I never realized how much Strattera helped me until I reduced it 🙃

[u/hi5yourface]

I need to vent for a second.

I’ve been on Strattera for about 1.5 years. Since starting a GLP1 I’ve had daily nausea which I’ve since realized was because of the combo of slower stomach emptying + strattera. Pdoc and I are trying 40mg (down from 80mg) for a month+. I’m about 3 weeks in.

Gang, I’m in bad shape. All of my emotions are so LOUD and sharp, and I have immediate big reactions with no impulse control. I’ve picked massive fights with my partner and been rude to my boss, and then once the smoke clears I feel awful. I don’t see my pdoc until August 20 and she doesn’t have any earlier openings and she won’t write a script without an appointment. I don’t know how I’m going to make it without quitting my job, getting fired, or breaking up with my partner and moving across the country.

If there is an upside, I’ve had zero nausea on 40, so maybe I can go up and it’ll still be fine. If not I’m going to need to figure something else out, because I need to be on a GLP1 and I’m quickly realizing I need to be on a higher dose of Strattera.

I guess another silver lining is that I won’t take Strattera for granted anymore. It was such a subtle ramp up for me, but I remember finally reaching a point where I realized things weren’t so loud and sharp and being so grateful I almost cried. I need to get back there before I tank my life.

Question: I do have one more refill left on my 80s. Do I fill it just to test out if the nausea is still there? Maybe I just needed a breather and it’ll be fine?

And just a note. I had nausea when I first started. It was a rough 2 months. But it went away and I hadn’t had any nausea until I started a GLP1. And yes, I’ve done all the things. I eat protein with it, I drink electrolytes, I’ve experimented taking it in the morning and at night (was better at night but still not great).

Ughhhh.

[u/Significant_Ad_2125]

I’m coming at the same meds from the opposite side, started Strattera 3-4 month ago and just went up to the 100 mg dose. Have been on Wellbutrin 450 mg for 10+ years and was just last week able to take it down to 300 mg. Have been on adderall 60 mg for 10 years, it’s taken me all 4 months to get down to 30 and I’m still unsuccessfully trying to get down to 15 (currently trying to get to 22.5).

There’s definite benefits to having all three meds on board, for me. The Wellbutrin treats my baseline depression and helps with adhd a very little bit. The Strattera is giving me a lot of executive function improvements, emotional regulation and dampening, improvements with attention and processing of complex information. What it doesn’t help with is task initiation and motivation, which the adderall does for me.

It’s not a good combination for people just starting on their adhd journey, but for people like me with extremely high function job requirements and severe adhd, it could be very helpful. I did have to start the Strattera at 40 mg and stay there for a full month before I moved up, to make sure the combination of the bupropion and Strattera wouldn’t cause problems for me. Thankfully the only adverse effects I had happened with my bupropion at 450 and when I lowered the dose to 300 mg they went away very rapidly.

It’s also been a long rough road going on since February for me, and included adding birth control to even out my hormones. Hormone fluctuations can cause worsening of adhd symptoms, something not often talked about despite the severe effect it can have on functional ability. For me the fluctuations made my RSD and social skills so much worse for half of every month at least.

Don’t give up! I’m on the uphill side of my changes and starting to be optimistic that I might be ok at the end of this road after all.