? for those using Strattera

[gillenkl]

DS age 8 is getting ready to try Strattera this week - he has used it before and I didn't see much change - so now we're trying a higher milligram.

I'm wondering how and when you dose? Day or evening and how many milligrams. Mainly I'm interested in seeing results from 8AM-12PM during our homeschool time. I previously gave it in the AM but didn't notice it helping very much, so maybe I should give in the PM?

 

[Taratink]

My DS8 is on 36 mg. He take 18mg im th am and 18 in the pm. (he weighs around 49 lbs.) It was too rough on his tummy to take the full dosage all at once. It tooks 2 months to see any difference. It takes a while to build up in his system. It's not like ritalin where it works right after you take it. He is less hyper but I think that it has made him a little moody but he was moody to begin with.

 

[LuvsTinker]

My DS 8 has been on Strattera for 1 1/2 yrs. - still taking original dosage of .25 in the morning. We tried increasing it once but had a bad week and don't know for sure if it was the med or not but decreased it back.

My son is up to 80 lbs now and I can't say for sure the med is still working but things are going alright and I hate to stop it and find out different - KWIM?

We had originally started giving it at night but changed to morning to see more results.

 

[Hasil72]

My DS(8) has been on Strattera for roughly 3 years now. Started at 25mg (didn't work) then went to 36mg (one 18mg in the morning and one at lunch) and now we're up to 50mg. We found that they make him sleepy if given in the morning and when he's sleepy, it's never a good thing. He takes 2-25mg capsules around 7pm. We tried slowly taking DS off it when we added the Daytrana patch but there was a huge increase in his anxiety when we cut back to 25mg so we bumped it back up.

I agree with previous posters that it takes at least 3 weeks or so on each dosing level to see a difference.

Good luck!

 

[Poohnatic]

We've been using it for my son for about 5 years now. He started with 25mg, now he's on 75 mg (we have a family tendency to metabolize meds quickly). He gets a dose at 8am, another at 11am and then one at bedtime.

One thing I have noticed is if he has not eaten, he seems to 'burn through' it quicker. There's not a lot of medical evidence out there to support this, but our doctor agrees and we make sure that he eats a yogurt in the morning along with the am dose.

It did take about 3 weeks for us to see full effect of any dosing changes.

Suzanne

 

[gillenkl]

thanks for the advice - I appreciate it.

DS is 8 and weighs about 45 pounds. I've been giving him .25 around 6pm and he goes to bed around 7pm - asleep by 8pm - this is a miracle in itself! I homeschool and was getting so frustated with all the dawdling and playing around and having to nag him every second - it was miserable for both of us. But since starting the Strattera at this dose he's doing much better.

thanks again to everyone.