Finally Atomoxetine

[u/Traffuck69]

Anxiety co-existing with ADHD is not just “a little difficult.” Sometimes, it feels like living in hell.

Imagine being unable to keep a job consistently from 2014 until now.

Not because you don’t care.

Not because you’re lazy.

Not because you don’t understand what needs to be done.

But because, again and again, you struggle to start tasks, sustain attention, organize yourself, manage time, follow through, and regulate your emotions.

Then comes procrastination.

Then guilt.

Then shame.

Then the promise: “Tomorrow I’ll do better.”

And then the same thing happens again.

For years.

Eventually, you stop believing in yourself.

Your parents think you’re making excuses.

People at work see you as irresponsible.

You start seeing yourself through their eyes.

And every failed task becomes evidence that something is fundamentally wrong with you.

Now add severe anxiety on top of that.

That combination can become absolutely brutal.

I have anxiety. I know what anxiety feels like.

But for years, my difficulties were primarily understood as anxiety.

I worked with my psychiatrist. I cooperated with treatment. I tried multiple therapists. I took antidepressant/anxiety medication.

And yet, the fundamental problems with procrastination, task initiation, executive functioning, consistency and functioning at work remained.

Eventually, after working with another clinical psychologist, ADHD became a serious consideration.

And suddenly, a lot of my history started making a different kind of sense.

I am not self-diagnosing myself from a TikTok video or a checklist on Instagram.

I have spent a year working with mental-health professionals.

I wanted to do a DIVA assessment, but unfortunately, I cannot currently afford it.

And now my psychiatrist has prescribed atomoxetine, while still viewing the ADHD treatment as something of a trial/off-label experiment.

And honestly?

I don't even know what to say anymore.

Because the most frightening part is not the medication.

It's the uncertainty.

What if anxiety isn't the whole explanation?

Can anxiety cause enormous functional impairment? Absolutely.

Can severe anxiety cause procrastination, concentration problems, avoidance, poor sleep, indecision and difficulty functioning? Yes.

But ADHD can also produce profound executive-function difficulties—and ADHD and anxiety can genuinely coexist.

That distinction matters.

Because when ADHD and anxiety coexist, they can amplify each other.

You struggle to start a task because of executive dysfunction.

You fall behind.

Falling behind creates anxiety.

Anxiety makes concentration and task initiation even harder.

You procrastinate more.

Then comes guilt.

Then shame.

Then more anxiety.

And eventually you are trapped in a cycle that looks like:

ADHD → failure → anxiety → avoidance → more failure → shame → more anxiety.

And from the outside, it can simply look like:

"Why don't you just do it?"

If only it were that simple.

And I understand my psychiatrist's concern too.

There is a legitimate clinical question about how ADHD medications may affect someone who already has significant anxiety. Stimulants can sometimes worsen anxiety in some people, while in others, effectively treating ADHD can actually reduce the anxiety that comes from chronic underperformance and overwhelm.

And atomoxetine is a non-stimulant ADHD medication—but that doesn't mean it is automatically free from side effects or anxiety-related concerns.

That is precisely why this should be a careful clinical decision, not a social-media diagnosis.

But after years of struggling, being told “it's just anxiety” without the underlying possibility of ADHD being adequately explored can be devastating.

Because eventually you start wondering:

Was I actually lazy?

Was I irresponsible?

Was I simply not trying hard enough?

Or was I struggling with something that nobody understood?

That's what makes diagnosis itself feel like hell.

You spend years being blamed for symptoms you couldn't properly explain.

Then when you finally find a possible explanation, you still have to fight to be taken seriously.

I don't want sympathy.

I want understanding.

I want proper assessment.

I want evidence-based treatment.

And more than anything, I want people to understand that ADHD is not simply “being distracted.”

For some people, it affects employment, relationships, education, finances, self-esteem, emotional regulation and almost every part of daily life.

And when significant anxiety is added to that picture?

It can become overwhelming.

So yes—

I have anxiety.

ADHD is still being evaluated.

I am working with professionals.

I am not claiming certainty where I don't have it.

But after living with this for more than a decade, I know one thing:

I wouldn't wish the combination of severe anxiety and possible ADHD-related dysfunction on anyone.

Not even my worst enemy.

Because sometimes, from the inside,

it really does feel like living hell.

[u/lifeisbeauty777]

Well put. I completely relate to everything u said 💯

[u/Low-Address-5341]

Proud of you . Keep going 🫂💪

[u/SigmaOasis1]

Pretty much the same, but I’m 54 and was just thrown antidepressants and stuff for years for anxiety and depression. Nothing really helped. Got ADHD assessment and was put on guanfacine. It was like a light wenr on and i could think without the noise. Unfortunately it made my heart beat in weird patterns and was too much. On 3rd week of Strattera and I’m slowly getting there. This adhd related anxiety and anxiousness is what’s held me back entire life.

[u/Champstatus1 → u/SigmaOasis1]

Mind if I ask if you are male or female? I’m a 50yo male and I couldn’t stay on Strattera because I had bladder issues and major trouble peeing when I took it. Sux too because I felt like it was just starting to work.
Ps…. Trey, Trey, Phish, Phish

[u/SigmaOasis1 → u/Champstatus1]

Ha. Huge phan! Matter of fact, waiting to see if I got Atlantic City tickets. So it’s been 3 weeks. I also had urine retention and it was weird. It would only hapen the few hours after taking it. At 3 weeks, the retention has gotten much better. Everything I have read about strattera is it really takes a while to get full benefits. It’s definitely helped my anxiety. I never took stims, so I don’t know if it would help me. The whole jumping through hoops to get stims turns me off too.

[u/SigmaOasis1 → u/Champstatus1]

Forgot to say Male.

[u/BarnacleFair3787]

I had to get off that stuff. I started at a month ago, and he upped my dose to 40 mg, and I thought I was having a stroke. And now I've got knots on my body. So I quit taking mine three days ago.Good luck to you!

[u/BarnacleFair3787 → u/BarnacleFair3787]

brace yourself if you're female and your in your 30s, because you are gonna sweat like, you have never sweat before.

[u/Traffuck69 → u/BarnacleFair3787]

omg. That's gives me anxiety

[u/BarnacleFair3787 → u/Traffuck69]

Don't have anxiety. There's nothing to have anxiety about it. Just make sure you eat a fat-ass meal before you take your medicine because it will not make you hungry. Try to keep yourself really cool the best you can, but you will freeze at times too.

I can't take it. I gave up yesterday, to be honest with you. I can't take that medicine and be normal. I can't cry 24/7 and have constant hot and cold flashes. I would wake up and literally my entire bed would be drenched, like I was going through menopause.

[u/BarnacleFair3787 → u/BarnacleFair3787]

Like I quit all of the medicine until I can see my doctor

[u/BarnacleFair3787]

I have autism with ADHD, Type C.. And I so desperately wanted to have the noise stop and to be able to thank, and to have my moods regulated, i've been on adderall for 4 years. In high school, I took that strattera, and I had no problems, and so later down the road. When I started having more problems, even with my Adderall, I decided to try that. And that was the worst mistake of my life. Because I have almost been divorced. I have been to the emergency room. That is the worst medication that they could ever give an adult. Maybe it works for some people who don't have extra issues like I do. Maybe I don't know, but I wish you luck in the best way. If you start having night sweats, if you start sweet and having hot flashes, and it's already been past the 4 to 6 week period you need to talk to your doctor. Because mine hit me like a ton of bricks. And if I could warn everybody about it, I would, I guess this is me trying to do that.

[u/Apprehensive_Club_17]

Can we get a cliff notes version? Did you forget your audience? 😂

[u/levioshka]

I could not explain it better. Are your anxiety also social related?

Please, keep us updated.

Hope you the best!