Hi !

Just to go straight to the point, my doctor is thinking of trying Strattera in me, since it was recently made available as a generic and I tend to have prevailing side effects with stimulant medication (ritalin, Rubifen, elvanse).

I have some questions that would like to hear from people that are/were on this medication to share:

  1. I understand this is non-stimulating and seems to work akin to an antidepressant. Therefore, do I have to take it every day? Even on days I do not need ? With stimulant medication I only take it when doing theoretical work, and skip it when on the laboratory or other minor tasks and would never take it in days I’m not working, because I can’t just interact with people and gives me a baseline anxiety the whole day.

  2. What benefits did it gave you ?

  3. Any prevailing side effects?

  4. How does it compare with stimulant medication (after taking it for some weeks)?

For a bit of context:

I’ve been diagnosed for about 6 years now, and started with Ritalin XR. However, I could only keep using it for some months since it gave seriously side effects that persisted 3-5 months after stopping it. I later switched to Ritalin IR, which worked for some time and gave me less side effects. But it started to be ineffective after some months.

Then my doctor tried Elvanse (Vyvanse), it worked on keeping me focused, but the anxiety and the huge time frame of action of the drug led to me only taking it once or twice a week.

I’m now back on Ritalin IR, but always feel the anxiety and aversion to interact with people that I always feel with these 3 stimulants.

  • MehBlah@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    6 months ago

    I’m not suggesting this will happen to you but for me strattera made me throw up every time I stood up for about 4 weeks after quitting it. The reason I quit was a massive surge in my blood pressure. It was so extreme that my doctor probably weened me off too quickly. There was nothing in the official side effects about this kind of reaction. After a few weeks of scouring the internet I found a message board where someone described the exact same symptoms as I had. There was one other person who had commented about it happening to them. Both described when they started to get better and both felt they nearly died. at the four week mark I finally could stand without immediately throwing up. By week five I had a appetite for the first time in a month. I went from 240 to 175 pounds in that time.

    I’m only sharing this to let you know that if you start having massive blood pressure induced migraines and you can’t get your blood pressure to drop you need to go to your doctor immediately. I waited a week like the others and think it may have not been as bad if I had started reducing my dosage sooner. My reaction was extreme and not at all common but I will never forget the spring of 2012 because of it. I really feel like I could have died.

  • neidu2@feddit.nlEnglish
    1·
    6 months ago

    One of my kids (1 of 2 with adhd) is on Strattera. He first tried ritalin, but that was really bad for him. Physically it was fine, but he ended up with a constant dark mood and dark thoughts that a 10 year old should not have.

    He then tried Elvanse, and while it worked for his adhd, he seemed emotionally numbed. Unmedicated he was bouncing between the walls, but at least he was happy. On Elvanse he was just… numbed.

    Now he’s on Strattera, and he’s not that bouncy anymore, and a much happier kid. And his parents aren’t exhausted all the time either, which is a bonus. The only ill effects is that he sometimes gets a bit queazy for a short while after taking it, but it doesn’t take long to pass. This could be a result of his aversion to pills, but bribing him with a glass of chocolate milk makes him take it without hesitation.

    EDIT: For reference, his older brother had very good effect feom ritalin pretty much right away, so he’s on concerta with reduced appetite as the only side effect. He eats like a T-rex in the eveneing to compensate, so it evens out with no issues.

  • hedgehogging_the_bed@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    6 months ago

    I’ve been on Straterra for about 18 months.

    You do need to take it every day because the drug builds up in your system over about 3 weeks to the correct levels. It adjusts how much of your norepinephrine gets reused and so it takes some time to take full effect. I also was in the habit of only taking stims on work days and this will not work for that, it needs some time.

    The biggest side effect I or anyone I know has had is some lightheadedness right before my next dose. I ended up getting split doses 12 hours apart but you can also bump the dose up to avoid this, I’ve been told.

    Compared to stimulants, I prefer the steadyness of Straterra. I don’t wake up in a panic state every morning, I think thought a problem first before a knee-jerk reaction sets in, and I can focus on my work without being constantly side-tracked, and I still feel like “myself” and can engage in my creative work day after day in a sustainable way.

    Best of luck to you!

  • Jessica@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    01·
    6 months ago

    Have you ever tried the namebrand of any of them? I personally take namebrand Concerta. The generics are laughably bad and are constantly being pulled from the market for not being bio identical. Generics have a pretty wide margin for what is considered equivalent to the name brand. It’s also pretty common to be allergic to inactive ingredients in Generics, which can cause adverse effects.

    You can find all sorts of articles on these subjects here: https://adhdrollercoaster.org/?s=Generic

  • alexanderniki@lemmy.worldEnglish
    01·
    6 months ago

    Yes, as said - you have to take it every day. For me personally, there are no any side effects. But, there are also no benefits.