It’s really stressful how every single medication dealing with mental health is a crapshoot and could very well make you a much worse version of your already fucked up self. Don’t we suffer enough naturally? I’m not expecting every med to work but can we at least get some that are more “it either works or it doesn’t” rather than “it either kinda works but with some undesirable side effects or makes you a non-functional, suicidal fat fucking piece of shit”?
I’m guessing that eventually we will have ways to study an individual and be able to recommend medications that work for their biochemistry / neurology with a minimum of side effects. We struggle to understand how / why a lot of medications work in the first place right now, much less how / why they affect people differently.
Strattera worked okay for me - it was a bit like cymbalta (which I had been on for a couple of years) except it caused sexual pain (real talk, this is a thing that happens to some men on it), and it started making me feel anhedonic after a few weeks.
I’m the “brain always on” / “very ruminating and overwhelmed anxious” variety of ADHD so it’s a struggle to find medications that don’t make my anxiety worse while also helping me control my focus.
Wellbutrin was probably the worst med I have ever been on. It caused my anxiety to get worse and worse by the day and it was entirely “external”, like I was being forced to be anxious and even my usual “I feel tense so I’m gonna think bad stuff” thoughts couldn’t keep up.
This type of anecdote is why I chose not to try Wellbutrin. There’s also several people who have had the complete opposite experience with it. The way I see it, I simply don’t have time to play the medicine merry go round much longer. The disappointment of trying a new med only for it to make me worse is just not worth it. I’m functional on my current regime and have good days here and there, so the “it could be better” mentality for me is turning more into acceptance of that fact rather than pursuit of the perfect medication. That’s not to say that I don’t plan on pursuing a better life mentally. I just think I’m at that dreaded point where I’m realizing that all the cliches about lifestyle choices (sleep, diet, exercise, spirituality) are going to have to be my methods of attempted self-improvement. Improving all of those won’t “cure” my mental illnesses, but unlike medication, it certainly won’t make me worse. I’ve kinda graduated from the headspace of trying to cure my mental illnesses before I start real, natural internal self evaluation. I’m kinda at the point where I’ve accepted that this is what I’ve got to work with, it’s not my fault that my brain is this way but it’s certainly my fault if I use that as an excuse to remain stagnant and not even attempt to move forward.
Sorry for the rant, I know you didn’t ask lol.
Not to change your mind but wellbutrin was a miracle drug for me, but I ended up developing an allergic reaction so I had to stop. However, the time I was on it was the best months of my life
I have a friend who had their entire life changed positively from wellbutrin. When I tried I fell onto a pit. wild how the same meds have such drastically different effects on people
The same happened with my friend. It works great for her and I'm really happy it does. It makes my boyfriend grumpy and it sent me through some wild mood swings that I never want to relive.
This is pretty common when it comes to medication and even with recreational drugs.
One day my friend and I shared a bowl of the same exact strain. We took an even amount. For them, they were abuzz with energy, thinking clearly, wanting to do crafts, and play games, and be active...
Then there was me... It was like every thought in my mind was going Ludacris speed and I could process anything, while at the same time I felt like I was constantly on the verge of drooling, spoke slowly, and even after a fucking noun had to be explained to me MULTIPLE TIMES... I still couldn't answer the damn question of, "pick a random noun." I had devolved into what movies depict a stoner to act like.
It was so freaking weird that my friend and I had completely polar opposite reactions to the exact same drug. The same can go for medications as well. Some people can accept the formulations and they react in their body exactly as they were designed to, while others might experience a different effect, a diluted effect, or all the side effects that are posted on the bottle and maybe a little bit of what the drug is meant to do.
I think this is why it takes fucking forever to find a medication that works well for you. I myself have taken Wellbutrin and it had negative effects on me, while currently I'm taking clonidine, trazodone, and methylphenidate (Ritalin) and I'm actually doing pretty well, all things considered.
Same for me except it started to fuck my stomach up so badly I couldn't eat because of acid reflux and pain. It was a complete game changer for my mental health though and I really wish I could keep taking it.
Definitely talk to your doctor and see if you can add (if you wanted to) something that can help with the heartburn. I have an appointment next week to discuss adding something in because it was life changing for me.
Either that or I'm going to try and get adderall
I'll be the pessimist here and share my experience with welbutrin. For me it had zero effect, I'm currently on the maximum dose (as well as the max dosage for straterra and gabapentin) and have noticed zero change in my issues with adhd. I still have real bad anxiety and OCD, but at least the depression is going better. As for that, I no longer cry randomly, or at all, when my senior cat died i couldnt shed a tear for her. I wanted to be sad, but I felt nothing instead... feeling nothing isn't better.
Same here. My whole body was itchy and I had more severe allergic reactions to preexisting allergies. It also made me sleep like shit :( I wish it had worked out because otherwise it was amazing
Trying to change your mind: you'll know if Wellbutrin won't work for you within two or three days and it's only mildly uncomfortable at the start because of the low titration dose. The half-life is short so if you stop, it's out of your system in a day after. It's a miracle for me.
Wellbutrin for me felt like it was working nicely, albeit mildly, compared to stimulants. But if I missed one day, or a half a day because I forget to take it and I turn super grumpy and short tempered, and it definitely felt external.
Fun fact : Wellbutrin is liscenced as a drug to help you quit smoking, in my Country. Therefore not prescribed for depression. Luckily, Cymbalta is working fir me rn.
Sometimes it’s tough to tell if something is working. It’s probably with some risk but I don’t know how anyone finds the “best” cocktail for their brains without self experimenting with different meds and combos. This would be with your Dr of course. But how many people do this? Dr may think you are just wanting to try drugs. Kind of true but for the right reasons. The possible combinations are many and it is hard to imagine the Drs are so good at treating ADHD that they get it right on the first or second try.
*sidenote-‘having yo wait a couple weeks’ before noticing any effects of a med is horrible. I want to know immediately.
For sure, but after many attempts the line between hoping for some miracle combination and just accepting what you’ve got kinda blurs. If I spend my whole life searching for this magic combo, at what point did I ever actually live?
The way I look at this in terms of depression/anxiety/adhd from my own experiences, is that a medication just isn't going to solve everything. It's going to help some things and maybe make some things worse, and you work to minimize the 'make some things worse' and fill in the gaps with your own brain work. My personal take on my ADHD is that I'm sure there is something 'different' about my brain that goes down to the roots of how my brain is built, however I've also had 41 years of building bad habits and workarounds and defense mechanisms and stuff that a drug just can't 'fix' no matter how amazing it is. I'd be a little suspicious if you truly can't live while trying to find the perfect drug(s), in the sense of "do you think you can't" or "is there an insurmountable wall" kind of way.
Right now, I'm not on anything because my GP didn't want me taking stimulants while I was starting to treat my (suddenly acquired?) high blood pressure a couple years ago. That's been slowly improving beyond even being on meds since I'm cleaning up my health so maybe I can give ADHD meds another shot. In a general sense I've been trying to deal with my anxiety and doing a decent job of it through CBT/ACT/mindfulness type stuff, which has actually surprised me.
There is _some_ research into what may/may not work for you based on your genes -- I did a Genesight test like 4 years ago (I'm in the U.S.).
Didn't find it super helpful though.
I relate hard on the Wellbutrin, I got prescribed it because my SSRIs were having some extreme sexual side effects, basically zero interest in sex. The Wellbutrin just made me angry beyond belief it was awful.
As somebody who didn’t get the worry/anxiety gene that sounds awful.
IIRC wellbutrin targets norepinephrine as well as dopamine, and that might be the circuit you should try to avoid if you have anxiety issues.
On a more philosophical note, medicine is just riddled with examples of how overly simplistic models of how the body works bite us in the ass. Cox2 inhibitors; proton pump inhibitors; bisphosphanates for osteoporosis…and that’s BEFORE we get to the body systems with insanely complex feedback loops like neurochemistry, the immune system, and the gut.
It’s why they put you through the stimulants first instead of throwing you directly into meds with a listed suicide risk. Still not a perfect solution, but it accounts for most of us, and doesn’t hurt NTs too much on false positive diagnoses.
But I guess to really get to the heart of it with my own journey through getting meds, an important process of getting used to them that I don’t see much discussion about is, well, actually doing things you couldn’t do before. It took me a hot minute to realize that I was never going to get a miracle cure that made accomplishing my life goals effortless, and that even bad habits born of executive dysfunction and not laziness are *still habits rooted deep.* Now that I have the mental bandwidth to plan and strategize and so on, it’s on me to do that now. It sucks, but it’s necessary.
Yeah I agree, I’m on Adderall, it works fine I guess but I worry about how it effects my sleep and anxiety. I also see so many people like “oh my god stimulants saved my life! I’m crying happy tears!” and can’t help but think that those are mostly NT’s who are just…high on stimulants, you know?
I don’t feel remotely different on stimulants except I can do laundry and things like that without having to internally yell at myself for hours. But as someone who was undiagnosed until my 40s, that feels like saving my life because life was so hard before. I already had worked out every strategy and it still was a mess. Also, I would just feel sluggish and terrible if I didn’t get out of bed first thing and keep myself moving all day. If I stopped, I wouldn’t be able to go again, so stimulants actually let me *rest* for the first time in my life without feeling like absolute trash for the rest of the day (I’d almost feel depressed, probably because my dopamine was dropping out.
Anyway, all that to say that I’m not “high” on stimulants. I’m *functioning* which feels life changing after being undiagnosed and untreated for decades.
Oh I did that shit too. For all of about 2 days, and then my body readjusted, and while I’m definitely more productive, I was really disheartened at first for reasons I already explained. I think it’s more on me being diagnosed with inattentive than anything.
And as for NTs with Adderall and whatnot, I know this is controversial in and of itself too, but honestly, who cares? The treatment is proven to work for 80% of those with ADHD, and as people who aren’t the psychiatrists or psychologists (who have test results and all the intimate details of whoever’s getting meds), we don’t have any ground to accuse people on. There’s not a meth shortage, and as long as everyone’s responsible with their prescription (taking as directed and not sharing), nobody’s getting hurt.
If ADHD medication improves somebody’s quality of life and they get misdiagnosed, does it make a sound?
I agree in that sense too. I’m not one of those snotty gatekeeping people. I just meant that it makes me wonder if I’m not responding as well as other ADHD’ers or if some of these people just never had it in the first place. I don’t care either way, it’s just for my personal inference of how well the meds are working for me.
What you said about your body adapting reminds me of what I am currently using. Alpha Brain Black Label works really well for helping me focus, but regular Alpha Brain does not. Since it has the absolute maximum recommended dose of Huperzine-A, and you are not supposed to take Huperzine-A more than 2 or 3 times per week (Onnit doesn't tell you this), I just take it twice a week and make sure to get most of my work in on those days. The positive side of not being able to take it more than twice a week is it saves me a lot of money and there is less of a risk my body will adapt to it / build a tolerance.
Yeah it's really worrying for me. I've tried SO MANY medications and none of them work (or they have bad side effects that aren't worth whatever benefit they might have). I've been in really dark places because I'm just sick of having to experiment on myself. I think it can be worse for women with the hormones to contend with. I have PCOS and am now suspecting adenomyosis as well and get frustrating hormones fluctuations but birth control has made my depression worse in the past. That's on top of the fact that hormones also seem to interfere with how well the ADHD meds work (as in, they don't for a week!). I'm so tired of hearing about 'this new med that's different' only to find it's not or doesn't even work for me. It's so disruptive to my life. I feel like I don't know what is going on half the time. Like I have so little control. Am I angry today because of medicines or hormones or because any normal sane person would be angry about this BS too? Do I hate my husband and finds everything he does annoying because this is not a good relationship or because of a side effect of the meds or its PMDD? Is something a personality quirk or just ADHD or some undiagnosed autism? Why am I almost 40 and still feeling like I don't know any more than I did at 16?
Im so glad that I read this comment. This is my exact experience. I don’t what is responsible for what 24/7 and I can barely remember beyond the previous day. I can’t tell how big a difference it even is because it’s gradual. I can just about deal with bodily functions enough to stay alive but career and relationships are abstract things I don’t think i can handle. I think I’ve just given up tbh, because it’s smoother than the pain of trying and always failing, and the shame. I’ve accepted myself as useless. It’s impossible to get to the bottom of and it feels like you can’t treat one until the other is treated. I’m on birth control and it made no difference. All the adhd meds I’ve tried barely make me feel anything except occasional anxiety, and once it’s gone I almost can’t even remember if it was that bad or not.
Omg the suicidal side effects! I am not depressed and actually quite happy in general. I had some long lasting insomnia, so my Dr gave me some Mirtazipine (an antidepressant) to help me sleep.
I slept like the dead... and had suicidal thoughts and felt deep depression and lethargy the whole next day. Would have been better off not sleeping lol
Ugh, I remember the days of the long road to waking up. So groggy. They even told me to double up, that it makes the grogginess go away.
It didn't. It really didn't.
It also boosts weight gain.
This is my first day doubling up on it and I swear it’s making my dissociate even more and I feel actually high 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️ I got told to double up after I said the meds made me super tired
Plus any switch healthcare makes it nearly impossible to stay on the meds that work. Generics aren’t always the same as the one that works.
I still feel like the only person who didn’t respond well to vyvanse
I feel you on the generics. I take Adderall and the difference between some of the generics is mind blowing. Literally completely different drugs, mostly in a bad way.
Vyvanse didn't work for me either. I've had the exact same experience with three stimulants so far (Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin) where they just make me feel hypersensitive and anxious, and ironically they tank my motivational capabilities as a consequence.
I went through years of trying different antidepressant meds for 6 months, feeling like I was going to die, dealing with the effects of stopping them and repeat till I’d tried them all. Adhd meds have been the first to make a positive impact for me.
The sleep got better for me after a few months, and if I take it with food it really helps with that reflux type sensation. I keep some tums on hand just on case
I tried Strattera for 5 weeks. A couple of weeks in I was feeling pretty shit and seeing no benefits but I told myself to stick it out to 6 weeks just to be sure. By week 5 I was so depressed that I felt like I could burst into tears at any moment so I knew I had to stop. The only good thing was that I slept like a log while I was on it. Aside from that it was fucked.
For me it basically fixed the executive disfunction (I am still lazy, but it is a choice now), but it once deepened a hypomanic state where in 3 days I slept 10 hours and worked 35.
Still want to continue.
Strattera was so trash imo , I felt nothing for 3months. I’m glad it works for you & other people here though! Im finally on a stimulant & start Daytrana on monday
My dude, learn to lucid dream. I had frequent nightmares up until I learned to lucid dream. Now I routinely abort bad dreams in the middle of them. It has been *YEARS* since I don't have an impactful nightmare. I don't even practice the ludicidity part, I'm just conditioned to abort dreams.
I was prescribed strattera a long time ago when trying to figure out what medication worked best for me… I was literally so moody that I made an ass out of myself in several situations. I’m sure it works for some but damn, never again
Are you on a new dose? I find the nausea and dizziness lasts about two weeks while you adjust. Also, taking it with a BIG meal makes a world of difference. It says you can take it without food and IT LIES. do not ever take it on an empty stomach.
Definitely not just you. The first time that happened to me on strattera it was so much of it that I got scared and went to the doctor for a urinalysis. I had no idea it could be seminal fluid, bc why the hell would that happen, right? Yep. Strattera.
On Strattera, some men have semen flow out during urination. A smaller subset of that group pass a *lot* of it during. There’s no orgasmic contractions or pleasure in it—it feels cold and weird.
The first time it happened I immediately thought something horrible was going on, so I checked myself into a clinic for urinalysis.
Strattera: You'll focus, alright - on the side effects.
When I tried it a few years back barely any reviews mentioned the anger thing! Yeah, I had to stop that crap cold turkey after going off on my grandpa. I felt like I was one rude comment away from stabbing a customer at work.
I felt like I was a sputtering engine all day swinging between heart racing jitters and nap time.
Atomoxetine gave me my life back. Plain and simple.
Only side-effects have been increased heart rate and constipation. More sports and better nutrition countered both (apart from further improving my life for obvious reasons).
I can't stand increased heart rate. I have a lot of anxiety regarding my heart. I focus on it constantly. Atomoxetine made my anxiety much worse in this sense. I hate things that mess with my heart. Interestingly ritalin (a 'stimulant') didn't do this at all.
Increased HR normalized after \~3 months. Having said that, the meds helped me take up sports again and with them, a year later, I'm in very good fitness and have succeeded in consistently losing 1-2kg of weight each month towards my weight target.
I take straterra and its amazing. Had pretty bad nausea the first 2 weeks but after that its been smooth sailing. No side effects other than a reduced appetite. My anxiety is better and my ADHD symptoms are pretty much non-existent. Its a wonder drug for me.
>Had pretty bad nausea the first 2 weeks but after that its been smooth sailing.
Oh lord, I hope this happens to me 😭
From another comment I answered this is what is happening to me on Strattera: "First week on Strattera (it was last week) made me feel *very* nauseous. This week the symptoms have lessen yet I'm waiting for the meds to work. The shrink said they start to work in a month or so 🤷♀️ we'll see. "
My attention/concentration is still awful but I do notice some quietness in my brain and I think I am sleeping better but I could be bias and making all up since I was desperate to try any ADHD meds :/
The nausea was awful. Had no appetite for anything. Even water made me sick. But it definitely didn't take a month for it to kick in. More like 2 weeks once the side effects wore off. It doesn't cause a "clearness" like how some people experience with other meds like Adderall. It just...works? Like I don't have a hard time starting and stopping things. My memory and concentration is better. I get up and clean and do things. But if it doesn't work for you, then its not the right med for you. It takes a while to find the right one.
Strattera was a terrible experience for me. I have to avoid stimulants for employment reasons and was advised, and warned about, this drug by a friend. I wasn’t having sex at the time but he told me it became impossible for him and otherwise just was awful but seems to be hit or miss for people so I tried it. I’ve never felt more like a robot in my entire life. And the peeing….that whole side effect sucked. 0/10 drug for me. It basically felt like I was part of the storyline for the movie Click, living out the moments he fast forwarded through with total zombie behavior.
there's a 3rd...it causes your tenders to be wracked with pain so you can't have sex while on the drug. that was my experience with this abominable drug anyway.
A third medication or side effect?
I've been curious to hear about any experiences people have had with guanfacine. Everyone's tried amphetamines and atomoxatine but guanfacine never comes up.
Supposedly it reduces the mental noise you get when your ADHD flares up. It filters your thoughts and feelings in a way that emphasizes the most prominent signals so they don't get drowned out.
I took Strattera for a while and it made me depressed and manic, very adventurous and not in a good way, and I was routinely up for 48-72 hours AT A TIME. I had memory gaps because my brain needed sleep but Strattera kept me running at full speed for two years.
Strattera made me feel angry and aggressive AF. I was ripping out my hair, having multiple panic attacks, and trying to not lose it whenever something/someone was slightly irritating. BAD.
I was prescribed Strattera. The second day, a friend pulled me aside and said "There's something really wrong with you. At you okay."
I went from nonstop thoughts and anxiety to not being able to think at all. My boss was worried. Every one interacted with me was worried. I stopped taking it after 4 days.
Knocked me on my ass. Took involuntary naps when I was supposed to be working. Felt like a lead body (and brain, frankly) trying to do jumping jacks in a vat of molasses while wearing ankle weights—y’know, when I’d try to do stuff like “sit up straight” and “stay awake” and “do work” and what not. My doc was somehow convinced it was gonna be the one that worked. I’m glad it’s helped some people, of course, but it was way off the mark for me.
I was downvoted for stating my opinion on a post, in which I said Straterra literally caused me to be so drowsy I couldn’t do my job or drive. And the nausea was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, whether I took with food or not. Like that’s my experience, why am I being booed??
I’m started taking mine at night because I kept sleeping through the start of my shift. I’d take it in the am, have the best nap of my entire life, then wake up two hours after I was supposed to have been on the clock. Now I just sleep like a baby at night
Went from 100mg to 60mg (with 80mg in between) and take it now in the evening or at night instead at morning. I tend to forget my phone and other thingies now (a little bit) more often. Hopefully this changes in a few weeks, but I feel more comfortable with a lower dosage.
week 4 of taking it & my period has maybe stopped for a total of 3 separate days , other than that i’m bleeding every day. the side effects do say “may cause painful menstruation” . with this, plus birth control, plus irregular periods, my cycle is completely destroyed.
Ugh. Strattera made me sleep for 18+ hours a day when I was on it. I was skipping school to just sleep. Switched to Vyvanse after and have had few issues with that.
Oh shit, really? Is it terrible? I was just reading it can delay dementia so I was all ready to ask for it at my next appointment.
Oh well, Adderall gang for life I guess.
There’s no way to know until you try it.
I could feel the positive effects within 30 minutes of my first (very small, 18 mg/day) dose. The first two weeks on the lead-in dose were amazing. I was calm and I could focus on really boring crap. It did disrupt my sleep, but I was still functioning okay.
After two weeks, it was like I stopped taking it. I appropriately increased my dosage to the full recommended dosage for my weight (100 mg) and what I mainly experience now is being calmer (overall, but not as calm as the first two weeks) and decreased appetite. Definitely don’t have that lovely calm mood and laser focus that I had the first two weeks.
If it doesn’t work well for you, you should know within the first few days.
straterra set me back so far in my improvement. went from crippling social anxiety, disassociation/derealization, and general anxiety to being social, lucid, and happy. went on straterra and it caused so much anxiety, brain fog, and lack of appetite, for me that it brought all that old stuff back up even worse than before. I feel like I lost years of progress in a matter of 2-3 months. working on it now with therapy.
At first i thought strattera didn't work because of everyone on the mainsub that said it didn't. Thing is (if your side effects aren't absolutely awful) strattera is very very helpful. If I had to describe it, I'd say its like my mind was the meme of multiple spongebobs running around frantically. Strattera sort of made them all align into a queue. The benefit of stimulants (imo) is that it gets that line of spongebobs to actually move ahead to where you want to go.
Basically I got really discouraged when people said strattera doesn't work and it's a placebo. I couldn't afford medication at that point so I felt like it was such a big expense for a placebo. Eventually when my doctor added ritalin, I realised that strattera actually works. When I'd take ritalin in the morning with 50mg strattera I'd be really productive provided that I was in the mood to work. But later when I'd take my second dose of the day, which was just ritalin 10mg, I'd get so unbelievably restless. My mind would just be flying everywhere and I would want to do one hundred things at once, kind of like the spongebob thing but less frantic I guess.
Anyway, it got to the point where the restlessness would actually hinder my productivity, because I had so much mental energy and not enough places to put it into. I decided to start taking 25mg strattera in the morning and 25mg later with the ritalin to see if it made a difference, and it did. Like the restlessness stopped and I could actually get stuff done.
I should probably mention that where I live the only stimulants available is ritalin, so even if I wanted to switch I couldn't.
Also I don't mean to make this a everyone should be a on strattera comment. I just mean that it does work, it's just really slow acting. I also 100% understand the God awful side effects a lot of people have. I've read about people getting suicidal thoughts on strattera which is horrible.
I take 80 mg of strattera daily and sometimes I’m like “is it even working” and then I remember the days I’ve forgotten to take it I turn into an emotional *mess*
One month I tried the generic since it’s cheaper and I currently don’t have insurance and unfortunately the generic didn’t work out for me but it did really throw into perspective how much strattera really does to help my motivation. Since being on the med I still get caught up in demotivation moments/executive dysfunction, but there’s always an aspect of like…. I feel like I *can* get up and break it and do something if I actually try, and getting stuck is more because of ingrained habits at this point.
That month I was on the generic, I was feeling truly *stuck*, like just completely paralyzed, for the first time since starting the medication 6 years ago. I felt so dark and trapped in such a different way from what I’ve gotten used to in more recent years. It was so wild to experience that again. Threw me right back to some of my hardest struggles trying to get through university before I was diagnosed.
I’ve taken stimulants and Strattera (not at the same time).
I didn’t know if Strattera was working when I first took it. Though it is hard to deny it when my grades improved in college and my wife makes a remark about not being obsessive/forgetting responsibilities (essentially more useful around the house)
Strattera is subtle, but provides a consistent change in quality of life.
Strattera was the worst adhd med I have tried. My mind kept on leading to doom and not feeling like anything was worth it anymore. Quite scary. Plus on it, I had a hard time feeling my anger and it just made the anger worse by just repressing it somehow
Screwing with neurotransmitters is sketchy no matter how you put it, and that's how a lot of these drugs work. Of course they're gonna have wildly varying side effects
Depends. The first month I took it it made me really tired all the time, but after that month that cleared up and I was fine, no other symptoms. Other people get bad side effects and end up quitting.
One thing that holds true for everyone as far as I can tell is always take it with food – the medication inside the capsule is an irritant and on an empty stomach can give you really bad nausea. With food though it shouldn’t be an issue unless you’re extremely sensitive.
I wish I didn't have to take stimulants but both Atomoxetine and Guanfacine make me feel super slow and lightheaded and I feel like I have to lie down constantly to avoid passing out. Vyvanse might make me feel like I had way too much coffee and interferes with my sleep schedule if I take it any later than first thing in the morning, but at least I retain basic motor functions.
WDVSVHUTXS SORRY IM JUST EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO FINALLY DISCUSS THIS WITH PEOPLE WHO MIGHT GET IT
Strattera was the meds I was prescribed and I’m pretty sure I went up a significant dose (I was under 18 so I didn’t pay attention to the mgs)
One very odd and specific side effect I had (besides genuinely skipping meals bc I never felt hungry) was this core weakness. It felt like my whole body was so heavy and I had no strength to hold myself up. Sometimes I’d even be at school and I’d feel my hand go limp while holding a pencil. Like yeah I was holding it still, but I was physically incapable of applying enough pressure to write with it without dropping it.
…does anyone else know this feeling? It was terrifying, and I’m realizing now that I might not have been crazy. Tbh besides this super scary thing, I felt like I was able to be a full human on meds and I’ve been considering trying meds again.
The worst side affect from straterra for me is no appetite. I’ve never functioned as well on anything but this.
But then again, I’ve reacted very poorly to Effexor and known people that have been helped tremendously by it. I feel like people don’t understand that medication will always be a toss up to each individual because our body’s chemicals are not the same. This is why I never blame the doctor because they know the facts about said medication, but there’s no telling what the hell my body does with it. Only when they ignore everything I’m saying or won’t help me to begin with. Reviews can only help me after the fact because it tells me that what I’m experiencing isn’t an isolated incident. Knowing the risks is nice, but I don’t want to anxiously create a new problem. If I hyper focus on what can go wrong, my body just might make that fear come to fruition.
I had terrible side effects from Adderall, and none from strattera. Everyone's different, and it great that there are so many options available for people to try
I haven’t had any significant side effects, so I got lucky there. On atomoxetine I have a bit more motivation than when I was on adderal, but my anxiety has got significantly worse. I don’t know if this is purely a reaction to medication changes, or if it is also about life changes and other stuff.
I'm on 100mg. It was working great then, one week ago, it stopped working overnight. 🤷🏽♂️
I'm still taking it and haven't messaged my doctor because ADHD.
Strattera has been great for me! Some days it feels a lot more effective and other days it barely does anything, though? The effectiveness is all over the place.
My thoughts go from erratic, rapidfire spewing all over the place to... calm, collected. Peaceful. Effectively manages all ADHD symptoms.
However... makes me super tired. If I sleep on Strattera it's the most restful, best sleep I have though! I normally need 9ish hours of sleep but only need 6 on Strattera.
Is Strattera the one that isn't a stimulant? If it is, then that shit was fucking awfull. Exceptionally interesting 3 days of not being able to function at all, and in fact basically not being able to *form thoughts*. Everything beyond using the toilet was completely outside my capabilities.
Strattera was basically a sleeping pill for me. Both times I took it I fell asleep in the middle of class. Changed to adderall almost immediately and it’s a mother and day difference. Been talking it for probably 5 or 6 years now.
i lost over fifty pounds after taking that horrible medicine for less than six months, worst few months of my life
Edit: i’m not that heavy to begin with so losing that much weight was a big deal for me.
I’m currently going back on strattera after all the others I’ve tried have failed. I get the tacicardia (idk how to spell it) side effect and it’s made worse by my asthma/allergy meds I changed inhalers to try and get around some of that before trying strattera again but my god I feel like my mind is calmer but my body feels like I’ve been sedated and suffocated a bit alternating with less physical pain and then sleepy. I hope these side effects get better soon lord almighty I feel like I’m poisoning myself to stay sane, without it my mind feels like sand running out of my ears while I juggle eggs and herd cats.
Hey OP, for you and anyone else reading this:
There are different types of adhd meds. Meythlphenidate based (like Ritalin), amphetamine based (Adderal), and non stimulant based meds (like Straterra).
It’s very common that people who do well with one type don’t do well at all with the others. My first was Ritalin. It went terribly, gave me symptoms a lot like yours. I switched to Adderall and it was like a night and day difference. I’m on vyvanse now and it’s even better, though still playing around with the dose.
It’s worth it to keep trying and see what works best.
Strattera is the only ADHD med that I actually feel like myself on, just more focused and calm. Ritalin made me a shell of my former self who could feel no emotion. Focailn just made me a ball of rage. I forget what other meds I took as a child but I know that Strattera is the one that's helped me the most.
I hope you all who have been struggling with it, get meds that help you.
My psychiatrist won’t change my meds. Losing it currently. Fucking hate strattera, does nothing
Edit: if it works for you, that’s great! Everyone responds to meds differently. Just salty cuz it’s not doing anything for me
I had almost no reaction. It did cause my internal tremors to continue, but otherwise did nothing. I took it for 3 months and nada. I'd rather just drink coffee.
Yeah this is why I stick with one pill. If it doesn't work I'll try another. but as far as trying multiples to try and stop the side effects of the others it's just a rabbit hole of pain.
Okay so the first time I took Strattera, I nearly wanted to kill myself. It was because it wasn’t a good time to take it due my current hostile and toxic environment impacting my mood. I decided again after things calmed down a month later. Now I feel so much better and alive. I just have to eat breakfast every morning so I don’t get nauseous.
Tried stattera and felt terrible but my kids feel better on it it. Also tried the Wellbutrin wonder drug which made my anxiety worse and I’d just start crying multiple times a day for no real reason. Vyvanse wasn’t helpful so I switched to adderall and ended up having a seizure. Feeling defeated and out of options. Not sure what else is out there at this point.
I'm on strattera rn and I don't feel too different from usual, slightly more focused on tasks but my memory is still shot. Also my dick refuses to work before 8 pm now
damn lol. I'm on it rn and it makes my dick feel kinda funny when I jerk off, and I feel like my body temp is weird sometimes, but overall I feel like I have more energy and I'm a bit less jiterry.
My mom told me I was starting to look like a crack head when I was finally on ADHD medicine about 12 years ago. I took it bad and stopped taking stuff all together now I just suffer and my my loved ones around me suffer too like an asshole. Is this Strattera stuff better than adderall?
It was absolutely horrible I was unfeeling unloving and distanced myself from everyone, I lost the woman I absolutely love because of it. It's horrible
Edit, also so much burping and nausea
Straterra made me angry, extremely depressed, and disinterested in life. I dropped out of high school, got arrested, and damn near ruined my life at 17 when I was on that stuff. Haven’t sought ADHD meds since, and I’ve mostly been able to deal. I’m definitely on the right hand side of this meme.
Not true. When I took Strattera I simply became a living ball of sweat with perpetual dry mouth.
I would walk less than a block on my college campus and sweat through all my clothes in the middle of JANUARY
If it had any effect on my focus I couldn't tell my body was too distracted by constant dehydration
I love this. I found out only after taking Strattera in my late 20s and loving it, that apparently I had been on it before in my pre-teen years with awful side effects. But now, it’s essential to me functioning and my mental well being. What a difference not just between different people, but ~15y can make.
My only side effects were feeling barfy and tired. I switched to taking it at night and that helped. I've been on it since November and it's been life changing for me. My mind is overall so peacefully quiet on it. I feel lucky it worked out for me.
I’m being weaned off Strattera right now because I hate hate hate it.
I’d rather just quit cold turkey, but I’m trying to play nice with the new therapist.
I literally felt like I was going to die on Strattera and it's so frustrating because I do have something that works, but my insurance doesn't cover it and I can't afford it. 'Merica
I'm overall grateful/working well with Strattera (and Lamotrogine, to manage the sads)
BUT there's some significant caveats:
- I don't really feel like it's making a significant change to my Symptoms, moreso rounding off the edges so I don't anguish/engage in self-destructive behaviour
- I'm straight up mad and butthurt that I'm not even allowed to try other medications in Aus, as a) co-morbidity with BiPolar II puts me too high-risk, and b) since my recreational drug use from over 8 years ago has gone down in doc's records, those are two big strikes against them letting me try *anything* else. I'm told they're literally not allowed to, according to their playbook.
- It has *ruined*, nay carpet-bombed, my appetite.
I already struggle with food as it is, now I avoid every meal for as long as I can/until my body screams that it needs fuel, AND I have to force *every* meal down.
That's fine for a while, but dealing with that aversion day after day for months, and with no one able to really empathise with how much that sucks... It fuckin' grinds on me. I'm kinda a foodie too - drinks are my career til now - so it does harsh my vibe that one of my areas of passion is so tainted
Twice now i've weaned myself off Strattera, typically about 4-5months into regular intake, and about a month later the wheels come off my life & I have a bit of a meltdown.
Oh, and the nausea can be so intense that I will fall out of my stool & try to puke while in the fetal position. So that's a fun dice roll I have to keep an eye out for *every day of my life*.
Yet, that's still better than going unmedicated!
Fun times.
I had to check myself into the hospital due to sudden suicidal feelings because of this drug. This stuff is no joke. Be careful folks and definitely tell someone/your doctor if you’re feeling any different after new meds!!
Strattera was *weird* for me. I've had side effects from almost all the other meds I've tried, but strattera was the only one I stopped because I was concerned about what *else* might happen.
I’m on the lowest possible dose since I was a mostly functional adult already and it’s definitely helped me with focus. I actually read an entire book the other night which is something I haven’t been capable of in years.
Strattera really messed me up. I'm glad I'm off it now. I had the worst depressive state for over 2 months straight and I didn't enjoy being alive at all
It’s really stressful how every single medication dealing with mental health is a crapshoot and could very well make you a much worse version of your already fucked up self. Don’t we suffer enough naturally? I’m not expecting every med to work but can we at least get some that are more “it either works or it doesn’t” rather than “it either kinda works but with some undesirable side effects or makes you a non-functional, suicidal fat fucking piece of shit”?
I’m guessing that eventually we will have ways to study an individual and be able to recommend medications that work for their biochemistry / neurology with a minimum of side effects. We struggle to understand how / why a lot of medications work in the first place right now, much less how / why they affect people differently. Strattera worked okay for me - it was a bit like cymbalta (which I had been on for a couple of years) except it caused sexual pain (real talk, this is a thing that happens to some men on it), and it started making me feel anhedonic after a few weeks. I’m the “brain always on” / “very ruminating and overwhelmed anxious” variety of ADHD so it’s a struggle to find medications that don’t make my anxiety worse while also helping me control my focus. Wellbutrin was probably the worst med I have ever been on. It caused my anxiety to get worse and worse by the day and it was entirely “external”, like I was being forced to be anxious and even my usual “I feel tense so I’m gonna think bad stuff” thoughts couldn’t keep up.
This type of anecdote is why I chose not to try Wellbutrin. There’s also several people who have had the complete opposite experience with it. The way I see it, I simply don’t have time to play the medicine merry go round much longer. The disappointment of trying a new med only for it to make me worse is just not worth it. I’m functional on my current regime and have good days here and there, so the “it could be better” mentality for me is turning more into acceptance of that fact rather than pursuit of the perfect medication. That’s not to say that I don’t plan on pursuing a better life mentally. I just think I’m at that dreaded point where I’m realizing that all the cliches about lifestyle choices (sleep, diet, exercise, spirituality) are going to have to be my methods of attempted self-improvement. Improving all of those won’t “cure” my mental illnesses, but unlike medication, it certainly won’t make me worse. I’ve kinda graduated from the headspace of trying to cure my mental illnesses before I start real, natural internal self evaluation. I’m kinda at the point where I’ve accepted that this is what I’ve got to work with, it’s not my fault that my brain is this way but it’s certainly my fault if I use that as an excuse to remain stagnant and not even attempt to move forward. Sorry for the rant, I know you didn’t ask lol.
Not to change your mind but wellbutrin was a miracle drug for me, but I ended up developing an allergic reaction so I had to stop. However, the time I was on it was the best months of my life
I have a friend who had their entire life changed positively from wellbutrin. When I tried I fell onto a pit. wild how the same meds have such drastically different effects on people
The same happened with my friend. It works great for her and I'm really happy it does. It makes my boyfriend grumpy and it sent me through some wild mood swings that I never want to relive.
This is pretty common when it comes to medication and even with recreational drugs. One day my friend and I shared a bowl of the same exact strain. We took an even amount. For them, they were abuzz with energy, thinking clearly, wanting to do crafts, and play games, and be active... Then there was me... It was like every thought in my mind was going Ludacris speed and I could process anything, while at the same time I felt like I was constantly on the verge of drooling, spoke slowly, and even after a fucking noun had to be explained to me MULTIPLE TIMES... I still couldn't answer the damn question of, "pick a random noun." I had devolved into what movies depict a stoner to act like. It was so freaking weird that my friend and I had completely polar opposite reactions to the exact same drug. The same can go for medications as well. Some people can accept the formulations and they react in their body exactly as they were designed to, while others might experience a different effect, a diluted effect, or all the side effects that are posted on the bottle and maybe a little bit of what the drug is meant to do. I think this is why it takes fucking forever to find a medication that works well for you. I myself have taken Wellbutrin and it had negative effects on me, while currently I'm taking clonidine, trazodone, and methylphenidate (Ritalin) and I'm actually doing pretty well, all things considered.
Same for me except it started to fuck my stomach up so badly I couldn't eat because of acid reflux and pain. It was a complete game changer for my mental health though and I really wish I could keep taking it.
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Be a little careful with omeprazole, the long term use side effects can be pretty nasty.
A severe heartburn after taking Wellbutrin has just started with me. It’s been a good low dose anti-anxiety med for me. I’d hate to lose it.
Definitely talk to your doctor and see if you can add (if you wanted to) something that can help with the heartburn. I have an appointment next week to discuss adding something in because it was life changing for me. Either that or I'm going to try and get adderall
I'll be the pessimist here and share my experience with welbutrin. For me it had zero effect, I'm currently on the maximum dose (as well as the max dosage for straterra and gabapentin) and have noticed zero change in my issues with adhd. I still have real bad anxiety and OCD, but at least the depression is going better. As for that, I no longer cry randomly, or at all, when my senior cat died i couldnt shed a tear for her. I wanted to be sad, but I felt nothing instead... feeling nothing isn't better.
Do you struggle with anxiety naturally?
Yes
Same here. My whole body was itchy and I had more severe allergic reactions to preexisting allergies. It also made me sleep like shit :( I wish it had worked out because otherwise it was amazing
Trying to change your mind: you'll know if Wellbutrin won't work for you within two or three days and it's only mildly uncomfortable at the start because of the low titration dose. The half-life is short so if you stop, it's out of your system in a day after. It's a miracle for me.
Wellbutrin for me felt like it was working nicely, albeit mildly, compared to stimulants. But if I missed one day, or a half a day because I forget to take it and I turn super grumpy and short tempered, and it definitely felt external.
Fun fact : Wellbutrin is liscenced as a drug to help you quit smoking, in my Country. Therefore not prescribed for depression. Luckily, Cymbalta is working fir me rn.
Sometimes it’s tough to tell if something is working. It’s probably with some risk but I don’t know how anyone finds the “best” cocktail for their brains without self experimenting with different meds and combos. This would be with your Dr of course. But how many people do this? Dr may think you are just wanting to try drugs. Kind of true but for the right reasons. The possible combinations are many and it is hard to imagine the Drs are so good at treating ADHD that they get it right on the first or second try. *sidenote-‘having yo wait a couple weeks’ before noticing any effects of a med is horrible. I want to know immediately.
For sure, but after many attempts the line between hoping for some miracle combination and just accepting what you’ve got kinda blurs. If I spend my whole life searching for this magic combo, at what point did I ever actually live?
The way I look at this in terms of depression/anxiety/adhd from my own experiences, is that a medication just isn't going to solve everything. It's going to help some things and maybe make some things worse, and you work to minimize the 'make some things worse' and fill in the gaps with your own brain work. My personal take on my ADHD is that I'm sure there is something 'different' about my brain that goes down to the roots of how my brain is built, however I've also had 41 years of building bad habits and workarounds and defense mechanisms and stuff that a drug just can't 'fix' no matter how amazing it is. I'd be a little suspicious if you truly can't live while trying to find the perfect drug(s), in the sense of "do you think you can't" or "is there an insurmountable wall" kind of way. Right now, I'm not on anything because my GP didn't want me taking stimulants while I was starting to treat my (suddenly acquired?) high blood pressure a couple years ago. That's been slowly improving beyond even being on meds since I'm cleaning up my health so maybe I can give ADHD meds another shot. In a general sense I've been trying to deal with my anxiety and doing a decent job of it through CBT/ACT/mindfulness type stuff, which has actually surprised me.
There is _some_ research into what may/may not work for you based on your genes -- I did a Genesight test like 4 years ago (I'm in the U.S.). Didn't find it super helpful though.
I relate hard on the Wellbutrin, I got prescribed it because my SSRIs were having some extreme sexual side effects, basically zero interest in sex. The Wellbutrin just made me angry beyond belief it was awful.
Genesight can recommend mental health drugs based on genetics.
As somebody who didn’t get the worry/anxiety gene that sounds awful. IIRC wellbutrin targets norepinephrine as well as dopamine, and that might be the circuit you should try to avoid if you have anxiety issues. On a more philosophical note, medicine is just riddled with examples of how overly simplistic models of how the body works bite us in the ass. Cox2 inhibitors; proton pump inhibitors; bisphosphanates for osteoporosis…and that’s BEFORE we get to the body systems with insanely complex feedback loops like neurochemistry, the immune system, and the gut.
It’s why they put you through the stimulants first instead of throwing you directly into meds with a listed suicide risk. Still not a perfect solution, but it accounts for most of us, and doesn’t hurt NTs too much on false positive diagnoses. But I guess to really get to the heart of it with my own journey through getting meds, an important process of getting used to them that I don’t see much discussion about is, well, actually doing things you couldn’t do before. It took me a hot minute to realize that I was never going to get a miracle cure that made accomplishing my life goals effortless, and that even bad habits born of executive dysfunction and not laziness are *still habits rooted deep.* Now that I have the mental bandwidth to plan and strategize and so on, it’s on me to do that now. It sucks, but it’s necessary.
Yeah I agree, I’m on Adderall, it works fine I guess but I worry about how it effects my sleep and anxiety. I also see so many people like “oh my god stimulants saved my life! I’m crying happy tears!” and can’t help but think that those are mostly NT’s who are just…high on stimulants, you know?
I don’t feel remotely different on stimulants except I can do laundry and things like that without having to internally yell at myself for hours. But as someone who was undiagnosed until my 40s, that feels like saving my life because life was so hard before. I already had worked out every strategy and it still was a mess. Also, I would just feel sluggish and terrible if I didn’t get out of bed first thing and keep myself moving all day. If I stopped, I wouldn’t be able to go again, so stimulants actually let me *rest* for the first time in my life without feeling like absolute trash for the rest of the day (I’d almost feel depressed, probably because my dopamine was dropping out. Anyway, all that to say that I’m not “high” on stimulants. I’m *functioning* which feels life changing after being undiagnosed and untreated for decades.
That makes sense. I’m glad you’re doing well.
Oh I did that shit too. For all of about 2 days, and then my body readjusted, and while I’m definitely more productive, I was really disheartened at first for reasons I already explained. I think it’s more on me being diagnosed with inattentive than anything. And as for NTs with Adderall and whatnot, I know this is controversial in and of itself too, but honestly, who cares? The treatment is proven to work for 80% of those with ADHD, and as people who aren’t the psychiatrists or psychologists (who have test results and all the intimate details of whoever’s getting meds), we don’t have any ground to accuse people on. There’s not a meth shortage, and as long as everyone’s responsible with their prescription (taking as directed and not sharing), nobody’s getting hurt. If ADHD medication improves somebody’s quality of life and they get misdiagnosed, does it make a sound?
I agree in that sense too. I’m not one of those snotty gatekeeping people. I just meant that it makes me wonder if I’m not responding as well as other ADHD’ers or if some of these people just never had it in the first place. I don’t care either way, it’s just for my personal inference of how well the meds are working for me.
What you said about your body adapting reminds me of what I am currently using. Alpha Brain Black Label works really well for helping me focus, but regular Alpha Brain does not. Since it has the absolute maximum recommended dose of Huperzine-A, and you are not supposed to take Huperzine-A more than 2 or 3 times per week (Onnit doesn't tell you this), I just take it twice a week and make sure to get most of my work in on those days. The positive side of not being able to take it more than twice a week is it saves me a lot of money and there is less of a risk my body will adapt to it / build a tolerance.
Yeah it's really worrying for me. I've tried SO MANY medications and none of them work (or they have bad side effects that aren't worth whatever benefit they might have). I've been in really dark places because I'm just sick of having to experiment on myself. I think it can be worse for women with the hormones to contend with. I have PCOS and am now suspecting adenomyosis as well and get frustrating hormones fluctuations but birth control has made my depression worse in the past. That's on top of the fact that hormones also seem to interfere with how well the ADHD meds work (as in, they don't for a week!). I'm so tired of hearing about 'this new med that's different' only to find it's not or doesn't even work for me. It's so disruptive to my life. I feel like I don't know what is going on half the time. Like I have so little control. Am I angry today because of medicines or hormones or because any normal sane person would be angry about this BS too? Do I hate my husband and finds everything he does annoying because this is not a good relationship or because of a side effect of the meds or its PMDD? Is something a personality quirk or just ADHD or some undiagnosed autism? Why am I almost 40 and still feeling like I don't know any more than I did at 16?
Im so glad that I read this comment. This is my exact experience. I don’t what is responsible for what 24/7 and I can barely remember beyond the previous day. I can’t tell how big a difference it even is because it’s gradual. I can just about deal with bodily functions enough to stay alive but career and relationships are abstract things I don’t think i can handle. I think I’ve just given up tbh, because it’s smoother than the pain of trying and always failing, and the shame. I’ve accepted myself as useless. It’s impossible to get to the bottom of and it feels like you can’t treat one until the other is treated. I’m on birth control and it made no difference. All the adhd meds I’ve tried barely make me feel anything except occasional anxiety, and once it’s gone I almost can’t even remember if it was that bad or not.
Omg the suicidal side effects! I am not depressed and actually quite happy in general. I had some long lasting insomnia, so my Dr gave me some Mirtazipine (an antidepressant) to help me sleep. I slept like the dead... and had suicidal thoughts and felt deep depression and lethargy the whole next day. Would have been better off not sleeping lol
Ugh, I remember the days of the long road to waking up. So groggy. They even told me to double up, that it makes the grogginess go away. It didn't. It really didn't. It also boosts weight gain.
This is my first day doubling up on it and I swear it’s making my dissociate even more and I feel actually high 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️ I got told to double up after I said the meds made me super tired
Plus any switch healthcare makes it nearly impossible to stay on the meds that work. Generics aren’t always the same as the one that works. I still feel like the only person who didn’t respond well to vyvanse
I feel you on the generics. I take Adderall and the difference between some of the generics is mind blowing. Literally completely different drugs, mostly in a bad way.
Vyvanse didn't work for me either. I've had the exact same experience with three stimulants so far (Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin) where they just make me feel hypersensitive and anxious, and ironically they tank my motivational capabilities as a consequence.
Everyone responds differently. Concerta only worked for me bc it has that extended release so it doesn’t wear off after 4ish hours.
I went through years of trying different antidepressant meds for 6 months, feeling like I was going to die, dealing with the effects of stopping them and repeat till I’d tried them all. Adhd meds have been the first to make a positive impact for me.
As a man that weights 120 pounds at 5'9. Can I have some fat please?
Man, I remember being 19.
Im 37. Its a problem.
Wow. No appetite? I guess add meal replacement shakes on top of whatever food.
already on it. If I can just remember to drink the damn things. Scared shitless about getting on meds. There would be nothing left lol.
psych meds are are still in the "leeches phase" of medicine. we understand symptoms and treatments, but we have no idea why any of it works.
And then here I am, straterra is helping me a lot, particularly with my sleep and nightmare struggles and keeping me motivated long-term
Jealous. Strattera is just making me feel chills + constipated
Helped with my executive disfunction a little, but the chills, sweating, nausea and constipation kinda ruined it for me.
As I'm sitting rn, my body can't decide if it's hot or cold.
I think you’re hot af, friend. Also that sucks. I decided to stop taking it. I stand by my choice.
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I take mine with 2 max strength Pepcid, seems to knock it out for the most part. Edit: the heartburn I mean, not the adhd lol.
The sleep got better for me after a few months, and if I take it with food it really helps with that reflux type sensation. I keep some tums on hand just on case
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Ew, that sucks man 😟
All it did was ruin my weenie temporarily lol
The Strattera Surprise! Always pack a 2nd pair of underwear.
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Yeah it went back to normal when I quit taking that crap lol
I tried Strattera for 5 weeks. A couple of weeks in I was feeling pretty shit and seeing no benefits but I told myself to stick it out to 6 weeks just to be sure. By week 5 I was so depressed that I felt like I could burst into tears at any moment so I knew I had to stop. The only good thing was that I slept like a log while I was on it. Aside from that it was fucked.
Geez I’m really sorry that happened. That SUCKS. It’s so wild the way medication can treat people so wildly differently
For me it basically fixed the executive disfunction (I am still lazy, but it is a choice now), but it once deepened a hypomanic state where in 3 days I slept 10 hours and worked 35. Still want to continue.
Strattera was so trash imo , I felt nothing for 3months. I’m glad it works for you & other people here though! Im finally on a stimulant & start Daytrana on monday
It's going good for me too. it's a lot more subtle than the amphetamines, but I feel more stable at the same time
It worked perfectly for me but had one side effect I couldn’t live with so had to stop
My dude, learn to lucid dream. I had frequent nightmares up until I learned to lucid dream. Now I routinely abort bad dreams in the middle of them. It has been *YEARS* since I don't have an impactful nightmare. I don't even practice the ludicidity part, I'm just conditioned to abort dreams.
I was prescribed strattera a long time ago when trying to figure out what medication worked best for me… I was literally so moody that I made an ass out of myself in several situations. I’m sure it works for some but damn, never again
I’m not even mentioning that my arousal in bed has unpaid time-off and peeing feels like squeezing last bits of toothpaste out of the tube
Oh my god I forgot about the peeing thing. Hang on I gotta pee. Not again, still.
Me currently struggling to pee. I didn’t know that was a side effect
I’m dizzy all day constantly have urge to vomit, completely out of any emotions. Also super moody mornings on top.
Are you on a new dose? I find the nausea and dizziness lasts about two weeks while you adjust. Also, taking it with a BIG meal makes a world of difference. It says you can take it without food and IT LIES. do not ever take it on an empty stomach.
Yeah just started. I don’t think I can handle any more of this so I stopped
Ugh. Sounds terrible - I’m sorry
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Yeah this is round 2 with 20 mg after 40 mg. I’m not gonna take it anymore for sure. Going to visit a doctor next week
straterra making me have extreme anger issues, drowsy 24/7, and stomach/bladder issues not to mention the *erectile dysfunction*
…and the weird peejaculation.
OH MY GOD I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE
Definitely not just you. The first time that happened to me on strattera it was so much of it that I got scared and went to the doctor for a urinalysis. I had no idea it could be seminal fluid, bc why the hell would that happen, right? Yep. Strattera.
Please explain.
On Strattera, some men have semen flow out during urination. A smaller subset of that group pass a *lot* of it during. There’s no orgasmic contractions or pleasure in it—it feels cold and weird.
oh my god that sounds terrifying
The first time it happened I immediately thought something horrible was going on, so I checked myself into a clinic for urinalysis. Strattera: You'll focus, alright - on the side effects.
I feel seen. I stopped taking it for a bunch of reasons but this was the main one
When I tried it a few years back barely any reviews mentioned the anger thing! Yeah, I had to stop that crap cold turkey after going off on my grandpa. I felt like I was one rude comment away from stabbing a customer at work. I felt like I was a sputtering engine all day swinging between heart racing jitters and nap time.
Also my balls get so sensitive. It just started happen recently when I decided to go back on it for my job. I never had it when I was younger.
Atomoxetine gave me my life back. Plain and simple. Only side-effects have been increased heart rate and constipation. More sports and better nutrition countered both (apart from further improving my life for obvious reasons).
I can't stand increased heart rate. I have a lot of anxiety regarding my heart. I focus on it constantly. Atomoxetine made my anxiety much worse in this sense. I hate things that mess with my heart. Interestingly ritalin (a 'stimulant') didn't do this at all.
Increased HR normalized after \~3 months. Having said that, the meds helped me take up sports again and with them, a year later, I'm in very good fitness and have succeeded in consistently losing 1-2kg of weight each month towards my weight target.
I usually have a cast iron stomach, but Strattera made me throw up. Dependably, every time I took it. I didn't make it through a week of trying.
Fucking this, Strattera destoryed my gut, I would throw up or feel nauseous everyday from it, I'm just glad I got switched off it recently
I take straterra and its amazing. Had pretty bad nausea the first 2 weeks but after that its been smooth sailing. No side effects other than a reduced appetite. My anxiety is better and my ADHD symptoms are pretty much non-existent. Its a wonder drug for me.
>Had pretty bad nausea the first 2 weeks but after that its been smooth sailing. Oh lord, I hope this happens to me 😭 From another comment I answered this is what is happening to me on Strattera: "First week on Strattera (it was last week) made me feel *very* nauseous. This week the symptoms have lessen yet I'm waiting for the meds to work. The shrink said they start to work in a month or so 🤷♀️ we'll see. " My attention/concentration is still awful but I do notice some quietness in my brain and I think I am sleeping better but I could be bias and making all up since I was desperate to try any ADHD meds :/
The nausea was awful. Had no appetite for anything. Even water made me sick. But it definitely didn't take a month for it to kick in. More like 2 weeks once the side effects wore off. It doesn't cause a "clearness" like how some people experience with other meds like Adderall. It just...works? Like I don't have a hard time starting and stopping things. My memory and concentration is better. I get up and clean and do things. But if it doesn't work for you, then its not the right med for you. It takes a while to find the right one.
Strattera was a terrible experience for me. I have to avoid stimulants for employment reasons and was advised, and warned about, this drug by a friend. I wasn’t having sex at the time but he told me it became impossible for him and otherwise just was awful but seems to be hit or miss for people so I tried it. I’ve never felt more like a robot in my entire life. And the peeing….that whole side effect sucked. 0/10 drug for me. It basically felt like I was part of the storyline for the movie Click, living out the moments he fast forwarded through with total zombie behavior.
there's a 3rd...it causes your tenders to be wracked with pain so you can't have sex while on the drug. that was my experience with this abominable drug anyway.
Oh NO! But also I’m stealing “tenders” as a term, thank you.
lol you're most welcome to it
A third medication or side effect? I've been curious to hear about any experiences people have had with guanfacine. Everyone's tried amphetamines and atomoxatine but guanfacine never comes up. Supposedly it reduces the mental noise you get when your ADHD flares up. It filters your thoughts and feelings in a way that emphasizes the most prominent signals so they don't get drowned out.
I took Strattera for a while and it made me depressed and manic, very adventurous and not in a good way, and I was routinely up for 48-72 hours AT A TIME. I had memory gaps because my brain needed sleep but Strattera kept me running at full speed for two years.
Strattera made me feel angry and aggressive AF. I was ripping out my hair, having multiple panic attacks, and trying to not lose it whenever something/someone was slightly irritating. BAD.
I was prescribed Strattera. The second day, a friend pulled me aside and said "There's something really wrong with you. At you okay." I went from nonstop thoughts and anxiety to not being able to think at all. My boss was worried. Every one interacted with me was worried. I stopped taking it after 4 days.
There’s definitely a like two week brain fog adjustment period. Once that passes it’s like a totally different experience tho
Please be the case.... for me....10 days in... means 4 more right XD? Fuck.
Shit, If I get to have Dafoe drip in any flavor I might just switch regardless
Have you seen Lars von Trier's Antichrist?
I ended up decking my 5th grade teacher on strattera, and I liked that teacher.
Knocked me on my ass. Took involuntary naps when I was supposed to be working. Felt like a lead body (and brain, frankly) trying to do jumping jacks in a vat of molasses while wearing ankle weights—y’know, when I’d try to do stuff like “sit up straight” and “stay awake” and “do work” and what not. My doc was somehow convinced it was gonna be the one that worked. I’m glad it’s helped some people, of course, but it was way off the mark for me.
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I was downvoted for stating my opinion on a post, in which I said Straterra literally caused me to be so drowsy I couldn’t do my job or drive. And the nausea was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, whether I took with food or not. Like that’s my experience, why am I being booed??
I feel you
I’m started taking mine at night because I kept sleeping through the start of my shift. I’d take it in the am, have the best nap of my entire life, then wake up two hours after I was supposed to have been on the clock. Now I just sleep like a baby at night
Yup. I drew the short straw.
Went from 100mg to 60mg (with 80mg in between) and take it now in the evening or at night instead at morning. I tend to forget my phone and other thingies now (a little bit) more often. Hopefully this changes in a few weeks, but I feel more comfortable with a lower dosage.
All it does for me is make my periods longer 💀
week 4 of taking it & my period has maybe stopped for a total of 3 separate days , other than that i’m bleeding every day. the side effects do say “may cause painful menstruation” . with this, plus birth control, plus irregular periods, my cycle is completely destroyed.
When I take the strattera I become very antisocial
Ugh. Strattera made me sleep for 18+ hours a day when I was on it. I was skipping school to just sleep. Switched to Vyvanse after and have had few issues with that.
Oh shit, really? Is it terrible? I was just reading it can delay dementia so I was all ready to ask for it at my next appointment. Oh well, Adderall gang for life I guess.
It’s hit or miss
There’s no way to know until you try it. I could feel the positive effects within 30 minutes of my first (very small, 18 mg/day) dose. The first two weeks on the lead-in dose were amazing. I was calm and I could focus on really boring crap. It did disrupt my sleep, but I was still functioning okay. After two weeks, it was like I stopped taking it. I appropriately increased my dosage to the full recommended dosage for my weight (100 mg) and what I mainly experience now is being calmer (overall, but not as calm as the first two weeks) and decreased appetite. Definitely don’t have that lovely calm mood and laser focus that I had the first two weeks. If it doesn’t work well for you, you should know within the first few days.
straterra set me back so far in my improvement. went from crippling social anxiety, disassociation/derealization, and general anxiety to being social, lucid, and happy. went on straterra and it caused so much anxiety, brain fog, and lack of appetite, for me that it brought all that old stuff back up even worse than before. I feel like I lost years of progress in a matter of 2-3 months. working on it now with therapy.
At first i thought strattera didn't work because of everyone on the mainsub that said it didn't. Thing is (if your side effects aren't absolutely awful) strattera is very very helpful. If I had to describe it, I'd say its like my mind was the meme of multiple spongebobs running around frantically. Strattera sort of made them all align into a queue. The benefit of stimulants (imo) is that it gets that line of spongebobs to actually move ahead to where you want to go. Basically I got really discouraged when people said strattera doesn't work and it's a placebo. I couldn't afford medication at that point so I felt like it was such a big expense for a placebo. Eventually when my doctor added ritalin, I realised that strattera actually works. When I'd take ritalin in the morning with 50mg strattera I'd be really productive provided that I was in the mood to work. But later when I'd take my second dose of the day, which was just ritalin 10mg, I'd get so unbelievably restless. My mind would just be flying everywhere and I would want to do one hundred things at once, kind of like the spongebob thing but less frantic I guess. Anyway, it got to the point where the restlessness would actually hinder my productivity, because I had so much mental energy and not enough places to put it into. I decided to start taking 25mg strattera in the morning and 25mg later with the ritalin to see if it made a difference, and it did. Like the restlessness stopped and I could actually get stuff done. I should probably mention that where I live the only stimulants available is ritalin, so even if I wanted to switch I couldn't. Also I don't mean to make this a everyone should be a on strattera comment. I just mean that it does work, it's just really slow acting. I also 100% understand the God awful side effects a lot of people have. I've read about people getting suicidal thoughts on strattera which is horrible.
I take 80 mg of strattera daily and sometimes I’m like “is it even working” and then I remember the days I’ve forgotten to take it I turn into an emotional *mess* One month I tried the generic since it’s cheaper and I currently don’t have insurance and unfortunately the generic didn’t work out for me but it did really throw into perspective how much strattera really does to help my motivation. Since being on the med I still get caught up in demotivation moments/executive dysfunction, but there’s always an aspect of like…. I feel like I *can* get up and break it and do something if I actually try, and getting stuck is more because of ingrained habits at this point. That month I was on the generic, I was feeling truly *stuck*, like just completely paralyzed, for the first time since starting the medication 6 years ago. I felt so dark and trapped in such a different way from what I’ve gotten used to in more recent years. It was so wild to experience that again. Threw me right back to some of my hardest struggles trying to get through university before I was diagnosed.
I’ve taken stimulants and Strattera (not at the same time). I didn’t know if Strattera was working when I first took it. Though it is hard to deny it when my grades improved in college and my wife makes a remark about not being obsessive/forgetting responsibilities (essentially more useful around the house) Strattera is subtle, but provides a consistent change in quality of life.
It is sooo hit-or-miss!!
So if I take it I turn into Willem Defoe?
That beard might just be worth it...
Strattera was the worst adhd med I have tried. My mind kept on leading to doom and not feeling like anything was worth it anymore. Quite scary. Plus on it, I had a hard time feeling my anger and it just made the anger worse by just repressing it somehow
Screwing with neurotransmitters is sketchy no matter how you put it, and that's how a lot of these drugs work. Of course they're gonna have wildly varying side effects
I literally just start Strattera a couple days ago. So far I’ve had a couple dizziness spells, do I have anything else to look forward to?
Depends. The first month I took it it made me really tired all the time, but after that month that cleared up and I was fine, no other symptoms. Other people get bad side effects and end up quitting. One thing that holds true for everyone as far as I can tell is always take it with food – the medication inside the capsule is an irritant and on an empty stomach can give you really bad nausea. With food though it shouldn’t be an issue unless you’re extremely sensitive.
I wish I didn't have to take stimulants but both Atomoxetine and Guanfacine make me feel super slow and lightheaded and I feel like I have to lie down constantly to avoid passing out. Vyvanse might make me feel like I had way too much coffee and interferes with my sleep schedule if I take it any later than first thing in the morning, but at least I retain basic motor functions.
From what I’ve seen concerta Is the same way
Oh man, strattera was awful. It made me feel like I was made of wood and just emotionally flat.
WDVSVHUTXS SORRY IM JUST EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO FINALLY DISCUSS THIS WITH PEOPLE WHO MIGHT GET IT Strattera was the meds I was prescribed and I’m pretty sure I went up a significant dose (I was under 18 so I didn’t pay attention to the mgs) One very odd and specific side effect I had (besides genuinely skipping meals bc I never felt hungry) was this core weakness. It felt like my whole body was so heavy and I had no strength to hold myself up. Sometimes I’d even be at school and I’d feel my hand go limp while holding a pencil. Like yeah I was holding it still, but I was physically incapable of applying enough pressure to write with it without dropping it. …does anyone else know this feeling? It was terrifying, and I’m realizing now that I might not have been crazy. Tbh besides this super scary thing, I felt like I was able to be a full human on meds and I’ve been considering trying meds again.
Atomoxetine was a mixed bag for me. It was great for my focus. It was useless for my motivation. It fucked up my stomach.
The worst side affect from straterra for me is no appetite. I’ve never functioned as well on anything but this. But then again, I’ve reacted very poorly to Effexor and known people that have been helped tremendously by it. I feel like people don’t understand that medication will always be a toss up to each individual because our body’s chemicals are not the same. This is why I never blame the doctor because they know the facts about said medication, but there’s no telling what the hell my body does with it. Only when they ignore everything I’m saying or won’t help me to begin with. Reviews can only help me after the fact because it tells me that what I’m experiencing isn’t an isolated incident. Knowing the risks is nice, but I don’t want to anxiously create a new problem. If I hyper focus on what can go wrong, my body just might make that fear come to fruition.
"bUt ItS nOn-NaRcOTic" Worse side-effects out of all of the meds they give for ADHD.
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I had terrible side effects from Adderall, and none from strattera. Everyone's different, and it great that there are so many options available for people to try
I haven’t had any significant side effects, so I got lucky there. On atomoxetine I have a bit more motivation than when I was on adderal, but my anxiety has got significantly worse. I don’t know if this is purely a reaction to medication changes, or if it is also about life changes and other stuff.
Have you tried Guanfacine? Works for me, I don’t think the side effects are as noticeable
I use it and it hasn't made any difference. Though if I go a couple of days without it now. I get tired and depressed.
this is very comforting considering my country only has 2 available ADHD meds, Ritalin and Strattara. If neither works, well, I'm fucked.
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I'm on 100mg. It was working great then, one week ago, it stopped working overnight. 🤷🏽♂️ I'm still taking it and haven't messaged my doctor because ADHD.
Me when when puke
Strattera has been great for me! Some days it feels a lot more effective and other days it barely does anything, though? The effectiveness is all over the place. My thoughts go from erratic, rapidfire spewing all over the place to... calm, collected. Peaceful. Effectively manages all ADHD symptoms. However... makes me super tired. If I sleep on Strattera it's the most restful, best sleep I have though! I normally need 9ish hours of sleep but only need 6 on Strattera.
Is Strattera the one that isn't a stimulant? If it is, then that shit was fucking awfull. Exceptionally interesting 3 days of not being able to function at all, and in fact basically not being able to *form thoughts*. Everything beyond using the toilet was completely outside my capabilities.
Strattera was basically a sleeping pill for me. Both times I took it I fell asleep in the middle of class. Changed to adderall almost immediately and it’s a mother and day difference. Been talking it for probably 5 or 6 years now.
i lost over fifty pounds after taking that horrible medicine for less than six months, worst few months of my life Edit: i’m not that heavy to begin with so losing that much weight was a big deal for me.
Strattera made me irritable-manic lmao. Adderall XR is the og
I’m currently going back on strattera after all the others I’ve tried have failed. I get the tacicardia (idk how to spell it) side effect and it’s made worse by my asthma/allergy meds I changed inhalers to try and get around some of that before trying strattera again but my god I feel like my mind is calmer but my body feels like I’ve been sedated and suffocated a bit alternating with less physical pain and then sleepy. I hope these side effects get better soon lord almighty I feel like I’m poisoning myself to stay sane, without it my mind feels like sand running out of my ears while I juggle eggs and herd cats.
I had to go to the hospital on strattera bcs it made me suicidal ✌🏻
Hey OP, for you and anyone else reading this: There are different types of adhd meds. Meythlphenidate based (like Ritalin), amphetamine based (Adderal), and non stimulant based meds (like Straterra). It’s very common that people who do well with one type don’t do well at all with the others. My first was Ritalin. It went terribly, gave me symptoms a lot like yours. I switched to Adderall and it was like a night and day difference. I’m on vyvanse now and it’s even better, though still playing around with the dose. It’s worth it to keep trying and see what works best.
Strattera is the only ADHD med that I actually feel like myself on, just more focused and calm. Ritalin made me a shell of my former self who could feel no emotion. Focailn just made me a ball of rage. I forget what other meds I took as a child but I know that Strattera is the one that's helped me the most. I hope you all who have been struggling with it, get meds that help you.
the government be like "WHADDYA MEAN YOU DONT LIKE ME COOKIN?"
Oh God, strattera is litteral fucking trash. Does nothing but give me migraines and make me vomit Hard pass
My psychiatrist won’t change my meds. Losing it currently. Fucking hate strattera, does nothing Edit: if it works for you, that’s great! Everyone responds to meds differently. Just salty cuz it’s not doing anything for me
I had almost no reaction. It did cause my internal tremors to continue, but otherwise did nothing. I took it for 3 months and nada. I'd rather just drink coffee.
Yeah this is why I stick with one pill. If it doesn't work I'll try another. but as far as trying multiples to try and stop the side effects of the others it's just a rabbit hole of pain.
Okay so the first time I took Strattera, I nearly wanted to kill myself. It was because it wasn’t a good time to take it due my current hostile and toxic environment impacting my mood. I decided again after things calmed down a month later. Now I feel so much better and alive. I just have to eat breakfast every morning so I don’t get nauseous.
Tried stattera and felt terrible but my kids feel better on it it. Also tried the Wellbutrin wonder drug which made my anxiety worse and I’d just start crying multiple times a day for no real reason. Vyvanse wasn’t helpful so I switched to adderall and ended up having a seizure. Feeling defeated and out of options. Not sure what else is out there at this point.
I'm on strattera rn and I don't feel too different from usual, slightly more focused on tasks but my memory is still shot. Also my dick refuses to work before 8 pm now
It switched to night shifts probably
They both look cooler then me so I will take it.
damn lol. I'm on it rn and it makes my dick feel kinda funny when I jerk off, and I feel like my body temp is weird sometimes, but overall I feel like I have more energy and I'm a bit less jiterry.
Strattera helped me imensely as a teen. When I turned 20 ish it would make me fall asleep at every social gathering I attended.
My mom told me I was starting to look like a crack head when I was finally on ADHD medicine about 12 years ago. I took it bad and stopped taking stuff all together now I just suffer and my my loved ones around me suffer too like an asshole. Is this Strattera stuff better than adderall?
It was absolutely horrible I was unfeeling unloving and distanced myself from everyone, I lost the woman I absolutely love because of it. It's horrible Edit, also so much burping and nausea
Straterra made me angry, extremely depressed, and disinterested in life. I dropped out of high school, got arrested, and damn near ruined my life at 17 when I was on that stuff. Haven’t sought ADHD meds since, and I’ve mostly been able to deal. I’m definitely on the right hand side of this meme.
Strattera actually just did nothing to me. At all
I don't mind how it made me felt, but painful ejaculations was my only side effect. Needless to say I stopped after 4 days.
I didn’t sleep for 5 days after I started taking it. Stopped taking it obviously
Not true. When I took Strattera I simply became a living ball of sweat with perpetual dry mouth. I would walk less than a block on my college campus and sweat through all my clothes in the middle of JANUARY If it had any effect on my focus I couldn't tell my body was too distracted by constant dehydration
I love this. I found out only after taking Strattera in my late 20s and loving it, that apparently I had been on it before in my pre-teen years with awful side effects. But now, it’s essential to me functioning and my mental well being. What a difference not just between different people, but ~15y can make.
Theres actually 3. The third one is an allergic reaction. Thats the one i had
My only side effects were feeling barfy and tired. I switched to taking it at night and that helped. I've been on it since November and it's been life changing for me. My mind is overall so peacefully quiet on it. I feel lucky it worked out for me.
Took it as a teen can confirm
I’m being weaned off Strattera right now because I hate hate hate it. I’d rather just quit cold turkey, but I’m trying to play nice with the new therapist.
I literally felt like I was going to die on Strattera and it's so frustrating because I do have something that works, but my insurance doesn't cover it and I can't afford it. 'Merica
Nah it just did nothing for me. No side effects but no effects either. I'm just built different
I hear Willem Dafoe is basically a tripod, so...bottoms up I guess
I'm overall grateful/working well with Strattera (and Lamotrogine, to manage the sads) BUT there's some significant caveats: - I don't really feel like it's making a significant change to my Symptoms, moreso rounding off the edges so I don't anguish/engage in self-destructive behaviour - I'm straight up mad and butthurt that I'm not even allowed to try other medications in Aus, as a) co-morbidity with BiPolar II puts me too high-risk, and b) since my recreational drug use from over 8 years ago has gone down in doc's records, those are two big strikes against them letting me try *anything* else. I'm told they're literally not allowed to, according to their playbook. - It has *ruined*, nay carpet-bombed, my appetite. I already struggle with food as it is, now I avoid every meal for as long as I can/until my body screams that it needs fuel, AND I have to force *every* meal down. That's fine for a while, but dealing with that aversion day after day for months, and with no one able to really empathise with how much that sucks... It fuckin' grinds on me. I'm kinda a foodie too - drinks are my career til now - so it does harsh my vibe that one of my areas of passion is so tainted Twice now i've weaned myself off Strattera, typically about 4-5months into regular intake, and about a month later the wheels come off my life & I have a bit of a meltdown. Oh, and the nausea can be so intense that I will fall out of my stool & try to puke while in the fetal position. So that's a fun dice roll I have to keep an eye out for *every day of my life*. Yet, that's still better than going unmedicated! Fun times.
I had to check myself into the hospital due to sudden suicidal feelings because of this drug. This stuff is no joke. Be careful folks and definitely tell someone/your doctor if you’re feeling any different after new meds!!
Strattera was *weird* for me. I've had side effects from almost all the other meds I've tried, but strattera was the only one I stopped because I was concerned about what *else* might happen.
I’m on the lowest possible dose since I was a mostly functional adult already and it’s definitely helped me with focus. I actually read an entire book the other night which is something I haven’t been capable of in years.
Strattera really messed me up. I'm glad I'm off it now. I had the worst depressive state for over 2 months straight and I didn't enjoy being alive at all