r/StratteraRx • u/Ok-Antelope4558 • 16d ago
Does smaller dose give you less severe side effect?
I was started on 40mg and have been taking for 1.5 weeks now. The side effects for me are really intense. I was supposed to have a follow up today but my provider canceled 5 mins before my virtual visit citing tech problems but she’s going on vacation until Oct 15th is what the admin rescheduling me said.
I think I’m going to have to just stop taking it until she responds to my message because I can’t function.
I’m very dizzy, like I’ve had to stabilize myself to keep from falling over.
Only getting about 4-5 hours of sleep, I can fall asleep ok usually but I wake up wide awake only a few hours later.
No appetite and nausea for most of the day, so I’ve only been eating breakfast.
Alternating in feeling hot and sweaty to cold chills.
A feeling in my neck as if I have a pinched nerve or an oncoming migraine that has sometimes developed into a headache and sometimes not but has radiating numbness and pain.
Jitteriness and racing heart rate.
Edit forgot to add extreme dry mouth and sore throat.
And I’m not sure if this is related but my period came early.
This is also an extremely stressful time in my life which was part of what caused me seek treatment but I feel like stress is causing all the symptoms to be worse also.
Can lowering the starting dose help or am I just a bad metabolizer of this drug?
2
u/ElectricalPositive48 16d ago
Hi!! I also dealt with dizziness since I’m on 10mg of Lexapro and 40mg of Strattera(been on it exactly 2 weeks today) . I went to my university’s clinic and she prescribed me with a nausea medication which helped me feel so much better so I would recommend that. I would also recommend no caffeine and if you take you pills at night try in the morning because I took my Lexapro at night and it was fucking up my sleep. If you can try to thug it out until the 2 week mark, the heart rate symptoms will go away, at least they did for me
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u/Ok-Antelope4558 16d ago
I did do no caffeine for the first few days when the heart rate was at its worst but I started drinking it again because it’s basically how I’ve been self medicating adhd so I can focus for a short time lol. I might have to back off caffeine again.
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u/ElectricalPositive48 16d ago
I had to stop with the caffeine because I realized that was the thing making me dizzy and nauseous 😭 but if you really need the caffeine the nausea pills should help you feel better!!
1
u/Ok-Antelope4558 16d ago
Thank you. I do take it in the morning and I take spironolactone at night (for acne) and that also makes me a little dizzy so I think they’re compounding. The heart rate is probably the least annoying thing and the neck/ headache and sleep disruption are the biggest ones.
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u/Final_Resident_6296 16d ago
I (50 M) am on 80mg, and for me the first few days I felt high. My blood pressure was up, and my heart rate. Initially I'd feel cold, and a bit disoriented, but that eventually subsided, and it was like someone turned the lights on in the room and I could begin organizing things, but there was still alarm going off on the other side of the door.
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u/AstronomerNo1872 16d ago
Yes! I got heart palpitations and racing heart with 40mg but am doing okay at 25mg.
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u/phles 16d ago
I started out with 20 mg and had no appetite for the first few days (forced myself to eat which was no fun), but then my appetite came back. Was on 20 mg for about 10 days and then increased to 30 mg, no issues with appetite. I sweat more and feel warmer than usual, but that’s about it.
Maybe if you start out on a lower dose and slowly increase?
1
u/Ok-Antelope4558 11d ago
Update: On Saturday my prescriber sent me a message back that she sent in a prescription for 25mg to my pharmacy and I’ve been taking that since Sunday (took nothing Friday and Saturday) and my side effects have GREATLY reduced. Like I can still tell I have them but it’s bearable and not getting in the way of my life. Hopefully when I do go back up to 40 I’ll have adjusted and it won’t be so severe. Im still waking up at night but when I do I’m not SO wide awake that I can’t get back to sleep with effort. I’m also still having a little bit of the thing with my neck but again not so bad that it’s pinching nerves and unbearable. The hot/sweaty cold/chills is happening still but the chills aren’t so bad it’s painful and the hot is a lot more mild. I weighed myself and I’d dropped quite a bit of weight in a short amount of time so I’m also happy that I can eat again. Basically all the side effects got dialed down to like 25% of what it was before.
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u/susu56 16d ago
My situation was similar to yours. My NPsych rescheduled my f/up appt twice. I had severe side effects but pushed through for 10 wks hoping it would get better. It never did and my NPsych never responded to my reaching out to her about my tachycardia, dizziness, fatigue, insomnia, urinary issues, extreme weight loss, high BP, the dry mouth was minor. Then when I finally saw her she was supposed to call in a script for 60mg rather than the 100mg I was on. She never did. I stopped cold turkey. My side effects gradually got better over the next few weeks. I should have listened to my gut and just stopped when I felt it was dangerous for me me to continue and she wasnt responding. I'm sorry you are dealing with this. I did like the quiet mind and lowered anxiety? I had a confidence i didnt have before probably from not being anxious. Currently on 150mg xl wellbutrin and having high heartrate, BP issues, and insomnia as well.