Considering Strattera?

We did a huge poll on another site regarding Strattera. Here is the information that came out of it. With Strattera gaining so much popularity and working so well for so many, I thought I would copy the information here for LD’s members.

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.