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Thread: Strattera and ADD

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    Default Strattera and ADD

    I started taking Strattera 2 weeks ago and I feel awful! I feel like a zombie half the time and I'm off my game at work. Also, my tummy is huge because I haven't pooped in like a week! I've lost a little weight though, because I'm not sure if I'm ever hungry or not. I can't seem to drink enough water. And on top of it all, I CAN'T HAVE ORGASMS NOW!!! :o

    I am less distractable only because I'm zonked out, but I feel like I can't get enough sleep and I can't focus on stuff.

    I'm calling my doctor on Monday about this, but in the meantime...

    Is anyone else on Strattera or tried it ( I know it's a relatively new drug) or is there anyone out there that can talk about their experience with ADD and their experience with stimulant drugs used to treat it like Ritalin, Adderal or Concerta?

    Please don't include comments about recreational use of these drugs as I am looking for info just on their use for treating ADD.
    "She has written so well, and marvellously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer...But this girl, who is to my knowledge very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch, can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers"

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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    my bf is currently on strattera and prefers it to adderall (made him feel zombied, having a single drink after taking it made him very sleepy, plus your orgasm issue) or concerta (made him feel foggy). he's got ADD and for him strattera works out really well.

    i have it myself and ritalin/concerta (same deal) worked ok to help me concentrate. adderall at even low doses gives me speed freak syndrome (tendency to concentrate really hard on sorting and cleaning things for several hours).

    i used to also take ephedra-- it worked about as well as ritalin, but was OTC. i found out later it will burn out your adrenal glands, which means it's not so great for long-term ADD maintenance. also now you can't get it, which is a shame.

    if i were you, i'd go with the ritalin, if strattera's not working out. i do have to note that my and my bf's experiences are based on very very low dosages of all these drugs (about 1/2 to 1/3 of the typical adult dose). with strattera, it may be as simple as knocking the dosage down a little. or you may have to try all three (ritalin/concerta, strattera, adderall) for a couple months apiece and see how each goes.

    and one last thing-- i know a LOT of guys with ADD who self-medicate with weed. maybe not your thing, but it seems to work for them holding down jobs and being responsible.

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    Rebuildme
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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    All of that shit is so bad for you. I feel bad for young children on that stuff, especially young boys, one of the side effects is improper development of the sex organs.......that sucks. Amphetamine cocktails with stupid names aren't trully helping anyone, just slapping an infected bandaid over an open wound.

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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    Quote Originally Posted by Rebuildme link=board=5;threadid=9447;start=msg118824#msg1188 24 date=1086578480
    All of that shit is so bad for you. I feel bad for young children on that stuff, especially young boys, one of the side effects is improper development of the sex organs.......that sucks. Amphetamine cocktails with stupid names aren't trully helping anyone, just slapping an infected bandaid over an open wound.
    Well then what do you suggest as an alternative?
    "She has written so well, and marvellously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer...But this girl, who is to my knowledge very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch, can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers"

    Ernest Hemingway on writer, aviation pioneer and horse trainer Beryl Markham


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    Rebuildme
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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    Yoga............breathing exercises, being more self aware.

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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    I already go to yoga 4 times a week. I agree to a certain degree that we as a society are over-medicated, but I do really do believe that there are certian people out there that these medications really help.

    The problem with ADHD meds for kids is that schools and parents are often mistaking normal childhood vivacity for ADHD because many adults expect kids to act like miniature adults. But for people that really have ADHD, the right drug can be a lifesaver and lead to an improved quality of life. The disctinction is exasperated parents and schools and doctors that are sometimes eager to overprescribe for the wrong reasons.
    "She has written so well, and marvellously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer...But this girl, who is to my knowledge very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch, can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers"

    Ernest Hemingway on writer, aviation pioneer and horse trainer Beryl Markham


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    Senior Member AnneKatherine's Avatar
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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    I was diagnosed with ADD about 7 years ago. I have been on ritalin and adderol. I'm one of those that doesn't like too many drugs in my system. However, I came across a book that has helped me hugely: Living in Distraction. Now, I may be a little off in the title and can't remember the author. But, type the title into Google and see what comes up. This book has taught me coping mechanisms that really changed my life, seriously. I do admit, though, that I have a strong addiction to coffee/diet mountain dew/sugar-free red bull......this is due to the effects of caffiene speeding up mental capabilities, with is beneficial to those with ADD. But it beats being on the prescriptions by a million miles
    Money is congealed energy, and releasing it releases life's possibilities. ~Joseph Campbell

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    Senior Member Brooke Quinn's Avatar
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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    I'm glad I'm not the only ADD girl around here. I'm NOT on any meds and things are only getting worse and worse. I feel like I'm completely losing my ability to function and survive from day to day.

    I've been doing tons of research into AD/HD (totally hyperfocusing) and the various meds and it's really a matter of finding the one that suits you best. Some need something to slow them down to focus and other need something to speed them up to focus.

    If it's not the right med for you (or if you're NOT AD/HD), then it'll get your ass high or low or all over the place, but NOT FUNCTIONAL.

    I've heard good and bad things about all the meds... Ritalin, Adderall, Stratera, etc. It needs to be like looking for a life mate - find one that is ying to your yang, compliments you just so....

    I'll start my meds soon hopefully (trying to get my butt some health ins.). If you'd like, I'll be sure to report back.
    Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire. - Mileah Davis

    Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try. - Yoda, Star Wars

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    Featured Member ami's Avatar
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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    I took riddelin for 6 years. my parents loved it, my teachers loved it.
    I felt like my brain was turned off.

    I evetually refused to take it anymore. they didnt like that much. but I felt a LOT better.

    btw I was on 60mg to start. thats 3 20mg pills.

    I dont think AD is a disorder, there is nothing wrong with me. I just think diffrently, which actually helps me come up with some off the wall stuff. it just annoys others sometimes... but just because I am annoying dosnt mean I am broken.
    grrr......

    I do do better when I have something to concentrate on, something that gives me very fast instant feedback. Thats why I like computers. I dont have to wait for them, they just respond so quickly, its nice. people useually take too long, and then I forget what was going on.... and if I zone and dont have any input for a while a computer will wait for me, people just get mad....

    I had a teacher in high school tell my mom I was retarded.

    even tv's too slow most of the time. i dont watch hbo much because movies take too long....

    and I avoid caffine for the most part. I drink mainly juice/kool-aid. I do occasinally have tea or cappicino. I feel the same on caffine as I do on weed.

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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    Quote Originally Posted by Rebuildme link=board=5;threadid=9447;start=msg118824#msg1188 24 date=1086578480
    All of that shit is so bad for you. I feel bad for young children on that stuff, especially young boys, one of the side effects is improper development of the sex organs.......that sucks. Amphetamine cocktails with stupid names aren't trully helping anyone, just slapping an infected bandaid over an open wound.
    Well, if you spent your childhood and adolesence absolutely miserable and feeling like you were crazy and it turned out a huge part of the problem was ADHD (as it is for me), you just might feel much differently about medication use. I wish someone had tried to medically treat me back then. I've been on Adderall, which helped some. The dr is talking about ritalin but I'm going to hold off on that since Im doing fairly well on the meds I'm taking now.
    And if your child ( like mine) has significant difficulty in their life because of their symptoms, and you have tried many many alternatives...again, you might feel differently.

    I've never heard of these medications causing problems with sexual organ development. If you can send me any links about that I would definitely be interested in reading them.

    I don't take medication use lightly. I've been on 15 different meds in countless combinations for my ADHD & bipolar. It isn't fun. In fact, it is often a living hell. I don't think medication is appropriate unless the problems are severe and ongoing. In our case they are. it was a very hard decision to put my son on Adderall, but knowing that I wish my mother had tried it for me, I could not withhold from him the chance to have a significantly more normal life.
    I'm not happy about it, I've cried more than I can say over it.

    I do believe in general children are being overmedicated and doctors are too quick to put them on meds.

    Yoga and deep breathing and other such things definitely do help as well. But alone they will not calm such restless minds as effectively as the right meds can. I do think they should be used together...when the situation calls for treatment. Personally, I can not stand yoga or meditating. They don't relax me, instead they stress me out. I prefer controlled movement like pilates or chi gung (sp?)

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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    I would have to agree with Rebuildme in the fact that as medication use continues to rise and rise, and long term remifications are becoming more self-evident every day.

    Unfortunatly pills have the overwhelming tendancy to band-aid one problem while creating others that may not be seen for months, years, or even generations away. This is great for the pharmaceutical companies making billions off our our ills, but what are we doing to our bodies and the bodies of our future generations.

    We live in a world, in nature, and nature has some pretty basic laws. One is that you cannot get something for nothing, and the pharmaceeutical companies do not follow this basic rule. When a human ingests a chemical drug, it has many affects, and the body does what it can to cope with these unnatural substances. while we may temporarily mask one symptom, we are creating another problem elsewhere. This happens with every single medication on the market, always has and always will. There is no such thing as a magic pill and there is no such thing as something for nothing.

    Basically what we put into our bodies is what we get out of them. If we are poisoning ourselves with the manmade, chemical laden, hydrogenated, refined, processed, irradiated, genetically modified foods then of course we are going to look and feel like shit. How can you feel good about yourself when your brian is being bombarded with all of the shit in our grocery stores. How are our children supposed to concentrate in school when all they eat in the morning is Fruit Loops and Pop Tarts. These foodstuffs are totally vitamin and mineral deficient. Can we mask these effects by taking pharmaceutical drugs? Maybe we can. But do we pay in the end. Yes we do. For every positive effect of drugs there is an equally negative effect taking place. This is true for absolutely everything on the earth. Everything in this world has an exact oppisite.

    The time is here to look at the whole human when evaluating symptoms. Hippocrates said it best when he said "let your medicine be your food, and let your food be your medicine" No wonder he is considered the greatest physician of all time. Instead of going to a doctor and saying "I'm sad, give me a pill" I have a short attention span, give me a pill" we should be looking at ourselves and making lifestyle changes.

    Take some yoga, spend some time in the sun, turn off the television for a week, of forever. Start eating healthy. How are people expecting to feel great when their bodies are being loaded up with garbage? I have made some personal lifestyle changes in my life that have changed my mood 1000%. I moved to south florida to live a life of "fun in the sun", I started eating 10-20 servings of fresh, raw organic fruits and vegetables daily, I walk on the beach almost daily, go to the gym regularly, practice yoga, and the only beverage I drink is water. I look and feel great, better than any "magic pill" could ever hope for. My body is in harmony with naure. When we nourish our bodies the way they were designed, they function in the way they were designed. I often ask others what they think would happen if we starting feeding a tribe of gorrilas Coffee & Donuts, and Mcdonalds and other "foods" we eat. Do you think their moods would change? Do you thing cancers, diabetis, and other diseases might start popping up? Do you ever wonder why our closest relatives NEVER NEVER NEVER get cancers and diabetis ? Maybe becasue they are eating the diets they are designed for. Maybe because they are living in harmony with nature insead of fighting it to the death.

    For those of you who claim that there is no other way than to take these pills, I think it's time to re-evaluate your options.


    There is a ton of information on www.mercola.com about eating and living healthfully. Good luck to all on their health endeavors.

    Most of us (I know I did) grew up on foods that were less than optimal. So how do we even know what true heath feels like. We have been eating the same crap since we were born. How do we even know what it feels like to be completely mineralized? How do you know what it feels like to have a body free from mucous and toxins? If we never had perfect health, how do we even know what it is? We live in a world where colds and flus are considered normal. We live in a world where McDonalds is considered normal, but if you eat healthfully you are considered wierd. You can't miss what you never had.

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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    This is possibly the most striking quote I have yet encountered

    " truth passes through 3 stages

    1st it is ridiculed.

    2nd it is violently opposed.

    3rd it is accepted as being self-evident."

    A day will come where It will be self-evident that drugs are not the answer. A day will come when it will be self-evident to consume foods provided by nature, not by factories and laboratories. This will be a great day for humanity.



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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    Quote Originally Posted by SexxxySierra link=board=5;threadid=9447;start=msg124701#msg1247 01 date=1087622986
    Quote Originally Posted by Rebuildme link=board=5;threadid=9447;start=msg118824#msg1188 24 date=1086578480
    All of that shit is so bad for you. I feel bad for young children on that stuff, especially young boys, one of the side effects is improper development of the sex organs.......that sucks. Amphetamine cocktails with stupid names aren't trully helping anyone, just slapping an infected bandaid over an open wound.
    Well, if you spent your childhood and adolesence absolutely miserable and feeling like you were crazy and it turned out a huge part of the problem was ADHD (as it is for me), you just might feel much differently about medication use. I wish someone had tried to medically treat me back then. I've been on Adderall, which helped some. The dr is talking about ritalin but I'm going to hold off on that since Im doing fairly well on the meds I'm taking now.
    And if your child ( like mine) has significant difficulty in their life because of their symptoms, and you have tried many many alternatives...again, you might feel differently.
    ......
    I had no friends. I stuggled to maintain a D avrage. I could read 4-5 grades higher then I was suppost to. They put me on rittalin.

    no I dont feel diffrently. I wish I had never taken that crap.

    In high school I found others who were like me. once I remember being at a table eating. 13 had add, 1 did not.

    now i work with it. I find jobs where I can work alone. I avoid lectures, and will tell people (even my own husband) to just write it down instead of telling me things... I spend a lot of time online. I refuse to have some people call me, instead telling them to email me. I feel it actually gives me an advantage, a diffrent way of seeing the world, I can see things some people miss, yes I miss some things that they see, but thats ok.

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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    I don't think people who live healthfully are weird, in fact I have relatives that own health food stores, do accupuncture and naturopathic medicines.

    But drugs sometimes ARE the answer. Ryan, do you really believe that someone who is, say, bipolar can alleviate their condition just by eating a more healthful diet and exercising?

    ADD is currently the "hot" ailment and the number of people who have it is hotly debated, as is if it's even a legitimate illness at all.

    Incidentally, I have been off Strattera for 2 weeks now. However, I am still thinking of trying one of the stimulant medications to treat it.
    "She has written so well, and marvellously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer...But this girl, who is to my knowledge very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch, can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers"

    Ernest Hemingway on writer, aviation pioneer and horse trainer Beryl Markham


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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    Ryan, you obviously have no understanding of mental illness. Your ignorance on the topic is quite evident.


    For the record, I exercise and eat healthy and drink a ton of water. I grew up in a health food house. I've done accupuncture, I write frequently, etc.

    "I'm sad...give me a pill" ...... I can't even begin to say how pissed off that statement made me. I'm biting my tongue here but I just have to say that I think most of your post was out of line.

    Mental illness is a disease, bipolar disorder has a suicide rate of 20%....meaning a 20% mortality rate. Just like diabetes or any other disease - it requires treatment. It is not a choice, it's a chronic condition that is a constant struggle to keep stabilized.

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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    Sierra, diadetes can also be managed, prevented and even cured with exercies and diet. Here's a couple articles I found on mercola.com

    1) Diabetes At Least 90% Preventable

    Nine out of 10 cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented if people exercised more, ate better, stopped smoking and adopted other healthy behaviors.

    The study findings suggest behavior is the main culprit in type 2 diabetes, also known as adult-onset diabetes, and that 91% of the diabetes cases that appeared among 85,000 female nurses could be attributed to habits and forms of behavior.

    Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body cannot properly use the blood sugar-controlling hormone insulin. Obesity is known to be a major contributor to the condition. The most important risk factor, they found, was being overweight. The heavier a nurse was, the greater the risk.

    But even having a weight at the high end of the normal range nearly tripled the risk.
    On the other hand, physical activity showed a strong protective effect. Women who exercised for 7 or more hours per week were half as likely to develop diabetes than women who exercised for less than half an hour weekly.

    The New England Journal of Medicine September 13, 2001;345


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

    Dr. Mercola's Comment:

    Another good study from NEJM nailing down the link between diabetes and lifestyle.

    The assertion is that one can lower their risk of diabetes using the conventionally recommended diet. However if one uses the eating plan you can reduce type two diabetes by well over 95%, and perhaps even as high as 97-98%.

    Exercise is unquestionably also a big key here.

    Considering that there may be over 25 million diabetics in the US and the epidemic is continuing to increase in the US and worldwide, this is very important information for you, your family and friends.

    Folks, believe me, you do not want to mess with diabetes. It is a nasty illness and will gradually and slowly suck the life out of you and contribute to a miserable existence.




    2)Want to Stop Diabetes? Start Exercising

    By Sally Squires

    At least 10 million overweight Americans could sharply cut their risk of developing diabetes by making relatively simple lifestyle changes in their diets and exercise routines, according to a major government study released August 8.

    The Diabetes Prevention Program is the first large study to show that losing weight and exercising can effectively delay diabetes in a wide range of overweight men and women who are just a step away from having full-blown diabetes.

    It gives doctors the first proven tools for countering the growing diabetes epidemic in the United States.

    While previous research has shown that diet and exercise can help control blood sugar levels in people who already have the disease -- and thus reduce some complications -- this study demonstrates that lifestyle changes can actually prevent diabetes in nearly 60 percent of those who are poised to develop the disease.

    The results were so overwhelmingly positive that officials halted the study one year early to make the findings widely available.

    An estimated 16 million people in the United States have diabetes, a chronic disease of the pancreas that causes blood sugar levels to soar. Once largely limited to older adults, type 2 diabetes rates have tripled in the past 30 years, mostly because of the upsurge of obesity.

    Diabetes strikes 800,000 people annually and is being diagnosed more frequently in younger individuals.

    Minorities are at particular risk: Compared with whites, blacks have a 60 percent higher rate of developing diabetes and Hispanics have a 90 percent increased risk.

    The disease costs an estimated $100 billion annually to treat in the United States; and with no proven way to prevent it, public health officials have become increasingly concerned about the future costs of the disease in an aging and increasingly overweight population.

    Type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes is the most common form of the disease, accounting for 95 percent of cases in the United States. It is the leading cause of kidney failure, limb amputations and new blindness in adults. It also contributes to heart disease and stroke -- two of the major killers in the United States.

    Until now, doctors believed that changes in diet and exercise might help reduce the risk of developing diabetes, but they had little scientific evidence to back up that thinking. Critics often pointed to the dismal failure of most people to lose weight and keep it off.

    As little as a 5 percent weight loss -- that's about 10 pounds for most people in the study -- can reduce the risk of diabetes by 58 percent. That is truly remarkable.

    During the three-year study, the participants in the lifestyle group reduced their risk of developing diabetes by a striking 58 percent. Among those 60 and older, the reduction in risk was even greater: 71 percent.

    Participants in the lifestyle group met weekly, one-on-one, with a counselor for nearly six months. They received intensive instruction on diet and exercise, which was followed by group meetings on grocery shopping. The participants limited their food intake to 1,200 to 1,800 calories a day. They also exercised at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, mostly by walking briskly.

    On average, those who received the lifestyle counseling lost 7 percent of their body weight -- about 15 pounds -- and kept most of it off for the duration of the three-year study. Only about 5 percent of these participants developed diabetes each year -- half the rate of the control group.

    Washington Post August 9, 2001; Page A01



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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    RYAN! Stop hijacking my thread!
    "She has written so well, and marvellously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer...But this girl, who is to my knowledge very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch, can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers"

    Ernest Hemingway on writer, aviation pioneer and horse trainer Beryl Markham


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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    sorry baby

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    Senior Member Brooke Quinn's Avatar
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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    now i work with it. I find jobs where I can work alone.... and will tell people (even my own husband) to just write it down instead of telling me things... I spend a lot of time online. I refuse to have some people call me, instead telling them to email me.
    Ditto. I always thought I was soooooooo weird for prefering email to the phone. I only make phone calls when I HAVE to. Otherwise, everything is written. I feel like it's the only way I'm organized, the only way I really pay attention and get anything done. Yeh, that reminds me too.... If I write down a "to do" list for my day, I'm much more likely to have a productive day instead of spending hours on end on StripperWeb. LOL On that note, I'm logging off and paying bills.
    Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire. - Mileah Davis

    Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try. - Yoda, Star Wars

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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    My best friend, who I had known for 20 years growing up had a rather tragic combination of ADHD and bipolar disorder.

    Growing up his grades would go through peaks and valleys; held back one year, top of the class the next. His mood was very similar. Went from being a hyper happy freak into a dark, suicidal isolation. The best times of my life were with this guy, however, it was hard to see him go through the pains of his disorder. The stubborn jerk always refused to go to the doctor also, and when he did go, the doctor’s were blind. I remember, like it was yesterday, trying to cajole my friend into believing his life was worth living. Trying to talk him out of killing himself as he held a shotgun to his mouth. In the end, he didn’t shoot only because he couldn’t reach the trigger at the other end of the barrel.

    He ran away from home, returned, ran away again, got numerous speeding tickets, got thrown in jail, and disowned and renowned his parents.

    In college, he struggled. After 4 years of education, he still had only completed and passed 4 semester worth of studies. His grades were poor, and he struggled to keep his job.

    All this changed dramatically when he was prescribed with Ritalin. I know there are some out there that think negatively about this drug, or prescribing drugs for a “so-called mental illness”. However, the manner in which his life changed after taking the drug was simply amazing. I had never seen the man so consistently determined, focused and energized. Between completely turning around his coursework and excelling at his job, he came and visited me about 3-4 times a month. Had too much fun with that bastard

    About 2 years ago he decided to quit his medication and manage his mood in a more “natural way”. Yes, that’s right – exercise, eating healthy, deep breathing exercise, yada yada yada… He went into complete remission. Once again his mood was all over the charts, along with his performance at work and school. On an hyper depressive morning, erratically trying to get to work on time and fight with his girlfriend on the phone at the same time, he ran a red light and hit a small compact car at 55 miles an hour, killing the driver instantly. He died on the ambulance ride to the hospital.

    If I could have had a brother, it would have been him. There was no one I felt more comfortable talking too when I had personal problems, girl problems, etc. etc. Without a doubt in my mind, he would have been the best man at my wedding. His death was tragic, and still is hard to deal with until this day…

    I know there are a lot of negative opinions/data/thoughts about managing ADHD or other mental illnesses with medication, but for some it is absolutely necessary. Whether it’s ADHD, bipolar disorder, or any other mental illness, Ryan, sometimes the ONLY option is medication. For some it’s not just a band-aid

    - AG

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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    NinaDaisy –

    Sorry about the long post… My friend took Ritalin and had problems in the beginning. Did wonderfully when he reduced his dosage to ½ the prescribed amount. Oh yeah.. and lay off the coffee!!

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    God/dess NinaDaisy's Avatar
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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    No prob, Guy. At least your long post wasn't about diabetes! By the way, Strattera comes in capsules and can't be cut. I was already taking the smallest dose.

    But yeah, I have the same thing with the phone. My aunt got on my case a few months ago about how I never call anyone in my family but I have no problem firing e-mails. The joy of finding kindred spririts!
    "She has written so well, and marvellously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer...But this girl, who is to my knowledge very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch, can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers"

    Ernest Hemingway on writer, aviation pioneer and horse trainer Beryl Markham


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    Featured Member ami's Avatar
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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    My husband got me a cell phone. if you look at my call list there is nothing but incomeing calls, mostly from my best friend (with no internet )and my sister (also an internetsless freak). My otherfriends know better and email or im me. The only outgoing things from my cell are pics I email to my moblog.
    My boss and my doctor are the only ones who call my land line, although I did try to get away with putting my email under phone #.....

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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    I've been through 'em all, and actually strattera has been the best for me. Be careful if you try out the stimulants. I'm not a junkie, and have been more or less terrified of recreational drug use for my entire life, but after 10 straight years of ritalin, i found myself hooked. It can happen and it's sneaky, there are some drugs out there that do wonderful things, but just be careful. If you at any point start getting frenzied because you didn't fill your prescription in time, and the prospect of an entire weekend without it becomes a pannic, talk to your doctor. Thats why i like strattera, i didn't get any side effects after about the first week, and its much less chemically addicting than ritalin or adderol or concerta.

    -C

    -C

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    Veteran Member A.n.a.l.a.'s Avatar
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    Default Re:Strattera and ADD

    my little sister (not actually related) and one of my best friends has bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. she's been on meds since she was 12. she's slowly weaning off them but right now is unable ot go completely without meds. her situation isn't just poor diet or lack of discipline. she learned her biological parents also had mental illnesses and this is a big part of what happened to her. ninadaisy, has your body adjusted to your medication yet? i hope so. i heard it can take up to a month to adjust. i've never been on meds for anything though. supposedly i have bipolar disorder but i was also told i had add before... i don't know what my deal is but it drives everyone crazy when i'm upset and and i'm not nice to myself then i have mega mood swings at times and i cut. i haven't done that for a couple weeks. i've been really good and it's hard! i don't eat meat anymore, been working on the junk food, etc. i'm afraid to try meds though- i don't even like taking an aspirin for a headache! don't like pills much.... (unless i can chew them) nina, is your med a low dose kind that is time released? would that work for you?

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