Posted by Cairo on June 12, 2005, at 12:19:59
In reply to Depression while getting on Strattera?, posted by Spoc on June 11, 2005, at 8:27:07
Strattera induced melancholic depression in my teen daughter. And we never even got to 20mg! Symptoms got worse as we gradually increased the dose, and abated when we weaned her off. She also has ADD, mild OCD symptoms, social anxiety. I think anything that stimulates her stress symptom too much (psychostimulants included) cause anxiety or make her dysthymia worse.
Provigil has been OK. It increases energy and alertness, but it's not as good as the stimulants on attention. But insofar as her alertness is better, it helps attention somewhat. She takes it along with an SSRI and it seems to augment the AD effect as well as making her a little more prosocial, too.
Good luck!
Cairo
> Hi, am on day 4 of 40 mg. Strattera, to become 80 mg. after a week. Given for a condition that docs have tended to describe as closest to some mix of ADD and OCD, yet clearly neither. Overcomplicated/overly comprehensive thought processes, that prevent efficient functioning and/or multitasking; but just as often marked by unwanted hyperfocus. Also, lack of motivation and occasional mild depression that is probably a ramification of this.
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> I know it can be heck for awhile to get on this or any psy drug, but what I'm wondering is if it's within "normal" range to feel exceptionally depressed while getting on it. I don't feel like I'm in a chemically-induced fog (I would actually prefer that); I just feel more depressed than I've ever been, like for the first time I really could just stay in bed (but be restless, miserable, and unable to relax and enjoy a book or movie or something, even there). And I'm either more confused than ever or just don't have enough motivation to get anything done at all, can't decide which.
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> I've heard it's best to take Strattera dosing much slower than many docs do, but thought 40 mg. was not THAT rapid; and that even if it kind of is, I would be more likely to be feeling an excess of other side effects, like sleepiness, stomach complaints, dizziness, whatever... But I didn't expect this...? Is it reasonable to believe that in a few weeks I might go from increased depression and confusion to improvement in those areas, or is this a pretty bad indicator?
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> Thanks for any comments....
poster:Cairo
thread:510941
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050611/msgs/511466.html