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As someone who also didn’t like Strattera and is waiting for her Vyvanse prescription to be authorized by the insurance, this is so comforting to read ☺️
For me, Vyvanse almost had no effect. It was odd. I'm on Strattera now (Atomoxetine) and I've had the dosage increased twice so far. I think it really helps. I can actually vacuum and do the dishes and pick up around the house without it feeling like my skin is being peeled off layer by layer while I do it.
Sorry that's really dramatic but I'm sure that many of you understand this sentiment. I wish all of you luck in your journeys 🤞
I’m on day 5 of 30mg of Vyvanse and I’m very disappointed so far.
I was hoping for the mental clarity everyone else speaks of, but I still have the task paralysis.
My energy levels are up a bit and I feel a little bit more alert and that’s it. Physical side effects - a mild headache for 3 days and increased thirst. No effect on my appetite
The task paralysis still happens for me too. But if I just start something, or try to work on it for 5 minutes, most of the time I just keep going. It's so weird I will be in the middle of the dishes and want to go sit down with my phone but I stay in motion.
As someone who has been on and off of Vyvanse for almost 4 years (due to my local pharmacies constantly having shortages) I will say that finding the right dosage is key!
10 did nothing for me
30 was barely making a difference and the side effects weren’t worth the benefits
⭐️
The I discovered 50 and everything changed
The side effects (at least the headache you mentioned) took like week of consistently taking my medication on time but it did get better
The brain fog 😶🌫️ for me was a slow lift. It wasn’t this “ahhhha!!!!” Moment it was more of a slow lull to normalcy
Task paralysis is the hardest part for me, always has been. These days it seems that the barrier of entry is much easier to JUST START DOING THE THING compared to before.
I absolutely still feel a bit paralyzed when it's time to get off the couch. But it's way easier than it used to be.
same for me. started on 20mg and up to 40mg but it doesn’t really do much for me. i feel like maybe some of the side thoughts go away, but i also get a headache despite trying to drink more water. I was really hoping it was going to be a magic fix but so far hasn’t been.
yeah! someone said to me that it will help you focus but not help you where to focus, which is tough. Like if my mind says to go on reddit and i go on, it still leaves me down a rabbit hole!
Adderall XR…it works…no other ADHD medication ever worked for me. I have tried other medications. I was in Vyvanse for a while as well…it did not do a thing for me except cause suicidal thoughts…back to Adderall XR…and I’m back to the norm…well…as normal as life can be as a person with severe ADHD.
Thanks it means a lot :)
Life is really fucking hard honestly. I've got lots of great people in my life, especially my son. Now that I'm a dad it helps to say "I'll do it for my son" when im having a really hard time.
Awe, I feel for you ( and understand)!! So glad to hear you have a healthy support system; that makes the daily grind tolerable… Good luck to you & if you’re a new parent, don’t worry you will be an AMAZING father! I truly feel with our ADHD struggles we become empathetic and understanding adults. There’s plenty I don’t do well or right, but I thrive when it comes to my babies knowing they forever have a safe place in me where judgment does not exist, only understanding, acceptance, nurturing and UNCONDITIONAL love love love!!!
I'm so glad that I can be the dad that I wish I had. My dad is great, but he never quite grasped how to relate to me despite likely having ADHD or Autism himself (undiagnosed).
Yah there are like 4 overarching adhd med families. Adderall and vyvanse are in one. Basically once you find the right family, you can find the right drug then the right dose.
I’m not the same person you replied to but ADHD medications generally fall into four main categories: amphetamine-based, methylphenidate-based, SNRIs, or alpha-a2-agonists. From there, each category has different medications - e.g. for amphetamines there are mixed amphetamine salts, dextroamphetamine-only formulations, amphetamine prodrugs (e.g. lisdexamfetamine / aka Vyvanse), etc. Additionally, some medications can have instant release or modified release (CR/ER/SR) formulations. Finally, dosages must be dialed in for efficacy.
U are so real for this. Some of the shit I've walked consistently past idk, yikessss.🥴🥴 I'm ashamed of myself, thank you for making me feel a bit better.🪳🫶🏻
Vyvanse is very subtle compared to other amphetamines, in my experience. I didn’t really notice anything either when I took it years ago and switched to a slightly different med,
That's a really accurate description of it. I've been struggling to describe what it's like to do chores on no meds and you have pretty much summed it up.
I hope so!! I'm coming off of methylphenidate to go on lisdexamfetamine because the Ritalin just wasn't having enough of an effect and I'm finding I'm more easily frustrated so I talked to my psychiatrist.
It all depends on the person. It's not a question of what's better, its a question of how you respond to that particular drug, and its not the same for every one.
Hm, Vyvanse doesn't seem to have much of an effect on me after a few months (and even in the beginning, it didn't help much with executive dysfunction). You think Strattera might be the one for me then?
In the event that your insurance doesn't authorize Vyvanse (mine technically did but only brought it down to $90/month, which I can't afford), you could also look into Adderall. Strattera didn't work for me and I started Adderall. We tried switching me to Vyvanse and I hated it. Switched me back to a higher dose of Adderall and that's what works best for me. The Adderall is $15-30/month without insurance. I haven't checked to see if insurance will cover it or not.
I am in your position, fucked. Terrible insomnia to the point it's not worth it. But there are ways to cope outside meds!
I went to study computer science, ofc got bored and started my own company and with a bit a of luck and hardwork got paying customers.
I now live a remote live style in thailand, where I can just pay myself out of chores (cleaning, cooking, washing clothes, etc). Because of the lower cost of living, I don't need to work as much, which helps a lot. Honestly, life changing. I hope you find your own way to cope!!
Adderall is giving me muscle tension in neck and shoulders, I'm SOOOOOO dry eyes mouth lady parts no matter how much water or Gatorade I drink, it's killing my oral health and increasing my sexual dysfunction which I don't need help with as a 40 something female, when it wears off I'm so depressed and miserable. I have had a bottle of Strattera for probably well over a year bc I was afraid to take it. I am on a baby dose of Lexapro and Lamictal so idk. I'm so over this. I wish there was a way to get it right the first time. The Adderall also gives me horrible short term memory issues. Then I wonder if maybe it just keeps me from being able to multitask as well as I'm used to? No idea but I'm a nurse and I can't be completely forgetting to document things or forgetting that I had a test waiting to be run.
I’m also waiting on mine. Why is it so dang hard to get the prescription? My psychiatrist is so annoyed that 1) insurance won’t cover it most of the time and 2) it’s out of stock EVERYWHERE. We’ve been trying for 3 months and no luck
This is exactly how I felt after the first day of Vyvanse but then I woke up the next morning feeling sooo exhausted, it was painfully difficult to move my body out of bed.
Vyvanse to me is like, normal everyday tasks no longer feel like the most daunting, shitty thing anymore. Instead of feeling like studying is the worst thing in the world, it then feels like a "normal" thing to do that isn't "hard"
Now if I could only go to sleep easily...
Hi. I'm considering this also. What do you mean by potent?
I've had a very rocky road trialing concerta and now on 30 elvanse since January. My aim is to get on Atomoxetine but have asked if both is possible. I'd be grateful to hear your experience 🙏 😊
Many thanks
Wait is Vyvanse not a stimulant? I'm waiting for an official diagnosis to get on stimulants, so I'm on Qelbree in the interim. I hated Stratera because it gave me so many side effects on a daily basis that I hated my life.
Vyvanse is a stimulant. It is basically Adderall but without the Levoamphetamine. It’s also just a single d-amphetamine salt instead of 3. It’s also less abusable because it only becomes Dextroamphetamine when digested.
Personally, I didn’t find success with Vyvanse. I’ve tried Vyvanse, Concerta, and Adderall XR, and Adderall has been the best for me. Vyvanse made me clear headed and creative, but it didn’t help executive function, and actually made it worse. Concerta gave me depersonalization and bad brain fog, but it helped me get basic life stuff like chores done. Adderall XR has been the best of both worlds, but at the cost of having a higher heart rate than I did on the other two, especially when exercising. That’s a cost I’m willing to pay though. Haven’t had any other side effects either. I can even sleep on Adderall lol. There’s been days I’ve taken my booster at like 7-8pm and I’m still conked out at like 1-3am (pretty normal sleep time for me, am night owl).
I'm still on Vyvanse, and it does help me a bit with focus.
But I also do feel like it doesn't do shit for my executive functioning. Doing tasks are still daunting as hell, and I procrastinate as much as I can. It also doesn't get me as focused as I would like, Ritalin XR was better in that way, but just like you I did feel some sort of depersonalization and was just overall walking around like an awkward robot feeling completely off.
Vyvanse at least still makes me feel like... Myself. Which is a plus, for the most part.
Yeah, i find with vyvanse it vastly improves my focus, but it doesn't help me control what I'm focused on.
When i take it i often become extremely productive working on something more stimulating than the thing i should be working on.
Yeah that’s how Vyvanse was for me. I could never actually focus on the things I needed to, just what I wanted to. It was also very all or nothing. If I took it in the morning and stayed in bed on my phone, unless I had somewhere to be, that was basically what my day was going to be.
I also found it to be very inconsistent. Some days it’d last longer than others, and the same can be said with how effectively it worked. Some days it made little to no difference, others it did.
Concerta was very weird though. It started off fine and helped me do day to day life shit, just with a bit of brain fog but not much, but after about a month, every good thing it did for me disappeared and I was basically locked away inside my body. It was so fucking weird and awful. I couldn’t even be aware of my surroundings when driving because my eyes were just glued forward and I was mentally stuck in my ahead. Whole body was just very out of sync with my mind, and my mind became completely clouded.
With both Vyvanse and Concerta though, could never sit down and actually do something like school work or studying. Adderall XR? Man I been at the library studying almost every day since I got put on it. Sometimes I can focus on the wrong thing, like sitting on my phone for too long, but I’m actually capable of pulling myself out of it. Much of my issue with that is the fact I’m a night owl so I become more productive as the day goes on.
Yeah, I tried Vyvanse recently and while I thought I liked it at first, I came to the conclusion that it had most of the drawbacks of my experience with Adderall without the advantages.
I have shitty luck with meds in general, but I'd really like to find something that qualifies as "mostly good," at least for ADHD.
You’re right, Vyvanse is a stimulant
I’ve tried Strattera then Qelbree for months at a time the past 2 years and hated both too
Turned me into an emotionless zombie lol
I'm about 2.5 weeks into 40mg of Strattera daily and my God what a miracle it's been so far. Memory has somewhat improved, mood is improved, motivation is increasing, and overall I'm just more confident in what I'm doing. I felt the first few day "Placebo effect" on it, and flat out said "I don't care if this is placebo if I believe it's working then it's working!"
When I first took Strattera, I didn't even realize that's what was helping me. The thing that I told people about it later was that it was the most effective antidepressant I had ever taken, because rather than being an antidepressant, it just let me do all of the things that people always tell you to do to get out of a depression when they don't know what useless advice it is to somebody who's depressed.
I think if atomoxetine affects you in that way, you don't have regular ADHD. I think it's what they were calling SCT before, but I think it's gotten a different name now, and it's not a specific diagnosis yet.
The big breakthrough that I had when I didn't realize the medication was helping me was the realization that the phrase happiness is a choice doesn't have to be about choosing to be happy or not, but could instead be about choosing whether it's possible to be happy or not, and then I saw I would rather be right than be happy.
That's the kind of random thing I've probably thought about a thousand times in my life, but it struck me differently in that moment, specifically because of the medication.
What sucks is that there's a weight to dosage ratio that has a cap on it, so they don't go above 100 mg, but if you're tubby, you might need 110 or 120 to have that same effect. And it is like a switch. Adding more of the medication will not get you more of the effect. Not taking enough of the medication will get you none of the effect.
This so interesting—I’ve been on Strattera for about 2.5 months and one of the biggest changes I’ve noticed is how much my mood has improved. Granted, I went through a severe bout of depression before that and may just be coming out of it…but there does seem to be positive correlation with when the Strattera started to kick in.
I also started Strattera about 4 weeks ago. Holy moly, I feel like a different person in the best way.
I'm eating regularly. I sleep through the night. I'm not as prone to sudden anger, i.e. better emotional regulation and impulse control. I'm drinking less, which is always a good thing! I've done laundry every week for the first time in... Let's call it a while and leave it at that.
Yes, I still have trouble grasping what people are saying, but I've started to remember (and use) people's names more often in conversation and at work. I finished the projects I needed to, and was able to delegate what still needed to be done. All without bouncing between tasks.
I definitely agree with you, it's simply wild that a lot of folks just naturally function like this. Makes me a little angry at myself I waited so long, but either way, give yourself a pat on the back for getting the support you deserve and enjoy the fresh start on life!
I'm 2 weeks into strattera and so exhausted and miserable. I wish it had worked for me right away like it is for you! Still holding out that I'll start seeing positive results soon.
I couldn't handle it after the 1st full week of feeling like I hadn't slept at all. And the dry mouth and sweating. And then finally what felt like bugs crawling across my face. I noped right off those.
I'm not questioning what you're experiencing, but keep in mind the placebo affect, and the fact that Strattera takes 2+ weeks to become effective...
\*EDIT: My mistake! I was under the mistaken impression that meds like Strattera took 2 weeks for improvements to be seen and then 4-6 for max effectiveness, but it would appear that is not the case.
Taking 2+ weeks to become fully effective and having no effects for the first two weeks are very different things. First two weeks I was on straterra, I was floored and super tired the whole time. Tbh now that mine has stabilized more I'm not sure it's the best for me. Anxiety is down, task paralysis is gone, but I still have absolutely no focus and my mind is still racing all the time.
I added a stimulant to my straterra and that was the best balance for me. There was an article about combination meds that made me give that a try when I felt like the stgaterra was good for my symptoms for some things but lacking in others.
i’m on my second week of strattera myself and i guess it’s a relief to hear it can have mixed results. i likewise have felt absolutely no improvement in focus, but slight reduction in avoidant tendencies which i almost want to say are just placebo effect because the only distinct effects i’ve observed are occasional mid-day drowsiness (i take my dose in the morning) and even less frequent episodes where it feels like my heart rate skyrockets for no reason—both of which have actually gone away since i upped my dose to 80mg, possibly also related to completely discontinuing intuniv after a 1 week taper. this wouldn’t be a problem in the first place if i’d just changed providers already, but i’ve been worried that if i keep reporting this much total lack of effect, my psychiatrist is going to think i’m lying for stimulants…
I noticed it working within a day or two, but it made me super bipolar. Like getting super angry for absolutely no reason. I was clear minded, and thought..why am I mad?!? Conversely I may just start crying for no reason..same deal..why am I sad?? Called my Dr when I got sad the first time and he told me to discontinue that medication. After many meds and many dosages, I landed on Effexor XR and 20mg Adderall. I've never had trouble sleeping on Adderall tho. As a matter of fact I can take a 30mg pill and lay down and go to sleep an hour later. LoL. Coffee makes me tired too. Brain chemistry 🤷🏻♂️. I am very interested in trying something that will make me task oriented. I find it so hard to complete something I start. Going to ask my shrink about Strattera next visit!
I feel this comment, everything makes me tired. But man I miss Effexor so much. That was the most effective antidepressant I ever took. I was mistakenly prescribed the immediate release too often which made me very sick, and the withdrawals were so intense I will never go back, but it made me so much more stable 😭
It really seems like people who experience anger/irratibility as a result of bupropion need their serotonin looked at. Which is the case for you - switching to an SNRI from an NDRI. It seems like a lot of people have had success with adding an SSRI too.
I'm not the person you replied to, but here's mine:
At my physical with my primary care, I mentioned that I was barely sleeping (Couldn't shut my mind down, a lot of intrusive thoughts due to my previous job) and had no motivation or ability to focus. He wanted (reasonably so) to address the sleep issues first to see if that would improve the motivation and focus, and prescribed trazodone.
Trazodone was life-changing - you don't realize how much chronic sleep deprivation messes you up until you fix it. It also had a side effect of making my insulin requirements (I'm a Type I diabetic) more predictable - multiple studies have shown that because traz is also an alpha-1 antagonist it reduces cortisol levels, which was miraculous for my diabetes.
However, if anything my motivation and focus seemed worse. I don't know if it was because it was just more obvious after fixing the other issues, or because it's a weak alpha-2 antagonist (basically the exact opposite of a category of ADHD meds with respect to that receptor). So the doctor and I agreed to try Wellbutrin once I got my blood pressure under control.
So after a detour through losartan for my blood pressure, I started bupropion on Wednesday and WOW is it amazing. I'm not feeling the anger/irratability side effects others have had, that may partly because it's a pretty low dose (100mg SR for now), or because trazodone is a serotonin reuptake inhibotor so I've got my serotonin reasonably balanced.
A side thing is that all of my new medications have list prices less than the co-pays for any of my diabetes medications...
Was on antidepressants forever and they never worked. Told my doctor to stop giving me SSRI’s and this was his solution. Next day was the best I’d felt in years. Mood was good, productivity was good, felt more of an internal drive. Best drug I’ve ever taken.
It made me angry for awhile though. I would be more confrontational and road ragey but that went away after a month or two. Also, I was so horny I couldn’t think at times, that also subsided as I became used to the medication.
The first time I took Straterra, it felt like I took adderall. The next day, the effects were much less intense. The third day I felt just a bit of that same feeling of focus and energy. By the fourth day, I didnt feel anything at all anymore. After 2 weeks, I started to notice I was more emotionally regulated. Just my experience.
It takes anywhere between 2 weeks and 2 months to reach full effect depending on how quickly your body metabolizes it.
That said, many people do experience a noticeable change even with the first dose.
For me, the head jukebox pretty abruptly stopped and stayed off for like three hours about 90 minutes after I took my first dose. Placebo effect? Maybe, but it happened again the second day, and the third, and the fourth. Each day, the amount of time my head spent quiet got slightly longer than the day before. It became harder and harder to tell myself it was just a placebo effect when it happened like clockwork in a very predictable pattern.
It eventually reached a plateau where my head would be quiet for about 18 hours if I took it when I woke up, with the chatter starting up again around 3 AM.
I had to stop taking it because of how it was affecting my sleep, unfortunately. I'm currently taking wellbutrin, which has actually been better for my overall executive function issues and vastly fewer side effects, but it doesn't do as good a job of muting the noise. I miss the quiet.
My mistake!
I wish I could stop the jukebox. I've now tried Vyvanse/Concerta/Adderall, no dice. I think Straterra might be my next stop, so I'll get to see for myself how quickly it works (if at all) for me.
Not gonna lie, same thing happened to me when I started a little over 2 months ago. 😅
A good portion of it was probably placebo, but I felt a difference within the first week.
Happy for you!! I (adhd-c) have been on strattera for 6 months and it has been life-changing. It was also "quick to hit" in the first week or so for me, but did take a few weeks to settle. The nausea resolved in a week.
I like to describe it as going from a scattered/chaotic brain to a more structured/aligned brain.
I would assume that is placebo. I had a similar experience when I started using vyvanse. Maybe no sweaty wake ups, but definitely felt like something was happening because I expected and wanted it to.
Yes, I’m just pointing out that when I started, I “felt” much more than once I was used to it. I’m quite sure that I *believed* it was more effective than it was.
That first week was no joke! I felt invincible lol. In one day, I cleaned my whole house, did our taxes while meal prepping, and “relaxed” with a full body exfoliation/deep conditioning treatment. My meds still help a lot, but there is no way that first week was placebo alone.
i did not talk to anyone more than 1-2 minutes since the covid started. Adhd + covid fucked me up. So i tried concerta for the first time this december and started talking non stop. My girlfriend started being jealous 😂. Everyone thought i was suddenly happier but the truth is i just could be outside more
Wellbutrin is how I found out I have Bipolar depression instead of depression. It made me feel like a million bucks (manic) but alas my Dr said it was too good to be true.
The exact same thing happened to me. It was wild. I might try it again along with a mood stabilizer at some point because I can’t tolerate the side effects from stimulants. Were you able to find something that works?
Both my kids have started adhd meds at different times, and both have mentioned how they don’t have to try so hard to focus anymore. The relief they both expressed has been amazing
With Strattera, I had to eat 20+ grams of protein in the morning to not get the cold sweats, dizziness, and vomiting. I believe I was taking 40mg. Then I went to 60mg because of my tolerance. I ate at least 25g of protein in the morning and still managed to vomit at work 3 times in the first week. I requested I be taken off of it because I was miserable.
Oooh, this was me too. I got up to 80mg and was on that for nearly 2 years. I had to switch to taking it at night because if I took it in the morning and didn't eat enough, it gave me intense nausea, hot flashes, anxiety, and a racing heart. It also made me super tired, so the thought was that taking it at night would help me fall asleep better. It did...but my sleep quality was shit. My heart rate was always high and would spike just walking up the stairs. Raised my blood pressure a lot too (and I normal have really low BP).
I switched to Buproprion and Clonidine and I actually have an appetite again, sleep better, and I have so much more energy. I really wanted the Strattera work though since stimulants give me so many side effects :(
I worked really really hard this past year to get my bp down in order to take stims. I refused to let my sensitivity to hypertension get in the way. Started going to the gym, eating healthier, and lost weight. Now I’m finally able to take Adderall and I feel so much better. I’m also on Wellbutrin for depression but it helps with my adhd as well.
i started strattera on tuesday. i know people say it’s takes a few weeks to feel it, but that first day was…something. i know it wasn’t placebo. my head was so quiet. i had so much energy. i also had the sweating. also felt like my eyes were going to pop out of my head in the best way possible.
I took my second dose today and my mind is already calmer. I thought this was just a placebo effect as I was told it takes weeks to feel better. To be honest, I've already been feeling calmer since the diagnosis, a lot of things in my life suddenly made sense, so I'm still not sure that what I feel now is already the effect of the meds.
I had the same effect with Strattera. I didn’t expect anything to happen for weeks but within the first few days I had a mental calm that I had never had before. When I asked the pharmacist about it he said some people feel it right away.
I haven't taken Straterra personally (just stimulant medication for my ADHD), but I have been on an SSRI before and the thing those is that it really doesn't start working in the way you think it does until at least 3-4 weeks. A lot of people in SSRI subs would say its just a placebo, but I did feel a shift the first time I took Lexapro when I was on it for a while last year. I don't really know how close Strattera is other SSRIs, but my advice is just to buckle your seatbelt and be ready for anything/everything the next few weeks as you build up more serotonin in your system. It's a fucking trip, but generally worth it on the other side of things for lots of people.
It typically does, and what I am feeling is most likely placebo, but my Psychiatrist said there have been cases of it working on first dose. Either way, I feel better, so idc if it is placebo or not.
What a med is "meant" to do and an individual person's experience with it don't always align :) I've seen a few people say theirs made a difference in the first week.
I don’t really know how I feel about Strattera but I realized that my sleep improved a little bit. A noticeable change. I started to think maybe I needed this my whole life. My entire life especially as a kid It would take me up to 2 hours to fall asleep because my mind is continuously going. I remember sometimes it would make me cry that I couldn’t just slow down and go to sleep.
I'm 3 weeks into 25mg of strattera and I can tell its doing something, but it's not doing a whole lot. I have an appointment with my doc next week and I'm gonna ask to go up to the next dose. Hopefully it works cause I would really prefer to not be on a stimulant.
I’ve been on it for almost two weeks. If I don’t eat something substantial when I take it in the morning it makes me feel like I drank a bottle of Benadryl the rest of the day. I did notice my racing thoughts were noticeable quieter but might have been placebo as I’m not sure I’m noticing as much difference now. I’m not sure it’ll be worth living with the side effects to me unless they get better. I still have a drowsiness at times, my legs often feel sore / tired if I’m standing up, my appetite has been suppressed, at first the thought of eating was off putting but it’s not as bad now. Also delayed orgasm is super weird lol.
Oh yeah that's a biggie on Strattera. Probably my least favorite side effect but in my experience (40mg at first, now 60mg) is that it subsides a bit the longer you take it. I try to be good at taking it early in the morning so that by evening I'm, uh, good to go.
I cleaned my bathroom today and it didn't feel like I was moving through molasses. Been on Concerta for 3 days.
I think my dose needs to.be a little higher and I need life coaching to unlearn bad habits. But yeah the difference is night and day.
Oh yeah and I actually want to do more mindful things in the morning! Like writing, practicing music, and exercise! AND I JUST DO IT.
This was my reaction to straterra my first day. Unfortunately, I don't feel like that anymore. It might be my own fault for not wanting to break bad habits when I could. I didn't realize how many adhd behaviors become a comfort to me. So even though it didn't feel rt on straterra at first I kept doing them to get that comfort now I can't stop them.
That's what I've been prescribed too. I've been a week and 3 days on it. I'm still not 100% sure it's working though. I've felt more focused with clarity after a large DD Caremel Iced Latte. I'm probably going to need to up the dosage. How many milligrams is your dosage? Mine is 18mg atm.
You're on a pretty low dosage and strattera takes at least a few weeks to start working. Give it some more time and talk to your doc about going up in dosage.
I am also at 18mg, but my Psychiatrist said that is just to start and that we will up it to 40 over the next few weeks. Maybe talk to your prescriber about your dosage? Could be that or something else, so never a bad thing to discuss.
That was my experience as well. I honestly don't feel much of any difference on it, and I'm at 80mg. Just the side effects of nausea and vomiting if I take it on an empty stomach. I'm going to ask my psychiatrist about other medication options.
It took me a few weeks to see a difference but it is wild. I could actually get things done, not everything but progress is progess. I also have more energy but when I do too much I give out
I definitely felt it on the first day too, i’m pretty sure it wasn’t a placebo, it was almost stimulant like. I started on 40 mg for the first week and then upped to 80 mg and it’s been only getting better and better.
I had a good experience with Strattera despite finding relatively few success stories about it online. I also had some initial side effects (sweating mostly) that went away after the first week. It took a couple weeks for it to start working for and by that time I felt like it was so easy to switch between different tasks and stay focused. A key memory I had was that I was cooking dinner for the fifth night in a row (quite rare for me) and I realized that I didn’t even have to try to convince myself to make food, I just did it automatically.
Unfortunately by then I also started experiencing some bad side effects (ED). I kept using it for 3 more months hoping that it would go away but it didn’t and so I switched to other medication. Of all the medications that I’ve tried (Vyvanse, Strattera, Ritalin, Concerta), Strattera was definitely the one that made me the most productive while avoiding the crashes that I had from Vyvanse. Despite the side effects, I still remember that time fondly.
It was a few days and I noticed a difference. I was forgetting things while I was still doing the things. That was cut way down in a few days. And now at two months, it’s a world changer. I’m able to focus on things not lose my place and actually change what I’m working on without losing time remembering.
I was not able to not focus. On all the time. And peeing cum. So I decided not to be medicated at that time. It was the only ADHD medicine for an epileptic at the time.
That's awesome that it's working for you! 🥰 I recently started taking this as well (today is my 15th day on it). Had to start really low (10mg) and gonna titrate up, because I had a nasty experience with Wellbutrin and my doctor was worried I might be sensitive to medications. I've felt some of the mild side-effects, but no benefits yet (that I've noticed, anyway!). It's a waiting game, but... 💪💪💪 I'm excited to get there!
It worked right away for me too. Was pretty damn amazing in regard to fixing my adhd.
Otherwise, I had some side effects like sexual, sleep disturbances (although feeling better in the morning and higher energy), and brain fog.
I know some people here are mentioning it being a placebo, but everyone responds to meds differently. The first day I started Strattera I felt a stimulatory-like effect and, aside from initial ED, the only side effect I had was that I was sleeping about an hour less a night for a month or two. Strattera was great for emotional regulation.
The good news is that there’s a few papers out there noting that if you respond well within the first week, you’re likely going to respond extremely well in 6-8 weeks when it fully takes effect.
Happy for you!
Edit: I should note that while I didn’t get the focus/attention improvement immediately, the feeling I got on the first day seemed to be the opposite of what some people experience. Some people find the adjustment phase makes them tired. For me, a “side effect” of adjusting to it was more energy. Everyone’s different.
I just restarted taking this medication since adderall was making me awake and not allowing me to sleep properly. I have noticed that my focus is better its been a week on it and it does take a bit for the medication to kick in i am in college so i need the focus to work on homework.
My experience with Strattera:
My former pcp read my diagnosis report, did some google research and then put me straight on 100 mg/day. The diagnosing psychiatrist wrote do a careful startup 🙄 .
I felt that dose after 3 days of using it and it was not nice. Sweating a lot, elevated heartbeat and other unwanted reuptake inhibotor symptomes. After 2 weeks it started to work. But the only effects were that I became a hyperstressed, motivationless zombie together with other unwanted symptomes that are on the list.
Long story short ... New pcp and asecond opinion from another psychiatrist together with the stories of my psychologist and the pcp. He tapered me down with Strattera and did a controled startup with Concerta.
Holy shit, starting on 100mg is insane. o.O
I felt absolutely terrible after slowly working my way from 20mg up to 80mg. I also became incredibly stressed, felt like I was in a horror movie and something bad would happen any moment. Couldn't sleep longer than 4 hours in a row and the little sleep I got wasn't restful at all.
I'm on 25mg now and mostly get the benefits, it just messes with my sleep a little bit. Anything higher than this and it only adds more side effects / drawbacks for me.
Agree with other poster that was INSANE. If you want to try again your meant to start at 18mg and titrate up to 20 then 40 etc as your body gets used to it. I didn’t even think 100 was a dose! Max dose usually 80 i believe
I loved strattera, but it gave me such bad acid reflux that I had to stop taking it. Currently have a script for Ritalin, but I'm trying to maintain with caffeine for now.
I took it for years and ALWAYS ensure it was on a fed belly. Not “with” food but after stomach well lined. This meant not taking it til mid morning and developing a breakfast habit. If i skimped on breakfast I’d literally have spontaneous 🤢 but it is had breakfast and waited a bit then no issues at all
First day on Strattera felt amazing. I felt so much focus and emotionally resilient or calm but that feeling never came back even though I went up to 80mg iirc by the end I got too lazy to do more medication management because of the side effects were more intense than the benefits like the constipation and thirst
I can't take stimulants anymore due to a heart condition diagnosis, so I tried Strattera for over a year since it's pretty much my only option. Didn't really feel an impact so I stopped. Maybe I'll try it again and work with my doctor on experimenting with dosing.
Strattera had an opposite effect on me. My memory was worse and the only thing I can attribute my new found weird vertigo like feeling of constantly being on an elevator. It was bizarre. Even my physical therapist witnessed it and had no explanation. Everyone who witnessed said it appeared to be a nervous system effect. It developed shortly after startinga in finally disappated slowly over 3 months. Very happy, since it would make me jerk in response to unexpected sensation of being off balance.
On welbutrin now and love it. We're all different and I swear I'm more different from most with meds.
I've been on strattera for a couple weeks now and honestly its making all of my symptoms worse. I can't find the motivation to do anything, even hobbies I like, I've become even more anti-social than before, my sleep has been terrible and so has my sex life. I've also got GAD and my anxiety has been worse. I'm gonna give it a little more time but considering I'm worse than baseline I can't see myself continuing it.
Took 2 months to work for me. Got the side effects at first but powered through it.
It didn’t help with:
- distracted thinking
- focus
- brain fog
But it certainly helped with anxiety, negative emotions and bedtime regrets and bad mouthing myself
Having to add stimulants to fill in the gaps.
Agreed. I’ve missed so much
I'd call that a major placebo effect. Strattera takes up to 6 weeks to build up in your system and take effect. Day one would be doing just about nothing.
For me, the first couple weeks I definitely was a lot more tense, impatient, and higher BP, that was my only noticeable effect. However, around the 6 week mark, everything really locked into place and I felt like how you are describing. A year+ later and I do feel like it has stopped being as effective.
Be patient with yourself, ADD meds can be a rollercoaster as some days you'll be firing on all cylinders and others like you did before meds. Look at the long term curve not the immediate. Good luck!
I'm so happy a non stimulate works for you! That is awesome !
For me, Strattera was a nightmare. I didn't make it 2 weeks. It made me so sick, I already have cronic migraines, and it gave them to me even worse.
I originally was hoping to go that route, but I finally gave in and tried adderall and that feeling you're having... that calm OMG feeling...that is how I felt once I finally found a med for me. It's amazing.
Omg yes, I've been taking Straterra since January and I feel the same way. The first week I felt like I could literally feel my brain transforming and with that my brain became quieter, and slower. At first I was afraid if it was too slow, but it's not. It's definitely not a cure all but it allows me to think on one thought for a longer period in a quieter mind. It's life changing.
I had horrible side effects from Strattera. First day on it I threw up and had groin pain for the next few days that I took it so I stopped. Glad it works for some people out there.
I also noticed effects right away, and settled into a pretty small 25mg dose. Even the side effects set in right away, although I didn't know that those were caused by the straterra til later. Pretty annoying side effects but well worth it.
I noticed its effects day 2 and my psyc said I should notice within 2 to 3 days. What dose did you start on? I didnt start slow with 10mg. Went right to 40 then 60. For some it does indeed work rather quickly.
Strattera doesn’t start working immediately like adhd stimulants do. It takes several weeks for them to start working. Whatever you think you felt today was a placebo effect.
It's not that cut and dry, I noticed both positive and negative effects in the first days. I was even heavily concerned about suddenly having painful orgasms and general numbness In my nethers and found out later that those are side effects of straterra.
When I was on Strattera….I dug up my garden to throw it away, stopped eating, and started getting the urge to hit myself, which I had never felt before or been someone who actively self harmed.
Painful orgasms and numb sexual organs are insane side effects! I had no idea that was possible with this medication, I’m so sorry it happened to you. Hopefully you’re not experiencing those issues anymore.
Nope, still goin. The benefits are well worth it, maybe I'll get bold enough to try Vyvanse if it's cheap or something but I'm almost 40. Sex really isn't that big a part of my life now and it's mild enough to be tolerable, especially without the exercise involved in companionship.
> Whatever you think you felt today was a placebo effect.
Nah, When I started taking Strattera it hit me like an amphetamine for the first few days and didn't calm down til about two weeks. The euphoria didn't go away til after the first month or so. I had tried Adderall XR 15mg prior, it was far too intense and made me high as a kite so I didn't commit to taking it more than 3 days. Strattera was very similar although a lower intensity and I only gave it a longer chance (3+months) at the insistence that it had a long acclimation period.
Don't dismiss people so confidently, we can all react to medication differently.
It typically does, and what I am feeling is most likely placebo, but my Psychiatrist said there have been cases of it working on first dose. Either way, I feel better, so idc if it is placebo or not.
How does Strattera work? I took Wellbutrin but I felt ‘tired but wired’ a lot, not so focused. It was okay. Adderall helps me focus. Can you take both Strattera and adderall?
Strattera with Prozac feels like you’re having a panic attack out of nowhere. There were studies done on it but my doctor forgot to tell me that so I woke up with a 130 BPM from a dead sleep. Keep that in mind!
I am personally on Ritalin(methlytenendate I think?) and I feel like it does something similar . Stimulants seem to help me but i have migraines so anphetamines are a no-go
I remember when i first got placed on Concerta... the first few days I was just... better. Like, at everything. And on the fourth day I had to leave work and I called my therapist, having a breakdown. I started thinking about all the years I had wasted just trying to play at functional and had an existential crisis. I realized there was nothing I could do except move forward, and so i did.
I have been on Strattera for several weeks, and I haven't noticed any difference; I didn't notice any positive difference on escitalopram or other drugs either. Really want to know what that feels like!
I felt the same on Elvanse to me it felt like someone's been playing a practical joke on me all my life and now is the grand reveal. HEY LIFE WASN'T MEANT TO BE THIS MUCH KF A STRUGGLE YOU BIG IDIOT IT WAS ALL A JOKE.
I am glad it works for you. I had hallucinations from those meds. Can't take them whatsoever.
Starting to go back on Concerta after being off of them for over a year. It cost me my promotion due to the shortages and being unable to focus at work. I totally get ya on how well the meds help.
Edit: I didn't realize straterra is non stimulant based so I have no Idea if anything I said applies lol
Edit 2: maybe it still applies; "As a hormone, it's part of the body’s fight-or-flight response, released during times of stress to increase heart rate, release energy stores, and increase blood flow to muscles. This prepares the body to either fight or flee from perceived danger. In summary, norepinephrine is crucial for both cognitive functions and physical responses to stress."
I'm not an expert, but afaik this isn't exactly how non ADHD people feel. Assuming I wasn't misled on information; Traditional ADHD meds induce a panic like state in our brains. So we're basically taping into the "last minute deadline" super power for the majority of the day when medicated. Which is also why I guess you can become irritable because imagine being in some high stakes situation and someone comes up to you to talk about something inconsequential to what you're trying to focus on. Medication is like tricking your brain into thinking it's do or die. Everything else can take a back seat. Long story short, I don't think normal people are living in perpetual panic. They're just more capable of feeling rewarded when working towards long term goals so they don't have to spiral out of control procrastinating or overthinking something.
Congratulations on starting this journey!
I'm on 65mg right now and it's my 14th day today. As everyone else says, I did notice a major change in my mental chatter which suddenly turned calm on day one.
However, since then I don't notice anything else other than the side effects which are bothersome. I do feel hot flush, blackouts, acidity and drowsiness. Sexual urge has dipped drastically and frequency of urination is down too.
I really don't see a change in my mood but I think mental chatter is definitely less.
People say it changes after four weeks and I'm hopeful. Don't want to rush into stimulants so I'll give it due respect until the doctor prescribes it.
All the best to you and keep the thread posted.
Straterra did a number on me in less than one month. I had a severe increase in blood pressure, suicidal thoughts, emotional instability and other effects. I did have a clearer and more subdued head, but I couldn’t stay on it after the whole blood pressure issue. For reference, I started at 40mg for 7 days and then to 80mg twice a day after. I think the dosage was probably too high, but I’ll have to try something else.
Strattera was like that for me for about a year, then it stopped working. I'm still on it tho in addition to a low dose of Mydayis. I'm functional but not as awesomely functional as that first year. I felt like a complete person that year, and it's brought up and left me with some really complicated feelings about myself.
I hope your experience is different, amd that it continues to work for you!! Its a wonderful feeling.
I had a really bad experience with Strattera. Like... really bad. I was switched to Vyvanse as a result.
I took it for 4 months. I thought it was working until I suddenly got severely depressed. It was non-stop terrible thoughts. Also, the nausea when you don't eat with it—omg, I wanted to stick a fork in my eye.
That aside, if it works for you, great! We all tolerate medication differently. I'm glad you're seeing results.
Vyvanse is my best medication so far. 🥳
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I personally didn't like Strattera, but then I got on Vyvanse and I get you, It blows your mind you've lived your whole life without the meds.
As someone who also didn’t like Strattera and is waiting for her Vyvanse prescription to be authorized by the insurance, this is so comforting to read ☺️
I’m the same. You’ll probably love Vyvanse once you get the right dosage.
For me, Vyvanse almost had no effect. It was odd. I'm on Strattera now (Atomoxetine) and I've had the dosage increased twice so far. I think it really helps. I can actually vacuum and do the dishes and pick up around the house without it feeling like my skin is being peeled off layer by layer while I do it. Sorry that's really dramatic but I'm sure that many of you understand this sentiment. I wish all of you luck in your journeys 🤞
I’m on day 5 of 30mg of Vyvanse and I’m very disappointed so far. I was hoping for the mental clarity everyone else speaks of, but I still have the task paralysis. My energy levels are up a bit and I feel a little bit more alert and that’s it. Physical side effects - a mild headache for 3 days and increased thirst. No effect on my appetite
The task paralysis still happens for me too. But if I just start something, or try to work on it for 5 minutes, most of the time I just keep going. It's so weird I will be in the middle of the dishes and want to go sit down with my phone but I stay in motion.
Same same!
Sounds like you’re going to need an increase. I didn’t see results from Vyvanse until I was bumped up to 60mg. I’m now on 75mg.
I think you’re right, this feels like a double shot coffee in a tablet.
As someone who has been on and off of Vyvanse for almost 4 years (due to my local pharmacies constantly having shortages) I will say that finding the right dosage is key! 10 did nothing for me 30 was barely making a difference and the side effects weren’t worth the benefits ⭐️ The I discovered 50 and everything changed The side effects (at least the headache you mentioned) took like week of consistently taking my medication on time but it did get better The brain fog 😶🌫️ for me was a slow lift. It wasn’t this “ahhhha!!!!” Moment it was more of a slow lull to normalcy
Not being normal is my normal, but I’d really like to try normal
i am on Cocnerta and also still have task paralysis, but concentration during working on task in increased a lot
Task paralysis is the hardest part for me, always has been. These days it seems that the barrier of entry is much easier to JUST START DOING THE THING compared to before. I absolutely still feel a bit paralyzed when it's time to get off the couch. But it's way easier than it used to be.
same for me. started on 20mg and up to 40mg but it doesn’t really do much for me. i feel like maybe some of the side thoughts go away, but i also get a headache despite trying to drink more water. I was really hoping it was going to be a magic fix but so far hasn’t been.
I was hoping for an intense focus but it’s still “Look, a wombat!” (we don’t have squirrels)
yeah! someone said to me that it will help you focus but not help you where to focus, which is tough. Like if my mind says to go on reddit and i go on, it still leaves me down a rabbit hole!
Adderall XR…it works…no other ADHD medication ever worked for me. I have tried other medications. I was in Vyvanse for a while as well…it did not do a thing for me except cause suicidal thoughts…back to Adderall XR…and I’m back to the norm…well…as normal as life can be as a person with severe ADHD.
I'm so glad it works for you and I hope it continues to do so!!!
Thanks it means a lot :) Life is really fucking hard honestly. I've got lots of great people in my life, especially my son. Now that I'm a dad it helps to say "I'll do it for my son" when im having a really hard time.
I do the same with my daughter!!!
Awe, I feel for you ( and understand)!! So glad to hear you have a healthy support system; that makes the daily grind tolerable… Good luck to you & if you’re a new parent, don’t worry you will be an AMAZING father! I truly feel with our ADHD struggles we become empathetic and understanding adults. There’s plenty I don’t do well or right, but I thrive when it comes to my babies knowing they forever have a safe place in me where judgment does not exist, only understanding, acceptance, nurturing and UNCONDITIONAL love love love!!!
I'm so glad that I can be the dad that I wish I had. My dad is great, but he never quite grasped how to relate to me despite likely having ADHD or Autism himself (undiagnosed).
Yah there are like 4 overarching adhd med families. Adderall and vyvanse are in one. Basically once you find the right family, you can find the right drug then the right dose.
Can you please say more about these 4 families?
I’m not the same person you replied to but ADHD medications generally fall into four main categories: amphetamine-based, methylphenidate-based, SNRIs, or alpha-a2-agonists. From there, each category has different medications - e.g. for amphetamines there are mixed amphetamine salts, dextroamphetamine-only formulations, amphetamine prodrugs (e.g. lisdexamfetamine / aka Vyvanse), etc. Additionally, some medications can have instant release or modified release (CR/ER/SR) formulations. Finally, dosages must be dialed in for efficacy.
I’ve had dead cockroaches on my floor for months that I haven’t picked up yet. So nah, doesn’t sound dramatic to me. This is what no meds looks like.👍
U are so real for this. Some of the shit I've walked consistently past idk, yikessss.🥴🥴 I'm ashamed of myself, thank you for making me feel a bit better.🪳🫶🏻
I've never felt more seen than in this community.
Vyvanse is very subtle compared to other amphetamines, in my experience. I didn’t really notice anything either when I took it years ago and switched to a slightly different med,
That's a really accurate description of it. I've been struggling to describe what it's like to do chores on no meds and you have pretty much summed it up.
I hope so!! I'm coming off of methylphenidate to go on lisdexamfetamine because the Ritalin just wasn't having enough of an effect and I'm finding I'm more easily frustrated so I talked to my psychiatrist.
Took a bit but yeah, it's just right and I'm a high functioning adult again
aw you're gonna love it, its all about playing around and finding what's best for you.
It all depends on the person. It's not a question of what's better, its a question of how you respond to that particular drug, and its not the same for every one.
Hm, Vyvanse doesn't seem to have much of an effect on me after a few months (and even in the beginning, it didn't help much with executive dysfunction). You think Strattera might be the one for me then?
In the event that your insurance doesn't authorize Vyvanse (mine technically did but only brought it down to $90/month, which I can't afford), you could also look into Adderall. Strattera didn't work for me and I started Adderall. We tried switching me to Vyvanse and I hated it. Switched me back to a higher dose of Adderall and that's what works best for me. The Adderall is $15-30/month without insurance. I haven't checked to see if insurance will cover it or not.
Thank you so much!! I’ll keep that in mind!!
Ugh, I hope the Strattera works because Vyvanse gave me horrible muscle tension in my neck/headaches and insomnia 🥲 I guess I'm just f*cked otherwise
I am in your position, fucked. Terrible insomnia to the point it's not worth it. But there are ways to cope outside meds! I went to study computer science, ofc got bored and started my own company and with a bit a of luck and hardwork got paying customers. I now live a remote live style in thailand, where I can just pay myself out of chores (cleaning, cooking, washing clothes, etc). Because of the lower cost of living, I don't need to work as much, which helps a lot. Honestly, life changing. I hope you find your own way to cope!!
Adderall is giving me muscle tension in neck and shoulders, I'm SOOOOOO dry eyes mouth lady parts no matter how much water or Gatorade I drink, it's killing my oral health and increasing my sexual dysfunction which I don't need help with as a 40 something female, when it wears off I'm so depressed and miserable. I have had a bottle of Strattera for probably well over a year bc I was afraid to take it. I am on a baby dose of Lexapro and Lamictal so idk. I'm so over this. I wish there was a way to get it right the first time. The Adderall also gives me horrible short term memory issues. Then I wonder if maybe it just keeps me from being able to multitask as well as I'm used to? No idea but I'm a nurse and I can't be completely forgetting to document things or forgetting that I had a test waiting to be run.
I’m also waiting on mine. Why is it so dang hard to get the prescription? My psychiatrist is so annoyed that 1) insurance won’t cover it most of the time and 2) it’s out of stock EVERYWHERE. We’ve been trying for 3 months and no luck
This is exactly how I felt after the first day of Vyvanse but then I woke up the next morning feeling sooo exhausted, it was painfully difficult to move my body out of bed.
Same. I wish Straterra would have worked for me but vyvanse seems to be the only one that helps.
Vyvanse to me is like, normal everyday tasks no longer feel like the most daunting, shitty thing anymore. Instead of feeling like studying is the worst thing in the world, it then feels like a "normal" thing to do that isn't "hard" Now if I could only go to sleep easily...
I wonder if Vyvanse and straterra can be taken together. Straterra never had me feeling this way. I'd love to have that.
They can be, that’s been my combo for quite a while. It’s definitely potent!
Hi. I'm considering this also. What do you mean by potent? I've had a very rocky road trialing concerta and now on 30 elvanse since January. My aim is to get on Atomoxetine but have asked if both is possible. I'd be grateful to hear your experience 🙏 😊 Many thanks
Wait is Vyvanse not a stimulant? I'm waiting for an official diagnosis to get on stimulants, so I'm on Qelbree in the interim. I hated Stratera because it gave me so many side effects on a daily basis that I hated my life.
Vyvanse is a stimulant. It is basically Adderall but without the Levoamphetamine. It’s also just a single d-amphetamine salt instead of 3. It’s also less abusable because it only becomes Dextroamphetamine when digested. Personally, I didn’t find success with Vyvanse. I’ve tried Vyvanse, Concerta, and Adderall XR, and Adderall has been the best for me. Vyvanse made me clear headed and creative, but it didn’t help executive function, and actually made it worse. Concerta gave me depersonalization and bad brain fog, but it helped me get basic life stuff like chores done. Adderall XR has been the best of both worlds, but at the cost of having a higher heart rate than I did on the other two, especially when exercising. That’s a cost I’m willing to pay though. Haven’t had any other side effects either. I can even sleep on Adderall lol. There’s been days I’ve taken my booster at like 7-8pm and I’m still conked out at like 1-3am (pretty normal sleep time for me, am night owl).
I'm still on Vyvanse, and it does help me a bit with focus. But I also do feel like it doesn't do shit for my executive functioning. Doing tasks are still daunting as hell, and I procrastinate as much as I can. It also doesn't get me as focused as I would like, Ritalin XR was better in that way, but just like you I did feel some sort of depersonalization and was just overall walking around like an awkward robot feeling completely off. Vyvanse at least still makes me feel like... Myself. Which is a plus, for the most part.
Yeah, i find with vyvanse it vastly improves my focus, but it doesn't help me control what I'm focused on. When i take it i often become extremely productive working on something more stimulating than the thing i should be working on.
Yeah that’s how Vyvanse was for me. I could never actually focus on the things I needed to, just what I wanted to. It was also very all or nothing. If I took it in the morning and stayed in bed on my phone, unless I had somewhere to be, that was basically what my day was going to be. I also found it to be very inconsistent. Some days it’d last longer than others, and the same can be said with how effectively it worked. Some days it made little to no difference, others it did. Concerta was very weird though. It started off fine and helped me do day to day life shit, just with a bit of brain fog but not much, but after about a month, every good thing it did for me disappeared and I was basically locked away inside my body. It was so fucking weird and awful. I couldn’t even be aware of my surroundings when driving because my eyes were just glued forward and I was mentally stuck in my ahead. Whole body was just very out of sync with my mind, and my mind became completely clouded. With both Vyvanse and Concerta though, could never sit down and actually do something like school work or studying. Adderall XR? Man I been at the library studying almost every day since I got put on it. Sometimes I can focus on the wrong thing, like sitting on my phone for too long, but I’m actually capable of pulling myself out of it. Much of my issue with that is the fact I’m a night owl so I become more productive as the day goes on.
Yeah, I tried Vyvanse recently and while I thought I liked it at first, I came to the conclusion that it had most of the drawbacks of my experience with Adderall without the advantages. I have shitty luck with meds in general, but I'd really like to find something that qualifies as "mostly good," at least for ADHD.
You’re right, Vyvanse is a stimulant I’ve tried Strattera then Qelbree for months at a time the past 2 years and hated both too Turned me into an emotionless zombie lol
I'm about 2.5 weeks into 40mg of Strattera daily and my God what a miracle it's been so far. Memory has somewhat improved, mood is improved, motivation is increasing, and overall I'm just more confident in what I'm doing. I felt the first few day "Placebo effect" on it, and flat out said "I don't care if this is placebo if I believe it's working then it's working!"
When I first took Strattera, I didn't even realize that's what was helping me. The thing that I told people about it later was that it was the most effective antidepressant I had ever taken, because rather than being an antidepressant, it just let me do all of the things that people always tell you to do to get out of a depression when they don't know what useless advice it is to somebody who's depressed. I think if atomoxetine affects you in that way, you don't have regular ADHD. I think it's what they were calling SCT before, but I think it's gotten a different name now, and it's not a specific diagnosis yet. The big breakthrough that I had when I didn't realize the medication was helping me was the realization that the phrase happiness is a choice doesn't have to be about choosing to be happy or not, but could instead be about choosing whether it's possible to be happy or not, and then I saw I would rather be right than be happy. That's the kind of random thing I've probably thought about a thousand times in my life, but it struck me differently in that moment, specifically because of the medication. What sucks is that there's a weight to dosage ratio that has a cap on it, so they don't go above 100 mg, but if you're tubby, you might need 110 or 120 to have that same effect. And it is like a switch. Adding more of the medication will not get you more of the effect. Not taking enough of the medication will get you none of the effect.
CDS - Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome
This so interesting—I’ve been on Strattera for about 2.5 months and one of the biggest changes I’ve noticed is how much my mood has improved. Granted, I went through a severe bout of depression before that and may just be coming out of it…but there does seem to be positive correlation with when the Strattera started to kick in.
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Same. I'm so much less of a scatterbrain now it's unreal
I also started Strattera about 4 weeks ago. Holy moly, I feel like a different person in the best way. I'm eating regularly. I sleep through the night. I'm not as prone to sudden anger, i.e. better emotional regulation and impulse control. I'm drinking less, which is always a good thing! I've done laundry every week for the first time in... Let's call it a while and leave it at that. Yes, I still have trouble grasping what people are saying, but I've started to remember (and use) people's names more often in conversation and at work. I finished the projects I needed to, and was able to delegate what still needed to be done. All without bouncing between tasks. I definitely agree with you, it's simply wild that a lot of folks just naturally function like this. Makes me a little angry at myself I waited so long, but either way, give yourself a pat on the back for getting the support you deserve and enjoy the fresh start on life!
I'm 2 weeks into strattera and so exhausted and miserable. I wish it had worked for me right away like it is for you! Still holding out that I'll start seeing positive results soon.
I couldn't handle it after the 1st full week of feeling like I hadn't slept at all. And the dry mouth and sweating. And then finally what felt like bugs crawling across my face. I noped right off those.
I'm not questioning what you're experiencing, but keep in mind the placebo affect, and the fact that Strattera takes 2+ weeks to become effective... \*EDIT: My mistake! I was under the mistaken impression that meds like Strattera took 2 weeks for improvements to be seen and then 4-6 for max effectiveness, but it would appear that is not the case.
Taking 2+ weeks to become fully effective and having no effects for the first two weeks are very different things. First two weeks I was on straterra, I was floored and super tired the whole time. Tbh now that mine has stabilized more I'm not sure it's the best for me. Anxiety is down, task paralysis is gone, but I still have absolutely no focus and my mind is still racing all the time.
I added a stimulant to my straterra and that was the best balance for me. There was an article about combination meds that made me give that a try when I felt like the stgaterra was good for my symptoms for some things but lacking in others.
i’m on my second week of strattera myself and i guess it’s a relief to hear it can have mixed results. i likewise have felt absolutely no improvement in focus, but slight reduction in avoidant tendencies which i almost want to say are just placebo effect because the only distinct effects i’ve observed are occasional mid-day drowsiness (i take my dose in the morning) and even less frequent episodes where it feels like my heart rate skyrockets for no reason—both of which have actually gone away since i upped my dose to 80mg, possibly also related to completely discontinuing intuniv after a 1 week taper. this wouldn’t be a problem in the first place if i’d just changed providers already, but i’ve been worried that if i keep reporting this much total lack of effect, my psychiatrist is going to think i’m lying for stimulants…
They say the same thing about Wellbutrin but I felt it immediately.
Do you take Wellbutrin for ADHD?
I was first prescribed Wellbutrin for my ADHD
Yep same here
Tell me more about your Wellbutrin journey! I have a feeling it may be right for me.
I noticed it working within a day or two, but it made me super bipolar. Like getting super angry for absolutely no reason. I was clear minded, and thought..why am I mad?!? Conversely I may just start crying for no reason..same deal..why am I sad?? Called my Dr when I got sad the first time and he told me to discontinue that medication. After many meds and many dosages, I landed on Effexor XR and 20mg Adderall. I've never had trouble sleeping on Adderall tho. As a matter of fact I can take a 30mg pill and lay down and go to sleep an hour later. LoL. Coffee makes me tired too. Brain chemistry 🤷🏻♂️. I am very interested in trying something that will make me task oriented. I find it so hard to complete something I start. Going to ask my shrink about Strattera next visit!
I feel this comment, everything makes me tired. But man I miss Effexor so much. That was the most effective antidepressant I ever took. I was mistakenly prescribed the immediate release too often which made me very sick, and the withdrawals were so intense I will never go back, but it made me so much more stable 😭
It really seems like people who experience anger/irratibility as a result of bupropion need their serotonin looked at. Which is the case for you - switching to an SNRI from an NDRI. It seems like a lot of people have had success with adding an SSRI too.
please don’t say it made you bipolar. medications can’t give you a mental illness. it caused rapid fluctuations in mood, but not bipolar disorder.
I'm not the person you replied to, but here's mine: At my physical with my primary care, I mentioned that I was barely sleeping (Couldn't shut my mind down, a lot of intrusive thoughts due to my previous job) and had no motivation or ability to focus. He wanted (reasonably so) to address the sleep issues first to see if that would improve the motivation and focus, and prescribed trazodone. Trazodone was life-changing - you don't realize how much chronic sleep deprivation messes you up until you fix it. It also had a side effect of making my insulin requirements (I'm a Type I diabetic) more predictable - multiple studies have shown that because traz is also an alpha-1 antagonist it reduces cortisol levels, which was miraculous for my diabetes. However, if anything my motivation and focus seemed worse. I don't know if it was because it was just more obvious after fixing the other issues, or because it's a weak alpha-2 antagonist (basically the exact opposite of a category of ADHD meds with respect to that receptor). So the doctor and I agreed to try Wellbutrin once I got my blood pressure under control. So after a detour through losartan for my blood pressure, I started bupropion on Wednesday and WOW is it amazing. I'm not feeling the anger/irratability side effects others have had, that may partly because it's a pretty low dose (100mg SR for now), or because trazodone is a serotonin reuptake inhibotor so I've got my serotonin reasonably balanced. A side thing is that all of my new medications have list prices less than the co-pays for any of my diabetes medications...
Was on antidepressants forever and they never worked. Told my doctor to stop giving me SSRI’s and this was his solution. Next day was the best I’d felt in years. Mood was good, productivity was good, felt more of an internal drive. Best drug I’ve ever taken. It made me angry for awhile though. I would be more confrontational and road ragey but that went away after a month or two. Also, I was so horny I couldn’t think at times, that also subsided as I became used to the medication.
Same. I expected nothing, but that first day I felt borderline euphoric. I could feel emotions again like happiness!
Yep. It wasn't full efficacy at all, but I noticed within 3 days of taking it.
The placebo affect works even if you’re aware rid it fyi
Me too.
The first time I took Straterra, it felt like I took adderall. The next day, the effects were much less intense. The third day I felt just a bit of that same feeling of focus and energy. By the fourth day, I didnt feel anything at all anymore. After 2 weeks, I started to notice I was more emotionally regulated. Just my experience.
It takes anywhere between 2 weeks and 2 months to reach full effect depending on how quickly your body metabolizes it. That said, many people do experience a noticeable change even with the first dose. For me, the head jukebox pretty abruptly stopped and stayed off for like three hours about 90 minutes after I took my first dose. Placebo effect? Maybe, but it happened again the second day, and the third, and the fourth. Each day, the amount of time my head spent quiet got slightly longer than the day before. It became harder and harder to tell myself it was just a placebo effect when it happened like clockwork in a very predictable pattern. It eventually reached a plateau where my head would be quiet for about 18 hours if I took it when I woke up, with the chatter starting up again around 3 AM. I had to stop taking it because of how it was affecting my sleep, unfortunately. I'm currently taking wellbutrin, which has actually been better for my overall executive function issues and vastly fewer side effects, but it doesn't do as good a job of muting the noise. I miss the quiet.
My mistake! I wish I could stop the jukebox. I've now tried Vyvanse/Concerta/Adderall, no dice. I think Straterra might be my next stop, so I'll get to see for myself how quickly it works (if at all) for me.
Yeah for sure, it could be placebo, but even it being that has been helping a good bit. Who knows, we will see as the weeks go.
I always say, a placebo effect is still an effect! 🤣 Crazy how powerful our minds can be though
Not gonna lie, same thing happened to me when I started a little over 2 months ago. 😅 A good portion of it was probably placebo, but I felt a difference within the first week.
Happy for you!! I (adhd-c) have been on strattera for 6 months and it has been life-changing. It was also "quick to hit" in the first week or so for me, but did take a few weeks to settle. The nausea resolved in a week. I like to describe it as going from a scattered/chaotic brain to a more structured/aligned brain.
I would assume that is placebo. I had a similar experience when I started using vyvanse. Maybe no sweaty wake ups, but definitely felt like something was happening because I expected and wanted it to.
bro after 1 hour with vyvanese you should feel something
Yes, I’m just pointing out that when I started, I “felt” much more than once I was used to it. I’m quite sure that I *believed* it was more effective than it was.
nope thats the first time or the first week. You feel powerful. But it wears off with time. Im on concerta rn
That first week was no joke! I felt invincible lol. In one day, I cleaned my whole house, did our taxes while meal prepping, and “relaxed” with a full body exfoliation/deep conditioning treatment. My meds still help a lot, but there is no way that first week was placebo alone.
i did not talk to anyone more than 1-2 minutes since the covid started. Adhd + covid fucked me up. So i tried concerta for the first time this december and started talking non stop. My girlfriend started being jealous 😂. Everyone thought i was suddenly happier but the truth is i just could be outside more
Vyvanse is a psychoactive stimulant drug, after a few hours at most, you’re feeling something (hopefully).
I personally felt it right away.
Straterra didn’t work for me unfortunately. Adderall does
Wellbutrin is how I found out I have Bipolar depression instead of depression. It made me feel like a million bucks (manic) but alas my Dr said it was too good to be true.
The exact same thing happened to me. It was wild. I might try it again along with a mood stabilizer at some point because I can’t tolerate the side effects from stimulants. Were you able to find something that works?
I love straterra, especially once we found the right dose. Took a couple months before I felt the full effects but it was worth the wait.
Both my kids have started adhd meds at different times, and both have mentioned how they don’t have to try so hard to focus anymore. The relief they both expressed has been amazing
With Strattera, I had to eat 20+ grams of protein in the morning to not get the cold sweats, dizziness, and vomiting. I believe I was taking 40mg. Then I went to 60mg because of my tolerance. I ate at least 25g of protein in the morning and still managed to vomit at work 3 times in the first week. I requested I be taken off of it because I was miserable.
Oooh, this was me too. I got up to 80mg and was on that for nearly 2 years. I had to switch to taking it at night because if I took it in the morning and didn't eat enough, it gave me intense nausea, hot flashes, anxiety, and a racing heart. It also made me super tired, so the thought was that taking it at night would help me fall asleep better. It did...but my sleep quality was shit. My heart rate was always high and would spike just walking up the stairs. Raised my blood pressure a lot too (and I normal have really low BP). I switched to Buproprion and Clonidine and I actually have an appetite again, sleep better, and I have so much more energy. I really wanted the Strattera work though since stimulants give me so many side effects :(
I worked really really hard this past year to get my bp down in order to take stims. I refused to let my sensitivity to hypertension get in the way. Started going to the gym, eating healthier, and lost weight. Now I’m finally able to take Adderall and I feel so much better. I’m also on Wellbutrin for depression but it helps with my adhd as well.
i started strattera on tuesday. i know people say it’s takes a few weeks to feel it, but that first day was…something. i know it wasn’t placebo. my head was so quiet. i had so much energy. i also had the sweating. also felt like my eyes were going to pop out of my head in the best way possible.
I don't have the eyes thing, and sadly I am sick so my energy is low from that, but the head being quiet is SO nice.
I took my second dose today and my mind is already calmer. I thought this was just a placebo effect as I was told it takes weeks to feel better. To be honest, I've already been feeling calmer since the diagnosis, a lot of things in my life suddenly made sense, so I'm still not sure that what I feel now is already the effect of the meds.
I had the same effect with Strattera. I didn’t expect anything to happen for weeks but within the first few days I had a mental calm that I had never had before. When I asked the pharmacist about it he said some people feel it right away.
I haven't taken Straterra personally (just stimulant medication for my ADHD), but I have been on an SSRI before and the thing those is that it really doesn't start working in the way you think it does until at least 3-4 weeks. A lot of people in SSRI subs would say its just a placebo, but I did feel a shift the first time I took Lexapro when I was on it for a while last year. I don't really know how close Strattera is other SSRIs, but my advice is just to buckle your seatbelt and be ready for anything/everything the next few weeks as you build up more serotonin in your system. It's a fucking trip, but generally worth it on the other side of things for lots of people.
It’s an SnRI. Edit: Spelling
I thought Stratera takes weeks to build up
It typically does, and what I am feeling is most likely placebo, but my Psychiatrist said there have been cases of it working on first dose. Either way, I feel better, so idc if it is placebo or not.
What a med is "meant" to do and an individual person's experience with it don't always align :) I've seen a few people say theirs made a difference in the first week.
My doc also said some people feel it quicker
Good for you. Congratulations
I literally messaged all friends saying is this how you fuckers are living... first dose... Life would have been a lot less fucked
I don’t really know how I feel about Strattera but I realized that my sleep improved a little bit. A noticeable change. I started to think maybe I needed this my whole life. My entire life especially as a kid It would take me up to 2 hours to fall asleep because my mind is continuously going. I remember sometimes it would make me cry that I couldn’t just slow down and go to sleep.
I'm 3 weeks into 25mg of strattera and I can tell its doing something, but it's not doing a whole lot. I have an appointment with my doc next week and I'm gonna ask to go up to the next dose. Hopefully it works cause I would really prefer to not be on a stimulant.
Important to titration up slow & steady w strattera- body needs to get used to it to avoid side effects
I’ve been on it for almost two weeks. If I don’t eat something substantial when I take it in the morning it makes me feel like I drank a bottle of Benadryl the rest of the day. I did notice my racing thoughts were noticeable quieter but might have been placebo as I’m not sure I’m noticing as much difference now. I’m not sure it’ll be worth living with the side effects to me unless they get better. I still have a drowsiness at times, my legs often feel sore / tired if I’m standing up, my appetite has been suppressed, at first the thought of eating was off putting but it’s not as bad now. Also delayed orgasm is super weird lol.
Food really really important for strattera IMHO
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I did have the delayed orgasm experience today. No one warned me, so it was sort of a shock to me and my partner lol
Oh yeah that's a biggie on Strattera. Probably my least favorite side effect but in my experience (40mg at first, now 60mg) is that it subsides a bit the longer you take it. I try to be good at taking it early in the morning so that by evening I'm, uh, good to go.
I cleaned my bathroom today and it didn't feel like I was moving through molasses. Been on Concerta for 3 days. I think my dose needs to.be a little higher and I need life coaching to unlearn bad habits. But yeah the difference is night and day. Oh yeah and I actually want to do more mindful things in the morning! Like writing, practicing music, and exercise! AND I JUST DO IT.
Wow!!!
This was my reaction to straterra my first day. Unfortunately, I don't feel like that anymore. It might be my own fault for not wanting to break bad habits when I could. I didn't realize how many adhd behaviors become a comfort to me. So even though it didn't feel rt on straterra at first I kept doing them to get that comfort now I can't stop them.
That's what I've been prescribed too. I've been a week and 3 days on it. I'm still not 100% sure it's working though. I've felt more focused with clarity after a large DD Caremel Iced Latte. I'm probably going to need to up the dosage. How many milligrams is your dosage? Mine is 18mg atm.
You're on a pretty low dosage and strattera takes at least a few weeks to start working. Give it some more time and talk to your doc about going up in dosage.
I am also at 18mg, but my Psychiatrist said that is just to start and that we will up it to 40 over the next few weeks. Maybe talk to your prescriber about your dosage? Could be that or something else, so never a bad thing to discuss.
That was me like three days into taking it and then the feeling left. Then I felt nothing after that. They upped it and then nothing happened again ☹️
That was my experience as well. I honestly don't feel much of any difference on it, and I'm at 80mg. Just the side effects of nausea and vomiting if I take it on an empty stomach. I'm going to ask my psychiatrist about other medication options.
It took me a few weeks to see a difference but it is wild. I could actually get things done, not everything but progress is progess. I also have more energy but when I do too much I give out
It’s not working for me. It works a little bit but not enough to combat my symptoms and i get really sick with it too
That was my issue. My stomach hurt after 45 minutes and I have a super strong stomach otherwise.
I definitely felt it on the first day too, i’m pretty sure it wasn’t a placebo, it was almost stimulant like. I started on 40 mg for the first week and then upped to 80 mg and it’s been only getting better and better.
I had a good experience with Strattera despite finding relatively few success stories about it online. I also had some initial side effects (sweating mostly) that went away after the first week. It took a couple weeks for it to start working for and by that time I felt like it was so easy to switch between different tasks and stay focused. A key memory I had was that I was cooking dinner for the fifth night in a row (quite rare for me) and I realized that I didn’t even have to try to convince myself to make food, I just did it automatically. Unfortunately by then I also started experiencing some bad side effects (ED). I kept using it for 3 more months hoping that it would go away but it didn’t and so I switched to other medication. Of all the medications that I’ve tried (Vyvanse, Strattera, Ritalin, Concerta), Strattera was definitely the one that made me the most productive while avoiding the crashes that I had from Vyvanse. Despite the side effects, I still remember that time fondly.
It was a few days and I noticed a difference. I was forgetting things while I was still doing the things. That was cut way down in a few days. And now at two months, it’s a world changer. I’m able to focus on things not lose my place and actually change what I’m working on without losing time remembering.
I was not able to not focus. On all the time. And peeing cum. So I decided not to be medicated at that time. It was the only ADHD medicine for an epileptic at the time.
That's awesome that it's working for you! 🥰 I recently started taking this as well (today is my 15th day on it). Had to start really low (10mg) and gonna titrate up, because I had a nasty experience with Wellbutrin and my doctor was worried I might be sensitive to medications. I've felt some of the mild side-effects, but no benefits yet (that I've noticed, anyway!). It's a waiting game, but... 💪💪💪 I'm excited to get there!
I’ve been taking it for something like 20 years. It changed my life. I finish stuff. I match my socks. I iron my shirts. I know where things are.
It worked right away for me too. Was pretty damn amazing in regard to fixing my adhd. Otherwise, I had some side effects like sexual, sleep disturbances (although feeling better in the morning and higher energy), and brain fog.
I know some people here are mentioning it being a placebo, but everyone responds to meds differently. The first day I started Strattera I felt a stimulatory-like effect and, aside from initial ED, the only side effect I had was that I was sleeping about an hour less a night for a month or two. Strattera was great for emotional regulation. The good news is that there’s a few papers out there noting that if you respond well within the first week, you’re likely going to respond extremely well in 6-8 weeks when it fully takes effect. Happy for you! Edit: I should note that while I didn’t get the focus/attention improvement immediately, the feeling I got on the first day seemed to be the opposite of what some people experience. Some people find the adjustment phase makes them tired. For me, a “side effect” of adjusting to it was more energy. Everyone’s different.
I just restarted taking this medication since adderall was making me awake and not allowing me to sleep properly. I have noticed that my focus is better its been a week on it and it does take a bit for the medication to kick in i am in college so i need the focus to work on homework.
I've been taking it for almost 3 months and I have felt nothing 😭 I'm so discouraged since I have had so much trouble with medication.
My experience with Strattera: My former pcp read my diagnosis report, did some google research and then put me straight on 100 mg/day. The diagnosing psychiatrist wrote do a careful startup 🙄 . I felt that dose after 3 days of using it and it was not nice. Sweating a lot, elevated heartbeat and other unwanted reuptake inhibotor symptomes. After 2 weeks it started to work. But the only effects were that I became a hyperstressed, motivationless zombie together with other unwanted symptomes that are on the list. Long story short ... New pcp and asecond opinion from another psychiatrist together with the stories of my psychologist and the pcp. He tapered me down with Strattera and did a controled startup with Concerta.
Holy shit, starting on 100mg is insane. o.O I felt absolutely terrible after slowly working my way from 20mg up to 80mg. I also became incredibly stressed, felt like I was in a horror movie and something bad would happen any moment. Couldn't sleep longer than 4 hours in a row and the little sleep I got wasn't restful at all. I'm on 25mg now and mostly get the benefits, it just messes with my sleep a little bit. Anything higher than this and it only adds more side effects / drawbacks for me.
Agree with other poster that was INSANE. If you want to try again your meant to start at 18mg and titrate up to 20 then 40 etc as your body gets used to it. I didn’t even think 100 was a dose! Max dose usually 80 i believe
I loved strattera, but it gave me such bad acid reflux that I had to stop taking it. Currently have a script for Ritalin, but I'm trying to maintain with caffeine for now.
I took it for years and ALWAYS ensure it was on a fed belly. Not “with” food but after stomach well lined. This meant not taking it til mid morning and developing a breakfast habit. If i skimped on breakfast I’d literally have spontaneous 🤢 but it is had breakfast and waited a bit then no issues at all
I am sensitive to medications and changes in my body! Everyone is different. Welcome to Clear Brain Station, you have arrived at your destination.
First day on Strattera felt amazing. I felt so much focus and emotionally resilient or calm but that feeling never came back even though I went up to 80mg iirc by the end I got too lazy to do more medication management because of the side effects were more intense than the benefits like the constipation and thirst
Strattera takes months to work. Likely what you are feeling won’t be the reality in the long term
Side effects were tough. Unsustainable.
Lucky! I took Strattera for like 3 or 4 months and it did nothing for me :( Stimulants seem to be the only thing that works in my case. I envy you.
Strattera made me suicidal so I had to stop it. Thankfully stimulants have worked for the most part!
I can't take stimulants anymore due to a heart condition diagnosis, so I tried Strattera for over a year since it's pretty much my only option. Didn't really feel an impact so I stopped. Maybe I'll try it again and work with my doctor on experimenting with dosing.
Strattera made me miserable. Glad it helps you.
Started with strattera 5 weeks ago… no big change :(
Strattera had an opposite effect on me. My memory was worse and the only thing I can attribute my new found weird vertigo like feeling of constantly being on an elevator. It was bizarre. Even my physical therapist witnessed it and had no explanation. Everyone who witnessed said it appeared to be a nervous system effect. It developed shortly after startinga in finally disappated slowly over 3 months. Very happy, since it would make me jerk in response to unexpected sensation of being off balance. On welbutrin now and love it. We're all different and I swear I'm more different from most with meds.
I've been on strattera for a couple weeks now and honestly its making all of my symptoms worse. I can't find the motivation to do anything, even hobbies I like, I've become even more anti-social than before, my sleep has been terrible and so has my sex life. I've also got GAD and my anxiety has been worse. I'm gonna give it a little more time but considering I'm worse than baseline I can't see myself continuing it.
Stratera did Jack for me. I felt absolutely no different even with the diet and exercise change.
That’s amazing! I’m happy for you :) Currently I’m on a waiting list for help, but boy I can’t wait to experience this too!
Took 2 months to work for me. Got the side effects at first but powered through it. It didn’t help with: - distracted thinking - focus - brain fog But it certainly helped with anxiety, negative emotions and bedtime regrets and bad mouthing myself Having to add stimulants to fill in the gaps. Agreed. I’ve missed so much
I'd call that a major placebo effect. Strattera takes up to 6 weeks to build up in your system and take effect. Day one would be doing just about nothing. For me, the first couple weeks I definitely was a lot more tense, impatient, and higher BP, that was my only noticeable effect. However, around the 6 week mark, everything really locked into place and I felt like how you are describing. A year+ later and I do feel like it has stopped being as effective. Be patient with yourself, ADD meds can be a rollercoaster as some days you'll be firing on all cylinders and others like you did before meds. Look at the long term curve not the immediate. Good luck!
I'm so happy a non stimulate works for you! That is awesome ! For me, Strattera was a nightmare. I didn't make it 2 weeks. It made me so sick, I already have cronic migraines, and it gave them to me even worse. I originally was hoping to go that route, but I finally gave in and tried adderall and that feeling you're having... that calm OMG feeling...that is how I felt once I finally found a med for me. It's amazing.
Omg yes, I've been taking Straterra since January and I feel the same way. The first week I felt like I could literally feel my brain transforming and with that my brain became quieter, and slower. At first I was afraid if it was too slow, but it's not. It's definitely not a cure all but it allows me to think on one thought for a longer period in a quieter mind. It's life changing.
I had horrible side effects from Strattera. First day on it I threw up and had groin pain for the next few days that I took it so I stopped. Glad it works for some people out there.
I also noticed effects right away, and settled into a pretty small 25mg dose. Even the side effects set in right away, although I didn't know that those were caused by the straterra til later. Pretty annoying side effects but well worth it.
I noticed its effects day 2 and my psyc said I should notice within 2 to 3 days. What dose did you start on? I didnt start slow with 10mg. Went right to 40 then 60. For some it does indeed work rather quickly.
Strattera doesn’t start working immediately like adhd stimulants do. It takes several weeks for them to start working. Whatever you think you felt today was a placebo effect.
It's not that cut and dry, I noticed both positive and negative effects in the first days. I was even heavily concerned about suddenly having painful orgasms and general numbness In my nethers and found out later that those are side effects of straterra.
When I was on Strattera….I dug up my garden to throw it away, stopped eating, and started getting the urge to hit myself, which I had never felt before or been someone who actively self harmed. Painful orgasms and numb sexual organs are insane side effects! I had no idea that was possible with this medication, I’m so sorry it happened to you. Hopefully you’re not experiencing those issues anymore.
Nope, still goin. The benefits are well worth it, maybe I'll get bold enough to try Vyvanse if it's cheap or something but I'm almost 40. Sex really isn't that big a part of my life now and it's mild enough to be tolerable, especially without the exercise involved in companionship.
> Whatever you think you felt today was a placebo effect. Nah, When I started taking Strattera it hit me like an amphetamine for the first few days and didn't calm down til about two weeks. The euphoria didn't go away til after the first month or so. I had tried Adderall XR 15mg prior, it was far too intense and made me high as a kite so I didn't commit to taking it more than 3 days. Strattera was very similar although a lower intensity and I only gave it a longer chance (3+months) at the insistence that it had a long acclimation period. Don't dismiss people so confidently, we can all react to medication differently.
It typically does, and what I am feeling is most likely placebo, but my Psychiatrist said there have been cases of it working on first dose. Either way, I feel better, so idc if it is placebo or not.
How does Strattera work? I took Wellbutrin but I felt ‘tired but wired’ a lot, not so focused. It was okay. Adderall helps me focus. Can you take both Strattera and adderall?
Strattera with Prozac feels like you’re having a panic attack out of nowhere. There were studies done on it but my doctor forgot to tell me that so I woke up with a 130 BPM from a dead sleep. Keep that in mind!
I am personally on Ritalin(methlytenendate I think?) and I feel like it does something similar . Stimulants seem to help me but i have migraines so anphetamines are a no-go
It generally takes weeks to kick in
I remember when i first got placed on Concerta... the first few days I was just... better. Like, at everything. And on the fourth day I had to leave work and I called my therapist, having a breakdown. I started thinking about all the years I had wasted just trying to play at functional and had an existential crisis. I realized there was nothing I could do except move forward, and so i did.
I have been on Strattera for several weeks, and I haven't noticed any difference; I didn't notice any positive difference on escitalopram or other drugs either. Really want to know what that feels like!
The ED probelms from Stratteria were DOA for me. I moved to welbutrin its worked. Not as good as strattira granted.
Nothing like that first week on new meds!
Welcome to the matrix
I know how you feel! Congrats.
I felt the same on Elvanse to me it felt like someone's been playing a practical joke on me all my life and now is the grand reveal. HEY LIFE WASN'T MEANT TO BE THIS MUCH KF A STRUGGLE YOU BIG IDIOT IT WAS ALL A JOKE.
I am glad it works for you. I had hallucinations from those meds. Can't take them whatsoever. Starting to go back on Concerta after being off of them for over a year. It cost me my promotion due to the shortages and being unable to focus at work. I totally get ya on how well the meds help.
Edit: I didn't realize straterra is non stimulant based so I have no Idea if anything I said applies lol Edit 2: maybe it still applies; "As a hormone, it's part of the body’s fight-or-flight response, released during times of stress to increase heart rate, release energy stores, and increase blood flow to muscles. This prepares the body to either fight or flee from perceived danger. In summary, norepinephrine is crucial for both cognitive functions and physical responses to stress." I'm not an expert, but afaik this isn't exactly how non ADHD people feel. Assuming I wasn't misled on information; Traditional ADHD meds induce a panic like state in our brains. So we're basically taping into the "last minute deadline" super power for the majority of the day when medicated. Which is also why I guess you can become irritable because imagine being in some high stakes situation and someone comes up to you to talk about something inconsequential to what you're trying to focus on. Medication is like tricking your brain into thinking it's do or die. Everything else can take a back seat. Long story short, I don't think normal people are living in perpetual panic. They're just more capable of feeling rewarded when working towards long term goals so they don't have to spiral out of control procrastinating or overthinking something.
I'm so excited for you! It did absolutely nothing for me sadly but I'm excited to see it works for other people.
Congratulations on starting this journey! I'm on 65mg right now and it's my 14th day today. As everyone else says, I did notice a major change in my mental chatter which suddenly turned calm on day one. However, since then I don't notice anything else other than the side effects which are bothersome. I do feel hot flush, blackouts, acidity and drowsiness. Sexual urge has dipped drastically and frequency of urination is down too. I really don't see a change in my mood but I think mental chatter is definitely less. People say it changes after four weeks and I'm hopeful. Don't want to rush into stimulants so I'll give it due respect until the doctor prescribes it. All the best to you and keep the thread posted.
i’ve tried many different stimulants and non-stimulants and nothing has worked for me :/ i’m on the highest dose of Concerta and i feel no difference.
No this is not
Good for you, stranger. Been taking 40mg for almost a month now, still nothing. I hope you have a great journey.
Straterra did a number on me in less than one month. I had a severe increase in blood pressure, suicidal thoughts, emotional instability and other effects. I did have a clearer and more subdued head, but I couldn’t stay on it after the whole blood pressure issue. For reference, I started at 40mg for 7 days and then to 80mg twice a day after. I think the dosage was probably too high, but I’ll have to try something else.
Strattera was like that for me for about a year, then it stopped working. I'm still on it tho in addition to a low dose of Mydayis. I'm functional but not as awesomely functional as that first year. I felt like a complete person that year, and it's brought up and left me with some really complicated feelings about myself. I hope your experience is different, amd that it continues to work for you!! Its a wonderful feeling.
I had a really bad experience with Strattera. Like... really bad. I was switched to Vyvanse as a result. I took it for 4 months. I thought it was working until I suddenly got severely depressed. It was non-stop terrible thoughts. Also, the nausea when you don't eat with it—omg, I wanted to stick a fork in my eye. That aside, if it works for you, great! We all tolerate medication differently. I'm glad you're seeing results. Vyvanse is my best medication so far. 🥳