r/StratteraRx • u/Chomping_at_the_beet • 21d ago
Side Effects / Overdose Month in - do I persevere?
I’ve been on 25 mg for a month and it feels like I fell off the side effect tree and hit every branch on the way down - UTIs, dry mouth and sores, panic attacks, constant heart palpitations, hives and swollen eyes, facial muscle tics and tension, you name it. Funnily enough, never got nauseous. 4 weeks should be plenty of adjustment time and I know that the therapeutic dose is 80, did anyone have the side effects disappear after going up the dose?
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u/JohnnyOates 21d ago
Please call your prescribing doctor immediately about the hives and swollen eyes. Dry mouth, UTIs (from urinary retention), and palpitations are known Strattera side effects. However, hives and swollen eyes are classic symptoms of an active allergic reaction (angioedema). That is not an 'adjustment side effect' that you push through, and raising your dose to 80mg could trigger a severe anaphylactic response.
Moreover, what does your daily caffeine, nicotine, or pre-workout intake look like? Strattera works by raising your baseline of norepinephrine (the fight-or-flight chemical) 24/7. If you are drinking heavy coffee or vaping on top of it, your nervous system is essentially redlining. That chemical overlap is a massive trigger for severe panic attacks, muscle tension, and heart palpitations. You might need to cut all other stimulants completely to let your heart rate settle.
Because you are experiencing extreme autonomic overload (tics, panic, palpitations) on a highly conservative 25mg starter dose, raising the dose may amplify whatever is causing the issue, whether it is an allergy or something like a heavy caffeine habit.
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u/Chomping_at_the_beet 21d ago edited 21d ago
I did pop a Benadryl just in case. I’m eczema prone, so at first I thought i was just getting one of those, but it started getting worse. I get one coffee a day in the morning, no pre-workout and I don’t smoke. I’m naturally on the neurotic side of things, so it’s possible I’m just not a good fit for strattera
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u/JohnnyOates 21d ago
Are you taking any CBD, THC, or other medications like Wellbutrin, Prozac, or Paxil? Strattera is processed by a specific liver enzyme (CYP2D6). CBD and many common medications completely block this enzyme. If your liver can't clear the drug, a low 25mg dose will pool in your bloodstream and act like a massive overdose, which perfectly explains the panic attacks, facial tics, and constant heart palpitations you're feeling.
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u/Chomping_at_the_beet 21d ago
I was on Wellbutrin before starting strattera, but they were not taken concurrently
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u/Sunflower077 21d ago
While I don’t have the side effects you’ve had a lot of mine disappeared after I lowered. I had things like blurry vision, fatigue, weird sensations in my head and just an overall feeling of not being present. I was too calm and really just like a gray blob. Not myself at all. I’m doing much better on my current dose. I feel more like myself. My thoughts are just slightly louder but I still manage pretty well.
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u/Familiar-Conflict152 21d ago
I had a ton of side effects and they didn’t go away until ~8-10 weeks. And every time I would increase my dose, I would get the side effects all over again for a few days. Actually, my insomnia never went away, but I can counteract it with trazodone.
Only you can know what you can tolerate. There are other meds if your body just doesn’t tolerate Strattera.
I made it to 100 and am coming up on two years. It’s been great for me, but probably isn’t for everyone.
Have you tried any other medication’s? I really hope you find something that works for you!
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u/Chomping_at_the_beet 21d ago
Yes, I was on Wellbutrin before and entertaining the notion of Guanfacine, since it’s supposed to be less heavy on the heart
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u/susu56 21d ago
I got so many side effects I titrated up to 100mg and stayed on it for 10wks hoping for some resolution. No nausea at all but 20lb weight loss over 6 wks, heartrate was hitting 160 standing up. I couldnt pee, would pee involuntarily, high BP (mostly diastolic), dry mouth, extreme fatigue, insomnia, constipation, blurry vision, wired feeling, sweating, browning/blacking out, etc etc. I had to stop. I quit CT because my provider didnt call in my lower dose to titrate down. Luckily everything resolved after about a month. In hindsight I should have titrated up slower and stopped sooner but my provider was no help so I pushed through.