Re: strattera

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

I don't have much personal info to report (we just started it) but

my daughter's psychiatrist did tell me this week that he has had many, many

very positive reports from his patients, and also several who were

disappointed, BUT he said that they had been using it for only about 2 weeks.

He said it's very hard for parents to live through the month or so for it to

work well, since they are used to quick relief with stimulants.

Perhaps you will just have to remind the school LOUDLY that he is on

a new med and it may take several more weeks (you might as well give them the

longest possible time until relief hits so they'll leave your son alone!) for

it to really work.

I hope this helps. Hang in there!

[Guest guest]

My daughter went off adderall on Jan.6 and on straterra-one a day for the first

3 days,now 2 every am.(along with prozac and geodon)We went from no change to

getting up in the middle of the night and rearranging her bedroom-also her

handwriting got worse-now she seems to have evened off and seems to be doing

ok.She`s trying really hard to get to school everyday(usually 2 hrs late)but at

least she`s getting there-and staying awake.We are giving this new med a chance

to be the miracle drug they say it is!Let`s keep our fingers crossed for our

kids!!!!

--

On Thu, 30 Jan 2003 16:32:59

c panaro wrote:

>My 11 year old son is being tried on Strattera -coming off Ritalin.(for

>adhd)( He is also on Paxil for his OCD).Does anyone have experience with

>Strattera? So far nothing is happening -I'm losing hope-but it's only

>been one day on the higher dose. I just have such trouble dealing with

>all the negative feedback from the school -all the notes stating all the

>things he did wrong all day! They KNOW he's transitioning! I'm a nervous

>wreck over this. Thanks for any info,

>

>

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[Guest guest]

:

My son has been on Straterra for about 3 weeks (40 mg in the a.m.). Not until

we got to the 40 mgs did we see any positive results. Teachers are saying he is

able to concentrate better and is able to stay calmer during frustrating times.

One thing we've noticed is that he seems more impulsive, talkative, hyper and is

making annoying noises . I've noticed that there have subsided somewhat (notice

I said somewhat) over the last day or so. I am hoping that the longer he takes

this med some of this will disappear.

So hang in there and give it some more time. I think I'd talk to the teacher

again and explain what all is involved in changing meds -- hopefully she/he will

be more sympathetic.

Good luck.

Tamra

strattera

My 11 year old son is being tried on Strattera -coming off Ritalin.(for

adhd)( He is also on Paxil for his OCD).Does anyone have experience with

Strattera? So far nothing is happening -I'm losing hope-but it's only

been one day on the higher dose. I just have such trouble dealing with

all the negative feedback from the school -all the notes stating all the

things he did wrong all day! They KNOW he's transitioning! I'm a nervous

wreck over this. Thanks for any info,

[Guest guest]

Hi , how about a note from your son's doc to his teachers, explaining the

med change and how this may affect behavior and school performance for awhile?

Sometimes hearing this from someone " official " works better than just hearing it

from Mom--no fair, but there it is.

His teachers may know he's changing meds but they apparently aren't

understanding how this may temporarily affecting his behavior.

Call his office in the a.m. and explain the problems your son is having at

school, see if he will go to bat for your son.

Take care & good luck,

Kathy R. in Indiana

----- Original Message -----

From: c panaro

My 11 year old son is being tried on Strattera -coming off Ritalin.(for

adhd)( He is also on Paxil for his OCD).Does anyone have experience with

Strattera? So far nothing is happening -I'm losing hope-but it's only

been one day on the higher dose. I just have such trouble dealing with

all the negative feedback from the school -all the notes stating all the

things he did wrong all day! They KNOW he's transitioning! I'm a nervous

wreck over this. Thanks for any info,

[Guest guest]

Dear Cheryl,

Wow - I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience with Strattera. For

what it's worth (for others out there) our child psych. has found that most

of his patients' OCD has improved slightly since adding Strattera. He said

that it was " expected to do that " since it targets the norepinephrine system

which is thought to be involved with OCD. I don't know what he read that your

psychiatrist didn't, or whether he is going on theories that have not been

tested, but I thought I should throw that out there.

My daughter is now on the target dose of 40 mg. and we have seen

nothing (so far!) except much improved school work and a new calmness that is

just heaven for us! It is probably too early to relate it to the Strattera,

but whatever it is, we're enjoying it!

I hope you find a solution for your son soon. I know ALL TOO WELL

how hard and frustrating it is to find an ADHD med that works without sending

your kid's OCD over the top. For the past two years we have had to more or

less decide which disorder we wanted to treat, since we really couldnt' do

both. We have focused on keeping her OCD under control as most important,

since SHE is miserable when the OCD is bad, and WE are miserable when the

ADHD is bad. Basically, we decided to trade our peace of mind for hers.

That's why we are pinning so much hope on Strattera!!

Best wishes to you, and lots of {{hugs}}. I hope things improve soon.

P.S. Did you try modafinil? (brand name Provigil) It is also not a stimulant

but used to treat narcolepsy (and keep fighter pilots alert on long

missions). It helped Annie's ADHD quite a bit - but not enough - but did not

affect the OCD. That was what we tried first because our psych. predicted

that stimulants would cause her troubles.

[Guest guest]

Thank you to all who responded re my son and his Strattera/Paxil

situation and OCD, ADHD. It has only been one week on the 40 mg of

Strattera so I do think it's too soon. Our doctor really really wants us

to give it a good shot because he believes it can substitute for BOTH

Ritalin and Paxil. Today was the first day we have begun to lower the

paxil because we think it is really disinhibiting him since he no longer

taked Ritalin and the Strattera hasn't kicked in yet. I am so afraid of

this touching behaviors coming back! I guess if they do we'll have to go

back on the Paxil. At least it works! So many of you shared that Paxil

did nothing for you. Isn't it astounding how meds work for some and not

others? Thanks again for your helping words,

[Guest guest]

-

My 10 year old son, , was put on Strattera by his psychiatrist 2

weeks ago. He was started on 10mg. and increased to 25mg. in 2

weeks. Last Friday the psychiatrist upped it to 40mg., which is the

target dose for his age and weight. We started the 40mg. on

Saturday, and by Saturday night his OCD was so severe that he was

basically immobile. He was having so many intrusive thoughts and

disturbing obsessions that he was overwhelmed. He was also back to

hurting himself by hitting, scratching, etc. He was so terrified

that he would " throw up " that he just stood in the kitchen and cried

and wouldn't move. He finally sat on the couch with me for the rest

of the evening, and freaked out when I tried to get up at any time.

The same thing happened again on Sunday. We contacted his

psychiatrist first thing Monday morning, and she said it sounded like

he was experiencing a " rebound effect. " We stopped the medication

altogether, but he is still reeling from side effects of the

weekend. Interestingly, one of his teachers talked to me on Monday

and said that she and his other teachers were calling for a

conference because for the past 2 weeks has been MORE

distracted and self-absorbed. Obviously, Strattera is not a good

medication for him. His psychiatrist told us that all of the studies

done with kids show positive results for treating ADHD, but none of

the studies included kids with OCD. I would advise great caution,

and I hope you have better results than we did.

Best of luck.

-Cheryl in Ohio

> My 11 year old son is being tried on Strattera -coming off Ritalin.

(for

> adhd)( He is also on Paxil for his OCD).Does anyone have experience

with

> Strattera? So far nothing is happening -I'm losing hope-but it's

only

> been one day on the higher dose. I just have such trouble dealing

with

> all the negative feedback from the school -all the notes stating

all the

> things he did wrong all day! They KNOW he's transitioning! I'm a

nervous

> wreck over this. Thanks for any info,

[Guest guest]

Wow Joni,

I'm so glad to hear that someone else believes that Strattera might

help with OCD. I was hoping that our pdoc wasn't just trying to be positive

(because he said that right after I challenged him to say something,

anything, optimistic about Annie's future!!). I really hope it helps .

We are going to try to quit the Risperdal in a month or so after we've seen

what Strattera does for Annie. She hasn't gained weight or gotten sleepy on

the Risperdal, and it has done wonders for her OCD, but I'd still much rather

be on two meds than three!!

Stay in touch!

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone!

I've been reading with great interest these threads on Strattera. To

my surprise, , 11 (OCD, TS and Moods) - and *not* AD/HD - has

been prescribed this medication for his OCD and TS!! We are in the

process of weaning him off the Anafranil (an SSRI) and will start the

Strattera at 40mgs for four days and then up to 60 mgs after that. (60

mgs because he's a big boy at 160 pounds - the Risperdal put quite a

bit of weight on him) .

Apparently, in clinical trials of Strattera (like stated) showed

a significant reduction of OCD symptoms in the patients! Our doctor

thinks we should give it a try because it's supposed to alleviate tics

as well.

So, I'll keep everyone posted!

Joni

Mom of (who has tried Paxil, Prozac, Celexa, Anafranil,

Risperdal) and currently down to only TWO meds: Strattera and

Clondine (a sleep med that helps w/tics).

P.S. His moods are about the same with or without Risperdal.

Apparently, maturity is helping him stay in control a little more. A

big bonus - he's up off the couch and outside playing ALOT more now

that he's off Risperdal and losing weight. I must add, though, that

this med was GREAT when he needed it a year and half ago, but he's

doing fine w/out it now.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for sharing your experience with Strattera. My daughter (10.5) has

been on it for only 3 weeks, but I'm awfully concerned about a sudden

flare-up of her OCD symptoms. Has anyone else seen this? I guess I'm hoping

it's a coincidence, because I had such high hopes for this medication. I

haven't noticed any change - good or bad - in her ADHD, which is probably a

good sign since she has been off Concerta for three weeks and isn't driving

us insane, but I hate to see all the OCDisms return.

Sigh.

[Guest guest]

:

Sorry for the late reply, but as you know has been on Straterra since

12/20. I think his OCD flared up for awhile. The last week and a half we have

seen great improvement -- at home and at school. I'm glad I waited it out (I'm

not a very patient person). So hang in there at least until she's used it 6 - 8

weeks.

Tamra

Re: strattera

Thanks for sharing your experience with Strattera. My daughter (10.5) has

been on it for only 3 weeks, but I'm awfully concerned about a sudden

flare-up of her OCD symptoms. Has anyone else seen this? I guess I'm hoping

it's a coincidence, because I had such high hopes for this medication. I

haven't noticed any change - good or bad - in her ADHD, which is probably a

good sign since she has been off Concerta for three weeks and isn't driving

us insane, but I hate to see all the OCDisms return.

Sigh.