Strattera for ADHD

I don't have any experience with Strattera however I saw that another mom below posted possible alternative, natural methods to treat ADHD. There is an awesome book called "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Allergies, and Asthma" by Dr. Kenneth Bock. He offers a biomedical treatment plan (involving altered diet and nutritional supplements) and also does an AWESOME job at explaining just what is going on inside kids' bodies when they're affected by ADHD and the like. He also offers real life stories of kids with often severe ADHD that were helped immensely by this healing approach. He admits that some kids do still require medications but many can be treated by simply removing things like wheat and/or dairy. My nephew is on the autism spectrum and this healing approach has changed him into a new child. I had never been one to believe in "natural" healing methods until I saw the results with my own eyes. Best of luck!

My son is 12 now and has tried several if not all of the stimulant ADD medications. All came with side effects. The one I hated the most was that he appeared zombie like and I missed "my" boy. Maybe 5 years ago his doctor suggested Stratera, it has been great. I have my boy back. I like the fact the Strattera has several different doses. It has allowed us to take baby steps on increasing when it is time. Due to his growth we have recently had to do this and the medication helps. I can tell a real difference if he forgets to take his medication, but this time its only the attention that I notice is different. Not his entire personality.
With the other meds, he complained of upset stomach and sleeplessness, and lack of hunger and I do believe he had headache complaints before too.
I like Strattera, we are very happy.
Good luck, this is the hardest decision of parenting a child with ADD/ADHS. You want them to be successfull in school and relationships but dont want to sacrifice their true selves at the same time.

Remember the parents that dont have kids with ADD/ADHD and hurt with them when they struggle dont understand and can not appreciate how difficult it is to make these decisions.

My opinion is to take his advice. I have 3 boys all on some dose of Strattera, he is right that is not a stimulant and that makes for a even keel day. Stimulant drugs when you take them in morning give you a focused "high" for a lack of better word. Then they slowly drain out and are completly out of your body by around after dinner time depending on which one. A non simulant works consistently all day (takes up to 3 weeks to get in system though) giving a consistent focus to the whole body and temperment. Two of my boys are on a mixture of both but one does just fine on just Strattera. The whole medication thing can be overwhelming but keep asking questions to your doctors, the more informed you are the better decisions you cam make for your whole family.

I'd take Sheri's advice and look at other alternatives to medicine. Medicines have so many side affects and it may be as easy as changing his diet. Really do some research first. Good luck!

My son was on Strattera. It worked well for him. Listen...it's not a controlled substance so If I were you, I would definitely give it a chance. If they work...your kid will be on a non controlled substance.

Hi T.,
I am in the same boat as Heather. It worked for my son (who has ADD) for about 1 and 1/2 years then stopped working. The Strattera made him sick and he had absolutely no appetite. He started loosing weight and was getting unhealthy. So we switched. He is now on Concerta which is great for him. He only takes it during the week for school and not on the weekend. Unless he has a bball game, at which point he tells me that he needs help concentrating, so he takes it. He knows the difference in his ability to focus when taking it. I think that is really important. He also knows that it isn't to be used as a crutch and that he has to try even harder than most kids. I was terrified to put him on a narcotic, but now understand that as parents we give our children all of the tools that they need to be successful in school and life, like paper, crayons, etc, Concerta is another tool that my son needs to be his best. Good Luck! L. B.

Many people have asked me for information on natural alternatives that impact ADHD. Would you like me to share that with you?

S.
____@____.com

My son was on Stattera for about 2 years and that is when it stopped working for him. It was a miracle drug in the beginning!

After that we had him on Concerta and it worked fabulously.

He is currently med-free and doing pretty good on his own.

Every child is going to have a different reaction to different drugs. I would go ahead and try it. If after a few months it doesn't seem like a good fit, ask for something different.

Good luck to you.
H.

My son is 9 years old and has been on Strattera since he was 6 years old. He also has ADHD. It seems to work great, and the teachers can really tell the difference when he is on it vs. not on it. It still allows him to be a regular boy with the energy, but helps him to control himself and focus when he needs to. The only thing that I have found with this med, is that if he takes it before he eats, he gets an upset stomach and throws up! It is not a big worry though. Just do like I do, and make sure he eats FIRST!!

Good luck, and I hope I helped a bit.

A.

Yes, my son started Strattera about 1 month ago, and we are very happy so far. He was on Adderall for about 1 year, and I hated the fact that he had no appetite, and could not fall asleep at night. I won't say that things are perfect with Strattera (he has behavioral issues and impulse control, but not focus problems) but it is far better for him than the stimulant drugs. We briefly tried Vyanase and Focalin too, but they (I think) are both stimulants, and just make my son more anxious, and upset his stomach. I know every kid is different, but if your doctor is recommending it, it may be worth a try. Best of luck to you, because I know how difficult the decision is to medicate and find the right one.

Hi T. -

I have three special needs boys that all have ADHD as a secondary diagnosis. My middle son didn't have much of an appetite on the Concerta so we switched him to the Strattera for awhile. His appetite grew and he started gaining weight like he should have but I saw a lot more aggression out of him and a regression in being withdrawn from others. About a year later I had had enough and put him back on the Concerta. Now that he's hit puberty his appetite is good on the Concerta and I have "my" boy back. Every med works differently for every child. You just need to find the med or the combination of meds that work right for your son. It's all trial and error. If I were you I would document the changes you see. If there are more negatives than positives then Strattera might not be right for him, but then again if there are more positives than negatives you might have found exactly what works for him. Doseage changes can make a big difference, too. A higher dose may give you the response you're looking for where as a smaller dose might not do anything. If you don't like what you see then don't be afraid to ask for something else and keep trying. Above all, keep positive. Eventually you will find what works.

Good luck - S.

Hi! Medications work differently on every child. I have no experience with Metadate CD. My son was on Strattera for a short time. It made him very aggressive. But some kids do very well on it. It is all trial and error. Is the Metadate not working for him any more? If that is the case... I would try the Strattera out. I like the idea of it bein a non-stimulant. Good luck.

This was the best thing we had ever tried for our son!!! It felt like a miracle drug! That said, it may or may not work that well for your son. Try it. If it doesn't work, don't give up. Doctors have lots of ways to tweak the meds or use them in combination with others. They are coming out with new ones frequently too. Good luck!

Take his advice and try it out. You will know if it is working for him or not. You may have better results with it. I was nervous when I changed my sons meds and one change worked out great and one didn't so we just switched back. Good Luck.