My 12 year old son has been taking Strattera for 5 weeks now. He started with 2 weeks of 10mg then moved up to 18 mg and he will be on that for another week before ramping up again. He has had no side effects so far. I think we are finally starting to see some improvement in his symptoms after 5 weeks…he seems calmer and more focused.

I had read online that common side effects are sleepyness and stomach ache so we are giving him the Strattera every night after dinner. He sleeps great at night and has had no stomach problems.

I did notice that he seemed a little more anxious and withdrawn after starting the 10 mg and again after starting the 18 mg but that went away after about 3 days. I will see what happens when he ramps up again to 25 mg.

I am 39 and newly diagnosed.  I started on Strattera this past weekend and am on 40 mg twice a day as of two days ago. 

I was very drowsy the first two days, but it hasn’t been that bad since.

On the other hand, I haven’t noticed much other difference in my attention or organizational capacity, either.

Will check back later with a review when I have been on longer.

My son moved up to the 25 mg dose last Friday. On Saturday he seemed more unfocused. There did not seem to be any extra anxiety or any other side effects this time. Now on day 5 of 25 mg he seems to be able to control his angry outbursts a LOT better. He seems more focused again, and he is definitely calmer on the Strattera than he was without meds. In a week and a half we move up to 40 mg, his target dose.

My 8 year old daughter has been on Strattera for about a year know. We have changed the dosages a few times but have ended up at 50mg per day. The only problem we have noticed is that she started having severe stomach cramps daily. She was taking 2 -25mg pills every morning and then and Intuniv 3mg at night. After talking to her doctor, we switched the Strattera around to 25mg in the morning and 25mg at night…........she very rarely has stomach cramps anymore, thank goodness!!

Based on my experience and the many posts I have found on line, Strattera is usually a good idea for people with Bipolar Mood Disorder and ADD or ADHD. I noted on the flyer that it isn’t advised for bipolar people, but I trusted my psychiatrist, who is rated one of the best in the U.S. I also noticed the Strattera paperwork said it makes kids and teens suicidal, but it didn’t say adults.  I failed to draw the logical conclusion that it might similarly affect adults. 

My psychiatrist said Strattera is the only ADD drug that’s really safe to try with someone who has bipolar mood disorder.  It isn’t an amphetamine (stimulants can make us manic, and it”Ēs harder to bring down a manic person than to elevate a depressed person).

Strattera has been a nightmare for me and for a lot of other bipolar people - there is a site where patients can post their reactions to drugs, and many bipolar folks posted reactions to Strattera that are horrific.  Some folks had to be hospitalized for months, some lost their marriages, others their jobs, still others their houses - all due to what I experienced:  extreme suicidality and ultra-ultra-rapid cycling, meaning extreme mood swings 3-4 times a day.  It”Ēs a special kind of hell I wouldn”Ēt wish on anybody.  (btw, my normal mood swings cycle in fall and spring, i.e. twice a year).

Strattera… was like a relentless demon on my shoulder; it would repeat to me every 15 seconds that I should kill myself even when I wasn”Ēt feeling depressed.  I was completely dysfunctional (my house and finances are still a wreck), unable to work, and lost 9 dear friends as a result of mental-emotional instability they’d never seen before.

I”Ēve been off Strattera 8 months now and am down to usually 1 mood swing per day, which is still rapid cycling - just not ultra-ultra rapid.  I thank God it is slowing down, but it is doing so very, very slowly as if my emotional pendulum had been swung so hard it has taken 8 months just to gradually slow itself down enough to feel somewhat normal.  I still don”Ēt trust my emotional stability enough to go try to repair my broken friendships although I miss my former friends terribly.

I’m glad to hear the drug is helpful for some people.  Wouldn’t advise it for bipolars (and wouldn’t advise it because I don’t have a medical degree!)

Sorry I can”Ēt remember the site where I found all that posting about various drugs. May look later. Right now, I can”Ēt, must tackle the living room chaos.  Peace out -

My DS13 has now been on Strattera 40mg (his target dose) for over a month. I have to say it really is making a difference. He is much less anxious and angry. When he has an angry outburst he is able to gain control of himself a lot faster. He is less “spacey” and pays attention when someone is talking to him (for the most part.) He is also less impulsive…not perfect but much better than it was.

HS-English-Teacher - I am sorry that you had such a horrible experience on Strattera. I wish you luck getting your life back on track!

So glad to know it is working well for some group of people!  Thanks for your concern.

I just wanted to warn folks that if you have any inkling someone might also have bipolar mood disorder (as is often the case with ADHD), please think and pray long and hard before trying Strattera!  At this point, I can’t be a good example, so at least let me be a terrible warning!

My son went on Strattera at age 16 (now 24) because we were excited that he could use something other than a stimulant drug.  About 3 weeks later his mild depression (had been seeing therapist, no meds and discharged as in good shape) plummeted and he became suicidal.  So went on Zoloft with the Strattera.  Next 2 years of high school were a struggle—ADHD inattentiveness was not being managed at all and had to stay on Zoloft so didn’t feel crappy about himself.  Went off to college, flunked out immediately and when we went to move him home, saw that he had been hit and miss on meds—scared me to death when I think about what could have happened.  Switched Dr. and was taken off Strattera—my son refused to take it again because it made him so depressed and zombieized.  Started on Adderall XR with the Zoloft.  Now just the Zoloft and usually just for a few months when he’s dealing with life crisis.  Glad Strattera works for some, but have heard others with depression and ADHD say that it just heightened the depression.

I am 56 y/o Retired Special Ed teacher , and have been taking 40mg BID Strattera for over 5 years—works great for m e. It is designed for adults initially. Perhaps explains why younger adults or children experience problems.

However, i did develop a small facial tic(excessive eye blinking).

Hi- MollyMS checking in again- I have been on the Stratterra for three months now- am up to two 40 mg pills a day.  It hasn’t been the life changing fix I had hoped for but it has helped in some areas with my ADD-

I can focus and listen in group settings and on the phone, but what has really helped has been in my driving I can filter out distractions and pay attention to what’s important.

Fortunately, I am not as drowsy as I was at first, either, but I do definitely remember my dreams like never before- an interesting side effect.  I had been hoping it would really help me key in on my organizational skills with family.  They have improved by about 30%.  An improvement- any improvement is good from the terrible baseline, but like I said, not as much as I had hoped.

MollyMS

im 24 and cant take stimulant meds becuase i box…so strattera is the only option for me at the minute…just scared about the suicidal thoughts…as i think i got sum sort ov depression aswell :/

My 9 yr old son has been on Straterra 18mg for over 6 months now and after a bunch of stimulant meds and not good reactions we finally found one that works great. My only concern is I was told he can at any time possibly develop hepatitis. I’m really nervous about this becuase it’s finally the med that is the right one and I don’t want him to one day get hepatitis becuase of the meds. has anyone else been told that this is one of the side effects?

I am on 40mg Strattera as well as 30mg Vyvanse. The first few weeks of Strattera were a little rocky, but four months into it, I am very pleased with it. It is definitely not a magic pill. However, the Vyvanse gets me motivated and the Strattera helps me to focus. (I am also on Lexapro, so that could filter out depression side effects?) My mom has actually gone off of Lexapro because the Strattera balances her moods so well.