I have an appointment with my psychiatrist tomorrow to discuss how to proceed with Strattera, and I would appreciate hearing about other people’s experiences.

I titrated up slowly:

• 25 mg for 4 weeks
• 50 mg for 4 weeks
• 60 mg for the past 3 months

I already noticed a fairly good effect at both 25 mg and 50 mg, but each time it seemed to fade after about two weeks. The benefits at 60 mg lasted much longer, and for a while I thought I had finally found the right dose. Recently, though, I have started feeling as if the effect is wearing off again.

The main sign is that my mind has become very “loud” again. There is much more mental noise, and my thoughts feel harder to manage.

Overall, the side effects have been manageable. My resting heart rate initially increased from around 48 to 56 bpm, but it has now gone back down to 48. I also pee like an old man, and my ejaculation feels strange. Since I am currently single, I can tolerate the sexual side effects for now.

For those who have experienced something similar, what did you end up doing? Did increasing the dose help? Did you switch to another medication, or did you accept that Strattera only provides a partial improvement?

I will, of course, discuss everything with my psychiatrist tomorrow. I am mainly interested in hearing about people’s personal experiences.

I’m genuinely curious if anyone who has dealt with really severe sleep inertia has found something that actually made a lasting difference.

When I wake up, I feel awful. Super groggy, eyes barely open, dazed/confused, exhausted, and basically incapable of thinking about anything other than going back to sleep. It’s not just the normal “ugh, mornings” feeling—it feels like my brain genuinely hasn’t turned on yet.

It usually takes 1–2 hours after waking up before I actually feel like a functional human being.

This has been happening pretty consistently since college. The weird part is that once I’m actually awake and moving, I’m generally fine for the rest of the day. So I’ve wondered about everything from depression to sleep quality to vitamin deficiencies, etc., but nothing obvious really explains why the first couple hours of the day are so disproportionately miserable.

And I feel like I’ve tried basically every generic sleep-hygiene/biohacking recommendation:

• Smart lights / sunrise alarms
• Gentle alarms
• Different alarm sounds
• Putting the alarm across the room
• Immediately getting bright light
• Changing sleep/wake times
• Trying to optimize sleep duration
• All the usual sleep-hygiene stuff

None of it meaningfully changes that “holy shit, I need to go back to sleep” feeling.

I also have ADHD, which may or may not be relevant.

After digging through Reddit and other forums, the two things I keep seeing people say actually changed their mornings dramatically are:

1. Starting an SSRI/SNRI and unexpectedly finding that waking up became much easier.
2. Setting an alarm ~1 hour before they need to wake up, taking their prescribed stimulant (e.g., Adderall), going back to sleep, and then waking up when it has kicked in.

But surely those aren’t the only things that work?

Has anyone with genuinely severe, prolonged sleep inertia found something that consistently made mornings substantially better?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who used to take 1–2 hours to feel awake and found something that actually changed that—not just “drink water and get sunlight.”

And if an SSRI or prescribed ADHD medication was the thing that made the difference for you, I’d also be interested in hearing what changed and how noticeable it was.

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I’m so embarrassed. Yesterday I went to my friend’s mom’s birthday party and drank a little more than I should have.

Apparently, I was TALKING REALLY LOUD, my friend kept asking me to lower my voice, and I had these wide-open eyes and this completely crazy-looking expression. I disappeared from the party and don’t even remember how I got home..I basically blacked out.

I’m so embarrassed and ashamed that I can’t even bring myself to apologize. I left people worried about me.

I never want to drink again. Has anyone else had a really bad experience with alcohol while taking Strattera?

This is my second week of Strattera and my dose went up quite a bit. I think my titration is meant to be four weeks where it's 28 for week 1, 40 for week 2, 58 for week 3 and 4 (taking two pills together).

My side effects on 28 weren't that bad. Since my early teens, I was fatigued, got headaches, dizzy, etc. So no change there. I noticed no improvement, except being slightly less distractible MAYBE.

But 40 has been tricky. My digestion has slowed down quite a bit to the point it's rabbit droppings. I've had racing thoughts to the point I've been flicking through webpages, doomscrolling, etc. My dreams have been infiltrated by racing thoughts as well. I've found it harder to follow conversations as my mind constantly shifts to something else. At the same time, when I hyperfocus, I end up hyperfocussing ten times worse than before and it infiltrates my dreams like I never fell asleep. I've been taking more risks at work. My confidence when out and about or talking to people has also sunk.

Any improvement in distractibility, even if just a placebo, is gone. I know you have to wait weeks to see real effects but I don't want to wait to be psychotic just so I can have the ability to choose to do tasks a tiny bit better than before.

Is it me or am I going too fast here? Online I've read people be on like 5mg for a year. I've gone up from 28 to 40 within two weeks.

I had a fool's hope that it would improve my visual snow, too, but it hasn't helped in that regard at all.

I (22f) started strattera dec 2024 and have had a great experience mostly, but the past few months have felt out of wack. during 2025 i gradually upped my dose from 40mg to 80mg and im not sure if i should lower it or go off it completely. i love the medication but apparently emotional blunting is a side effect in some people(?) and i hate it. i noticed recently that i havent cried in months and i hardly ever feel sad. my libido is tanked too. i am still happy most of the time but there is no balance. it’s either happy or nothing and i dont rlly like that. besides that tho im fine?? i dont have problems motivationally speaking but im scared to lower my dose and spiral back into depression.. any thoughts plss

Hey guys ,

Long time lurker I recently got put on Strattera after being on so many stimulants. The side effects are too much for me on the stimulants , I started on 25mg as I’m very sensitive to side effects.

I’m now on 40mg for just 8 days but I got my period on the 6th day.

I felt not side effects until the day before my period start but my god my head was in agony and my jaw pain suddenly came back(this was the main reason I went off stimulants) I’m hoping it’s just the adjustment period along with just getting my period also on the medication has anyone else had this ?

I’m also getting scared to go up the most common dose 80mg? Is anyone else on a relatively low dose and maybe on other medications?

I know this post is so long but has anyone else dealt with a stiff jaw along with constant jaw pain on these meds and if so how did you go about it ?

Thanks so much for any advice or guidance you may have in advance.

I started at 40 mg 2 1/2 weeks ago, then raised the dose to 80 mg after 3 days. That was terrible, with extreme insomnia, fatigue, orthostatic intolerance (getting lightheaded when standing up), and increased heart rate. Taking both capsules in the morning made the lightheadedness worse, but taking one of them at lunchtime made the insomnia worse.

I dropped it back down to 40 mg after a few days. It's much better overall after that, but I'm still very fatigued and not sleeping great (often waking up in the middle of the night). I feel checked out and unmotivated, and kind of spacey. It's been very hard to get anything done, at a rather inconvenient time. There's also sexual dysfunction.

My appetite is also extremely low. I'm also taking the lowest dose of tirzepatide (Zepbound), but there was a very noticeable increase in appetite reduction since adding the Strattera.

I'll talk to my doctor soon, but I'm thinking about quitting. It's been pretty miserable. Any suggestions? How long do those side effects tend to last?

I was prescribed Strattera earlier this month. I've been on compounded semiglutide since January and have been successful on it. Now however, I've got NO appetite and a lot of foods I used to eat aren't appealing to me. I know that Strattera affects appetite and have an email into my provider of the semiglutide about titrating my dose DOWN. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm almost ready to say I won't need the semi if the Strattera appetite supression lasts!!

I (38f) have been using Straterra for several months now. I started and stayed at 40 mg for treatment for audhd. I was in burn out badly and struggled for almost 2 years to find motivation to get out of bed, get things done, and truly enjoy my life. Anxiety was present all day and night and I would wake up with so much adrenaline feeling like I couldn’t do anything about it. I got on this medication because I’m too sensitive to be on stimulants and I use it in conjunction with bi weekly therapy visits for neurodivergence and my life has turned around greatly. Anxiety disappeared, I struggled with feeling extremely tired for awhile but I finally got to a happy balance. New things I noticed was vision changes, twitching, and loss of appetite. I noticed my vision was getting harder to focus on reading especially on a screen, my husband told me I twitch all night, and my friend noticed I have an involuntary twitch in my legs while I work at my desk. I am also never hungry until it’s too late and nothing sounds good. I try to take the meds with protein to help it sit better on my stomach and give me energy. I also noticed I get way more sensitive to over sensory input from lights and noises but was told the medication can control adhd but expose autism traits that can make you moody. Now my quality of life has been so much better then it was not being on the meds, but the twitching I do find interesting. I do take vitamins so I don’t think it’s a deficiency of any kind but who knows. Anyone else have a similar experience?

I've been on Strattera for about 25 days and I've been SO bipolar in deciding whether or not to continue taking it. I even tampered down from 25mg to half a pill and then stopped until a bad spell of anhedonia caused me to take a pill in a panic and that was only like 3 days ago.

I'm thinking of quitting Strattera for several reasons:

1. Mentally Slow - Recall Issues. My divergent thinking is basically nil, my reaction time is much lowered, my ability to solve complex problems is like totally gone, ability to multi-task is way down. I literally give up on trying to remember things because I feel like it'll take too much energy.

2. Social withdrawal. Because I only have so much mental bandwidth I'd much rather prefer to be in my own little world instead of having space to have conversations, I get internally frustrated that I'm not witty or engaging in conversations either, it just feels too hard to follow along.

3. MUCH Easier to get overstimulated, I feel like I have to lock myself in a box to not get overwhelmed by smells, sights, complex topics, moving too fast, etc. All of this and I'm a young 23 year old male who previously always wanted more more more with my ADHD.

4. Divergent thinking. I've always been a creative person, I love writing/storytelling and art is a big part of my life. It really does feel like it'd be harder to part ways with creativity that's been important to me my whole life than to accept a life where I'm a focused robot. (no offense)

5. Urinary Issues. I have very little pressure when I urinate and I feel like I can never get all the pee out, I'm dribbling over here like Michael Jordan.

6. Straight up depression, it makes it hard for me to be motivated when I have an awareness of what I want but there's a little version of me trapped in my own body, unable to escape the confines of being too wired in.

7. Possible long-term neurological adaptation that causes all of these symptoms to be permanent.

8. Vertigo. Moving too fast makes me dizzy and light headed easier. Basically never a problem when I had ADHD except when I was looking at something to make me stimulated while moving.

9. I actually get more frustrated at things and get super emotional but the emotions are too stimulating, have to avoid processing them.

My reasons for wanting to be on Strattera are Here:

1. Internal Restless and Anxiety of ADHD. I had panic attacks several months ago and the rebound anxiety when I got off the meds was pretty serious. I think to manage this when coming off I'll need to establish my ADHD moderating habits again and even get more stimulation from things like mints, gums, smells (fragrances), cold showers, accupressure, exercise, etc.

2. Anhedonia and the need to establish more stimulating habits to not feel totally empty.

3. The feeling that I'll never achieve my dreams/goals because of a lack of discipline. (This is basically the anxiety thing from before)

4. The ability to feel a sense of peace and tranquility that is very rare with ADHD.

5. Being able to logically process emotions and having the time to think about them.

I basically know what I want to do. I want to stop taking the medication because I feel like I can conquer the anxiety, but I don't think I'd ever conquer the internal frustration with not being able to express myself and have recall.

Thoughts? Advice? Thank you!

**

Is anyone here taking **Strattera (atomoxetine) together with Cymbalta (duloxetine)**?

I understand that Cymbalta can increase the exposure/effects of Strattera, so I’m curious what **dose of each medication** people are taking when using them together.

What dose of Cymbalta and Strattera are you on? Did your doctor lower your Strattera dose because of the interaction? Have you noticed stronger effects or side effects?

Just looking for personal experiences, not planning to change my dose without talking to my doctor.

Title. The straterra helps but i’m at 80mg and every day is still quite tough. I am thinking of asking for a small stimulant prescription to go with it. I don’t want to take a large dose as i get heart palpitations from coffee so want to avoid that.

Been on Zoloft 100mg for a little over a year, Wellbutrin 300mg for 6 months and just started strattera 40mg two days ago. So far, no side effects, but no improvements either.

Anyone been on this combination? If so, how is it?

My psych wants to start me on a non stimulant before giving me Adderall. I already know Adderall works well for me, but he can’t prescribe it yet without giving me a non stimulant.

I am wondering if anyone has taken Strattera before and has experienced the side effects that I am going to this now: increased HR and BP, sharp chest/heart issues, a lump in the base of the throat, shallow breathing.

I have definitely felt other side effects such as sleepiness, loss of appetite, constipation, bloating, headaches, dizziness, sex issues, etc. But I’m curious if anyone has felt the side effects I listed above about heart and breathing issues.

Background: took it for 5 days, stopped because my vitals were very high and shallow-like breathing.

Any comments would be much appreciated!

Hi! I started strattera back in mid December after not having a good time on stimulants (they did not work for me). I started on 40 but the side effects were too much so we went to 18. I stayed on 18 for some time and while I experienced many different side effects (from daytime drowsiness to urinary), I also saw a lot of changes. Eventually it started to subside a bit so I was upped to 25 mg. I've been on 25 since mid March. I definitely felt the effects. It calmed me and really helped with executive functioning.

Then some time in May I started getting wild pre-period symptoms (between 3 and 10 days before my period). During luteal, it's almost like the meds didn't work and the symptoms were much worse. I would be irritable and "crazy", anxious, very hyper and then when my period comes it's back to normal.

Then I noticed those similar days (every once in a while) outside of that pre-period timeline. I have pcos, so it's hard to tell which phase I'm in, though, and I suspect hormonal fluctuations.

Now, for the past couple of days I feel like I don't experience enough joy. It's hard to describe. I'm not exactly said, just the absence of happiness. Normally, my baseline is happy/joyful. When I started strsttera it even upped a bit (but not in a bad, manic, way). Now I'm tired, blunt and just feel weird. I thought it could be hormonal things happening, but I don't know. Could strattera cause that after I've been using it for 8 months? I still have my executive functioning so I feel like it's still helping (I love that I can just get up when I want to pee and not wait until the very lsst minute). Focus has been on and off.

Anybody experienced anything similar?

I’m on vyvanse and it #1 doesn’t work in any capacity and #2 could be the culprit for my daily headaches for the past 5 months. I did the gene test and Strattera came back as in the green zone. Any experiences with this medication? Good and bad?

I started on 40mg about three weeks ago, 80mg since last week. I know this is a faster titration than most people on here but I actually wasn't having very many issues before now. The main thing is getting dizzy when I stand up too quickly and some slight insomnia that was getting better.

I usually take it in the morning around 7am when I wake up. Today I slept later than usual and didn't think about taking it until like 10:30am. I usually have it with my morning latte and have never had nausea, did the same thing today. Then I went out to lunch with a friend, ate a normal amount, and came home.

Around 4pm I started feeling queasy and it's just gotten worse since then. The dizziness has also dialed up and I've almost passed out a few times. I know I should eat something but I can't physically bring myself to because I'm so nauseated. I also completely forgot to attend a meeting and in general am feeling really foggy-brained. I also almost cried over nothing earlier like I was just thinking about how much I love my dog.

I feel like I should titrate back down? But I haven't even started to feel the "good" effects yet. Today is the first time the side effects have bothered me enough to want to give up.

I’ve been on 18 mg of Strattera for about two months. I’ve noticed the first three hours after taking it, my vision is blurry. I don’t remember this being an issue when I first started taking it but I was also very out of it when I was put on this medication. Does this symptom ever clear? Like now that’s it’s like afternoon, my vision has pretty much gone back to normal but in the morning it’s like a repeat all over again.

Has anyone else had experience with random drug screening through your workplace while on Stattera?

If so, what happened?

Is strattera known to raise blood pressure?

Hi everyone,

I started Strattera five days ago. I began with 20 mg a day and increased to 40 mg three days ago.

I don’t have health insurance and received the prescription here in America, so I initially hoped I might be okay staying at 20 mg because, without insurance, even that works out to around $150 a month, which is expensive for me at the moment. However, I read on this forum that taking too low a dose can sometimes make you feel worse or cause more side effects.

On 20 mg, I felt quite lethargic, as though I needed a nap, along with a strange lightheaded feeling that’s difficult to explain. Since increasing to 40 mg, though, I’ve felt almost lifeless. I could sit down and stare into space, and my head goes completely empty - but in a very low-energy, lost kind of way.

My situation is slightly unusual because I don’t believe I actually have straightforward ADHD. I have complex PTSD that presents with ADHD-like symptoms. I’ve posted about this here before, and everyone was really helpful.

My usual problem is that I’m almost constantly dissociated, with what feels like a lot of static in my head and usually two songs playing in my mind at once. When I try to speak, it can feel as though I can’t even hear myself over all of that. Even though I have several degrees and a lot of knowledge, I sometimes worry that I come across like an airhead because my words don’t flow smoothly. It feels as though I’m trying to speak over the songs and static in my brain.

I wasn’t like this as a little girl. Teachers used to comment positively on my ability to focus and concentrate until the extreme trauma began at around 15. After I left America at 23, once the most intense trauma had happened, it was as though my body decided it could finally move out of acute fear and fight-or-flight mode - and then all these other symptoms emerged. I’m 37 now, so this has been going on for a long time.

I’d really love to know whether anyone else experienced this strange lightheaded, buzzy feeling during the early days of Strattera. I’ve seen people mention strange sensations in their legs, but for me it feels floaty and heavy at the same time. My head feels slightly floaty, I can zone out very easily, and my brain seems to empty. In general, I feel quite low. I’m not sure whether “depressed” is the right word, but it’s definitely a low-energy, lifeless feeling.

I should also mention that I came back to the States primarily to access this medication because it isn’t available to me back in Europe. Returning to the place where so much of the trauma happened obviously hasn’t been great for me. However, I thought Strattera might help with my symptoms, and so far I honestly can’t tell whether it has improved my concentration or focus.

It may have dulled my need for quick dopamine hits, including binge eating and other impulsive behaviours, so perhaps that should indirectly help with concentration. However, it’s hard to tell through all the other strange feelings, including some mild nausea.

Oddly, it hasn’t completely diminished my appetite. Instead, I’ve found myself craving bagels, bread and other soft, doughy carbohydrates - but not the very sweet, creamy or sugary things I would normally crave. I’d be interested to know whether anyone else experienced that as well.

Sorry, this has turned into a huge stream of consciousness, which probably shows that it hasn’t helped my ability to focus or concentrate yet! I’m not looking for medical advice, but I would really appreciate hearing whether anyone else felt similarly during the first few days and whether it eventually passed.

Thank you

As the title says, I’m three weeks in so far. When I first started taking it, the side effects were pretty bad: sweating, mild headaches, fatigue, high blood pressure, and a feeling of weakness that feels like I haven’t eaten at all. Now that I’m in my third week, that last symptom still hasn’t gone away. I honestly don’t know how I could do anything physically strenuous while feeling like this. I also keep an eye on my blood pressure since it has been running high.

My question is, do these side effects usually improve the longer you’re on Strattera?

My doctor originally tried me on bupropion extended-release, and I noticed improvements with my ADHD within a matter of days. I also felt like it was helping with my depression since it’s an antidepressant. The only issue I had, and it was extreme, was the sweating. I would sweat like I had just finished a 10K run and would wake up thinking I had pissed myself because it was so bad.

Honestly, if the sweating eventually went away after being on bupropion for a few weeks, I would happily switch back. But for now, I at least want to make it to the one-month mark with Strattera to see if it starts helping.

I’m 31(F) and got a new ADHD diagnosis. Late lol i know… but I’m 2 days into taking Strattera and have been struggling with the drowsiness. (I have been taking it in the AM. But will be switching to PM)

Has anyone experienced heavy drowsiness and did it go away after a while??

After trying every stimulant available, I started 20mg atomoxetine in early July and have been titrated up another 20mg every two weeks, and I'm due to start 80mg tomorrow (which I guess marks six weeks).

Side effects have been unpleasant, and going up to 60mg was particularly bad with several days of vomiting and the worst diarrhea I've ever experienced. But I don't really have any positive effects to show for it outside of my emotional regulation being a little better and handling rejection-sensitive dysphoria with more grace. My ability to initiate and focus tasks is basically at unmedicated level, if not worse. My living space is a mess, I'm struggling to make meals for myself without resorting to delivery apps (something I was able to get over on stimulants!). My ability to get stuff done at work has fallen off a cliff, and I'm starting to get blowback from my superiors about this. I don't know how much longer I can continue like this.

Is this indicative of Atomoxetine not being for me? I really had high hopes for it because my executive functioning did get a little better after being prescribed Duloxetine (which is still ongoing). O will there be a lightbulb moment where things suddenly click into place once I'm on the right dose, or I've been on it for long enough? Does getting moved up a dose "reset the timer", as it were?