Strattera and Depression: What Users Say (Page 2)

• adh...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 16, 2013

For ADHD "Took this since 3rd grade. It made me tired, and I became depressed. After getting off the pills, I became myself again. I took it from 3rd grade till about 8th grade. I'm now in 10th grade with no ADHD meds at all."

• Smo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 17, 2022

For ADHD "This is a nightmare. Between the irritability interfering with my ability to function, the sleeping for 16 hours a day, and isolation due to hiding from people thanks to above side effects, I have had it. It cured my anxiety and left me with depression and anger. I’m ready to quit cold turkey before my next appointment, it’s so bad. I wouldn’t wish this feeling on my worst enemy. There has been no change in ability to focus or anything ADHD-related despite taking 40 mg every evening. Don’t let anyone put you on this as a first-line medication unless you’re ready for all side effects and no relief from ADHD."

• Rac...
• February 10, 2016

For ADHD "Tried Strattera for ADHD because I wanted to try a non-stimulant. Within about a week, I was depressed and crying over the littlest things. It was NOT for me. Also diagnosed with anxiety, Zoloft mellowed me out, but too much so, I felt apathetic and gained weight. Tried Wellbutrin and became violently sick (throwing up). Adderall XR I didn't like, just felt high and tweaky. Finally found relief in a combination of Vyvanse 30-40 mg and Lamictal 150 mg. Truly life-changing, along with a gluten/dairy-free low-sugar diet and good sleep."

• Rac...
• February 10, 2016

For ADHD "Tried Strattera for ADHD because I wanted to try a non-stimulant. Within about a week, I was depressed and crying over the littlest things. It was NOT for me. Also diagnosed with anxiety, Zoloft mellowed me out, but too much so, I felt apathetic and gained weight. Tried Wellbutrin and became violently sick (throwing up). Adderall XR I didn't like, just felt high and tweaky. Finally found relief in a combination of Vyvanse 30-40 mg and Lamictal 150 mg. Truly life-changing, along with a gluten/dairy-free low-sugar diet and good sleep."

• Jt0...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 4, 2021

For ADHD "Please read the entire review before taking this drug. I am a young, healthy, and well-balanced young male. I was prescribed this drug for ADHD, and for the first 7-8 weeks, felt minimal negative effects, but some minor improvement in attention and focus. Around 10 weeks into taking this drug at a low dose (40 mg), I began to experience debilitating side effects, which compelled me to write this review. These range from mental, including depression, to physical, including but not limited to erectile dysfunction, body aches, and severely inhibited ability to exercise (I am a long-distance runner in good physical shape on days when I did not take Strattera). However, by far the worst aspect of this drug for me has been the horrible fatigue. There is no simple way to explain how devastating this fatigue is, although others on this page have done a good job of describing it. It is unremitting and has prevented me from doing any cognitive tasks, even after drinking several energy drinks."

• Jon...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 29, 2015

For ADHD "I started with a low dose and then took the highest dose. I noticed nothing for the first two months, and then I felt suicidal, depressed, and it did nothing for my ADHD. It was costly even with insurance, and I had to stop taking it. Now I'm stuck with my ADHD, and never have I felt worse than I did on this medication. It messes with your mind."

• LKR...
• August 14, 2016

For ADHD "We started Strattera 10 mg, then 18 mg, then 25 mg for our 9-year-old. In the beginning, it was great, after about 5 days of each dose, it was clearly time to increase to the next dose, but now we have been at 25 mg for over a month, and the impulsivity and anger have gotten worse again over the past 2 weeks or so, and we can't increase the dose any further. Will be calling her doctor Monday to change to something else. An alarming thing to me is that she is also sad and crying a whole lot, which is new. This child never cried before."

• Mom...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 15, 2015

For ADHD "My 8-year-old son took this and had an extreme allergic reaction. I thought it was something else, but on day 5, his eyes swelled and his face broke out. It took a while to get out of the system. On the other hand, my 11-year-old daughter is taking Strattera 25 mg, and it has worked great for her. She is reading like crazy, and she's never been able to focus enough to read. Whenever she took stimulants, she would get a lot of stuff done, but she would be anxious and sad. This medication is the only one that she's taken that didn't make her sad. I rate it a 5 because it worked terribly for one child but has been great for the other."

• jad...
• March 19, 2012

For ADHD "I'm in my mid 20s and bipolar. I was put on this to treat ADHD since I've always struggled in school, and I'm completely unorganized. The first day I took it, it put me to sleep. After a few days of sleeping a lot, I could focus! The only bad thing was when I worked out, I would get funny vision, like I was going to pass out. Which doesn't help since I'm a fitness professional. I think the lower dosage worked better, once I went up to 60, I couldn't focus, slept all the time, felt depressed, and the vision got worse. I gave this medicine 8 weeks just to see if the side effects would dissipate, and sadly it didn't. I did lose a few pounds, but nothing drastic (a loss of 3 lbs. I'm female, 5'3 and 105)."

• Gue...
• November 12, 2010

For ADHD "Been on this medicine since I was 11. Been upping the dosage up to 60 mg from 15, now 17 years old, still taking. Incredibly good at keeping my attention and solving ADHD. Used to be a troublemaker, now in college, preparing for university, but has minor side effects, for example, I feel down and depressed randomly. I also feel drowsy for a little while."

• Gue...
• November 12, 2010

For ADHD "Been on this medicine since I was 11. Been upping the dosage up to 60 mg from 15, now 17 years old, still taking. Incredibly good at keeping my attention and solving ADHD. Used to be a troublemaker, now in college, preparing for university, but has minor side effects, for example, I feel down and depressed randomly. I also feel drowsy for a little while."

• ton...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 1, 2016

For ADHD "Strattera was my first treatment after I was diagnosed with ADHD PI for six months. First week on 40 mg, then 80 mg, and the last three months on 100 mg. I didn't improve any symptom, but it worsened everything. I got negative effects from the sexual side (no erections just after taking Strattera). My mood was really unstable, with peaks of depressive episodes and rage outbursts in the last weeks. Now I'm quitting it, and I got some discontinuing effects, such as tension in my head and anxiety. Next week, I'll start with methylphenidate and I hope for the best."

• ema...
• July 4, 2021

For ADHD "I’ve been on Strattera for about a month. The only thing it has helped with is not being able to fall back asleep when I wake up in the morning, so I have a little more time to get ready. Other than that, it’s made my ADHD symptoms worse. If I don’t have caffeine with it, I’m extremely tired, constantly nauseous, it made my executive dysfunction worse, so it has not helped productivity whatsoever. I notice I forget what I was about to do and misplace things a lot more, and I have cried and been sad for a lot more days on it than I have felt good. It has also worsened suicidal thoughts and depression."

• Anonymous
• November 19, 2009

For ADHD "My son began taking Strattera about 3 - 4 years ago. He had a bad reaction to Adderall, so the doctor tried Strattera as a non-stimulant. He first started 18 mg once a day, no noticeable change. Then increased over time to 50 mg once a day. He wasn't defiant, but just didn't (doesn't) care to do much of anything. 4-6 weeks ago he started having 'tics.' Not putting the two together, last month his doctor increased to 60 mg a day, and the tics have continued to get worse. He's also been more depressed, having panic attacks, and anxiety. He goes to school, but gets nothing done. Went back to his doctor, and she now has started taking him off this medication. I hope the tics stop. He's scared, and this continues to add to his anxiety."

• Mat...
• November 19, 2015

For ADHD "My doctor gave me a free sample pack of Strattera and had me start at 20 mg and increase the dose all the way to 80 mg. I didn't notice a difference until I got to 60 mg, and at 80 mg, the side effects became all too apparent. I noticed that I was able to focus on a particular topic for longer periods of time, but that's it; my motivation, procrastination, sluggishness, irritability, memory problems all remained the same. Now for the side effects, my head starts to itch, my testicles become very tender, but worst of all I start to get depressed. I don't think this medication is for someone without the hyperactivity part of ADHD because I am sluggish enough as it is."

• 18...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 29, 2016

For ADHD "I was on Adderall and that worked amazingly! But I was paranoid and depressed, which affected me so much I had to switch. I switched to Strattera, and it helped! Then it started to not make a difference, so I got upped to 100 mgs. I have to eat right after, or else I become very ill (nauseous)."

• Nel...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 29, 2021

For ADHD "I'm 58, recently diagnosed with ADHD, recommended Strattera. At 25 mg dose, it was amazing, kicking in within the first week. I realized my pain levels were much lower and I could keep going with tasks. I had lower anxiety, and it gave me 2-second pauses before I blurted stuff out. The downside is I am very up and down with it, and when I titrated up to 40 mg then 60 mg, I felt much more anxious. My BP became dangerously high. So I ended up back on 25 mg, but not so great. I am overweight, and Strattera helps. The reduction in pain is wonderful, but I'm not sure it's helping on the ADHD front. I crashed badly approximately 2 months ago after a month of pushing myself too hard. I became quite paranoid and anxious, depressed, shut down. I struggled to function. Work became tedious. I'm still subpar, depressed, and withdrawn. I will take a couple of days' break and try again, cut out coffee, and eat healthier, but I'm afraid I'll be out of options otherwise."

• Nel...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 29, 2021

For ADHD "I'm 58, recently diagnosed with ADHD, recommended Strattera. At 25 mg dose, it was amazing, kicking in within the first week. I realized my pain levels were much lower and I could keep going with tasks. I had lower anxiety, and it gave me 2-second pauses before I blurted stuff out. The downside is I am very up and down with it, and when I titrated up to 40 mg then 60 mg, I felt much more anxious. My BP became dangerously high. So I ended up back on 25 mg, but not so great. I am overweight, and Strattera helps. The reduction in pain is wonderful, but I'm not sure it's helping on the ADHD front. I crashed badly approximately 2 months ago after a month of pushing myself too hard. I became quite paranoid and anxious, depressed, shut down. I struggled to function. Work became tedious. I'm still subpar, depressed, and withdrawn. I will take a couple of days' break and try again, cut out coffee, and eat healthier, but I'm afraid I'll be out of options otherwise."

• Ter...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 3, 2016

For ADHD "My son, who is 12, has been on this medication now for about 6 months. 40 mg a day. It does absolutely nothing for him. The doctor tried upping his dose to 50 mg, and he started having major mood swings, anxiety, and depression. Ritalin, Concerta, and Vyvanse we have tried those too, but the side effects were too much for him to handle. I'm at a loss for what to do now. No more meds, I guess?"

• 20y...
• April 27, 2015

For ADHD "Worst treatment I've tried, may even exacerbate ADHD symptoms. Causes depression, fatigue, and anxiety without even working to improve concentration. Don't even feel or act like myself since I started this med. People even know something is wrong when they talk to me. Trying to stop/change treatment, but the doctor only wants to keep me on this med until the college semester is over. Have tried Concerta before, it worked somewhat."

• One...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 16, 2017

For ADHD "I am a 27-year-old male, on this drug for 3 weeks, so I can't really comment on its efficacy, as it takes 2-4 weeks to start working. All I can say is it didn't help me. I took 40 mg for 7 days, then went up to 80 mg for 2 weeks. I had to stop taking it because of the side effects - I was getting severe irritability to the point where I was yelling at the top of my lungs at people for minor mistakes and generally grumpy. Based on this and other side effects - needing to urinate far more regularly than usual, heart palpitations, feeling down for no good reason, and insomnia - my doctor decided it wasn't right for me. This is a rare reaction which is unlikely to happen to you, but if you get it, tell your doctor."

• Sof...
• September 28, 2016

For ADHD "I have Asperger's and ADD and started taking Strattera when I was about 9 or 10. And in just two months, I lost over 20 kg (44 pounds). I was so skinny, but I didn't change because I had tried everything else, and this was the smallest side effects I had so far. But after I quit just over a month ago (I'm 17 now), I realized that the medication had caused me to have severe depression for all my childhood. I'm really happy for the first time in forever. And the medication had made me more angry and restless than when not taking them."

• Ton...
• August 12, 2015

For ADHD "I was prescribed Strattera for ADD, 40 mg, and I was only on it for 6 days. I was warned about the side effect of having nausea and to eat before taking meds in the morning. I started Strattera on a Saturday morning, and by that night I had diarrhea so bad that I thought I would have to sleep sitting on the toilet. I also had the feelings of being constantly angry, I had really bad headaches, depression, tiredness, it worsened my anxiety, and any time I would eat, I ended up on the toilet for quite a while. I was put on Strattera to help me with my ADD lack of concentration, etc., needless to say, it didn't work whatsoever. My poor butt thanked me when I quit taking it, hahaha."

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

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

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."