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My awful side effects from Strattera for ADHD
Hello all,
I've previously posted in misc.kids about my ADHD. In the event that any of you are thinking about putting your kids on Strattera, or taking it yourselves, I would like to share my own experience with awful side effects, though with the caveat that our brain chemistry is all different and plenty of people have had a good experience with it. I've made the decision to get off Strattera and go back to Ritalin. I'm a 34YO woman who first took Ritalin 29 years ago. I was on and off of it during childhood, and then went back on at the age of 24 so that I could complete my education, get a professional degree, and stop wasting my life staring out the window (Ritalin made it possible for me go from daydreaming, spacey factory worker to trial attorney). However, it became apparent to me a couple months ago that Ritalin was making me obsessive-compulsive (for example, I was going to my office at about 7:45 a.m. and sometimes staying all day, working through lunch and supper, and then leaving around midnight). I talked to my doctor, and he put me on Strattera. Well, the Strattera hasn't helped me focus as well as Ritalin did (though it helps somewhat with my ability to focus), but it has made me unable to do any sort of manual labor (such as mow my lawn!!!), makes me weak and faint, makes me sweat buckets(I now end up sometimes going home at lunch to change my shirt), and gives me terrible mood swings. It has also made it hard for me to sleep. I have become horribly irritable, and spent today bitching at my significant other (who fortunately is very understanding and tolerant about what I'm going through) over completely unreasonable things (for example, he was trying to assist me with parallel parking, and I felt total rage envelope me; I became furious and accused him of being paternalistic and condescending; this is not my normal behavior). As for the side effect of physical weakness, I haven't been able to exercise, or even dig a hole in my yard to plant a small fruit tree, and before I went on Strattera, I used to walk, do strenuous yard work, work on my house, and so on. It is ridiculous that one should have difficulty carrying even a basket of laundry from one room to the next! I'm going to call my doctor on Monday. I would much rather be my happy and energetic self on Ritalin and suffer through the obsessive side-effects than have the laundry list of side effects I've had to suffer with Strattera. One side effect with Ritalin compared with about 5 side effects with Strattera? Give me the Ritalin any day. Andrea Baker |
#2
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My awful side effects from Strattera for ADHD
While I am terribly sorry about what you're going through, I feel I have to
issue a warning about Ritalin as well. I was put in Ritalin before there even was a term like "ADHD", which I find myself questioning to this very day. My parents decided I was hyperactive since I wasn't doing well enough in school to suit them or paying sufficient attention at home, and found a doctor who was willing to write an ongoing prescription. They told ME it was a vitamin supplement. From age 9 - 14, I was on this crap. When we moved to another state, my parents tried to get our new doctor to renew the prescription. He was outraged that I'd ever been on it at all, and that was the first time that I really learned what I'd been taking all those years. I'm now 43. I will live with the effects of the Ritalin for the rest of my life. It effectively backfired. I am a very nervous person, I somtimes have difficulty paying attention or concentrating on a task for an extended period of time. This can make getting a decent job rather difficult, I have learned. And did I mention my digestive problems? I can only eat very plain and ordinary foods. I can't even go to a fancy resturant. So much for most social situations. All thanks to Ritalin. The level to which Ritalin is prescribed these days, especially to children, scared the bloody hell out of me. Because I suspect that the vast majority of them, like me, should NOT be on it. And we're going to pay for that, if we're not already. Some might say that there's probably some pill out there that would help me with my present problems. No thank you. I would rather use the strength of my own will to do the best I can on my own than EVER be reliant on another god-da**ed drug for the rest of my life. |
#3
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My awful side effects from Strattera for ADHD
I don't know how you can tell what you would be like if you did not get put
on Ritalin. I suspect that you would have had problems concentrating, GI problems, etc., if you did not get put on Ritalin as a kid. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell. Jeff "GI Trekker" wrote in message ... While I am terribly sorry about what you're going through, I feel I have to issue a warning about Ritalin as well. I was put in Ritalin before there even was a term like "ADHD", which I find myself questioning to this very day. My parents decided I was hyperactive since I wasn't doing well enough in school to suit them or paying sufficient attention at home, and found a doctor who was willing to write an ongoing prescription. They told ME it was a vitamin supplement. From age 9 - 14, I was on this crap. When we moved to another state, my parents tried to get our new doctor to renew the prescription. He was outraged that I'd ever been on it at all, and that was the first time that I really learned what I'd been taking all those years. I'm now 43. I will live with the effects of the Ritalin for the rest of my life. It effectively backfired. I am a very nervous person, I somtimes have difficulty paying attention or concentrating on a task for an extended period of time. This can make getting a decent job rather difficult, I have learned. And did I mention my digestive problems? I can only eat very plain and ordinary foods. I can't even go to a fancy resturant. So much for most social situations. All thanks to Ritalin. The level to which Ritalin is prescribed these days, especially to children, scared the bloody hell out of me. Because I suspect that the vast majority of them, like me, should NOT be on it. And we're going to pay for that, if we're not already. Some might say that there's probably some pill out there that would help me with my present problems. No thank you. I would rather use the strength of my own will to do the best I can on my own than EVER be reliant on another god-da**ed drug for the rest of my life. |
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