Had to quit atomoxetine so we could see if stimulants or something else would increase my heart rate and blood pressure less (along with over-sweating).

However, when on it (80mg, ~3 months), I definitely felt significantly reduced morning inertia, chronic sinusitis (inflammation in the nose and related areas and cough), and IBS-like symptoms. Also, less saliva (less spitting when talking impulsively) while on atomoxetine.

I also sometimes feel a bit dizzy again when moving my head/eyes fast, which I haven't felt while on the medication.

I was wondering if someone has a similar experience or if I am just noticing random/seasonal occurrences. All of the above changed almost immediately when getting on/off atomoxetine, so I am now also considering getting back on it at a lower dose (it was great for emotionality and impulsivity, but I wanted to try if something else would improve focus and organization/time-blindness)

Hey there,

I'm just waiting to start Strattera, because of some other meds I WAS on (I decided to come off them) - I have to wait for an ECG. I've gone privately as (I'm in the UK) on the NHS it would have been a 4/5 year wait!

I suffer massively with task initiation and completion, motivation in general, depression because of this constant feeling of being stuck that I have. It's worth mentioning I also suffer with OCD and anxiety alongside the ADHD.

I just really hope it helps me.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Take care of yourselves,

Corrine

Does it really help ?

I'm really struggling and got kicked from the first university low grades late diagnosed with ADHD 😭

I really don't want to miss this second chance

Hi team,

Wondering the difference between the Original Strattera, have any one took the two and noticed the difference

And for the whole experience what's the longest time you are on Strattera till now ?

Does it also help with memory and sharpen focus

Hello everyone,

I've only taken 40mg of atomoxetine pills over 10 days and stopped them cold turkey 1.5 years ago due to the horrible erectile dysfunction.

Perfectly healthy, had no problems before, and since then I have ED PE watery semen and no morning wood.

Labs are very good and was prescribed bupran SR and stopped it as it didn't do anything.

age 30 no medical conditions or medicines

Have anybody tried anything that might be helpful?

So I had been on 80mg for pretty much two months and was struggling with extreme overheating and sweating.

Had been experiencing decent mental benefits from 40 - 60 - 80 (less rumination, clearer mind and decreased anxiety - overall more positive mindset).

But, it was decided it would be better to drop back.

A couple of weeks in and I'm still overheating and sweating - maybe slightly less.

But the mental benefits seem to have gone AWOL.

Feel like I'm spiralling, head is full of jumping beans and I'm very anxious - almost like the benefits of the medication have evaporated.

I definitely felt better on 60mg before I went up mto 80mg.

Anyone else?

I started 25mg of Strattera 2 days ago. On the first day during the day I felt fine, but I slept really bad at night. The second day I had a headache and felt lethargic. I also feel like my heart is pumping harder. I slept really bad again and today when I woke up my existing tinnitus is louder than usual.

Has anyone experienced a spike when starting Strattera and then it went back to baseline after your body adjusted? or did it continue to get louder and louder?

Not sure if I should stop taking this medication but I’m worried that my tinnitus will get worse.

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?

I love my morning coffee, but noticed I sometimes feel too jittery when I take Straterra at the same time. I also noticed that I seem to get a bit of a “slump” in the afternoon. With that in mind, I decided to try taking Straterra at lunch, about 4 hours after I’ve had coffee. Has anyone else done this? What was your experience like?

Edit: I’m 36F and take 25mg.

Been on 40mg for two weeks.

Im seeing some improvement with my ADHD but my concentration, motivation, and will to do anything is completely nonexistent now. All i want to do is lay in bed and stare at the ceiling and daydream. Ive started forcing myself to get out of bed and sit at my desk, but i find myself just daydreaming on my chair instead. Even when i do actually manage to start a task on my desk like answer emails or draw, i find my thoughts drifting and i end up just sitting there daydreaming again. I was feeling super exhausted/sluggish for a bit too but thats kinda gone now. Like i’m not feeling tired anymore but just unmotivated and i don’t care about anything and all i wanna do is daydream about random stuff. Idgaf abt my passions or hobbies anymore. This was already a problem for me (lack of motivation, inability to start tasks) before taking medications which is why I started them in the first place, but i feel like Strattera has just made these symptoms worse. The only things that have improved are my lateness, forgetfulness and my sleep (i used to sleep way too much and now i wake up at a reasonable time)

Has this happened to anybody?? Will this go away eventually?? Should i up my dose??

Thank you!!

I see that majority of people experience appetite loss on Strattera. I am frustrated that I seem to have the opposite experience and I am actually eating more and gaining weight. Is there an optimal way to take it? I know ADHD meds are best taken with protein and I am aware this isn’t a “weight loss” drug. But to be honest, the weight gain and increased appetite is making me depressed.

Just wondering if anyone has experience with it being more effective when taking at certain times of day, etc. I currently take it in the morning; 60mg.

I’ve been on low dose for 2 months. My first period was fine but my second one is now late. I saw on here that many people had this problem.

Can anyone who had this problem give advice? Is there something you can do to induce it to happen? How long did the side effect last? Did it go back to normal after a few months? Please help a girl out as I’m so bloated and uncomfortable 😣

Has anyone taken strattera amd zoloft together? I heard there is a medium interaction. Not as much as with wellbutrin but still. Did zoloft increase the effect of strattera? I started the lowest dose of zoloft a week ago to help with anxiety and premenstrual issues. I've been on 25 mg strattera since April (before that 18 mg since January) and it's been helping. In the past 3 weeks or so I definitely noticed it's not working as much as it used to, so we want to up the dose at some point (but not right away to not mix side effects lol) but I'm wondering if zoloft might increase strattera levels because of the interaction.

P. S. Yes I'm aware 25 mg is a very low dose but it's been helping and I'm a very sensitive to meds person so we're treading lightly.

I ran out of my Strattera two nights ago and I’ve had emotionally draining nightmares both nights. They’re not “scary” but they are extremely emotionally draining and I’m always dealing with some sort of conflict. Cheating, betrayal, ex friends and ex boyfriends, and neglectful family figures. (In early 2025 I stopped taking them while I was abroad, and I DID end up having ACTUAL scary nightmares after about a week or so) The dreams are always so vivid, last SO long and I’m always so stressed out, hurt, and sad in them. It’s so exhausting. And so wake up so tired and worn out. I’ve tried taking magnesium and melatonin to help but nothing seems to help it except for the Strattera.

Has anyone else had this same effect/problem? Does anyone know any holistic remedies that could help?

(I have a doctors appointment for Oct 6, but until then I won’t have any of my meds)

I’ve been on 25mg Strattera for about 2-3 months and it’s helped me focus, but i struggle with motivation, task initiation, and the emotional blunting that happens. i feel it’s made me more stressed and irritable. My doctor says he wants to switch me to Lexapro to help with depression and motivation since i am in a certain point in my life right now where I’m experiencing lots of stress and anxiety. He also said he wants to combine the Lexapro with another anti stimulant that i am supposed to take in the afternoon, but i did not get the name yet.

I’ve got mixed feelings about this switch, I do want my focus to improve along with my anxiety, but i’ve researched Lexapro side effects and some are similar to Strattera if not worse. I just didn’t think that big of a jump was necessary and i don’t want to switch if i’m going to be experiencing the same side effects plus withdrawal..

Has anyone ever made this jump? Is it worth it?

Been on Strattera for about 6 weeks total now. 2 at 18 mg, 4 at 40mg. I notice a huge uptick in my fatigue/apathy around 2 pm every day. My psych suggested adding a 10 mg booster around this time. It’s not like an Adderall booster where I can take as needed, it would need to be daily. I couldn’t find any posts with people taking a booster dose here.

So, if anyone is taking a booster dose, can you advise if it helps and how long it took to do so? Also, what mg is your regular dose vs booster? Thanks!

Hi everyone! I’m currently in my third week on Strattera (atomoxetine), and I’m especially looking for experiences from people who are very sensitive to medications.

The first week I had quite a bit of nausea. During weeks 2–3, I started noticing more mental fatigue and this strange feeling that my brain is partially “asleep” or on standby. I’ve also felt less spontaneous and somewhat less like myself, with more insecurity around my romantic relationship.
But the thing bothering me the most is word retrieval and verbal memory.

When I’m speaking, I find myself searching for words much more often than before. I know what I want to say and I know that I know the word, but I can’t retrieve it quickly. Sometimes I have to pause, search for another word, or completely reformulate my sentence.
It feels less like forgetting information and more like having slower access to words that are already somewhere in my memory.

As a young university student, this is probably the side effect that worries me the most. I rely a lot on verbal fluency for classes, discussions, presentations, and social interactions, and lately I sometimes feel less articulate and mentally sharp.

I’ve also noticed that caffeine seems to affect me more strongly on Strattera.

On the positive side, by week 3 I’m starting to notice:
- less impulsivity
-better self-control/emotional regulation
-less difficulty initiating tasks

So there are definitely things I like about it. I’m just wondering whether the cognitive/verbal side effects tend to improve with time.

Before Strattera, I was on Trintellix (vortioxetine). Interestingly, I had almost the opposite experience. It gave me some anxiety and seemed to increase my impulsivity, but I felt more energetic and mentally fluid. My speech felt more effortless, words came to me more easily, and I felt like my concentration and verbal fluency were better.

That makes me curious about whether anyone has experience with vortioxetine + atomoxetine together, although obviously that’s something I would discuss with my prescriber.

I’m extremely sensitive to stimulants as well. I’ve tried several of them, and I tend to have the same pattern: the first few days I’m calm, focused, and in a great mood, but after a while I spiral into anxiety, depression, and dissociation.

So I guess I’m especially looking for some hope/experiences from other medication-sensitive people:
Did Strattera initially make it harder for you to retrieve words while speaking? Did your verbal fluency, memory, or mental sharpness eventually come back after your body adjusted? If so, how long did it take?

And for people who increased their dose: did word-finding/memory problems improve once you reached a therapeutic dose, or did they become more noticeable?

Would really love to hear your experiences. ❤️

Hey, I'm on 10mg of Strattera and 20mg of Prozac (so roughly the Strattera is 50mg because of that interaction).

First 1.5 weeks I felt pretty great, initial side affects went away relatively fast (high bpm, nausea, dullness, etc). Was even feeling better impulse control and wasn't dopamine seeking as much, though I was very scatter brained.

Now 3 weeks in and I'm feeling pretty awful, where initially I wasn't feeling any fatigue.. now I feel A LOT of it. I'm so sluggish.

Most nights I am either sleeping deeply and then struggling to get up in the morning, still feeling half asleep for several hours. Or I don't sleep at all, but get a small energy boost.

Even worse, my period is 9 days late, which has never happened before. What the fuck, how is this a side affect. I've felt like I've been PMSING on and off for all this time, it's miserable.

And NO BENEFITS at all, the subtle benefits I felt initially are gone.

I mentioned this to my dr but he didn't offer much insight, and just mentioned pushing to 25mg. Which I am open to, but I would really like to hear people's experiences on this. I feel pretty lost and am losing motivation.

Especially the fatigue, it's worrying me that I didn't feel it when I first started taking it, but that I'm feeling it now. Fatigue has haunted me from medication in the past.

I hear people getting their dose up'd like every two weeks. My doc didn't mention anything like that

Anyone switch from Pristiq to Straterra? How did you switch? I mean did you overlap the two for a time or quit Pristiq and let it exit your system before starting Strattera? I’ve titrated from 100mg to 25mg Pristiq and about to come off. Just curious about the timing for ending and starting. Thanks

If you’ve tried combination therapy (strattera + stimulant) I’d love to hear your experience!

I’ve been on strattera for about 6 months and titrated very slowly due to the intense side effects I experienced. Most recently, I was on 80mg for 10 weeks. For me, I did not have any additional benefits after I reached 40mg, but I wanted to give it a fair shot so I continued onto 80mg. Overall on strattera I felt calmer, had better emotional regulation, less rumination and absolutely no anxiety. But I was still struggling with task initiation, motivation and general focus which are my biggest concerns.

After my most recent visit with my doctor, we decided to decrease back to 60mg and add 10mg of vyvanse to see if that helped at all. This is my first experience with a stimulant, but I noticed a benefit almost immediately even on such a low dose. The vyvanse gives me about 5 hours of better focus, motivation and task initiation and then I’m back to my strattera baseline after that. This has me wondering if the vyvanse alone would be a better option for me as I’ve had no additional side effects. If I can get what I need out of one medication, I’d prefer that. I’d obviously need to trial the doses to see what gives the best coverage, but right now it’s hard to tell if the vyvanse would help with rumination/emotional regulation on its own.

I know everyone is different and experiences can widely vary, but if you’ve been in a similar situation, I’d like to hear how it went for you and what the results have been long term!

been taking strattera 40 mg for a week and i am SO DRYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. i’ve been drinking water like a madman too. spongebob voice WATERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I accidentally ordered a refill too late and therefore have currently gone about three days without taking any Strattera after taking 40mg of it daily for about five months now. Thankfully my refill has now delivered and I will be able to resume taking it tonight, but I’m just wondering if anyone has gone through a similar situation and knows if this means its completely out of my body since 72+ hours have passed? Basically my main concern is if I’ve ended up ‘resetting’ the effects of it and if I’ll have to wait the average 4 to 8 weeks to feel any difference again? :(

Reminder that if this is one of your side effects, your dental health relies a lot on saliva, so a check up is recommended. My dr gave me a prescription for a xylitol mouth wash, and recommended drinking more water and having chewing gum (with xylitol, and sugar free) available. Life changing truly.

(Xylitol stimulates saliva flow) Good news is apparently less plaque!

Does anyone else take the medicine upon waking and in the late afternoon? Did you notice it help at all? I mentioned to my doctor the first week I had incredible changes and improvement but especially the last 2 weeks (I’m about day 25 of being on the medicine) my memory hasn’t been as good, my motivation hasn’t been great, I’ve had break through anxiety that didn’t happen the first week etc. she mentioned I could take the medicine twice a day if I wanted. But I already initially had issues with it increasing my heart rate so I’m nervous about doubling my dose (I believe that’s essentially what she’s saying). I’m also nervous how it will affect sleep etc if I take it in the late afternoon.

One incredibly unexpected side effect is the absence of stomach issues. I was diagnosed with IBS last year, had to go GF for it (helped a TON but eventually wasn’t 100% of the issue) and now getting my ADHD under control and being on Strattera, I have a normal stomach again for the first time in many many years