Strattera advice please

[Anonymous]

i’ve been really edgy the past few weeks since my straterra dose was upped to 80mg. seriously quick temper- i’m currently seething and fuming over a small comment, and doing all in my power not to yell at somebody, and my shoulders are jacked up to around my ears with tension…

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[Anonymous]

Hang in there! I know that shoulder tension far too well.

At 80mg, my belly was a mess, I was tired and I felt hopeless.

But I think it was that I was ready to move forward, but didn’t feel like I could.

That is getting better, but I’m still finding tools, using them is the next step.

For now I’m acknowledging mistakes, owning up to them and moving forward without letting myself feel like I was wrong.

Understanding that although I’m finding answers it doesn’t mean that everyone will at the same pace, that reminder to slow myself down is so important.

Today I’m focused on meditation methods and alpha waves.

I’ll send some your way.

Have a great day Jen and thank you for listening.

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[Anonymous]

thanks. sounds like you’ve got some really good stuff going. i’ll take whatever you’re beaming my way- especially if it fights off headcolds as a side effect!

my mum always told me that mistakes aren’t a horrible dreadful thing, they’re just what the word says: mis-takes – just a sign that i need to step up and take another shot- and that this time, or next time, i’ll hit the mark i’m aiming for- sooner or later it’ll all come together just right.

speaking of which, i should muster up the motivation to phone the shrink and ask about taking a different shot at the medication thing…. i can see a lot of benefits to straterra, but i’m wondering if something else might not work better for me all round.

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[Anonymous]

It took me two months to put this together:

When we have had positive feedback, develop confidence in a situation and know we can do something the road is clear, the sky is bright and we can make huge progress in a short period of time. The inverse is what happens when life gets busy, we pack too much into a day, neglect the important things like sleep, eating right and exercise and don’t generally take enough time to “get it together” first. In this scenario the road is hard to see, its dark, the snow (distraction/stress) reduces your visibility and progress is slow.

If I want to move forward and get something done I need to set a positive goal, remove all the negative voices, smile and do it. When you “get it together” before you start it’s easier to remain focused on the positive aspects and let go of the negativity. Yes things can and very likely will come up that you can’t control, but if you are prepared they will not stop your progress.

The hard part is letting go of the negativity.

That inner voice is pretty rude and LOUD and wants to be heard.

But it can be shut the hell up so that we can start seeing the road again.

But it came together and makes sense to me. Now I need to keep it on top of the pile so I don’t forget.

As for he meds… How long have you been on the Straterrable? If you’ve got at least 6 weeks and are not seeing improvements, Dr J says 75% improvements, then try something else. Ease off the Blue Pill, it can take time to balance out after stopping like any SSRI type meds.

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[Anonymous]

you could publish that.

oh um… ages? the shrink has been upping the dose every 8 weeks or so since i suppose about the end of august, maybe july… i made myself a table to record improvements and suchlike…

my sleep patterns has improved (time is down to 8 or 9 hours from 12-14+ … i still struggle to get into bed before 4am though), i can think a lot clearer and somewhat more calmly, with more patience and rationality, i feel more aware of what i’m doing, saying, and screwing up (unfortunately usually just after i’ve screwed it up!)…

but i’m still struggling a lot with stuff around motivation and procrastination (getting started with stuff, stopping doing something that i’ve got focused on, etc), energy levels (still up and down- mainly down- i get super wired when i try and push myself to get going, and then i can’t stop, and i still turn into a horribly irrational and grumpy toddler when i’m tired), i’m still really twitchy and restless and incredibly late for everything (time management: fail)…and i’m having to force myself to make and eat food, which sucks cos it’ll wreck my already sluggish metabolism and i won’t lose weight by not eating for 12 hours and having cookies for breakfast….

so i don’t know.

i was already on effexor and wellbutrin for depression, which are meant to have a mild stimulating effect (i think they do, cos i’m out of bed and somewhat functional since taking them- i had bucketloads of wicked apathy and doom beforehand, now i have fleecy jammies and craft projects )… and sometimes i feel like i’m a walking chemistry project… but i know that i need to be on the antidepressants- its taken the longest time to accept that, so i’m loathed to mess with them too much- the effexor at least.

yeah, i know what you mean about the SSRI’s… i’ve come off a bunch of them a few times before- including effexor once (which wasn’t wicked-fun)… slow and steady is definately the way to go there.

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[turbo]

jeneticallymodified wrote:

“…and my shoulders are jacked up to around my ears with tension…”

---

You mean like in your avatar? I’m not sure i would call that “tension”

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[turbo]

After a bit of an absence I’m back — and now off Strattera.

Although the FloMax had solved the most problematic side effect, after stepping up to 65MG of Strat it’s effeciency began to lessen. That coupled with some fast heart-rate issues and a minimal benefit lead me to decide to go in a different direction. Big Sigh.

Now….where to go from here? I tried Ritalin last year *hoping* I would get SOME benefit from it – but nothing. I discussed trying Clonidine with Ritalin a while ago with my doc, so I guess that’s one option.

I’m curious if anyone has ever seen positive results from long acting formulations like Concerta or Biphentin but received NO benefit from Ritalin itself. I’ve also thought about trying dexedrine but am curious if it’s dramatically different from Adderall, which gave me no benefit.

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[Anonymous]

hahaha no turbo, not quite- those suckers are jacked up with industrial winches and corsetry.

i eventually turned into a pissy psycho-beyatch girlfriend from hell with seething fury and the desperate urge to throw everything that irritated her at everybody who irritated her (hairstraighteners, cats, dishes, boyfriends, petsmart employees, etc) while enthusiastically hurling a torrent of quite graphic and colourful expletives around, on 80mg strattera, so on friday i told the doctors receptionist that i was cutting back to 60mg. and 2 days later i started finding myself to be dramatically less nuts, which i expect is much nicer for pretty much everybody- the bf still has his head down and his mouth firmly closed though, which is a mixed blessing.

i do like the de-fogging effect of the strattera (i noticed that i was leaning casually against a brick wall the other day, watching some sparrows in a parking lot, enjoying the sunshine and the cold and the quiet and being wrapped up in a big coat while i waited for a ride home- kinda ‘in the zone’ feelings wise- i’ve never done that before without a lot of noise in my head and restlessless about my person) but not enough to put up with being really dizzy a lot of the time (being able to move without feeling like you may hurl or fall over is useful), and still having fidgety bouncy legs when i’m sitting (the noise from which reverberates through the floor and annoys people watching tv downstairs) and still fighting with a bit of a ditzy streak. so when the shrink comes back from his vacation i’m gonna ask again about having a go on the stimulants.

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[Anonymous]

Keep us posted Jen.

CBT, paired with exercise and more quality sleep seems to be the best treatment for me.

Using some of those Language skills is also important to keeping positive and open.

I’m also learning to accept that we don’t need to be right and how to ask questions so I can understand where the two opinions differ and why. It’s not easy, but I find it easier to think in terms of something is missing let’s figure it out as I practice doing it.

I’m finding that it helps me break things down into the smaller pieces that I normally skip over because they seem obvious to me. It also helps me see the things I miss. A great analogy I read somewhere was about school and Math class. When some kids look at a question they see the answer, it just makes sense to them so they write down the answer, but the teacher will mark it wrong because the work was not shown. The student doesn’t feel the work needs to be shown because the answer is obvious, in fact they may not full understand how they get to the answer so explaining it is frustrating, they just know they are right. To compound the problem, the second part of the question is to show a second way to answer the question. Well I don’t really get it the way you get it, and I can’t explain fully the first answer so how will I ever understand a second way of doing it? That’s the point. Until we see that we get the answer, but are missing the explanation of how we got there we really don’t understand the process and are unable to make changes or adjustments as needed. It’s not about being right, but allowing people the opportunity to understand my answer, and asking the question to understand their answer as well, right or wrong isn’t what matters, it’s understanding that matters.

Wow, I just figured out what I’ve been trying to say to my wife for weeks.

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[Anonymous]

I’ll preface this by saying this is my first time on the forums – actually the first time on the site. Stumbled onto it while looking for the PBS show “ADD and Loving It!?” I’ve heard it’s really a good documentary on ADD. Anyway…

I was diagnosed with ADD almost a year ago now. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety 8 years ago, but in the year before I was diagnosed with ADD I had stopped taking all of my medication. I really didn’t think they were doing much for me. I didn’t know that sometimes it takes a year to feel the effects of stopping your meds. Lesson learned!

After nearly getting fired from my job (I should tell you I’ve always been an over-achiever in the business world – can’t clean a house, but I’m pretty good at business) for my inability to follow up or complete tasks, I did the walk of shame to the doctor. I sort of figured I might be suffering from having stopped my meds. I got the lecture I deserved about medication (and the example of the diabetic who can’t ever stop taking their medication), and then started back in one med at a time. For years I had taken Lexapro and Wellbutrin. My doctor started me back on the Lexapro and also a sleeping aid – Lunesta. I was having difficulty sleeping – but the Lunesta didn’t work very well. It was then that the doctor thought that I might have ADD. He started me on Strattera and for the first time in 57 years, I started to feel normal! Things just started falling into place. I can tell you that for the 37 years I’ve been married (I’m pretty sure to a saint), that I have never kept a very neat house. Laundry has always been the biggest nightmare – I read in another forum about someone else who had the same problem with laundry that I did. Never did it, then when I did, didn’t fold it. If I did manage to wash, dry and fold it – I didn’t put it away. My husband has probably said “I’m out of socks,” or “I’m out of underwear,” as many times as he’s told me he loves me.

With Strattera the clouds of organization, prioritization, and follow through cleared away. For almost a year my laundry has been done, folded, put away. My drawers are neat, my closet doesn’t have 30 pairs of shoes just inches from the little cubbies they belong in. I change the sheets on the bed weekly instead of quarterly. And my desk is neat, my calendar is up to date, and follow through is not a problem. Strattera for me is a wonder drug. I don’t know what I would do if someone told me I had to give it up.

I do get a ridiculously dry mouth and drink tons of water and chew gum. I also have problems with chronic constipation, but I’m going to try the metamucil that someone else mentioned. Those are the only two side effects I have and for all of the positive results I’ve had from the Strattera I’ll put up with the side effects.

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[Anonymous]

To DeeDeeBee –

This is my first time here too. I take both Strattera (40mg am and 40mg bedtime) and 10mg Adderall generic am and 5mg about 3pm.

I also take Zoloft for depression and Clonidine and Klonopin for Tourette Syndrome. My ADD is better on the Adderall and Strattera together. I use a car example: Adderall is the gas pedal and Strattera is the steering wheel.

I was wondering how much Strattera you take and what else you now take with it. I feel like I’m not as helped as I could be. Your experience with laundry, changing the bed, etc. really hit home. I too want my clouds of organization, prioritization and follow through cleared away, but I still just barely can’t see though them. Thought maybe your ‘potion’ might work for me.

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[Anonymous]

To rdb –

I take 60 mg of Strattera first thing in the morning. I also take Lexapro – 30 mg. The Lexapro helps with anxiety. I used to have thoughts racing around my head and they were always doom and gloom stuff. Things I was worried about, etc. Lexapro stops that – at least for me. I did just make an appt with my doc tho because something needs tweaked. I’m finding my organization slipping just a bit, and I am also experiencing this weird tiredness about an hour after I take my pills in the morning. I’m wide awake and then all of a sudden I want to go back to bed. I’m almost drawn to it – it’s like trying to function waist deep in mud! Having read some of the forums I’m wondering if I haven’t hit a plateau and maybe need to switch either when I take my meds, or how much. This is the first time in 6 months that I’ve noticed this.

Good luck to you!

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[Anonymous]

i think effexor does for me what the lexapro does for you deedee. i can see through the fog with strattera, and don’t have this huge spinning cyclone of negativity, impending doom and crisis thoughts flying around in my head with effexor. the wellbutrin wakes me up a bit, but doesn’t do much else apart from making me sweat and bounce my legs a lot.

i’m thinking maybe if rdb, your strategy of adding something like adderall to the straterra might be the answer for me, instead of ditching strattera entirely- i didn’t know you could take both together. i really do need to get a bit of a juggle done with the meds though, cos right now i’m awake enough and can think clearly enough to see that i’m getting SFA done on a daily basis and still have huge problems with motivation and procrastination- (laundry!? i know i put some in the washer the other day- which probably smells great about now… and i have a stack of last months clean laundry in the bin on the bedroom floor- waiting to be put away in the wardrobe….i’m somehow not getting my face washed and teeth cleaned in the morning until um…. 10pm at night quite often- cos i ‘just went to check email’ when i woke up 12 hours earlier) which is an incredibly exasperating place to be.

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[Anonymous]

Its so great to hear some people talk about Strattera. When I first was prescribed, all I could find on the internet was people talking about all the horrible side effects and how much they hated it.

I take 40 in the morning and 40 at lunch. I also take Wellbutrin. The first few weeks I had a few side effects but none were bad enough to quit and all of them but occasional dry mouth have gone away.

After 2 1/2 months I have to say that I love Strattera. Its really interesting to me that the things that help me really notice how it works for me are small things. I was able to study for two hours and I began to cry because for me thats like climbing Mount Everest. I also have a planner that I keep all my dates in and I’ve kept it for 2 months now. I am not as diligent as I was before but I still use it. And the funniest thing for me was in class. I have always been a prodigious doodler. My notebooks were covered in a million drawings. Every single page had doodles everywhere. I never thought of it as a bad thing or ever really paid much attention to it. The first day of classes this semester I opened my notebook and out of sheer habit started to doodle. Immediately I told myself to focus and I haven’t drawn a single doodle all semester and its not even a struggle. I’m also able to keep habits, it takes work but its not an impossibility anymore.

I still have many hurdles to climb and I am still working on strategies because as any psychologist who is worth anything will tell you its not a miracle cure. But personally for me, it has made a huge difference in my life. It takes ambition and drive to change, and I always had those things. I could just never figure out why I couldn’t do the work. Now with Strattera, I see how strong I really am.

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[Anonymous]

DeeDeeBee, if I took all my Strattera first thing in the am, I would be drowsy, too. If I were taking 60 mg, I would split it up 20 in the am and 40 before bed. When I take it at bedtime, I wake up the next morning glad that I woke up. Before Strattera, I used to wake up and think, “Oh no, I woke up again to all this chaos!” Strattera stays with you longer than Adderall, so taking it late shouldn’t make it less effective in your life. Since it’s not a stimulant, it won’t keep you awake. When I take 40 mg in the am, I also take some Adderall which probably offsets the drowsiness. When I take the other 40 mg at bedtime, since I never take Adderall at night, I start to feel sleepy which is good since I procrastinate going to bed like others have mentioned.

I am starting to notice small improvements, too, like getting up from my computer games as soon as I remember I need to scoop my cats’ litter box instead of putting it off until they won’t leave me alone! Sometimes I don’t realize these small differences in my actions. I agree with divaluxx about the benefits of hearing about other peoples’ experiences because it triggers me to go, “Oh, yeah, I am able to do that too.” I have heard it takes awhile for Strattera to fully take effect, although I felt a smidge of change in my brain after the first pill. I think I will ask my doctor if I could increase it to 60 mg from 40 mg. It may be that little bit more would make the difference I’m needing.

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