u/TKHrizz

I’ve been taking 80 mg of Strattera (atomoxetine), and I’m wondering if anyone else who trains regularly has noticed changes in how they experience intense exercise — both mentally and physically.
I’ve always been a very active person and have trained hard and consistently for around 16 years, including both cardio and endurance training. Before starting Strattera, I was usually very good at pushing through the mental barrier during hard workouts.
When things became extremely difficult and my mind was telling me to stop, I could usually override that voice and keep going. Sometimes probably to a fault.
Since starting Strattera, however, I feel like I’ve developed a kind of mental barrier that I didn’t have before. My threshold for giving up seems much lower. When I want to push myself during a hard session, it feels like my brain is much more likely to tell me to stop rather than allowing me to push through the discomfort like I used to.
I’ve also noticed some physical differences during high-intensity training.
Before Strattera, when a workout became extremely hard, I mainly experienced it as normal physical exhaustion. I could push through it, and although I was exhausted afterwards, I generally felt good and recovered normally.
Now, during very intense sessions, I sometimes feel like I can’t reach the same level of intensity or max heart rate that I used to. It can feel almost as if my body isn’t able to handle the same workload anymore. My heart feels like it’s working very hard, but instead of just feeling like normal intense exercise, I can get an uncomfortable feeling that almost resembles high blood pressure or pressure in my body, and it becomes difficult to sustain the intensity and breathing for a prolonged period.
Another difference is how I feel afterwards. Instead of the usual “good exhaustion” I used to get from hard training, I can sometimes feel slightly sick or unwell during and after the workout, and remain drained for quite a while.
I’m also noticing that Strattera seems to affect me differently depending on the day and on how I take it.
For example, if I’ve trained and eaten a good meal before taking it in the evening, I often feel fine and don’t seem to notice much stomach discomfort or a strong medication effect.
On other days, especially if I haven’t eaten much or have had poor food intake, I seem to notice the medication much more. My stomach can feel unsettled, and it almost feels like my gut is sending signals to my brain that something is wrong. I can then notice a certain level of uneasiness or anxiety and become much more aware that I’ve taken the medication — whereas on other days it can feel almost completely neutral.
Has anyone else on Strattera experienced anything similar, particularly people who do regular endurance/cardio or high-intensity training?
I’m especially interested in hearing about:
Changes in mental drive or ability to push through discomfort
Lower exercise tolerance
Difficulty reaching previous heart-rate/intensity levels
Feeling unusually unwell during or after hard workouts
Differences depending on food intake or when you take Strattera
Whether these effects changed over time or improved after adjusting to the medication
I’m not necessarily saying Strattera is definitely causing all of this — I’m just curious whether anyone else has experienced a similar change after starting it, especially at 80 mg.