Atomoxetine and Depression: What Users Say (Page 3)

• Ams...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 1, 2015

Atomoxetine for ADHD "It works, is all I can say. Started on the sample pack at age 12 (I am 16 now, but will never forget my experience). It worked, I cannot say that it didn't, but it gave me the worst side effects possible. After about a month of the medicine, I was diagnosed with depression as a result of Strattera. When I took it, in probably 2011, the box said, 'may cause suicidal thoughts or actions,' which my physician did not warn me about. Then all of the sudden, I was extremely depressed and suicidal, and my psychiatrist discovered that Strattera was the cause. He has had several cases before where the mental illness was caused by a drug, and nothing else. Good medicine, just beware of the side effects!"

• Jam...
• July 18, 2016

Atomoxetine for ADHD "I started taking Strattera in February of '16. About three weeks ago, I began to cry at the drop of a hat. Three days ago, my depression worsened and began to become almost delusional with themes of guilt. I feel better since I stopped yesterday and today. I will ask my psychiatrist to take me off and commence with Vyvanse. Crying and emotionally labile isn't me. I'm glad I stopped it before I hurt myself."

• Rob...
• June 13, 2011

Atomoxetine for ADHD "I have been using Strattera for about 10 months and had great success for the first 9. I felt great, very focused and able to get things done, and had no negative side effects except for a little bit of dry mouth for the first couple of weeks. About a month ago, I experienced a bout of depression until my doctor switched my prescription from 1 80 mg pill a day to 2 40 mg pills each day (once in the morning and once in the evening). After the switch, I was back to feeling great until last week when I had another bout of depression. This morning, I took 5 mg of Ritalin and snapped right out of my depressed mood. My doctor has suggested stopping Strattera and using Ritalin instead to try to determine if Strattera is the cause."

• Ger...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 13, 2022

Atomoxetine for ADHD "Unfortunately, stimulants were ineffective for me as they didn't help improve focus, energy, or motivation (i.e., help me with impulse control, procrastination, or depression). Strattera helped quite a lot with focus, but nothing else. I started with 25 mg and gradually increased through 1 x 40 mg, 1 x 60 mg, and finally 2 x 40 mg. I think the split dose of 2 x 40 mg (one first thing, one late afternoon) was most effective. I chose to get my 80 mg that way, as with each dose increase, the side effects increased. I experienced pretty depressed moods first thing each day and had additional anger issues at times, but the biggest one was feeling cold all the time in my hands and feet. This, to my mind, the pretty nasty side effects coupled with the fact Strattera only helped with focus means I'm coming off of it. I'll assess how ADHD symptoms are when they inevitably return before deciding what to do next. Might push to see what adding Guanfacine into the mix with Strattera would be like..."

• Not...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 23, 2021

Atomoxetine for ADHD "I mostly had an issue with lack of motivation, depression, and suicidal ideation due to this med. It also made me very tired. I was on the med for ten months. Here’s the timeline of my experience: 1. The first month, I had started at 40 mg. I had a whole range of side effects. Most of them went away. The only symptom that stayed was me being tired and unmotivated. I had depression and suicidal ideation, but it went away before the one-month mark. 2. Around the 2nd to 3rd month, a lot of my ADHD symptoms were under control, like hyperactivity and impulsiveness. It didn’t matter, though, because I was tired. I had to supplement with caffeine to get some energy. 3. Month 4, I tried 60 mg and had horrible depression and suicidal ideation. I went back down to 40 mg, and the depression subsided after a week or 2. 4. Month 9, I decided to get off Strattera (my current situation). Lots of depression and suicidal ideation again. Be careful."

• Not...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 23, 2021

Atomoxetine for ADHD "I mostly had an issue with lack of motivation, depression, and suicidal ideation due to this med. It also made me very tired. I was on the med for ten months. Here’s the timeline of my experience: 1. The first month, I had started at 40 mg. I had a whole range of side effects. Most of them went away. The only symptom that stayed was me being tired and unmotivated. I had depression and suicidal ideation, but it went away before the one-month mark. 2. Around the 2nd to 3rd month, a lot of my ADHD symptoms were under control, like hyperactivity and impulsiveness. It didn’t matter, though, because I was tired. I had to supplement with caffeine to get some energy. 3. Month 4, I tried 60 mg and had horrible depression and suicidal ideation. I went back down to 40 mg, and the depression subsided after a week or 2. 4. Month 9, I decided to get off Strattera (my current situation). Lots of depression and suicidal ideation again. Be careful."

• Yoo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 19, 2023

For ADHD "This medicine seemed to work a little to help with ADHD, and we didn’t notice a lot of side effects with my 13-year-old son. After 3 months on the medication, he seemed uninterested in everything. Seemed tired all the time. Wasn’t getting schoolwork done. Didn’t want to do anything he used to like to do. He was also beginning to refuse to do his work, which never even happened before taking this. I made an appointment to see his doctor and lowered his dose. In a few days, he seemed to be in a much better mood again. The doctor told us it is probably causing depression and took him off of it."

• liv...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• April 27, 2012

Atomoxetine for ADHD "I have been on Strattera for 6 years. I take one 18 mg a day. When I take it, I don't feel like myself. I feel depressed. I feel tired all the time. So for me, I don't like it, but so far, they haven't found anything else that will work for me."

• AAA...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 12, 2022

For ADHD "I've been on this for over a month now, and the dose has gone up a few times already. It feels quite weird, like I'm not here. Feeling gotten much stronger, and I feel more depressed and unmotivated. Not sure if this medicine did this, but it could be."

• Rai...
• August 2, 2011

Atomoxetine for ADHD "I've been taking Strattera for half a month now. I am 34, and it seems to be doing a pretty good job of increasing my attention span. I have some, but not many signs of decreased sexual appetite, depression, or suicidal thoughts. I HAVE, however, noticed that I am biting my tongue on the right side of my mouth, and when I forget to take the medicine, this stops. It usually happens when I am concentrating, and while I was typing this review, I found myself doing it again. This is very strange, as I haven't heard about it. Also, when I get the shivers, I notice that they now linger at the top of my scalp. I am assuming this has something to do with increased blood flow in your brain or some such thing."

• TCa...
• June 12, 2022

For ADHD "50-year-old male. I've been taking 80 mg atomoxetine for about 3 months and it seemed to work for a while, then all I ended up with was side effects. I couldn't sleep, had zero energy, was terribly moody, had no desire to eat, depression was worse than ever. I would cry for no reason. Felt paranoid all the time and didn't want to leave the house or see anyone. Everyone could see the difference in me, and it wasn't for the good."

• Tpb...
• October 8, 2011

Atomoxetine for ADHD "The negative side effects were too much to deal with. I couldn't handle the irritability, agitation, depression, decreased libido and penis size, constipation, chemical odor in my excessive sweating. I couldn't remain in a deep sleep at night, feelings of helplessness and insecurities only when using Strattera. Sadness, and I can understand how suicidal thoughts tend to develop on this medication. There was a slight increase in my concentration. After discontinuing abruptly, the most intense nightmares and sleepless nights followed. Good luck, I hope you're one of the fortunate ones that this medication worked for. I am a 30-year-old male."

• ICP...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 4, 2021

Atomoxetine for ADHD "This medication did not really work for me at all. It gave me massive side effects such as worsened depression, as well as significantly reduced appetite. The benefits to ADHD were minimal and are far inferior to that of stimulants. I would not recommend this as a first-line treatment for ADHD, stimulants are just overall more effective and have fewer side effects."

• Dis...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 4, 2022

For ADHD "I have been taking Strattera for 7 weeks. The first 4 weeks, I had terrible nausea and diarrhea, could not take meds without a big/protein-heavy breakfast. I immediately lost 5 lbs due to reduced appetite. I started noticing flat affect and low mood at around this time, and at week 7, I'm going off of it. It feels like I'm totally removed/disconnected from social situations, and nothing is funny/interesting to me. It seems to have made me more depressed than when I started simply because I don't feel present. Also, it has given me major fatigue. Oversleeping most days and having to nap during the day to keep my energy up to a functional level. Hopefully, I don't get withdrawal symptoms!"

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 3, 2019

For ADHD "This was given to my 6-year-old grandson for possible ADD. First dose yesterday. It was awful. He felt faint, was pale with the most dilated pupils I’ve ever seen. Such pains in his stomach, never ate all day. Depressed and never got off the couch all day. Irritable as can be still today and weak. Never again!!!!"

• Anonymous
• November 13, 2015

Atomoxetine for ADHD "I'm an 18-year-old female, and I started taking 80 mg Strattera for ADD, and honestly didn't see much to any improvement. I couldn't focus any better than I could before. I became so unmotivated I didn't even want to get out of bed anymore. It calmed me down definitely and relieved my anxiety 100%, but it made me so, for lack of a better word, depressed. And when I would forget to take it or couldn't get to the pharmacy to refill the prescription for a couple of days, I would get these massive headaches that hurt so bad I could've cried. Overall, I think it just didn't work for me."

• ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 8, 2022

For ADHD "Anon again. First of all, don't let my review scare you. I had experienced horrible side effects from other drugs in the past, and compared to them, atomoxetine is a piece of cake! Just wanted to add that atomoxetine is making me more depressed than usual, and I'm having a little bit of suicidal thoughts, and I'm a little angry or serious. On the other hand, my anxiety level has been very low!! I think I'm also experiencing constipation and difficulty urinating. At first, when you take the drug, you experience frequent urination, but after a few hours at night, you just feel like you aren't urinating enough. Also, I feel like my astigmatism got worse, maybe my eyes are getting too dry because of all the water loss."

• ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 5, 2022

For ADHD "Ok, it's been just two days, and I just felt the need to come here and say that I didn't experience any horrible side effects. I was so scared to take it because of all the negative reviews. And I'm saying this as a person who experienced horrible side effects from other drugs. It just makes me sleepy and a little depressed. And you'll need to pee more than usual, but it'll go away after 2 hours. And sometimes I get hot flashes or chills for like 2 seconds. I'm gonna write about the effects in a few weeks."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 29, 2019

For ADHD "Atomoxetine potentially helped me to work longer on an assignment, however, that may have been a one-off that I would have done anyway. I've been on this for 2 months, and I feel severely depressed, jittery, a bit spacey, overwhelmed, anxious, and I'm sweating a lot, especially my face. I don't like it. I need to come off."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 1, 2017

Atomoxetine for ADHD "This medication sucks. I took 20 mg Adderall XR, which worked wonderfully for my ADHD, for a month, but had to get off of it because I have Tourette Syndrome, and Adderall aggravated my tics. My physician then put me on Strattera. It is extremely expensive since it is patented until May 2017, and I was given a sample 6-week starter titration pack (from 25 mg to 80 mg). I took a 25 mg capsule last night around 7 PM, and an hour later, I was nauseous and lost my appetite, and I experienced sexual dysfunction (it took over an hour to reach a burning, painful orgasm). The next day (today), I am constipated and depressed. I'd recommend clonidine or guanfacine before trying this garbage for ADHD."

• Thi...
• December 17, 2015

For ADHD "This drug does not work, period! Causes severe depression and unwanted thoughts in almost everyone I know who has taken this drug. Try finding a real person that takes Strattera that says it helps them with their ADHD or ADD."

• Ton...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 29, 2013

Atomoxetine for ADHD "Makes me super depressed, unmotivated, and unable to enjoy anything. Does increase attention span at the cost of not wanting to do anything."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 8, 2017

Atomoxetine for ADHD "For a little while, it did make my ADHD feel better, but all of a sudden, extreme depression hit me, and I was sleeping all of the time!"

• Car...
• February 28, 2017

Atomoxetine for ADHD "I am a really happy person, and this drug made me depressed. I did not want to hang out with my friends, and I would randomly cry. Do not do it. It does not even help with your ADHD."

• cir...
• February 14, 2011

Atomoxetine for ADHD "Worked for half a year, then I got paranoid, depression and ADHD started to show, and had really bad headaches."