I have an 8 yo son that has been on Strattera for almost 5 weeks. The first day we noticed a change. He had not been able to eat or sleep while on Concerta. When we made the change he started eating again and went to sleep very easily. I sent 3 notes to his teacher to ask her to keep me up to date on how he was doing at school, I also called her. I never received any notes home from her and during our phone call she told me that he was improving with both his work and behavior. Then his daddy started working nights,4 weeks ago (usually on days). Today I got a note home telling me that David has been having trouble staying on task and 8 of the last 15 days he has had to “pull a stick” (this is the system that they use to chart the behavior in class) during class. David has always been truthful with me when I ask what color it was before, but now he is not telling me. I don’t know what to do. How do I decide if it is the change in meds, daddys work, the end of the year or just the weather. I dont want to make a decision without checking everything out first, I just dont know what to think. I would really love to hear any suggestions that you have. I need all the help I can get. Thanks to all that post here and to the postmaster for keeping this wonderful board alive. Jodi
Re: I need help with Strattera
Hi Jodi,
If he won’t talk to you, it is going to be hard to rule out if it is dads new schedule, Or something else entirely that he is not sharing with you, so go over the meds again. Are you sure he is at the proper dose? Has he gained much weight since he has begun eating good? Could he be needing an additional few mgs? Is one part of the day worse than another? Maybe he needs a boost dose during school hours. If he has come to an inbetween weight for dosing, go a little over rather than a little under. I mean, if his weight gain called for an additional 4-5 mgs, go with another 10 instead of waiting for him to reach that dose need. My son’s weight calls for exactly 31mgs. Rather than stay at 25, or do 3X10mgs, I went with 35mgs. It made a huge difference.
Jodi, go to adhd.com member forums under medication. Rebelmom who knows alot about Strattera has posted alot of good info there plus there are alot of kids on the board that are on strattera. You will get alot of info there and good advise.