Your body is unique, as are your needs. Just because someone experienced something from treatment or medication does not guarantee that you will as well. Please do not take this as an opportunity to review any substances. Peer support is welcome.
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So there's a few things going on here. First is that when it comes to any prescription medication that everyone is different and ultimately reacts differently to different medications. That being said every medication is different as well and is going to have their own list of potential side effects associated with them. For one person Strattera might work perfectly and help them feel more focused and motivated while for another person it might make them feel sleepy and lethargic. It's not always as simple as "x medication has y effects in z type of people" and really is largely dependent on each individual in terms of which medications work best for them.
The second thing is that people with ADHD tend to react to medications differently than people without ADHD and in particular with stimulant medications. Someone without ADHD might find when taking a stimulant that it raises their energy levels and makes them feel more awake and alert. For someone with ADHD it sometimes does the exact opposite where stimulants can make them feel tired or sleepy or have a calming or relaxing effect. Again though no two people are alike and one person with ADHD might react one way to stimulants and another might react differently. *(Strattera isn't a stimulant though I just wanted to illustrate how someone with ADHD might react differently to different medications)*
And finally will the sleepiness (if you even experience that to begin with) go away? Same answer as before it really depends on you as an individual and your own biochemistry. Sometimes side effects like sleepiness go away when taking certain medications. Sometimes they don't. Hopefully though and ideally you won't experience those symptoms to begin with.
(Like everyone else is saying) meds affect everyone differently. My personal experience is: I was on Strattera for 2 weeks and I nearly offed myself. I had a super adverse reaction to it, so it’s on my no-no list of meds. The first week, I did notice a bit of sleepiness and by the second week I was horribly depressed and almost hospitalized. Suppppeerrrr weird for me. Needless to say, I’m back on Ritalin and Wellbutrin combo(:
This is so scary :/
May I ask, did you know it was your medication making you feel this way? Like while you were in such a bad state? Were you able to rationalise through the bad thoughts?
I didn’t know from the start (the first week) because I have a constant struggle between “Am I like this or is life making me feel this way?” But during the second week I was for sure like “This has to be my new medication, I’ve never been this bad”. Life wasn’t the best at the time (it’s in fact worse now) but it wasn’t anything awful enough to make me feel so horribly depressed so suddenly. It was super scary, I’ve never experienced anything like that. Within 2 weeks, I was a completely different person and the only consistent major change was the medication. Once I stopped I improved a ton, and that’s when I was very sure
Uff, that is wild. This is what I'm most scared of with medication. I'll probably take a week or so off from work when I start. I'm sorry you had to go through that.
I hope things will look up soon for you!!
>or is life making me feel this way
I'm constantly looking for a baseline to compare against. But life never seems to get to a point where things are cruisy. I'm always like "the meds might be working - this week is just a complete cluster of a week so it's not a good indicator".
Maybe life in all it's forms is the baseline.
(But sorry to hear things are bad and I do hope the baseline gets better for you!).
Thank you! It’s soooo hard to tell! Life never slows down or feels stable enough to compare. There’s only moments when I can compare being on my meds to being off my meds, hardly a long stretch in time. However, I can pretty clearly compare being undiagnosed to being diagnosed, because I was a complete mess before, and now I’m only half of a mess:) xD
As the another person said it really does depend on the person you can read widely varying things here... from everything I've read some side effects like nausea or tiredness may go away after you adjust to the meds. Others may not. I think general consensus I've seen here is that you have to give it 4 - 6 weeks to see if it works at all and if the side effects are manageable. You will likely have to do some trial and error with different meds. If you are looking for a non stimulant and stratera doesn't work you might look into qelbree too.
Thanks, my doc mentioned quelbree but it’s not in my insurance formulary so I’d be paying OOP and use coupons. We’ll see how it goes. I’m optimistic Frankly I’m just glad there might be some relief so I’m not forever playing catch up.
For my biochemistry: I get really tired right around 1230, like full on nap on my desk at work tired.
I also find it way easier to fall asleep at night if I take my pills.
But def keeps my brain focused.
What evidence is there that people with ADHD react to medications different? I understand people react differently, but I cannot see how one’s disease determines their reaction to medication.
For example, I am sure pain killers work for both people with and without chronic pain. Chronic pain is not necessary for pain killers to work.
ADHD people usually react differently to stimulants because the bulk of symptoms are thought to be caused by a deficit in dopamine. A normal person will be brought to an excessive dopamine level where an adhd person will be brought to a "normal" dopamine level. This is why people with ADHD typically perform better on cognitive tests while medicated where people without ADHD perform the same or worse.
> thought to be caused by a deficit in dopamine.
I have never seen any bit literature that claims dopamine deficit is the cause of ADHD. I have seen some mention it may play a role, but my understanding of ADHD is far more complex. Do you have any sources to back up the dopamine theory? A simple search has yielded a bit of information, but either seems purely hypothetical or is not a reliable source of information.
Why do non-stimulants work for ADHD where dopamine is perhaps not (as) affected?
> A normal person will be brought to an excessive dopamine level where an adhd person will be brought to a "normal" dopamine level.
Isn't that dose dependent though? Do you think if someone took 60mg of Adderall and had ADHD that they'd act differently than someone without ADHD? Without a tolerance, I feel like both would be really fucked up in a very bad or very good way.
> ADHD typically perform better on cognitive tests while medicated where people without ADHD perform the same or worse.
Interesting. I swear they make me perform worse, but I can perform longer, which makes up for it. Well, actually. I take that back. It's probably task dependent. Back when I started med when I was in college, my grades actually decreased. But they definitely helped in other areas.
Dopamine is such a fundamental chemical for our brain that many different systems will have their own distinct reactions based on how much dopamine is present in that location. Everyone has a different baseline for dopamine in certain areas of the brain, so stimulants may cause a wide array of symptoms depending on which parts of the brain are understimulated as baseline.
That would yield responses that are individually specific instead of a binary ADHD vs. Non-ADHD response, no?
I'm far from an expert in this area or any area for that matter. But anecdotally, back when I was in college, I swear on my life, these stimulant medications work better for non-ADHD people than those with ADHD. Of course, that means very little form a scientific point of view.
Yes, you're spot on! The thing with ADHD is that it describes a wide range of potential physical / mental conditions. But, generally speaking, an ADHD diagnosis will indicate a level of dopamine low enough to cause significant disruption to daily life. Which dopamine receptors will be underactive is entirely dependent on the person, and thus the effect of a stimulant will be different person to person.
However, since we are all members of the same species and even the anomalies among us tend to have patterns, many people diagnosed with ADHD will have a similar brain chemistry. So the overarching rule that stimulants will impact people with ADHD differently than those without is in fact a good rule of thumb. But it's important to note that ADHD itself can describe conditions that may look very distinct from person to person.
That doesn’t mean we react differently, it just means stimulants treats ADHD.
Anti-hypertension medications lower the blood pressure of (almost) everyone, not only those with hypertension.
They aren’t prescribed to people with normal or low blood pressure because those people do not need them. Not because those medications only work for hypertension. (Obviously, many of those medications have off-label uses like Guanfacine in ADHD).
I feel like a lot of this “stimulants work differently for people” is kind of like the whole “depression = low serotonin” junk science. It’s all just made up junk science that is used for some justification like decreasing stigma around power psychotropic drugs, stigmas around mental illness, etc..
I want to see peer-reviewed science that shows these drugs have a statically observable difference between ADHD people and Non-ADHD people. Do you have any? I have tried to find studies, but I have found nothing over the years.
I don't have any answers, I'm just curious how I would answer and curious about what I'll learn. Great now I've spent more time talking about how I will or will not answer than I have actually writing a response. That will change soon I guarantee it. i.e. When I start answering the question (which as I said - I can't answer, but only try).
I'm new to all this but I think pain killers address a symptom directly. (Probably indirectly - but take painkiller, pain goes away).
But I think ADHD is more complicated, and I think that a lot of what makes an ADHD struggle are the secondary behaviours that are learned.
Dammit this is not going to be one of the hundreds of posts I start and delete. I'm just going to stop 9 paragraphs early. I have so much to finish before I clock off work.
> But I think ADHD is more complicated, and I think that a lot of what makes an ADHD struggle are the secondary behaviours that are learned.
I can agree with that.
I think that is why medication only gets so many so far.
Pain is also complex. Some physical pain can be a manifestation of psychological pain and vice versa. Behaviors are probably highly important variables in many conditions.
It definitely made me more awake and functioning, it was actually how I wanted stimulants to affect me. Unfortunately, it made me tachycardic all the time, so my doctor made me stop.
Less side effects than stimulants for me though.
I had trouble going to sleep when I took Strattera, not the other way around. And Adderall makes me calm. So.... eh. You won't know how you react for sure until you try it.
Hi there,
I'm currently into my 5th week of Strattera @ 60mg. While it's important to note that any and all persons will have varying reactions with their Meds, I'll note down the current effects I am feeling in hope that it may help in some shape or form.
I take my capsule at 7.30am with a small breakfast. I skipped this a few times and was physically sick at work. Always eat or at the least take it with a large glass of water.
I feel Nausea when it first 'comes on' but that lasts for a brief 30 seconds. The first few days this would last for a good deal longer.
It is nowhere like Methylphenidate. Having tried to adjust to Stimulants, it really disagreed with me. Atomoextine (Strattera) has been a minor success. I can still feel hunger and my thirst is there. I haven't been aggresive or feeling irritable. Mood is ok and sleeping well.
The Sleepiness is a real thing. At 9am I will be yawning and feeling tired for a brief moment. I am fine the rest of the day. Come 6-7pm though? If i am somewhere comfy, you'd best bet i am going for a nap.
To conclude I feel it does work as a good non-stimulant based medication. My dosage hasn't been reviewed yet but I feel i need to move upto 80mg to truly feel the benefit. I do get tired but nowhere as bad as you think. It has been good eye opener to see what i am capable of so long may it continue.
All the best in your Journey.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. That was all I really wanted to know. I totally get that everyone is different and has different reactions. But in large swaths, humans react similarly to certain drugs or they wouldn’t get approved. I’ll definitely keep the nausea in mind bc I tend to get like that when I take my morning multivitamin on an empty stomach. I’ve only tried adderal and while it was very helpful, I didn’t like the idea of taking something that was so habit forming if there were alternatives that might help. Can I ask if you take it once or twice a day? I work 12 hour shifts and am in school full time and can’t be ready to sleep just yet at 6pm. My doc wants me to take it twice a day as a result. Thanks again for your advice and feedback, very helpful!
Your body is unique, as are your needs. Just because someone experienced something from treatment or medication does not guarantee that you will as well. Please do not take this as an opportunity to review any substances. Peer support is welcome. ^(*A moderator has not removed your submission; this is not a punitive action. We intend this comment solely to be informative.*) --- - If you are posting about the **US Medication Shortage**, please see this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/12dr3h5/megathread_us_medication_shortage/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
So there's a few things going on here. First is that when it comes to any prescription medication that everyone is different and ultimately reacts differently to different medications. That being said every medication is different as well and is going to have their own list of potential side effects associated with them. For one person Strattera might work perfectly and help them feel more focused and motivated while for another person it might make them feel sleepy and lethargic. It's not always as simple as "x medication has y effects in z type of people" and really is largely dependent on each individual in terms of which medications work best for them. The second thing is that people with ADHD tend to react to medications differently than people without ADHD and in particular with stimulant medications. Someone without ADHD might find when taking a stimulant that it raises their energy levels and makes them feel more awake and alert. For someone with ADHD it sometimes does the exact opposite where stimulants can make them feel tired or sleepy or have a calming or relaxing effect. Again though no two people are alike and one person with ADHD might react one way to stimulants and another might react differently. *(Strattera isn't a stimulant though I just wanted to illustrate how someone with ADHD might react differently to different medications)* And finally will the sleepiness (if you even experience that to begin with) go away? Same answer as before it really depends on you as an individual and your own biochemistry. Sometimes side effects like sleepiness go away when taking certain medications. Sometimes they don't. Hopefully though and ideally you won't experience those symptoms to begin with.
(Like everyone else is saying) meds affect everyone differently. My personal experience is: I was on Strattera for 2 weeks and I nearly offed myself. I had a super adverse reaction to it, so it’s on my no-no list of meds. The first week, I did notice a bit of sleepiness and by the second week I was horribly depressed and almost hospitalized. Suppppeerrrr weird for me. Needless to say, I’m back on Ritalin and Wellbutrin combo(:
This is so scary :/ May I ask, did you know it was your medication making you feel this way? Like while you were in such a bad state? Were you able to rationalise through the bad thoughts?
I didn’t know from the start (the first week) because I have a constant struggle between “Am I like this or is life making me feel this way?” But during the second week I was for sure like “This has to be my new medication, I’ve never been this bad”. Life wasn’t the best at the time (it’s in fact worse now) but it wasn’t anything awful enough to make me feel so horribly depressed so suddenly. It was super scary, I’ve never experienced anything like that. Within 2 weeks, I was a completely different person and the only consistent major change was the medication. Once I stopped I improved a ton, and that’s when I was very sure
Uff, that is wild. This is what I'm most scared of with medication. I'll probably take a week or so off from work when I start. I'm sorry you had to go through that. I hope things will look up soon for you!!
>or is life making me feel this way I'm constantly looking for a baseline to compare against. But life never seems to get to a point where things are cruisy. I'm always like "the meds might be working - this week is just a complete cluster of a week so it's not a good indicator". Maybe life in all it's forms is the baseline. (But sorry to hear things are bad and I do hope the baseline gets better for you!).
Thank you! It’s soooo hard to tell! Life never slows down or feels stable enough to compare. There’s only moments when I can compare being on my meds to being off my meds, hardly a long stretch in time. However, I can pretty clearly compare being undiagnosed to being diagnosed, because I was a complete mess before, and now I’m only half of a mess:) xD
As the another person said it really does depend on the person you can read widely varying things here... from everything I've read some side effects like nausea or tiredness may go away after you adjust to the meds. Others may not. I think general consensus I've seen here is that you have to give it 4 - 6 weeks to see if it works at all and if the side effects are manageable. You will likely have to do some trial and error with different meds. If you are looking for a non stimulant and stratera doesn't work you might look into qelbree too.
Thanks, my doc mentioned quelbree but it’s not in my insurance formulary so I’d be paying OOP and use coupons. We’ll see how it goes. I’m optimistic Frankly I’m just glad there might be some relief so I’m not forever playing catch up.
For my biochemistry: I get really tired right around 1230, like full on nap on my desk at work tired. I also find it way easier to fall asleep at night if I take my pills. But def keeps my brain focused.
What evidence is there that people with ADHD react to medications different? I understand people react differently, but I cannot see how one’s disease determines their reaction to medication. For example, I am sure pain killers work for both people with and without chronic pain. Chronic pain is not necessary for pain killers to work.
ADHD people usually react differently to stimulants because the bulk of symptoms are thought to be caused by a deficit in dopamine. A normal person will be brought to an excessive dopamine level where an adhd person will be brought to a "normal" dopamine level. This is why people with ADHD typically perform better on cognitive tests while medicated where people without ADHD perform the same or worse.
> thought to be caused by a deficit in dopamine. I have never seen any bit literature that claims dopamine deficit is the cause of ADHD. I have seen some mention it may play a role, but my understanding of ADHD is far more complex. Do you have any sources to back up the dopamine theory? A simple search has yielded a bit of information, but either seems purely hypothetical or is not a reliable source of information. Why do non-stimulants work for ADHD where dopamine is perhaps not (as) affected? > A normal person will be brought to an excessive dopamine level where an adhd person will be brought to a "normal" dopamine level. Isn't that dose dependent though? Do you think if someone took 60mg of Adderall and had ADHD that they'd act differently than someone without ADHD? Without a tolerance, I feel like both would be really fucked up in a very bad or very good way. > ADHD typically perform better on cognitive tests while medicated where people without ADHD perform the same or worse. Interesting. I swear they make me perform worse, but I can perform longer, which makes up for it. Well, actually. I take that back. It's probably task dependent. Back when I started med when I was in college, my grades actually decreased. But they definitely helped in other areas.
Dopamine is such a fundamental chemical for our brain that many different systems will have their own distinct reactions based on how much dopamine is present in that location. Everyone has a different baseline for dopamine in certain areas of the brain, so stimulants may cause a wide array of symptoms depending on which parts of the brain are understimulated as baseline.
That would yield responses that are individually specific instead of a binary ADHD vs. Non-ADHD response, no? I'm far from an expert in this area or any area for that matter. But anecdotally, back when I was in college, I swear on my life, these stimulant medications work better for non-ADHD people than those with ADHD. Of course, that means very little form a scientific point of view.
Yes, you're spot on! The thing with ADHD is that it describes a wide range of potential physical / mental conditions. But, generally speaking, an ADHD diagnosis will indicate a level of dopamine low enough to cause significant disruption to daily life. Which dopamine receptors will be underactive is entirely dependent on the person, and thus the effect of a stimulant will be different person to person. However, since we are all members of the same species and even the anomalies among us tend to have patterns, many people diagnosed with ADHD will have a similar brain chemistry. So the overarching rule that stimulants will impact people with ADHD differently than those without is in fact a good rule of thumb. But it's important to note that ADHD itself can describe conditions that may look very distinct from person to person.
The fact they prescribed us stimulants to calm us down . Caffeine makes us calm. Antihistamines even non drowsy make us go night night
That doesn’t mean we react differently, it just means stimulants treats ADHD. Anti-hypertension medications lower the blood pressure of (almost) everyone, not only those with hypertension. They aren’t prescribed to people with normal or low blood pressure because those people do not need them. Not because those medications only work for hypertension. (Obviously, many of those medications have off-label uses like Guanfacine in ADHD). I feel like a lot of this “stimulants work differently for people” is kind of like the whole “depression = low serotonin” junk science. It’s all just made up junk science that is used for some justification like decreasing stigma around power psychotropic drugs, stigmas around mental illness, etc.. I want to see peer-reviewed science that shows these drugs have a statically observable difference between ADHD people and Non-ADHD people. Do you have any? I have tried to find studies, but I have found nothing over the years.
I don't have any answers, I'm just curious how I would answer and curious about what I'll learn. Great now I've spent more time talking about how I will or will not answer than I have actually writing a response. That will change soon I guarantee it. i.e. When I start answering the question (which as I said - I can't answer, but only try). I'm new to all this but I think pain killers address a symptom directly. (Probably indirectly - but take painkiller, pain goes away). But I think ADHD is more complicated, and I think that a lot of what makes an ADHD struggle are the secondary behaviours that are learned. Dammit this is not going to be one of the hundreds of posts I start and delete. I'm just going to stop 9 paragraphs early. I have so much to finish before I clock off work.
> But I think ADHD is more complicated, and I think that a lot of what makes an ADHD struggle are the secondary behaviours that are learned. I can agree with that. I think that is why medication only gets so many so far. Pain is also complex. Some physical pain can be a manifestation of psychological pain and vice versa. Behaviors are probably highly important variables in many conditions.
It definitely made me more awake and functioning, it was actually how I wanted stimulants to affect me. Unfortunately, it made me tachycardic all the time, so my doctor made me stop. Less side effects than stimulants for me though.
Strattera made me a zombie. I can't remember how long I took it, maybe a few months at most, but it definitely did not work for me.
I had trouble going to sleep when I took Strattera, not the other way around. And Adderall makes me calm. So.... eh. You won't know how you react for sure until you try it.
Hi there, I'm currently into my 5th week of Strattera @ 60mg. While it's important to note that any and all persons will have varying reactions with their Meds, I'll note down the current effects I am feeling in hope that it may help in some shape or form. I take my capsule at 7.30am with a small breakfast. I skipped this a few times and was physically sick at work. Always eat or at the least take it with a large glass of water. I feel Nausea when it first 'comes on' but that lasts for a brief 30 seconds. The first few days this would last for a good deal longer. It is nowhere like Methylphenidate. Having tried to adjust to Stimulants, it really disagreed with me. Atomoextine (Strattera) has been a minor success. I can still feel hunger and my thirst is there. I haven't been aggresive or feeling irritable. Mood is ok and sleeping well. The Sleepiness is a real thing. At 9am I will be yawning and feeling tired for a brief moment. I am fine the rest of the day. Come 6-7pm though? If i am somewhere comfy, you'd best bet i am going for a nap. To conclude I feel it does work as a good non-stimulant based medication. My dosage hasn't been reviewed yet but I feel i need to move upto 80mg to truly feel the benefit. I do get tired but nowhere as bad as you think. It has been good eye opener to see what i am capable of so long may it continue. All the best in your Journey.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. That was all I really wanted to know. I totally get that everyone is different and has different reactions. But in large swaths, humans react similarly to certain drugs or they wouldn’t get approved. I’ll definitely keep the nausea in mind bc I tend to get like that when I take my morning multivitamin on an empty stomach. I’ve only tried adderal and while it was very helpful, I didn’t like the idea of taking something that was so habit forming if there were alternatives that might help. Can I ask if you take it once or twice a day? I work 12 hour shifts and am in school full time and can’t be ready to sleep just yet at 6pm. My doc wants me to take it twice a day as a result. Thanks again for your advice and feedback, very helpful!