Stattera

My son and I both are on Straterra with good results. It’s been since February for my son, and since April for me.

Straterra doesn’t have as pronounced or obvious results as an amphetamine, but the plus is that it is with you all day. This was a godsend for homework— we used to have a “beat-the-clock” thing every night. I’ve noticed that some days it seems to work better than others, but I can’t point to any specific cause for the difference.

If it’s only been since the end of June, and there are no unbearable side effects, I’d be inclined to stay with it. It can be a month or more until it’s fully there. If you find that it isn’t enough for schoolwork, it can always be supplemented with a low dose of Adderall. Another thing to check is the dose, since Straterra is prescribed by weight guidelines. My son had to increase from 40 mg. to 60 mg. even though he was a little under the weight at the time for 60 mg. Also, check the timing of the dose. Both of us were told to take it in the AM, although I’ve heard that splitting the dose between morning and evening has a good effect for some.

ashelton, how much does your son weigh and how much Strattera is he taking. This med is very weight dependent, too little they get whinny/moody, too much they get rages. I have pasted a post that Rebelmom posted sometime ago about starting Strattera which you might find helpful.

Quote:

Our collaborated effort to collect experiences on Strat has turned out some fantastic information even our doctors aren’t giving. Thanks to everyone who took the time to share thier experiences, I think it’s safe to say, we wrote the book on this Med! Anyway, I realized on some other boards that there were loads of people planning on switching to Strattera over the summer. I wanted to post the tips we have learned and shared with each other, not just for the newer members, but for the older members who don’t want to wade through the dozens of posts. Of coarse I cannot post it all but here are the biggies;

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. If you don’t get to 4 weeks, you haven’t tried this med and put your child through an ordeal for nothing. Impulsiveness and hyperness are sometimes the last symtoms this kicks in for. So hang in there.

Second; The target dose should be at least 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 moodswings, a high dose can cause rage and is 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 in the middle of the day 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. If they do not go away, unfortunatley, this might be the wrong med for you.
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.

Fourth; 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. If your child is not happy and has negative personality changes, again, this may be bad news.

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. Plus it really worsened hi tics. 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 people interested in what we have learned, this was one heck of a long post. Thanks again to everyone who shared their tricks and everyone else who tried them and gave them a thumbs up. I hope our combined efforts help some parents find that this is the a great alternative for their child.

Unquote:

Hope this helps.
Thanks again Rebelmom for putting together all this valuable information for us and the time you take to answer our questions.

How is Strattera given? Is it a capsule or a tablet? My Ped. is thinking about changing Kyle from Adderall XR to Strattera, depending on what a new evaluation. I like the Adderall XR because I can open the capsule and give it with a spoon of applesause. Not sure how Kyle, 8, would do with learning how to swallow a pill. We’re monitoring Kyle’s weight (50lbs) closely and will make a determination after his evaluation with a new psychologist who specializes in ADD/LD kids. Unfortuneatly our Ped. couldn’t get us an appointment until September, a month after school starts. Just trying to relearn my options, he did well on Adderall until spring, when his teacher said he was back to not finishing tasks well.
Anyone have a crysal ball I can borrow to see which way I should go?

[quote=”Orwell”]How is Strattera given? Is it a capsule or a tablet? ]

Strattera is given in capsule form, and you can open it but do not breathe in the powder.

Aah, if we could all have a crystal ball, it would be wonderful and less stressful.

Thanks for speading the gosple about Strattera Mayleng! The latest thing we have learned from other parents on other boards is that there is a delicate balance in what works for the child. Somewhere between 1.2 and 1.8 mgs for every 2.2 lbs is “just the right dose”. A mere 5 mgs can make or break this therapy in some children. Unfortunately, this med is only currently manufactured in 10 18 25 40 and 60 mgs. Hopefully Eli Lily will make this in 5 mgs soon and since it isn’t a narcotic, it might be a candidate to be in a patch form.

There is the concern that , this med being so new, might hold some unknown long term effects. This is a concern of mine, I hope my son will not need to be on this too long, I mean to say I see him compensating for his “deficits” more all the time and hope he will not need meds into adulthood. I believe I am setting good habits and raising him in a way that will prepare him for the world the way he is; Funny, brilliant, weird, very interesting, beautiful and extremely different that anyone I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. They say there is no indication that this med would cause any problem, being taken long term, as it is a very very close copy of Prozac, which has been prescribed and used as a long term treatment for a long time and there is no statistically significant problems with Prozac’s long term use.

Thanks for all your help in Stattera sideeffects and dosages. According to the formulation, my son needs 8 more mgs. of the med. Should I talk to the doctor about giving him a 10 mg. capsule with the 40 mg. he’s already taking? He is taking this at night and I’m also wondering after reading rebelmom’s posting if most of it is wearing off before morning. (?) He is not hyper but has the more inattentive, daydreamy, scattered symptoms of ADHD. As a result of the med. he has become more verbal and interactive with us and better about expressing his feelings verbally instead of just getting frustrated and shutting down emotionally. We have seen a few incidents of whiny behavior that is uncharacteristic for him now (but how he acted sometimes a year ago) - argumentative and not listening to reason. How much of this is med and how much of this is maybe a recession in behavior is the hard part to determine. I too am nervous about this brand new med especially since he has not been on anything since 4 years old. Every weird thing that he does makes us wonder!

[quote=”[email protected]”]Thanks for all your help in Stattera sideeffects and dosages. According to the formulation, my son needs 8 more mgs. of the med. Should I talk to the doctor about giving him a 10 mg. capsule with the 40 mg. he’s already taking? He is taking this at night and I’m also wondering after reading rebelmom’s posting if most of it is wearing off before morning. (?) He is not hyper but has the more inattentive, daydreamy, scattered symptoms of ADHD. As a result of the med. he has become more verbal and interactive with us and better about expressing his feelings verbally instead of just getting frustrated and shutting down emotionally. We have seen a few incidents of whiny behavior that is uncharacteristic for him now (but how he acted sometimes a year ago) - argumentative and not listening to reason. How much of this is med and how much of this is maybe a recession in behavior is the hard part to determine. I too am nervous about this brand new med especially since he has not been on anything since 4 years old. Every weird thing that he does makes us wonder![/quote]

You could try giving the 40mg in the morning and adding the 10 mg in the early evening. Or split the dose evenly in the am and pm. That way you have the 24 hour effect.

My 8 yo daughter has a phobia of swallowing pills. This summer I told her that she was getting to big to take liquid medicine and that many medicines a doctor may prescribe might only come in pill form. I told her learning how to swallow a pill was part of growing up. She seemed to buy into that. We started practicing with mini M & M’s. A good trick a pharmacy frined of mine told me. Let the child drink liquid from a straw first hold the liquid in the mouth - don’t swallow. Slide the pill between the lips and tell the child to swallow the water or liquid. This takes the focus off the pill. This has worked like a charm. I reward her with a piece of her favorite candy once she swallows the M&M. After a month of this I am planning to try to introduce straterra. Cross your fingers.