Strattera

[Guest guest]

, Joni, et al.

As you know, 's doc was involved with the studies on Straterra; and they did

do studies with children and adolescents with OCD and other common disorders

that accompany ADD/ADHD. So and Joni, you're docs are right on point.

Tamra

Re: Re: strattera

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]

-

I only have a few minutes as I've been on the computer too long

already and need to get to work before the boss (my husband) fires me!

has been on Strattera (yes, a non-stimulant med) since January

and he's doing great now (but a little edgy without the Risperdal).

At first, I was a little puzzled that his psychiatrist (pdoc)

recommended this new med that is prescribed for AD/HD people. I was

like, huh? But, he explained to me that in clinical trials,

Strattera was shown to be effective on OCD and tics. So, I said " Ok-

lets give it a try! "

Ha! Hard to believe that I used to be a non-medication fanatic a few

years ago, isn't it? I was one of those " hippy " parents that refused

to medicate MY children, even with the astounding evidence staring me

in the face each day that my ADHD son desperately needed help. He was

9 at the time (now 19) and I too changed his diet (no sugar, reduced

carbs, increased protein and WALKED his hyper butt to school each day)

- and due to the POWER I thought I had - his ADHD was drastically

improved and seemed to disappear overnight.

But! Enter puberty and *bam* his ADHD came back with a vengence!

Whew, the teenage years will definitely knock the arrogance and

know-it-all attitude right out of you, that's for sure!

What I know NOW that I didn't know then was that no matter how much

power a parent THINKS they have, some things are beyond our control

and professional assistance (aka meds, therapy or both) is needed in

some cases. Once puberty hit, my son's ADHD was beginning to

interfere in his life, his grades, his relationships - everything, and

I, for one, didn't own a magic wand. Unfortunately, due to my

stubborness and lame excuses not to medicate him when he was 9, at 15

he was just as stubborn as I *used* to be about getting help- and

that's when he desperately needed it! The lesson I learned: You may

be able to control the diet of a 9 year old, but it's IMPOSSIBLE to

control the diet of a teenager. His ADHD spun out of control and I

had been a bad example by refusing to medicate him. It's

understandable and forgivable - I simply didn't want to buy into the

whole ADD epidemic at the time because 10 years ago, every kid was

being diagnosed AD/HD. Unfortunately, my son was one of the few

that probably DID have it but I refused to believe it and thought I

could somehow cure him myself. HA!

The only way I was able to finally get him into the doctors office was

when he got into trouble self-medicating with weed (aka:

pot/marijuana). The butthead was caught with a *butt* on campus and

in order to continue living here and attending college, he had to

agree to get LEGAL medication and therapy. He's 19 now - and doing

very well on Adderall and Zoloft. However, his doctor (the same one

uses) would like him to try Strattera.

So, if sharing my middle son's weed smoking story helps you in some

way to stop being leary of medication, my time sharing it was worth

it. In my opinion, better to seek help than let them seek it

themselves later on.....by using illegal drugs.

Joni

Mom to (12, OCD/TS), (21) and (19, ADHD former party

animal/pot head, currently taking Adderall and Zoloft and clearing the

smoke out of his head.....)

> Hi all, me again.....

>

> Are there many here taking Strattera?

> Could you forward me some experiences?

>

> My son cannot take stimulants and I've heard this a new med that is

not a stimulant.

>

> Blaine got some nasty dystonic tics with Ritalin and we are

terrified to try any other stimulant. In fact our doc said NO

MORE....after that scare.

>

> It's just so frustrating not being able to help with attentional

issues which have always been a problem with Blaine. I thought that

alot of it was his OCD......and it still might be I just don't know.

>

> I've tried changing his diet.....elliminating sugar.....the whole

thing. It just doesn't work.

>

> Education is so important and would really like to hear about

Strattera. I'm just so leary of new meds....

>

> I'm in Canada by the way......is it available here?

>

> Big hugs....... )

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

LOL LOL Joni!!

I laughed my ass off at you!

It's surely an eye opener....and I'm glad you shared that with me!

I do worry about the teenage years. Blaine tried self injury here a while ago. I

have some knowledge of how " independant " they can be.....scared the crap out of

me that's for sure. The diet is NOT working at all.....so I have got to try

SOMETHING. I believe that finding people that have tried meds and use them is

easing my mind a great deal.

I think alot of it is the fact of those so called perfect parents that have

perfect, no med kids that are so quick to criticize those that NEED help.

I'm not stubborn......just slow. ;o)

Big hugs........ ;o)

Re: Strattera

-

I only have a few minutes as I've been on the computer too long

already and need to get to work before the boss (my husband) fires me!

has been on Strattera (yes, a non-stimulant med) since January

and he's doing great now (but a little edgy without the Risperdal).

At first, I was a little puzzled that his psychiatrist (pdoc)

recommended this new med that is prescribed for AD/HD people. I was

like, huh? But, he explained to me that in clinical trials,

Strattera was shown to be effective on OCD and tics. So, I said " Ok-

lets give it a try! "

Ha! Hard to believe that I used to be a non-medication fanatic a few

years ago, isn't it? I was one of those " hippy " parents that refused

to medicate MY children, even with the astounding evidence staring me

in the face each day that my ADHD son desperately needed help. He was

9 at the time (now 19) and I too changed his diet (no sugar, reduced

carbs, increased protein and WALKED his hyper butt to school each day)

- and due to the POWER I thought I had - his ADHD was drastically

improved and seemed to disappear overnight.

But! Enter puberty and *bam* his ADHD came back with a vengence!

Whew, the teenage years will definitely knock the arrogance and

know-it-all attitude right out of you, that's for sure!

What I know NOW that I didn't know then was that no matter how much

power a parent THINKS they have, some things are beyond our control

and professional assistance (aka meds, therapy or both) is needed in

some cases. Once puberty hit, my son's ADHD was beginning to

interfere in his life, his grades, his relationships - everything, and

I, for one, didn't own a magic wand. Unfortunately, due to my

stubborness and lame excuses not to medicate him when he was 9, at 15

he was just as stubborn as I *used* to be about getting help- and

that's when he desperately needed it! The lesson I learned: You may

be able to control the diet of a 9 year old, but it's IMPOSSIBLE to

control the diet of a teenager. His ADHD spun out of control and I

had been a bad example by refusing to medicate him. It's

understandable and forgivable - I simply didn't want to buy into the

whole ADD epidemic at the time because 10 years ago, every kid was

being diagnosed AD/HD. Unfortunately, my son was one of the few

that probably DID have it but I refused to believe it and thought I

could somehow cure him myself. HA!

The only way I was able to finally get him into the doctors office was

when he got into trouble self-medicating with weed (aka:

pot/marijuana). The butthead was caught with a *butt* on campus and

in order to continue living here and attending college, he had to

agree to get LEGAL medication and therapy. He's 19 now - and doing

very well on Adderall and Zoloft. However, his doctor (the same one

uses) would like him to try Strattera.

So, if sharing my middle son's weed smoking story helps you in some

way to stop being leary of medication, my time sharing it was worth

it. In my opinion, better to seek help than let them seek it

themselves later on.....by using illegal drugs.

Joni

Mom to (12, OCD/TS), (21) and (19, ADHD former party

animal/pot head, currently taking Adderall and Zoloft and clearing the

smoke out of his head.....)

> Hi all, me again.....

>

> Are there many here taking Strattera?

> Could you forward me some experiences?

>

> My son cannot take stimulants and I've heard this a new med that is

not a stimulant.

>

> Blaine got some nasty dystonic tics with Ritalin and we are

terrified to try any other stimulant. In fact our doc said NO

MORE....after that scare.

>

> It's just so frustrating not being able to help with attentional

issues which have always been a problem with Blaine. I thought that

alot of it was his OCD......and it still might be I just don't know.

>

> I've tried changing his diet.....elliminating sugar.....the whole

thing. It just doesn't work.

>

> Education is so important and would really like to hear about

Strattera. I'm just so leary of new meds....

>

> I'm in Canada by the way......is it available here?

>

> Big hugs....... )

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My 20-year old is on Strattera-not supposed to have the rush-no side effects

at all. Ellen

[Guest guest]

My 20-year old is on Strattera-not supposed to have the rush-no side effects

at all. Ellen

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

I have taken my son, Luke, off Ritalin for two days now. He

was experiencing the side effects of too many vocal tics for my

liking. The tics have decreased dramatically. I plan to keep him

off of it until I talk to his doctor. Luke's tutor says she feels

she has the " real Luke " back. Apparently, with her, he was more

talkative, less argumentative, and happier than she has seen him

lately. To me he does seem happier.

Luke did need Ritalin for his attention difficulties in school-

it worked wonders in that regard. In August when Luke goes into the

4th grade, I feel that we will face the same problems with attention

and most likely, I will have to try something other than Ritalin.

Does anyone out there have a child who is taking Strattera? I know

studies say that this new drug does not address attention problems

as well as the stimulants. I just wanted to get a real first hand

opinion of this drug.

Luke is presently taking 125mg of Luvox for his ocd.

Just wanted to say that the Nashville conference was

wonderful. Luke and I loved everyone there and we plan to go next

year. We feel energized! Luke has a lot of night time fears which

prevents him from sleeping. Tonight we implemented, " the face the

fear attitude " and talked about the " bad guys " and made them

scarier. He laughed , said they were stupid, and then let go of the

thought. Hope it works as well next time.

For those Mom's at the conference, thanks.

It was great to talk to someone who understands.

Therese(Ohio)

Luke 9yr.

[Guest guest]

Hi

My daughter took strattera in addition to her luvox and abilify --she

took it for one day and went nuts, at first angry and then as the day

wore on giddy. My husband has ADD and took strattera for a few

months. It pooped out on him rather quickly for the ADD stuff. It

maintained some effectiveness as an antidepressant--it stopped some

of his picking/obsessive behaviors while on it. From what I've heard

adults fair better than children on this drug. I know of what kid

whom it did absolutely nothing for and another kid who also went nuts

on it. Everybody is different. Start with a low dose and go slow.

We even divided a capsule into a smaller amount and I put the powder

in a an empty capsule. Dr. said this was fine because it wasn't

extended release beads, just powder and the capsule it comes from

during manufacturing is not slow to release either. Hope this helps

at least some.

Stephany

mom to

age 7

ocd, maybe bp

luvox, abilify

[Guest guest]

Therese:

I think we talked about Straterra at the conference together. is on

Straterra (60 mg) and is doing great. He started in January and after about 3

to 4 weeks his teacher had already noticed a difference in his ability to focus.

I know others on the list haven't had as good of results, but it worked for

. Just like any med, some work for some and others not. I think, it's

worth a shot, especially since school hasn't started yet and it does take a

couple of weeks to see the benefits.

I loved meeting and talking with you at the conference. I have a picture of

Kathie, Nora, you and I that I'll e-mail to you. I'm glad Luke is finding humor

in beating up OCD -- I wish did.

Take care,

Tamra

Strattera

Hi Everyone,

I have taken my son, Luke, off Ritalin for two days now. He

was experiencing the side effects of too many vocal tics for my

liking. The tics have decreased dramatically. I plan to keep him

off of it until I talk to his doctor. Luke's tutor says she feels

she has the " real Luke " back. Apparently, with her, he was more

talkative, less argumentative, and happier than she has seen him

lately. To me he does seem happier.

Luke did need Ritalin for his attention difficulties in school-

it worked wonders in that regard. In August when Luke goes into the

4th grade, I feel that we will face the same problems with attention

and most likely, I will have to try something other than Ritalin.

Does anyone out there have a child who is taking Strattera? I know

studies say that this new drug does not address attention problems

as well as the stimulants. I just wanted to get a real first hand

opinion of this drug.

Luke is presently taking 125mg of Luvox for his ocd.

Just wanted to say that the Nashville conference was

wonderful. Luke and I loved everyone there and we plan to go next

year. We feel energized! Luke has a lot of night time fears which

prevents him from sleeping. Tonight we implemented, " the face the

fear attitude " and talked about the " bad guys " and made them

scarier. He laughed , said they were stupid, and then let go of the

thought. Hope it works as well next time.

For those Mom's at the conference, thanks.

It was great to talk to someone who understands.

Therese(Ohio)

Luke 9yr.

[Guest guest]

Well, we are *attempting* to give our son Strattera - he has TS, so

the stimulants are out for now. Problem is, he has never swallowed

a pill before. We practiced with mini M & M's last week, but

apparently gelatin capsules are much harder to take. Even with

chocolate ice cream, which was gagged up multiple times last night.

Any one have any pill taking tips?

It has been such a hard road, finding a dr. that doesn't tell us

Dan's problems are due to family dysfunction (yep, been there, done

there, Lainey, DUMP those drs. right away), finding a psychiatrist

that listens to us. Convincing my dh that medication is worth a

try, things are so bad some days. And now he can't swallow the @#$!

pills. I know, it may not work on him, eventually he will swallow

pills, SOME medication may help us & him, but I am so discouraged

this morning. I really wanted to give it a good try (a month)

before school starts.

Sorry, can you tell I'm wallowing in self pity?

What I meant to post was this extremely helpful thread on Strattera

on a ADHD board:

http://www.adhd.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002053.html

good luck...Sandy

[Guest guest]

you can try smaller candy like nerds

[Guest guest]

you can try smaller candy like nerds

[Guest guest]

Hi Therese,

I may be repeating here - I've had REALLY ANNOYING computer problems

recently - but I " ll throw in my thoughts on Strattera. My 10 year old has

OCD, ADHD and serious multiple tics. She was on Concerta for a year until

Strattera came out. We were really, really excited to try it - our pdoc had been

telling us for a long time that it might be the solution - finally - for Annie.

Well, it wasn't. It made her extremely irritable, extremely sleepy (she was

sleeping 6 hours during the DAY) and made her tics worse. We stopped it after

two

months. Her new pdoc said she has heard many similar stories, particularly

about it making tics worse - the very thing we were all hoping it wouldn't do!!

Her theory is that this is because it acts indirectly on dopamine, the

neurotransmitter involved with tics.

On the positive side, other people have loved Strattera. So give it

a try! Maybe you'll be lucky!

Annie is back on Concerta, which is the best thing we have found for

her. The tics are bad, but she really can't do school without the stimulants,

unfortunately. By the way, Concerta is long-acting Ritalin but our doc said

it has far fewer side effects than the short acting Ritalin because of its long

slow release. So you might try that, if you haven't already. He said he had

many kids who couldn't tolerate Ritalin, but did well on Concerta.

Best wishes to you and Luke - I think this ADHD / OCD / tics combo is the

pits. You have my sympathy!

in NV