r/StratteraRx

Context: 29 M. 190 lbs

Have inattentive ADHD. Was on Vyvanse for like 7 years throughout high school and college. Was life changing. Worked really well, until I started to get bad side effects.

Been off of it for 5 years…been doing OK and have been managing OK, and feel like my ADHD has improved a lot. But I still have symptoms.

Last year I got a new psychiatrist and tried Wellbutrin XR, which was rough and had a lot of side effects. My new psychiatrist wants me to try Strattera as he is hesitant to prescribe stimulants for long term use. He didn’t rule it out, but wants me to try Strattera first as apparently he’s had other patients have success with it.

Most of what I read here is really negative. For those who have taken Vyvanse previously, how does straterra compare? In terms of how it feels, etc.?

Doc wants me to start on 25 mg

Finally found a combo that works for me. Strattera has been amazing for my ADHD. Literally nothing else has been as effective for regulating me and keeping me organized. I've added Wellbutrin for task initiation which has certainly done the trick. I'm just balancing them because bupropion makes Strattera more potent. I was at 80mg and because of Wellbutrin I've had to come down to 10mg (I'm a slow Wellbutrin metabolizer).

For context I'm on Wellbutrin SR 300mg/day (200mg in the morning and 100mg early afternoon). When I tried 25mg of Strattera I got chest tightness and trouble sleeping along with a higher heart rate at night. At 10mg those mostly went away and I still get the emotional regulation benefit.

Would love to hear from anyone willing to share their experience:

· Is anyone else on Wellbutrin SR 300mg daily?
· Has anyone had side effects on Strattera at doses as low as 25mg?
· Is anyone taking around 10mg of Strattera and getting emotional regulation benefit?
· Does anyone need a dose that low because of cardiovascular or heart rate side effects?

TL;DR: Strattera is the best thing I've tried for ADHD and Wellbutrin SR 300mg fixed my task initiation. Because bupropion boosts Strattera levels I had to drop from 80mg to 10mg (slow Wellbutrin metabolizer). Anyone else on a combo like this or a dose this low?

Male 42 yo. I started Strattera for the first time in my live 7 days ago. 25mg. It work immediately and it is very strong. I probably didn't have any dopamine left so my body reacts very prominently indeed. Never felt anything like this. I kinda feel more focused and balanced, and can get my shit together, wow, but:

Unfortunately I get so called Hemifacial Spasm (Face Twitching) below my right eye which is very annoying, a headache, and a dull ache in the liver area which I didn't have before. It is difficult for me go to the doctor unfortunately to check on it

I am thinking of quitting and exploring other non stimulant options.

Can anyone advise me what to do? Have anyone had anything similar? Did it disappear over time?

I'll be glad to hear your thoughts..

Hi! I started Strattera 18 mg two weeks ago, while already taking 30 mg Prozac for OCD. I’ve been taking it for two weeks and it has given me insomnia, the 20 mg hydroxyzine I was taking to sleep has stopped working so I slept maybe an hour last night. Strattera has already improved my ADHD symptoms a lot and has been really helpful and I would be hesitant to try another med since the pharmacist said I would be more sensitive to actual stimulants. Any tips to try to get through this and get some sleep until hopefully the insomnia goes away?

This medication has been life changing. If I just stopped taking it for a month, my life pretty much falls apart. I still have to put in effort but it takes less energy.

Before (without Strattera), making the bed, doing homework, going to work would’ve been. Would’ve wiped me out.

Now (with Strattera): grocery shop, do laundry, make appointments, go off schedule, get some homework done, meal prep. I still have energy left

BUT: I still sleep terribly, I have sweats at night, my heart rate is about 10 BPM higher, I have erectile dysfunction, and I feel empty sometimes.

Hi. I’m at 60 mg and I feel like I need coffee 3 times a day to avoid crashing and unproductivity. Anyone else? This includes my morning coffee, and then 2 more coffees to avoid a crash around mid day and then late afternoon.

Is this a sign of needing to increase dose, or that I need a combination of meds? I’m asking since I find my doctor (not a psychiatrist, as I don’t have access) tends to be a bit passive in our appts so I like to try inform myself so I can suggest ideas or ask about different approaches.

I think the plan is to keep increasing and do you think increasing to 80mg should resolve this or that I need something else ?

Has anybody taken a stimulant with Strattera?

Backstory: I was dx’d with anxiety in early 20’s and have been on 100mg of Zoloft. Last year I got an ADHD dx and started on Strattera. I feel like my anxiety is basically gone, but I still can tend to feel such executive function overwhelm and some dysregulation.

Would adding in a stimulant help? Or upping any of the doses?

I’m on 80mg of Strattera.

I’m trying to find out whether anyone else has had a similar experience with atomoxetine/Strattera.

I started very low-dose atomoxetine (5-7 mg) and soon afterward developed a very specific sensation I had never experienced before: pressure behind my eyes and in my head, a kind of “veil” or thickness in my thinking, light and screen sensitivity. It didn’t primarily feel like a headache or anxiety.

I stayed on atomoxetine for about 9 months and stopped more than a year ago. The symptoms improved after I went off but never fully disappeared. Every morning, about an hour after waking up, the sensation starts. I feel pressure or a weighted sensation behind my eyes and light sensitivity. Screens and attemps to focus seem to make it worse. Occasionally I also experience eye spasms. The symptoms can improve with deep breathing or relaxation techniques, but they can come back.

A psychiatrist recently suggested that this might be an atypical migraine disorder and that the timing with Strattera could be coincidental. I’m pursuing neurology/headache evaluation, but I’m curious whether anyone here has experienced anything similar.

In particular: Did you develop head or eye pressure, light sensitivity, brain fog on Strattera? Did it continue after you stopped? Did anything help?

Day 3 on 25mg. 4 days ago I was on 150mg bupropion then switched to strattera. Day 1 was great my head went silent, I could do stuff and had the best sleep of my life. Yesterday?! TERRIBLE. Couldn’t do SHIT and felt miserable (I was scared of the mental health drop). Didn’t do shit. Ate two meals if you can even consider that a meal. Today is day 3 feeling okay. Do you guys also get the tickles across your brain when it starts to work? It feels like ASMR tickles that „walk“ over my brain. Also my pupils are DILATED AF.

I have to continue writing my bachelors thesis and I’m technically three weeks behind (changed my topic bc the bandwidth of my plan would’ve been between a masters or PhD💀). But my motivation is gone. Scared to drink coffee but ig here goes nothing?
I know it needs to work in and most people stop shortly before it reaches its full potential but ughhh it annoys me

Edit: first two weeks I’m supposed to take 25mg then go to 50 for another two and up to 75mg if necessary

Would it be silly to Cold Turkey prozac and start 40mg atomoxetine on the same day? Will I be suicidal in the first week or two? anyone have experience with switching from an ssrin to atomoxetine?

I have been taking Strattera 60 mg for two months now and I'm not sure if this helping.

Does Strattera and ADHD meds in general help with boredom? Executive Dysfunction?

I wonder if Strattera is being dampen by taking Zepbound. Plus I just started highest dose of Zepbound two weeks ago.

Does anyone have any experiences with taking these two meds together?
I’ve recently been prescribed both. I have started with agomelatine and am going pretty well on it at 25mg, although I would say my critical thinking and memory isn’t great (1 week in).
I would also like to hear from anyone who has experienced the sexual side effects of Strattera. I’m yet to start taking the med but have heard some negatives. I am starting on 40mg.

Hi,

I would like to hear experiences if someone experienced severe anxiety and depression in the beginning (as a side effect), but had success after it?

I am on day 10 with atomoxetine. Started with 25mg but I got so anxious we decided to lower it to 10mg 4 days ago. I have tried concerta and elvanse before, and both got me over stimulated and anxious. I have also felt quite depressed since starting atomoxetine.

I got diagnosed with ADHD a few months ago, and have also GAD and panic disorder. Also suffer with social anxiety. I had so much hope that non-stimulant would be a better option for me, but somehow it feels very stimulating as well.

I am also on 5mg Brintellix / Trintellix. Could not stand a bigger dose as I am very sensitive overall.

Thanks for sharing any experiences!

I took my 1st dose yesterday afternoon and two hours later my anxiety spiked like crazy on top of it completely killing my sex drive it had me feeling all drowsy today. Is this normal?

So, my brain is usually so full and stressed from not being able to finish tasks. But, ever since I started with the drug on 10 mg and titrated to 18 mg(current), my sex drive is up there. It’s like, now that there’s room to feel all of my emotions, there’s also room for desire and it feels amazing. I’ve always had a higher sex drive but it also felt so tangled with anxiety and a little scattered. This feels like I can actually embrace it.

Anyone else had that experience? I had a serious peak especially in the first few days with the drug and then it settled to a steady feeling.

I’m on day 3 of taking 40 mg late morning. I’ll be good for awhile (but kinda brain foggy) then exhausted to where I need a nap mid day. Then I’ll be wide awake randomly in the middle of the night 😅 Does this usually improve after a bit?

I’m switching to Strattera due to excessive muscle tightness from Adderall XR, I’m wondering if the muscle tightness from Strattera is more “manageable” than Adderall XR muscle tightness? I’m just collecting anecdotal information so plz share your experience if you’ve used both.

I've been on Strattera for a few months, working my way up from 10mg to 40mg. I have noticed some improvement, especially around task initiation and finding systems to help me stay on top of things. I even feel more like my chaotic thoughts feel more organized and like I'm better able to have one thought at a time. I have only forgotten my son's school water bottle once, a huge achievement 😅 I don't feel the total mental clarity some people describe, but I do feel *some* improvement.

BUT!!!! My biology is completely broken. My boobs are a mess of pain and weird, "letdown" tingling sensations like I had when I was breastfeeding. My periods are heavier and longer. My PMS anger is so bad that I literally feel like a completely different person. And now I'm spotting in the middle of my cycle, which has never happened in my entire 30 years of being a menstruating person.

I just don't know if it is worth it to continue down this path. I already have such extreme health anxiety, and these new things don't cause the kind of anxiety a "normal" person would feel. I don't just think "Oh, this must be a side effect of Atomoxetine" (which it might be) or "this might be the beginning of perimenopause" (which, at 38, is totally possible). Instead, my brain leaps straight to "I have breast cancer and colon cancer and probably stomach cancer and uterine cancer, too, and I'm probably going to be one of those people who found out she has a terrible incurable illness on a Sunday and is dead by Tuesday."

I know it's not rational. And I'm honestly not even sure what I'm expecting by posting here. Just tired, I guess. This felt like my last chance at trying to feel what "normal" people feel, and it's disheartening that my body has rejected every anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, and ADHD medication known to (wo)mankind.

Day 2 of Strattera 40 mg for anxiety/inattentive ADHD - she didn’t want to put me on a stimulant due to the baseline of anxiety. So far I haven’t had any nausea. I did however have insomnia last night and was WIDE awake at 3 am 😅 As of now, I can see myself just sticking with it until my body acclimates. My goal is for my constant inner monologue to shut up so I can actually thrive instead of just slogging through the day 😅

Hi there! Looking to see if anyone has tried this combo or is currently on it and can provide their experience!

I’ve been on 40mg of Strattera for about 2 months now. I adjusted to a few side effects I had at the start (mainly just drowsiness, interrupted sleep and unpleasant nightmares) and very quickly have seen improvements in my emotional stability and impulsive behavior. Impulsive behavior being wiped out especially has been amazing.
My ability to deal with RSD also has been slightly better. A friend has also told me I seem calmer in general.
All in all, I’m very happy to be on Strattera and have it work for me and would like to keep taking it.

I am still struggling however with task initiation, motivation and concentration. These are clearly harder to deal with than the above, and am wondering if the addition of a low dose of Concerta would be an option.

I am on Strattera because I originally tried Concerta (generic) 18mg and Vyvanse (generic) but the physical anxiety & rise in HR they both caused was too much for me and I was taken off them after about a week. I did however immediately feel Concerta help my task initiation and focus.

I moved countries and Concerta (brand name) is the only stimulant available here. It’s my understanding that there is quite a big difference between generic and brand name, so I was wondering if I could try a dose lower than 18mg of brand name Concerta together with Strattera.
I’ve also read that amphetamines can counteract Strattera though.

If anyone has experience with this or has any knowledge on it I’d love to hear it. I’ll be visiting a new psych within the month to see whether to up in my Strattera dose to 80mg or add in Concerta.
Thanks!!!