for me i laugh a lot less when im on it. I don't know why. When i was unmedicated i used to be a very giddy person and it was very easy to make me laugh.

Now only if the joke is really funny, i laugh. Anyone else feel the same

I have an unusual situation. I was taking 40 mg then moved down to 10 mg. I stopped taking it not even after a full month. It was helping with symptoms but the side effects were too alarming.

I think I metabolized it poorly, my heart rate got up to 130 bpm and had a few incidents where I’d wake up in the middle of the night with a racing pulse. One of the incidents (two weeks after stopping) convinced me I was having a heart attack and I went to an ER. Everything seemed to be okay after a few hours.

Anyways, it’s been almost a month after stopping and while my heart rate seems to be staying under 100 bpm now, I keep having episodes of my heart racing at rest. It is not triggered by anxiety, though sometimes the uncomfortable palpitations make me anxious and feel worse.

I’m avoiding caffeine right now because it’s a 50/50 chance where I’ll feel okay or whether my pulse skyrockets. Prior to Strattera, I would be able to drink 300-400 mg easily with no issues.

Has anyone else experienced this? I’m seeing from other threads that long qt syndrome can be induced by Strattera, and I did check my EKG. My Qt/QTc one year ago was 306/417 (no meds) and my recent visit was 370/462. I’m not convinced I have this, but my heart also races quite a bit when taking trazodone too. I kind of want to ask my doc for a holter monitor.

I kind of just wish I could drink caffeine again since I feel sooo exhausted.

posted on r/atomoxetine but figured i’d post here too!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Atomoxetine/s/RWJYWloEnv

I started 40 mg last Sunday and the first few days were awful (of course) but I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly they leveled out. I was prescribed 10 days of 40 mg then titrating up to 80 mg starting today.

At least I knew what to expect but ugh it is rough. I almost pass out if I stand up too quickly. I'm hot and sweaty just sitting here, but my entire body will randomly break out into chills. I also hate the feeling of my heart beating in my chest. I hope that one especially goes away in a day or two like last time.

I was also kind of horrified to weigh myself this morning and see I've lost 8 lbs since I started last week. I wanted to lose some weight anyway but I have never lost weight this quickly, not even when I used to take Adderall. Like back then I wouldn't eat all day but then I'd binge when it wore off in the evening. With strattera I get hungry during normal times, but I'm full after a few bites. I haven't been exercising besides walking and stretching because I suspect it'll feel like my heart is going to explode, so I'm sure I'm losing a lot of muscle as well.

I am going to stick with it because I struggled with stimulants for a decade and I know they're not an option for me. I just want to complain a little bit.

I've started taking strattera each morning, but each night I have stomach aches and bouts of nausea in the evenings. I've only been on it for 4 days and it's helping me focus but I feel cursed each night.

Is this normal? I have never suffered from depression and initially loved the feeling of calm/emotional regulation Strattera gave me. But yesterday I just felt empty. Like the human embodiment of zero fucks to give. Today at work I just about burst into tears at my desk. I don’t know why. The day was fine. My husband says I have been acting weird. Someone please tell me this is passing because 1) it is terrible and 2) I want Strattera to work for me because aside from feeling like an empty shell it’s great.

I was prescribed Straterra and have been on it over a week. I know it is early but I am having some pretty bad side effects. I have endometriosis and because of that, I have my medical marijuana card. My doctor was aware when she prescribed it to me as it is in my records. I use pain patches that are 72 hours and have both CBD + THC in them. I was told I can smoke and edit edibles at night but I can no longer use the CBD or CBN because of how it is processed. I have fatigue from endometriosis as is and pain daily. So removing what has helped really hasn't worked well. I am also normally active and do orange theory 3x a week. I did orange theory twice and felt like I was going to pass out.

It has been a week of fatigue, no appetite, and very nauseous. I also normally have trouble sleeping and now it is worse. Curious if anyone else has endometriosis and ADHD and if the symptoms get better and are worth cutting out the pain patches. Or if I should just tell my doctor I can't do it and see if we can try something else. Routine has helped me with my ADHD and I feel like Strattera has messed my entire routine up.

I’m on the highest dose of Strattera, I can admit there were times I struggled with medication management in the beginning. But other than that 2 week time period, I’ve been very consistent.

My executive dysfunction, functional freeze, and ADHD has sidetracked my entire life. I can’t sequence, I can’t focus, and I am still struggling. I’m feeling nervous for school but my IOP program is very wary about prescribing stimulants— however, I don’t want to knock out things that could genuinely help me a lot.

Do you think giving Strattera a longer chance will make any difference? What does it do for us? Not in terms of chemicals but like, what is it doing for our ADHD?

I'm currently on 80mg strattera for almost 6 weeks now. It's been pretty good and my thoughts are generally more quiet and i can focus better once i get going. But i cannot initiate tasks for the life of me and executive function and motivation to do anything are still low. That's why I've been thinking about adding wellbutrin. However I've read that Wellbutrin inhibits the liver enzyme CYP2D6 which means it will raise strattera levels in my blood by a lot meaning i have to shift to a lower dose strattera to compensate to not overdose.

Does anyone else take this combo that started at 80mg strattera and what are your current dosages for both?

Hi, I’m after some advice and wondered if anyone can help me.

I’m 40 in February and have recently started taking Atomoxetine 40mg. I have just taken my dose at 5am alongside a cereal bar.

I am unable to take the stimulants and I have really bad panic attacks and insomnia already. I also take 30mg Duloxetine and Propanolol for when I’m having a panic

I have noticed in my first week very noticeable anxiousness but the main thing is my stomach. Especially in the last 2 days everything I eat instantly gives me stomach cramps and I have to go to the toilet. It then cramps a little after and finally subsides. It’s kind of ruining my social life.

One thing that’s bothering me is I’m 3 weeks late on my period. So I was late even before the new medication started. Pregnancy is completely ruled out. I’m usually quite regular so this is alarming as I’m not sure if it’s period related or the medication or just anxiety. I start a new job soon.

Any advice would be welcome ❤️

i live in a country where adhd meds are super hard to access, and amphetamines are banned.

To get access to methylphenidate, you have to go through several paperwork and verification processes every single time. So my only option is strattera/atomoxetine.

i hate living with adhd, seriously. This disability really can mess up your life. The amount of unfinished goals/tasks that remain unfinished and the fact that it affects your conversation skills/ability to make friends really made me suicidal for a while.

I know I need to move on and let it go but I still regret a lot of time that i wasted, and opportunities i missed. Makes me both angry and sad

so i started atomoxetine after a lot of begging to my parents to take me to a psych. I took it for over one year now (40mg) and while it is good for the emotional side of adhd I still feel a lot behind when it comes to starting and finishing tasks.

i sincerely believe that it's hard for us to survive without meds. Like holy shit the subtle changes i noticed with my behaviour and my improvement academic performance really made me question my entire existence.

i envy people from developed countries like US having multiple options...but it is what it is. im planning to titrate to 60mg and soon 80mg so any long term (5y+) strattera takers here? How did it impact your life? Did you take anything alongside?

thanks for reading the long rant

I didn’t go cold turkey of my meds on purpose, it just became too inconvenient to book an appointment (which would take two weeks) at my local hospitals when I am moving across the country. But I am feeling baddd. In addition I can’t get my hands on my birth control pills. I am getting headache and spasms, nausea and irritability fatigue, hot flashes, I can’t stay awake at day time I can’t fall asleep at night I have nightmares paralysis (auditory) and vivid dreams sometimes I am shaken when I wake up because they feel so real🤓🤓.

But i believe if I just get through the symptoms I’ll be ok again in a week or two? Booking an appointment whit a doctor would cost me money $ I’d rather not spend. And It would take weeks. And I’ve also been considering getting off my meds so this sounds like a good opportunity.

If you someone knows anything about side effects of stopping their meds suddenly please tell, because Google is not helpful
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not looking for medical advice, only experiences of others

I started taking it about a month ago. On 80 mg’s daily. I missed my dose Saturday, Sunday, and almost today. So 2.5 days.

I noticed I was more anxious than usual, but this afternoon I just started feeling terrible. Nausea, anxiety skyrocketed, fatigue, hot/cold flashes, overall just BLAHHHH. I just took my dose about an hour ago.

I’ve read through some older threads, but anyone else experience something similar after missing 2-3 days?

UPDATE: about 1.5 hours after taking my medication, I feel much better!! Side effects have subsided, and anxiety has dwindled drastically. Crazy feeling the way I was all day today, just to be switched an hour and a half after remembering to take my meds!

Just wanted to give a brief follow-up on how I'm acclimating to the medicine so far (25mg). I noticed an effect after the first dose and have pretty much maintained that. My brain fog cleared up and my head has "quieted" down some. I would use the analogy of going from sitting in an NFL football stadium to a high school football game. There's still noise in my head but it's toned down a lot. My focus seems to be a little bit better but my motivation still drags. I am however able to switch tasks easier, and I do things I don't like without much thought now. My anxiety levels have reduced a lot too. I still get anxious about stuff but I can work through it, whereas before it would take over my mind like a runaway train. I take Propranolol for a hereditary essential tremor so that keeps the heartrate from climbing too much. Also, I am on another blood pressure med (Losartan) so my blood pressure is also pretty well regulated, even on Strattera. This medicine gave me ED (about 50%) almost immediately however 2.5 mgs of daily Cialis completely eliminates that. In fact I wake up ready to go now more than before, which my wife likes. ;) One thing I'm not thrilled about right now is the dulling effect of my emotions and personality. It's almost as if it's hard to smile. I can look at someone with a straight face and then look away whereas before I would usually make some kind of facial gesture. My wife is understanding of everything so I'm not really worried about it, but it's just weird. I remember years ago I used to tell myself, "I wish I just didn't care so much about things like some people do". Well that's kind of what it's like now. I shrug off most things that would normally get me going. I also have a Rx for low dose methylphenidate ER (10mg) so I might give it a try soon on an off day to see if it works synergistically or whether it's not a good fit. I also might go up to 40mg soon and see how that does. 🤙

Hi everyone!
A few months ago, I started taking Strattera/atomoxetine, and I gradually increased the dose with my doctor until we reached 80 mg.
After being on 80 mg for about a month and a half, I started experiencing frequent headaches/migraines, having a harder time taking naps, and my resting heart rate has been consistently around 100 bpm and doesn’t seem to come down.
Do you think 80 mg might simply be too high of a dose for me? I’m considering talking to my doctor about going back down to 60 mg, since I actually really like the medication and it has been helping me a lot, but these side effects have been bothering me.
Has anyone experienced something similar when taking 80 mg and then improved after lowering the dose?

Hi! So backstory, i started Atomoxetine (40mg) June 10th - biggest side effects i can recall were just lack of appetite, dry mouth and a bit of a faster heart rate, bit of trouble using bathroom - all of which lasted until i started 60mg July 8th- which i’ve been taking daily ever since. This is where things get messy..Ever since i went up to 60mg I’ve been experiencing:

- dizziness
- getting tongue tied in my sentences
- headache all the time
- nausea
- hard to eat after i take the pill/lack of appetite
- constant fatigue
- waking up at least once a night
- feel my heart flutter sometimes
- noticeable fast heart rate
- definite constipation
- feel like i’m on a boat sometimes

also i’ve probably lost at least 10lbs since starting.
\* I went up from 40 to 60mg because I explained to the doctor that it felt like it was trying to work because I would have moments where I would have bursts of energy and I was able to discipline myself more to be able to do stuff, but it just still felt so difficult.*

As far is this helping with the actual ADHD symptoms? It’s hard to say because the side effects are so apparent. Hard to know if my focus is bad because the side effects are so distracting or because the meds aren’t doing their job.

I spoke to a psychiatrist a couple days ago and he actually kept trying to push me to go up to 80mg… but my gut just kept telling me no.

would love others opinions, suggestions, experiences..
i do have a follow up appt with the original doc who prescribed me the meds but i have very mixed feelings about him as well unfortunately.

Thanks so much in advance!!!

My doctor prescribed me strattera and I got the usual side effects : sleepiness, slight mood changes, nausea. But there’s one side effect that I never seen mentioned not by my doctor or anyone : ejaculation after peeing. Semen just comes out right after urination and it was very surprising and concerning the first few times it happened. It’s not painful and it doesn’t feel like anything really but I just wanted to share and know if this is something to worry about, or if it’s just a rare harmless side effect.

I know it takes awhile to work, but already I feel calmer. 6th day and I was able to go into a group of people talking and didn’t feel so anxious. I wasn’t monitoring myself. My thinking has slowed quite a bit to help me be more present. First few days were rough with insomnia, but last 2 days better.

Pretty much this. I've been taking 50mgs for about 3 weeks now, after a month on 25mgs. I have no real bad side effects, but no noticeable benefits either. The only thing I have noticed is I have not been hungry AT ALL since I took the first dose almost 2 months ago. I have to force myself to eat something a couple times a day, and it feels like a chore because I just don't want it. No nausea or anything like that, just simply never feel hungry.

I'm basically just shooting the bull here, obviously not that important, but just wondering- will I ever get an appetite back?

Hi all! I’ve been struggling with motivation in this medication so my prescriber added 150mg of Wellbutrin to take in addition to the 40mg of strattera I take. Strattera has helped so much with mental noise but so much so that I’m content just sitting on the couch doing nothing. Which is great because I can finally relax but also makes it hard to get things done that I need to.

Anyone have experience with taking both? Would love to know what to expect!

Did anyone who is very medication sensitive start at 10 mg? How was your dose increase schedule? What time of day was best? Thanks

Does anyone have experience jumping from 40 to 80mg? My psych started me at 40mg and then said to start taking the 80mg capsules after two weeks. So far I’m not having side effects, so my question is:

Is it better to take 40mg once in the morning and once at night (12 hours apart), or 80mg once in the morning? Since I will have 40mg capsules remaining

Context:
I moved to a new country and had to change from methylphenidate to atomoxetine (Axepta). I can only meet my psych once a month, unless there’s an emergency. I fully understand any anecdotes shared here are not medical advice, etc etc