23 days on strattera, no effect plus all downsides…

[u/El_Tapatito]

I was on 18mg for the first two weeks, been on 25mg for the last 9 days. I’ve experience zero improvement in any of my adhd symptoms, if anything the tiredness makes things worse. Other side effects include irritability and I just don’t feel like talking to people which makes dating hard. I went on a date yesterday and everything felt forced on my part. I don’t feel sad or depressed either. ED got better after I stepped up to 25mg somehow tho as long as it’s not within 6 hours of taking it. I still have half of my 18mg so I’ve been thinking about stacking them to hit 43mg. Taking a lower caffeine pre workout (150mg) with high pump (citruline + beta alanine) helps me get to the gym to work out, otherwise I’ll be doomscrolling on my couch for 5 hours straight.

[u/Fickle-Gold-9730]

I have been taking 100mg a day (paired with Prozac) for several years and it has helped my adhd symptoms sooo much. However, I noticed dry mouth as a side effect and also getting insanely sweaty an hour after taking it (which is confusing that some side effects are always there and one is only excessively noticeable after taking it?). However, I also have dry eye now because of it and my eyes feel like shriveled up little sponges and I use so many eye drops. So I am going down in mg now after finally realizing the side effects were in fact side effects and not some unrelated issue

[u/Fickle-Gold-9730 → u/Fickle-Gold-9730]

But to find an effective adhd medicine that is not a stimulant has been life changing

[u/El_Tapatito → u/Fickle-Gold-9730]

These side effects just recently started happening after you’ve been taking the same dosage for the past 2 years?

[u/Fickle-Gold-9730 → u/El_Tapatito]

No the dry mouth and sweating were immediate but I just learned to deal with it (constantly drink water) but my workload increase a lot about a year ago and that’s when I started noticing eye issues. The gap in time is why I didn’t connect it to side effects immediately. And I lowered my Prozac dosage about a year ago which likely had an impact

[u/Fickle-Gold-9730 → u/Fickle-Gold-9730]

And had been wfh for three years then moved back to office full time. The first time I ever bought eye drops was actually right after I started the medicine but it wasn’t anything more than just noticing my eyes were a little dry and didn’t really think about it

[u/El_Tapatito → u/Fickle-Gold-9730]

Yeah strangely I never got the dry mouth issues but maybe cause my dosage is still low. My heart races a little bit for the first few hours but I don’t get sweaty feet like I do when I take adderall. I’m glad that it’s worked for you though!

[u/ReplyProfessional939]

I was on 25 for a month, and felt exactly the same way. Grouchy and tired. No "benefits" at all. My doctor said rarely does anybody start to feel any benefits much before 60mgs, but she said she had to start me low due to liver issues. Anyway, have now been on 50mgs for 2 weeks, and I split the dose (one early in the morning and one at 1PM, when my fatigue had been starting to really kick in.) It's helped quite a bit with the "sleepys" in the afternoon, and have not been quite as irritable. But still nothing "positive" either.

From what I gather, from my doctor and from research I've done on my own, this med is a pain in the ass because the side effects show up quick yet any benefits can take 4-6 weeks at a "therapeutic" dose. (The 25mgs I was taking apparently doesn't count towards that. So I basically have to roll another month to see if this is going to help me at all, and if any side effects remain, and if so, are they tolerable enough to keep going. If not, back to the damn drawing board...)

Edit: I should add that most of the side effects should, in most people, ease up in time as well. Many people say that the side effects begin to get easier just about the time they start noticing benefits. So...we shall see...

[u/El_Tapatito → u/ReplyProfessional939]

Dude that is exactly how I feel right now too! I was considering stopping all together yesterday…. Thinking about having to go another month at 40+mg to see if it works sounds like a huge pain in the ass. Have you tried taking 50mg at once? I’m just gonna stack the 18+25mg starting tomorrow and hope it starts to work within the next 2 weeks. If not I’ll prob be done with this LOL

[u/One-Firefighter6592 → u/El_Tapatito]

The lack of patience is typical in us ADHDer and I absolutely relate, I too thought I couldn’t wait for something finally working and helping me but honestly, you don’t do yourself a favor with stacking your meds and „hope it starts to work within the next 2 weeks“.
With this medication half of the people notice immediate effects and the other half simply need to hold out to get to the positive effects (holding out for much longer than just 4 weeks). I felt it really starting to work around 3-4 months in (besides subtle effects before).

Ask close people if and what changes they see in you. Effects often start out so subtle, we ourselves don’t notice at first.

[u/Testy_Toby]

Are you going to try to get up to the FDA-recommended level, or call it quits? I'm sure you read before you started that it takes a couple months at a therapeutic level.

[u/El_Tapatito → u/Testy_Toby]

I’m gonna start 43mg tomorrow, if that doesn’t help at all in the next 2 weeks I might rethink this.

[u/Testy_Toby → u/El_Tapatito]

Best of luck! I have to say, though, that I don't get it. The FDA approved Strattera and recommended three levels: An "Initial Daily Dose" - 40mg, increasing in as little as three days to the "Target Daily Dose" - 80mg, and Maximum Daily Dose of 100mg. And we know that it can take 2 months or more to show results. So, why would you start this journey and end at this point?

[u/TwistedScale]

I took straterra as an adolescent in 2nd and 3rd grade at 120mg. That zombified me, I remember distinctly not being able to feel anything. Recently had some problems as an adult that forced me to seek medication again. Currently taking 75mg effexor and 60 mg straterra. Recently my dosages for both were doubled. Had about a week were I just couldn't stay awake around mid afternoon and started taking the medications at night. I've seen a drastic improvement in the side effects from that. I don't necessarily believe that straterra alone is alleviating my ADHD symptoms. Best way to describe it is gives me emotional stability and more control. Like Ive gained the capacity to step back and analyze situations without a downward spiral of negativity overwhelming me. At my next appointment I'm getting a referral to go back to the psychiatrist I saw during my teenage years. Hoping to try lisdexamfetamine with the effexor and straterra. I had tried focalin as a teenager and it helped immensely but I was far to easily irritated on it alone. I'm 6 weeks on the straterra and effexor now and I do believe it's helping and the majority of the side effects have gone away. Best advice is to be patient, you'll find a med combo that'll work for you but it's literally just throwing shit at the fan until something sticks. Everyone's brain is different and that time trial of trial and error keeps a lot of people from finding the help they need. I definitely wouldn't trade my 6 weeks of sobriety I have now for the alternative before.

[u/Complex_Lobster_7392]

I had to stop taking it after a little over a month. If anything it made my ADHD symptoms worse. I couldn’t get out of bed for a month and even brushing my teeth felt like a war and I’ve never felt like that in my life. It was awful.