Atomoxetine/ Strattera

[Pantoufle23]

Keen to hear from those who’ve tried or use this for adhd? Running out of options 😔. Thanks

Hi, spoke to you on a previous thread. My daughter has been on medikinet, concerts and now elvanse. None have worked. In fact concerta and Elvance has made her feel really down. She feels like she has lost her personality. Have a doctor appointment so was thinking about discussing atomoxetine. How is your daughter getting on?

Hi there and so sorry to hear Elvanse not worked out either. It had a similar effect on Dd. We are still on concerta but anxiety and heart rate up. Atomoxetine only option left as we also tried Intuniv. However I gather it can take 2-3 months if it works ! So hard 😔.

Spoke to doctor today and we are trying a low dose of short acting Methylphenidate so 2 doses a day. She didn't have any medication for the last 2 days and has been so happy in herself but totally unable to focus! If this doesn't work we will have to try Straterra

Hope it helps. What were doctor’s views re amoxetine?

Dr said to try it if stimulants don't work but didn't say anything else to be honest. Hope things work out for your daughter

Can I ask how long you lasted on concerta? We have just gone up to 36 but her anxiety is def getting worse🤦‍♀️. She couldn’t cope with short acting either though and it didn’t do anything til we got to the equivalent of 54 concerta. If this carries on it will be our last dose increase.

Concerta had the worst effect on her. Only lasted 3 weeks and then stopped - it was only a low dose as well. She felt really flat and although she could focus felt like it took away her personality and felt like she couldn't speak to anyone - she also became very argumentative. Elvanse had a similar effect but not as bad. Medekinet was probably the best in terms how it made her feel but didn't so that much for her focus.

Thanks 😔. Elvanse made Dd depressed/flat but less anxious. Concerta less depressed but more anxious and so far no help with focus. Short acting had a positive effect for about 30mins - 1hr then bad crash. All have had bad effect on heart rate. Intuniv we lasted 2 days as she was totally shut down. Atomoxetine left but of course you have to give it weeks too work, assuming no severe side effects.
I hope the short acting helps your DD. Keep me posted? Or pm if easier x

Best of luck Pantoufle really hope the atomoxetine helps. Will let you know how we get on x

My daughter was on elvanse but it triggered a massive crash and suicidal thoughts so she had to come off it. Our GP put her on sertraline while we found a new psychiatrist (long story ....). New Psych is wonderful and started her on atomoxetine in Nov last year, increase the dosage over Xmas /NY as she was tolerating it well. About 3 weeks ago DD reported that she feels it has started to work (yay!). So that is 3 months we had to wait but it's much more tolerable than elvanse.

Hi there and glad to hear your Dd is having some success . We are having a last ditch trial with Concerta as it isn’t likely atomoxetine would help before GCSEs but may still have to give up because of anxiety/heart rate side effects. Or move across to atomoxetine after gcse. Glad to hear no major side effects. Does it affect hear rate at all?

The main side effect from atomoxetine seems to be tiredness. So DD has slept a lot since she started it although that is improving a bit now. Psychiatrist explained that the ADHD also causes chronic sleep deprivation so sometimes people sleep a lot when they first go on it and it helps to make up for the sleep deficit......

Thanks for the info. I hope it subsides. Does you Dd have anxiety? Has it helped ?

Yes she does - anxiety & depression, ADHD and ASD. I think it has helped a bit. She certainly seems calmer and although the major meltdowns haven't stopped entirely they have definitely lessened.

I also totally understand you don't want to rock the boat before GCSEs. Luckily DD started her new atomoxetine in early upper sixth so it has had time to work (hopefully) before A levels.

Good to know thanks. I hope it works for her. We started meds titration last July and so it’s been a bumpy road with nothing really working. I am hoping we can at least get enough benefit from concerta to get to other side of gcse but she has to be on beta blockers with any stimulants to get heart rate down so it’s not ideal. As yet not much improvement. She was on Elvanse for 4+months but it didn’t do much and made her flat. Please do let me know how your Dd gets on?

@Localher0 how is your dd on atomoxetine now? What is her dose if you don’t mind me asking?

My 8 year old ds has been on it 4 weeks after an awful 8 months on methylphenidate, he was on 10mg atomoxetine now on 18mg.

He’s starting sertraline liquid tomorrow too as the atomoxetine hasn’t helped his anxiety like CAMHS hoped it would. Bit nervous mixing all these meds for him to be honest. He’s so little.

Hi @danni0509 - she is doing well. It did take about 10 weeks to work. She started on 40mg and then worked up to 80.
The elvanse (not sure that's the same as your DS was on) was just awful and triggered a suicidal crisis. Our GP was brilliant and got her off that and on to sertraline which really helped. Sertraline also has a small effect on the ADHD so it's worth a try.
Good luck xx

Hi @Localher0 thanks for your reply.

Thats good to hear that it took 10 weeks to start working. We are on week 5 here and not noticed anything major so far.

also good to hear your dd is on the same combo (atomoxetine and sertraline) as my ds.

Hello, I've been reading through this thread and having similar dilemma with my DD 16 just finished GCSE's. Hard to tell too because her mood can change so much from one week to the next even when not on Medication. She's also happier/calmer when she's not in school!

She started on medikinet XL which was fine but didnt seem to have that light bulb effect. Moved onto Elvanse but seemed shaky, not sleeping and paranoid. Now were wondering whether to go back to medikinet & up the dose or split the dose or try atomexatine. @Manchestertimes how is your dd getting on now?

@Manchestertimes

Duvet, your story is practically identical to ours! We have stopped the medication as during the holidays she doesn't really need it. We have tried every other medication but medikinet has the least side effects but no massive lightbulb moment. Maybe it's just as good as it gets so will stick on 40mg when she goes back to school.

Duvet - sounds just the same as us. DD stayed on concerta to do GCSEs (not sure it was that much help). Stopped a week ago for a meds holiday as it's been a full on year since diagnosis and she's tried methylphenidate IR (disaster), Elvanse (mood problems and not much use re focus), Intuniv (totally out of it and gave up after 2 days) and the Concerta (better than Elvanse but not much and all stimulants cause heart rate/bp issues and exacerbate tics). We are going to bite the bullet and trail Atomoxetine as this summer seems like the only gap, though of course even if it's tolerated it may not do anything by September. We are going away so not going to start it til end of July. DD is very wary about any more meds trials and insistent she will go back on concerta if it isn't helpful, despite the issues with it.

Thanks for taking the time to reply Pantoufle23 & Manchestertimes, it helps to know! I think we'll give the Medikinet one last try, DD would like to be less impulsive at times - mostly it has caused friendship troubles and perhaps more focused. Also ditto with the revision had to resort to a chart - but it worked! Here's hoping she's at least passed some exams!! She's got a summer job now and this has really helped her confidence after some initial stress and despite turning up late for interview!!

@Manchestertimes @Pantoufle23 Just wondering how you're getting on? We're back on Medikinet and no side effects apart from high pulse rate on a couple of occasions, however not seeing much benefits either! I've been trying to get her to sort crap in her room cos we're moving house soon but to no avail! Her over sensitivity to anything mildly challenging I say is driving me mad at the moment. On the positive side she has a summer job and that has boosted her confidence and mood. :-)