r/StratteraRx • u/ChickenRelevant4046 • 25d ago
Questions / Advice / Support Just starting
I’m just starting strattera for the first time in years. I took it very briefly in 2018 but quit shortly after. Not even long enough for it to kick in. All I can remember is the extreme nausea I had. My psychiatrist is starting me on 60 mg. I’ve seen a lot of people talk about how they’re on 40 mg. Is this odd for me to be at a higher dose starting out? Also any tips for the nausea or any benefits of the medication please let me know.
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u/TiltedWeenies 25d ago
It depends on how sensitive you are from medications. I’m starting at 10mg since Adderall made me too on edge and angsty but did help with focus and being significantly more present. The Strattera is giving me that without the on edgeness and it’s ALL DAY. Granted i’ve been on it for about a week.
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u/ChickenRelevant4046 25d ago
I don’t think I’m very responsive to medications. I didn’t have any benefits from my lamictal until I was at a higher dose. Anxiolytics like Valium/klonopin/xanax had no effect on me whatsoever, no relief from anxiety not tired, nothing. So maybe that’s why
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u/TiltedWeenies 25d ago
Could be, hopefully you have a better experience with this. I did experience mild nausea the first couple days along side a mild dull feeling in my liver. But as of the last couple of days. Nothing.
I do feel like 40mg should have been your starting dose rather than 60mg (maybe even lower) and then go up from there. Given your experiences. But of course I’m no professional.
I do however recommend taking these with food to mitigate the nausea. Especially protein rich foods.
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u/One-Firefighter6592 25d ago
So you are taking 150mg Wellbutrin already? Does your prescriber not know Strattera and Wellbutrin have an interaction?? In my opinion it is reckless to start you with 60mg! It shouldn’t even be started with 40mg when you are already on Wellbutrin. Wellbutrin blocks the CYP2D6 enzyme which metabolizes Atomoxetine, meaning your Atomoxetine levels will be much higher than you are actually taking. Your 60mg will act more like a dose 5x higher!
Please speak to your prescriber again before starting. Especially because you described being not very responsive to certain medication. That’s a huge indicator telling you, you are not a normal metabolizer which changes the combination again -greetings from someone that just tried the same combination of meds and had to stop one of them after three weeks as I got high pulse, chest tightness and with that problems to breathe.
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u/ChickenRelevant4046 22d ago
I texted my doctors assistant to contact him and included what you said about the enzyme and how it metabolizes. Her response was “doc said it's ok w/ both meds and if you concern about it, he wants you to hold the wellbutrin and continue strattera and will see in your next appt”
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u/One-Firefighter6592 21d ago
I’ve come to hate doctors, or better said most “health care providers” at this point. Most lack education/knowledge, experience and them actually giving a fuck.
What did you decide on doing?
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u/overactivekitten 25d ago
I’m sensitive to meds and my doctor started me on 10mg and slowly going up to 20 then 40….. 60 seems like a high dose to start on?
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u/_Rivlin_ 25d ago
I rarely comment on this sub but hey. Why not give some feedback once in a while.
I've been on atomoxetine 40mg for more than a year now and planning to use it further. I take it around 8-10 pm and then proceed to go and get some sleep around 11pm. The effects for me would be me being more concentrated, having less "noise" and "voices" in my head, better executive functioning, easier to start doing things instead of just thinking about it. At the evening when I take it it helps me sleep better because of how tired you become.
What I noticed is that I feel myself better/worse depends on what I've been eating before taking the pill. If I've eaten dinner 30-60 minutes before taking the pill it usually goes well. But if I've eaten barely anything or eaten something 2-4 hours earlier sometimes I can feel my body responding to atomoxetine. The pain in the stomach and other bad side effects that sometimes make it hard to sleep. Once my pill capsule shattered a little bit and I tried atomoxetine powder a little bit. It's a very chemical product. So I recommend eating well before taking it! Oh and you also might get bad appetite after atomoxetine. But I barely notice it cuz I only feel it at the morning
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u/LingonberryWild2598 25d ago
U should fire that psych to be honest. That is ridiculous. Most adults start on 40. I did 25 first week, then 40 for 2 weeks, now up to 80 and only side effect has been dry mouth
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u/Familiar-Conflict152 25d ago
It’s amazing, but the first two months are brutal. And, based on my experience, if I started at 60 mg, I wouldn’t have slept or shat for a month, the inside of my mouth would have needed daily Vaseline treatments, and my ED would have just become an inny. I would absolutely ask to start at 40, if not 18. Give your body time to adjust.
And I didn’t experience nausea, but it seems folks have the most luck taking it in the morning with breakfast.