Experience with Straterra

[Numberate]

My 8 year old has been prescribed the non stimulant Straterra for his extreme lack focus and mild hyperactivity. We decided to go this route due to him already being in the 9th percentile for weight. From what his dr told me and what I’ve read, it takes a couple weeks to build up and for some people it’s quite the adjustment. I’m nervous to start him on it and would appreciate any advice or experience of what to possibly expect. I’m on the fence and I just might call and ask if he can try Focalin, the same one my older son is on.

[kdali]

If I had been aware that my kiddo would need more sleep while on this med, then we would have had no adjustment issues. Perhaps giving it after dinner has her sleeping through side effects, but she only had nausea one time when she didn't eat enough while having a cold. She's exceeded improvement expectations during this first month, so we are at the lowest dose still.

[Numberate in reply to kdali]

Thank you so much for the reply! Your daughter takes it once a day nightly? I worry so much about my son because he is on the smaller side and seems to be more sensitive to things. He is extremely resilient but when is feeling a certain way, it’s hard for him to get through it. Were there any sleep issues? My son already had a hard time sleeping. Again, thank you so much for replying!

[kdali in reply to Numberate]

Yes, one pill with dinner. I was a little concerned about her being able to communicate issues, since she's 5, but she has not had any. Same here with hard times, it was so hard to reach her when upset to talk through the issue. She is sleeping better now, just needs more sleep than before. She had one night where she woke up and couldn't get back to sleep for an hour, but that was the only time so far. She is going to bed earlier, sleeping in, and taking the nap at school (which she use to be disruptive during because she rarely slept). Before I figured out she needed to sleep 2 more hours per day, she had some grumpy reports from school (but less crazy than her usual bad day).

You're welcome! I did not find much on trouble shooting issues online, except nausea or ways to give the pill (she swallowed it fine), so if you take this leap and have a question, feel free to message me. We are still learning this med ourselves, but I'm happy to help if I can.

[Numberate in reply to kdali]

We are on day 3. He was up all night the first night but last night he slept the entire night without waking up. Which is not like him! For as long as I remember he has always woken up in the night. Good night, one time. Bad night, 3 times and unable to go back to sleep right away. He went to bed at 9 last night and I had to wake him up at 9:30 or else he would have kept sleeping. So I think I see what you are saying about getting extra sleep in. I’m worried about his appetite as yesterday he didn’t want to eat that much. I tried to make it exciting and easy for him by making shakes and breaking up his meals into snacks all day. Hoping this is the right med for him! Now it’s a waiting game to see.

[kdali in reply to Numberate]

We had similar issues with difficulty going back to sleep, but it didn't last long. The sleep thing is still happening here, bedtime at 745pm and wake time 645am. We had similar issues with appetite, and your snack attack plan is solid! 🎉 I sent snacks to school, but sometimes she would eat a ton once she got home from school. I moved the pill time to 4pm to see if she would wake up earlier in the morning on her own (since she was mad at me for not letting her sleep, and that's odd for her to be anything but bubbly in the morning), but it did not help and we had to wait that out. I gave her one Good Energy vitamin (chocolate and caffeine 20mg) to help her get up for about 2 weeks, and she doesn't need that now. Over the last 3 weeks of school, she's had 13 of 14 great days, the one bad was cold related and she refused to eat/hangry. One weird thing now is increased afternoon hyperactivity, but not disruptive, just kinda wiggly and happy in her own space. She has tried new foods for the past week 🎉🤷‍♀️ Her play therapist agreed with what we are seeing, more than 30% improvement. I hope it works for your son! I would love to hear how it goes for you, as we are new to this med and have a low weight little too!

[Numberate in reply to kdali]

That is awesome to hear! The relief we feel for our littles when they are able to get the help that they need 🙏🏻 It is very promising to hear how well your daughter is doing all around with medication and therapy. Again, thank you so much for sharing your journey to help me navigate mine. Our dr told us it would take time to build and take effect but I feel like I already see a difference. He is not as triggered and when he does get upset, he is able to feel it and move past it. I also notice a huge difference in his school work. I remember when I started my oldest on medication, his psychiatrist showed me two penmanship pages. One was on medication, one without. He told me it’s a good indicator if the medication is working or not. My son is more willing to do his work, has been making less mistakes and his writing is like night and day. His mind is still busy, still quite chatty but his conversations is what I love most about him. Hoping this isn’t just a coincidence and it continues!

[kdali in reply to Numberate]

Hooray! 🎉 Has he read any of the Ninja books? Mine really likes Impulsive Ninja, and they are also on audible so you can listen in the car.

I feel like early improvement is related to the dose, because it's weight based but has a standard starting mg, the little ones get half of their regular dose straight away. Whatever the reason, I'm grateful we had early assurance that we were on the right path. That's so good to hear! 🎉 I hope it continues 🙏

[Numberate in reply to kdali]

Impulsive ninja added to my cart! Thank you!

[kdali in reply to Numberate]

We just listened to a few today, and Frustrated Ninja is her next pick! I hope he likes it and uses his super power of pause 🥰

[Hidden]

My son couldn’t tolerate stimulants (methylpenidate extended release) and since he swapped to Atomoxetine we never looked back. I was worried because he has never had good appetite, he gets full very soon, he also eats slowly and then loses interest and walks away and he suffered in the past from functional nausea and sometimes even would vomit everything he ate. So yes, on stimulants he basically couldn’t eat at all, but I was worried reading that Atomoxetine also causes appetite suppression, can cause nausea, vomiting, stomach ache at the beginning when body gets used to it. However my son hasn’t had any of that, he eats fine on this medicine, last weighing he was on 60th centile for weight and 50th for height. He is still 2 kilograms lighter than his 2 years younger brother but it’s just because little one doesn’t have ADHD and in fact has always had a very good appetite and can eat very quickly.

My son’s teacher gave feedback that he follows instructions and does his work at school, also he’s happy and doesn’t suffer from anxiety anymore. I’d say with me at home he’s still not great but it’s because we don’t have a good relationship, he’s much better behaved for my husband for example, when we do free time and holidays he is still quite hyper active but I think it’s because he knows he can because it’s holidays plus they are always on top of each other with the little brother.

If your son has trouble with gaining weight you could ask his doctor about Cyproheptadine- it is an antihistamine but as a side effect it increases appetite. It also helps with functional nausea and functional stomach ache, it also somewhat calms kids as it has mildly sedating side effect so if given in the evening it may help them sleep.

Have you considered asking his doctor about mixing medicines? I have already read here some parents give kids in one day Atomoxetine morning and Guanfacine evening. Or small mg Focalin and then evening non stimulant. In the UK doctors don’t want to do it but I have read so many parents here swear by such medication therapy, saying their kids are doing great.

Also as far as I understand Guanfacine does not even have side effect of stunted growth or suppressed appetite and in fact kids eat well on it. I would have swapped to this had my son been not great with eating on Atomoxetine but luckily he’s fine.

[Numberate in reply to Hidden]

My exact concerns with my son. Since he was born he’s always been on the smaller side. The interesting thing is my older son who is a much picky eater and also ADHD and ASD, has no problem keeping up in weight and height. Although they say it takes time for straterra to kick in, I already notice a difference. His work effort/quality at home is like night and day. I just hope that it helps with his impulse to talk and get off track at school. I made sure to let his teacher know we started his medication journey so that she is able to make her own observations. You mentioned adding on an additional medication and we might have to do that. I noticed that he starts to get a little wild later towards the evening. I’ve heard great things about guanfacine like you mentioned! Thank you so much for sharing your sons experience!

[WW2023]

We started our 7 y/o on Straterra at the beginning of January and so far, so good. It does take a while to start working. I would say after about week 4 we've seen a dramatic improvement regarding her impulse control, agression and attention. She had no problem learning to swallow it (taking it with a spoonful of applesauce works best for her). She is sleeping more which has been a great thing. She has mentioned her tummy hurting and her head hurting occassionally but I am not sure if this due to the medicine or just more awareness that she's tired, full after a meal, etc. We'll continue to monitor that. For us the benefits have been outweighing side effects.

[Numberate in reply to WW2023]

Thank you! That helps me gauge what to look out for and when. My older son started on stimulants and is currently on Focalin. I feel like it’s much easier to tell in a day whether a stimulant is working not. I read straterra is usually third in line for treatment and even then it doesn’t work for everyone and is not as effective. All that on top of having to wait and see if it’s effective or not makes me so nervous. We are on day two. First night he was so awake. He said he felt like his eyes just wanted to be open. He already has trouble staying asleep as it is but he said he woke up so many times. I felt terrible! I am hoping tonight is better for him. Going to try my best and stick it out! If he wasn’t so small for his age, I’d probably have tried stiumulants first.

[Hidden in reply to WW2023]

Yea the tummy ache is a theme with my son too since he’s on Atomoxetine. Before this medication he has never mentioned tummy ache in his life! You could ask your child’s doctor about Drotaverini hydrochloridum. In Poland it’s a over the counter medication for tummy cramps and tummy pain and because I have known this (brand name no-spa) since like forever (it’s been on the market when I was little and longer!) I give it to my son when he does complain of stomach ache, which is luckily very rarely.

The thing is you need to be sure there is nothing else underlying. I had my son checked for everything by gastroenterologist and allergist and even done blood tests for his liver and kidney function recently. So basically I know that there are no other underlying problems. Plus I know that before Atomoxetine he has never had tummy ache complaints and since he’s on it occasionally he has tummy ache. I mean, the benefits of Atomoxetine definitely outways occasional mild tummy ache.

[anirush]

Grandson has been on Straterra for so long I don't remember early adjustments. Stimulants made him so angry! We eventually had to add Guanfacine. He does well on the combo.

[Numberate]

A little worried because for the past days my little guy has not been himself. He is much more emotional, easily upset and extremely hyper. He has definitely regressed and is worse than off meds. It’s been a little over week since he started and I really felt like we saw a difference on day 2-3 even though they say it takes time. He was dosed at his max dose for his weight. I am going to touch base with his dr tomorrow. Maybe it’s too high of a dose? I am hoping 🙏🏻

[kdali in reply to Numberate]

I'm sorry to hear this 😢 We have not made it to the max dose yet, so I have nothing useful to offer there. Is his sleep and eating still going well? I use l-theanine occasionally if she's having a rough time, it's called Calm, by little davinci, on Amazon. I'm not sure if it actually helps her 🤷‍♀️ I hope this is just a bump in the road and will sort out soon 🙏

[kdali in reply to Numberate]

How is it going?

[Numberate in reply to kdali]

Hi! We had to stop medication all together. The side effects were too much. We tried going lower and when that didn't work we tried Concerta. It was not the right fit for him and he struggled so much the day he took it. The trialing of medications while in school was difficult for both him and his teacher. His teacher was thankfully so patient and understanding! We might try again in the summer but for now we were able to get him on a "smart goals" plan which is his private schools equivalent to a 504 plan. I also have been supplementing with Barleans Omega 3s, magnesium, b12 and vitamin d. We also found out through blood work he is iron deficient which causes adhd symptoms to be worse so we have been supplementing with iron as well under the care of his ped. Thank you so much for asking! I hope your journey has continued to be a positive one for you and your daughter!

[kdali in reply to Numberate]

I am so sorry to hear that it did not work out, and the next was was a struggle too 😞 I wish we could know beforehand how it would go. I have read that about iron but mine has not been tested for that. I hope the smart goals and supplements help, there's only a little bit of school left this year 😱

We had some issues with increasing the dose, and are still trying to determine if it's her, the med, a cold, etc. I appreciate you sharing your experience 🙏 thank you!