Shown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Christen on July 28, 2003, at 14:22:20
I started taking Strattera 8 days ago. I started with 25mg and per doc's directions went up to 50mg today. I'm not taking any other meds. I'm a 34 year old mother of three and found myself to be extremely irritable constantly. I am always finding problems with everything. I started taking it to become a little calmer and to give me a little more motivation. I don't know what Strattera is doing for me. I feel like I'm taking Sudafed. I spend a lot of time zoned out on the couch and don't want to be bothered by my children. I'm thinking the effects haven't been established yet. I am calmer, but only because I feel sedated. Does anyone have any similar stories? Do I need to just give this med a chance to work?
Posted by SLS on July 28, 2003, at 14:27:38
In reply to Any Strattera pros out there?, posted by Christen on July 28, 2003, at 14:22:20
I experienced a "zoned-out" feeling for at least a week before it disappeared. I am currently taking 120mg.
Are you being treated for ADD?
- Scott
Posted by utopizen on July 28, 2003, at 20:00:50
In reply to Re: Any Strattera pros out there?, posted by SLS on July 28, 2003, at 14:27:38
Or Adderall? I have social anxiety, but it cancels out when I take Dex or Adderall. I noticed it seemed kinda "cool" to be on the Adderall along with Klonopin, and heard others mention this synergy, but maybe it was because I was taking it as needed then. Now I take Klonopin 1mg 3x/day, and Dexedrine spansules 10mg 2-3 times a day. I'd use more if my doc wasn't so hesitant to give me Provigil samples. She wants to wait for my sleep study (MSLT) results to come back and all, which translates another two weeks of feeling tired all the time or reliant on my amps.As someone with ADD, I really do get excited with trying a new stim and then bored with it after a few months. I got excited with Ritalin (therapeutically!) then realized it made me feel like a dork, switched to Adderall, which still made me more anxious, but not dorky, then to Dexedrine for a month, then to Desoxyn, which after a few months made me depressed at the end of the day (why didn't this happen when I initially began on it??) so now I'm on Dexedrine spansules. I'd prefer the flexibility of Dexedrine Immediate Release, but I'm too afraid it would also cause me to be depressed in the evening to bother right now.
I really really really can't wait until I get my hands on some Provigil samples, so I don't take the stims just to offset my fatigue (I sleep 9 hours at night). I hate how psychiatrists who won't let you try more than one thing at a time. They'll never know if anything's synergistic that way. My dermatologist just gave me 3 topicals, including two that have antibiotics in them, and a new antibiotic (time-release, once/day Doxycline called Doxyx).
Clinical trials prove antibiotics and topical retinoids act more effectively when combined than either one alone.
Besides, can't they just sympathasize that you don't want to feel sleepy for yet another two weeks of your pathetic life??? What's wrong with this approach, it's Provigil, yet she's readily giving me Dexedrine spansules. I hate doctors.
Posted by Mila S on July 28, 2003, at 23:51:23
In reply to Any Strattera pros out there?, posted by Christen on July 28, 2003, at 14:22:20
I'm on strattera and nothing else as well. I too experienced a zoned out feeling initially. I would describe it as "spacy".
However it went away after about five days. When the dose was increased, it again happened and subsided within a few days.
I also found that after 2-3 weeks, it had some anti-depressant effects. However, now after several weeks, I do not feel it is very effective. This may just be how I respond however. I have taken similar medications which have seemed to fizzle out in effectivenness in the past.
Hopefully the zoned out feeling will pass for you as well. Good luck!
Posted by Viridis on July 29, 2003, at 1:12:47
In reply to Any Strattera pros out there?, posted by Christen on July 28, 2003, at 14:22:20
I didn't react the way you did, but I had some annoying side effects like nausea, muscle stiffness, etc. with each dosage increase. In each case, these went away pretty quickly, and I just went up on the dose fairly gradually.
I noticed an immediate benefit in terms of concentration and mood, but everyone's different, and often it takes quite a bit of trial and error to find the med (or combination) that's best for you. I should add that I don't take Strattera alone; I also take Klonopin and Adderall, and for me this seems to be a good mix.
Maybe a benzodiazepine like Klonopin would be better suited to your irritability, perhaps alone or in combination with the Strattera. For me the Adderall (a stimulant) is a big help, but that's for ADD, and you're unlikely to get a prescription without that diagnosis. As Utopizen mentioned, Provigil would also be a good thing to try with the Strattera if you're looking for an energy boost that's unlikely to make you anxious or irritable.
In any case, I'd give the Strattera a decent shot (two or three weeks) and if it isn't right for you, be very definite about this with your doctor and be prepared to discuss alternatives.
By the way, if you're not seeing a psychiatrist, I'd strongly suggest you do so. It can be hard to find a good one, but my experience is that they know much more about psychiatric meds than GPs and are more willing to try combinations etc.
Good luck!
Posted by Christen on July 29, 2003, at 6:03:26
In reply to Re: Any Strattera pros out there?, posted by SLS on July 28, 2003, at 14:27:38
> I experienced a "zoned-out" feeling for at least a week before it disappeared. I am currently taking 120mg.
>
> Are you being treated for ADD?
>
>
> - Scott
>
> I probably should have made that clear. Yes, I'm being treated for ADD by a psychiatrist. I have many more symptoms than the few I previously mentioned. How long did it take before you were at 120mg?
>
Posted by Christen on July 29, 2003, at 6:09:59
In reply to Re: Any Strattera pros out there? » Christen, posted by Viridis on July 29, 2003, at 1:12:47
> I didn't react the way you did, but I had some annoying side effects like nausea, muscle stiffness, etc. with each dosage increase. In each case, these went away pretty quickly, and I just went up on the dose fairly gradually.
>
> I noticed an immediate benefit in terms of concentration and mood, but everyone's different, and often it takes quite a bit of trial and error to find the med (or combination) that's best for you. I should add that I don't take Strattera alone; I also take Klonopin and Adderall, and for me this seems to be a good mix.
>
> Maybe a benzodiazepine like Klonopin would be better suited to your irritability, perhaps alone or in combination with the Strattera. For me the Adderall (a stimulant) is a big help, but that's for ADD, and you're unlikely to get a prescription without that diagnosis. As Utopizen mentioned, Provigil would also be a good thing to try with the Strattera if you're looking for an energy boost that's unlikely to make you anxious or irritable.
>
> In any case, I'd give the Strattera a decent shot (two or three weeks) and if it isn't right for you, be very definite about this with your doctor and be prepared to discuss alternatives.
>
> By the way, if you're not seeing a psychiatrist, I'd strongly suggest you do so. It can be hard to find a good one, but my experience is that they know much more about psychiatric meds than GPs and are more willing to try combinations etc.
>
> Good luck!Thanks for your response. I have been diagnosed with ADD by a psychiatrist. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how this one works. I have an appointment in a week and a half.
I get nervous about taking too many meds. It seems like a lot of hard work to find the right combo. I will definetly save your message for future reference.
Posted by blondegirl47 on July 29, 2003, at 9:00:02
In reply to Any Strattera pros out there?, posted by Christen on July 28, 2003, at 14:22:20
I was on 18mg for 2 weeks then went up to 25 for tw0 weeks, then went to 40. I too felt grumpy.I could only take it before bed because it put me to sleep. I was taking it for ADD symptoms. I went off of it after going up to 60 mg. It made me hungry, tired and hyperfocus on fun stuff instead of work.
I have read that other people have had great success with it if you can get through the beginning side effets.
Blondegirl
Posted by blondegirl47 on July 29, 2003, at 9:05:50
In reply to Could Straterra possibly be better than Dexedrine?, posted by utopizen on July 28, 2003, at 20:00:50
My pdoc wrote me a prescription for provigil a few weeks ago. I read a lot of hype on it that it would make me feel good...no such luck. It upset my tummy terribly and I still got sleepy in the afternoon. When it starts to ware off, you get very hungry. I was not impressed.
I have read success stories on it though. Start out low dose and build or you will be very dizzy too. Good Luck!
Blondegirlp.s. are you taking name brand dexedrine spansules?
Posted by SLS on July 29, 2003, at 20:18:55
In reply to Re: Any Strattera pros out there?, posted by Christen on July 29, 2003, at 6:03:26
> > I experienced a "zoned-out" feeling for at least a week before it disappeared. I am currently taking 120mg.
> >
> > Are you being treated for ADD?
> >
> >
> > - Scott
> >
> > I probably should have made that clear. Yes, I'm being treated for ADD by a psychiatrist. I have many more symptoms than the few I previously mentioned. How long did it take before you were at 120mg?
> >
I moved up relatively slowly. I began taking 120mg after three weeks.
- Scott
Posted by Viridis on July 30, 2003, at 1:24:14
In reply to Re: Any Strattera pros out there? » Viridis, posted by Christen on July 29, 2003, at 6:09:59
Hi Christen,
I know the feeling about taking "too many" meds, but for me anyway, small doses of several different drugs seem to work better than a lot of any one med. My pdoc calls this "tweaking", and his approach seems to be effective. It's a pain, and tedious to get it right, but the results are worth it.
For irritability, having a benzo like Klonopin in the mix can make a world of difference. You might discuss this possibility with your doctor. It's almost a given that you'll have to go through some trial and error, and the biggest mistake I've made is to take too much of a single med at once, hoping that it will be the "silver bullet". This works for some people, but not me.
Good luck!
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