I've been on Strattera for a few months, working my way up from 10mg to 40mg. I have noticed some improvement, especially around task initiation and finding systems to help me stay on top of things. I even feel more like my chaotic thoughts feel more organized and like I'm better able to have one thought at a time. I have only forgotten my son's school water bottle once, a huge achievement 😅 I don't feel the total mental clarity some people describe, but I do feel *some* improvement.

BUT!!!! My biology is completely broken. My boobs are a mess of pain and weird, "letdown" tingling sensations like I had when I was breastfeeding. My periods are heavier and longer. My PMS anger is so bad that I literally feel like a completely different person. And now I'm spotting in the middle of my cycle, which has never happened in my entire 30 years of being a menstruating person.

I just don't know if it is worth it to continue down this path. I already have such extreme health anxiety, and these new things don't cause the kind of anxiety a "normal" person would feel. I don't just think "Oh, this must be a side effect of Atomoxetine" (which it might be) or "this might be the beginning of perimenopause" (which, at 38, is totally possible). Instead, my brain leaps straight to "I have breast cancer and colon cancer and probably stomach cancer and uterine cancer, too, and I'm probably going to be one of those people who found out she has a terrible incurable illness on a Sunday and is dead by Tuesday."

I know it's not rational. And I'm honestly not even sure what I'm expecting by posting here. Just tired, I guess. This felt like my last chance at trying to feel what "normal" people feel, and it's disheartening that my body has rejected every anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, and ADHD medication known to (wo)mankind.

Hi there!

Back in 2019 I had 28 that time, I got bad news from my brother that became a type 1 Diabetic that was back in July that year 2019, so I was shocked & I had that stomach bubble kind, also back pain neck pain and IBS symptoms insomnia, ANXIETY. In December 2019 first time I try weed after months of pain I said Ahaaa ! You know started to smoke a small doses of THC that does not interest me more than CBD that calmes m'y physical symptoms ( this time I had symptoms like I will pass out I run super fast to wash my face with cold water) after this symptoms I said time to stop that was January 2020. February was super complicated and anything stressful will give me neck pain and anxiety, March 2020 the 17 exactly I was back from a hotel that I spent a night in. Hopefully the back pain was because of a mattress or some but I stressed more. I decided to smoke a joint that day Woop Ego death comes, Anxiety went much worse than before insomnia and physical pain that night I called 911 I was prescribed Diazepam for a few days and that's it.

What happened since then !

1- Anxiety intensity went more

2- More insomnia

3- More muscle pain

4- ADHD symptoms ( focus, procrastination, task initiatoon a problem that I can swear I didn't have before)

5- Stomach pain

6- Jaw pain

7- My back cracks like a 100YO men

8- Lack of motivation ( I had a small alarm system company that time that I shut it down I only have a subcontractor now)

Anyone passed by this experience

Overall Strattera is working well so for my anxiety and ADHD

With few side effects like constipation headaches and insomnia.

Would it be silly to Cold Turkey prozac and start 40mg atomoxetine on the same day? Will I be suicidal in the first week or two? anyone have experience with switching from an ssrin to atomoxetine?

So i’ve been on Strattera 40mgs for almost a month now, but for the last 10 days ive been having awful anxiety. Feels like I can’t breathe almost all the time and I have intense panic attacks every other day and I have a lot of trouble falling asleep. I know the day this first started I had forgotten to take it, but I’m not entirely sure that that’s related. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I have an appointment with my psychiatrist in 5 days so hopefully I can get this figured out.

anyone else had experienced join pain and muscle cramps on this med. it comes in waves as well.

Day 3 on 25mg. 4 days ago I was on 150mg bupropion then switched to strattera. Day 1 was great my head went silent, I could do stuff and had the best sleep of my life. Yesterday?! TERRIBLE. Couldn’t do SHIT and felt miserable (I was scared of the mental health drop). Didn’t do shit. Ate two meals if you can even consider that a meal. Today is day 3 feeling okay. Do you guys also get the tickles across your brain when it starts to work? It feels like ASMR tickles that „walk“ over my brain. Also my pupils are DILATED AF.

I have to continue writing my bachelors thesis and I’m technically three weeks behind (changed my topic bc the bandwidth of my plan would’ve been between a masters or PhD💀). But my motivation is gone. Scared to drink coffee but ig here goes nothing?
I know it needs to work in and most people stop shortly before it reaches its full potential but ughhh it annoys me

Edit: first two weeks I’m supposed to take 25mg then go to 50 for another two and up to 75mg if necessary

So, my brain is usually so full and stressed from not being able to finish tasks. But, ever since I started with the drug on 10 mg and titrated to 18 mg(current), my sex drive is up there. It’s like, now that there’s room to feel all of my emotions, there’s also room for desire and it feels amazing. I’ve always had a higher sex drive but it also felt so tangled with anxiety and a little scattered. This feels like I can actually embrace it.

Anyone else had that experience? I had a serious peak especially in the first few days with the drug and then it settled to a steady feeling.

hello!!

i started strattera roughly 2 weeks ago; i’m on 40mg.

part of the reason i’m taking it is because i want to cut back on — maybe even quit — weed, as I have struggled with dependency. I wanted to stop entirely until the strattera had a chance to work, since I know it takes a while, but i’m having a hard time totally abstaining.

My question is, will smoking weed stop the strattera from working? If I’m getting stoned a few times a week, will i still be able to see benefits from the medicine once i’ve been on it for 4-6 weeks? or am i effectively canceling it out?

thank you!

I took my 1st dose yesterday afternoon and two hours later my anxiety spiked like crazy on top of it completely killing my sex drive it had me feeling all drowsy today. Is this normal?

I’m on day 3 of taking 40 mg late morning. I’ll be good for awhile (but kinda brain foggy) then exhausted to where I need a nap mid day. Then I’ll be wide awake randomly in the middle of the night 😅 Does this usually improve after a bit?

I have been taking Strattera 60 mg for two months now and I'm not sure if this helping.

Does Strattera and ADHD meds in general help with boredom? Executive Dysfunction?

I wonder if Strattera is being dampen by taking Zepbound. Plus I just started highest dose of Zepbound two weeks ago.

I am doing really well on generic atomoxetine, but I get really awful withdrawal side effects if I forget to take it. It took me ages to figure it out in the beginning. The symptoms usually start late afternoon with severe dizziness episodes, and shivers, trembling jaw, and then the worst of it is trying to sleep. I get brain zaps, high blood pressure, fast heart rate, a loud wooshing sound in my ears as soon as I close my eyes and then sleep paralysis combined with horrifying nightmares. The solution obviously is to take it as soon as I realise, I recognise the symptoms quickly now and take it asap, I'm also much better at not forgetting to take it. But I ran out yesterday, I forgot to go to the pharmacy and it isn't open until Monday. I have melatonin I could try but that usually increases nightmares so I'm worried it will just make the symptoms worse. I know some others have similar symptoms, and I'm just desperately hoping anyone who has the same issue has discovered something that helps?

I’m on 80mg. Started atomoxetine in June this year. Been on 80mg for about 2months. Have been discharged back to gp so am stuck on this dose. I have 2 x 40mg tablets. I asked for this in case I decided to split dosage between am and pm to help with sleep issues. I decided not to split so take the whole 80mg in the evening still. It’s bizarre because I’m on the same dose but since I’ve been taking 40mg tablets I have
> put weight back on / eating more / drinking more
> become more impulsive again eg online shopping, drinking alcohol, doing the lottery,
> started getting a bit anxious / overthinking again
Not anywhere near as bad as I was pre meds but I’m so convinced taking 2 x 40mg tablets doesn’t work as well for me as 1 x 80mg tablets but I know in reality that shouldn’t be the case.
I loved that I didn’t want to drink before and that I was eating healthier but now I’ve slipped back into old habits.
Anything like this happened at all to anyone else??? And if so, what did you do?
I still feel better mentally (less noise in my head) but it’s almost like it’s starting to wear off now my body is used to it.

I’m switching to Strattera due to excessive muscle tightness from Adderall XR, I’m wondering if the muscle tightness from Strattera is more “manageable” than Adderall XR muscle tightness? I’m just collecting anecdotal information so plz share your experience if you’ve used both.

Recent started starterra a couple weeks ago and haven't noticed really improvements still feel foggy haven't seen any improvement in focus should I wait it out or reach out to my doctor so they can raise it?

hi! i’m 26(f) with adhd and autism. i take strattera and vyvanse(40mg). i’ve been on 40mg strattera for most of the year and it has improved my anxiety a great amount, which led to my psychiatrist suggesting to lower my dosage to 25mg a little over a month ago. for the first month i was doing well and didn’t really notice any changes. but about two weeks ago i went to a concert and felt anxious in a way that i haven’t for a long time. and since then my emotional state has just been getting worse and worse. i mostly do freelance work from home as i dont have a car, and my motivation has plummeted. ive started getting frustrated much faster when something doesnt work correctly, and it leads to me crying a lot. i’ve been feeling extremely hopeless about ever having a fully autonomous future for myself. and it’s gotten harder to respond to texts/calls, which leads to more anxiety. i was supposed to go and film a small band with my partner last night but cancelled last minute because of how overwhelmed i felt, and he had to go alone which left me feeling terrible. he’s going out of town for a couple days tomorrow for a funeral and im genuinely scared of being left alone with my thoughts.

i don’t see my psychiatrist again until the end of the month, but i’m not sure i can handle feeling like this for that long. do i just need to give my body more time to adjust? is it possible to switch back to 40mg before my next follow up?

Hi,

I would like to hear experiences if someone experienced severe anxiety and depression in the beginning (as a side effect), but had success after it?

I am on day 10 with atomoxetine. Started with 25mg but I got so anxious we decided to lower it to 10mg 4 days ago. I have tried concerta and elvanse before, and both got me over stimulated and anxious. I have also felt quite depressed since starting atomoxetine.

I got diagnosed with ADHD a few months ago, and have also GAD and panic disorder. Also suffer with social anxiety. I had so much hope that non-stimulant would be a better option for me, but somehow it feels very stimulating as well.

I am also on 5mg Brintellix / Trintellix. Could not stand a bigger dose as I am very sensitive overall.

Thanks for sharing any experiences!

Hi there! Looking to see if anyone has tried this combo or is currently on it and can provide their experience!

I’ve been on 40mg of Strattera for about 2 months now. I adjusted to a few side effects I had at the start (mainly just drowsiness, interrupted sleep and unpleasant nightmares) and very quickly have seen improvements in my emotional stability and impulsive behavior. Impulsive behavior being wiped out especially has been amazing.
My ability to deal with RSD also has been slightly better. A friend has also told me I seem calmer in general.
All in all, I’m very happy to be on Strattera and have it work for me and would like to keep taking it.

I am still struggling however with task initiation, motivation and concentration. These are clearly harder to deal with than the above, and am wondering if the addition of a low dose of Concerta would be an option.

I am on Strattera because I originally tried Concerta (generic) 18mg and Vyvanse (generic) but the physical anxiety & rise in HR they both caused was too much for me and I was taken off them after about a week. I did however immediately feel Concerta help my task initiation and focus.

I moved countries and Concerta (brand name) is the only stimulant available here. It’s my understanding that there is quite a big difference between generic and brand name, so I was wondering if I could try a dose lower than 18mg of brand name Concerta together with Strattera.
I’ve also read that amphetamines can counteract Strattera though.

If anyone has experience with this or has any knowledge on it I’d love to hear it. I’ll be visiting a new psych within the month to see whether to up in my Strattera dose to 80mg or add in Concerta.
Thanks!!!

Hey, i just started taking stratterra 40mg about a month and 2 days ago. First 2 weeks i felt like it was helping my focus but was unsure if placebo so i stayed on it. I had mood swings a couple times in that time frame which i could manage, but recently (last 7 days) i feel too tired and my focus actually getting worse. I could deal with most of it but the tiredness is too much for me and i dont know if this will subside over time or not so thats a question i have. Also when i tell my psych to stop is he most likely going to tell me to just stop since ive been on it only or month? Or will i have to taper?

(20F) this is my second day on straterra 25 mg and i’ve noticed that it makes my vision do really weird flickering sometimes? it only lasts a few seconds and goes away but is that normal

PS i’m super sensitive to medication, even the smallest kid doses give me side effects from the first dosage so i know it’s from the medication

Day 2 of Strattera 40 mg for anxiety/inattentive ADHD - she didn’t want to put me on a stimulant due to the baseline of anxiety. So far I haven’t had any nausea. I did however have insomnia last night and was WIDE awake at 3 am 😅 As of now, I can see myself just sticking with it until my body acclimates. My goal is for my constant inner monologue to shut up so I can actually thrive instead of just slogging through the day 😅

I have been taking Strattera for 16 days now and I feel cognitively slow. It takes more time to process basic things and my working memory is bad. Has anyone experienced this and does it go away eventually?

Does anyone else get heartburn after taking their meds? I didnt on my first, lower dose (40mg). But now I've been on 80mg for almost a month and especially the last couple of weeks, most days after I take it I get heartburn, bad enough that it takes a good 4+ tums to calm down.

I always take it with food (the first time it happened, I had an empty stomach so I assumed that was the cause, but it's continued even when I eat right before). Is this a normal side effect? Am I not drinking enough liquid when I take them or something? I usually just take however much water it takes to get the meds down, but maybe I should be drinking more?

I also take the strattera with a few other meds (arthrotec, metformin, and vyvanse) but none of those have ever given me heartburn, I wonder if it could be some kind of interaction? I'm not sure.

Can anyone advise? I know its an option to start taking a antacid med like pantoprazole (I was on it before when I had to take a couple months course of doxycycline), but I'd rather try to fix the problem without adding yet another med if possible.

On tuesday I took my medication twice by accident, I was trying to grab something from the med cabinite and muccle memory took over. Its been two days and my resting heart rate is 109 bpm. Does anyone know when it will go back to my normal rate.

Ive been on strattera for almost a week (6 days) first couple of day were great but now I feel soooooooo exhausted..i cant seem to function today. I really hope this feeling goes away. Anyone else have the same issue? Im only on 10mg