RE: Strattera

Hi sheila,
Why would you do both Wellbutrine and Straterra? I can share a lot of advise on Strat, we have been on it for well into 5 months now. It’s not like the other meds and there are a few tricks I have learned and passed onto others that can really max the bennies. It is easy to think this stuff doesn’t work, doctors aren’t familiar with it, perscribing it wrong and not forwarning parents about somethings. But the stats are in and it is working very well for children and adults, 70% is the current number.

Strattera has antidepressant properties, but it is not like wellbutrin. My son took wellbutrin for 4 months and it was …OK but I think it more made him not care that he couldn’t pay attention, rather than actually help his focus. My personal opinion is that Strat kicks wellbutrin butt! We were on three, count em, three meds at one time. Now the Straterra does it all. Never thought I’d see the day when he was only taking one med. It is a very very nice med if it works for you, compared to the other options.

Good luck!

Rebelmom, my son is on Adderall Xr, and has problems falling asleep so the Doctor wants him to try Strattera. I am probably going to try him in the summer when school is out. What are the advise and tricks do I need to know when we start?

I had wanted to try Strattera before Adderall Xr but the insurance will not pay for it till we try the stimulants.

Thanks for your help

Hi linda,
Yes, I went through 4 stimulants before they allowed us to go with nonstims. We really only tried two, I faked giving the rest. He did not react theraputically to them and changed his personality. I didn’t need to see that more than two times. Even the lowest doses caused his tics to worsen.

His neuro is great and allowed me to play around with the administration of the med. If this med doesn’t work for your child, nothing I can tell you will change that. But I’ll share some of the info I have passed on at other boards that has almost always succeeded. I’m glad to pass on this information because there are many childen who cannot be helped by stims and many children who are on stims that are suffering effects they might not have to.

First; this isn’t a med you want to start in the middle of improtant times in their lives. I highly recommend starting in summer. You can have results in 4 days or up to 6 weeks. Usually it is 4 weeks to see consistant full effects. It can, temporarily, make kids hyper and emotional and angry if they are med sensitive or coming off amphets. There are also side effects in the beginning as the liver learns how to handle this med, the first few weeks.
Second; The target dose should be 1.2mgs for every 2.2 lbs of body weight. If you aren’t good with formulas, you divide his weight by 2.2, then multiply that # by 1.2. That will give you the mgs you need to work up to. I am constantly shocked at how many scaredycat doctors are perscribing low doses or that they up it like stims to see better results. You can read much of this in the script insert. A low dose has almost no effect except bad moods, a high dose can cause rage and a dangerous game to play with a childs blood pressure. This is not like the other meds, there is only one right dose and it is completely size dependant. There are no increased effects over 1.8mgs per 2.2 and very poor inconsistant effects on less than 1.2mgs.
Third; Children and adults as well need to start on low doses. They recommend 4 days, at a starting dose, I say 8 from my experience. I also recommend the fisrt two weeks be given at night, before bedtime. In the beginnining most kids have extreme lethargy and stomach aches a few hours after taking this med, not things you want happening at school for two weeks. At night, they sleep through this and any other side effects. Don’t beleive that you can give this on an empty stomach. I recommend a high Carb meal! Don’t let the side effects deter you, they go away 95% of the time and only return when they are sick and run down or very tired from too little sleep or take a main dose on an empty stomach..
Contrary to Eli Lily’s claim, this is not an all day med. It wears off the important symptoms by 5-6 hours, mostly hyperactivity and impulsiveness so don’t expect to see results until you go to administering this in the morning. It does seem to help focus most of the day, but its irrelevant when you have some fast forward sitcom going on everyday by 2:30. That brings me to my next tip.
Once you are up and running on target dose and seeing good results, split the dose for one before school and one after school. This not only prolongs the positive effects until bedtime, but really gives a boost to the day over all. I recommend the morning dose be the larger. For example, my son is 58lbs he takes 25mgs in the morning and 10 after school. The 10 mgs alone would do nothing, but what a wallop it packs as an addition. It almost seems to wake up or bring back some of that morning dose. We were very happy with the results of one dose and would have gladly settled, but our neuro recommended this and what a difference it made! This tip is the one I get the most thanks on as it really makes a huge difference. If you have an experienced doctor, he may even perscribe it this way without you asking. It is becoming a very common trend as people learn more about this.

Just some warnings. If you miss a dose, give it asap! My son isn’t very sensitive but gets emotional if it’s even 3 or 4 hours late, especially that morning dose. Remember it has antidepressant properties. Also, if I give my son the second dose any later than 4pm, he has nightmares all night long, I mean all night! My theory is that if it is still at an effectual level in his system, what would normally be a fleeting tangential series of dreams has the power to develope into a nightmare. He never had nightmares before (rarely). Lastly, if your child has been on amphets for some time, watch the weight gain on the Strat! Some kids are eating themselves right into needing a higher dose and just as they reach 3-4 weeks when they should be having results, parents are mistakenly thinking the stuff doesn’t work. Keep an eye on the weight.

If you are still having trouble with activity levels, I have met many people using very low doses of stims along with it, just to pick up the slack. This med is very mix friendly with the exception of some asthma meds and Inhink allergy meds.

If you see any positive effects in the first week or two, that is a good sign. Stick it out. If you don’t get to 4 weeks on the target dose, you never really tried this med, and you could be cheating your child out of a very nice, side effect free treatment. My most favorite thing about this med is that it changed nothing about his core. He is now the boy who has been stuck inside himself all his life and he is very very happy to be out and about and in control of his brain. It has helped in all areas, academics, sports, family, friends, self esteme, everything. Still it doesn’t overpower him, he still has good days and bad days, happy days and sad days. It doesn’t define him like the other meds we have tried, it just sort of released him. I have only stopped crying about a month ago.

Thats all I got, I think. I’m not crusading against Stims, I know they help many many kids, I must admit they helped my son concentraite great at school, but there was a stranger living in our house and he was miserable, we all were. I think there are a lot of kids out there like mine, and this is a great alternative. For a long time, we have been stuck envying the kids who were helped by stims. Now there is something for us, too. Plus they eat and sleep and grow on this stuff. I can’t think of three more important things my kids need to do.

Good luck, I hope there were more people interested in my tips than you, this was one heck of a long post.

I am soooo happy for you rebelmom. It sounds like it’s been a long haul. By the way, how long did you “fake” using each of the stims and how did you get your child to go along with the act? I’m really disgusted with these insurance nightmare stories.

Wow!!! Rebelmom, you really know your stuff. I want to thank you for all of the great info you just gave us. I started my 8 yo son on strattera a few weeks ago, all is going great (even got a positive phone call from his teacher). It was just great to read all of your info rather than a bunch of medical mumbo jumbo that doesnt mean much. From you it was all “user friendly”. thanks again. jodi

Ha! My son was sooo PIT at that point, you couldn’t really expect him to be able to remember whether he was taking red, blue and white, or yellow pills and for how long and when last. “Going along with it” was his life, that’s all he ever knew. I just picked up the phone in a few weeks and said the side effects were the same as the first two. I had a great neuro who admitted I knew more about my son’s particulars than she and she trusted me. It wasn’t my insurance that gave us the problem at first. It was her, Strat wasn’t out yet, we were too late decideing to med to get in on the trials. She said the alternative to stims weren’t as effective and we should try the amphets first. We both felt my son was an excellent candidate for Strat but we needed to buy some time. We ended up with Well butrin, not bad but nothing like Strat. Yes, my insurance wouldn’t cover the Strat, but my neuro called and demanded they approve it, explained the failure on the other meds, and that was the last time I had a problem. Still, I would have gladly payed the fortune for this stuff if I knew then what I know now. Ask your doctor to make a stink. You might find it’s that easy.

Thanks Jodi, We did a big study on another site. I posted a questionaire for kids who Strat worked for and then another for Kids it failed. I owe all the info I have to all the parents who posted on those boards. It was a huge effort on everyone’s part. This was a site for parents of kids with ADD, like this one, yet we had Adults joining and posting just because everyone was so starved for information on this new med. I started the posts in early February and beleive it or not it’s still being posted on, kids and adults. At the end of march, I sorted through all the posts and posted a results board. It didn’t tell much, but dispelled myths like “this only works if you aren’t hyper” or “if stims worked for you, this won’t”. There is no more rhyme or reason behind who this works for than any of the other meds. The best thing that came out of it was the tips, and the things we learned from each other’s experience. Both boards are still going strong with “worked for” leading the pack by far and away. I’ll have to do an update on the results boards soon. I’m glad I could pass on the info over here.

I have a daughter with JRA so we’ve had some trouble as you might expect but I more disgusted than ever to hear the stories of the moms at this site.

We’re looking to try Strattera this summer.

We’re limited in the stim options - of 4 meds tried only Concerta works. DD has been on almost three years but lately I’m not crazy about what I’m seeing in her. I really hope Strattera works for her.

Right now, we gotta get through the 4th grade state exams. I feel changing meds now, especially one with a long trial/build-up period would be cruel to her - risking what has helped her so tremendously this far.

Thanks so much rebelmom, What great info. We will try the meds in the summer. Can you tell me which board you had these discussions, I would like to checkin and maybe give some input when we try the meds.?

Thanks again for your help. It helps me know not to panic when I see side effects and not to give up.

Rebelmom, where is your posting boards at? I would really like to help you out with what changes I have seen in my son. Feel free to e-mail me directly. thanks, jodi

I’m am so glad I read your message. I started my son on Adderal just for three days, couldn’t stand the thought of him on it. Started him on Strattera. Was on it about 6 weeks seemed to work pretty well .He couldn’t stand the taste fought me every morn. Horriable! He can’t take pills yet, Also very sleepy. I took him off about 3 weeks ago. I’m just in denial. I need to put him back on I liked hearing about the night time doage. And also 25mg morn and 10 afternoon. Do you think I should keep him on it for the summer. He will be tutored 2 days a week during the summer. Any heplful hints on drowning out the taste.

The best taste hider I have found is chocolate syrup. Are you opening them? If so, be careful. I called Lily and they said inhaling the powder can cause seriousy resp. problems. Pills are a pain, when are they going to make childrens meds in liquids or patches? We learned pill swallowing practicing with M&Ms and TICTACS.

My doctor recommended to keep on in the summer but suggested lots of sun lotion? There might be a sun/skin effect. No biggy, we are fairskinned so it’s already a habit. He will be going to summer school and spending a lot of time at the beach/pool. This med has really helped him develope friendships and improved sports. He is very very happy, the whole family is in a good place right now. I’d be afraid to change anything about the our recipe. If we had growth to catch up on, I might consider it. Also, the night time dose is a great discovery. So simple, it’s stupid the doctors nor the makers thought of it. But if he is responsive early to it, there could be nightmares. You have to weigh the least evil. My son cannot function well without sleep (not to mention mom is a b***ch without enough sleep. I’d rather he lay down a nap everyday than keep me up all night.

Still, I recommend waiting till the last day of school to start/change meds. If your are going on vaca within that two weeks, wait till after that, even. We had a breeze taking this, with effects in 4 days on the starting dose, but I read more often that it’s a very hard med to get up and running on. And if it’s not the right med, it’s a big waste of time put a kid through this, thats the stinker. I just wished the doctors were more forthcoming with people about what to expect, so parents wouldn’t get discouraged so early on. It makes you wonder where their loyalties lie. I mean if a few dozen moms on msg board are drawing more accurate conclusions than the doctors, something is a miss.

The forum where we are sharing a lot of Straterra info is on ADHD.com. I’m surprised more of you aren’t over there. I’m sure you have seen the site. It’s a hard site to miss when doing any search on ADHD. But I think the Forum might not be well presented on the home page, not quite a secret, but not too touted. Here is the exact addy directly to the forum;
http://adhd.com/forumhead.html

This forum has several boards. One for meds, edu, behav, soc skills, triumphs, natural alt, related disorders etc… Set up this way, it keeps people with different views/concerns out of each other’s hair. There is a lot of hand holding and only gentle butt kicking, usually, LOL! The Moderators are VERY much present and in control, but very unbiased. You will find LOADS of posts about Strat on the med board. The info on Strat alone has attracted many new members. The good thing is, you will find the Good and the Bad, very unbiased. You will read how it hasn’t worked for some and how it has for others, people who hate it and those who love it. Lots of first hand experience is better than anything your doctor could tell you. If you know what to expect, it makes starting this therapy a little less troublesome. I am Millermom over there and try to stick my nose into most of the Straterra posts, but the expertise is growing rapidly, and I often find my advice already given by another Straterra parent. But I’m glad to see so many kids/parents finding this med and using it right.

Summer is agood idea, This stuff might not be working until schools out anyway, at this point.

Thanks a lot for the post. I will try splitting the dose and see if I notice a difference. My son and I both are taking Straterra with excellent results. It’s been a miracle for both of us.

.
thanks again

Rebelmom, I went on the netsite you gave and got alot of interesting info. Thanks. I do have a question though. I read a mom was taking her kid off Strattera for the summer vacation, wouldn’t that be like starting all over again when she puts her kid on it again for school. I noticed when I either take my son off Adderall Xr or even lower the dosage some of his side-effects came back (stomach pains) the next day for a while. Have anybody actually tried taking the summer of Strattera and putting the kid back on for school and have the same success?

Linda,
They say you can just stop Strat cold turkey. But after seeing my son miss a dose or two, I’d be weening him off over the course of at least two weeks. It’s an anitdepressent! We have to be extra careful with kids. Then getting back on will take another 4-6. You are right. I don’t see the point. For what? 2-3 weeks with the med totally out of your system? My son is very happy. Not that he was unhappy before, he was kind of nothing before. But he likes being happy. I like seeing him happy.

Thanks so much for the info, Rebelmom! My 14 year old daughter’s doctor just prescribed Strattera for her, to start this summer, and I was so glad to read your post and all the excellent info! She is currently on 36 mgs concerta and since it is working well for her she didn’t want to switch meds right before final exams. She can be teenage cranky…maybe Strattera will help all around? I hope so. We will see. Doctor was anxious to try the Strattera with her even though the concerta was working…I wonder why?

Thanks again for the info!

Thanks rebelmom, that’s what i thought. I hope you don’t mind but I posted your advise on the Schwablearning.org to help some of the mothers there. One in particular has alot of problems with medication for her son - tics developed etc. but she is scared on Strattera. I thought your great experience with it and your advise would help alot of people who don’t know enough about it’s quirks and would give up too quickly.

I am very grateful for you help and don’t feel as scared about trying it out now. I am still waiting to hear from the doc if he got approval from the insurance company. If so, I will let my son try it in the summer.

This is what made this board sooooo great. Helpful, productive folks. Many thanks for the strattera tips- we are also waiting for summer to give it a try.

Dear Sheila,
My son is currently taking Strattera and Wellbutrin. He was diagnosed with ADHD when he was almost 6. He started with Ritalin and it worked well until he was 11. We kept increasing the dosage with little results. When he turned 13 we changed doctors and he was put on Depakote along with time release Ritalin. We kept increasing the Depakote but there was no inprovement with that after trying it for seven months. We switched doctors again and she put him on dexadrine along with Wellbutrin. The Dexadrine had little affect. I, too, have wondered how much his age and hormones have to do with all of this. Anyway, the doctor started my son on Strattera shortly after it was available. He takes 100 mg. a day but I don’t think it is a high enough dose because my son is big. He is 5 feet nine inches tall and ways 200 pounds. According to his weight he should take 120 mg. but the highest recommended dose is 100 mg. and so the doctor won’t prescribe more. He takes Wellbutrin along with it. I can see some benefits of these two together, but we still have not acheived the results we had gotten with Ritalin when he was small. After a year and umpteen changes I am baffled as to what to do next. I think the doctor is stumped too!