Posted by utopizen on August 23, 2003, at 22:42:56
In reply to Re: Strattera really better than stims for ADD? » Viridis, posted by Zenclearer on August 23, 2003, at 20:46:02
> Glad it works well for you!
>
> Any added side effects? Water/urinary retention from the Strattera? Any dry skin probs? Any change in weight?
>
> No sleeping problems? Generally, Adderall would make me rather irritable on rebound, so now I take dex. The cognitive effects are great, but I have terrible fatigue sometimes, and other times, I still feel foggy on the dex.
>You don't have to resort your hope on Straterra.
If you're not seeing full control over your ADD, assuming Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been tried, and you've tried the various stims, I doubt a non-stim is going to be *better*. Maybe it'll have some synergy when added to an existing stim, but I really doubt it would be *better.*
I get urinary retention on the stims, but I'm not about to ask my doc for an alpha blocker over it. It's certainly not worth switching to Straterra... knowing my ADD is rather severe, having had a neuropsychological evaluation over it at MGH-Boston (best researchers of ADD disorders, have an entire child psychopharmacology dept.)
I take Desoxyn. You should ask about it. It tends to have the fewest side effects of the stims. Adderall sometimes gave me social lability (sudden, unexplainable expression of extreme emotion, in my case sadness, occassionally as I talked). Didn't happen often, but not something I liked. It also was boring. I don't know, some like it.
Only think I don't like about stims- it makes me talk too much, about boring things, and write long things.
I also have Idiopathic Hypersomnia, so Desoxyn is great for that. Adderall not as much. I tried Provigil for my fatigue, 500 mg(!), that was a joke. So I'm not very optimistic Straterra would help, I went through the SSRI hope routine for 2 years for my social anxiety until switching to Klonopin.
What is it about drug makers coming out with products far more expensive than ones made decades ago, and yet far less effective?
Never forget to appreciate the potency of an older drug. Lithium (50'S). Klonopin (1975). Xanax. Desoxyn (1944). Adderall (in 70's, "Obetrol"). Ritalin. Dexedrine. Barbituates. Meprobamate. Nardil. The list goes on.
Side effects have been marginally reduced with newer meds. But who cares about side effects when the drug's the only one that works? It costs more, does less. There will never be anything more potent than an amphetamine, something so safe yet effective at so many things. Except Desoxyn, but it's still a kind of amphetamine...
poster:utopizen
thread:52294
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030823/msgs/253501.html