Looking for other parents who have dealt with Strattera

[Foohound]

My 5 year old DD is autisitc. She also has severe ADHA and anxiety. I have prologned her Dr.'s advice about giving her medication, but I have now faced the fact I am hurting her by not letting her Doctor give medicine a try. We have finally decided on trying Strattera. I have looked at all the websites about the medication and am still worried. Is there anyone here that has any experience with this medication. I would appreciate any feedback or a pm.

Thanks

 

[BeckyScott]

We had DS on Concerta when he was 4. Concerta is more "old school" but I think the idea is the same, well they're not exactly the same because the doctor explained the difference, but it was way technical and I can't remember it. We were also very hesitant.

What we noticed: didn't affect his behavior one bit. And then he quit eating. Like he was always pretty picky, but we were basically having to force-feed the child (and that's not good either) and he was living off of Boost. So. Two months and 10 pounds later, we quit. 10 pounds is alot for a 4-year-old, fortunately he was a chunk to start out. I think if it would have made a noticable difference, we would have figured out a way around the appetite problem, but since we couldn't really tell anything, why bother.

A BIG problem we had was that Concerta was capsules (I think Straterra is too, right?) so we were faced with teaching a 4-year-old with autism how to swallow pills. That right there took 2 weeks, and I can tell you how we did it if you're interested.

Now, we also have a 9 y/o w/ ADHD, and he is on Adderall. We HAVE noticed a difference with him. And I was also very hesitant- I had my suspicions about his ADHD since he was about 4, and we only got the diagnosis and the meds 3 months ago. (that's got denial written all over it, huh?) However, it also killed off his appetite until about 6:30 when it wears off. I would suggest if you decide to do it, go ahead and start pumping the kid with Boost drinks every day (the chocolate is yummy!).

JMHO.

 

[Houseof Mouse 10]

My son is 9 yrs old. He has a dx of Autism, OCD & ADHD. We tried Strattera when he was 6 yrs old. It worked for about 6 months and stopped. It calmed him down and his school work was better. he did lose weight on it though. It was not enough to worry about. Like I said after 6 month it stopped working and we could not increase the dosage he was on the max for his weight.

We tried Concerta this summer with no avail he also has a tic disorder and all the stimulant meds worsen the tics, so it's not worth it.

Good Luck!

 

[JulieWent]

My DS (11) has NLD (a little like Aspergers). He's been on Strattera now for over a year and is 9 weeks short of finishing the best school year he's ever had. It hasn't turned him into a "new child" or anything. It has just taken the edge off and made it a little easier to focus on what's going on. He hasn't lost weight. He didn't have stomach problems. Adderall and Concerta caused tics for him. Strattera hasn't. It's not a miracle drug, but it's not a problem either.

Julie

 

[CantWaitToGo2007]

DS was originally diagnosed with ADHD when he was 5 and put on ritalin. When he was about 7 the doctors put him on concerta. Concerta took care of the high and lows that he had on the ritalin, but DS wouldn't eat very much. DS started taking Stattera when he was around 8. On the strattera he would eat and started to catch back up in growth, he is still one of the smallest in his class though. For the most part the strattera worked for him. But it did tend to make him sleepy at times, and when he was on the higher dose would make him sick on a daily basis. All kids are different though, not everyone gets sick from this med. I also like the fact that it is not a narcotic.

Nanette

 

[Foohound]

Thanks for all the information. I gues we will have to see what happens. Thanks for letting me know about the side effects your children have all had. I also wanted to try someithing without narcotics. My DH also says thanks for
helping to ease our minds.

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm going to move this thread to our disABILITIES Community Board since this part of disABILITIES is more for Disney related questions.

It seems like you already got some good answers and hopefully will get more there.

 

[toy]

dd6 adhd, social anxiety disorder, language delays she is on adderall. We can definitely see a difference. Her anxiety causes her to pick her fingers until they are raw. Dr decided to try strattera. It was horrible. It made her more anxious and hyper. It didn't help with the finger picking. She did not like taking the pills. They are too big. We finally went back to adderall. Marked improvement. Strattera did not work for us.

 

[leanan]

I have heard good things about it. It is definately improved over the old standbys of Ritalin, Dexadrine,and Cylert. It still has issues with stomach problems and lack of appetite but the psychotic breaks are not like they are on the old school drugs.

This is a controled substance. It does change its affect on the child during puberty. It can do damage as well. The only answer is to try it and see. Be sure your DX is correct because with the wrong DX it is more likely to do harm than good. If the child really has ADD then it may be life changing in a good way. It can worsen OCD ticks in a bad way though.

Just remember you are the parent. You can decide that this is not working and tell the Dr its time for the drug to go. You need to be educated and assertive when your child takes these meds. Do not forget if you do not like what your Dr has to say fire him and find a new one that works for you and your child.

 

[whgrn]

My DS10 has been on Strattera for ADHD for 4 years. It has worked very well for him. It really helps with the focusing. Not much good for impulse conrol or hyperactivity, so he also takes Adderall. We had originally tried a higher dose of Adderall, but he developed tics, so we had to drop it back. No side effects from the Strattera at all so far. I didn't see any appetite changes beyond what we'd seen from the Adderall. My DD11 was tried on Focalin, which knocked her appetite WAY down, then changed to Concerta which totally wiped it out. 2 weeks and 8 pounds later, we took her off, and now we are waiting to find out from her neuro if Strattera is OK with her seizure meds. I know several other kids on Strattera who have done well with it. Just remember, YMMV!!

 

[letsgodisney]

I too am a mom of an austic child (PDD, ADHD OCD and severe anxiety) We first tried him on Strattera thinking it would be the end all, but unfortunately Strattera rarely works by itself (or so I am now told) and usually has to be taken with another med for the ADHD like Concerta or Adderall or something of the like. It has been our experience that for every medication there is usually a side effect. Meaning we thought that his ADHD was controlled (and along came the increase in his anxiety) and so on, so of course every child is different and by no means is this a suggestion about medication, just a bit of information that we figured out by experience. Good luck

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[donnajon]

Stratera is a drug for ADD not ADHD. It wont help the hyperactivity.

 

[robin09]

A little history....DD8 has aspergers, adhd, ocd, sensory problems and reacts to food s with color dyes...and doesn't like to eat.. we usually have to handfeed her and keep nudging her to eat...

3 years ago we tried her on concerta for all of 10 days. It was horrible for us. The little sleep she usually did (she's not a sleeper either) concerta took away. She was falling asleep 3, 4 am...her eyes looked like toothpicks were keeping them open, she was trying to sleep and couldn't. She kept touching her fingers as if she were counting over and over. Then after 10 days of this she was getting violent, nasty... I took her to her Dr. and he kept saying , we like to try 30 days, 10 days is not enough... He didn't believe how violent my little girl was getting. I brought her to his office and she tore it apart, she was just out and out nasty and violent. He believed us then. Took her off immediately.

I have been frightened by all of this and haven't tried any new meds for her. I was leery to begin with. Now to today, She is bright affectionate (sp)but doesn't stop moving or talking. She is in a special class that is wonderful for her, but I feel she can do better. She is very disorganized in her thoughts and her stuff. (Much like Mommy ) We started therapy again last week for her, and this week they and bringing in a psychiatrist to prescribe her meds. I'm nervous about meds... any suggestions? Anyone else have these problems?

We watch each food that she eats, give her epsom salt baths with lavender and that soothes her . I don't want to change my little girl, just make her life a little easier for her..

 

[Tigger2252]

Stratera is a drug for ADD not ADHD. It wont help the hyperactivity.

From the pharmaceutical company website:

Strattera is the first and only non-stimulant medication approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, adolescents, and adults. Strattera is a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, a class of ADHD treatment that works differently from the other ADHD medications available. Strattera is available by prescription only.

My takes 40mg. of Strattera for her ADHD. She has been side-effect free and, as she also has Tourette's it doesn't aggravate her tics like Adderal and Concerta did. Good luck!

 

[polkadotminnie]

My DD8 has ADHD and an auditory processing problem. She is on focalin. It has been a blessing for us. After starting it, her reading level jumped 2 grade levels in 6 weeks and the fluency improved tremendously. I have 2 other DD's with ADD and they are not on meds at this time since they seem to be doing fine in school without the medication. If they start to struggle, I will address the issue with medicine as a last resort. DD8 does have less of an appetitite on the medicine, but she didn't lose much weight since the hunger comes back at dinner when the medicine wears off. The benefits really have outweighed the negatives for us. She is focusing and finally sleeping and reading well. My advice give it a try and if it works great, if not just try something else. Good luck!!!! Also, her auditory processing jumped up on the medicine from the 5% to the 88%.

 

[Poohnatic]

My almost 11 year old has been on Strattera for 4 years now. He is diagnosed ADHD, Aspergers, SID, OCD and possible ODD.

The stimulant based medications for ADD stimulated him, so the fact that this wasn't stimulant based was a big plus. Like Robin's DD, my son has dye issues, and that factored in some of the meds he was offered.

The only side effect we have with him is that it is supposed to be long acting-his metabolism is such that he processes it quickly. Same deal with his Fluvoximine.

Many meds have been mentioned on this thread that were tried on my son and failed. One thing that is consistent with kids on the autism spectrum is that they seem to react differently to these meds then expected. For instance, son was given Paxil and it made him aggressive. Adderal speeded him up, and the wonderful doctor we had back then just decided to increase the dose.

Have patience with introducing new medications. I'd even ask your doctor if they've got samples for you to try. This is thanks to my experience of shelling out $$ for meds for my son and me only to find they didn't work or resulted in an allergic reaction! This way you find out if it's the right one to pursue without investing those hard earned dollars.

Good luck. I have to say, after many false starts, my son's current regimen of four meds is the best he's had. We can reason with him (thanks Abilify), he doesn't stim as bad (thanks fluvoximine), he can sit long enough to do homework (thanks Strattera) and he sleeps for more than 4 hours (thanks clonidine).

suzanne

 

[donnajon]

From the pharmaceutical company website:

Strattera is the first and only non-stimulant medication approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, adolescents, and adults. Strattera is a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, a class of ADHD treatment that works differently from the other ADHD medications available. Strattera is available by prescription only.

My takes 40mg. of Strattera for her ADHD. She has been side-effect free and, as she also has Tourette's it doesn't aggravate her tics like Adderal and Concerta did. Good luck!

They must have changed their website. When it first came out, it was not for ADHD. They said so. I was reluctant to pt DS on it because I had heard it didn't work for the hyperactivity but we tried it anyway. Strattrera worked well for my son's attention but not the hyperactivity. After that, I took him to a board ceritfied child and adolescent psychiatrist I know well and he also told me it didn't work well for the hyperactivity. It must be like any other medication, it works different for different people. Glad it is working for your daughter.