Just started Strattera

[Dad2Brooke]

Went to the ped yesterday and he wants Brooke to take Strattera. She started it this morning and after the next four days she will no longer take Concerta/Ritalin.

One thing that concerns me is that ped said that this may cause sleeplessness and then in the same breath tells me that many parents give this med to their keids prior to bedtime.

I realize that everyone reacts different to these meds, but what kind of things good or bad can I expect or look for on Straterra

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Dad2Brooke]

Forgot to add, she is taking 18mgs for four days and then will start 25mgs next Tuesday. She weighs 59.5 lbs and the cutoff for the next level of dosage(40mgs) is 63 lbs.

Thanks,

[eddyreddy]

Hi, my 10 yr DD, well I should say she is 11 today. Started Straterra Oct. 18. She hasn't had any trouble with it as of yet. She has been happier, but I don't know if it is from the med'. She said she is more tired, but she goes to bed really good. She usally takes it in the morning before school. It hasn't been six weeks, yet and the dr. told her it will take about that long to start work. DD other comment is "they should make the pill smaller. It is kind of hard for me to get down."
Don't know if that helps, at least you heard what an 11 yr. had to say about the med. Good luck and Iwill post if any changes.

[Dad2Brooke]

Thanks eddyreddy. I really hope that this medicine doesn't take 6 weeks to kick in or there is liable to be a lynch mob at my door.

[momof4boys]

Dear Dad2brooke, I have a son that is 11 and is on 60 mg. of strat. and has been on it since feb. only side effect he has is that when he misses a dose the next dose that he takes he sleeps most of the day. we try not to let him miss a dose , we even let the school have a couple of his pills just in case he forgets in the morning in the mad rush of thing to take it. Now we have a 8 yr old that just started taking 40 mg. 2 wks ago and the change has been seen already at school and there has been improvements in academics already. there has not been any side effects yet, but it's hard to tell , he has a cold like every one else around here. so far so good here with the strat. I'm very happy with it!!

[LitlBaa]

My 12 yo daughter has been taking Strattera (40mg) for about 8 months, she is eating and sleeping well, in the first few weeks she had "road rage" when things didn't go just right, but that has smoothed itself out for the most part. I didn't notice anything negative about the meds except for the rage. However, my husband started on Strattera (25mg) today and has been depressed and sad, and then wanted to go punch a wall, and then was really sleepy. Two people with two very different responses.

[camismom]

Hi Dad2Brooke:

My 12 year old (Wednesday) daughter has been taking Strat since mid-June. She has done very well on it. My understanding and experience with my daughter is the med will make you very tired when you first start taking it, cause upset stomach, and moodiness. This is why the doctors recommend starting it on night doses so they sleep through the worst side effects. It takes this medicine four weeks to completely get "in your system" and start seeing the true results/benefits. This four weeks can be a long haul, but once you get there it's worth it. If you don't give it the full four weeks, then you never really tried. I have a calmer, more attentive child that last that way all the time. This med stays in the system continually, so you don't have the rebound effects like you do on stimulants when it wears off. The dosage is weight based and needs to not be under or over because it will not help in either case. To figure the dosage you take your child's weight divided by 2.2, and multiply that answer by 1.2. This should be target dose. You can go under or over by a few mgs (2-5), but not more than that. Going over can cause extreme anger in kids, while going under can cause depression, and not help. Once your child is on target dose she can take it either all at once in the a.m., or you can split the dose to once in the a.m. and once in the afternoon. This helps with the stomach problems if they occur. If you have any further questions, go to millermom.proboards23.com/index.cgi and read the post titled "Everything you want to know about Strattera". This was written by a woman who was also from ADHD.com and whose son has been on Strat for quite sometime. She has done her homework on the med and is quite knowledgeable about it.

Good luck!

-----------------------------

Christy

[Dad2Brooke]

Well, today was Brooke's first day of just Straterra. I expected a phone call from the school all day. No call. The I expected one from after school care. No call.

This evening I pick her up and lo and behold she isn't spastic. She is minding. She is doing her homework like normal (for her on Concerta and Ritalin.)

Who are you and what have you done with my daughter? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I just hope it lasts. And as the dosage gets more in her system over the next six weeks, could it possibly get better?

I don't sound too hopeful and excited do I?

[Dad2Brooke]

Well Brooke has been on Strattera for a week now. I still see mostly good behavior.

I also talked to her teacher on Friday and she said that she hasn't really noticed a difference from the Concerta to the Strattera. Initially, that didn't sound all that great to me, but then when I thought about it, I realized that she went from a stim to Strat and hasn't lost any ground And she may get better as the med gets in her system more over then next couple of weeks. ;D

I'll keep you posted.

[blaynesmama]

my son has adhd/odd and is 4.5 yrs old. he started strattera only a week ago but we can not get him to take it anymore. we had to break the pill apart and mix it in something but after he went from the 18mg to the 25mg the taste was so much worse that he spit it all out and refused to take anymore. he can't swallow them we tried with tic tacs and he kept gagging them up so the dr told us to hold his nose and push it down his throat. This worked for 3 days until my dh had to go back to work then he kicked and fought me so hard that I could not do it alone today. So I am trying to figure out another way to give it to him as I know 7 days has not been long enough. so far though we have not noticed ANY changes in him except he was tired the first 2 days. i hope it works for you!
April

[Dad2Brooke]

blaynesmama. I'm not sure about this but I have read on here that some people split the dosage up half at night, half in the morning.

Also, maybe instead of mixing the whole pill in one spoonful, mix it in 2 or 3.

Worth a shot.

Good luck ;D

[blaynesmama]

that is something worth trying....I will see if that can work! thanks

[Mishamom]

My daughter is 5 and has been on Strattera for a week now also. I'm doing the happy dance with Brooke's daddy.

I break the pill up and mix it in with a vanilla pudding cup (her favorite). That way the taste is diluted and I just make sure its in something the loves so that she finishes it all. It's worked like a charm.

I know they say not to break the capsule open but we've had no problem. My pediatrician endorses it so long as we do it with a meal to offer her some stomach buffering. I dropped the capsule in the pudding the other morning and picked it up. I wasn't thinking and tried to lick the pudding off just a bit so I could grip the capsule to open it. That one little swipe with my tongue just about dissolved the capsule on that side. I had to use a sharp knife tip to cut it open the rest of the way to mix the medication.

That makes me think the capsule itself doesn't offer much buffering so I feel much better about opening and mixing it. I think I'm only giving up about 20-30 seconds of buffering even if she did swallow it whole.

Hope all goes well for you!

[Dad2Brooke]

blaynesmomma, Did splitting the dose up into 2 or 3 sthingyfuls work?

What is up with this word. I thought I would try again with it. This is my work computer, it happened yesterday on my home computer.

Of course I mean s p o o n f u l s.

[Dad2Brooke]

UPDATE

I talked to the Ped on Thursday about Brooke's (59 pounds) Strattera (25mg). He had given us a starter pack and it will run out Tuesday. I mentioned that she appeared to be at about the same level as she was with Concerta. (Better than with no meds, but not quite where I want her to be) Also by the formula, 1.2mg per 2.2lbs of body weight, it looked like her dosage might be low.

So I asked him if we could go to 32 mg. He said that they don't make that size, but he could go to 40 mg. I have read several posts on here about not exceeding the dosage. I asked him if it was safe and he assured me that it was, so I went and picked up the pills from his office.

When I got home I had second thoughts again, so I did more research about it on here and found another post that said the maximum dosage should not exceed 1.5 mgs per 2.2 lbs body weight. (Which for Brooke would be 40 mg.)

Friday afternoon I talked to him again about the 40 being too much, (I'm thick and hard headed, but I wanted to be sure) and he said that he had talked to the med rep. The Ped said that although the med rep is not a doctor, they know all about the meds that they rep, and that the rep said it was safe. (I like the fact that Brooke's Ped had double checked for me after my concerns. He is a nice older gentleman whose actual name is Dr. Bones ;D, and was my wife's Ped when she was a child.)

I mentioned to him that they make a 10 mg and a 25 mg and together that would make 35 mg and be closer to the target dosage of 32 mg.

He assured me again that 40 mg was well within the norm for Brooke, and that if I saw any undesirable side effects I could drop back to 35 mg. I am OK with that.

So long story sort (Which I definately did not do) I am giving Brooke the first 40 mg dose tomorrow morning.

I will keep you posted.