ADHD & Strattera- Here's to hope

Tracey
What other methods have you tried? Can you give me some ideas? I have parent-teacher conferences this week and would like ideas. THANKS! :)

Tracey -
I have been told that Strattera is not a stimulent med. Do you know much about it? I have just started trying to research it and that is how I found this board.

WE HAVE SEEN THE VERY SAME THING !! WHILE WE ARE GLAD FOR THE “NEW RESTFUL” STATE,….. IT REALLY IS HARD STAYING AWAKE AT TIMES. wE HAD HOPED THIS WOULD TAPER OFF,… WE HAVE BEEN ON THIS AS LOND AS IT HAS BEEN OUT AND HAVE EVEN TAKEN IT AT HALF STRENGTH, AND STILL ARE SOOOOOO SLEEPY…… RENEE

Joann,

My son ( 1st grade) also does well in school, so much that his teacher didn’t really think he had that much of a problem. He was identified as gifted, so even with attention, focusing problems he still managed to do quite well at his grade level. The thing you have to remember is that with his high intelligence, he probably should be at a level several years higher. So he might not be reaching his full potential. On the other hand, you may need to consider that highly gifted kids are often mistaken for kids with ADHD. he may be inattentive and distractible because he is bored. Hard to tell. A good psychiatrist can help figure it out.

My son was just identified in the past few months. He also has anxiety/depression issues which our trial runs with adderall xr and concerta made worse. Strattera seems to be a godsend at this point. We’ve been on 25mg for 3 weeks. He is much happier (anxiety under control) and is getting along much better socially. He is finally “getting” jokes, and nonverbal cues, so he is interacting much better with his peers. Hope this helps.

Laurie

Hello everyone!! My son started on Straterra about 11 days ago, we have forgot to take a couple of times and I think that was a big mistake. The teacher already is having a way better time with him at school. We had tried Ritalin & Concerta, which made him lose weight in the first week and I took him off of it. He is 10 years old, weighs around 90 lbs and is around 4’9”. He was diagnosed with borderline ADHD about 3 years ago and we have always been against drugs. Then this year his grade have been A & B+’s and then suddenly they dropped to B, C & D’s, so we went to the doctors and got this med. His main problem in school is that he goes to fast, very unorganized!! We have a wonderful Teacher for his main classes, except Social Studies, she is trying very hard to teach him to be organized. Since he has been on Straterra he has really improved!! Doctor made me promise to try for 4 weeks, and I already know that I will keep him on it. His grades are all up in his main classes, A & B’s, but in Social Studies the Teacher is very negative towards him & will not help him organize and he is still holding a D!!

I did forget to give to him this weekend and he had a really bad day at school today!! One nice thing is that he is able to fall asleep immediately at night! He used to lay there for at least an hour!!

I was a Pharmacy Tech before I quit to stay home and I saw all that the other drugs did to the kids and I talked to my Pharmacist and everyone likes this drug, it does take time to get the old drugs to where off and these to take effect.

Serena

My son is 11 years old, he will be 12 in 4 months, he acts as if he were going on 6 yrs old!! We have been going through family and individual couseling for @ three and a half years now! My husband and I know that it takes more than one person to help and complete the problem. We have tried everything imagineable for our son. He was diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago, among alot of other things, he has been on quite a few medicines. Adderall seemed to take the edge off, but he still had the “RAGES”, he was put on many different anti-depressants! “Our” normal houshold was turned into, not at all normal. My husband and I decided for the sake of our “5” year old daughter and ourselves, to send our son to the “Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch” completeley awesome program! This was the most hoorriiffiicc thing that a family member in our family has ever done to thier child. My sons meds were viewed and reviewed, they (FSYR) finally got his meds figured out, so we thought! Once he was home and comfortable again, he started acting out again, we still see a couselor, and was suggested “Strattera”. I need all of the input I can get even if it is negative or positive! Please, I Am A Desperate Devoted Loving Mom!

My cousin is a School nurse she dreads Mondays. She says the office is filled with headaches nausea extremely tired etc because the children are not given there meds over the weekend. We have tried something that works for us but I would suggest referring to your Doctor. we use one of the smallest doses on the weekend. This way it keeps the meds in their system and it doesn’t matter if they sleep a little later and you give it to them @ say 10 instead of 8. Works wonders for us. No more bad Mondays!!!! Good luck

THANKS Laurie -

Actually, he has been looked at being in the gifted program since he was in Kindergarten. They didn’t really know how to test at that level so nothing was done. Every year it has been mentioned, but I am told by other mothers that I need to push the issue. He was being tested this year, but because he was not organized and fidgits a lot, they (the teachers, school counsellor and school psychiatrist) thought he should not be in it until he can control this. So they called an IEP meeting with my husband and I and did the whole talk on that they thought he has ADHD. I have now been referred to an ARNP and have an appt. with her on Thursday. I’m not sure what a nurse practicioner can tell me, but we will see.

So, your son is doing well on Stratterra?

Hi! My oldest son, 8, has been on Ritalin LA and the short acting medications. He started off great! He was a completely different kid. Then after 3 months he was having trouble sleeping, lost 12 pounds,and moody. So 5 days ago he started the Strattera. He is sleeping better and not as moody, but is still taking lower doses of his other medications as they still seem to be needed for focus at school. Any suggestions are appreciated. I feel like I totally flying blind! ADHD/ADD runs in my family, but no one has ever taken medication to redirect it. It has been a long road for us and you never want to medicate your child to get through a day. I have faced so many people who have looked down on me for doing so. Even family members! I see that he is improving in school and homelife is better for us all. That is what I try to focus on, that is what is important!

Thank you and good luck to all!

Mary

My son is also a 99%er, IQ139 and in GATE. He is has Bi-Polar and ADHD. He is real hard to handle. To answer your question, YES he still can be ADHD. We are now switching to Strattera because of recent diagnois of Bi Polar and Hospitilization due to anxiety. The adderell he was on was making mood swings worse. He did fine on it for about 2 years, then it backfired. The really bright kids like your son are especially challenging.

Amanda

These rages if they are violent or long lasting really aren’t normal ADHD behavior. Have you read the “Explosive Child” by Greene? It is really helpful if you follow some of his advice. The main thing is to stay out of power struggles with your child.

Also you may want to have a new evaluation done. While I knew my child was ADHD, I also knew his behavior was way out of bounds for just that diagnosis. He began Zyprexa about a month ago and no longer rages, he is much calmer “inside” he says. He has also gained some much needed weight on it. He will be starting Strattera tommorrow, as his Pdoc took him off Adderell a while back.

Good Luck

Been on one kind or another antidepressant since my son was 3. Now I am on Serzone for last 2 years and it is losing effectiveness at high dose even. My son is now 9 and so I am kind of an antidepressant expert. I just threshold out pretty quickly on them.

Amanda

He is doing great on Strattera. We are keeping our fingers crossed because we do not want to jinx our good fortune. My son does not have too much of the hyperactivity part of ADHD, he is mostly inattentive, forgetful, can’t concentrate. For the first time ever last week, he got ready for school by himself with no reminders to flush the toilet, put your socks on, etc etc. it used to take an hour for him to get ready, because he would get distracted. now it takes 10 minutes. He also does his homework without me having to be by his side. His teacher has reported that he finishes his work and is fitting in better socially. It has also helped his anxiety alot and he says that the work is easier and he gets yelled at less. He just started back in the gifted program yesterday, it sounds like he had a good day there. (Because of the unstructured, open nature of the gifted class he did not do very well the first semester, so last quarter he stopped going). Now that he his attention is better, we decided to try it again. My fingers are crossed! Good luck!

Please as soon as anyone reads please reply…When is the best time to take strattera I just had a friend tell me that they started Strattera yesterday and they were advised by the doctor take the medicine at night right before he goes to bed. I have never heard of such. I asked if he was sure he heard right. Am i missing something is that when it should be taken….HELP>>>>

We, too, when we first started were advised to take this at night after we experienced heavy boughts of sleepiness. However, after an extensive talk with the pharmicist it’s best effects are two hours after they take it and then releases every couple of hours after that. As soon as we started taking it in the morning he experienced naseau and dizziness but that went away after a couple of days. We are in our third week and it’s been a juggling act but for the most part we have been deteremined to stick it out for about a month and things are starting to come around. The sleepiness is gone, he still takes it in the morning and feels better (we give him something to eat) and he says he feels focused. We are hopeful so hang in there!

Thank you very much. I thought the same i thought they would be missing out on the advantages (and well the purpose) of the medicine if they took it at night. Maybe it is just how they want you to start it and then they would switch over to the morning once your system got adjusted to it. Thank you so much for your quick reply. You can only imagine how much I(parents) depend on these message boards to answer our questions and concerns thanks again…

OKAY WERE NOW IN OUR THIRD WEEK. MY DAUGHTER SAYS SHE LIKES HER CONCERTA BETTER THAT SHE FEELS MORE CALM. SHE TAKES A 25 MG DOSE AND MY QUESTION IS AT WHAT TIME DO YOU KNOW WHEN TO GO TO ANOTHER STRONGER DOSE. WHEN SHE COMES HOME AT 4:00PM SHE IS MORE OFF THE WALL THAN ON CONCERTA. ANY ANSWERS WILL BE APPRECIATED. THANKS

Hi, it was so good to read your email. We just started my 10 year old son on this Thursday. So this is the 2nd day. We are very new at this, and we were so skeptical about all medications. But I am really hoping this will work for him. He is ADD, very organized and neat. But his grades are bad because of his attention. How early could you (or the teacher) see a change?

Thanks.

We tried Strattera about three weeks ago but only for 7 days my daughter hated it and she seemed a little emotional. Against all my better judgement we allowed her to go back on her Adderal (which she loves) and is very successful on with the exception of weight loss. So while on the Adderal for one week she lost yet another 4 pounds so with my better judgement i demanded that she be taken off. The doctors agreed one week completely off all medicines my daughter put on 6 pounds praise the lord her cheeks where glowing again and her eyes seemed bluer if possible her lips where pink again. The teacher had to call twice with concerns of her behavior and missing work but the glow she now has back, to me was well worth all of the calls. and if i’m being honest i actually like her little spit fire attitude, compared to the lack of attitude at all on the Adderall. So we are giving Strattera another try. we started 4 days ago on 25mg and will switch up to 40mgs tomorrow. In the days with the 25mg i notice no difference at all she is not very attentive and still very agumentative. So we will keep our fingers crossed that the average three weeks it takes to see full reflection as to what this med offers, everyone seems to mention on this message board, will be rewarding to us as well. She is a little tired, and has complained of stomach aches. But still a willing participant since we have made it clear NO MORE ADDERALL.

Hang in there as we found the first 3 weeks to be a challenge between sleepiness and stomach aches too. This is our first experience with medication but have been determined to hang in there through those first few weeks and have found the results to be very positive. I am still monitoring his symptoms daily but have noticed some postive benefits like now he is back to eating breakfast so he won’t have a stomach ache after taking his medication. He takes it willingly and has even said he notices a bit of a difference in his attention span. I will say that I do notice when the medication starts to wear off as he tends to get a little moody but nothing to drastic. Hope all works out well for you.

Just a quick update on how things are going with Stratera. My son (8) is sleeping better. Still not eating much, but we still need to use 30mg of the Ritalin LA. Not to mention the 10 mg. short acting just to get through the morning before school. In all fairness we have cut the other 2 medications in half in just 2 weeks of being on the Stratera. So I am seeing improvements in some areas. At school he is a little more active, but can still manage to focus when he needs too. He does seem a little more emotional, but as was said in an earlier posting, it is better than a zombie!! So we are hanging in there….
Good luck to all. I’m glad you are here!
Mary

We are just completing our first full week on Strattera as well my daughter 10 has been on many meds. Some work but the appetite thing is a struggle. she eats somewhat better on Strattera we are blessed that none of these meds have affected her sleep habits which are pretty good in bed by 9:30 asleep by 10 up without incident at 7:15 so all is good there. The teacher says she notes a difference (good) in her however she can tell that she has to put much effort into her peer involvement and that she (teacher) has to bring her to focus often but she responds quickly. So we are still on the fence but determined to give it the three weeks that all have posted is necessary to see the full effects or benefits. So Mary i say to you like i say to myself everyday Hang in there mom i give her a big hug and kiss and send her off sadly to what seems to be a daily challange SCHOOL. More often then not with a tear in my eye and tug in my heart. Upon her return when she smiles and says she had a good day i smile back and take a deep breath and hope for two in row. I too am glad to have the company of the board.

MY DAUGHTER (8) IS GOING INTO HER 5TH WEEK AND (25MG)
SHE IS SHOWING AN IMPROVEMENT IN HER MOOD SWINGS GREATLY BUT IS WAY MORE HYPER THAN WHEN SHE WAS ON CONCERTA. SHE SOMETIMES SAYS SHE WANTS TO GO BACK TO CONCERTA - BUT. HER TEACHER HAS NOT CALLED A CONFERENCE AND I AM GLAD FOR THAT. HAS ANYBODY CALLED ELILLY AND ASKED ANY QUESTION AND GOTTEN ANY FEEDBACK FROM THEM. ALSO SOMEONE SAID THEY USE THIS WITH OTHER MEDICINES ALSO. YOUR RIGHT THE MORNINGS ARE HERD TO GET THRU. ANY SUGGESTIONS? THANKS EVERYBODY.

Yes, Straterra can be used with other meds. My son takes it with Concerta and Dexedrine in the morning and zyprexa in the evening. I’m not sure if he will eventually be off of stimulants but I do know that we are experiencing a great deal of success with this mix. The other thing that I’m aware of is dosages. Our doctor thinks that the dosage instructions are extremely conservative. Not that he is advocating taking a zillion mgs of Straterra. He just thinks that since this is so new, that in time we will be seeing some adjustments in dosing.

We started our 8 y/o on Strattera three weeks ago. The first day he took the initial dose 18mg he fell asleep in class. The second week we thought we saw some improvement in school, more focus, less confrentational and not as easily distracted. This third week, however, has been the worst. He is not cooporating with teachers and we have had two calls about his “exploding”. We are going to stick it out for a few more weeks before we makee any changes. Has anyone else seen this type of good/bad pattern?

Well we are on week 3 and all is ok, we go to the doctor next Friday. Grades are up, all but Social Studies which the teacher still will not help him learn organization in there. We get report cards next week too! Teachers have said that he is focusing easier. But we are still having problems with him doing what he is told to do on the first time and acting right in public. I took him shoe shopping today and was so embarassed!! He tries to show off for everyone and ends up embarassing me in the long run. At our very small toy store he was off the wall touching everything and I finally had to make him leave, I have never had that much trouble with him before. We started on 40 mg and have stayed on that. The docotor is thinking about going up 20 more, I hope that will help with the hyper stuff. Is this stuff suppose to work on the hyper part???

Serena

Well we are starting our second week of full dose 40mg. My daughter goes for weight cks every friday because she has lost so much weight as we try so desperately to find a med. that works for her and does not cause weight loss. this week she lost 4 1/2lbs my heart skipped a beat. I thought this drug did not or was not suppose to surpress their appetite??? We promised to try Stattera for 30 days but 1 more lb and my 5’1” daughter will weigh 75lbs entirely to skinny her weight at the start of all these meds was 97lbs. I have been on a tear jerking weekend the littlest thing sets me off i know i must be strong for her. Any suggestions! we are trying this week to give very high caloric foods. Peanut butter whole milk shakes potatoes etc. but she just doesn’t want to eat. Soon we will just deal with the ADD and skip all drugs.

Wendy:
I loved your letter. I know it wasn’t supposed to be funny, but I had to laugh because (I think) I know how you feel. I have a nine year old girl with ADHD and every day I pray to God that I will not have a nervous breakdown! My husband has shipped out with The Military (like thousands of others) and my biggest fear was how I was going to deal with my daughters mood swings.

I have to keep it all together so I don’t cry in front of her or worse —loose my temper. I have to remind myself that she doesn’t always understand that her behavior is not acceptable. Honestly, sometimes the problems with school stem from the fact that the school would like all the children to behave well all the time and I think its not fair to expect that in an ADHD child. Also I have a problem because I have to admit that my child embarrases me ( a lot) because she doesn’t act like other kids. But that’s my problem and I have to get over it.

My daughter just started Strattera over the weekend. She was on Concerta and after awhile she refused to take it. I didn’t like the side effects—she never slept, her moods at home were really bad and she acted like a robot. I have had success getting her to take the Stattera with applesauce. It has only been a few days but I am hopeful. She is having some side effects but she seems happy over all.

My son just started Straterra and he is 85lbs. The doctor started him at 25 mg. and increased it to 40 after 4 days. He was sick to his stomach so we are going back to 25mg.for now. He was very tired at first and did not have much of an appetite but that is improving. I am hoping it will work because I hate dealing with all the problems of changing medicines.He has other problems also and is on Lithium,Celexa and Remeron. Wish him and me luck. It is not easy for him or me.

Deb best of luck…we all understand the trials of meds. Make sure he eats before he takes his meds. And arrange for a quick snack at the school nurse when he has a wobbly stomach. two peanut butter crackers, a quick can of boost. They should work with you the nasuea does pass. small meals are and more of them are best.

My daughter was on it for 2 years as a part of the study. She was taking 65 mg and she is 80 pounds. It did help her with impulsiveness but we started seeing an anger appear as she approached age 13. She also has processing problems and it did not help with this. Many people in the study went off the medication because they did not get as good of results as the stimulants. Some doctors feel this combined with a stimulant would give great results.

My daughter was on it for 2 years as a part of the study. She was taking 65 mg and she is 80 pounds. It did help her with impulsiveness but we started seeing an anger appear as she approached age 13. She also has processing problems and it did not help with this. Many people in the study went off the medication because they did not get as good of results as the stimulants. Some doctors feel this combined with a stimulant would give great results.

Stick with it…we never saw any sleepiness.JulieB wrote:
>
> I’m confused, we just recently put our son on Strattera.
> This is his first medication ever. I am finding, much like
> some other parents, that he has become very sleepy. We are
> into our 5th day and just went from the initial 40mg dose for
> 4 days to 60mg. What bothers me is I don’t see that
> sleepiness is ever listed as a side effect in any of the
> information I read but it seems to be a common thread in the
> listings here. Should I be concerned with this side effect
> or do we stick with it?

EVERYTIME I CHANGE DOSAGES FROM 10 WHERE I STARTED TO 25MGS WHERE I AM NOW - MY DAUGHTER HAS SLEPT FOR HOURS. I AM ALMOST AFRAID TO CHANGE TO A HIGHER DOSE. WHICH I THINK I REALLY NEED TO DO. WHEN DO YOU NOW WHEN TO CHANGE DOSAGES. MY 8 YEAR OLD IS 56 LBS - SHE IS ON STRATTERA 25 MGS. IT DOES NOT LAST LONG AND WHEN I GET HOME SHE IS BAZERKOOOOOO! BUT IF SHE LAYS DOWN SHE IS OUT LIKE A LIGHT. SOMEONE LET ME KNOW! THANKS TO EVERYBODY.

DOES’NT ALL THAT MEDICINE BOTHER YOUR SONS STOMACH. OR MAKE HIM CONSTIPATED? LET ME KNOW.

He has had less problems with stomach aches than when hee was taking ritalin or 72mg of Concerta. He also doesn’t complain of headaches anymore. He hasn’t said anything about being constipated.

We found our son was sleepy in the first week but it passed, hang in there. For us it was a temporary side affect.

I am a single mother with an eleven year old boy that has ADHD in a severe form. I have had him on Ritalin and Concerta which helped at first and then stopped working this year when he reached middle school. I have tried every dosage with no success and now I have turned to his pediatrician for help and he suggests Strattera. He is going to start taking it in a couple of weeks and after reading some of the other e-mails, I’ll start him on the weekend so that he can sleep at home and not in the classroom. I hope this works because I have tried everything and am at a loss and my stress level has hit the roof. I know it is not my sons fault because it is a disorder in his brain that he can’t control. The problem is that my son is a very picky eater and he consumes too much sugar ( my fault for allowing it). I will have to toss out a lot of groceries and start from scratch and I’m wondering if my son will go through some sort of withdrawal from the sugar and caffiene. He is at home by himself sometimes because I have to work 2 jobs and I’m afraid that he’ll get the goodies from his friends. If my son doesn’t stick to his new rules of dieting, will the effects of the Strattera be the same or will the sugar and caffiene counteract the medication?

PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ME THAT COFFEE DOES NOT COUNTER ACT THE STRATTERA? MY DAUGHTER HAS A CUP IN THE MORNING. I KNOW THAT OARNGE JUICE COUNTER ACTS CONCERTA. HAS ANYONE ELSE FOUND OUT THAT ANY OTHE FOOD COUNTER ACTS STRATTERA?

Hi,

What dose do you use on weekends? My son is on 18 mg once a day. Is your child on dose that is taken more than once? I could use some advice as he seems very sleepy on the weekend with current dose but not during school days (he says). EEliot

my grandaughter
has been on straterra for a short time she has the tired feeling plus she broke out in the hives can you please tell me if the hives is a side effect

my grandaughter
has been on straterra for a short time she has the tired feeling plus she broke out in the hives can you please tell me if the hives is a side effect

My son has ADHD and has also had problems with Sugar as well. Several years ago I researched the information regarding yeast and sugar etc… We did a major “detox” of his system from the sugar etc… It was hard at first and then he started feeling better. If there is a craving for sugar there is a good chance that there is a tremendous build up of yeast in the system. While I don’t believe this causes ADHD it certainly does add to the problems.

A good Naturopath might answer some questions about helping him off sugar.

Good luck!

Our 10yr old daughter (70lbs) was taking Concerta (36mg) and doing really well on it, however in January it’s effectiveness declined. Since she had not gained weight and started two ticks/habits, our Dr. decided not to increase the dosage, and instead we’ve started Strattera. We started on 10mg, and then quickly moved to 20mgs. It has been 2 weeks, and we’ve noticed: she’s falling asleep easier at night, and has an increased appetite. She says she doesn’t notice any difference between Concerta and Strattera, but the teacher and I are noticing her behavior “regressing” . She is touching and “bothering” kids and her brother again, and is forgetful. The ticks (slight vocalization and tongue movement) continue, but the Dr. says it’s still too soon for them to go away.

We remember the dramatic positive difference when she went from Adderall to Concerta, and so with Strattera were hoping for more obvious improvement. Every day matters, and her behaviors can quickly damage the social ground she has gained this year.

It’s been helpful to read entries from those of you “ahead” of us with Strattera. It seems - like so much in life - that it all depends on the individual!

SO! We’re going to keep reading these posts, and give Strattera some more time. Meanwhile, I’d love to hear from parents with children who have these uncontrolable urges to touch others, or who are stuggling with other “habits” that they can’t seem to stop (or as soon as they stop are immediately replaced with another one).

Kathyrn…our daughter is 10 too and weighs 76lbs. we have gone from concerta (didn’t work) to adderall worked great. Not only her scolastics but her social skills. She also has to be in everyones business not so much physically and taunting and aggressive aggitator. But we had to take her off because of the weight loss she started at 97lbs. 3 months ago. So we started the strattera same as you 10 mg now at 40. Spoke with her teacher last night and she said nothing is improving she is social un accepted in her class, and her attention is not focused at all her grades dropped this marking period which caused her stress. We are now on our 4th week and ready to give up all drugs. I have confirmed with her teacher that she will absolutely not be retained, plus to Sam’s benefit we have had listed as 504 student which will help. So off the meds starting Saturday. Wish me luck as my patience along with her teacher’s must increase and will certainly be challenge. Sam is not so sure this a good idea she is certain there must be some drug out there to help her. We are going to start the epson salts bath. And i may look into the Petentiated BeePollen. I need her to gain weight and i need to releive her of the weekly weigh ins amd the pressures as to her meds. It is so sad that a ten year old is so involved in meds..Keep me posted Kathryn as we have girls the same age going through the same thing…Does your daughter get very involved or does she simply do as you say…those days are over for us Sam in Emotionally and socially beyond her years her sister is 24 so she has always been accustomed to the older kids,

Hi My large 1 year old son who is adhd and bipolar tried strattera, we took him off after three days, but what a great three days it was!!! This was the child as he was suppossed to be, he was organized, confident and extremly calm and cleaned his room!!!!! That was a first!!! The down side was that he did not sleep for three nights, bummer, he is also on clonidine and eskalithe and lamictal. he was on the starting does of 25 mil. we are going to try 18 as a starter when I can find some. There were no sedation effects notice, I was most impressed and thrilled that there were no mood swings, or hyperness, and he remained stable…… good luck efveryone and let me know if this happens to anyone else,

My 8 y/o has been taking the Strattera at night and is asleep almost instantly. It has been a little more difficult to wake him up in the morning, but now most days I don’t even have to give the short acting Rialin. He still has mood swings, but he has 2 brothers and is still 8 y/o. They are definately better though.

What I am most worried about now is the fact that he is hiding food. I will give him a breakfast bar or granola bar for breakfast, just so he has something in him. Well I have been finding them after he goes to school. He is lying about eating lunch and bringing home a full lunch box. I’m not crazed about it because he will eat his lunch when he gets home and usually doen’t stop eating until he goes to bed. But I am having a hard time making him understand that if he isn’t hungry I’m not going to force it down his throat, but just need to keep track of his eating to make sure he stays health….ok 12 pounds over the last 3 months??? He is just getting so skinny!!! How do I avoid an eating disorder and still keep him balanced???? Starving himself all day and then practically binge eating all night can’t be good??? Anyone???

So glad you are all here!!!

Hi I meant to say that he is a large 14 year old boy, 185 pounds, he gained allot of weight on eskalithe and lamictal, after we gave up on adderall and depocaote, he is diagonoses with bipolar disorder adn ADHD, the strattera was so incrediable, but the thing with him being bipolar instead of just adhd was it had the oppisissite effect and there was no sleep, he did not go inot a mania or depression though. It was like a miracle, Of course we had to take him off and go down grom the 25 mil. to try again later with a dosage of 18 and we are gonna try to take it in the morning instead of night this time. He is a big boy but its not all fat, he is tall almost 5 9, a foot ball player and his dad is big. Good luck I think anyone who can take this is so lucky, i saw what my son would of been like if the wiring would of been correct, and with no ampentimines, good luck everyone, hang in there parents I KNOW how tought this is!!!

hi there, I don’t know how to help with that at all except to say to meet with someone with your sona nd discuss your eating times, my son used to crave carbs and the same thing happened, he never could eat in the day time and stuffed him self non stop at night, I think at the time he was taking adderall and depocoat, I just had to work with it, because he honest to god could not get food in his mouth during the day. Your son has lost allot of weight, i would bring it to the attention of his med doctor and lower the dosage perhaps? good luck to you, I remember how worried I was when this was happening to my son, I called his teacher to try and get some help, butnothing helped at all, I just had to let him eat at night time instead of the day time, at first my husband didn’t understand but i should him the lunches coming home every day with nothing in them, we really started eating at night time together because we could not make it with out the meds and switching a bipolar child can be terrible and frightnign and throw you back years of work, and then theres the chance they react so badly hospitalization is needed, thank god that did not happen my best of luck to all of you. :)

Michelle,

I was leary about my 11 year old daughter trying yet ANOTHER drug. She has been on Strattera for about a month now. Her teachers cannot believe that she is the same child. She pays attention in class, participates, and the continuous blow ups from frustration have all but disappeared. We are living a dream! She was tired during the first week of taking the medicine, but we switched to a nightly dose and she is just fine. Don’t let the initial sleepiness worry you, it may wear off. For her, this drug is a miracle!