will save bandwidth for others.

Thanks,

Mark

JasonGixxer

I was on Strattera for about 4 months and had good results. I calmed my hyperactivity slightly and increased my attention slightly. I was able to sit and read a book for longer than 30 minutes and that was a first for me. It had some bad side-effects with me- Hot flashes, temperature regulation issues, insomnia, and stomach aches for the first hour or two after taking it. I got used to it and it was tollerable. It caused me to get Prostatitis and I had to stop using it so I had to seek elsewhere. I did need a higher dose every month as the effects faded. I was at 60mg when it worked well.

mdloops

I will also list my side effects starting with the worst. All of these effects subsided about 2-3 weeks after discontinuing use. Kind of graphic. We are all adults here, so you have been warned.

1) My penis was not useless, but an orgasm felt bad. My orgasms were also completely dry. It felt like I had a huge amount of pressure added to my groin immediately after beginning climax. This subsided for 3 hours one night and hept me awake. It felt like I had a gallon of water in me and I had to urinate, but I could not. Sometimes I would feel this even when I did not have sex. MANY other men have had the same problem. Your child will not be experienceing this anytime soon, but nobody yet knows if it could turn out to be a problem firther down the line. I have to think that is this is caused by a swelled prostate that it could do permanant damage if it happens for an extended period of time. This stuff could double as the most effective birth control there is because after 2 weeks I refused to have sex. Sometimes it actually got so painful I had to stop

2)Insomnia including vivid dreams. No nightmares but somebody who isn't very stable will probably have nightmares.

3)Constant Restlessness and a feeling that my heart was racing. It got so bad sometimes that I would run 3 miles, shower, eat, and still fell like I needed to go running.

I took Strattera for about 2 weeks and I was on the regular dosage for an adult my size. I tried reducing dosage to see if it would help but the side effects progressively got worst.

coachrose

Thanks for sharing. Don't like the sound of those side effects and the one doctor said if I wanted Strattera for him, he would start him at 40mg for one week and then double it right after. My son will be 11 but is a tall, husky boy weighing 120 pounds so the doctor considers that adult weight. Still sounds like too many mg's. Has anyone else heard of the rumor about Strattera treating the hyperactivty and depression of ADHD? If this may be true, well then it will be useless as his major difficulties are focusing, paying attention doing multiple tasks, anxiety and social issues. My poor son feels very intimated by his classmates especially the boys and does not have many friends. Therefore the social problems are becoming worse. My biggest fear of the stimulants is addiction. When do you stop taking medicines? Are there withdrawals? Are meds for life? Truly concerned mom wanting to make a right decision. Please chime in here. Thanks all.

hanelo4

Hi

I just want to share my experiences with you. My daughter, who is 15 is on Strattera and has been on it for 2 months now. She has been on just about all of the other ADHD medications and Strattera is the ONLY one that is working for her. You are right about it being a non-stimulant which made a world of a difference to me. All the others, including Ritalin and Adderall made her lose weight and sick to the stomach. The only side effect she has from Strattera is that she gets slightly irritated an hour or two after she takes it....BUT her grades have gone up dramatically. They have gone from C's, D's, and F's to her almost making A-B honor roll this last report card. She missed it by a C and that C was two points away from a B. I was amazed. I haven't seen these kinds of grades since she was in elementary school. She was so excited and I was too. I knew she had it in her, she just needed something to help her concentrate.

I also want to add that I have been doing some reading on Strattera and I read that even though the dose goes by weight, the medication should be started off low because it can cause insomnia, excitibility, restlessness, etc. like some here have had. My daughter has a great doctor that listens. He was going to prescribe her 40mg to start because of her weight and I asked him if we could try a lower dose to start. I told him what I had read and what not. He agreed on 25mg and she has been on that for 2 months now and has been doing great. She even told me that for the first time she can actually concentrate and she picks up things faster now.

I know not all medications work the same for everyone, but I just cannot express how happy I am that she is doing so good now. She has struggled all of her life and like I said, I knew she was smart.....but now it shows

Also, if you do try Strattera, make sure you get blood work done on the liver. These medicines can sometimes mess up the liver a little. Just be on top of everything and it will go smoothly.

Hope this helps a little.

Chantel

JasonGixxer

I had the same problems that after a few months that included cloudy urine and testicular pain a bit later. The testicular pain was intense and caused nausea at points. An ultrasound revealed no torsion and an physical examination did reveal a rather enlarged prostate. A friend on the drug had the same problems after 6 months or so on the drug. This drug may be better with children than adults (at least male adults).

shellyn

I have taken Straterra, Ritalin, Cylert, Tofranil and Concerta in the past. I currently take Straterra and I wouldn't give it up for anything. The only side effect that is bothersome is nausea. I eat something before bedtime and take it then. That helps quite a bit. I sleep better too. You should seek out an ADD specialist. Mine has been quite helpful.

MHDwyane

My daughter has taken Strattera for over a year. She use to take 40 mg every am. Her neurologist changed it to 25 mg in the am and 25 mg in the pm. I'm not sure it is as effective. She just started her period and maybe with allthe hormones she is out groing the dose or it isn't working anymore. Does anyone else split the dose?

linkj57

I started on Strattera about 6 months ago and I started noticing a difference after about a week. I was told it takes about 3 months before it is at a therapudic level. If I had known what a difference it could make I would have taken it years ago when I first found out I was ADD. My 6 year old son has recently been diagnosed ADHD he started meds about 2 weeks ago and he is already doing better in school. He is no longer running and spinning in the classroom. He can now sit still long enough to learn. He still is an active funny little boy, but he isn't so hyperactive.

coachrose

So is Strattera more help to stop the hyperactivity? My son's problems are focus, attention and doing mutlitpe tasks. Would stattera not help those issues? Thanks

coachrose

So is Strattera suppose to help generally the hyperactivity type? My son needs help with his focus, paying attention and doing multipe tasks. Maybe this med is not really for him then.

hanelo4

Hi again

Yes, Strattera DOES help with focus, paying attention, and doing multiple tasks. My daughter has ADHD which is Attention Deficit with Hyperactive Disorder. She doesn't have any problems being over active anymore. She needed the medicine to pay attention and be able to focus on what the teacher was tell her. She can now do that with Strattera. That's what I mentioned in my post to you.....she told me for the first time she understands things now and that she can concentrate better now. Her grades have gone from C's, D's, and F's to missing the honor roll by one C. So yes, it helps with all you mentioned above

Chantel

coachrose

Chantel, thanks.

BetsyAnn

My son who just turned 12 takes stattera. It helps him greatly with all of his other issues (anxiety, ocd type thoughts and behaviors, and depression) but minimally with attention. The one thing I really like is that it stays fairly constant in his system so there are no rebound behaviors like you get with the stimulants.