Posted by MamaB on January 3, 2004, at 7:18:51
In reply to Re: Strattera for Inattentive ADD ? » Mid-Life Crisis, posted by Palbella on January 2, 2004, at 14:38:58
Hi y'all
Quick review. I began Strattera a little over four months ago and am now on 80mgm/day. It seems from these posts and other things I have read and heard that Strattera works better for adults than kids. I like it as it addresses my inattentavness and easy distractability; however as I have said before, do not compare it to CNS stimulants. If you do try and make the comparison, Strattera will come across as not working -- It is a "softer" result and one must be patient and also work at some "self coaching" not depending simply on the medication. This is just my opinion. Mama
> > > Hello,
> > >
> > > I was wondering how all the Inattentive
> > > ADDers (meaning main symptoms are tiredness, brain fog, really bad concentration, maybe social shyness and inhibition) have done on Strattera. So far on this thread I have not read anything specifically about how well the strattera works for Inattentives. Sometimes I get really frustrated at how much attention the people with the hyperactive component get in the literature and books while inattentives are barely mentioned. My intuition is that Inattentives as apose to Hyperactives would have a big differences in their reactions to the strattera compared to the differences that are seen with traditional stimulants. I say this because strattera works almost exclusivly on Nuero-epinephrine (spelling ?) as apposed ritalin working on both dopamine and neuroepinephrine. So I am guessing that one ADD type or the other needs neuroepinephrine more than dopamine. Am I right or am I just dreaming this all up?
> > >
> > > Anyway I was on ritalin for about 2 years before I started getting tolerant of it. Now it barely works no matter what dosage I am on. Did this happen to anyone else? In the beginning it was really a miracle drug for me, not anymore so I am looking into strattera. What I really want to know is what are the cognitive effects of the strat ie focus, concentration how do they compare with stims? Also did strattera help anyone overcome shyness or social inhibitions.
> > >
> > > Any shared experiences would be great especially
> > > from inattentives!
> > >
> >
> >
> > Dear Dreaman,
> > Most people who have ADD/ADHD have the combined type, that is BOTH inattentive and hyperactive, but at different times. I have both, and Strattera helps me with concentration and alertness, and mostly, allows me to make it through the day without being tired and spaced out. I'm 52 years old, and until Strattera, there was no remedy for me for this, though coffee helped.
> > My son is combined type, also, but, at 15, is much more physically hyperactive than I am. Strattera didn't seem to help him, though the highest he got was on 60 mg. His current ARNP does not believe Strattera helps with grades, so she has him on Lexapro, 10 mg. and Adderall XR, despite his angry mood when on it previously. (She believes the Lexapro will prevent him from becoming angry on the Adderall.) We'll see...
> > I remain a fan of Strattera, however. Hopefully it will help your inattentive symptoms as it does mine. I don't believe it is enough for those who are truly just hyperactive without any inattention (a very tiny minority, if there are any really like that!)
> >
>
> My son was on Strattera for 3 full months without any positive benefits. They started him slowly, increased him to 80 milligrams which would be the dosage he would have taken except for the problem of the angry mood swings started again ,just like the Adderall made him become. That's the whole reason i took him to PDoc. He was placed on Zoloft for his depression which has worked wonders for him but i just took him off of Strattera. It did nothing for him so here we go back to trying a different drug.Ritalin Time released this time. He is the inattentive type of ADD. I think from my experience with my son and the drugs we have tried....inattentive need the stimulent and the hyper should do well on Strattera. I wish my son had the results i was hopeful for but that was not the case. Good Luck to all those who have recently started on this drug. We gave it a shot and tried it for 3 months which 6 to 8 weeks is the time frame to see whether it works for you or not. Happy New Year to All !
poster:MamaB
thread:133458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031231/msgs/295969.html