Posted by circusboy on July 29, 2006, at 15:28:52
In reply to Re: Strattera makes me depressed, posted by jealibeanz on July 29, 2006, at 10:17:11
Judging from the Strattera threads on this board, it seems pretty common. Wasn't enough to keep me from trying it, though. :P
It seems Strattera's primary metabolite, 4-hydroxyatomoxetine, is a partial agonist at the kappa opiate receptor. This can lead to some pain relief (I did have fewer headaches on it, though that could be a noradrenergic effect) and ... dysphoria. Zeugma says it better than I could in this great post from a few years ago:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040821/msgs/380862.htmlI have an initial burst of concentration and energy when I (re)start Strattera, too. Within a week, though, I have even less energy than before I started, and my motivation has disappeared -- mostly due to an onset of serious anhedonia. Nothing seems worth doing. People seem like too much effort. I don't remember who it was, but someone around here said that he quit Strattera for financial reasons and before too long his friends were remarking on how he was optimistic again. It sort of scared him that the drug had had that kind of subtle but significant effect on his personality.
I (obviously) have some concentration issues as well, and a history of depression. We'll see what happens next semester, but I'm finding Ritalin alone (+ a few supplements) to be an adequate, if imperfect, remedy.
-cb
poster:circusboy
thread:670439
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060724/msgs/671808.html